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Well, it does for me, at least, although I’m sure plenty of fans and 53
sweaty guys on the losing side’ll be pretty disappointed. Nevertheless,
whatever happens between the Colts and Saints on Sunday, my week couldn’t
have gone much better.
First, the dinner party we threw for some local theater folks on Tuesday
night went great. Four solid voices, four folks well-versed with the tricks
of the acting trade, will be providing the narrative skills for Head Trauma,
the audio book I’ve been working on with fellow author Frank Wales
for…well, quite a while now. Not only was dinner great, the company was
great, and I’m very much looking forward to the upcoming recording sessions.
Head Trauma will include several stories from my first horror anthology,
Stuff Out’a My Head (still a few copies of the first printing left, hit the
store to snag one, complete with illos by Bernie Wrightson). I’m leaning
towards Brutal, Chance Meeting, The Monthly and p0rn-which may be retitled
Skin Flick to match the screenplay I wrote based on the short story, which
is currently sitting on a producer’s desk in New York.
So, dinner early in the week goes great. Wednesday, I buckled down and
finally got through the revisions on a freelance gig I’d hoped to turn in on
Monday, when things started getting hectic around here with paperwork and
deal-making in progress. Still, late Wednesday, I finally wrapped that puppy
up, and got it in to my editor. Two days early. Never a bad thing.
Wednesday also served to supply me with the final go-ahead I needed for what
came Thursday night, my radio interview with the guys who host THWIPT, a
weekly broadcast covering comics, comic creators, movies, new releases, etc.
(Check ‘em out at: http://www.inthefaceradio.com, 9 p.m. central, every
Thursday night).
The interview was a blast. First question right out of the gate was a
surprising one, and some of the other ones along the way came out of
nowhere, but over an hour and fifteen minutes flashed by like nothing.
Of course, Thursday night was also when my much-hyped announcement could
finally be made. After getting the thumbs-up from the production company
earlier in the week, I could finally let the cat out of the bag. Visions of
Sarah, my ghost story script, has been picked up, and will be going into
production later this year. I can’t say everything about it that I want, and
the official announcement and PR will probably be forthcoming from
Sometimes, Dead is Better Films next week, but the budget for the film is in
the low millions, and my payday alone for the option, screenplay and rights
is in the mid five figures. Easily, the biggest single payday for a writing
job in my career (and hopefully the first of a whole lot more!). These guys
are serious, and they’ve already been working with a casting agent, scouted
facilities in NY and CT, and put my script in the hands of a number of well-
established Hollywood types, including key staffers from films like M. Night
Shyamalan’s SIGNS and The Sixth Sense and One Hour Photo, The Woodsman, etc.
The response to the script has been fantastic, and the producers have
already contacted one actress with an academy award on her resume, and are
looking to secure other A-list talent for the film.
A multimillion dollar budget? Not one, but possibly two Oscar winners in the
cast? Yeah, as you can imagine, I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to
post about the deal, and now I can. Even more announcements are coming, as
the studio lines up the key players, both in front of and behind the
cameras. Oh, and did I mention theatrical release? Oh, yeah, there’s that.
The company is firmly set on a theatrical release.
Far and away, best week of 2010 by a considerable margin. I’ve been working
damned hard on getting my screenplays seen, ever since going through the
hassles and drama regarding The Bunker last year around this time. I made
the decision then that I needed to seriously start reaching higher, and
ditching the bottom-feeders plaguing my low-budget efforts. Now, it’s paying
off. I’ve got a real deal for real money in place, and people with
connections are seeing my work. More importantly, they’re being impressed by
it. Not people who I’ve established relationships with or who I’ve known
professionally from one project or another, but people on the inside in the
moviemaking industry who don’t know me from a hole in the wall, who have
actually said, concerning Visions: “We should take this to Scott Rudin.”
And, “The script is very compelling-any studio would be interested in this
project.”
So now, the waiting begins again. Waiting for agents to middleman the script
and actors and actresses to read it. Waiting for scheduling to be roughed
out, then finalized. Waiting for crew to be hired. Waiting for locations to
be reserved. Waiting to see how much more I’ll be involved with the film
from this point forward. I already have an alternate ending scene to turn
in, and I’ll be working on that later on during the week. Then it’s being
patient, which I’m not exactly good at, while the producers do their thing.
On Monday, I’ll be on the phone, getting the next update.
Who knows how good next week might be, huh?
