September 27, 2021

It was a busy weekend! Saw St. Vincent and James Blake at the Hollywood Bowl (two different nights). Then went to the zoo yesterday to take movies of the animals. It's Monday, and I'm back at work. Going to see Wicked Woman (an aerialist show set to Princess Bride) tonight.  

Something I'm wrestling with is empathy. During the last few years, people have been using empathy as a blanket prescription for all of society's ills. Here's the definition: "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." Actually, as an ability it's totally great. Framing it like that suggests that whoever has empathy can deploy it at will. When it's appropriate, useful, etc. 

My problem with it is that it places the importance on reception instead of communication. On feeling instead of action. Reception and feeling are definitely important. But it's clearly a mistake to think empathy is going to fix everything. The primacy of empathy negates taking responsibility for our own feelings and responses. Saying empathy is the be-all-end-all means we're not on the hook for problem solving and practical action. To some extent, we've made feeling bad an accomplishment, as long as you're feeling bad on behalf of other people. That's silly. It's a tool, but it's only one tool. 

Under the definition of empathy are these further search terms: 

Somehow, I feel like that strengthens my point. 

MLog Time! 

**SPOILERS**

THE INVITATION

2015

Directed by: Karyn Kusama

Written by: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi

Watched: 9/24/21

Will and his girlfriend Kira drive up to the Hollywood Hills for a dinner party at the house of Will’s ex-wife, Eden. Eden and her new husband, David, have been MIA for the past two years. Will and Eden split up after the sudden death of their son. We see in flashbacks that Will stopped Eden from slitting her wrists, as a result. The two are still in intense grief. Eden met and connected with David because David was also grieving. He had lost his wife in a traumatic way. Eden has gathered all their old friends for this dinner party. Will is on edge. He’s creeped out by things like how the house has bars on all the windows now, and how David has locked the doors and removed the key. Will feels unsafe. It turns out that Eden and David have joined a grief cult. They show a video from the founder of the cult, it contains footage of a young healthy-looking person peacefully dying. It’s creepy, but some of the friends try not to be judgmental. They want to support Eden and David in whatever’s working for them. Will is suspicious that one of their friends hasn’t shown up. He got a voicemail that the man, Choi, arrived early. Will thinks that Choi has been harmed. He accuses David and Eden, but then Choi does show up. He had been called back into work, hence his delayed arrival. Oh! Also, there’s two other creepy cult people in the house. Will sees David hang a red lantern in the backyard and finds barbiturates in Eden’s bedside table. They all eat an elaborate dinner. Afterwards they make a toast, Will hits the glasses of wine out of people’s hands. One of the cult guests attacks him, and in their struggle, she hits her head. The group tries to administer to her wounds, when they realize that Gina, who drank the wine, is dead. 

David and the cult members try to kill everyone. They believe that they’ll all be together in the afterlife. Eden is overwhelmed. She wanted them to all die together peacefully. She shoots herself in the stomach. Will, Kira, and one other friend end up fighting the cult members off – although all of their other friends have died. They realize that dogs are barking and police sirens are sounding. A ton of red lanterns are hanging throughout the Hollywood Hills. 

I feel like you can tell I liked this movie based on my lengthy plot summary. It was a slow burn. Definitely creepy. Beautifully lit. And so so Los Angeles. The makeup of the friend group, their clothes, their looks, their reactions, and their concerns fit LA to a T. They want to be open minded and supportive. They feel it’s imperative to be polite. They see pain as a thing to be irradiated. (I went to the Hollywood Bowl after seeing the movie and felt like I was surrounded by possible Invitation casts.) I felt this whole movie worked really well – and it was shot for a budget of $1 million. Crazy. Directed by the same person who did Jennifer’s Body. Someone to watch for sure. 

Rating: ★★★★

September 24, 2021

I sent my screenplay to the director yesterday and immediately slept for three hours. I had semi-waking dreams about RHLSTP and lyra. 

Going to take the day off from script writing and instead catch up on my Mlog/Blog. 

Blog time! 

**SPOILERS**

Scalzi, John – OLD MAN’S WAR

Published: 2005

Read: 9/2021

Americans on Earth are kept mostly in the dark about the universe, its numerous aliens, and the technology developed (read: stolen) by the Colonial Defense Forces. The only way to see the universe is to join up on your 75th birthday and spend two to ten years defending the colonies. Due to quarantining issues, people who have joined can never return to Earth. These old people join the military because the CDF can make them young again. They transfer your consciousness into a modified young clone of yourself. The battles are brutal and imperial. The main character, John Perry, finds himself naturally capable at being a soldier. He survives a particularly bad ambush, meets the Ghost Brigade, including his dead wife, and is promoted to Captain. 

I keep reading Scalzi because his concepts are interesting and his work is fast and accessible. I like it but I definitely don’t love it. After the recruits get their young new bodies, there’s a detailed sex scene that made me gag. Like Rocky Flintstone-level bad. There’s also a jocular humor throughout that I don’t connect with. The tone is a little too pleased with itself. No harm in reading Scalzi’s stuff, but I should remind myself that, although it takes limited investment, it also offers me limited reward. 

