3 Trailers: The Game

I kind of love the Internet. Why? Well, simply because we have the opportunity to run the spectrum of “stuff”. Below I present to you the spectrum of trailers that have recently been released. We’re playing a game, you need to decide which film falls into which category. The categories are as follows…

Oh my God was this movie made in 1995 and being released in 2012? No. Okay, wow. Seriously?

Wait, another one?

And

I love you James Bond.

Below are the trailers. Good luck guessing which fall into which category.

Trailer #1 Home Run Showdown

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAVDugRfe5s&w=560&h=315]

 

Trailer #2 Skyfall

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwp5z-JaIoc&w=560&h=315]

 

Trailer #3 Paranormal Activity 4

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aCKnVXzt-4&w=560&h=315]

 

***Hint: Skyfall is in the I love you James Bond category.

 

Weekend Recap and Looking Forward...

 

It’s never good to look back on what was but I’d argue that, that rule doesn’t hold completely firm when dealing with entertainment and sports. When dealing with entertainment it’s always good to look back, quote movies, re-watch things, and then talk about how we could have done something different if a film or show isn’t what we expected. Same rule applies for sports; living in the past is what gives us hope for the future.

On the same hand, it’s good to look ahead and what’s to come, and I’m essentially going to try and do both right now. I should note that I’m not going to look to far back, just the previous weekend. The weekends are amazing, for me it’s a time where anything is game… and I kind of think that’s how they should always be. Regarding looking ahead, we’re peeking into the full week.

Friday:

The Olympics. I managed to watch roughly three hours of the opening games and I was a bit underwhelmed. I think I’m spoiled from the Beijing opening. Truthfully I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but it was a grand scale, so there needs to be some credit handed out.

I started to question the Olympics and the various competitions. I wish there was a bigger reward for the winners because quite honestly I don’t think that everyone appreciates a gold medal. I wish the stakes were higher.

I think the opening ceremony put me to sleep because I don’t know what else happened to me.

Saturday:

I rode my bike for the majority of the day and was more tired than I can explain. I proceeded to plant myself on the couch and watch two things that I wish I could burn from my mind:

Faster with The Rock and Billy Bob Thornton. I came into this movie about five minutes late and I left after about thirty minutes. Has anyone seen this movie? What’s the premise? I love The Rock but what was happening in this movie.

Sex and the City 2. I would honestly rather watch these women in NY having the same arguments and doing the same things than ever watch them go to India. I wonder how this idea was given a green light.

Post Sex and the City 2 I loaded up on a few glasses of wine and caught up on Fringe. Fringe, is a show that is highly underrated but I can understand why it doesn’t have a larger audience. I wish I wasn’t so late to the party watching it because I would have been a larger Fringe advocate throughout the past years. If anyone wants a good Sci Fi show, watch Fringe.

Sunday:

Turned on the Olympics and female cycling was on. Turned off Olympics and ran some errands with my girlfriend. Three to four hours later I turned on the Olympics and the same exact race was happening but it was coming to an end. Somehow female cycling was captivating but I don’t know who could have watched the whole race. If you’re out there, show yourself.

It’s somewhat difficult for me to write this without some hesitancy, but I need to embrace it and just go with it. I managed to cram my Sunday night with an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians and thenBreaking Bad. I’m not sure when it started to happen but whenever I’d turn on the TV the Kardashians were there, and I occasionally started to watch. But now, I just watch them before I watch Walter White go meth crazy on everyone.

Crazy Kardashian happenings- Kim Kardashian apparently has a sixth sense for detecting cavities. Let me repeat that, wait, no I won’t. Just know that I wrote about Kim’s sixth sense and also know that I can’t believe I wrote that.

Crazy Breaking Bad happenings- Everything. It’s the best show on TV.

Random weekend facts – The Watch with Stiller, Hill, and Vaughn didn’t exactly do well at the box office this week proving that you cannot just throw funny people on a billboard and expect money. I caught the new Seinfeld webseries on Crackle.com and it was hilarious. I suggest everyone should check it out.

Looking ahead here’s what you can expect:

More Olympics. More Kardashians. More Breaking Bad. The return of Colin Farrell in Total Recall.

… That pretty much sums it up.

The Killers still exist...

