Monday, October 31, 2011

A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)

Hou Hsaio-hsien's A City of Sadness opens on perhaps the most solemn moment of celebration I've ever seen in a film. Over the black credits screen comes the voice of Emperor Hirohito announcing his unconditional surrender to Allied forces, his thin, resigned voice carrying the still-fresh shock of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hou cuts to a Taiwanese family in a candlelit household during a power outage, listening to this broadcast as a woman in the next room gives birth. One cannot tell whether the looks of apprehension on their faces are for the woman in labor or the political uncertainty. What should be a joyous moment—one Hou even visualizes a sense of hope when the lights come back on with the baby's birth and Taiwan's official liberation from 50 years of Japanese rule—instead feels ambiguous, even vaguely threatening.

But then, it's not really a true celebration of Taiwan's freedom. As characters note a few minutes later, the Japanese flags have been taken down and replaced with the old Chinese ones. The country still finds itself under the heel of another, venal Chinese bureaucrats replacing imperial Japanese forces. Not two years later, the Kuomintang government headed by Chiang Kai-shek would unleash a mass crackdown of growing Taiwanese dissidence in order to consolidate power over the Nationalist party's new homebase. During this vicious suppression, anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 dissidents were killed and the KMT enacted a 40-year reign of martial law that would kill and imprison many more. Hou never bothers to make that coming storm a surprise, focusing instead on the sense of loss and voicelessness that categorizes Taiwan to this day.

In a typical practice of narrative focus, A City of Sadness condenses its large-scale historico-political subject matter by filtering it through the more personal prism of the Lin family, made up of four brothers. The eldest, Wen-heung, is the most optimistic about the end of Japanese rule, reconverting his bar into a restaurant he calls "Little Shanghai." But when gangsters from the real city come by demanding his cooperation, he learns soon enough that he isn't free. Two brothers got conscripted into the Japanese army, but only one, Wen Wen-leung, returned, albeit shellshocked into madness. When he recovers, he finds himself working for the same gangsters who pressure Wen-heung, unable to find work elsewhere. The youngest, Wen-ching (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), is deaf-mute, a sweet intellectual who operates a photography studio where grumbling young dissidents begin meeting before everything goes to hell.

Each represents some facet of Taiwanese response to liberation and subsequent re-enslavement, yet none exists solely as a symbol. But neither do the characters get much in the way of insight and depth of thought. Their presence grounds the emotional remove of the film with resonant hardships, also sidestepping any play for concrete objectivity by resolutely sticking with the brothers and their immediate families instead of capturing the full impact of the White Terror. By concentrating on what happens to these people, however, Hou can still address the actual events that ravaged the island. It's a hard approach to grasp, and it's telling that, as much as the film baffled Western critics not versed in Taiwan's history, it similarly vexed Taiwanese audiences.

Hou achieves his contradictorily historical and lyrical perspective through a singular use of camera movement and placement that uses geometric precision to create an antithetical sense of natural realism. He sets shots on an axis, returning to each area with shots in different positions along that same axis. For example, when he first moves inside the central set of the hospital, Hou situates the camera in the middle of the corridor looking out the door as Shizuko, a Japanese girl repatriated back to Japan following the war, asks for her nurse friend, Hinomi. Shortly thereafter, Hou returns to the axis but pulls the camera back into another room, still pointing out the hospital door but placing a second doorway to complete change the mood of the shot with only the slightest variance.

This style proves more confusing and challenging to Western viewers than its esoteric approach to lesser-known cultural history. The shots we assume to be chronological progressions are revealed belatedly to be simultaneous occurrences, and sometimes distinct areas become adjacent rooms in a larger set. For a film that situates itself in an intimate family setting, Hou's camera reverses the expectation of proximal shots and more psychological framing of sociopolitical response. If anything, the director moves further back the deeper the film plunges into its despair. No shot moves nearer to a character than medium-close-up, and any violence gets framed in long and extreme-long-shots, if not elided altogether.

Yet there is a poetic beauty at work here, with Hou's precise framing marking the progress of time outside clear dates. Mixing Ozu's static shots with Mizoguchi's elegant, long takes, Hou consistently clarifies and subsequently redefines spatial relationships in a playful but serious and perfectly judged way. And by returning to the same sets along the same axes, Hou creates visual motifs that instantly convey meaning through repetition. Several scenes occur at a dinner table in front of a stained-glass window with diamond shapes, and all of them feature some form of conflict. First, people mumble dissent over politics before being chided and distracted from their talk. Later, the Shanghai gangsters cow Wen-heung there. By showing intimate unrest throughout the film, the table symbolizes the massive conflict outside that window when Hou ends the film with a shot of no one sitting there. Furthermore, his method of visualizing the notes Wen-ching writes and receives to communicate recalls silent film intertitles, tying a film about cultural history to the history of the artform itself.

Wen-heung summarizes the film's theme even as his weary voice sets the tone when he bitterly sighs, "This island is in a bad way. First the Japanese, then the Chinese. They all exploit us and no one gives a damn." A sense of elegiac sorrow hangs over this film, and not only for the Taiwanese; Hou devotes some sad moments to the Japanese who grew up there during the 50-year rule forced to return to a still-smoldering motherland they wouldn't recognize even at its best. But Hou uses politics to move deeper into his story, presenting history, culture and personal recollection not into one homogenous whole but alternating between them until the ties that connect them are revealed. Hinomi, whose romance with Wen-ching leads to a marriage they won't be able to enjoy because of the regime crackdown, narrates the film.

Another director might have played up the irony of this, a Japanese woman speaking for a depiction of brutality upon the Taiwanese. Indeed, to some extent, Hou does suggest some commentary here, such as the scene where Hinomi diverts the political talk of others at the table by bidding Wen-ching to put on music he cannot hear to distract them. But Hou goes beyond using mere jabs, instead complicating the humanity, not the politics, of the film. She wanted a normal life too, and her flat, wistful narration proves no less haunting and resonant than the shot of an arrested Wen-ching staring blankly as he sits in a cell, unable to hear the sound of gunfire eliminating prisoners just outside the jail walls.

Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark

Well hello there! I have been in a training class for a week, then I went to New Orleans, and now I'm in another week of training. You'd think that being in training all day and not having to go to work would lead to excessive free time, but it actually just gave me more time to go hang out and drink. Therefore - no blog posts.

But let's remedy that situation. Here's a couple pictures from my weekend -

Me and the Yip-Yip Aliens!

