The SAG Awards, and a general update -

I love this time of year.

As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, studios send me screener DVDs, and allow me free rental downloads of nominated films.

However, this year, the performance I am most looking forward to seeing, Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin, is not on the list. How sad.

Tangent initialize...     I rarely see films in a theatre anymore. It's just not the great experience it once was. People talk, LOUD. No one can stop texting for five minutes. Thirty five year-old men kick the back of my seat as though they were seven. People bring hard candies, individually wrapped in cellophane designed to wake a sleeping child half a mile away. Why pay to be subjected to that, when I can watch a film at home, on my HD TV, and not have to crawl over other people, or miss a single frame if I must use the restroom? I have champagne and Pellegrino in my fridge. I win.

The last film I saw in a theatre was TRON Legacy in 3D (yeah, I'm a geek), and before that was Avatar. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of 3D, as I it has consistently given me a headache by the end of the film. I enjoyed TRON much better watching it again at home. Same with Avatar. While the 3D technology is a lot of fun, I've yet to see where it makes or breaks a film. If the story and script are strong enough, it doesn't matter to me.

That said, I will be seeing The Hobbit in a theatre, most likely on opening day - EARLY!

How is this not one of the most epic trailers EVER? It's ridiculous. I feel like a small child who cannot sleep from anticipation, waiting for Santa to come down the chimney.

I read The Hobbit years ago, as an adult. I read it before I tried to read Lord Of The Rings because someone told me to. They said it was important, because it takes place before the events of The Trilogy. I have to be honest, I had a hard time staying interested, and once finished, I failed to read LOTR. I have since forgotten most of the details of the book. I think I was in the middle of one of my Dune universe immersions.

I'm fine with that. I fell in deep love with Peter Jackson's take on LOTR, to the point, I read Fellowship, and never picked up the other two, simply because I loved Jackson's take much better. I am so happy he is at the helm of this project and trust him implicitly.

Looks like an amazing cast. I mean, SEXY DWARVES! I am so in! With Aiden Turner as Kili, and sexy Dean O'Gorman thankfully replacing Rob Kazinsky as his brother Fili (thankfully only because I think Dean has far more of a sexier, character look, than normal man-looking Kazinsky), girls everywhere are going to be writhing in their paths.

However, the man I feel is the most likely to go Super Nova after this is Richard Armitage. So nice to see him get something this big, and have a career worthy of his acting talents, after surviving the cheesefest of Robin Hood. (Seriously, I'd like to say he makes it watchable, but I've yet to get past the 2nd episode. Someday...)

I just hope he's psychologically prepared for it. He seems like such a genuinely nice human being. (Of course he is a very talented actor so..... that could be my imagination... hopefully not.)  Still, talent like that is rare, and it would be sad to see him succomb to the Icarus Factor. He should come live in Los Angeles, where most of the population doesn't care about actors, no matter their celebrity. Just ask the Beckhams. The only people who seem to care about their StarFactor™ are photographers from The Daily Mail. (Of course, we LA Galaxy season ticket holders would like to know he's finally understood the meaning of Hotel California, and put pen to paper for another season. Come on Uncle Tim, make it happen!)

/Tangent

Back to the SAG AWARDS - I just wish they'd distribute the films earlier, so we'd have more time to see them. Ballots must be in by 12 noon PT on Friday, January 27th. That gives two and a half weeks to see everything, while putting in hours at my full time day gig, including as many television shows that I haven't seen, and can find to sctually stream, or watch on demand. Funny how all my favorite shows, are not nominated - FRINGE, or not nominated enough - Game of Thrones, Downton Abby, Glee.

Other updates:

My 9th annual Drama After Dark - An Evening with Poe & Gorey at The Huntington was a great success, and gets more popular every year. More people are complaining that we only do it one night. I've wanted to do it two nights every weekend in October since it started. Perhaps one of these years The Huntington will realize how much money they can make if we did that....... or.... oh nevermind.

I added Berenice and it was very well received. Next year will be our 10th Anniversary! So exciting.

Ok - back to working on THE BEST STORY IDEA EVER, that in a perfect world, JJ Abrams and Peter Jackson would both helm.

Blogging.....

I've been remiss. Other writing, and real life has pushed the blogging almost to non-existence, but I'm trying to change that..... Not that anyone ever reads this, as I certainly don't shove it at my friends, and do for myself, and keep my writing as daily as possible.

So. Here's to writing more for ME.

Drama After Dark - Poe & Gorey at The Huntington

Well, it's my 6th year producing, directing, and acting in this event, and it just keeps getting better every year!

We're adding two new pieces this year - Poe's The Imp Of The Perverse, and Gorey's The Dwindling Party.

Should be a fun year! Get your tickets soon before we sell out!

SHARKWATER!!!

This is perhaps one of the most important films everyone should see. As important as Schindler's List and American History X.

It's also one of the most beautiful.

Apple TV rocks!

Haven't been much in the mood to blog lately... lots of other REAL LIFE stuff going on..... (like getting a new bionic ASS....)

Not much on the TV right now, well... other than my July CRACKTV: Le Tour de France. Yes, I'm a geek. I love it. Used to get up at the crack of dawn and watch it live, but this year, with all the ridiculous politics of not allowing Astana to compete, and the UCI pulling out, I TIVO and watch it when I get home.

Back to regular TV..... so... first season of LOST, I was IN. Then other LIFE things happened, I was trying to keep up on the VCR, (back BT - Before Tivo), but missed one or two episodes then suddenly Locke's in a WHEELCHAIR????? WTF??? So I opted to view like I did the Shield: Get the DVD set, and watch it all in a week.

This worked perfectly until this April when I watched season 3 and got sucked in more than usual. Realizing my choice of watching season 4 on DVD was to wait until the end of the year, I chose to run out and get Apple TV and download the entire season from iTunes and watch it NOW.

I also now have both seasons 1 & 2 of ROME (watching AGAIN now - LOVE THAT SERIES), and The Shield 6 (next up.)

BSG Returns

HFS!!!!

Love this show. I am already going thru withdrawal since this is the last season..... "There are twelve cylons that we know of." hmmmmmmmm

On a sadder note.... Michael Johns off AI? He has just been Daughtryized. Good for him. I will miss him on the show... but it's most likely the best thing ever for his career. 

I am addicted to AI... which is embarassing.

I was very proud to be one of the few who had not been sucked into the opiate of the masses better known as American Idol. That was until one night on a break from helping Tommy set up a sound studio we channel surfed to it while shoving food into our mouths. Instantly we were indoctrinated into the train wreck that is the audition process. That was season 5 and it was Chris Daughtry who hooked me.

It's now season 7, and I am part of an email circle that critiques the performances every week. There are five of us, one of which is a very close friend of mine who, during the week of the top 20 declared, "We are all so gay. If we all lived in the same city, we would be having Idol parties. We SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GAY!  I just called you gay." 

This is hilarious because he is gay. So, it must be true. I asked him later if there was a card I could have that said Tally Briggs - AI GAY.