A personal diary keeping people abreast of what I am working on writing-wise.

Saturday, December 31, 2005

SUITED & BOOTED

My January employee picks for Trilogy Video are all costume dramas.



* Children of Paradise, dir. Marcel Carne

* Howards End, a Merchant Ivory Production

* The Sea is Watching, screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, dir. Kei Kumai

* Untold Scandal, a retelling of Les Liasons Dangereuses set in 18th-century Korea, dir. Je-yong Lee

* War & Peace (1956), starring Henry Fonda and Audrey Hepburn, dir. King Vidor



Current Soundtrack: Destiny's Child, #1s (I fixed the title to be grammatically correct)


Current Mood: nostalgic

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

WHO'S BETTER, WHO'S BEST:

TOP MOVIES 2005


My latest DVD column for the Oni Press site is now online. Read the new "Can You Picture That?" and absorb my thoughts on the extended DVDs of Sin City and Hellboy.



And with that up, what better time than now to post my list of my top 25 movies of 2005? And about time, too. It's been weeks since I did my music list.

I am going to cheat on this list in several ways. For one, production dates aren't going to be strictly observed, as so many foreign movies take so long to find their way to America. So, I am working from films I saw this year either in the theatre or on DVD that were released in the U.S. in the last twelve months. Thus, despite having seen 2046 on a Chinese DVD in 2004, it shows up here. 2046 is also part of breeching another rule of etiquette as far as these lists are concerned. I am going with two ties for the top spots. I honestly couldn't decide between them, and I think as my explanations will demonstrate, there are things about the movies in question that make them fit together.



1. 3-Iron, dir. Kim Ki-Duk (Korea)
2046, dir. Wong Kar-Wai (China)

Both of these films were romantic and spiritual, while also portraying a unique vision that wasn't as concerned with conventional storytelling as it was in following the whims of the heart. Both are stunning to look at, and both defy expectations at every turn. There were no two more rewarding experiences at the movies this year.



2. Good Night, and Good Luck, dir. George Clooney (U.S.)
Syriana, dir. Stephen Gaghan (U.S.)

George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh have done some incredible work with their Section Eight production company. This year they put it all on the line with two creative and daring political movies that were neither simplistic nor jingoistic. They had their points, sure, but you had to puzzle them out for yourself, and even if you didn't want to think about what it all means, you probably enjoyed yourself anyway.

3. The Best of Youth, dir. Marco Tullio Giordana (Italy) - Nearly seven hours long, this epic story of one family spans decades without ever growing weary. It's about how life repeats, how connections continually insist themselves into being noticed, and that how we relate to one another is all that matters once the day is done.

4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin, dir. Judd Apatow (U.S.) - This crass comedy is on here for one reason only: it made me laugh from start to finish. A rarity these days.

5. Broken Flowers, dir. Jim Jarmusch (U.S.) - Jarmusch is a distinctive auteur obsessed with the things unsaid and undone. In Broken Flowers, he tells a tale of a man who has loved and left countless women over his lifetime, and when one of them anonymously writes to inform him that he has a son, he is forced to revisit his past to reconnect to something he never realized he was missing. Bill Murray gives yet another brilliant performance, working towards an answer to the emptiness an older man is forced to confront as his life wears on.

6. Reconstruction, dir. Christoffer Boe (Denmark) - A writer suspects his wife of infidelity, and rather than succumb to the nagging suspicions in his head, he sits down and begins to write about them. As he changes the course of action for his characters, so too are the real-life people affected. Or are they? Is this a warped reality, or merely a filmmaker playing with the fabric of story? However you choose to see it, Reconstruction is an engrossing and playful meditation on emotion and the creative process.

7. Saraband, dir. Ingmar Bergman (Sweden) - In what may be his last film, Bergman returns to one of his best, Scenes from a Marriage, making a sequel where the decades have passed and bringing the characters into the present. Saraband is every bit as natural and honest as its predecessor, continuing and building on the original without being repetitive. The very definition of what a sequel should be.

8. In The Realms of the Unreal: The Mystery of Henry Darger, dir. Jessica Yu (U.S.) - A lot of the films on this list are about the creative process, seeking to divine how an artist's work reflects and influences his life. Yu's film is a documentary about a very real and very mysterious creative personality, Henry Darger, who died unknown, leaving behind a huge body of interconnected work, both visual and prose. Yu uses the art to try to piece together an image of the man.

