Saw this Woody Allen interview on NPR.org. Loved it.
What are your major shortcomings?
I'm lazy and an imperfectionist. Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese will work on the details until midnight and sweat it out, whereas for me, come 6 o'clock, I want to go home, I want to have dinner, I want to watch the ballgame. Filmmaking is not [the] end-all be-all of my existence. Another shortcoming is that I don't have the intellect or the depth or the natural gift. The greatness is not in me. When you see scenes in [Akira] Kurosawa films ... you know he's a madman on the set. There would be 100 horses and everything had to be perfect. He was crazy. I don't have any of that.
You wouldn't consider yourself crazy?
No, no. My problem is that I'm middle-class. If I was crazy I might be better. That probably accounts for my output. I lead a very sensible life: I get up in the morning, I work, I get the kids off to school, do the treadmill, play the clarinet, take a walk with my wife. It's usually the same walk every day. If I were crazy, it would help. If I shrieked on the set and demanded, it may be better, but I don't. I say, "Good enough!" It's a middle-class quality, which does make for productivity.
Someday I'd love a basketball player to answer questions like this. Reminds me of a scene from "Gimme Some Truth" where Lennon's talking to a weirdo fan and trying to demystify his art and the creative process and pooping all over the idea that there's any one meaning to any particular lyric.
I think some of them are wonderful, but they are so many of them that are not. I was one of the few guys rooting for the comet to hit the Earth. Statistically, more people that deserved to go would go.
At the end of it all, what do you want to be remembered for?
People always ask me this now that I'm turning 80, but I don't really care. It wouldn't matter to me, aside from the royalties to my kids, if they took all my films and dumped them. You and I could be standing over [William] Shakespeare's grave, singing his praises, and it doesn't mean a thing. You're extinct.
TRIVIA: If you're a South Park fan and have never seen this movie, it may interest you to know that the infamous "Cripple Fight" scene is completely choreographed after a fight scene between Hot Rod and Keith David. Here's a side-by-side comparison.
Spoiler:
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
"[Brad Stevens] was just cool. He's always, always super cool." -- Stanley Johnson
Saw Mission Impossible and I was pleasantly surprised. Great action, but good camaraderie amongst the returning cast members.
Been on that Ex Machina wagon for months. Crazy. So well done.
Power only has 2 episodes left and that show has me hooked. Wow! What a season.
True Detective was awful. I haven't been that let down since the Lost finale. Wow. Weak sauce.
The Affair (season 2) and The Leftovers (season 2) are both starting up soon. If you don't watch them, I suggest power watching seasons 1 and getting caught up. Great stuff!
Can't believe nobody watches Ray Donavan on here. Best tv show right now.
“All due respect and I’m generally curious but who tf is cousin steez” ~ MagicBagley18
"i see celtics fans here are nothing but a s s holes so good bye not going to waste my time with you lowlifes." ~ HornetsFan29
I watch Ray Donovan--Voight's fantastic but I can't stand either of the Donovan kids.. both as actors and their characters. Haven't dipped into the new season yet though. At this point I kind of like that I'm building up a backlog so I can binge watch a ton of episodes at some point, so may keep delaying this. btw, Liev Schrieber took some acting classes at UMass via the 5 college program.
re: Ex Machina. If you liked that, I'd recommend checking out The Skin I Live In w/ Antonio Banderas. It's from Spain, so subtitles if that's a dealbreaker for you.. fairly mainstream for a foreign language film, so should be easy to find. I'd be willing to bet that Pacino has already seen it.
"[Brad Stevens] was just cool. He's always, always super cool." -- Stanley Johnson
TRIVIA: If you're a South Park fan and have never seen this movie, it may interest you to know that the infamous "Cripple Fight" scene is completely choreographed after a fight scene between Hot Rod and Keith David. Here's a side-by-side comparison.
Spoiler:
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Man, that movie. I love Carpenter, dude just makes entertaining movies, haha, but that **** movie, man.
I used to post (troll, but for purely good reasons) the David Icke forums until they banned my IP permanently. Between arguing that the Earth is round, the moon isn't a spaceship, and that we aren't being abducted by Satanic four dimensional reptiles who are taking over the world, I realized that I would never get through to any of them. A real waste of time trying to explain **** to conspiracy theorists is all I learned from that place. Well, I did steal some solid sci-fi story ideas I have yet to write.