* * * * * * * * * *
Follow me on Twitter. I may not follow you back, but still, occasionally I
say something amusing, you might enjoy it:
http://www.twitter.com/JosephMonks
And of course, film-related updates will be comin’ regularly through Sight
Unseen Pictures, the company through which I do my film work. Following is
as easy as clicking:
http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: Dead Enough For Life by Icon of Coil
Been talking about it for a week now, and tonight’s the night. I’ll be on
with the guys from Heroplex Comics in Texas on the THWIPT radio show (10
p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central, 7 West coast), talking about my career in
comics, (yep, even way back to the Cry for Dawn days); discussing what it
was like working with industry legend Bernie Wrightson on my first horror
anthology and the Gardens of the Dead portfolio project; going blind,
returning to comics (and finally getting a great review out of Tony
Isabella!), and becoming the world’s first-and only-blind feature film
director. I know, that’s a whole lot of stuff, but I’ll be on for about 90
minutes, which is plenty of time to cover that, and to make a pretty big
announcement concerning one of my film properties. The official announcement
will be made sometime next week, but the THWIPT guys’ll be breaking that
news live tonight.
You can tune in to the program by visiting:
http://www.inthefaceradio.com
and clicking LISTEN. If you have any trouble hearing the broadcast, simply
refresh your browser and hit LISTEN again. It works, trust me.
As for contacting the show to ask questions or comment, you can get in touch
by doing one of the following:
To text in:
214-205-4724
to get in via twitter, send a direct message to:
@heroplex
to email, send to the following address:
heroplex@gmail.com
Let the guys know who you are and where you come from, I’m sure they’ll give
you a shout out during the program. And, it’s the internet. You know what
that means…uncensored!
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: If You Were Here by the Thompson Twins
And, it’ll be happening exclusively on the Thwipt radio show (all you comic
book geeks should have fun with that one), put on by the guys from Heroplex
Comics, out in Texas. Show begins at 9:00 p.m. TX time (10:00 p.m. East
coast time & 7:00 p.m. out on the West coast).
So, how can you check Thwipt out? Tune in? Call in to ask questions? Simple.
Visit the site at:
http://www.inthefaceradio.com
and click on listen. If you get the show intro and lose the feed, simply
reload the page and click listen again, you should be fine. I’m told you can
call in, text, or e-mail, so check the site for those details. I’ll also be
tweeting about the program at:
http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks
so check in there as well in the event of any last minute changes. We’re
gonna be talking my career in comics, writing, horror, going blind, and
filmmaking. Not to mention anything else that gets thrown my way by
callers/texters/e-mailers wanting to talk. I’m really looking forward to
being able to make the announcement, which I’ve been waiting to do for a
long, *long* time. Better part of a year, now that the calendar’s struck Feb
again.
Anyway, should make for a good time. Tune in, give the program a shout or
contact us via the ‘net. Program runs two hours, I’m told, so plenty of time
to get in touch.
Plus, it’s the internet-that means uncensored. Who knows what’s likely to
happen given those parameters?
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: Hardly Wait by Juliette Lewis
(apologies to Donna Summer)
Lots happening. Seems there’s one slow day, and then Whammo!-fifty things at
once. Since it’s already late, I’ll just throw down the update and then get
back to work, because there’s no shortage of work that needs to be done
around here.
My pal Andrew Mangum (Frazetta Comics and a whole bunch more), hooked me up
with the guys from In the Face radio, which you can listen to here:
www.inthefaceradio.com
Looks like next Thursday night (I believe that’s Feb. 4th), I’ll be on in
the evening, talking comics, horror, my first film, The Bunker, and possibly
making a special announcement. I’m waiting to get the okay on that from the
people involved, but fingers crossed, next Thursday I’ll be able to open my
trap about some pretty exciting new stuff. As for Andrew, if you’re in
Dallas this coming weekend, make it a point to head on over to the Dallas
Comic Con. You can find the pertinent details at their official site:
http://www.scifiexpo.com/DCC/dcc-guests.html
Go by his table, bust his balls a little, maybe ask him to draw you a sketch
featuring a gay Wolverine hitting on Professor X, and then let him know I
sent you over. I’m sure by the third or fourth request, he’ll be turning to
his wife, Danita and going, “What the fuck is up with all the
Wolverine-frenching-Professor-X shit?!” Trust me-it’ll make for a good
laugh…
In other news, I’m about 75% of the way through my new short story,
tentatively entitled CHASERS. I’m going to try and finish that up by next
week, run it by fellow author Frank Wales as a potential tale for our
upcoming audio book. Next Tuesday night I’m meeting with some seasoned stage
actors who are interested in narrating the stories, so hopefully we’ll see
what’s what around a tableful of food, as Pam is prepping to go to war in
the kitchen. My wife cooks like you wouldn’t believe, we don’t have people
over enough to take advantage of it, so she’s gonna be whipping up enough
stuff, I’m sure, to feed an army. Could be a late night indeed if there’s a
dessert planned…
Added to that, got a new freelance I’m working on, and the final act of the
sequel to my Everglades slasher flick to pound out. And, somewhere in the
middle of all *that,* I’m carving out some research time concerning the U.S.