  Once upon a time I really liked The Killers. When their first album, Hot Fuss, was released I listened to it a lot… probably too much to be honest. When their second album, Sam’s Town, was released I loved it… probably too much to be honest. But then something happened – I started to associate The Killers with someone who I basically couldn’t stand. To my inner circle these were known as my dark days, days when I first felt what a break really was… oh wait, wait, I’m getting off topic.

I suddenly couldn’t listen to The Killers for the reasons why music is awesome – I associated it with something. As much as I tried I couldn’t stand them, and then suddenly Hot Fuss started to sound a bit funny, and not in a good way. However, something great happened, I heard a new album was coming out, that album was Sawdust.

Sawdust was supposed to mean a new leaf for me. It was supposed to finally start a new Killers chapter in my life. When the album was released I listened to it in its entirety and was trying to like it, I really wanted too, but I thought it kind of sucked. Aside from the fact that it kind of wasn’t a real album but rather a compilation album the new songs weren’t all that great. For the record, I didn’t feel this way because of the poor musical association I had with them; it was because they sounded redundant. Suddenly the synth’s and whatever the hell else they use kind of irritated me. I feared that I missed my windows for enjoying The Killers while I could.

Once their next album, Day and Age, was released in 2008 I was sure I missed the window. I tried to listen and I couldn’t even get through it. My last ditch attempt to find some Killers relief was buying Brandon Flowers’ solo album (the lead singer of The Killers) and once again, I wasn’t at all impressed.

At a random moment a few months ago I asked a friend what the hell ever happened to The Killers. At this point any logical person would have just forgotten they existed, and part of me was sure they were broken up. My friend said he had no idea. Well, lo and behold… The Killers exist.

This was a message I received from my buddy earlier today:

I guess they have a new album coming out. What the fuck?

He then sent me the link to their first single from their album Battle Born, it’s called Runaways and you can listen to it via the video below.

Apparently this song has been in the world for almost eight months. A younger version of me would have been all over this song, but I’m keeping my distance. Having said that… I really hope they regain form to their earlier days (if that’s even possible).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LOeImx0kW4&w=560&h=315]

M. Knight drops "After Earth"

Random fact: I’ve been defending M. Knight Shyamalan for so many years that I started to lose street cred. I loved The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village, and Signs so much that I forgave him for things that came after.

I try to forget the dark days of Lady in the Water, The Happening AKA Oh-my-God-this-can’t-be-happening-what-am-I-watching-what-is-Mark-Whalberg-doing-but-seriously-what-the-fuck-am-I-watching, and The Last Airbender movie. I give this guy a lot of credit for taking chances.

One would think that with his last three movies I’d be burned and never want to watch another movie of his ever again; even I kind of think so. But then he goes and drops a movie with Will Smith and his son and my hopes are once again somewhere in between The Village and Signs.

I’m so scared I’m going to be burned by M. Knight and I may regret saying this but… This movie looks and sounds fucking cool. Check out this poster that indicates almost nothing… but somehow I’m oddly excited. It hit the internet today.

 

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(Future) The Dark Knight Rises review.

 

I should note that I haven’t actually seen The Dark Knight Rises but at this moment my expectations are starting to take over. I wish this wasn’t the case, I swore off high expectations for films after I pre bought tickets for a midnight showing of Indiana Jones 4 with my buddy. Never again would I think something was going to be so insanely cool that I may have to have a drink afterwards, but it’s happening at this current moment in time.

The worst part about all of this is that my tickets aren’t until next Sunday afternoon (don’t ask) so I now have to hear all of my friends talk about the awesomeness that is Christopher Nolan and just grin and bear it because they saw it on Friday and Saturday. I hate when people see things before me, it’s like someone taking the almanac from Back To The Future 2 and touting it around.

I have to get over that aspect and realize that ultimately this doesn’t stop what I hope my future Dark Knight Rises review is going to be. Judging from the trailers, the pictures, and other various aspects of the current onslaught of marketing I imagine I’m going to be saying something like this: — One week from now— Coolest fucking movie ever. I don’t really know where to begin or how to digest The Dark Knight Rises. Somehow Nolan and his crew managed to conclude this trilogy with the best installment yet. Somehow they made Batman’s voice sound normal and not like he’s about to have a hernia. Somehow Anne Hathaway didn’t annoy me with her on again off again over acting. Somehow Joseph Gordon Levitt worked. Somehow the same reoccurring characters in all Nolan movies were seamlessly intertwined. Somehow the political undertones of the 99% revolting seemed to somehow make sense. Somehow Liam Neeson once again stole the movie and all that was missing was him calling someone telling them his skill set. Finally, somehow Tom Hardy has just bumped himself into the “best Batman villain” conversation.

