This is very late, i kept meaning to post it and not getting round to it. Oh well, here it is anyway.
Paper Binge is billed as an evening of “yummy films to inspire and delight,” and it certainly did that and more. The evening started with a beautiful set from the devastatingly attractive and talented boys from “The Morning Orchestra,” setting exactly the right tone of relaxed, sunny happiness before the films began. To see for yourself, catch them at Fletch at St. Andrews at 1pm on 24 May.
The films themselves, a collection of animations almost all under 10 minutes long, were very diverse, switching between the comic, the tragic, and the downright ridiculous. Stand-out films for me included “My First Crush” by Julia Potts, a beautiful line drawing and collage animation, taking recordings of real people talking about their first crush and animating them into birds, polar bears and dogs. The absolutely hilarious “KJFG No5” by Alexei Alexeev, starring a band made up of a bear playing a tree, a bunny drumming on a stump and a wolf wailing, who have to hide from a hunter, was so simple, and very short, but had the whole audience in tears. Also present was the Oscar winning animated short “La Maison en Petit Cubes,” a tragic tale in pastel and water-colour of an old man surviving a flood by building house on top of house, who scuba-dives down into his past through the rooms he’s been forced to leave.
Separating the two halves of the show was a question and answer session with two of the directors, both of whom work for Passion Pictures, animators made famous worldwide for their work with “Gorillaz” and the amazing “Sony Bravia” adverts. Their pick for favourite film of the evening was “Revenge is Cold,” the absurd but charming story of a professional bird assassin, who happens to be a cactus named Antus, and his run in with Woody Burns, the matchbox who dreams of turning into Steven Bernard, a lighter. Antus leads Woody to the North Pole and leaves him there with nothing to burn while he goes off to see his internet girlfriend, an igloo. Woody gets his revenge by melting the igloo and turning into a Zippo, the king of lighters. If it sounds strange, just wait till you see it. It was written by a 12 year old during a workshop with underprivileged children in the Camden area, and then animated without changing the script or story in any way, and the result is something you have honestly never seen before.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Postsecrets through History
Wow, it's been a really long time since i posted anything. I tried to post something from Bahrain while i was there last week, but the blog came up in arabic and i couldn't figure it out, so i had to postpone.
Anyway, something silly to waste a bit of your time and hopefully make you smile. This is what would have happened had Postsecret been around during some of history's most important events.
The British are coming, quite possibly one of the funniest things i've seen in a long time.
I'm writing a story at the moment, and i have a couple of old film reviews i'm gonna put up, as well as some i need to write this week, so i'll hopefully get back to posting fairly regularly.
Anyway, something silly to waste a bit of your time and hopefully make you smile. This is what would have happened had Postsecret been around during some of history's most important events.
The British are coming, quite possibly one of the funniest things i've seen in a long time.
I'm writing a story at the moment, and i have a couple of old film reviews i'm gonna put up, as well as some i need to write this week, so i'll hopefully get back to posting fairly regularly.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
After it got bad and before it got worse
My last essay was handed in 2 weeks ago. My only exam is in 2 and a half weeks. I have nothing to do in the meantime. While this may sound lovely and relaxing to some people, i'm a creature who thrives on stress, is happiest when she's slightly overwhelmed. I'm so bored.
On tuesday, after spending the day laying on the grass reading McSweeney's Thrilling Tales, a book of genre short stories, sci-fi, adventure, horror, all in 1940s Dan Dare style, i went to the pub for a pint with my friend Tom and bitched about how bored i was (i know, it'a a hard life!). I mentioned that i was thinking of going to write club that evening, but hadn't written in ages, and Tom told me to write a story in the hour i had before write club started. I asked him what it should be about and he said something along the lines of "make it about animals whio escape from the zoo and then infect the human race so that they all die."
I took on the challenge, but twisted it a bit, and here's what i got. I'm acutally pretty proud of it, considering it took less than an hour.
After it got bad and before it got worse
Two days after they escaped it started turning up on the news. Joe and I were in bed reading the paper and he pointed it out; two more dead in London, on top of the seven yesterday. They didn’t say what it was, but warnings had been issued telling everyone to keep their pets indoors, just to be safe. We had no pets. I stole a sip of Joe’s coffee and whispered into his ear that my feet were cold, and we stopped reading the paper.
The day we went to the beach the death toll reached one thousand. The initial opinion that the deaths were caused by the uncommon heat had long since gone up in smoke. We knew it had something to do with the animals, but we didn’t know what. The sun was warm on my skin and the water was cool. The animals were in the city and we were safe and young and in love.