military for a screenplay I’d like to begin toying with by my birthday,
later this month. I’m very jazzed about the plot notes I’ve made, and there’s
even some tethers to a true story I read recently, and I think the thing’s
got loads of potential. For now, I’m simply calling it Outpost 9, which just
kinda popped into my head and sounded catchy. Depending on my research, it
may change, but it’s generic enough that I can’t really see moving away from
it, unless of course, something better comes along.
And that’s that. All the news that’s fit to print. Check back during the
week for the confirmed time for the radio interview, as I’ll be posting it
here as soon as I have it locked-down. As well, you can also check in with
me on Twitter for the info, at:
http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks
or over at:
http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics
The program’s a call-in show, I believe, so feel free to check in when we’re
on air.
Just don’t ask me about writing a gay Wolverine meets Professor X story,
okay?
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: Nemesis by Shriekback
Last week seemed to fly by, but I guess it’s understandable given all the
stuff that’s been going on. With a deal getting ever-closer to put Visions
of Sarah into production, one of the producers wound up getting a tour of
the immense new studio being readied up in Connecticut by DogstarDGM. I’m
told the producers came away quite impressed with the facility, the
management up there, and of course, with the tax credits available. The
place is huge, will have everything a film company needs right on-site, and
with the company I’m dealing with having offices in New York, Connecticut is
a hop-skip-and-jump away. I know I was pretty jazzed just listening to the
online presentation, and that was even before I got the first-hand
recounting of the grand tour, so that made for a good weekend, despite the
way the NFL games went on Sunday.
Also on the film front, it appears that investors are making firm
commitments to the producers now, the financial instruments & paperwork
necessary to actually secure financing are in place and are being sent to
prospective backers, and there’s already been one request for a meeting. I’m
planning to go up to New York anyway sometime in the next month or so, so it’d
be nice to tag-team in some producer head-to-head time while I’m in town.
Also getting my blood pumping is the knowledge that they’re now dealing with
a casting agency to explore potential leads for the film, and that’s where I’m
dangling my mental rabbit’s foot at the moment. The folks being talked about
are A-list and in demand, so that always creates headaches when it comes to
trying to nail down a production schedule, but if they can secure even two
of the top four targets, this project’s going to get thrown into
pre-production so fast it’ll probably give a couple of us whiplash.
But so what. I can always go to Walgreens and get a neck brace…
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: Today I Woke to the Rain of Blood by Combichrist
1. The axe. Designwise, it’s brilliant. In practice, it’s efficient. It does everything you want it to do, and if you need it in a pinch to cleave somebody’s head in two instead of chopping wood or felling a tree, it has that kind of versatility. Just perfect.
2. The sword. Broadsword, long sword, short sword, kitana, scimitar, rapier…you name it, the sword takes care of business. People needed a good sharp pointy weapon that was portable, somebody invented the sword. To top it off, not only does it do the job you want it to do, it looks cool, either in use or sitting in its scabbard. Tool plus fashion accessory all in one. Not a bad combination.
3. The razor blade. Put it in one handle, it cuts hair off your face. Put it into another handle, it cuts carpet, boxes, tape, etc. Stick it in another handle, you can use it to scrape stickers off the inside of your windshield. Thinking about how many millions of razor blades are put into use on any given day, how can you not include the razor as a true top-ten-worthy implement?
4. The gun. In any form, if you need an effective mechanical solution to the problem of killing somebody or something at a distance, there’s few hand-held gizmos that’ll measure up to the gun. Unlike a missile or warhead, which aren’t really in the tool category, the gun is versatile, reliable, comes in too many varieties to count, and does it’s work fast.
5. TNT. When miners were confronted with the issue of, “Man, it sure is gonna suck having to break through all this stone with sledgehammers,” voila, TNT was invented and blew up things instantaneously. Instead of dozens of sweaty laborers working for days to break a few feet of ground, TNT offered the option of: Place spiffy, red sticks, Attach cap, Roll out wire, and BOOM! Of course, it’s also shown its versatility over the years, blowing up bridges, buildings, people, etc., but even strictly as a tool for clearing rock and burrowing into mountains or deep underground, this one’s always been a winner.