That’s it.

I realize that my review may not be all that in depth, as a matter of fact I know it’s not, but that’s because I’m a fan first and once something I like starts to exceed expectations then I stop caring about over analyzing it.

I walk away from The Dark Knight Rises with a greater appreciation for Nolan and his pure vision. He managed to move forward with his series after setting the bar so high and somehow moving the bar even higher.

If it’s not already being done in film classes, people will one day analyze this trilogy and ultimately how it changed the game. How Nolan changed the complexity of what a “comic book” film was and what it can be. He sent a ripple through out Hollywood by being as ambitious as he was and it paid off. When it’s all said and done the only question that will linger is:

“How the shit was Katie Holmes in the first movie?”

Go see The Dark Knight Rises.

Movies you must watch when they're on TV

Image This weekend the greatest thing in the world happened – as I was trolling through my guide on TV I randomly stumbled upon The Shawshank Redemption. I immediately switched from whatever I was watching and I think the clouds parted because I was roughly 15 minutes away from one of 9,236 quotable lines from the movie: Get busy living or get busy dying. I’m not talking about the first time when Andy and Red are sitting in the courtyard but the second time when Red is out in the world and Andy has dropped breadcrumbs for him to come be with him on the Pacific.

I’m not sure if it was the slight hang over that I may or may not have been nursing, or the fact that I really wish I changed the channel earlier to see Andy escape from Shawshank, but I suddenly felt a bit emotional. I called my girlfriend into the room and said “babe, check it out. Get busy living or get busy dying.” She watched it with me - Like she’s done every other time. Once the movie was coming to an end she stood up and said, “Wow, you really love this movie.”

Fuck yeah I love this movie. If you don’t love this movie you have issues.

Her small comment led me to do some thinking. I wondered why she said that, and was there a tone to the way she said it? It’s not like I always talk about Shawshank. So, I asked her.

“Hey, why did you say I loved this movie? I mean, I do love this movie, but why’d you say that?”

“Because you always stop watching whatever you’re watching to turn it on.”

I always do irrationally turn on Shawshank as though I directed, wrote, and produced it. There is something that feels great about catching a movie you love on TV, as though you can just plop in and say hello to it.

I started thinking about movies that no matter what’s happening, I’d change the channel for. It’s those movies that you’ve seen 18 times but if you don’t change the channel there’s some sort of internal conflict that ultimately challenges how much you like film in general – whether it be for a scene, line, sequence, character, or third act, you need to turn on that movie.

I dug deeper and ultimately accumulated my first ever: Movies that if you ever see are on television then you need to change the channel and peek in on it otherwise the movie Gods will know list.

The Shawshank Redemption: See above.

The Matrix: If you catch this on a channel like TNT or TBS, then you’re basically only watching until you realize they took out great action scenes and also the curse words. But if you catch it on a premium channel and get to watch the groundbreaking action and Keanu almost being emotional then you’re set. At some point in this channel change you’ll inevitably say “Whoa” and then “Wow, this movie was awesome, but the others weren’t.”

Back To The Future: Come on. I feel like people turn this on for nostalgic purposes and you inevitably realize that you’re watching a perfect movie.

Good Will Hunting: I feel like there was a moment when Affleck was bringing down the credibility of this movie but then redeemed everything with Gone Baby Gone and The Town. You’re probably turning this on for the first act of the film when Damon is outsmarting everyone and saying “How do you like them apples” or you hope to catch the final sequence, which in my opinion is insanely underrated, when Affleck heads to the vacant house of Damon.

ET: If you’re sitting by someone who’s never seen this movie then you need to evaluate your friendship with whomever you’re sitting next too.

Pulp Fiction: Last week I changed the channel just to watch the dance scene with Travolta.

The Truman Show: I’ve argued the greatness of this movie for years. Jim Carrey was robbed of an Academy Award nomination (He WON for Golden Globe by the way) and this film is way ahead of its time. If you’ve never seen this movie… Do it… Now.

Minority Report: Some of the best running Tom Cruise has ever done is in this movie. Take a second and turn this movie on, you’ll notice that roughly 80% of the “science fiction” is actually here today.