His father died, my brother died, best friends, cousins, nieces, but we survived. We joked that it was our love that kept us strong, the strength of it keeping us immune. I wasn’t entirely joking when I said it, and neither was Joe. What else could it be? 70% of the city was gone, the deaths were spreading across the continent, and almost everyone we knew was infected and killed either by the virus or by the extermination crews which roamed the streets. There was an armed blockade every mile dispensing food to the dwindling survivors. Their presence was an unnecessary comfort; we had all the protection we needed as long as we stayed together, our love a barrier against disease, a preventer of death. We would marry in the spring.
We no longer listened to the news bulletins, the lists of the dead and the dying didn’t concern us, they weren’t ours. We transitioned quickly and painlessly into life in this new abandoned world. Still went for long walks, though only during daylight, still went to the beach, but stayed out of the water for fear of the fish. If we saw an animal we’d shoot to kill and continue with our day. The sight of Joe with a gun in his hand, barrel still smoking, knowing he’d just saved our lives and our love was the most profound aphrodisiac I’ve ever known. The baby was due in the summer. With no hospitals, no doctors or nurses, and no drugs, I must admit I wasn’t entirely looking forward to the process, but I know Joe will see mw through. We’ll call her Alice and she’ll live in our wonderland.
I noticed the bite while we were in bed. Two semi-circles of red pin pricks encircling his perfect ankle. He didn’t tell me how he had got them, and I didn’t ask. My pregnancy was more difficult than we had expected and I stayed in bed most of the time. Joe looked after me as he always had, going to the nearest blockade for food parcels and information. After I noticed the mark Joe stayed with me in bed. In order to get food you had to undergo a full body exam to make sure you weren’t infected. If there was any suspicion, you were handed to the extermination crews. Better safe than sorry. The food ran out faster than we thought it would. Tap water hadn’t been safe for months.
Joe now spent as much time in bed as I did, a fact which bothered neither of us as much as it should have. We were still young and in love, and our love was still as strong as the locks on our door. The baby stopped kicking. We were both too tired to move. Curled together in bed, dirty pillows and crumpled sheets, swathed in each other’s stale sweat, shifting in and out of consciousness. We survived in our love when the world died. We would die, still in love, leaving the world together.
People who don’t understand, people who never felt a love like ours, might say we were foolish. They might suggest going to find food, going to the blockade for medical aid, splitting up to search for help. They might tell me I was weak for giving up, for allowing myself and my baby to die because I didn’t want to leave his side. What they’ll never understand is that doing that would defeat the point. Staying together had kept us alive this long, we had lost everything but each other and our love, and neither of us wanted that to end.
Joe died this morning. The starvation, the infection and the loss of little Alice proved too much for his strong, beautiful body to take. I took my pills an hour ago. The soldiers give them out with the food parcels and we had a stockpile of them. After it got bad but before it got worse we used to quote Tom Leher and contemplate poisoning some pigeons, if they hadn’t all been wiped out already. The real reason we kept them remained unsaid, though we both knew. How could either of us hope to survive in this empty world full of animals if our love, our safety net, our soul had left? I took them with a glass of wine and climbed in to bed next to him, together as only we could be, at the end of our lives, at the end of the world.
Opinions are, as always, greatly appreciated. I can tell what my obviuos influences for this story are, but i'm not going to say them, because i want to see if other people pick up on them. Tell me what you think.
On tuesday, after spending the day laying on the grass reading McSweeney's Thrilling Tales, a book of genre short stories, sci-fi, adventure, horror, all in 1940s Dan Dare style, i went to the pub for a pint with my friend Tom and bitched about how bored i was (i know, it'a a hard life!). I mentioned that i was thinking of going to write club that evening, but hadn't written in ages, and Tom told me to write a story in the hour i had before write club started. I asked him what it should be about and he said something along the lines of "make it about animals whio escape from the zoo and then infect the human race so that they all die."
I took on the challenge, but twisted it a bit, and here's what i got. I'm acutally pretty proud of it, considering it took less than an hour.
After it got bad and before it got worse
Two days after they escaped it started turning up on the news. Joe and I were in bed reading the paper and he pointed it out; two more dead in London, on top of the seven yesterday. They didn’t say what it was, but warnings had been issued telling everyone to keep their pets indoors, just to be safe. We had no pets. I stole a sip of Joe’s coffee and whispered into his ear that my feet were cold, and we stopped reading the paper.
The day we went to the beach the death toll reached one thousand. The initial opinion that the deaths were caused by the uncommon heat had long since gone up in smoke. We knew it had something to do with the animals, but we didn’t know what. The sun was warm on my skin and the water was cool. The animals were in the city and we were safe and young and in love.