6. The nail gun. The hammer’s great, it’s simple and been around forever. Truly legendary. The nail gun has saved men more thumb-bashing and cursing than the best designed hammer ever did. The nail gun’s a true marvel.
7. The compound miter saw. Want to cut something at an angle? No problem. Want to cut something at two angles at the *same* time? This baby is the bomb. Need a 45 degree angle, with a 15 degree miter? Child’s play. This has become, bar none, my favorite tool in the arsenal for any of my projects. Truly indispensable.
8. The jack. Can you imagine changing a tire without one? No, of course not. This thing is so necessary to motorists that given all the items auto manufacturers have made optional over the years, you still *always* get one of these puppies with every purchase.
9. Duct tape. Sure, you may not think of it in the same way you traditionally think of a tool, but try and come up with something that’ll hold up the bumper on your ’87 Fiero; work on a rip in your pants ten minutes after getting to work; that’ll patch a crack in the door of the ‘fridge in your garage to extend it’s beer-chilling life span indefinitely and even keep your kidnap victims from being able to scream, without having to tie any knots to form a secure gag? Yep, that’s duct tape for you. If Krazy Glue was advertised to have 1,001 uses, duct tape has it beat…and then some.
10. The chainsaw. Anything else instill as much fear in people as a chainsaw? I mean, you can cut down freaking *redwoods* with one, given enough time. You can play psycho with it, like Al Pacino in Scarface. You can massacre a van full of kids with it, as in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And, you can even replace the impressive standard blades with all sorts of nutty variations, with jagged teeth that have the capability of cutting through just about anything that’s not concrete or reinforced steel. I know there’s been a Nail Gun Massacre film, and a Weedeater Massacre film, but really, Texas Chainsaw started it all, and when you get *that* much of a fringe benefit for something this utilitarian, it belongs in the top ten.
Been an odd couple of days. Started out last week, when my fave pair of
walking shoes went south. First, the laces got so stretched out, I had Pam
go get me a new pair. Pain in the ass lacing up sneakers when you can’t see,
because you *always* miss a loop and have to go back. So, I replace the
laces. Same day, about ten minutes into my 5 mile walk, the whole innersole
just tore loose. Sneakers are shot, which sent me to my backup pair. But it
didn’t end there. My office chair was next. The arm’s been iffy for a while,
but I go to get up, and the front half of the arm rest pretty much splits in
half. Took a couple of kabob skewers punched through front-to-back and some
duct tape to shore it up temporarily until I can get a replacement pad
ordered. But that wasn’t all. Following that, my favorite pair of boots,
these suede ones I got out in California about 6 years ago, shred right
along the back heel. Poof. Gone. Today? This morning, my Sennheiser
headphones simply fall apart. Crack right along the arc that holds the
things together where they’re adjustable.
I tell you, it’s getting to the point where I’m afraid to take my dick out
to piss…
Luckily, it’s all minor stuff. I’ve got backup sneakers, backup headphones,
a new pair of work boots that I need to start breaking in, etc. While I’m
ticked about the Sennheisers, overall, these are pretty minor in the grand
scheme of things, and I’ll take the tradeoff any day.
Tradeoff, you say? What tradeoff?
Well, got some extraordinarily good news today that makes the petty stuff
seem, well…petty. The executive producer who wants to bring Visions of
Sarah to the screen updated me on where the company stands in terms of
financing, and I got to see the operating agreement and the financials for
the company for the first time this afternoon. All I can say is, “Wow.” The
budget they’re now working to secure would definitely be enough to make the
film with the kind of production value I could’ve only dreamed about when I
was making The Bunker. These guys want to put seven figures behind the
flick, they’re talking A-list talent, the casting agency they’re working
with is top-shelf, and they are dead-set on a theatrical release.
Selling this script would be huge for me, and not just in terms of it being
a heck of a payday. If the producers land the talent they’re angling for,
the flick’s guaranteed to get a lot of ink. Heck, if just one of the leads
pans out, the flick’d generate buzz. Nobody on the short list for any of the
parts isn’t recognizeable. Even the supporting cast being discussed is made
up of actors just about anybody who occasionally goes to the movies would
know.
There’s a long way to go yet, and I know plenty of people who’ve been down
this road before-some who’ve even gotten paychecks, only to have the film
dead-ended in the middle of pre-production or disappearing in turnaround
purgatory. But still, while little things around the office are falling
apart, negotiations on the screenplay and rights are still going strong.
This property is moving closer and closer to being green-lit every day. So
if I gotta deal with headphones giving up the ghost and sneakers that’ve
walked their last mile…so be it.
