Reading: Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma
Music: Marc Bernier
TV/Movie: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Link o' the Day: WeeklyScript.com

Yeah, yeah. Award shows. Can't be a film fan and can't have a weekend of award shows without some kind of commentary, can I? So let's see.

I do consider the Oscars still relevant and worth watching. The "improvements" this year didn't really seem like improvements to me, but I will admit that there were moments when I felt genuinely entertained. Still, I wished they'd have stuck more to the awards than in the pap and poorly-written humor. In other words, it was a night of hits and misses, and because they ran long and always do, I wish they'd trim out the misses beforehand during rehearsals. There are rehearsals, aren't there?

As for the red carpet coverage that eats up a good hour or more... I understand why they have them, but think maybe their time has passed. Yeah, it's the time for the fashionistas to shine, but I don't care. Start the ceremonies earlier..let the shows that want to cover the red carpet drag do so, but don't sacrifice potential award time. How about an Oscars that ends no later than 11pm?


And I haven't even talked about the results. I was disappointed that Viola Davis didn't get Best Supporting Actress. Glad that Heath Ledger got Best Supporting Actor, and that Dustin Lance Black got the Best Original Screenplay for Milk. It was good to see films like Slumdog Millionaire and the Benjamin Buttons movie do well also.

What was more fun was the Independent Spirit Awards. Less glitz and glam, more time with the artists and some genuinely amusing unscripted moments. I suppose that's the whole point. Access to alcohol makes for a very different awards ceremony. Good on Mickey Rourke for his winning speech for Best Actor in The Wrestler (which won a few awards) and I was happy to see that Tom McCarthy picked up a Best Director for The Visitor. Synecdoche, New York had barely any public release, and the DVD won't come out for a couple of more weeks, but that got Best First Feature.



Spirit Awards, good...Oscars...meh. But I'll keep watching both.

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The week is starting out fairly easy. Today I'll be working on the 2nd edition to Spotlights & Shadows: The Albert Salmi Story by Sandra Grabman. Who? You'd know him if you saw him from any one of thousands of TV and movie appearances like Kung Fu, Lost in Space, Bonanza, and Planet of the Apes. I first worked on this back in 2004 and it's good to see the book has done well enough to warrant an update.

I'll also be tackling edits to the medical journal, scouting cover artists for the next SFWA Bulletin, and doing some writing. A decent amount of writing hopefully over the next couple of days.

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Today's link goes to one of my favorite free-to-read script sites: WeeklyScript.com. Sadly, it's not been updated in a year, and its featured "current" script is still Juno, but hey--it's a good read, and you don't have to navigate far to find some really great scripts to enjoy... like Bad Day at Black Rock.


Enjoy!