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Happy Halloween from Josh and Noel
Happy Halloween from Josh and Noel
Originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov.
James Patrick Says…
Pretty big Wednesday for me, so I'm sending out a rare bulletin. ANGEL: MASKS is in stores tomorrow, from IDW. If you're a Buffy/Angel fan pick it up and see my take on how two of the show's very important characters met. This one is at comic shops fer sure and I'm assuming even bookstores. I'm going to the mall bookstore, pointing at the rack and saying, "I wrote that," then being escorted away by security saying, "Sure you did, buddy. Sure you did."
DEATH COMES TO DILLINGER TRADE in PREVIEWS: Yeah, my first real widely released (and critically acclaimed :) ) book is collected in one volume, has extra scenes and art, and much gabbing by me trying to be important. Anyway, it's available for preorder in the Previews catalog tomorrow. It's spotlighted as well (that's a good thing). The order number is NOV06 3844
Here's a pretty picture.
http://static.flickr.com/83/272805456_c30cead91d_o.gif
I edited Dilliner, and I read JP's Angel, so, y'know... off you go.
Rope
Ah, Rope. Generally considered more style than substance, although, I'd say somewhat wrongly. For those who don't know, the movie is essentially a 9 cuts. In other words, each reel is an uncut tracking shot, following the exploits of two Leopold and Loeb like murderers who match wits with a strangely machiavellian Jimmy Stewart. The movie is all tension and style, but, with some top notch performances, particularly by Stewart, it becomes an engaging mastwork that's a statement on everything from the state of film acting to the use of flash to substitute for substantive material. In 1948.
In other words, Hitchcock what lose his mind if he saw the dreck that passes for quality films these days. It's pretty clear that the only reason Hitchcock would undertake such a strange filming method would be as an experiment of style, but, as he is known for, the exercise becomes considerably better than most people's life's work.
And, the fun trivia fact from the DVD is that it has not one but two cameos from Hitchcock, despite the fact that it all takes place in one apartent with only a handful of actors.
And Hume "I Banged Jessica Tandy and was in Cocoon" Cronyn apparently wrote the treatment that the movie was adapted from (which was in turn adapted from a British play.)
So, yet another highly recommended.
Baltimore Comic-Con 2006 Photoset Is Up
Ah, Lincoln. Baltimore Comic-Con and D.C. fun.
FallCon 2006 Photoset
Click the image to see 'em.
Weekly Roundup
Hey Gang, Exceptionally fucking busy, just trying to keep up. Looks like Kody and I are about ready to unleash Punks on people, so that's coming up. I'm writing the Afterword for the Elk's Run trade right now, so, I'm looking forward to never having to write anything else for the book ever again. Except for the interviews I'm getting scheduled in the next few weeks/months.
Aside from that, Tumor is humming along, and I've got a few other work for hire things on the way, all of which should be announced shortly.
Busy, busy life.
FallCon
Was great. Most fun I've had at a show in a long time. Been running around playing catch up since the show, so I'll post photos and stuff when I get home tonight. Cheers mateys.
100806_19271.jpg
100806_19271.jpg
Originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov.
Scenes from an Airport
Scenes from an Airport
Originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov.
Rear Window
Ah, Rear Window. I figure if you're going to watch a slew of Hitchcock movies why not start with one fo the best. Pitch perfect performances, brilliant cinematography, riveting suspense... it literally hits every theme and grace note that he touches upon in most of his other movies all at once. The voyerism, the paranoia, the gray moralism... all there, all executed flawlessly.
As a creator, I guess what stands up for me in Rear Window is the containment. So much of Suspense and Action these days is the feeling of the ever changing landscape, and with few exceptions (Die Hard, motherfuckers), that's just how you make a suspense movie. Rear Window is even further the other direction.
Not only do we never leave the apartment, although there is the few seconds of window dangling, but, our entire frame of reference is at a sharp 3rd person. We never hear those across the alley talk, but, yet, we know who they all are. We know what they're all doing, and what they're character journeys are. And we know it because of Jimmy Stewart's reactions to it.
His character serves as the perfect representation of what we each do when left on our own, left to our own devices for entertainment. We obsess, we imagine, and sometimes, we get ourselves into trouble. That's why Hitchcock excels for me as a director. No matter how absurd the situation (Strangers on a Train or Psycho anyone?) it always feels not just grounded and real to the characters, but, as though it's something that happened to someone you know, or, is happening to you.
That to me is great storytelling
James Patrick Has A Blog
There's a french fry in my fingers Go there. Fuckers.
The Killing
While I'm at it, I suppose I should just say a word or two about The Killing. I seem to recall Kubrick hating this movie, but that might be me confusing it with Spartacus. Which you'd think is pretty fucking hard to do. In any event, The Killing is an odd-duck of a movie. It manages to be pretty damn close to what Kubrick would do in Strangelove and Clockwork, while still being a lesser work. The big downfall is the weird pulp noir voice over that more or less evaporates by the end of the first hour. It's like someone mixed up the first few reels with the audio from Dragnet.
Once you get past that, you get something that's pretty atypical for Kubrick, an extremely tight, tense, and suspenseful caper picture. It really has the feeling that Ocean's Eleven (the Soderbergh one) tries and (in my opinion) fails to accomplish. Utter fucking chaos, where there's only one or two guys smarter than the room. It's interesting mostly to me because despite fitting snugly into the cliches and devices of Noir, it manages to be a wholly different beast. Hell, it's almost an action movie, save for the lack of flat-out action scenes.
It's one of those movies that a lot of Kubrick fans seem to overlook, and, considering the style and form he gained just a few years later in Strangelove and beyond, I suppose it's understandable. That being said, it's a helluva lot of fun, which is not something one often hears when describing Kubrick movies.
Blogging my way through the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection
I spent a nice chunk of my very slight change on the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection. So, I figure to make sure I’m actually a) watching them, and b) analyzing them properly for research purposes, I’m going to blog about each movie as I watch them.It’s 14 movies, so it’ll take a while, and I’ve seen 95% of them before so I don’t know how much I’ll really have to say, but, I’ll do my best to make it interesting (and let’s be honest, there’s not a lot one can say about The Trouble with Harry to make it interesting.)
Anyways, there’s the little link to the box set up above if you want to know what’s in it, and what to look forward to. It’s really worth every penny, seriously. So, if you have the extra cash, go buy it and follow along.
I’m starting with Rear Window tonight. While I’m watching it, I’m reminded of a couple of things that make it really stand out to me (and I suppose to just about every fan of Hitchcock’s) as something special. From the use of minatures to the dynamic camera work for what is essentially a very static and stationary film is really, really remarkable. Plus, you get Jimmy Stewart with his shirt off. C’mon you just can’t go wrong. Alright, I’ll be back with something, hopefully more profound later on.
See Me Interviewed About FallCon
FallCon 2006 Exclusive Interview courtesy of PopThought.com's Alex Ness
Still Alive…
Just busier than hell. Work is pretty all consuming, with a couple of deadlines fast approaching. Got some cool stuff going on, most of which I can't really talk about. Also, I'll be attending Fall Con this weekend in Minnesota. I no longer own a coat, so I don't know how that's going to all go, but come by if you're going to be there and say "Howdy."