9. Brokeback Mountain, dir. Ang Lee (U.S.) - A very human story where the question becomes what is more dangerous: suppressing one's feelings or releasing them in a world that may not understand?

10. Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, dir. Liam Lynch (U.S.) - A hilarious send-up of P.C. values that manages to remain humanist while being wholly offensive. Silverman has a keen mind and a fearless urge to give it expression.



11. Memories of Murder, dir. Joon-ho Bong (Korea)
12. Munich, dir. Steven Spielberg (U.S.)
13. Not on the Lips, dir. Alain Resnais (France)
14. Howl's Moving Castle, dir. Hayao Miyazaki (Japan)
15. Happy Endings, dir. Don Roos (U.S.)
16. Heights, dir. Chris Terrio (U.S.)
17. Kontroll, dir. Nimród Antal (Hungary)
18. The Aristocrats, dir. Paul Provenza (U.S.)
19. Capote, dir. Bennett Miller (U.S.)
20. 5X2, dir. Francois Ozon (France)
21. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, dir. Doug Liman (U.S.)
22. Sin City, dir. Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller (U.S.)
23. Untold Scandal, dir. Je-yong Lee (Korea)
24. Melinda & Melinda, dir. Woody Allen (U.S.)
25. Wedding Crashers, dir. David Dobkin (U.S.)



One movie I haven't had a chance to see yet that would likely make this list is the new film from Hsiao-hsien Hou, Cafe Lumiere. Once I get a chance to check it out, though, I will write my impressions here.

Current Soundtrack: XTC, Oranges & Lemons

Current Mood: pissed off (don't ask at what, I just am; if you don't know, it means you didn't do it)

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S.

Monday, December 26, 2005

HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE, pt. 7 (Ta-ta for now!)

(part I) (part II) (part III) (part IV) (part V) (part VI) (Jen Wang's Audrey)

A big post today to send things on their way. These will constitute the last of the Audrey Hepburn portfolio as it stands at the end of 2005. Who will join us in 2006? You?

Scott Morse always does things in a big way (see Soulwind, for instance). In this case, he actually painted his Audrey in the book itself.



No stranger to color himself, as his Skinwalker and Queen & Country covers would attest, Durwin Talon took a simpler approach, while also picking one of Audrey's seemingly lesser known movies, The Nun's Story. One must always be impressed with a man who isn't afraid of the road less travelled.



As the artist for Capote In Kansas, it seems appropriate that Chris Samnee would choose another Capote creation, Holly Golightly, drawn at this year's San Diego Comic Con International:



Despite doing manly books like Hysteria, Mike Hawthorne also has quite a talent for romantic comedy, as readers of Three Days In Europe are well aware. This makes him a perfect choice for this project, and all the more interesting that he went for such a regal portrait.



Finally, one of my favorite illustrations proved the hardest to scan. Leandro Fernandez did a pencil drawing in the book, and it's really light and delicate. This here is the best I could do on the scanning:



Sorry, Leandro.

Current Soundtrack: Mark Gardener with Goldrush, These Beautiful Ghosts

Current Mood: finished

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich

Sunday, December 25, 2005

OF ALL THE CHARLIE BROWNS, I'M THE CHARLIE BROWNIEST



For more comic book Christmas images, Newsarama has posted their collection of cards from comic book professionals. Mine from this year is included, and if you look for the Oni card by Ted Naifeh from a Christmas past, you'll also see me drawn as some kind of strange raven creature.

Current Soundtrack: Antony & the Johnsons, "Perfect Day (live)" (take no significance to this song as an endorsement of this holiday, it's just a coincidence

Current Mood: thoughtful

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich

Friday, December 23, 2005

HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE, pt. 6

(part I) (part II) (part III) (part IV) (part V)

We're now into the portion of the sketchbook that I commissioned myself--and when I say sketchbook, I mean it. As you'll start to notice, the scans come from pages inside a book, so they are trickier and not as good as something I can plop down flat on the glass. Today's selections come courtesy of Spookoo Studios. The first is from the head spook, my pal Christine Norrie, creator of Cheat and the artist on the forthcoming Breaking Up.



While we're here, I also have always loved this piece Christine did for my other sketchbook:



Christine's sister, Catherine Norrie, is a pretty excellent artist herself, and she's done a lot of work in graphic design. This is an elegantly simple pencil drawing:



And while my sketchbook was in the studio, a certain Welshman named Jamie McKelvie was interning there. Jamie debuted this year illustrating Eric Stephenson's Long Hot Summer graphic novel, and is soon to follow with his own Suburban Glamour.