I can always buy brand new and better once the first check’s in the bank…
* * * * * * * * * *
I’m on Twitter. (Who isn’t, right?) Still, if you wanna follow, I promise to
make it interesting. No tweets about waking up and having a cup of coffee,
waving to the mailman, feeding my cat, walking my dog, checking my e-mail,
etc. May not always be terribly entertaining, but it won’t be too mundane,
promise.
http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks
And, for movie-related-stuff only, check out Sight Unseen Pictures, home of
the world’s 1st blind film director, and busy screenwritin’ fiend:
http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: Whiskey for My Men, Beer For My Horses by Toby Keith
& Willie Nelson (no joke, can you believe this?)
1) Tiger Woods’ apologists.
You know, I understand people have affairs. No big surprise there. What I don’t understand, though, is how so many people will actually make excuses for somebody when they get caught screwing around on their husband or wife, (or even give a kind of rah-rah, nudge-nudge-wink-wink to it, like it’s something to admire). I read where Clinton Portis came out and made comments to this effect, and shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal. Which kinda begs the question, “Uh, if he wanted to bang every blonde he found hot…why did he bother getting married in the first place? Why make the promise and take the vows if you don’t think they mean anything?
The other thing you have to wonder is, for the guys who think it’s all right or even seem to encourage it…what kind of respect do they have for their own wives if they think this is something to be proud of? I read where the president of Nike said this was no big deal, and it’d be a blip on the radar when Tiger Woods’ career is over. Well, perhaps. But…what kind of guy thinks fucking around on your wife is cool? What kind of guy says, basically, “Attaboy, Tiger, you go nail every broad you can.” Do these guys have the same attitude regarding their own marriages? I have to say, it wouldn’t surprise me. While I don’t know if Clinton Portis is married, given how many people have expressed this kind of sentiment, I have to wonder. Is this how *they* treat their wives? Screwing around on them behind their back whenever they travel on business the way Tiger did in Australia? Is that what his apologists are really doing? Commiserating because they’ve cheated on their wives? It’s the first thing I think of when I hear somebody applauding Woods, or suggesting “It’s no big deal.” Would these guys feel the same if they came home and found out their wives had been sleeping with a dozen different men while they were at work or out of town? Hmnnn…what do you think?
2) The effort to force Joe Lieberman’s wife out at the Susan G. Komen foundation.
Okay, I know FireDogLake is a liberal web site and Joe Lieberman (forced to run for reelection as an independent when Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi tried to cast him aside because he disagreed with dems on war policy) is *not* exactly Mr. Popularity among his colleagues, despite the fact that he still caucuses with them. But the effort to gain celebrity support to oust his *wife* from her job as an ambassador and fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen foundation is simply reprehensible. Regardless of how Joe Lieberman was leaning on health care reform, his wife is involved in raising a *lot* of money and attention for a cause that nobody can denounce. Which makes you think doubly-hard about the head-scratch here. In order to try and ram through unpopular health care legislation, FireDogLake was endeavoring to *hurt* a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer? Huh? Are you kidding? The more I think about it, reprehensible doesn’t begin to do it justice. Anybody who was involved in this cockamamie scheme should be ashamed of themselves, and people who don’t know about this story oughta go and check out the blog and the call-to-action. Then ask yourself, “Is this really a noble effort? To hurt the Susan G. Komen foundation in order to *try* to pressure a U.S. senator by attacking his wife? Seems rather cowardly to me, and I hope it appears even worse to anybody who’s benefited by the job the foundation has done over the years. If this is the first you’ve heard of this, you can find some more here, or simply google the topic and you’ll find plenty:
http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/72195-liebermans-wife-targeted-by-liberal-website
3) Jimmy Carter labeling Joe Wilson a racist.
An idiot? I’d be okay with that. Personally, I found it embarrassing when Joe Wilson opened his trap during President Obama’s speech and called out, “You lie!” regarding a point Obama was making about health care. But stupidity is one thing. Stupidity compounded by inaccuracy is worse, and Jimmy Carter labeling Wilson a racist because of health care? What the hell is Carter on? Is *every* freaking criticism of this president solely based on skin color? Can *nobody* challenge Obama on any policy issue, lest they be labeled a racist? Sorry, but the guy chose to run for the job, and that means you get all the heat that comes with being in the Oval Office. Racism doesn’t have anything to do with his agenda, particularly since the guy won a huge victory in the general election, and yet only about 32% of Americans support the health care reform the dems are pushing through congress with *zero* bipartisan support. Did all those pro-Obama voters become racists too, Jimmy, because they don’t share the president’s viewpoint? You’d think that simple truth might resonate with somebody who’s held the job (albeit ineptly), but I guess not.