Paco y Pepe
This was my first time in The Big Easy, and I feel like we made the most of it. I went with a bunch of people from work for VOODOO Fest, a music festival similar to ACL. Turns out that Bourbon Street is a LOT like Sixth Street in Austin (which is awesome) except that you're allowed to carry your "beverages" around in the street (even more awesome). One thing that you can't really see is that my belt actually had two pouches that fit a very large drink in each of them. They came in very handy! I might have to wear it to parties on a regular basis.

We had way too many people to keep track of, but the ghosts of Halloween were friendly and returned our lost souls. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured, arrested, or left behind.

In other news, my nails look like trash, so I'll attempt to do something awesome.. hopefully tonight. :]

Jenna Petersen Interview + Excerpt

I am lucky to have had the opportunity to interview Jenna Petersen. Check out her responses below and don't forget to read the excerpts for some of her books after the interview!

As a historical romance writer, do you have to do extensive research to write your stories?
I write in the Regency period and have for over ten years, so my base is pretty decent. I do expand my research base when I approach topics I haven’t hit on before or when I want to go deeper in depth on a topic (dancing, dinner, etc).

You write erotic romance as Jess Michaels. Where do you get your ideas?
My erotic romances as really not that different from my regular historical romances, the conflict is just more based in sexuality. Like all ideas, I can’t really say where I get them. They’re just… there.

Do you get to have a say on what your covers look like?
For the romances I’ve written for New York publishers, I do have the ability to make suggestions, but the art departments for my publishers design them as they see fit. I’ve been lucky to get great covers. For my independently published books, I do get a say. I’ve worked with hotdamndesigns.com for my wonderful covers.

Do you find it challenging to write a series of books as oppose to stand-alone?
Not really. I am a plotter, so I generally already have an idea of where each book will go and resolve whatever over-arching story there is throughout the books. In some ways, it’s easier, since I already know the characters really well if they’ve appeared in earlier books.

Do you have any specific inspiration for your writing?
I just love writing books with that uplifting ending. I have more ideas than I have time to write them and it’s a pleasure to get to do this for a living.

How do you come up with your pen name?
Pen names are really a combination of availability, shelf position, ease of spelling and something that is meaningful to the author. Or lots of authors go with their real name.

How do you come up with your titles?
With my books published in New York, I could suggest titles but they had a final say in titles. For my independent books, I try to have my titles reflect the story at hand. Something that evokes an interest from the reader and makes the wonder what the story is about.

One of Jenna's book is "Rogue for a Night". Enjoy the excerpt below!


Excerpt:

He drew in a long breath. “Lucinda, the first moment I saw you, I was taken by your beauty. When I saw you, I could not help but catch my breath. I even thought of you when you weren’t near.”

Lucinda stared at him. This she had not ever guessed he would say. “Y-You did? I had no idea.”
He nodded once. “You were another man’s wife and I never would have pursued that interest out of a respect not only for your husband and his brother, but for you. But yes, I wanted you. I want you still, Lucinda. Perhaps now more than ever.”

She could hardly breathe at this revelation. What he was saying… it was madness! She ought to be offended, as he had said he feared. She ought to turn away from his blunt admission of desire and tell him never to speak of it again.

But she didn’t. All she did was stand still as stone and drown in the roaring echo of her heartbeat as it pounded in her ears like an ocean tide.

He moved a fraction closer and that tide turned even more violent. All she could see now was him. All she could feel was him… and he wasn’t even touching her.

“But Lucinda, I would never want to be something you regret.” He shook his head. “I am going to go away for a few days. There is a bit of business for me to do in a neighboring shire. When I return, we can pretend this conversation never happened, if that is what you desire. Or…”

He trailed off and held Lucinda’s gaze evenly. She struggled to find her voice and finally squeaked out, “Or?”

“Whatever you like, Lucinda,” he whispered and then he caught her hand and drew her even closer. His lips lowered again and he kissed her a second time...


Thank you Jenna for granting me this interview!

Everyone, please leave a comment or question for Jenna :) Happy Halloween!

Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)

Long seen as the French answer to Alfred Hitchcock, Henri-Georges Clouzot managed to surpass his British yin with Les diaboliques. Predating Psycho by five years, the film clearly got under Hitch's skin, for he plundered it to make his own twisty horror-thriller. Les diaboliques (released as Diabolique in the United States) introduces the upheaving twist that Psycho would move up from the climax to the end of the first act, features a bathroom scene the Master of Suspense had to work to top, and it works on a high plane of grim irony that even Hitchcock, with his dark sense of humor, must have admired.

But to define Clouzot by Hitch's standards is not only unfair but misleading. Where Hitchcock's technique-driven direction typically bypasses both narrative and character to grab the audience, Clouzot puts so much effort into retaining the plot of Boileau-Narcejac's novel that the film feels more like a proper mystery book, with its meticulous, follow-the-breadcrumbs pace daring to languish with extraneous scenes while still carefully building a mood. More so than the glissandi-spiked frights and deliberately jarring anti-narrative strokes of Psycho, Les diaboliques seizes the audience through a series of events so smoothly ordered that it's impossible to feel cheated even when the director rips out the carpet from underneath the audience.

Subtly, Clouzot never even allows for a moment's rest, even subverting the calm of the first few minutes by playing up the always glum setting of a boarding school. Horror is all about an exaggeration of anxieties, and the film traces this school back to the root of European education, Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, patron saint of teachers. In a cute joke, the married couple who head the school are the Delassalles. Christina (Clouzot's wife Véra), a frail wife whose heart condition seems to have preserved her in a false, perverse youth, actually owns the school. But it is her husband Michel (Paul Meurisse) who runs the school as principal, and he projects the financial insecurity of his wife's wealth into his behavior. Michel takes every opportunity to shame Christina, referring to her as his "little ruin" for her health issues. He so boisterously tears Christina down that his taunts have a way of silencing the school's rowdy boys but also shifting their attention squarely to the abused wife, as if attack dogs waiting for the order to strike.

Michel is misogyny on legs, so cruel he flaunts his mistress Nicole (Simone Signoret), another teacher, before everyone. Yet his repellent behavior is such that these two women actually bond over how much they hate him, with Nicole just as disgusted by his treatment of Christina as the wife herself. Signoret, with her limitless sensuality, here seduces the wife more than any man, ignoring the lecherous come-ons of the other teachers to woo Christina into doing something about Michel. This only further complicates the complex sexual dynamics of the film, which already aligns leering masculine presence against suffering females of different stripes. Nicole hatches a plan to kill Michel, the femme goading another woman into taking down a man rather than the usual inverse.