Anyway, all the reptilian obsessed people there (the worst of all of them, worse than the chemtrail people, worse than the living clouds people) are convinced that that movie is actually an explanation of what the Lizard Kings and government are trying to do to us. They actually think Carpenter was trying to warn us/make a statement. Nah, dude was just stoned making awesome flicks. They said the same stuff about some 80s tv series "V". **** insane, man. Made me sad that people aren't enjoying They Live! correctly.
Moving on:
I told you Pacino/everyone: I knew this would be a **** season of True Detective after the second episode. A shame. The first season is easily the second best thing on TV I have ever watched.
Ray Donovan is **** fantastic. Great rec Pacino, I would have never checked it out otherwise. I could only watch the first season as I have the HBO/Starz package, not Showtime, but I'm considering buying/dling the second season after how solid the first was. For some reason I can ignore the kids 15th, maybe it gets worse in the second season though. His wife's accent is **** attractive as hell lol.
Never seen the Affair or the Leftovers, but Dominic West is an amazing actor. Loved him in the Wire once he finally got the Baltimore/American accent down (takes a few episodes). Is he American in this show as well?
People I trust very much about tv shows/movies tell me that the Leftovers is a waste of time. Probably won't watch it as I am pretty selective with that type of media. Too big an investment.
Saw half the season of leftovers. Pretty bold plot and narrative but I'd say I liked the idea of it more than I actually enjoyed watching it if that makes sense.
I have finished editing a poem for our ages. A long piece that's part of a larger collection/concept. It only took three years. Its brilliant, beautiful and highly involved with New England in addition to the larger concepts. I have made a piece of the Zeitgeist that must be read so people can understand a new and real concept of love, sadness, Truth, imagery and life. Hoping to finish the whole project in the next two or three years, but **** it, finally finishing this part feels great and I'm going to celebrate.
Most current verse is a load of bull. No one tries Very few known authors who truly understand the craft and how to use it. This is a real poem that was actually published in Poetry, one of the more solid magazines. They published this **** next to **** Ferlinghetti. Yes, I said FERLINGHETTI. Read this atrocity:
Spoiler:
Two Rooms
I went into one room and then I went into another. I was in a room inside a room. There I felt safe.
-Poetry (June 2015)-
By Emily Berry
This is in the same issue. Its horrible, and its not even really verse honestly. I have used similar forms, but this has no technical understanding. And it sucks (yes, that first line is the real title, **** hell):
Spoiler:
I’m not a religious person but
God sent an angel. One of his least qualified, though. Fluent only in Lemme get back to you. The angel sounded like me, early twenties, unpaid interning. Proficient in fetching coffee, sending super vague emails. It got so bad God personally had to speak to me. This was annoying because I’m not a religious person. I thought I’d made this clear to God by reading Harry Potter & not attending church except for gay weddings. God did not listen to me. God is not a good listener. I said Stop it please, I’ll give you wedding cake, money, candy, marijuana. Go talk to married people, politicians, children, reality TV stars. I’ll even set up a booth for you, then everyone who wants to talk to you can do so without the stuffy house of worship, the stuffier middlemen, & the football blimps that accidentally intercept prayers on their way to heaven. I’ll keep the booth decorations simple but attractive: stickers of angels & cats, because I’m not religious but didn’t people worship cats? Thing is, God couldn’t take a hint. My doctor said to eat an apple every day. My best friend said to stop sleeping with guys with messiah complexes. My mother said she is pretty sure she had sex with my father so I can’t be some new Asian Jesus. I tried to enrage God by saying things like When I asked my mother about you, she was in the middle of making dinner so she just said Too busy. I tried to confuse God by saying I am a made-up dinosaur & a real dinosaur & who knows maybe I love you, but then God ended up relating to me. God said I am a good dinosaur but also sort of evil & sometimes loving no one. It rained & we stayed inside. Played a few rounds of backgammon. We used our indoor voices. It got so quiet I asked God about the afterlife. Its existence, human continued existence. He said Oh. That. Then sent his angel again. Who said Ummmmmmm. I never heard from God or his rookie angel after that. I miss them. Like creatures I made up or found in a book, then got to know a bit.