4) The David Letterman joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter.
Even when he made the joke, I thought it was pretty dumb. His apology, trying to pin it on his writers, was transparent and lame. His second apology, in which he tried to further distance himself from it and backpedal just made it worse. But when it was revealed that Letterman himself had not one, but *numerous* out of wedlock affairs, while living with the woman he eventually married? Wow. Talk about hubris. He knew he was cheating all along, but yet he felt fine taking shots at a politician’s daughter for having…a child out of wedlock??? Gee, Dave, how long were you married when your child was born? Oh, that’s right…you weren’t, were you?
It was nice to see him get some payback for it when the scandal broke about how he was being extorted over the issue. Methinks he probably would have been amongst those detailed above (see No. 1) had the timing been different…
5) The 2009 Nobel Prize.
Okay, I know Obama’s beloved, everybody was behind him, all that jazz. But the nominations for the prize had to be turned in about two weeks after he took office. Can anybody tell me what Obama did in his first couple of weeks in office besides nominate several high-ranking democrats for cabinet posts that they had to turn down because financial scandals were discovered? Exactly *what* was done in those stunning first weeks in office that warranted his receiving the prize? Answer: Nothing. Proving yet again, that if Yasser Arafat could win one, the thing is absolutely meaningless.
6) “Going undefeated isn’t important.”
The Colts will be getting what they deserve this coming Sunday when they take on a NY Jets team that is absolutely on fire. If Peyton Manning winds up on his ass more than he has all season in this one game, it’ll be the Colts coaching staff and Bill Polian taking the heat, because they laid down and quit in Game 15 versus these same Jets, who were in jeopardy of not making the playoffs. And, despite what the Colts claim regarding that decision, none of their arguments hold water. If they wanted to rest their starters…then why did Manning start the game in the first place? The Colts had clinched everything possible even before the Jets game, so why did Peyton even take a snap? And, if the regular season winning streak meant so much, as Polian claimed a week later, why didn’t anybody…even the Colts players, know about it? Several were surprised to know the regular-season winning streak record was on the line when asked, which leads one to believe this was something that was thought up later to try and explain the willingness to quit playing and give a team a win. Not to mention, it looks bad that the Colts laid down against a team fighting for a playoff spot, because they appear to have helped keep Houston, who played the Colts tight twice, from getting into the postseason. Bottom-line? If the Colts don’t win the Super Bowl, the rest means nothing. The fans who paid a ton of money to watch their team go for perfection got screwed, and deserve refunds. Anything short of the Lombardi trophy, and people are gonna look back at *this* game against the Jets and say, “This screwed everything up.” And, what better motivator do the Jets and their No. 1 ranked defense need than to try and convince everybody they *can* beat the Colts, and the win in Game 15 wasn’t a fluke? The Colts may win, but they’re gonna have all they can handle on Sunday, and they’re getting precisely what they deserve.
7) The death of Chris Henry.
While it’s truly tragic a guy Chris Henry’s age wound up dead, at age 26, after falling out of the back of a pickup truck, there’s two head-scratchers here. The first is, the issue of Henry having turned his life around. I understand the guy had a lot of off-the-field problems in previous years. (Numerous arrests, suspensions, etc.) But, if you listen to his teammates in the wake of his death, all you heard was how Chris Henry had turned his life around. Uh…if you truly turned your life around, would you be standing in the back of a pickup truck being driven by your fiance, beating on the back window glass with your broken arm, without a shirt on, as she sped away from her *parents’* house in fear? Doesn’t sound to me like he’d *quite* turned the corner, given what’s been revealed from the investigation. The second thing is, the possibility he committed suicide. One neighbor apparently heard Henry threaten to kill himself by jumping out of the moving vehicle. Another witness said it looked like he did jump out. Several statements by the usual suspects (sources ‘close to the investigation’) apparently said that Henry was not thrown from the vehicle, but that he jumped out. Perhaps following through on his threat. And that’s head-scratcher number two. Henry had *three* kids. All very young. Was whatever happened between he and his fiancee *so* serious as to have forced him to abandon his children by committing suicide? Again, I know his teammates had nothing but positive things to say about Henry the person, and how he’d put his troubles behind him. Given what happened, though, I don’t find that terribly credible.
8) Janet Napolitano: “The system worked.”
As anybody who doesn’t live in a cave knows, on Christmas day, a passenger on an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight tried to blow the plane out of the sky, utilizing a relatively simple, yet sophisticated, bomb stashed in his underwear. The Nigerian man, who was on a terrorist watch-list, somehow managed to walk through airline security, and smuggle the explosives onto the plane. The reason for the bomb’s failure, according to investigators, was a technical malfunction. In other words, without the malfunction, we’d’ve had another airline-based act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil. According to Homeland Security director Janet Napolitano, however, “The system worked.”
