Tuesday, November 24, 2009

10 Items or Less!

Some of you know that Morgan Freeman is in Vancity filming - he's been spotted cruising around town... Well if you run into him - tell him, from me that I LOVED him in this little Indie Film!

10 Items or Less written and directed by Brad Silberling (who also directed City of Angels) is a short sweet film that feels like a documentary... The dialogue between the two characters Morgan Freeman & Paz Vega (from Spanglish fame) is so real and the plot - A day in the life of a Film Star who gets trapped by a Production Assistant in East LA while researching a film role is just endearing - Two thumbs up ;P

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Bridges of Madison County - 1995

This film was on today while I worked on my first draft of Treading Water about a small town girl who leaves her ordinary world and boards a cruise ship... There is a scene in this film that strikes a chord with me, because I've had this conversation before. Here's an example of great writing:
CUT BACK TO:
1965   INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Francesca sips her brandy. Robert sits in the easy chair.         
FRANCESCA 
Do you mind if I... ask you why you got divorced?        
ROBERT    
Not at all. I wasn't around much... So why did I get married? Well, I thought it was a good idea at the time. Have a home base. Roots. You can get lost moving around so much.         
FRANCESCA    
So what happened?         
ROBERT    
I never got lost. For some reason, I'm more at home everywhere than at one place. So I decided I'll think of myself as some kind of world citizen. I belong everywhere and nowhere. I'm kin to everyone, and no one in particular. See, once you get into the habit of not needing anyone, it's kind of hard to break.         
FRANCESCA    
You must get lonely at times.         
ROBERT    
Never touch the stuff. I've got friends all over the world. Good friends I can see when I want, if I want.         
FRANCESCA    
Woman friends, too?         
ROBERT    
I'm a loner, I'm not a monk. 
Francesca averts her eyes, before continuing her investigation.         
FRANCESCA
You really don't need anyone?         
ROBERT    
No, I think I need everyone! I love people. I want to meet them all! I just think there are too many out there saying "This is mine." or "She's mine." Too many lines have been drawn. World's breaking apart because of man's weakness for some testosterone conquests over territory and power and people. He wants control over what deep down he knows he has no control over whatsoever and it scares him silly.         
FRANCESCA    
Why doesn't it scare you?         
ROBERT    
I embrace Mystery. I don't know what's coming. And I don't mind.        
FRANCESCA
    Do you ever regret it? The divorce, I mean.           
ROBERT
No.           
FRANCESCA    
Do you ever regret not having a family?         
ROBERT    
Not everybody's supposed to have a family.         
FRANCESCA    
But -- how can you just live for what you want? What about other people?         
ROBERT    
I told you, I love other people.         
FRANCESCA    
But no one in particular.         
ROBERT    
No. But I love them just the same.         
FRANCESCA    
But it's not the same.         
ROBERT    
That's not what you're saying. I know it's not the same. What you're saying is, it's not as good. Or it's not as normal or proper.         
FRANCESCA    
No, I'm just saying --         
ROBERT (interrupting) 
I'm a little sick of this American Family Ethic everyone seems to be hypnotized by in this country. I guess you think I'm just some poor displaced soul doomed to roam the earth without a self-cleaning oven and home movie.         
FRANCESCA (irritated) 
Just because someone chooses to settle down and have a family doesn't necessarily mean they're hypnotized. Just because I've never seen a gazelle stampede doesn't mean I'm asleep in the world.
ROBERT  
Do you want to leave your husband? Francesca is completely stunned and thrown off guard.         
FRANCESCA    
No. Of course not. 
(rising, upset) 
Beat. 
Awkward silence. 
Suddenly there is tension between them.         
ROBERT    
My mistake. I apologize.         
FRANCESCA    
What made you ask such a question?         
ROBERT    
I thought that's what we were doing -- asking questions.      
FRANCESCA (defensive) 
I thought we were just having a conversation. You seem to be reading all this meaning into it. Meanings I must be too simple to, uh... interpret or something.         
ROBERT    
I already apologized. 
Silence. 
Robert remains seated. 
Francesca remains at the sink. 
(cont'd) 
It's getting late. 
(rises) 
Thank you for dinner. 
If you recall... later in the film Francesca calls Robert on his bullshit... because it's all a lie - no one wants to be alone, I agree. P.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ode to my Hairy Monster... Express Yourself!

Are you Carrots, Eggs or Coffee?

Yet another reason to enjoy a cup of Joe!

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it, she was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without say ing a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE ;P
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