December 3, 2004
11:36am Friday

I DON'T KNOW WHY I INSTIGATE AND SAY WHAT I DON'T MEAN

Okay, I gotta know: is this just an LA thing or does stuff like this appear in newspapers all over the country?

The elder scientists of the forties and fifties are rolling around in their graves right now, going "Botulism parties? Are you fucking kidding me?"

On the flipside, who doesn't need some vaginal rejuvenation?

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The big news of the day is that I'm seriously considering buying a Magic Bullet. Picture me insomnia-riddled, laying in my bed late at night flipping through channels, landing on the Magic Bullet infomercial and becoming transfixed. They're AWESOME. So in today's Robinsons-May flyer they've got them on sale for $59 bucks, plus another 20% off. Since I've got no work now (aside from the screenplay which I'll talk about in a moment) I might as well go shopping, yes? And what better to buy than an awesome Magic Bullet that can make me peanut butter, salsa, spaghetti sauce, smoothies, milkshakes, etc. etc. etc.?!

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Gonna buy a new video camera. Yes, that's me: buy, buy, buy. It's the new HD prosumer Sony. And while it doesn't do 24p to give me the film look I'm after, it will shoot in 1080i (HD) and can be knocked down to something resembling 24p in post. The problem? It's $3600, and you can't cut its footage in Final Cut Pro yet. So options are to wait 2 months for Apple to make a patch available, to buy a $200 piece of software in the interim that'll edit the footage, or spend $350 an hour at a local post house where they'll convert the footage into something FCP can see. None of these make me terribly happy, but this camera really does kick ass. All of this depends on whether or not my existing camera sells, which is what I'm trying to do right now. So far no bites.

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Okay, the screenplay. Got hired to write something. Can't really talk about it because I signed an NDA. But what I can say is this: the action takes place in one room. And the other parameters are specific, in that there are only two characters and they have to stick to a specific story (I don't get to invent the story - I just write the script). Do you know how hard it's going to be for me to craft something interesting that can sustain 85 minutes under these guidelines? I've already scoured the kitchen sink 6 times trying to avoid it. But here's what I'm doing in preparation: I'm watching one-roomed movies. So if any of you (Kymm?) can recommend any, please do. What I've seen so far: Tape, Four Rooms, Rear Window, Rope, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?. Even movies that have a majority of the action in one room would be worthwhile. Take it from me, this is going to be HARD.

Then again, having a feature I've written actually shot is worth any kind of hell and pain I'll go through. I'd best get started.