Yep, you read that right. Napolitano believes despite the man being on a terrorist watch-list, and Despite his being screened at airport security multiple times, and despite his getting explosives onto the plane *and* managing to ignite the device, things went just peachy. I know it’s hard to believe, but even CNN reporter Candy Crowley seemed incredulous, asking Napolitano how that could be possible when, “the young Nigerian who has been charged with trying to set off the bomb was able to smuggle explosive liquid onto the jet?” Napolitano’s response? “We’re asking the same questions.”
There you have it, folks. Your security on a flight requires the system to work. And now we know, the system is predicated on explosives malfunctioning and terrorists blowing up only their genitals. That’s how the system works, according to the head of Homeland Security.
9) The Washington Redskins play-calling system.
They’ve fired Jim Zorn now, but if you follow football, perhaps nothing this season was so bizarre as the system installed by Dan Snyder in an attempt (allegedly) to jump-start the Redskins offense. The play-calling duties were stripped from Zorn, in what many believe was an attempt to force him to quit. Zorn’s favorite aspect of coaching the team was the play-calling. Rumored to be on the hot-seat since the preseason, taking the play-calling duties away was probably the single most effective thing Snyder could have done to force Zorn to quit (and thus, save Snyder the burden of having to pay off the rest of Zorn’s contract). But Zorn didn’t quit, and Sherman Lewis was recruited from a Bingo hall (where he’d been calling O-66 and B-9 since spending 5 post-retirement years away from the game). He would call the plays from up in the booth, down to the sidelines, to a secondary coordinator, who would *then* relay the plays in to quarterback Jason Campbell. But…Zorn still had input in the play-calling, especially on fourth down and punting-versus-field goal situations, etc. In a word: insanity. But then again, it’s Dan Snyder, and insanity doesn’t surprise Redskins fans much. Not any more.
10) The NY Mets signing Jason Bay.
If you’re a Mets fan, you have to wonder. If Jason Bay didn’t show much interest in playing for you when you first made him an offer comparable to the one he turned down from the much-better-equipped-to-contend Red Sox…why offer again? Why not go after players who *want* to play for you, instead of simply trying to lure somebody to take your cash? Unfortunately, while the signing of Bay is an upgrade, it comes with all the questions that haunt any big-money free agent signing. Is the guy going to earn his dough, or will he be content just showing up and collecting his paycheck? You look at JaBustus Russell in Oakland, and the situation just screams: “He got his money…and it’s all he cares about.” I won’t tag Bay with that just yet, but I do have to wonder about just what kind of player the Mets are getting, when Bay only seemed to warm to the idea of signing once the Red Sox picked up Mark Cameron to play in their outfield and Bay had no remaining suitors for his services. At least, not for $63 mil plus over four years…
While I’ve been waiting for confirmation about a possible deal surrounding
the Visions of Sarah screenplay, I haven’t been ignoring other irons in the
fire. And, the one heating up at the moment is getting redder and redder.
Last year, I broached the subject of doing an audio anthology with Hacker’s
Source editor and fellow author, Frank Wales. We batted around the idea a
bit when Frank and Jacki, his wife, were visiting here for the weekend,
checking out the (at the time) new homestead. Things happened, both of us
got way busy, but now with things settlin’ down, we’re back on it, and just
the other day I set up a meeting with some voice talent to begin exploring
what we can do, when we can start doing it, etc. Frank and I are both pretty
excited about it. We’ve been in touch with some pro voice actors, and people
involved in the Florida theatre scene, and right now we’re looking to have
three to five different narrators come on board for the recordings, which I’d
like to begin around the end of February.
The task at hand now is juggling my freelances, completing the two
screenplays I’m working on, negotiating the sale of Visions, and squeezing
in a short story I might want to use for the audio book, while revisiting
all the stories in the To Be Considered… pile. Some have been around for
quite a while, and probably need some updating. I know for a fact that
‘Walkers, if it makes the cut, needs some edits and tightening up.