-Poetry (June 2015)-
By Chen Chen
The verse world is **** and more stuff like this gets published in prominent magazines as time passes. Pretty soon, no one will have a reason to care about verse, as if they did to begin with.
I love writing poetry, but I hate this world. My stuff is ace but large mags don't even read the authors not already published somewhere big, as well as those who don't have connections to the magazine. Its all about who you know and who's rooster or pussycat you are willing to suck. There is literally no other way to get decent stuff published. Other than selling out and writing BS like the first piece above while exploiting my race in some soulless way. Even then, you still must know the correct people.
I told Don Share, the editor of Poetry to go **** himself, to his face, at John Updike's funeral, so that's obviously a large part of the issues they have with me/ignoring my work, but all the other magazines are just as **** with editors who are just as out of their element (but not **** like Share for the most part). I should just finish my Sci-fi novel/stories and make extra money and achieve some level of fame from them, but that's not how I want to get my name and my Truths to the masses. In addition I am not good at writing compelling fiction at all.
All of that complaining aside, this is a great feeling. Finishing a piece of art and succeeding in everything you were attempting to do and more is always great, but the scope of this stuff makes it feel like I finished the first half of a seven year marathon around the earth tonight . I know Andy writes some verse is anyone else here a writer of any sort? Any artists in general? I'm sure there are a few serious musicians or visual artists. Would love to hear or read your work if you are down.
I'll post some stuff from this poem, but I can't post much because of the rampant plagiarism in the industry and online. PM me if you're interested in my stuff, haha.
And yo, Rick and Morty has been **** ill this season. Such a hilarious and intelligent show.
Some of my stuff from said piece (which is partially about all of my friends/family in Boston, wish I could just post the whole thing, would actually make sense but as I said, plagiarism blows, just figured some of y'all might be intrigued regardless). First piece is italicized because its the intro after the title. Probably boring stuff no one cares about when it comes down to it, but I hope you enjoy reading them if you feel so inclined. Can't hurt anyone, lol. Picked some somewhat random selections that I think can stand on their own. That dotted line in the second poem is just there to separate the italicized intro to that piece as the distinction wasn't very clear in normal sized font.
Will's Back, Broken
Spoiler:
Will's Back, Broken
Six miles west of Balta I smoke over my feet, past lined fields
In Cambodia, Will smokes past land mines, lined pastures -------------------------------------------------- Since Will arrived we talked of broken past things: his plastic keyboard, his split back from school, my spines off shelves, my shells from Trinidad.
In Cambodia, women spoke with him about death: burnt black and white bits of leather outside Angkor Wat, red, broken bamboo whips, red men, tributaries flooded with blood, explosions infinite.
Since I would see him again, I left. When I slept that night I saw Will on the football field, hunched backwards, his red mouthpiece on white grass, and sounds: a quiet crunch, a snap turning into a roar, sirens. He said he left New England to go away, that Kansas isn’t old enough to live in, that pounds of cocaine ride rip tides towards the shore west of Kampong Saom.
Waiting For Her, With Chris, Near New Trees
Spoiler:
Waiting for Her, with Chris, Near New Trees
We were cracked on white—young and in our night—while watching cops and construction workers pull Linden trees from the banks of The Charles. They piled up in the trunk of white Fords, as black, jagged tangled bones—torn and spat out in pieces on top of Sycamore seeds.
Still, we waited for Becky, or whoever was coming to meet you, who did come eventually, pale, and wet from the storm across town, in a cyan anorak, singing smells of rum. We watched their lime leaves scatter in wind, blanket the water, soak until they sink to the bottom and turn to silt. As drops of rain began to fall my face went numb and my eyes widened. It seemed as though, if only for seconds in descent, leaves are immortal: still as Aeneas, as time spent waiting by torn up banks.
Or perhaps Turnus thrived in this earth, long perished with parts scattered across.
I am back to my senses now though; you leave with Becky and I follow street lights swarmed with clouds of moths home. I remember Linden Street swarms as bright and long as contrails.