Current Soundtrack: A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector

Current Mood: rushed

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, December 22, 2005

HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE, pt. 5

(part I) (part II) (part III) (part IV)

The next two drawings from the Audrey Hepburn portfolio are by Daniel Krall, artist of Oni Press' One Plus One. These were comisssioned for me by Jennifer Sireci. The colors are much nicer in person. I don't have the computer skills to do color corrections, unfortunately.





My phone is working again, by the way. I talked to customer service this morning, and it was a simple matter of popping the battery out and putting it back in. Yay! Plus, I qualify for a free phone upgrade by renewing my service contract.

Yesterday, I finished the first draft of that new manga series I mentioned earlier, and this morning I wrote the first draft of next week's "Can You Picture That?" It will focus on the extended cuts of certain comic book movies.

Current Soundtrack: Foxymoron 2005 mix CD

Current Mood: rejuvenated

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

LITTLE ARGUMENT WITH MYSELF

What is it about December that seems to inspire major equipment failure in my life? Last year was the great hard drive catastrophe, this year my e-mail went kaput and now my phone wouldn't turn on after I came out of King Kong. That's what I get for turning it off out of politeness. I blame Peter Jackson. He bored my phone to death.

I got the remixes of Depeche Mode's "A Pain That I'm Used To" this week, and I've been listening to that song more and more. I realized that the reason it resonates with me so much is that I hear it as a song I sing to myself, about myself. I am both the "I" and "You." Mercurial Mercutio. The classic Gemini. Bleedin' quadrophenric.

I adopt it as my current theme.

"A Pain That I'm Used To" (lyrics by M.L. Gore"
I'm not sure
What I'm looking for anymore
I just know
That I'm harder to console
I don't see who I'm trying to be
Instead of me
But the key
Is a question of control

Can you say
What you're trying to play anyway
I just pay
While you're breaking all the rules
All the signs that I find
Have been underlined
Devils thrive on the drive
That is fuelled

All this running around
Well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe
All the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve
Something that rings true

There's a hole in your soul
Like an animal
With no conscience
Repentance unknown
Close your eyes
Pay the price for your paradise
Devils feed on the seeds
That are sown

Can't conceal what I feel
What I know is real
No mistaking the faking
I care
With a prayer in the air
I will leave it there
On a note full of hope
Not despair

All this running around
Well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe
All the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve
Something that rings true

Such is my mood....

Current Soundtrack: the occasional noise of the oven

Current Mood: quixotic

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich

SO MANY ILLUSTRATIONS

[It appears my e-mail is back on track, though if you sent me something between 12/8 and 12/12 and didn't hear back from me, it means the message was lost. Also, if you have a unique e-mail domain (i.e. something that isn't gmail, hotmail, etc.), and you wanna do me a favor, drop me a line at the address below so I can test my mail.]

Cross-posted with Oni.

I've got more stuff in my house than any man my age has a right. This means sometimes I'm going through stuff and looking for something, and I find another thing that is a total surprise. Like last week when I discovered two unpublished pieces of art for my Oni Press-published novel, Cut My Hair.

The first is a sketch by Strangetown co-writer/artist Chynna Clugston (see also: Blue Monday, Scooter Girl). The copy I have is a fax. The drawing is of Tristan and Mason, and it was intended for chapter 7, "Never Tell."



The caption says, "See? It's just like I told you. They'll destroy you. Only you and me know. No one else ever will." The image is really nice, but it was rejected because it was a little too on-the-nose as far as making one possible reading of the subtext much more blatant. We went with the version that appears on page 72 of the book instead.

The other drawing is by Little Star media mogul--and gigantic star himself--Andi Watson (see also: Breakfast After Noon, Love Fights, Geisha, Dumped). It was never intended for publication. It was apparently sent in with the original art, as written on the back is a little note saying, "Here is the original art." It's a lovely portrait of Jeane in blue.



By the way, you all know that Andi has an art blog, right? And Chynna keeps a journal where she posts news about her comics from time to time?

HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE, pt. 4

(part I) (part II) (part III)

Since we're on the subject of Chynna, here is her contribution to the Audrey Hepburn portfolio. This ambitious piece is posted against her wishes. She doesn't like it. She offerred to draw me a new one, but I noted that she'd just end up hating it, too.



Feel free to leave comments and tell Chynna she's wrong.

Current Soundtrack: Girls Aloud, b-sides & rarities

Current Mood: Chynna's gotta be kidding

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich