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Johnny meet Freddie and Carol

So, went and saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" yesterday and it was O.K., not an "Ed Wood", but definitely no "Planet of the Apes" (still reluctant to lay down the hard earned coin for a Burton film after that debacle, blah). Liked the lighting and photography a whole lot. The stuff in Charlie's hovel reminded me of Van Gogh paintings, "The Potato Eaters" and Grandpa Joe like "Self-Portrait with Badger Hat". Even though I always dig seeing Christopher Lee, really didn't care much for the whole Wonka Daddy-baggage back story bit and the Hallmark ending. And then there's Johnny Depp. He seems to have soaked up all the cool in the northern hemisphere, leaving the rest of Hollowood with a serious hip deficit. Depp plays Wonka like some stoned alien who doesn't even seem to get his own jokes and it works. Fun to see him throw in some little Hunter Thompson gags here and there and maybe a little Ed Wood too. Now some folks are seeing some Michael Jackson residue on this performance, but I think it's more twisted then that, oh yes. Depp's Wonka is the love child of Carol Channing and Freddie Mercury! Photos don't lie, check it out:



You be judge.

Follow the links

Discovered this week that this blog picked up a sidebar link over at Jim Miller's The Awful Writer. Thank's Jim and I'm glad to return the favor. The link is under the "Other Screenwriters" heading, which considering that I haven't posted anything as yet on screenwriting is awfully (sorry) generous of him. I've actually received some new viewers through that link, so hello to any new folks coming in.

Next post - "Gyro", my screenplay.

OK HW

I love me some chainsaw baby!

Why is this man smiling? Well it's because he's getting to carve weird stuff out of Styrofoam with a chainsaw and get paid for it.



Occasionally I get a call from the good folks over at Virginia Scenic to put my sculpting skills to use creating set pieces for operas. It's hard, fun work and through the years I've worked on everything from an eight foot high angel to a three story tall Babylonian ruin. When I watch a movie like "The Two Towers", my eye is often focused on the sets and I cheer for my fellow blue foam carvers furiously racing the clock where ever they may be. This gig is for Chautauqua, N.Y. and an opera called "LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR" and it is scheduled to play August 5 & 8, so I guess I better get my butt in gear. Here's some unpainted tombstones I did for the show:



Back to work.