April 30, 2008
5 Fists of Science: The Play
The Matt Fraction residency on Whitechapel revealed much to me.
l: 5 Fists the Play - r: 5 Fists the Comic
(via whitechapel, yale caberet, 5 fists of science: stage play)
Posted by Groonk at 10:14 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews, Just Freaking Neat
March 27, 2008
Reflections on Heath Ledger's Joker have Begun
And the movie's not even released yet.
"It was punk, it was 'A Clockwork Orange', it was druggie. It was this kind of fantastic, anarchic look to him. This character who had absolutely no rules whatsoever," said Christian Bale, who returns as rich guy Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego Batman. "That's not like any Joker I've ever seen before, what I saw Heath do."
[...]
Ledger's performance floored two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine, who reprises his role as Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred. Caine's first glimpse of the character came when Ledger emerged onto the set from an elevator; in an interview last September, four months before Ledger's death, Caine said he was so startled that he forgot his lines.
"He came out of the bloody lift like a whirlwind," Caine recalled. "They said, `It's your line, Michael.' I said, `What is it?' Extraordinary. It will be one of the characters of next year, the Joker as played by him."
[...]
"You can tell Jack Nicholson was having fun doing that, but you can see Heath probably put his soul into it," said "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee. "That's why it's scary. You see the trailer, just a few shots of him, you have to see the movie. ... I'm anxious to see it. I'm afraid to see it. I don't know how I'll respond to it, but you have to see it."
Heath Ledger. The guy could act. It was usually tiny bits. The subtle things that made him worth watching.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 05:15 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews, Movies
March 18, 2008
Anjelica Huston Tells You About Ireland and the Weather
Joan Juliet Buck: Let's talk about Ireland.Anjelica Huston: Remember that Irish is a slow language; all vocal exchange is introduced by at least 7 minute's opening dialogue about the weather. No conversation is complete without this introduction. It's like looking at a horse's teeth. From this initial exchange one can deduce age, demeanor and provenance.
JOAN: So how is the weather by the beach in Venice California?Anjelica: It’s as cold as a witch’s tit, the wind is whipping up the palm trees, the seagulls are slapping against my windows, there are whitecaps way out to sea. Lots of teenagers on roof tops, on cell-phones, with their hair flying.
JOAN: In New York it’s sunny but still cold. And rainy when it’s not sunny. Not a soft day, a hard March day.
Anjelica: Today is flinty.
JOAN: Really? And why would that be?
Anjelica: No smog at all!
JOAN: Can we start now? Have we done the weather?
Posted by Groonk at 01:00 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
March 11, 2008
Dave Stevens 1955 - 2008
Dave Stevens, co creator of the Rocketeer and the artist who helped bring Bettie Page back in the spotlight passed away at the age of 52 due to complications with his battle with leukemia.
If, like me, you are unsure who Dave Stevens was, think The Rocketeer comic(and later the quite decent movie of the same name) and all will be explained.
Heidi Macdonald at The Beat remembers Stevens.
Mark Evanier remembers Stevens.
Archived interview with Dave Stevens.
(via pvponline tweet, dave stevens web site)
Posted by Groonk at 05:44 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews, People Who Died
February 27, 2008
Jack McBrayer is Not Tina Fey
Due to massive asshattery by MT and various other things, this spot gets filled with akward comedy. Very good akward comedy actually. Michael Showalter interviews Jack McBrayer from 30 TV's ROCK on THE MICHAEL SHOWALTER SHOWALTER.
(via CH TV, ontd)
Posted by Groonk at 02:45 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Intertube Madness, Interviews
February 05, 2008
Bill Hader Interviews Ed Brubaker about CRIMINAL
It's CRIMINAL week on Myspace. This has to be the cleverest...cleverful...cleverite... most brilliant interview tactic ever. Good show, Bill Hader. Ed Brubaker, you're a special kind of awesome for participating. I like the interview so much, I'm dropping it above the jump.
Plus: Simon Pegg on a pink bicycle.
(via the beat, myspace video)
Posted by Groonk at 08:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Funny, Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Video
December 15, 2007
Thoughts from "My Name is Not Richard"
It has to be in you a little bit, and you've got to have that passion to want to do it, and want to be better at it, and work hard at it and learn. That's what passion does, it makes you want to work and learn. You've also got to be committed to it, you can do all those things but if it's not in you, if it's not some type of gift then you probably won't get it.
Interview with Russell Sams aka Dick from RULES OF ATTRACTION. Well, more of a conversation really. The above part stuck out the most.
(via forces of good)
Posted by Groonk at 01:23 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Quotables
November 17, 2007
The Daily Show's John Oliver Knows "Spectacular Balls" when He Sees Them
Do I really have to write such sensational titles in order for people to read these things?
The writers from The Office were talking about how they wrote some web-only “promotionals” for the show and there was ad revenue generated from those and the writers weren’t paid any residuals. That’s right. Or, like, all our Daily Show clips were pulled off YouTube by Viacom, who is suing them for a billion dollars. That was not at our instigation – we were happy for people to watch the clips. But instead they wanted to set up a website where they can sell advertising while the clip is buffering, although I thought we were at the point where clips don’t need to buffer anymore. So you have to watch a commercial for thirty seconds or whatever. So they’re clearly making money on that; they’re also clearly making money because they’re suing YouTube for a billion. So that seems quite strange when they’re saying, "Well, there’s no money to be made off the internet but we’re suing YouTube for a billion dollars.” That takes spectacular balls! There are so many areas of it that seem so desperately unfair.
I know I do.
Posted by Groonk at 03:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Writer's strike
November 16, 2007
Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill have THE BLACK DOSSIER
Alan Moore Talks about THE BLACK DOSSIER and in doing so reveals I know nothing about anything.