Bottom line? Lots of stuff to decide, a lengthy list of past & present
fiction to pare down, and then Frank and I will need to compare what we
have, so we don’t tread too much on one topic/sub-genre. I know we both have
a werewolf story (or two), although I don’t see any reason we can’t include
two in one anthology. Especially since we’re not really worried about
limitations on our content. Since we’re not going to accompany this with a
print version, if we decide to run 400 pages? So what? We’ll do it. And,
unless Frank’s got more werewolf than I know of at present, neither story is
remotely like the other. But it’s one example of the kinds of things we need
to work out before putting together a final list of tales, since we can’t
logistically release a thousand page audio book, even using MP3 format. We’re
going with MP3 because it’ll cut down on the amount of CDs-something that
*kills* traditional audio book publishers. In standard format, a 500 pg.
book requires at least 8 CDs, and sometimes more. By going with MP3 format,
we can fit a ton more content on far fewer discs, thus keeping the price
down and replication costs at a minimum. That’ll help us out when it comes
to shipping ‘em, too, storing ‘em, etc. Far simpler, and just about
everybody has MP3 now. As well, we do plan to have a release that could be
made available via ITunes (I hear they’re selling audio books now, as well
as music), which is cool because then we don’t need to ship or package
anything.
The whole thing is long overdue, and I’m glad Frank and I have gotten the
project back on track. Regardless of what happens with either the Visions of
Sarah script or Skin Flick, putting time into this is something I’ve been
looking forward to. If a directing gig comes up and interrupts, it still
shouldn’t delay the release indefinitely. Once the stories are assigned and
the recording location set, working around everyone’s schedule is something
we’d planned on having to do anyway, back when we first began exploring the
idea.
And that’s what’s happenin’ around the Chanting Monks/Sight Unseen compound
this week. Writin’, writin’, writin’ is about to become writin’, readin’ and
more writin’ real soon.
Unless the cold weather down here gives everybody laryngitis. *That,* of
course, wouldn’t surprise me at all…
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Currently listening to: Remorse by Bella Morte
The first 7 days of 2010 are in the books, and I can’t complain about a one
of ‘em. The clock’s just ticked past midnight, but about 20 minutes ago I
got a call from the film producer I’ve been dealing with about Visions of
Sarah, and there was some pretty positive news to report. He’s been working
primarily on financing, and we got good news earlier in the week about
additional investors looking to come on board. Today, he was contacted by a
casting director about three actors (including the lead male, who I had in
mind while writing the script), and was all-but guaranteed she could put
scripts into the hands of all three by early next week. Considering that for
one of the top three roles we’ve targeted an Academy Award winner, that was
a pretty good exchange they had today. I almost wish it was Monday already,
so I could sit around waiting for an update after they talk some more. Well,
okay, maybe not *that* desperate for Monday to arrive, after all, there’s
playoff football this weekend, but still…every step forward the studio
takes, Visions gets that much closer to being made.
Got a thumbs-up from the editor who assigned me my last freelance. Always
happy to beat a deadline, and that one went in a week early. The sequel
script to my Everglades slasher flick is past the 2/3 stage now, after I
hadda do a few rewrites to fix a continuity issue and set up something
necessary for the climax. The holidays really set me back on that, I thought
I’d be done by now. But there’s no rush on it, and it’s first-draft only
anyway, so taking some more time isn’t much of a concern.
Speaking of screenplays, when it rains, it pours. And, that’s *never* a bad
thing. At least, not when it comes to the creative stuff. Since I’d begun
working on this particular script, I hadn’t given much thought to other
stuff floating around in my head. Why? Because there wasn’t much floating
around. For one of the few times in my life, I didn’t have a pad full of
notes getting filled up concerning the next thing I wanted to do. I didn’t
have anything on the horizon, so to speak, and that’s rare. Sure enough, I
knock out that freelance, get back to work on the slasher sequel, and then I
read a story on one of my e-mail lists, which spurred a firestorm of ideas.
I spent Tuesday night thinking about plotlines and characters and over the
course of the next 48 hours, almost the entire story laid itself out in my
head. I don’t even know if I’ll get to start work on that this month, but it’s
nice having it out there in front of me, waiting.
And finally, had a good idea for a new short story, which I spent last night
outlining. I’m anxious to get onto that, because I’ve been in touch with
some local talent here in S. Florida about the audio book project I’ve got
in the works with fellow author Frank Wales. I think we’re going to be able
to start reviewing talent for that project sometime during February, if not
sooner. Biggest problem there isn’t gonna be finding the talent, or getting
top-notch recording. I think it’s gonna be recording all the choices we
have, and then being forced to whittle the list down to soemthing
manageable.
Thousand page audio book anthology, anyone???
* * * * * * * * * *
You on Twitter? That’s two of us. Follow me at:
http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks
and, to follow the exploits of the world’s first blind feature filmmaker and
the studio he calls home, follow:
http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics
* * * * * * * * * *
Currently listening to: Resurrection Mary by Ex Voto
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