Rating: ★★★

Before I go on to the Mlog part. My neighbor who talks a lot came over the other day. He was saying how the definition of being clutch, in sports, is basically the ability to work as you always work under pressure. To be yourself, to bring your game, no matter the circumstances. I think there's a way to be like that in writing too. And I think I accomplished it with my screenplay. I don't know if it's ultimately going to be good enough to sell and be made into a movie, but I was able to bring to it all of my abilities. I was clutch in that sense. It also reminds me that my neighbor can have some insights some of the time. An infinite number of chimps typing on typewriters and all. :) 

MLog Time! 

**SPOILERS**

NASHVILLE

1975

Directed by: Robert Altman

Written by: Joan Tewkesbury 

Watched: 9/23/21

This film is largely about people making it, or trying to make it, in the music business in Nashville. There are a bunch of different characters and storylines. A man’s wife is in the hospital. His niece from California is staying with them, but she can’t be bothered to visit her aunt. (We also learn later that this couple lost a son in WWII.) On the same floor as them is a country music star who’s had mental breakdowns. Her manager/husband deals with her somewhat roughly and pushes her to get back out on stage. We learn that she’s been singing professionally since she was ten years old. There’s a rock trio made up of a husband and wife and another man. The wife is sleeping with the other man and is in love with him. That other man is sleeping with a lot more women including the soloist in a black Baptist choir, who’s married and has two deaf sons. He seems to love her. A woman who works at a diner wants to be a professional singer but she can’t carry a beat and is tone deaf. She’s very sexy though, so she manages to get gigs. A woman from the BBC is running around trying to interview people and make a documentary. A soldier is trying to see the sick singer as much as he can because his mother loved her music. A woman is running away from her husband, trying to make it as a singing star. A populist political candidate is running for election on a replacement ticket. His van drives around broadcasting recorded speeches via megaphone throughout the whole movie. The movie culminates with a rally for the political candidate. The sick singer gets shot onstage. The soldier who’s there to watch her steps in. As she’s carried off, one of the other famous singers (who’s been shot in the arm) insists that everybody keep singing. “This isn’t Dallas. This is Nashville.” The woman who’s been running from her husband takes the mic, and she’s actually really good. The black gospel choir backs her up and the crowd all sings along.  

The movie is long and all over the place. I was a bit fatigued after the first hour or so, but somewhere in the second half I was able to settle into it. A lot of the musical performances are actually very good, and I think that helped. It reminded me of seeing shows in Branson, Missouri on family vacations growing up. My dad especially has always loved lived country western music. The shooting came out of nowhere – except earlier one of the characters goes on and on about how much she loved JFK, and she describes her reaction to the assassination in detail – but the response to the shooting was perfectly set up. A lot of it reminded me of being in Hollywood. People are desperate to make it. Talent. No talent. Delusion. Exploitation. Adulation. Transcendence. 

Rating: ★★★1/2 

September 23, 2021

It's been almost 20 days since I posted last. I rewrote my screenplay for that director in the meantime. I hope it's good enough. I can't tell if it is. The characterization to me still feels weak. But I did the best I could on it. I wrote 96 pages in 16 days. I've written 19 of the past 23 days. If diligence can make a good screenplay, I will eventually have a good screenplay. 

I wonder if a step away for a little bit would help. I don't want to lose any momentum, though. 

It's smokey outside today. Wildfires in Northern and Central California. It makes it cooler here, though. Helps block out the sun. 

I signed up for another SMC course. This one is Film 31: Intro to Digital Filmmaking. I took the first class of it years ago... 2016? With the same professor. I dropped the class. Oddly, considering that, it's been hitting the spot this time around. I feel like I'm picking up what the professor is laying down. 

Here's an example: we were learning how to set up the tripod for the cameras. The tripod is probably the simplest piece of equipment, right? Not very exciting. My professor interrupted the equipment guy at one point. He put one of the groups on blast, saying they were barely touching the tripod they were setting up, keeping it at arm's distance. He showed them how he wanted them to interact with the tripod, said that he wanted to see some desire. He's Italian, I'm not sure "desire" is the word a native English speaker might have used, but I felt it was the right one. 

It reminded me of playing basketball in high school under Coach O'Connor. She stressed that your integrity was in the way you approached the small things, the details. Take every part of the game seriously. Bring your best no matter if it's a drill or a championship game. I agree. I agree. What other way is there? 

For one of our Film 31 assignments, we had to tell one story in nine pictures. I wanted to use my idea about the messages left on the sidewalk. 

My husband was my subject and my neighbor volunteered to be my assistant. (He held the bounce.) I was pleased with how it turned out, but I think some changes could have made it better. Finding a spot not next to that Range Rover, for example. Shooting more closeups. Getting my neighbor to angle the light more directly on the subject's face. 

I probably should have re-shot it, given those considerations. But I didn't want to use any more of my husband or neighbor's time. The assignment got a good grade, and it was a hit when I put it on Instagram. But I think if I want to be great at this stuff, I probably need to be fastidious. Do as well as I possibly can, now, so that if I ever get the chance to do something more, I'm able to nail it.