Clouzot progresses the plot from this point with a steady suction of light from the mise-en-scène and a gradual twisting of the frame. Everything slowly darkens as the two carry out their scheme and deal with the fallout, gradually dipping into inky voids so black that when light finally reenters the frame, it is only to spotlight a new shadow. Clouzot rarely uses music to punctuate a scene, letting the dread pile up from his gentle but ominous presentation of mostly static shots that tease failure at every turn. However, the shot of a sedated Michel being submerged in a bathtub to drown, or of the mild shock of his bloated face (complete with eyes rolled back into his skull) revealed as the women dump the body, wrings further chills by implicating the audience's desire to see him punished visualized in flat but gruesome terms. Furthermore, the flat pans and tracks that began the film pivot to angle everything, and objects such as stairs increasingly enter the frame add yet more visual madness as Christina starts to fall apart from guilt and fear.

Mordant irony plays a key role in the film as well. As Nicole runs the bath to drown the unconscious Michel, the tenants she earlier had to shake down for money now complain about the noise drowning out a radio contest. And as Michel's last breath bubbles out of him, the whinging man upstairs tells his wife he won't come to bed until they drain the tub because he cannot sleep with the noise. But later, he helps load the wicker basket containing Michel's corpse into Christina's car, oblivious that he's toting the reason for his minor inconvenience. When the women dump Michel's body into the school swimming pool hoping to make the murder look like an accident, the grim humor begins to align with the plot as his body subsequent disappears and clues stack up that he may be alive. Before long, Michel is darkly tormenting his wife more in "death" than in life. Christina, already terrified of being caught, soon has to deal with yet another thorn in the form of a retired detective who pities this woman who's "lost" her husband and also wants to feel like he can still figure out a case. The poor bastard found the one woman in France who couldn't want his help less.

To further connect the film to Hitchcock, the British director purportedly pursued the rights to the book and only just got beaten to the punch by Clouzot. But I can't help but feel Hitch, who largely left religion out of his work and even took Ed Gein's fanatical upbringing out of Norman Bates for Psycho, wouldn't have brought as much to Les diaboliques as Clouzot. French Catholicism hangs over this film, from the naming of the lead couple and school after a saint to the altar Christina keeps that subtly keeps triggering her guilt when she prays at it. Yet I wondered if that religion also didn't drive her to the murder in the first place, as it clearly forbids her from divorce. It also informs the patriarchal model in which the two women operate, creating a system of chauvinistic, repressed men who speak condescendingly and paternally to the same women they want to defile. Even the boys suffer from this, as heard in one brief aside where two schoolboys preparing for a trip home work out the final details for peeking in one of their sisters while bathing.

Even the film's twist plays into this critical view of misogyny, revealing an even larger scheme orchestrated by corrupting male forces to manipulate and even dispatch women. Clouzot does such a fine job of making Christina, for all her misdeeds and mounting paranoia, sympathetic that to see the tables cruelly turn on her provoked a complex mix of tragedy and just desserts. It also makes the terror that much more effective and, combined with some beautifully chill-inducing shots in the climax, manages to sustain the energy of a quicker jump scare over a longer period of time, drawing out the horror all the way through the best damn use of contact lenses ever put to film.

An omnipresent suggestion of surveillance hangs over the second half, which feels like the voyeuristic thrillers of Hitchcock and De Palma rooted solely on the perspective of the watched instead of the watcher. That makes the twist guessable but not obvious; more importantly, it makes the film rewatchable, not simply dropping a sudden break into the film but demonstrating its narrative cohesion through visual mastery of mood. That building aesthetic of constant reality shifts and a tragic sense of bewilderment would find its way in Hitchcock's subsequent adaptation of another Boileau-Narcejac book, his masterpiece Vertigo, the film so unlike what its director had done before yet so summarizing and fulfilling of all his traits. To see so much of that film, and Psycho, given its foundation made Les diaboliques a delight, but the film's true joys are self-contained and independent of the huge influence they had. It's easy to see why everyone, even the best, would crib from it, and Les diaboliques got under my skin as well as I'm sure it did for audiences in the mid-'50s, when it was one of the first foreign films to play outside the arthouse circuit in the English-speaking world.

Happy Halloween


Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope everyone has great evening! I can't wait to pass out candy to my neighborhood kids and see all the cute costumes. Last year, I bought 4 bags of candy and ran out.
Hmmmm.. how much should I buy this year?

Saturday night, Ryan and I went to two Halloween parties.

We decided to be " Revenge of the Nerds"! We are such " NERDS."


Sange in coaie

Sursa foto:prosport.ro

Aseara la meciul Petrolul vs Steaua un ultras al gazdelor,Stefan Dragos Enache a intrat pe teren si l-a lovit din spate cu pumnul in tampla pe fundasul Stelei,Galamaz care nu a avut timp sa reactioneze si a cazut lat.
Imediat dupa ultrasul s-a intreptat in alergare spre grupul de stelisti.
Martinovici a fost primul care a reactionat si l-a atacat pe cretinul din PLoiesti.A incercat sa-i mute fata cu 2 lovituri de picior.Imediat portarul Stelei loveste si el ca Sandy Belle.Arbitrul ii elimina pe amandoi.

Ce vreau eu sa punctez este ca noi romanii suntem niste mamaligi.
O sa ma intrebati de ce?
Pai un coleg de-al lor ,roman,e trimis in lumea viselor si primul care reactioneaza e un jucator de nationalitate sarba?
Mereu am fost de parere ca omul isi arata adevarata fata in situatii de criza.Jucatorii romani ai Stelei se uitau lung.
Domnule Becali cand le mai platiti salariile un sfat va dau :Sa-i trimiteti sa-si cumpere cate o pereche de coaie.Se pare ca duc lipsa baieteii de la Steaua.
Respect Martinovici.
P.S. Neda Marinovic un istoric spune asa despre originea cuvantului sarb:In descrierea celui mai vechi popor din Balcani ,arata ca Sarb,in limba straveche indiana,sanscrita,din care au derivat toate limbile indoeuropene,intre care si limba sarba,semnifica pe omul liber,pe viteazul care lupta vesnic pentru propria supravietuire.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Book I'm Most Thankful For

This post is sponsored by Beth Revis's Giveaway :) Check it out here.

Win 19 Signed Books

Instead of a book, I have a series. I am MOST THANKFUL for the House of Night series. If it wasn't for this book, I wouldn't have been able to get out of my heartbroken slump a year ago. This book helped me with healing my heart and falling in love with books so much more. Now I am an avid reader, I get to meet so many authors online and in person, and I get to chat with them given a chance.