The Empire Strikes Back: I’m not ever going to mention why someone needs to turn on this movie.

The Karate Kid (original): If you see this on television then just hope it’s the moment when all the badasses are dressed as the skeleton’s aka the best continuous Halloween costume ever.

Top Gun: This was essentially a perfect storm. It’s kind of when Jerry Bruckheimer figured out how to do action, it really put Tony Scott on the map, and Tom Cruise could essentially do no wrong (insert any joke here). If you’re fortunate enough to turn on this movie during the montage of volleyball and motorcycle riding then you should go buy a lottery ticket.

The Sixth Sense: If you’re the person who says, “I knew Bruce Willis was dead” then you’re full of shit. This movie was an amazing break out for M Knight Shyamalan and even though he made some… um… uh… questionable movies afterwards we can’t let The Happening ruin liking this.

Yes, I’m aware there are hundreds of other movies to fill the list, and yes I know all the movies above were released no later than 1980, but that’s neither here nor there right now. The next time you find yourself lounging on your couch and you see one of the films above – I dare you not to change the channel. See how good you feel about yourself afterwards.

Get busy living or get busy dying.

Underrated Movie: White Water Summer

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There are about sixteen moments in each day that I start to think of underrated movies. Typically the movies that come to mind are somehow embedded in my childhood and look like absolute shit to any current day first time watcher. Today I’m sharing an underrated moment and reminding the world that before we saw Kevin Bacon’s schlong in Wild Things and before Sean Astin was carried off the field in Rudy they occupied the screen for a summer time movie of glorious fun:

White Water Summer

Check out the plot summary courtesy of IMDB: An experienced guide (Vic) accompanies a city boy (Alan) and his three friends on their first wilderness experience. Hoping to teach the four boys lessons not only about the wilderness, but also about themselves, Vic pushes them to the limit. Soon after alienating the boys, Vic finds himself in desperate need of help and must rely on his students in order to survive.

I think this movie turned out a bit darker than it was supposed to be, or maybe not, maybe it was supposed to be as dark as it was. In my opinion I think the late 80’s and some of the early 90’s were a quintessential time for kid adventure movies. I feel like Hollywood was saying “How can we fuck with kids and then have them prevail?” And this movie is no exception.

If you’re having a 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon movie night… watch this movie.

Check out the trailer below. Side note: How amazing are old school trailers?

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QBmRr7h7Fw&w=480&h=360]

Matthew McConaughey: Greatest Career Ever

Image A few years ago I was having a conversation with my friend who lives in Europe and is in no way affiliated with the entertainment industry, aside from liking films. We were talking about various acting careers and I said:

“Who’s career would you have if you could?”

He waited a second and then said: “Matthew McConaughey.”

I proceeded to laugh and jumped on him about his films like Surfer Dude and Sahara. I started a McConaughey rant of how he was on pace to be a great actor when he was in A Time To Kill, Amistad, and Contact but then something happened to him and he just started to produce questionable (that’s being kind) movies. I thought that McCounaughey has been on the downfall for a long time and he shouldn’t be taken seriously as an actor.

My friend listened and then countered with: “Yeah but he’s in a bunch of movies, he lives on the beach, and he bangs tons of chicks. It just seems like he has a great life.”

The comment struck some chord with me and I suddenly saw McConaughey for what he may be – The smartest human being in the entire world, with the best career.

I think more times than not we/me judge people by the quality that they produce in Hollywood, letting personal taste interfere with the simple fact that - if you’re able to have a successful career in Los Angeles then you’re doing something right. He’s been at it for nearly 20 years and he’s not going anywhere, so I dug deeper into McConaughey thought, and this is what I know:

- He's sort of been typecast but not really throughout his career. He’s been romantic comedy guy, serious guy, action guy, stoner guy, stoner guy again, then stoner guy, and back to serious guy.

- This is a guy who was arrested for smoking pot and playing the bongo’s naked in his own house.

- Before he was married and living in Texas he lived in Malibu on the beach in some small motor home.

- He walks around with his shirt off more than he walks around with it on.

- He seemingly works out all the time.

- Since 1992 there has never been more than 2 years that we’ve gone without McConaughey in a movie.

- Before he was married he seriously had more girlfriends than days he’s walked around with no shirt.