His father died, my brother died, best friends, cousins, nieces, but we survived. We joked that it was our love that kept us strong, the strength of it keeping us immune. I wasn’t entirely joking when I said it, and neither was Joe. What else could it be? 70% of the city was gone, the deaths were spreading across the continent, and almost everyone we knew was infected and killed either by the virus or by the extermination crews which roamed the streets. There was an armed blockade every mile dispensing food to the dwindling survivors. Their presence was an unnecessary comfort; we had all the protection we needed as long as we stayed together, our love a barrier against disease, a preventer of death. We would marry in the spring.
We no longer listened to the news bulletins, the lists of the dead and the dying didn’t concern us, they weren’t ours. We transitioned quickly and painlessly into life in this new abandoned world. Still went for long walks, though only during daylight, still went to the beach, but stayed out of the water for fear of the fish. If we saw an animal we’d shoot to kill and continue with our day. The sight of Joe with a gun in his hand, barrel still smoking, knowing he’d just saved our lives and our love was the most profound aphrodisiac I’ve ever known. The baby was due in the summer. With no hospitals, no doctors or nurses, and no drugs, I must admit I wasn’t entirely looking forward to the process, but I know Joe will see mw through. We’ll call her Alice and she’ll live in our wonderland.
I noticed the bite while we were in bed. Two semi-circles of red pin pricks encircling his perfect ankle. He didn’t tell me how he had got them, and I didn’t ask. My pregnancy was more difficult than we had expected and I stayed in bed most of the time. Joe looked after me as he always had, going to the nearest blockade for food parcels and information. After I noticed the mark Joe stayed with me in bed. In order to get food you had to undergo a full body exam to make sure you weren’t infected. If there was any suspicion, you were handed to the extermination crews. Better safe than sorry. The food ran out faster than we thought it would. Tap water hadn’t been safe for months.
Joe now spent as much time in bed as I did, a fact which bothered neither of us as much as it should have. We were still young and in love, and our love was still as strong as the locks on our door. The baby stopped kicking. We were both too tired to move. Curled together in bed, dirty pillows and crumpled sheets, swathed in each other’s stale sweat, shifting in and out of consciousness. We survived in our love when the world died. We would die, still in love, leaving the world together.
People who don’t understand, people who never felt a love like ours, might say we were foolish. They might suggest going to find food, going to the blockade for medical aid, splitting up to search for help. They might tell me I was weak for giving up, for allowing myself and my baby to die because I didn’t want to leave his side. What they’ll never understand is that doing that would defeat the point. Staying together had kept us alive this long, we had lost everything but each other and our love, and neither of us wanted that to end.
Joe died this morning. The starvation, the infection and the loss of little Alice proved too much for his strong, beautiful body to take. I took my pills an hour ago. The soldiers give them out with the food parcels and we had a stockpile of them. After it got bad but before it got worse we used to quote Tom Leher and contemplate poisoning some pigeons, if they hadn’t all been wiped out already. The real reason we kept them remained unsaid, though we both knew. How could either of us hope to survive in this empty world full of animals if our love, our safety net, our soul had left? I took them with a glass of wine and climbed in to bed next to him, together as only we could be, at the end of our lives, at the end of the world.
Opinions are, as always, greatly appreciated. I can tell what my obviuos influences for this story are, but i'm not going to say them, because i want to see if other people pick up on them. Tell me what you think.
Saturday, 23 May 2009
spontaneous happy
This is my favourite advert of the past year
And then today i saw this, which made me very happy too. I wish i was there when they were being filmed, that would be so cool.
I hope those brightened your day.
And then today i saw this, which made me very happy too. I wish i was there when they were being filmed, that would be so cool.
I hope those brightened your day.
Friday, 22 May 2009
First review is in!
Othello got a review in The Argus, the Brighton and Hove paper! We didn't even know they'd come until Brian, one of the venue managers found us as the whole cast were having dinner with me, Mum and Simon, and handed us the paper. I read it out and then started to cry!
"If you are looking for a wonderfully exciting slice of Shakespeare with an imaginative twist, look no further.
SUDS Theatre Company offer a contemporary take on one of Shakespeare's most presently relevant plays with this fast paced production. The subjects of racism, love, jealousy and betrayal are delicately approached and with the airy church as its venue, the piece contrasts innocence and villainy in a clever and creative way.
A tremendously talented cast include a flawless depiction of the ill-famed Iago and a heartwarming portrayal of Desdemona, making the performance a tasty treat for any thespian. A winning and exciting production."
4 Stars.
Makes it all worthwhile, i guess i can stop worrying now and finally breathe!
"If you are looking for a wonderfully exciting slice of Shakespeare with an imaginative twist, look no further.