Now, I sit and wait for no one, on the same green bench by the river, uncleft and sober. Sometimes I think I should saw them all down, but leave their roots alone.
Everything above is by "Truth18" and is my intellectual property. You do not have my permission to publish or post these elsewhere in any context.
re: Ex Machina. If you liked that, I'd recommend checking out The Skin I Live In w/ Antonio Banderas. It's from Spain, so subtitles if that's a dealbreaker for you.. fairly mainstream for a foreign language film, so should be easy to find. I'd be willing to bet that Pacino has already seen it.[/quote]
Ha. Hell yes. Skin was great. Tough to discuss without spoilers, but that was a heck of a wtf moment at the end. Worth the watch for anyone who loves the "I didn't see that coming" moment.
As for the Donavan clan. I agree on the daughter. Yikes she is bad. The son is getting better. I liken it to the Sopranos. AJ and Meadow were dreadful for years. She came around (physically as well) in the later seasons and he always sucked. The adult characters (Ray, Mickey, Bunchy, Terry, Javi) are just so well written. Check this season out for sure. Ian McShane is an amazing addition. Side note...he just signed on for GOT as well.
“All due respect and I’m generally curious but who tf is cousin steez” ~ MagicBagley18
"i see celtics fans here are nothing but a s s holes so good bye not going to waste my time with you lowlifes." ~ HornetsFan29
Truth-You killed me in that post. You should chase that paper my man. You don't have to be F Scott to write compelling fiction. My wife read the Twilight books so I grabbed one to give it a try...my word...that was a hot pile of sh$$. Cash a check and then return to your passion. So many great actors and singers do it. Ray Lamontagne sold his soul, and the rights to Trouble, to the commercial with the dog. CeeLo went from the indie scene of the Goodie Mob to walking around with a fluffy cat and a parrot while dropping roofies in girls drinks on the voice.
I wrote a movie script and a half in college and a third of a novel. Dropped out of college. Started sales. Never looked back. Wish I did. Film is obviously my passion and I had a talent for storytelling. I was God awful in the novel department though. Real talk.
Shocking about the disdain for The Leftovers. Maybe my Roman Catholic upbringing, along with fine acting, help me bury any questionable plot holes. I stand by The Leftovers There has been no show that got me thinking more than that one in recent memory. It's a real water cooler show if anyone watched it besides me. Lol.
Yes...West has an American accent in The Affair.
“All due respect and I’m generally curious but who tf is cousin steez” ~ MagicBagley18
"i see celtics fans here are nothing but a s s holes so good bye not going to waste my time with you lowlifes." ~ HornetsFan29
truth18 wrote:I have finished editing a poem for our ages. A long piece that's part of a larger collection/concept. It only took three years. Its brilliant, beautiful and highly involved with New England in addition to the larger concepts. I have made a piece of the Zeitgeist that must be read so people can understand a new and real concept of love, sadness, Truth, imagery and life. Hoping to finish the whole project in the next two or three years, but **** it, finally finishing this part feels great and I'm going to celebrate.
Most current verse is a load of bull. No one tries Very few known authors who truly understand the craft and how to use it. This is real poem that was actually published in Poetry, one of the more solid magazines. They published this **** next to **** Ferlinghetti. Yes, I said FERLINGHETTI. Read this atrocity:
Spoiler:
Two Rooms
I went into one room and then I went into another. I was in a room inside a room. There I felt safe.
-Poetry (June 2015)-
By Emily Berry
Please tell me someone thought of this after reading "Two Rooms"...
Pacino62 wrote:Ha. Hell yes. Skin was great. Tough to discuss without spoilers, but that was a heck of a wtf moment at the end. Worth the watch for anyone who loves the "I didn't see that coming" moment.
I loved the movie up until that moment. Fabulous premise, great acting, direction and photography... but "that moment that I didn't see coming" ruined it for me. It's not that I didn't like the moment per se -- it's the fact that what we see next and some of what we had seen earlier are illogical (assuming there's any logic in this film ).
Pacino62 wrote:Ha. Hell yes. Skin was great. Tough to discuss without spoilers, but that was a heck of a wtf moment at the end. Worth the watch for anyone who loves the "I didn't see that coming" moment.
