May 6, 2004
11:31am Thursday

AND NO REGIME CAN BUY OR SELL ME

Haven't had a net connection all week. Because the cable company came to do work? They deny, say downtime caused by "water on the wire". Bah.

What does one do in 2004 with no net connection for a week? I found out: panic and despair. No idea what to do with myself. I painted, I actually wrote. It nearly changed my life. Now, back to routine.

Saw "Mean Girls" last night. Liked it, but wanted more funny stuff, even though what was funny was really funny, i.e. the Danny DeVito line in the girls' bathroom. I find lately with movies I either want to be moved to tears or on the floor laughing. Too much to ask? I find it's harder and harder to honestly laugh at movies these days. Perhaps the Dave Chappelle Show has ruined me.

Reading "The House of Sand and Fog". I'm behind, yes. It's really getting inside my head, though, and I'm waiting to see the movie until I'm finished, and I'm even purposefully not looking at the imdb cast list to see who plays the minor characters so I can create them for myself in my head. Can't get away from seeing Ben Kingsley, though. I totally love books that switch points of view, probably due to reading Bret Easton Ellis during formative years.

I'm working on a kid's movie that was shot in France, then re-shot in San Diego, and might go straight to video. Why spend so much money for such a dismal fate? I don't get it, I don't understand Hollywood studio business thinking. Just read that Troy cost $250 million to make, but at least Brad Pitt stopped smoking out of it. And Van Helsing cost $150 million. Why? Ugh. And my Nicholl-placing script, the DeNiro movie "Godsend," only opened with $6 million this past weekend. I'm being sarcastic - it's not my movie, but it IS my movie in that it's identical to the one I wrote and placed with. So, oh well, it wouldn't have done so well anyway.

My last short was just accepted by iFilm, and they waived the fee, so I guess that means they like it and think people will watch it. Good.

Good.