movieguyjon

On Crossovers (Hint: They’re Bad)

Posted on August 11, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather Screenwriting TV 12

The short answer: Crossovers in television are bad news.

The lengthier answer: Crossovers in television are generally bad news.

I was directed to an article about the future season of Fox’s flagship series BONES and how they were considering a crossover from LIE TO ME, another procedural detective show. After reading the article, I thought about it for all of a minute and came to the conclusion you see above. Seriously, there’s a reason why we don’t get many crossovers in this day and age of television: they DON’T WORK. First, the writers from one show would need to co-ordinate with the writers from the other show and they would need to come up with a logical explanation for why the two heroes would meet. And then you would have to deal with the problem that arises that the two shows share the same universe. What this does, from a logical standpoint, is require that future crossovers happen and that Brennan and Lightman eventually become a team.

Really, who wouldn’t want to see Lightman and Brennan solve cases? Brennan could accuse the bad guys and Lightman could call their bluffs. You could probably cut the show down to a half an hour, since their team-up would be quite epic. And hey, Booth could shack up with Lightman’s spunky protege and calamity could ensue!

Oh, what am I talking about. This shit is retarded. Fox, don’t do it. The end.

On the Marriage of Facebook and Friendfeed

Posted on August 11, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather Internets 0

Got some shocking news when I checked FriendFeed on my mini-break at work yesterday. The word circulating was that FriendFeed had been sold to Facebook. Naturally, my first reaction was to check my phone’s calendar, since April 1st could have come late or something. But then I got home and confirmed what I had read. Facebook HAD in fact bought FriendFeed and in an interview it was said that eventually the services would be assimilated. My reaction to this was as follows:

Naturally, I didn’t quit either of the services, choosing instead to adopt Johnny Worthington’s idea of “going down with the ship.” But things had definitely changed for me with the news. What was once a blossoming service with immense potential became a cancer patient with but a few months to live.

I don’t really want to spend any more time talking about this, because I still need more time to think. But I feel like I’m about to lose something big here, something that I put a lot of my life into.

Angry Gamers, GRRR

Posted on August 10, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather Internets 0

Found this via BWANA via Game Politics:

Activision knows it has a ‘hot’ game, knows that the market will pay an additional 10 per cent, and has decided to increase price accordingly.

If you know me, you know my stance on petitions. They don’t really work. I think the boycott is a great idea, though, if enough people can actually do it. The only way you can really change things in the entertainment business is to take your business elsewhere.

Why I Don’t Like Indie Films (mostly)

Posted on August 10, 2009 by movieguyjon Film 4

I have a strange relationship with indie films and the people who make / consume them. For me, indie films came to my attention through Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, which then led me to Steven Soderbergh, Allison Anders, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, et al. The 90’s indie film movement was a big part of my film viewing experience and if you let me talk at you long enough, you’ll hear all about how much I long to go back to it. But my opinion of independent films has changed in the past decade, and I think I might have an idea as to why: they are all essentially the same.

It seems like there’s a basic formula these days to make an indie film: Ql + MfP + Um = Profit, where Ql = Quirky lead, MfP = Music from Pitchfork, and Um = Uninspired marketing. Have you seen an indie film these days that doesn’t have the same font used in the posters and title sequence? What about the quirky lead (usually female)? There’s really no characterization other than dorky for dorkiness’ sake. These characters are written in this manner and the viewer is lead to believe that this is how things are because it’s “indie” and “indie” means “real.” Not so. A friend of mine said that “Badass for badass’ sake” is stupid. The same applies here. Sadly, it’s a successful part of the formula.

Let me explain “Music from Pitchfork” a little so you don’t get me wrong. MfP occurs when the filmmakers compose a soundtrack for their indie film (and it’s trailers) with music they found by scanning the Pitchfork site. While I like (500) Days of Summer and am on record for giving it an excellent review, it is a perfect example of the formula. Regina Spektor in the opening credits? Sure. Maybe toss in some Pixies as well for good measure. Juno was another offender in this category as was Away We Go. Granted, I’ve only seen the trailers to Away We Go, but that brings us to the “Uninspired Marketing” or Um.

