Dark City...

...but it could be worse.

Finished writing scene 24 today. Two left. Or, perhaps three, I'm considering adding a hot tub scene with William and Alexis. You know, for um...character building purposes...yeah.

Saw my cousin and his wife today. That was nice. They live on 55th street, which at first I was okay with because there's a darn nice neighborhood around 60th and Oklahoma, but when I realized that 55th street ended where their house should have been, I was slightly disappoined. Turns out it's on the North side, and I felt like I had to check on my car every 5 minutes. The thing that was even more disappointing, however, was the fact that my cousin doesn't even have a DVD player. They said they'd watch WS2 on his computer. Fair enough.

So Zach Braff has a link to his blog on the Garden State website...I read some of it, it's pretty interesting. He did commentary for the DVD a few days ago. I wonder if Natalie did it too. And it turns out it's going to "select cities" Aug. 6. It better come here.

I also saw The Village today. I'd definitely suggest seeing it, but don't think while you're watching it...I made that mistake and kinda figured out what was going on. Made it a little less surprising to see when it happened. But Bryce Dallas Howard was awesome in it. Good stuff.

Movie of the Day: The Negotiator
Why it rocks: Spacey. And it's just cool to watch.
Re-watch value: Moderate
Is it really that good?: Yup. It's kinda John Q.-ish, only in self defense. Perhaps not as good a message, but still good.

Keep it.

Triumph of the Spirit...

...defeat of the body.

Business first: for those of you who have been cast/tentatively cast in William Steel 3, there's a meeting around 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, August 1st at my house. Call if you have questions. We'll be going over the movie scene by scene, and discussing filming dates, etc.

So Katie went and decided her foot was bothering her. Great timing, too. I'm crusin' down Cleveland, minding my own business, and her rear right tire just goes flat. What the heck. Well anyway, she's becoming more like Natalie every day. Now she's got one of Natalie's wheels in addition to the shifter knob, right mirror, front bumper/fender, hood, headlights, driver's seat, back seat, and speakers. Oh, and engine. Her spirit will live on.

Anybody know where crawdads live? Because Jake found one behind the Budge the other day. It's currently in a little bowl of water in the office. I'm not sure how it survived this long, let alone got here in the first place. What do they eat? I think it's dying...

Movie of the Day: Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith
Why it rocks: See above.
Re-watch value: Highest- value- ever.
Is it really that good?: Yes. Yeah I know it's not out yet. Shut up, it's awesome!

Keep it.

Eat Drink Man Woman...

...I've experienced just that.

So I did quite a bit of driving today...some of which led me downtown with Jen. We stopped at a little café by the Oriental and had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Wait, it gets better. First of all, our cell phones kept going off, which I don't think the other patrons enjoyed...then I think Jen made a sail boat out of her sandwich, put two potato chips on it, and narrated, "Chip, I don't know which way the wind is blowing!"

She also mentioned that, "This jam is the highest quality jam..." Well, there's the artistic city café for you. No jam but the best jam. They also stuck pickles on the plates- I think that's an upper-class thing.

I watched Predator today in preparation for my viewing of Alien Vs. Predator. Not bad. Especially when the Predator started laughing like the Sea Witch at the end. I hope all the Predators do that in AVP.

Movie of the Day: Jesus Christ Superstar
Why it rocks: Jesus sings like Prince. You won't get that in Passion.
Re-watch value: Moderate. If you like musicals. And the 70's. And Prince.
Is it really that good?: Definitely worth a see. I'd call it good.

Keep it.

Cool World...

...cool Maxx.

It's been a good day...I ate my first actual meal in like a week this morning, which consisted of about 2 1/2 plates of food, then it was off to a party during which I proved to myself that I still gots it. I was beginning to doubt whether or not I was still cool, 'cuz I know I used to be, but once I got goin' again, it all came back. Good times. Then I spent like $200, snuck into someone's apartment, and rearranged thier decor.

Next on the agenda: watch a movie. I was going to go to the Budge to watch The Day After Tomorrow, but theater 6 has sound issues, so I'll wait until we put it in a different theater. I could go see 13 Going On 30, but I'm in an adventure mood. Not a Jennifer "I-used-my-husband-to-get-famous-and-divorced-him-when-I-was" Garner mood.

I'm planning in advance this time, and making plans for a party in late August some time. Assuming it doesn't rain this time...maybe we can do it at someone else's house this time...like Skanse's, they have a hot tub. Bow-chicka-bow-wow...

Movie of the Day: True Romance
Why it rocks: Tarantino wrote it.
Re-watch value: Perhaps once every other year
Is it really that good?: Eh. It's not bad...

Keep it.

Double Take...

...for you, the reader.