SUDS Theatre Company offer a contemporary take on one of Shakespeare's most presently relevant plays with this fast paced production. The subjects of racism, love, jealousy and betrayal are delicately approached and with the airy church as its venue, the piece contrasts innocence and villainy in a clever and creative way.
A tremendously talented cast include a flawless depiction of the ill-famed Iago and a heartwarming portrayal of Desdemona, making the performance a tasty treat for any thespian. A winning and exciting production."
4 Stars.
Makes it all worthwhile, i guess i can stop worrying now and finally breathe!
Thursday, 21 May 2009
The reason...
If ever another reason was needed to love Joey Comeau, his little bit of writing under todays "A Softer World" would be it.
"When summer starts, there are suddenly an awful lot of very pretty people dressed in summer clothes, which are sexy in a different way from winter clothes. And I find myself swinging wildly back and forth between thinking, "Calm down, Joey. These are real people, who should be treated with respect. I wonder what she thinks of that book she's reading?" and half a second later thinking, "I want to spend the rest of my life just kissing that one spot on her neck oh god oh god."
He is too adorable.
"When summer starts, there are suddenly an awful lot of very pretty people dressed in summer clothes, which are sexy in a different way from winter clothes. And I find myself swinging wildly back and forth between thinking, "Calm down, Joey. These are real people, who should be treated with respect. I wonder what she thinks of that book she's reading?" and half a second later thinking, "I want to spend the rest of my life just kissing that one spot on her neck oh god oh god."
He is too adorable.
Monday, 18 May 2009
Backstage with Bob Dylan
Simon just sent this to me, and i had to put it on here so Dad could see it. Possibly it's because i've been awake for about 35 hours and am having the most stressful day of my life and am just a little bit punchy because of that, but it made me laugh a lot!
Also, i'm beginning to think that my love for Tom Waits is bordering on the obscene, but damn, i might have to watch Down By Law again.
What a dude!
Also, i'm beginning to think that my love for Tom Waits is bordering on the obscene, but damn, i might have to watch Down By Law again.
What a dude!
Thursday, 14 May 2009
this is where the wild things are
Those lovely gents at men.style.com, a website i check almost obsessively, today gave me a real treat in the form of a link to Spike Jonze's blog for the making of "Where The Wild Things Are." And just because i'm a very good person, i'm going to share it with you. Enjoy http://weloveyouso.com/blog/ and think of me.
I've been looking forward to this film for actual years, since rumours first started spreading that Jonze was teaming up with Dave Eggers (literary love of my life) to adapt the Maurice Sendak story.
I've watched the trailer about a million times, and it looks like a hug of a movie. I can't wait to see it, but i'll have to, so hopefully this blog shall tide me over until October.
I've been looking forward to this film for actual years, since rumours first started spreading that Jonze was teaming up with Dave Eggers (literary love of my life) to adapt the Maurice Sendak story.
I've watched the trailer about a million times, and it looks like a hug of a movie. I can't wait to see it, but i'll have to, so hopefully this blog shall tide me over until October.
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Oh you sneaky disney people, tricking us innocent kiddywinks
Simon just sent me this link, because i said i wanted more magic in my films (as in films i watch as much as films i make). This doesn't exactly enhance the magic of these films, but the editing makes this one magical in itself.
Interesting, non? I wonder how they noticed, i never would have unless it had been shown to me.
Interesting, non? I wonder how they noticed, i never would have unless it had been shown to me.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Othello At The Brighton Fringe
Set in the claustrophobic world of modern politics, this contemporary take on Shakespeare’s classic play explores the invasion of privacy, and the devastating effect it can have on people’s lives.
By submersing itself in modern celebrity and paparazzi culture, this production of Othello proves Shakespeare’s relevance to the modern world once and for all.
Othello is Shakespeare’s classic example of the destructive power of jealousy and mistrust. Innocence is corrupted and trust is eroded as every relationship is drawn into a tangled web of jealousies. By exploring the idea that “tearing down privacy lets in chaos and lets out love,” this production looks at Othello in a new, contemporary, cultural light.
Sussex University’s acclaimed drama society is proud to present its third production at the Brighton Fringe festival, after many years of successful productions at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Dates & times: 18-22 May - 6pm
Venue: Brighton Unitarian Church
Price: £6/£5 conc.
Tickets can be bought online at:
http://www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk/ticketing/webextra.aspx?ev=907
This is my big directorial debut, and it's shaping up to be a pretty awesome show. I've been working on it since November, and it's taken over most of my life, but hopefully it will all be worth it. Now i just need people to come. We were in The Independent this Saturday, which is amazing, and will hopefully boost our audience numbers, but i still want more!
Please buy tickets, and wish me ridiculous amounts of luck.
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