General Update and Waffle.

Well, I apologise to my readers, if there are any! Almost two months since my last post. I've been having some serious ISP issues. However, I am assured an engineer will be out to me on the 30th of March to fix things, and hopefully i'll be posting regularly again after that.

So do not panic. Life has continued outside of the blog as normal. My start to this year has been odd. I feel like the greyhound who's burst out of his stall at the track, only to find a very well constructed brick wall across my lane...Enough metaphors though.

First of all, I want to mention Jane Russell. Another true Hollywood legend has gone and left us. And wasn't she stunning? My God. Wherever she is now, i'll bet doors are being opened for her.

Now, i've been crazy busy with University work. So much reading, writing and research to do. I've really been enjoying a few Authors. Hemingway (Fiesta), Yates (Revolutionary Road) and several playwrights. I've also been researching stage history, in particular Lorca and other European playwrights.

I've been watching a crazy number of movies; a riotous mix of old and new. Just to name a few -

Citizen Kane
The Killers (Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster 1946)
Black Swan/The Wrestler
The Kings Speech
MicMacs
Perfume
Mean Streets
The Godfather Trilogy (again)
Road To Perdition
Many Almodovar films
Pan's Labyrinth
And God Created Woman

...and so many more. It's ridiculous how many films i've devoured. Nevermind that i've watched the entire Sopranos boxset in six weeks. If this wasn't what I called research, i'd feel a bit sad about giving so much time to film and TV.

I have to give mention to the BFi Southbank for showing a beautiful little film, by Francois Traffaut, called Small Change. It documents the children, their relationships with each other and the adults around them, in a small town in France. I won't go into too much detail, but the film depicts various scenarios that we can all relate to, and made me feel very child-like and free.

Something that's been bothering me; why don't the people on The Wright Stuff (channel 5) shut their mouths? The morning after the Oscars, they're sitting there debating the validity of the awards, and their place in society...blah, blah, blah. I wouldn't mind if any of them at least had a passive interest in film, beside what they read about in The Daily Mail on their way home each day. But when they're coming out with true pearls of wisdom such as, "I suppose the Oscars are good 'caus they let you know what you should watch", they really should not be discussing the Oscars, or any other film awards/festivals/business. Ignorant fools. I may not be a fan of the Hollywood/Studio system, but that's where the ball got rolling, and that's where some of the best films of all time have been conceived. If you don't like the Oscars, don't watch them.

At the moment, i'm developing several ideas for ten minute plays for my Drama module. I'm very busy in general, trying to sort a few things out in life, but i'll be back with you and updating regularly, with in depth reviews and interesting blogs, as soon as possible.

I almost forgot, I finally found some time a few weeks ago to test my new camcorder and tripod. My wonderful girlfriend decided to be the subject. I've decided the camera will be adequate enough to begin work on producing some of my own short scripts. Here's the film:

http://www.vimeo.com/19767696

Enjoy and comment/rate. Peace.

P.S. Boycott BT.