Every single film lauded as indie borrows the same boring font and claims it as their own, like it has never been used before. The trailers are also cut like a hollywood romantic comedy, if a retard pieced a rom-com trailer together.

The formula is THE reason I don’t like indie films. Now you might be saying, “Those aren’t indie films, they just pretend they’re indie.” I guess. But then you go on to describe everything that’s in the formula. Really, any film that doesn’t fit into the well-established, mainstream formula is called independent and oftentimes it just follows it’s own popular formula. Mumblecore, for example, has a simple formula of BCW (Bad Camera Work) + NM (No money) + NP (No plot). Although, at least the mumblecore crowd is actually out there making things and gaining some traction in their movement with Hump Day.

Agree, disagree? Feel free to voice your thoughts.

A Pretty Girl is Like…

Posted on August 3, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather Music 0

A pretty girl is like a minstrel show,
It makes you laugh, It makes you cry, You go
It just isn’t the same on radio.
It’s all about the makeup and the dancing and the Oh,
A pretty girl is like a violent crime,
If you do it wrong you could do time.
But if you do it right it is sublime. I’m so in love with you, girl, it’s like I’m on the moon.
I can’t really breathe, but I feel lighter.
A melody is like a pretty girl,
Who cares if it’s the dumbest in the world.
It’s all about the way that it unfurls.
A pretty girl is like a pretty girl.

– The Magenetic Fields

A Little Rany-Pants About Watchmen

Posted on July 13, 2009 by movieguyjon Film Screenwriting 0

I find @mikenayyar interesting! #followfriday

Posted on July 3, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather 0

I don’t plan on writing too many of these as my philosophy on suggesting people to follow is “less is more.” It’s definitely an opposing viewpoint to most follow Friday tweets that spout out hundreds of random people to follow. I’ve looked through a few of these kinds of tweets and have yet to figure out what’s the big deal about these people. With that said, I figure I should explain to you why Mike Nayyar is an interesting fellow to follow!

I first met Mike ages ago when he and I became part of a podcast troika aptly named Geek Troika. But at the time it wasn’t known as Troika. We didn’t come into that brilliance much later on. At the time we were simply known as Generation Tech and we put out episodes each week for the listener’s enjoyment. I didn’t have much of an opinion of him at first except that his deep voice was sexy and that he like mobile phones a lot. Over time, I got to know him a bit better and find out that he’s a HI-larious individual who’s willing to sell his soul to Comcast for an honest wage.

What a bastard.

Anyway, I think you should follow this son-of-a-gun because he engages in “the conversation” on social sites and is quite insightful. He’s got a sense of humor too and had a really badass thread running on friendfeed where he just HAD to get the last word in. He’s also got an extensive knowledge of gundam, and is the guy I go to when I want to discuss phone stuff (which isn’t all that often). He and I are also conspiring to take over the world with a new podcast.

Not convinced yet? Well, check out this video:

Piracy From A Film Student’s Perspective

Posted on June 22, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather Film Screenwriting 5

I was recently asked the question of whether or not I would offer any film I made for free via peer-to-peer or Bittorrent. It didn’t take me long to respond with a resounding “hell no,” and I’ll explain why. Back in the day, I was quite the swashbuckler. When confronted on the issue, I would defend my lecherous ways to the teeth by exclaiming such proverbs as “fuck the man” and “the MPAA are jerk-faces!” If I was feeling particularly rowdy, I would just say something along the lines of “lol butts.” However, things changed for me and I did a 180 on how I view the whole “piracy” issue. This happened as I walked onstage and accepted my fake diploma, along with the germs of the President of Columbia College.

Fuck.

My career IS film.

If you think about it, the movies you see on screen are the result of hundreds of people working their asses off to create an end product that you can enjoy at your leisure. When you get it for free and share that free-ness with others, you’re essentially punching all those people in the nuts and stealing their lunch money. Do I need to give you a worse metaphor? Fine! When you decide to download Wolverine: X-Men Harder instead of paying to see it, you’re killing babies.