I may not be posting for a few days- we'll see. So for now, a double dosage of postage for all my Maxxketeers.

Got through scene 20 today in WS3. Filming is closer! Oh and if anyone can think of any cool stunts for me or my cast to do, let me know. I've also started working out the action sequences, and I need to know what to put in. So far I have a cool bike chase, a possible horse chase, and perhaps some roof jumping. OH and speaking of awesome stuff- The full title of the final Star Wars film was announced at Comic Con today. Here it is- Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith. YEAH! So it's gonna play off the earlier fall of the Sith I guess, and at least Lucas got to get his "revenge" title- originally, episode VI was supposed to be "Revene of the Jedi." So yeah, cool.

5 days until the next Natalie Portman movie is released. Garden State comes out Friday; everyone go see it. Support your local amazing actress!

I keep thinking of movie news to write, but I don't want this to become a cineblog. So if you want cool upcoming movie updates, go to www.upcomingmovies.com. It's run by some guy named Greg from Wisconsin, and he only posts good, reliable stuff. So check it out if you wish.

I tried creating a link to a picture of myself in my profile (gasp!), but it wasn't working out. Stay tuned for that, I'll keep trying.

"I am vitamin L." - Ellynne Kutschera

By the way, if you are or if you know an attractive single girl, send her my way...perhaps I'll expand on that in the future.

Also, feel free to comment on any of my posts at any time. I'd like to know whether this blogging is at least keeping all y'all entertained.

Movie of the Day: I, Robot
Why it rocks: Summer blockbuster, Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan, my 1,000th movie.
Re-watch value: Moderately high
Is it really that good? Yes. It's got a darker feel than most of Will's movies, but in this case, serious is good.

Keep it.

A Guy Thing...

...well, a thing for everyone, actually.

Another day, another three hours of sleep lost. Perhaps I shouldn't spend so much time trying to think of clever quips to write in my blog. But I digress.

Topic of the day: movies (big surprise). As you read these entries, you'll find that movies will be an oft spoken of subject. Let's begin with the William Steel series. For those of you new to the idea, William Steel is the main character in the two movies I've made, as well as the movie I am currently writing. As production of William Steel 3: Redemption continues, I will often post updates on anything new and exciting, or perhaps injuries I've sustained during filming (oh, and William Steel 1 and 2 are currently available on DVD. $3.00 DVD, $2.00 soundtrack). As of this afternoon, I have written 17 scenes, with 10 or so left. It should be quicker than the writing of the first half, because there's a lot more action toward the end, and I write the action sequences in the script by writing "-FIGHT-".  So filming is definitely coming  soon...that's all I have to say about that.

I conclude today by adding a section to my blog: the Movie of the Day...props to Tim for originality. So I guess here goes. Enjoy.

Movie of the Day: Supernova
Why it rocks: They have sex in space...dude.
Re-watch value: Low
Is it really that good?: Um...they have sex in space. How could it be?

Keep it.

Secret Window...

...to titular roots

I begin today with my first response to a reader request: What's the deal with "Masterpiece in the Sand?" I debated not revealing too many of my secrets too soon, but then I decided that it wasn't much a secret, and even if it was, it's not cool enough to save and then reveal in the future, and then have people go, "Oh, that's not that great..." So here goes.

I believe it came from my would-be actress, Jenni Davis (also the inspiration for the character Jenni in the William Steel series). Her and Kara Roessger and I were chillin' one day, and Jenni began talking about a sand castle or something that she made when she was little..."It was our masterpiece in the sand." I said that that sounded like a cheesy romance novel, and that I would write it one day. Of course, I also said I'd write Chick 9, but I'm not even to chick 3 yet, so it could be a while.

Well there ya have it. We'll call *this* my Masterpiece in the Sand, and perhaps it'll get published someday as a novel...um, not so much. Keep it.

Start the Revolution Without Me...

...I'm busy watching a movie.

Greetings from Maxxland, home of the King. And welcome. Welcome to my story, my life, my blog. What will you see here? Not even I know. We will see what happens, where the core of Maxxland takes us. Personally I'm hoping for a bit of self-exploration leading to realization, mixed with a bit of humor. Perhaps even you, the reader, for whom this has been created, will learn something.

And feel free to respond, request, re-anything. Something on your mind? Let me know what you want me to write about. During the down time, I hope to post movie reviews or top-10 lists. But as I mentioned, Maxxland is for you. Maxxland may pretend to be complicated, but the simplicity may be staggering.

Blog. The journal made for readers...like I said, I don't know where this is going. But if you spell blog backwards and turn the b around so you have a d, you get gold. Maybe the stuff buried in here will be valuable...we'll see.  Keep it.