I loved the movie up until that moment. Fabulous premise, great acting, direction and photography... but "that moment that I didn't see coming" ruined it for me. It's not that I didn't like the moment per se -- it's the fact that what we see next and some of what we had seen earlier are illogical (assuming there's any logic in this film ).
haha. Impressive that you even saw it. Never surprised when 15th drops a bomb. Happy to see others are open to new films as well. Subtitles and all.
“All due respect and I’m generally curious but who tf is cousin steez” ~ MagicBagley18
"i see celtics fans here are nothing but a s s holes so good bye not going to waste my time with you lowlifes." ~ HornetsFan29
Pacino62 wrote:Ha. Hell yes. Skin was great. Tough to discuss without spoilers, but that was a heck of a wtf moment at the end. Worth the watch for anyone who loves the "I didn't see that coming" moment.
I loved the movie up until that moment. Fabulous premise, great acting, direction and photography... but "that moment that I didn't see coming" ruined it for me. It's not that I didn't like the moment per se -- it's the fact that what we see next and some of what we had seen earlier are illogical (assuming there's any logic in this film ).
haha. Impressive that you even saw it. Never surprised when 15th drops a bomb. Happy to see others are open to new films as well. Subtitles and all.
Yeah, for the most part I don't like mainstream films. Not much of an art-house films fan either. I'm somewhere in between.
A movie that I really enjoyed was "Searching for Sugar Man". I didn't know what type of film it was, the people that were in it, or even the director, so I took it in without any preconceptions. Once it was finished, I had to go to Wikipedia to learn the story behind it. A bit of an exhilarating experience.
And for some not-so-recent excellence, I recommend "Let the right one in", a dark Swedish movie from 2008.(There's an American remake that, to my surprise, doesn't suck. Title: "Let me in".)
SuperDeluxe wrote:I loved the movie up until that moment. Fabulous premise, great acting, direction and photography... but "that moment that I didn't see coming" ruined it for me. It's not that I didn't like the moment per se -- it's the fact that what we see next and some of what we had seen earlier are illogical (assuming there's any logic in this film ).
haha. Impressive that you even saw it. Never surprised when 15th drops a bomb. Happy to see others are open to new films as well. Subtitles and all.
Yeah, for the most part I don't like mainstream films. Not much of an art-house films fan either. I'm somewhere in between.
A movie that I really enjoyed was "Searching for Sugar Man". I didn't know what type of film it was, the people that were in it, or even the director, so I took it in without any preconceptions. Once it was finished, I had to go to Wikipedia to learn the story behind it. A bit of an exhilarating experience.
And for some not-so-recent excellence, I recommend "Let the right one in", a dark Swedish movie from 2008.(There's an American remake that, to my surprise, doesn't suck. Title: "Let me in".)
Love "Let The Right One In". Agreed that the remake was solid, but still didn't touch the original.
15th....we may have another member of the underground movie club
“All due respect and I’m generally curious but who tf is cousin steez” ~ MagicBagley18
"i see celtics fans here are nothing but a s s holes so good bye not going to waste my time with you lowlifes." ~ HornetsFan29
rzzzzz wrote:Best live Mies: Live at the Cellar Door
Best recent music release: In the Orbit of Ra: compiled by Marshall Allen (Astro Black is a killer.)
Best post-basketball novel: Rabbit Run
Most recent novel read: Mason/Dixon (currently stumbling through O Lost)
Most recent movie watched: Sherlock Jr (on Netflix)
Best movie in theater: Salt of the Earth
"Salt of the Earth"????!!! Wtf. Color me stumped. Lmao. Nobody stumps me with movies. Ha. Just googled it. Sounds interesting. I'll check it out soon. Thanks for the rec.
“All due respect and I’m generally curious but who tf is cousin steez” ~ MagicBagley18
"i see celtics fans here are nothing but a s s holes so good bye not going to waste my time with you lowlifes." ~ HornetsFan29
Isn't that the poetry issue you're quoting that was edited by that teenage fashion blogger? More to say about the rest of your post, may PM you later..
The Leftovers = unhappiness porn.. It's not that good or bad, it's competently done, some great acting, but it's just so unrelentingly unhappy I love it. Like Ethan Frome level bleakness, past the point of plausibility..
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