I'm really happy that this series started it all for me. The first book, Marked, really got me hooked and I couldn't put it down since then. I had to keep reading, and even after I finished the latest in the series, I just had to find more and more books like it as well as explore other books that might not be similar to it.

So, that is the book series I am most thankful for. What book are YOU most thankful for? Let me know in the comments! :)

P.S.
Don't forget to enter my current giveaways. They are on the right sidebar :)

JOHN CARTER | Official Characters Descriptions

John Carter official characters descriptions for the 2012 Andrew Stanton directed science fiction film describes characters played by Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, and Ciaran Hinds, amongst others.

John Carter‘s plot synopsis: “John Carter is a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.”


John Carter’s official characters descriptions:

THE EARTHMEN – (From the planet Earth of the late 1800s — light years from Barsoom, a.k.a. Mars):

JOHN CARTER (Taylor Kitsch) – “No good’ll come out of me fightin’ your war.” — Born in Virginia, John Carter served as an officer in the Confederate army in the Civil War. He is an honorable and courageous hero, but the ravages of the Civil War have left him broken, dispirited and personally defeated. Accidentally transported to Barsoom (Mars), Carter begins to realize that his strength and jumping abilities are greatly amplified in the low gravity of the planet. Carter reluctantly begins a journey to rediscover his humanity while at the same time saving his newfound world.

COLONEL POWELL (Bryan Cranston) — “Captain, I’m finding it difficult to reconcile the man on this piece of paper with the one I’m looking at.” — Colonel Powell is a seasoned, by-the-book, tough-as-nails U.S. cavalry officer. Powell’s mission is to enlist John Carter to fight the Apaches from his unit’s outpost in the Arizona Territory. He is thwarted in this by John Carter’s abject refusal to have anything to do with the military—or any cause, no matter how just.

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (Daryl Sabara) — “My mother always said Jack never really came back from the war.” — Edgar Rice Burroughs is John Carter’s inquisitive 18-year-old nephew. Edgar adores his Uncle John and as a child enjoyed listening to wild tales he spun that took him on journeys to places Edgar could hardly even imagine. Burroughs receives an urgent telegram from his Uncle and rushes to him — only to find it may be too late.


THE INHABITANTS OF BARSOOM:

MATAI SHANG (Mark Strong) — “We do not cause the destruction of a world, Captain Carter. We simply manage it. Feed off it, if you like.” — Matai Shang is the Holy Hekkador (King) of the Therns. Using their advanced technology, the mysterious Therns represent themselves as the messengers of the Barsoomian Goddess Issus in order to manipulate their own plans.

DEJAH THORIS (Lynn Collins) — “If you had the means to save others, would you not take any action possible to make it so?” — Dejah Thoris, the beautiful, raven-haired princess of Helium, is a passionate advocate for the Heliumites and their way of life. Dejah is Regent of the Royal Academy of Science, and was trained to rule and fight. She is on the verge of a discovery that could permanently shift the balance of power between her nation Helium and their enemy Zodanga. But time is running out, and Dejah must convince John Carter to enlist in the fight to save Helium.

KANTOS KAN (James Purefoy) — “Hello, ladies.” — Kantos Kan is the Odwar (Captain) of the Helium air navy and is fiercely loyal to Tardos Mors and his daughter, Dejah Thoris. Intelligent, handsome and brave, Kantos will do anything in his power to fight for Helium and protect the royal family.

SAB THAN (Dominic West) — “Death to Helium!” — Sab Than is the Jeddak (King) of Zodanga. He is impulsive, arrogant and aggressive, promoting war and conquest as the Zodangan way of life. With a dangerously calculated charm, Sab will even try to make a deal with the devil to destroy Helium and rule all of Barsoom.

TARS TARKAS (Willem Dafoe) — “When I saw you leap into the sky, I wished to believe it was a sign that something new can come into this world.” — Tars Tarkas is a fierce green Martian warrior who is the Jeddak (King) of the Tharks. The last vestige of nobility runs in his blood and is the only thing that keeps the Thark tribe from turning into beasts. Blessed with a good sense of humor and patience, Tars befriends the earthman John Carter and gives him the Thark name Dotar Sojat, which roughly translates as “my right arms.”

John Carter also stars Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, Don Stark, Jonathan Hyde, Raad Rawi, and Willem Dafoe.

Leave your thoughts on the John Carter official characters descriptions in the comments section. John Carter will be released in US theaters on March 9, 2012.

Source: Film Book

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES | Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt NYC set photos

Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt The Dark Knight Rises (2012) NYC set photos are from a Christopher Nolan directed film. The photos feature Christian Bale and Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the streets of New York City, Gordon-Levitt in a Gotham City police uniform and Bale with a grey streak in his hair.

About The Dark Knight Rises production:

The Dark Knight Rises is the highly anticipated final installment of Warner Bros and DC Entertainment’s new Batman film franchise. Christopher Nolan has returned to direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by himself and David S. Goyer. Details about the film’s storyline are scarce, but it has already been established that one of villains set to take on the Batman (Christian Bale) will be the powerhouse known as Bane (Tom Hardy). Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), better known to comics fans as Catwoman, will also have a central role in the movie. The will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

The Dark Knight Rises‘ cast also includes Anna Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine,Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Stewart, Daniel Sunjata, Burn Gorman, Diego Klattenhoff, Josh Pence, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Alon Aboutboul, Nestor Carbonell, Brett Cullen, and Juno Temple.

Leave your thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt NYC set photos below in the comments section. The Dark Knight Rises opens in US theaters on July 20, 2012.


Source: Film Book

October RAK Wrap Up


I LOVE R.A.K! I love receiving and sending out books. I get super excited to do both!

This month, I received:
an e-book of Night Walker :)

Witches of East End ARC! (This one hasn't arrived but I was told it was shipped already)

I also sent two books this month :)
sent to Colleen

sent to Jennifer @ The Book Nympho

Sara Brookes Interview + Free Reads (Must be 18 to Read)


I was so happy when Sara agreed to be interviewed. Check out her answers below. I love her responses!

What inspired you to write adult books?

I started reading mainstream romance novels when I was a teenager, and I always found myself frustrated when the sex scenes only seem to go so far. I’ve got a pretty vivid imagination, but I always wanted just that little bit more. Real life doesn’t stop or become vague in the bedroom, so why should a book?

Do you get to input your thoughts on how your book covers turn out?

I’ve been fortunate enough my publishers have given me some fabulous artists for my covers. Most of the time, they’ve nailed it out of the gate and there hasn’t been any need for adjustment. If I feel as if the cover doesn’t reflect the story inside, I can speak up and let my opinion known but fortunately, I haven’t run into that too much.