My friend was right - this guy really does seemingly have a great life, and he’s also somewhat of a quandary. I’ve been looking at him wrong this entire time. Maybe his decline in movies was intentional, or not even true; maybe he never wanted to be anything more than just a working actor who leads a seemingly carefree and healthy life, and maybe more people should model their careers after McConaughey (yes, I just said that).

As I’ve gotten older my appreciation for McConaughey has only grown. I think this guy may be a Hollywood genius. He either has everyone fooled or everything figured out… or both… or neither …. Fuck! Damn you McConaughey! The legend grows.

Lets also never forget that he delivered one of the greatest lines and moments in cinema history:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wf-mRo7C2I&w=420&h=315]

Dumb and Dumber - No Mas

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I just heard that the Dumb and Dumber sequel was not going to happen because Jim Carrey thinks the studio isn’t as excited as he is. Does that even sound right? What does sound right is what the title of the sequel was going to be: Dumb and Dumber To.

When I read the name of the sequel I can’t help but feel mildly depressed that this isn’t going to happen. Let’s be honest, Jim Carrey needs this, the Farrelly Brother’s need this, and humanity needs this. I can only hope that this is a mild speed bump in the process of Dumb and Dumber.

Just because:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAWoP1kncRE&w=420&h=315]

 

Decompression. Entertainment. NBA.

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I think it’s safe to say that I just finished decompressing from the eyegasm that was Prometheus and Sunday June 10th in general. On Monday June 11th I reflected on the previous day.

10am:
Early morning story confusion but who cares because it was so cool to look at that everything some how made sense (Prometheus).

1pm:
Getting stuck in West Hollywood Gay pride parade and deciding to walk with my girlfriend to a restaurant and have a drink(s).

3pm:
Feeling the affects from the drink(s). When we got home we started to watch the end of Die Hard part 2 until I realized that a unicorn has been sighted and for some inexplicable reason Die Hard part 3 was on another random channel – changed to Sam Jackson and Bruce Willis yelling at Jeremy Irons.

6pm: 
Woke up from the best mid day nap in the history of life and wondered how and why Die Hard part 3 is still on… Maybe the longest movie ever?

7pm:
Watched the season finale of Mad Men and loved every second of it. I haven’t seen a season tie together so well since the previous season of Mad Men. My girlfriend and I discussed and continued discussing on Monday what this season was all about. I don’t think she liked the finale as much as I did but it’s difficult not to appreciate how great that show is.

I don’t want to spoil anything but Don Draper may be the coolest character in the history of television and on par with: Walter White, Cosmo Kramer, Larry David, Homer Simpson, Jack Shepherd, Bill Cosby, Will Smith, Angus MacGyver, Archie Bunker, Tony Soprano, Fonzie Fonzarelli, and Aaron Rodgers from the hit Sunday TV show: NFL Football.

9pmish:
Watched the teaser trailer for Breaking Bad - I’m excited.

10pm: 
Watched Safe House with Denzel and Ryan Reynolds and felt like this may be one of the biggest I didn’t expect that movies I’ve seen in a long time.

By the time Midnight rolled around it was time for me to try and turn off my brain and pass out. At some point Monday I realized that I may be consuming too much information, if that’s even possible. Is it possible? Nah, knowledge is power and I want to know about Don Draper. But as life goes, when one thing ends another thing begins, which brings me to the NBA Finals and the consumption of sports that starts tonight.

This may be the most intriguing match up in years. The Lakers / Celtics from a few years ago was definitely amazing so I can’t disregard it, but what we’re seeing right now has so many implications - I think.

Miami Heat VS Oklahoma City Thumnder. Purchased Super Team VS Drafted rejected from Seattle Team. Durant VS Lebron. Westbrook VS his Craziness VS Wade. James Harden VS … who the F is going to guard James Harden?

What I find most appealing about these finals is that I think Durant is about to go Jordan mode 2.0. I think he’s about to take over and he’s not going anywhere for a long time. I think he’s going to play as well as James, if not outplay him, but more importantly I think OKC is going to win. If OKC does win then that marks a certain problem for many NBA teams. OKC is young and built like the Spurs. If everyone stays healthy and if Durant decides not to leave basketball for baseball then I seriously think they could win 4-5 championships in the next 5-7 years.

When they win, a trickle down effect is going to happen. Teams will start changing their team just to compete with them (like they did with Shaq and Kobe) and we’ll all have to start wondering if LeBron James is the greatest yet most scratch your head what to make of him worthy player in the history of the NBA… if we don’t already think that.

Anyway.

Oklahoma wins in 6. Don’t ask how, don’t ask why. Just know that Durant is going to be the MVP.

Every year when my team I root for gets eliminated I reflect on how much time I just wasted and how much rooting, drinking, projecting, arguing, and eating I just did. I don’t think it’s healthy for about 3 days. Then I remind myself that I love sports and entertainment and if I didn’t have either I’d be lost (or I’d be a genius). I’m already starting to do my reflecting but this NBA finals has allowed me to just look forward.

I can’t wait to decompress a little more. Then football will start and so will breaking bad and the whole cycle repeats itself. Fuck. I love you entertainment.

Random Thought: 5-Hour Energy Drink.

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I just finished watching Mad Men. Every time I finish the show I think I’m an ad man for about 45 minutes and start to analyze various marketing ploys and commercials from companies, and then think about how I can make it better. Tonight was no different, but what is different is that tonight, I’m taking to my blog as opposed to my girlfriends ear. I take that back I did go to my girlfriend’s ear, but truthfully I don’t think she was listening, and I don’t blame her.

That product: 5-Hour Energy Drink.

You know 5-hour energy drink – it’s the little red and black bottle that promotes 5 hours of energy if you chug 1.93 FL oz. The reason it’s 5 hours and not, say, 8 hours is because it’s supposed to last the equivalent of 5 hours of coffee/caffeine.

The commercial that we saw focused on the “why wait for coffee” motto. It was bunches of people being totally inconvenienced just to get their morning pick me up. If you haven’t noticed the main leg that the little drink sits on is the coffee aspect - which is fine, but it’s making a huge mistake.

Lets forget for a second that 5 hour energy drink is intimidating because it feels like it’s bad for you simply from the packaging, lets pretend like we can overlook the fact that it calls itself a dietary supplement, and then lets pretend that the commercial isn’t totally kind of creepy (commercial below) – lets focus on the coffee aspect.

What these people behind 5 hour energy drink don’t realize is that one of the main appeals for coffee is that people like to have things in their hands. People like to be doing things and drinking coffee is one of them. In the work environment, there is nothing better than having coffee in your hands so you don’t feel like your hands are hanging aimlessly at your sides when you’re talking to someone. The idea of coffee is appealing because people are accomplishing something – We accomplish nothing while opening a 5-hour energy drink.

This energy drink needs to adjust their campaign from “a coffee drink” and focus on what it really is – it’s the thing you take when you cram for exams or drive cross country. If I were sitting in a room with the heads of this energy drink I’d go Draper on every ass and steal them to be my client. Someone is doing an incredibly bad job with the campaign. Someone needs to adjust their campaign to make it fun to drink the energy and not make it seem like we’re robots consuming something because we’re weak and need the “pick me up.”

Don’t you get it 5-hour energy drink? We know we need the pick me up but it’s more than that, coffee is social and appealing. Make your drink social. And then when you’re done with that put more than $15 in your ad department and re-do your commercials.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLdBOTuX1GI&w=560&h=315]

 

Ideas.

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Here in Los Angeles there is an unspoken (and spoken) thought that you should never openly discuss ideas. The reasoning behind it is pretty simple… someone will steal it. Fortunately I’ve never blatantly had an idea stolen from me (that I knew of) and I secretly really hope it’s not because all of my ideas were terrible.

This thought process really says a lot about the type of people here in Los Angeles. When people typically steal things it means they’re desperate, right? I guess that can be debated. One argument could be made that everyone is stealing or “duplicating” a previous idea at some point. The bottom line is that when it comes 95 percent of films we’re all copying or stealing themes, stories, thoughts, and ideas. Seriously. But lets not walk down that road because it leaves too much to be debated, we need to back track a little and specify the ideas we’re dealing with.

I’m talking about me talking to John Doe and I tell him that I’m going to write a film and here’s the idea… And then John Doe turns it and uses it for himself – That’s the type of idea stealing I’m currently talking about. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on this subject and I’d like to take a moment and say fuck that train of thought.

The reality is, is that your idea is your idea and nobody can ever really duplicate your vision. Lets take Jurassic Park for a moment – Nobody could have done what Michael Crichton did and weave one of the top 10 coolest stories of all time, but people can try. The beauty of art is that nobody can ever put your stamp on it - that’s what makes something great.

When dealing with stories and the entertainment industry I think it’s a great idea to openly discuss your ideas. It allows you to fine tune your vision and get instant feedback on what you’re doing. Not to mention - if someone is desperate enough to turn and steal your idea then have pity (or just say fuck them), they’re desperate and they’re not going to sustain in whatever they’re doing.

This is all up for debate and maybe I’d feel a bit different if I was screwed over by some idea thief. I just think it’s great to talk out new ideas and challenge yourself, who knows maybe someone will challenge you.

****

Roughly 30 minutes later.

I just got a call from my friend and told him what I was writing and my thoughts on ideas. He told me I was crazy and wrong and proceeded to bring up some valid points and why it’s a stupid idea to talk ideas out with people. We then met at a middle ground and I agreed it should *maybe just be kept in a trusted circle.

Maybe… But F that, I just wrote all the above and feel good about it.

5 Rules.

There are a few rules that I think should and can be implemented into society… at least in my perfect world. I should probably note that I don’t think this will ever happen, it’s just what I want.

Rule #1: There must be elevator entertainment. Human has never been so uncomfortable than when we’re standing in an elevator. I hate the long-standing awkward silence, and the elevator is a test of how you deal with these moments. Do you look down at the ground? Stare at the elevator’s numbers changing? Stare at the doors? I have long thought that every elevator has a camera and it’s just some big science experiment.

If we can somehow get something that everyone can do while in there, like a quick puzzle or trivia I think the world would be a happier place.

Rule #2: Root Beer at all meals. When you go out to eat and a server asks if you’d like water I think the question should be: “Would you like water and a Root Beer?” Or “Would you just like Root Beer?” I don’t think I can properly explain the underrated value of Root Beet. Sometimes I wonder if it’s so great because it’s not as main-stream as Pepsi or Coke.

Rule #3: No walking slow in a parking garage. “YO! Slow fing walker, get out of my way because you’re in the middle of the driving area!” Not sure if it’s a LA thing or what, but people who take their sweet time and hold up traffic in a parking garage should be banned from parking. The only possible solve (without running someone over) is to implement a power walk rule in every and all garage. Move fast or get arrested… okay not arrested… but something.

Rule #4: When you say your age you say it in days and not years. Doesn’t it just sound cooler and as though you live longer to place a bigger number here? “How old are you?”

“I’m 25.”

Or –

“I’m 9,125.”

Sure, it will eventually sound common day and lose its appeal over time but at least you can feel like Yoda for just a moment. I want to feel that I’m so old I actually forget the days.

Rule #5: Notes on poorly parked cars. Imagine if you see that car that’s parked on an angle occupying 2 spots for no reason. Now imagine if you had a note that said “I messed with your car and you’ll never know what I did” even though you did nothing. I think that note alone would scare someone into submission and start a trend of properly parked cars. Even if you’re not parked like a complete idiot but are doing something that messes with the flow, you should still get a note on your car.

I even think that new cars should come with a set of notes just out of courtesy. I don’t think people realize what bad parkers do to the common man’s psyche. Or is it just me?

I’ll stop at 5 … it’s just a start, but it’s something.

I Hate The Emergency Exit Row

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Five totally ridiculously random thoughts have been stewing in my head today.

5 - The TV show AWAKE was cancelled. Damn! It was a very good show. I’ve talked about it to many times because the creator behind it, Kyle Killen, is insanely talented and has had some kind of horrible string of luck. For the record, his previous show Lone Star was also very good.

4 – I really want to see Battleship and I don’t care who knows it… but unfortunately it comes out next week. After my taste of Avengers I’ve become an insta action junkie - this happens every summer when the first blockbuster comes out. Sort of hoping Dark Shadows has Johnny Depp blowing something up.

3 – I like Kevin Hart. I’ve been giving this dude the short end of the stick for far to long, but I have to admit… he’s pretty funny. Random prediction: Kevin Hart will win an Academy Award at some point.

Just blacked out for a second. I thought I just wrote… Oh… yeah I did just write that. I’m sticking to it.

2 – I just spent the last 10 minutes watching Manny Pacquiao highlights and (I hate to say this) I think Floyd Mayweather would win the dream match. I should note that I never watch boxing and almost know nothing about it. Just saying.

1 – What’s the deal with paying extra to sit in the emergency exit row? I purchased a ticket on Frontier Airlines and they advertised the emergency exit row as an upgrade with more legroom. Seriously?

I’ve gone on the emergency exit row rant before so I won’t completely jump into this but their needs to be some rule changes. Specifically, I think to sit there you should have to be 18 years old; I do not trust a kid who is 13 to open that door.

People pay extra to sit there!?

Let me lay out a little scenario for you:

Worst-case scenario happens and someone has to use that emergency exit. Lets say you F up when trying to open that door. You’re suddenly the person who actually paid extra to be a hero but you screwed up and now all eyes are on you… And you’re out extra cash.

This whole concept of the emergency exit row is baffling. You’d think that the emergency exit row would be cheaper due to the potential responsibility behind it.

I think it’s time we change the name of the emergency exit row, lets be honest, nobody actually thinks of it as an emergency exit row, it’s for more leg room – and obviously the airlines know that the consumer thinks it’s a crock. While we’re at it, we can avoid the whole thing about how to put on a seatbelt before take off…

"Creative Block" ramble

At some point in the last few years I’ve adopted and stuck to the belief that when it comes to decisions there is nothing bigger than the small ones, and there is nothing more impactful than any decision you make. I’ve been trying to grasp how important they are, and for whatever reason a few years ago when I read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho something clicked. There was a line that stated, “Whenever you make a decision you’re thrust in a different flow of life” (hope I didn’t fuck that up too much). What Paulo was saying is that the decision you make puts you in a stream that takes you somewhere, who knows where, but it’s somewhere. Paulo is right – when you decide something, you are then going to a new area of life.

I should stop now and mention that this kind of writing is typically saved for my personal journal but the truth is I don’t feel like writing by hand, I feel like typing, and this is my blog so screw it… I’m running forward with a little more of an expressive blog. Be prepared for a random stream of consciousness, I’m 197 words in and I don’t know where I’m going with this…

I’m experiencing some sort of creative block and I’m having a problem holding a thought… I’m having a problem making a decision. I’m always told, “writers, write.” So, I’m writing. I’m trying to figure out why I’m so scrambled and wondering if anyone else gets like this and I’m also curious if there really is a thing as “writers block” or a “creative block.”

Logic tells me that you can push through these things, I kind of feel that only the weak minded should settle for anything that’s associated with a “block” and I feel like there are ways around it – change of scenery, music, food, sleep, etc… But is that true, and why am I calling myself weak minded? I feel that writing this is somehow going to help me out and help me focus a bit, I just need a kick-start to my brain.

Getting back to decisions for a minute: Why are they so important? When dealing with myself, my issue at this moment in time is that I cannot make a decision. I cannot settle on exactly what I want to work on and there are many variables going into these lack of decisions. I haven’t really made a proactive decision in 2 days and in turn I ended up doing basically nothing, and I think that’s important because it’s clearly a mirror to something much bigger.

I always think about the small decisions in life and at times I’m obsessed with the origin of situations. When talking to my friends I’m always curious as to how someone got to the point they’re currently at because it’s always interesting to pinpoint those few decisions that made someone enter their specific world. Sometimes it’s scary to think about what would have been had you chose X over Z, but that’s life, and it’s something that I think is a tad bit underrated.

(If you’re still reading - congratulations… I’m almost done… I know this is all confusing but I hope it’s going somewhere… *hope)

The key to decisions is your confidence and if you truly made it. Did you get bullied or peer pressured into deciding something? Are you making a decision based off of social standards? Do you feel unsure of your decision? Someone should never feel unsure of his or her decision… right?

The more I digest all of this, aside from health, I think that decision and direction are the two most important things for anyone. Direction = What you want. Decision = How you’ll get it. Just be specific and confident and the rest will fall in place.

A wise man once said “I shall seek and I shall find” I find this to be incredibly important, those 7 words sum up everything that (I think) people should be about. Seeking and finding what they want… just make the right decisions getting there.

That’s it, no mas, now that I just attempted to ramble myself into working and making a decision I need to concentrate. I hope that somehow I related to at least one person, I would hate to think I’m in this sort of creative blocked journey on my own.

Enjoy whatever the next small decision is that you make… it may be the biggest thing of your life.