The argument that films these days are just too expensive has always been strange to me. When you go out to the bar, you usually blow anywhere from $20-$40 depending on your level of alcoholism. When you go out to eat at a place that isn’t Popeyes or McDonalds, you’ll probably put away somewhere in the ballpark of $10. Sporting events of any kind usually drain you more than a movie ticket’s worth. And what about matinee prices? What about second run theaters?

As I enter into the realm of filmmaking, I can’t help but think about all the people out there who feel it’s their right to watch a movie and never compensate anyone for it. Girl’s gotta eat, folks!

Do You Force It?

Posted on June 22, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather My Life Screenwriting 0

When I have writer’s block, I try to force myself to write something whether it’s any good or not. This tends to put me at odds with myself since I don’t like writing anything unless I have something to actually write. I’ve been told countless times to just get something “on the page” no matter what and that it’s not always going to be good. Do you hold to that? Do you force it when you know you don’t have it in you? Is forcing it a good idea?

I’m definitely curious what other writers think about this…

Donning the Rant Pants

Posted on June 16, 2009 by movieguyjon Blather 6

Lately I’ve been a frustrated individual and it’s not because of the raging writer’s block I’ve been having. No, my frustrations are the result of feeling like I’ve picked the wrong gaming system. You heard me correctly. I may have picked the wrong console. All my life I’ve been a loyal customer to the Nintendo brand and have displayed my love of said brand openly, nay saying the various competitors every chance I got. I even (gasp) defended the Gamecube back in the day as a viable console in the gaming world.

But now I think I might have to rescind my love of Nintendo. Sorry, guys. I’m going to don the rant pants for a bit and just go off on a few reasons why I’m not going to be singing the Wii’s praises any time soon.

Third Party “Garbage Ware.” When you go to any electronics store and peruse the Wii aisle, you’ll find that at least 90% of the titles on the shelf are junk. These are the games that are based on films or TV shows and all lack anything resembling fun gameplay. Go into a Gamestop or Best Buy and find a compelling game for the Wii that isn’t produced by Nintendo itself. I dare you.
Stagnant Online Presence. Remember when Wii friend codes were easy to share and didn’t take a bajillion steps to add? Remember when there was a way to integrate your Wii experience with any various social networking site if you so wished? Yeah. I don’t either…because THAT’S NEVER EXISTED! If there’s one thing that could push the Wii ahead, it’s developing a social presence of some kind. I know the whole “being social” isn’t Nintendo’s aim necessarily, but when you can share your gaming experience with other people around the world automatically you find that it’s so much more fulfilling. If I had more online “social” options for my games, I’d probably play them more.
The biggest games coming out are sequels! Seriously, another Zelda game? Another Mario Galaxy? They look great, but I feel like there’s some degree of re-hash here. How about we make something new that can be franchised and beaten to death…
Wii-Ware. This is the big mamma of my irritations with the Wii console. When I first heard that there was going to be a store for independently created games for the Wii, I got insanely stoked. So much potential! In essence, indie games could thrive. Boy was I wrong. I think the only games that I’ve played from Wii-Ware worth the money can be counted on one hand. I certainly haven’t bought any more outside of Dr. Mario, Mega-man 9 and World of Goo. I might get Tetris Party, but I’m a little puzzle game’d out.

Sigh.

This isn’t a complete dismissal of the Wii as a console, especially since there’s so much that’s right about it. For example, it has one of the cutest menu interfaces in existence, and you can jump into a majority of the games and just “get it.” All first party games rock 110% and are perhaps some of the better games out there. Nintendo understands nostalgia and they can deliver that feeling in spades. They also changed the way we view controllers and have in essence shifted the paradigm of console gaming. However, the part of me that’s not a completely casual gamer is consistently left wanting more from this system.

I dunno. Does anyone else think about this shit or am I just weird?