Do you write multiple books simultaneously? How does that work for you? Does it get confusing?

Yes, I do. I learned how to compensate for when I would get stuck on a story I was working on. Instead of floundering away on it because I’m stuck, I’ll move on to another work in progress and spend some time with it. Then I can come back to the original one a few weeks later with a fresh outlook on it and usually pick right up where I left off. It’s not a technique for everyone as it requires (at least for me) a copious amount of note taking to keep things straight.

Do you have a clear picture in your head (like a movie) when you write your books?

Oh boy, do I. It makes writing sex scenes quite interesting. LOL

Do you ever take a break?

Most people who know me will tell you I don’t. I am a workaholic, so I’m always doing something in regards to writing, even if I’m not physically writing new words. There’s always some kind of promotion work that needs to be handled.  

Do you do (physical) book tours to meet your fans, sign books, etc.? I’d like to meet you one day!

I love to meet any of my readers! Right now, all my books are only available in eBooks, so it’s hard to do a book tour without a physical book. Hopefully, one day, I’ll have some books in print. I do plan to attend a convention or two in 2012 where readers can meet their favorite authors. I’m still finalizing the details, so keep an eye on my website for more information as it becomes available.  

Speedy Questions:

-What is your favorite brand and flavor of coffee?

Lion Coffee in Honolulu, Hawaii. Their Kona is to die for. You can go to the roasting facility on the island and buy it direct.

-What is your favorite action movie?

This answer probably changes weekly, but Raiders of the Lost Ark.

-What is your favorite video game and what console do you use?

I mainly stick to my Xbox360 because I’m still obsessed with Dragon Age: Origins a few years after its release for single player. But hubs and I have been known to keep late hours playing Call of Duty: Black Ops when we both are in the mood to game. We’re a gaming family, with about a half a dozen game systems—including my original Nintendo and original Playstation.

-Do you have a favorite chocolate brand?

If it’s chocolate, it has my attention. But, really, I don’t need the expensive stuff. Just a plain old Hershey’s chocolate bar makes me happy.

-Do you eat sushi? If so, what is your favorite to order?

I love sushi, but find I’m more apt to order sashimi with yellowtail and tuna being my absolute favorites. That’s actually my celebration dinner when I have a new release, so I’m looking forward to having it in November and December!

Thanks so much to Sara for granting me with this amazing interview! Leave comments or questions for her below and make sure to visit her website.

Sara's Free Reads (6-14 pages each)
Broken Harvest - this is a short based on her series Rebirth

Sara's Latest Releases:
 

Saturday, October 29, 2011

CAREY MULLIGAN | Dragged into the underworld in “DRIVE”

One of the most talented young actresses working today, Oscar Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan (“Never Let Me Go,” “Money Never Sleeps”) stars opposite Ryan Gosling in FilmDistrict's critically acclaimed thriller “Drive.” 

Winner of the Best Director prize in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, “Drive” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 & Trinoma) starting Nov. 9. The film is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and adapted from James Sallis's 2005 novel of the same name.

In the film, Driver (Gosling) is a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac).

Mulligan had been a fan of Refn’s past films “Bronson” and “Valhalla Rising” and had even mentioned to her agent that she wanted to work with a director like Refn, but it was only after she expressed interest in the script that she learned who was helming “Drive.”

The actrees’ enthusiasm was matched by Refn's, who immediately ordered small rewrites of Irene's backstory so he could cast Mulligan. In the novel, ‘Irene’ is a Latina. Director Refn confirms, “Originally I was looking for a Latina actress. I hadn’t seen Carey’s films, but the minute she walked in the door, I knew we had our ‘Irene.’ It just cemented the love story in a much more interesting way. It made it more of a ‘Romeo & Juliet‘ kind of love story without the politics that would in this day and age be brought into it if you had different nationalities or different religions.”

Mulligan explains her interest in the part: “Irene's character was a challenge because she's really the pivot point for the film's secondary plot, which is literally about the love triangle between her, Driver and Irene’s husband Standard but dramatically is about where they'll all end up in the most meaningful sense. And it's not an easy decision for her. Driver certainly seems like Irene's knight in shining armor, but Standard is drawn very sympathetically, as someone who's made mistakes but is genuinely trying to turn his life around. Plus she's loved him since she was 17. So to be able to play those two impulses off of one another, especially after Standard and Driver form an uneasy alliance, gave me so much to work with.”

Says Refn: “Since I was a teenager, I've been a big fan of `Sixteen Candles.’ I've always wanted to remake that film one way or another and, in a very unlikely way, I've done that with `Drive.’ Carey has all the intelligence and charm of a young Molly Ringwald. The romantic scenes she has with Ryan make for a very delicate and beautiful contrast to the brutality in the rest of the film.”

THE LORAX | Stars voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron & Taylor Swift

Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda‘s The Lorax (2012) stars Zac Efron, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, and Betty White. 

The Lorax‘s plot synopsis: “In this version of The Lorax, a boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world from a greedy entrepreneur as he strips a forest of its stock of Truffula trees to manufacture clothing.”

Great CG animation here and the Dr. Seuss story is cute, not great, cute. The humor is good though e.g “she’s a woman?” The film boasts the resplendent colors of a Hayao Miyazaki film.

The Lorax also stars Willow Smith, Rob Riggle, and Sherry Lynn.

Watch The Lorax movie trailer below and leave your thoughts on it in the comments section. The Lorax will be released in limited US theaters on March 2, 2012.


Source: Film Book

A Rogue of my Own by Johanna Lindsey Review

This book is so entertaining!

Rupert is such an interesting rogue as well as a wonderful son. He loves to tease his mother "out of the goodness of [his] heart." He's adorably infuriating when he's around Rebecca and simply the most attractive man in her eyes.

Rebecca is a strong-willed and intelligent woman. She was raised with a tutor as opposed to going to one of those schools everyone goes to. She is very close to her mother and she has proper manners. Just don't provoke her and she will definitely not back down.

Rupert and Rebecca together is like a war. They constantly fight every chance they get to the point that it got so funny because Rupert was merely jesting, yet Rebecca was infuriated. I guess it comes with being pregnant. It was interesting that the book took place in a matter of about 2-3 months. I absolutely loved it and would love to read more books from Johanna Lindsey!

My favorite quotes/scenes:
"Aren't you the impatient one. You don't want to simply bask in my undivided attention? I'm wounded, 'deed I am."
"Enjoy every bite of that meal. It cost me five bloody pounds."
Rebecca: "You've already slept the entire day. Why not take over for Matthew now?"
Rupert: "You really think I could sleep with your eyes devouring me all day?"
((pause))
Rupert: "Get some sleep yourself. You'll need to be at your best tomorrow, too....And keep your eyes off my arse."
Rupert: "It's an appalling shortcoming of mine that I toss about so much in my sleep that I used to fall out of bed occasionally. Of course it never happens when I have a soft bedmate beside me, which tends to lure me in the direction of warmth even while I'm asleep. But since that isn't usually the case here, to keep from waking the rest of the family when I hit the floor, I've found this a safer position for my bed."
Rebecca: "You don't need to be that convincing! Save your seductive smiles for your legion of conquests. I won't be one of those, so a decent smile will do, thank you."
Rupert: "That WAS a normal smile, Becca. If you don't believe me, turn around and I'll show you the difference."
Rupert: "Damn. Have you been stuffing yourself with desserts just to prolong the suspense?"
Rebecca: You've found me out at last. I'm merely going to give birth to a pastry."
Rupert's mother Julie: "I see your taste is still beyond flamboyant. You're a bloody peacock, Rue."
Rupert: 'He actually looked behind him as he replied, "I thought I had my feather tucked away nicely."

Gossip Girl Season 5: Memoirs of an Invisible Dan

Interesting episode. Why is it that I still feel like Blair is lying to Louie? That he's not really the father of her child?

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Poor Chuck, he's been depressed this season. I don't like him like that. I wish him and Blair would just get back together already. He looks so cute with a dog in his suit though!

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured (L-R) Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass and Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

That yellow dress that Serena was wearing sure is not her color. Ever since she started working, her fashion sense seems to be becoming less than that of a socialite that she was. She's looking kind of washed out.

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured (L-R) Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen and  Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Tsk tsk Dan. It sucks that everybody thinks the book reflects his opinion of each character. Poor guy, he's all alone in the world now.

"Memoirs of An Invisible Dan" GOSSIP GIRL Pictured (L-R) Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey, Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen and Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW ©2011 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Diana & Nate - I hate this couple. As much as I hate Charlie/Ivy. They shouldn't even appear in any more scenes. Diana is so formal for some reason, everything she does is like... a commercial or something. I don't know.

3 blonde


Box office update: 'Puss in Boots' the cat's meow on Friday with $9.6 million

Dreamworks Animation’s Shrek-spinoff Puss in Boots got off to a decent start at the box office on Friday, scratching up the competition and topping the chart with an estimated $9.6 million.

That opening number puts Puss well behind other Dreamworks pictures like Kung Fu Panda 2, which started with $13.1 million on its way to a $47.7 million weekend, and How To Train Your Dragon, which earned $12.1 million on Friday and scored $43.7 million in its opening frame. If Puss in Boots can score a similar 3.5 weekend multiplier (which may be difficult with a giant snowstorm hitting the Northeast), it could pull in $34 million this weekend, and while that is an impressive-sounding number, we must remember that Puss in Boots came with a hefty $130 million pricetag.

In second, last weekend’s chart topper, Paranormal Activity 3, dropped by a scary 75 percent to $6.5 million on Friday, but given how inflated its opening day was last week, that drop should level out to about 60 percent over the rest of the weekend — pretty standard for a horror sequel. Paranormal Activity 3 may have earned about $20 million by Sunday’s end, which would lift its total to $82 million.

Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried’s psychological thriller In Time started off in third place with $4.3 million, which is well below the $6.8 million that Timberlake’s last film, Friends With Benefits, earned on opening day. The $40 million film is looking at a lackluster $13 million frame.

Speaking of lackluster, Johnny Depp’s latest, The Rum Diary, earned only $1.9 million yesterday. Depp’s $50 million vehicle may begin with just $5.5 million. Someone get that guy a drink! Close behind in fifth, Footloose grossed another $1.8 million, and it could be headed to a $6 million weekend, which would bring its cume to just under $40 million.

The weekend’s other new opener, Anonymous, grossed $315,000 out of 265 theaters. The Shakespeare speculation piece is looking at a $1 million weekend. Maybe Sony shouldn’t have gone with a platform release strategy for this one

Source: Inside Movies | Grady Smith

Coconut Oil helps Alzheimer's patients! 


Important message from Neville 'Gladdy' Hoo:                                             How worried should drug companies be about supplements eating into their monopoly profits? A lot, as this story will show. Please share it with anyone you know who is suffering from Alzheimer's or is worried about it.

Of course, just about everyone worries about Alzheimer's. It currently
afflicts 5.2 million people in the US and is the seventh leading cause of death. The cost of treating it is estimated at $148 billion. Mary Newport, MD, has been medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit at Spring Hill Regional Hospital in Florida since it opened in 2003.

About the same time the unit opened, her husband Steve, then 53, began
showing signs of progressive dementia, later diagnosed as Alzheimer's
Disease. Many days, often for several days in a row, he was in a fog; couldn't find a spoon or remember how to get water out of the refrigerator, she said.

They started him on Alzheimer's drugs--Aricept, Namenda, Exelon--but his
disease worsened steadily. (It should be noted that the latest research
shows that the various Alzheimer's drugs, like Aricept, have proven
disappointing, with little real benefit and often distressing side effects.) When Dr. Newport couldn't get her husband into a drug trial for a new Alzheimer's medication, she started researching the mechanism behind Alzheimer's. She discovered that with Alzheimer's disease, certain brain cells may have difficulty utilizing glucose (made from the carbohydrates we
eat), the brain's principal source of energy. Without fuel, these precious
neurons may begin to die. There is an alternative energy source for brain
cell fats known as ketones. If deprived of carbohydrates, the body produces ketones naturally.
But this is the hard way to do it; who wants to cut carbohydrates out of
the diet completely? Another way to produce ketones is by consuming oils that have medium-chain triglycerides. When MCT oil is digested, the liver
converts it into ketones. In the first few weeks of life, ketones provide about 25 percent of the energy newborn babies need to survive.

Dr. Newport learned that the ingredient in the drug trial which was showing
so much promise was simply MCT oil derived from coconut oil or palm kernel
oil, and that a dose of 20 grams (about 20 ml or 4 teaspoons) was used to
produce these results. When MCT oil is metabolized, the ketones which the body creates may, according to the latest research, not only protect against the incidence of Alzheimer's, but may actually reverse it. Moreover, this is also a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease,Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), drug-resistant epilepsy, brittle type I diabetes, and type II (insulin-resistant) diabetes.

So Mr. Newport, not being able to get into the drug trial, started taking
the coconut oil twice a day. At this point, he could barely remember how to
draw a clock. Two weeks after adding coconut oil to his diet, his drawing
improved.

After 37 days, Steve's drawing gained even more clarity. The oil seemed to lift the fog, and in the first sixty days, Dr. Newport saw remarkable changes in him: every morning he was alert and happy, talkative, making jokes. His gait was still a little weird, but his tremor was no longer very noticeable. He was able to concentrate on things that he wanted to do around the house and in the yard and stay on task, whereas before coconut oil he was easily distracted and rarely accomplished anything unless he was directly supervised.

Over the next year, the dementia continued to reverse itself: he is able to
run again, his reading comprehension has improved dramatically, and his short-term memory is improving; he often brings up events that happened
days to weeks earlier and relays telephone conversations with accurate
detail. A recent MRI shows that the brain atrophy has been completely
halted.

Let's take a moment to consider what actually happened here. Synthetic
(patentable) Alzheimer's drugs have failed. A drug company reluctantly
decides to put a non-patentable natural substance (medium-chain
triglycerides derived from coconut or palm) through an FDA trial. It works.
But, darn it, a smart doctor figures out that a natural food can be substituted for the super-expensive drug.

Not only that, the ketones from natural coconut oil last in the body longer than the drug version--eight hours instead of three hours. This is enough to make a drug company start worrying about its future. What if this natural health idea really catches on? Goodbye to monopoly profits!

Coconut oil can be found in many health food stores and even some grocery
stores. One large US chain sells a non-hydrogenated (no trans-fat) brand of
coconut oil in a one-liter size (nearly 32 ounces) for about US$7.

It can be purchased in quantities as small as a pint and up to five gallons online. It is important to use coconut oil that is non-hydrogenated and contains no trans-fat. We would also strongly encourage the use of virgin oil (chemicals used to extract non-virgin oil are potentially dangerous, and better still, virgin organic, still quite reasonably priced.)

For more information, see Dr. Newport's website. Sadly, you will not find any information on ketones, or the use of coconut oil or MCT oil, on the Alzheimer's Association website.

Coconut oil is not the only natural product that has the potential to turn Alzheimer's around. We will cover some other ones, and drug industry efforts to steal some of them, in a future issue.

http://www.coconutketones.com/biography.html
  
NB - Coconut oil is widely available in Jamaica's shops and supermarkets.

Rachel McAdams & Channing Tatum | 'The Vow' poster!

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams get close in this poster for their upcoming film,The Vow.

The film centers around a newlywed couple recovering from a car accident that leaves the wife in a coma.

When she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband tries to win her heart again, while a former fiance enters the picture and also tries to win her back.

The Michael Sucsy-directed romantic drama hits theaters February 10, 2012.

Source: Just Jared

Michelle Williams | Marilyn Monroe approves of my movie

Michelle Williams knows her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming My Week With Marilyn would make the iconic blond bombshell proud.

Um, how would she know that?

Monroe has apparently given her stamp of approval from beyond the grave...

"While we were filming, something came out in the National Enquirer that a psychic had spoken to her and that she approved of what we were doing and she thought I was doing a really good job," Williams told us at the Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. "So maybe she likes it!" (Guess this is one of the rare cases when a celeb actually likes getting some ink in the supermarket tabloid!) 

Perhaps Monroe allowed the 31-year-old Oscar nominee to channel her off screen speaking voice.

"I studied tapes," Williams said. "There's really nothing that exists of her, that I could find anyway, that exists of her having a conversation with a friend...So there wasn't a template that existed for her everyday vocal pattern, so at a certain point you have to make it imaginatively."

Whether it was through research or imagination, Williams obviously nailed the late Hollywood legend's signature style.

"I do remember one moment of being all suited up as Marilyn and walking from my dressing room onto the soundstage practicing my wiggle," Williams recently told Vogue. "There were three or four men gathered around a truck, and I remember seeing that they were watching me come and feeling that they were watching me go...I thought, ‘Oh, maybe Marilyn felt that when she walked down the beach.'"

Source: E! Online | Marc Malkin & Brett Malec | Just Jared

Friday, October 28, 2011

True Blood's STEPHEN MOYER | On his double jail time, True Blood’s camera tricks and the reason he won’t do a Rom-Com

American audiences came to love English actor Stephen Moyer as sexy, small-town vampire Bill Compton on HBO’s hit show True Blood. But when the award-winning Alan Ball series goes on hiatus — as it is now between its fourth and fifth seasons — the accomplished stage actor fits in as many film projects as he can. The latest being The Double, Michael Brand’s directorial debut which co-stars Moyer as a Soviet psychopath assassin who is locked behind bars with only a gruesome facial scar and a secret — a secret that Richard Gere and Topher Grace try to wheedle out of him as they investigate the murder of a senator in this political thriller.

In anticipation of The Double’s release, Moyer met with Movieline in Beverly Hills this week to discuss why he volunteered for solitary confinement on set, the art of eating a battery and his dream to direct.

What made you want to play a Russian psychopath?
He’s just a great character. It’s so interesting — in the [True Blood] hiatus we get five months. This year, I think it was only four and a half months to try and do something that is different from what you have been doing and to weave a tapestry. In this particular year, I also did a film with Rachelle Lefevre called The Caller in which I was playing a very straight character. I played a British politician in a British series called Ice and I also did some work for Anna [Paquin]’s brother in another thing. I wanted to broaden my horizons. Who wouldn’t want to play a Russian psychopath? It’s an awful lot of fun. You got to chew the scenery a little bit and learn some stuff.

What did you learn?
I learned about this form of fighting called Systema which I had no knowledge of before. I got to play with that which was great and I got to work with Richard Gere and Topher.

How does one get into the mindset of a Soviet psychopath?
A lot of my friends would tell you that I did that quite easily. Every situation is different. You have to learn what makes your character tick. If you imagine being locked up for 15 years, 10 of those in solitary confinement, which is what I was playing with, it’s going to make you pretty mad. When you see the window of opportunity to talk to people or to get out or to somehow twist the situation, you’re going to do that. I can’t imagine spending one week in one of those cells.

Did you film in a real prison?
We were shooting in a real prison actually — a working prison in Michigan. You have to go through all of the procedures of actually getting in and them closing the doors behind you. I asked them to lock me in a cell that was very close to where we were shooting. So basically, I was in this cell near where we were shooting and every time they would do another take, they would unlock me and I’d come out and do a take. It was fun and gave me that sense of the cramped, locked-in conditions that are fascinating to play. It’s just another area for a warped mind like mine.

How long were you confined total?
I think the first day, when they were setting up lighting, I was in there for a few hours. And then after that, I would spend five or 10 minutes in there between each take and 20 when they were resetting.
That’s dedication.
Why wouldn’t you want to spend time in a jail cell? You’re in a real working prison. That’s just fun. Of course there is a part of you that is wondering whether anyone is going to come back and unlock the door.

That scenario would make for some pretty unhappy True Blood fans I’d imagine. Did you interact with any inmates?
No. We only saw three or four high level prisoners — in that they were allowed to do things around the corridors. They had been in there a long while or their crimes weren’t as big.

[SPOILER] Your battery scene made me gag. How did you make it look like you were swallowing a battery in one take?
Did you notice that? Good! How do you know I didn’t actually eat a battery? Well, I don’t want to talk about why I do that in the middle of a movie. I’ll tell you though when this thing is off. [Turns off tape record and explains his battery-eating trick. Turns tape recorder back on.] I’m quite proud of that scene because I choreographed it myself. [END OF SPOILER]

Was it your idea to do it in one take?
It was. I came up with a way of shooting it where we didn’t have to cut the camera. Film and theater are about misdirection and making the audience see something. I find it interesting. One of the things we do in True Blood is shoot all of our stunts in camera. Instead of doing some kind of visual effect, we try to make it happen. The camera might be over my shoulder as I’m looking at, for argument’s sake, Lorena. She’ll throw me down onto the floor and the camera will whip pan and when it gets to the other side of the room, I’m already on the floor. There’s no way I could have done it that fast because we’re doing it in vamp speed. What you don’t realize is that that wasn’t me when you were looking over my shoulder because you couldn’t see my face.

It sounds like sleight of hand filmmaking.
It is. I get really excited about the process because it’s part of the misdirection. It’s Reservoir Dogswhere Michael Madsen goes into the frame. We’re on his back and he starts cutting the ear off and the camera goes into the other room and sits there and then he walks into that frame with an ear in his hand. It’s fucking brilliant.

I know that you’re starting to produce projects but it seems like you have an eye for directing. Is that something you’re looking to do also?
Yes, I do. I started a theater company when I was 17. I did that for ten years while I was working on other things. I had this possibility at the time to do that if I wanted but it meant spending a couple of years away from acting. And I was doing quite well as an actor. I wasn’t in the situation where I had enough money to stop [acting]. I had to pay my bills. I decided to put the dream off and pick it back up when I could. I am very much hoping to direct this one project — well two actually — but the first I would like to shoot next summer. Then there are a couple of shorts I’ve written with a friend of mine. It’s just about finding time.

It seems like you are drawn towards darker acting projects. Is that also the kind of material you’re looking to direct?
Actually, the one I’m looking to direct next summer is a completely broad comedy. It’s a really great script which I’m really excited to get out to the particular cast we’re hoping to direct.

Do you also want to step out of your wheelhouse as an actor? Would you ever star in a straight-up romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl?
That’s so funny. I don’t see myself doing that at all but those also aren’t the kind of movies that I tend to go and see. That said, I adore Four Weddings and a Funeral. I think that’s almost the perfect movie and I’d love to do something like that. I actually did a film [Prince Valiant] with Katherine Heigl in 1997. It was my first movie and she was 15 or 16 years old. Why not? A film that I love is Raising Arizona and that’s funny but it’s quite indie and weird and odd and quirky. I’d love to do something like that. Who knows!

When I started out, I was very idealistic about what I wanted to do and the kind of work I wanted to do. The job to me is when I’m on set, at work creating. When I’ve left, I’ve left. What [the film] turns into, what it is, what it ends up being is out of my control. I really appreciate the process. If someone comes to me with a [different type] of character or project, I’ll give it a go because I love seeing what happens.

Not only have you always loved acting, but I read that you were so passionate about it as a teenager that you taught it to children.
Right, I used to teach kids when I was younger. When I was about 14 or 15 I started teaching children drama and something that I used to say to them was, “Don’t be afraid.” People would be afraid of forgetting their lines or something. I used to say, “Have no fear because we can use fear. What you experience in that moment when the scene may not work as well as you want it to is a feeling that you’ll be able to use later in something else. Remember how you felt when people didn’t laugh at that joke that you thought was hilarious? We’re going to use that now to create something else. Take a negative thing and turn it into a positive things.” That still applies. There is no fear in choosing a role then for me.

It’s all constructive.
Exactly. It’s all constructive.

Source: Julie Miller | Movieline

America's Next Top Model All Star: Kathy Griffin

Kathy Griffin came out of nowhere. I thought she would appear in the challenge or the photo shoot. Oh well, she was interesting anyway :)

Kayla - so bummed she went home. But looking at her pictures this season, they do seem repetitive and one-dimensional. I still love her though.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Kayla Cycle 17 Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/The CW ©2011 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Kayla Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Lisa - she did good this episode, and her photo shoot was great. I still think she has a trashy quality. But I'm proud of her for winning the challenge and having the best photo.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Lisa Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Bianca - big-headed. She thinks because she's pretty that she will be hired. Think again. I'm not sad that she went home at all. I do love it when she told Alexandria: "Call me when you become an all-star."

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Bianca Cycle 17 Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/The CW ©2011 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Bianca Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Alexandria - AMATEUR. She's lucky she's been surviving every stinking episode. I can't wait til she goes home.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Alexandria Cycle 17 Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/The CW ©2011 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Alexandria Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Allison - she is so cute! It's like she stepped out of a fairy tale book. I still think the judges love  her and therefore sees her pictures as amazing.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Allison Cycle 17 Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/The CW ©2011 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Allison Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Dominique - she's quite forgettable maybe because she doesn't get in fights and doesn't appear in many scenes. But she's awesome and classy :)

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Dominique Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Angelea - the hood is definitely showing. Sorry, I'm not a fan. But glad that she did well in the photo shoot.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Angelea Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Laura - she's so cute! She was great in the photo shoot :) I'd definitely hire her.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Laura Cycle 17 Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/The CW ©2011 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Mike Rosenthal, Jay Manuel and Laura Cycle 17 Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/The CW ©2011 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Laura Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Shannon - I wanted her to go home. That goody-two-shoes act is SO OLD. I think she only got saved because of her bone structure.

"Kathy Griffin" -- At a photo shoot the models pose as reality stars on America's Next Top Model on The CW. Pictured: Shannon Cycle 17 Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions Inc ©2011 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Did you see this episode? Who is your favorite? Who do you want to go home next?