"There are little undercover threads throughout our story with connections like that," continued Moore. "The film 'The Third Man' was written by Graham Greene, who based the character of Harry Lime on his lifelong friend Kim Philby, a very famous British spy who turned out to be a double agent for the Russians. And weirdly enough, there had previously been two Russian agents exposed, Guy Burgess and Anthony MacLean, and there was a rumour there was a third double agent in MI5. I remember there was a headline back in the Sixties that said, 'KIM PHILBY IS THE THIRD MAN,' which were written completely unaware that he was the third man. So he was the basis for 'The Third Man.' All of these obscure facts are woven into the fabric of 'The Black Dossier.' It's been very interesting, with some surprising inclusions."
More proof of my ignorance:
"Orwell was almost exactly wrong in a strange way. He thought the world would end with Big Brother watching us, but it ended with us watching Big Brother."
--Alan Moore
How fucking right is he?
(via cbr)
Posted by Groonk at 05:55 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews
November 14, 2007
A Talk with Monkey Punch
Monkey Punch created the LUPIN III manga that the anime was based on. He's got some neat views on comics in The Future.
His work was discovered by an editor of Futabasha, the company behind Weekly Manga Action, for whom he created the Lupin III series, loosely based on the Arsene Lupin novel series and 007 movies. The artist's strange pseudonym, he explains, was given to him by his editor, who compared his characters' faces to those of a monkey.
[...]
Monkey Punch began using computers in his work nearly two decades ago.
"Digital technology allows me to look closely at the details [of the images] and easily change minor things several times. This means, though, that it's sometimes hard to give up the details and complete [the images]."
Cooperating with famous mangaka, including Machiko Satonaka and Tetsuya Chiba, Monkey Punch established the Tokyo-based Digital Manga Association five years ago to explore and develop manga content for the Internet.
"I thought it would be a waste not to utilize the Internet, since it allows us to directly communicate with people around the world," the creator said.
"Japan's manga culture is drawing international attention, but we don't even have an archive containing information about all the manga published here," he said. "I want to find a way to set up such an archive, getting cooperation from other mangaka and relevant experts."
(via green jacketed josh hechinger, daily yomiuri online)
Posted by Groonk at 03:23 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Digital Share, Grammar, Interviews, Marketing, Only in Japan
October 23, 2007
All Bruce Campbell. All the Time.
Bruce Campbell talks about insane fans, the birth of "My Name is Bruce," and when will it escape into theaters/DVD world.
Q. Bruce: You're really generous with your fans. What have you understood about managing your fan base that maybe other genre superstars haven't?BRUCE CAMPBELL: Well, the one thing that I've learned is that nothing is a slam-dunk -- because I've had a movie or two bomb that I absolutely thought was going to be a slam-dunk.
And I didn't realize that you can force-feed fans sometimes. You gotta feed 'em a balanced meal. You feed 'em too much meat, they fall asleep; too much dessert makes 'em hyper, and then they crash. You've got to dole it out.
We're hoping "My Name Is Bruce" is a fanboy's wet dream: It's all Bruce, 24/7 -- his snotty, obnoxious self.
(via oregonian)
Posted by Groonk at 05:20 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Movies
October 22, 2007
The Evil Dead can Dance and Sing
There's something I need to see this Halloween.
(via Evil Dead the Musical, interview with theater Ash, Ryan Ward)
Posted by Groonk at 04:32 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Holiday, Interviews, Movies, Video
September 24, 2007
Stephen Colbert Defies You to be Afraid
That man is Awesome and Win and Excellence personified.
"Not living in fear is a great gift, because certainly these days we do it so much. And do you know what i like about comedy? You can't laugh and be afraid at the same time--of anything. If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid."
--Stephen Colbert, some Parade interview
(via ontd)
Posted by Groonk at 04:47 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Religion
August 07, 2007
Joss Whedon Teaches Kids New Words...and Talks SERENITY
And maybe, just maybe, SERENITY II.
WATCH: Joss Whedon 'Serenity' Q&A Session in Australia Part 1
Part 2-6 you have to suss out on your own. To the singing that happened at the end of Part 6.
Stop it.
Don't doubt I won't fly down under and rip the tongues from your mouths to stop it. Your eyes you'll keep and I'll tell you why. How else would you buy and enjoy the visual wonder that are FIREFLY and SERENITY DVDs?
(via the unstoppable signal youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Movies, Video
May 10, 2007
HOT FUZZ, Because HOT BUSH was a Too Porn-y
Pardon me, Mr Pegg...Simon? ATM does not mean "Anal to Missionary." Just a thing I know. No more questions.
Ever.
Infatuated with new media streaming movie thing NGTV.COM. And Carrie Keagan. She's the smart Pamela Anderson, you know.
(via ngtv.com)
Posted by Groonk at 03:45 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Movies
May 02, 2007
Scott Wiper Talks THE CONDEMNED and the Hard-Boiled Action Movie
Scott Wiper's got a knack for the ahrd-boiled type of movie. The flicks that are over the top, but not in that Roger Corman type of way. Mostly in that John McClanekind of way. He entertained me with a flick(A BETTER WAY TO DIE) I saw on HBO, or Showtime, some time ago.
But I felt there was a vacuum as an action film, I don’t see any “Die Hard”s – rated R. “Lethal Weapon” – rated R. “48 Hours” – rated R. All I was seeing was these PG-13 action films made for $80 million and they have to entertain everyone from my two sisters to my mother. So when I first pitched how I would do this movie, I said, first and foremost rated R. It’s the whole essence. There’s a whole faction of people out there, and they’re not just men, and they’re disappointed with action films because they’re sugar coated.
--Scott Wiper
(via joblo.com)
Posted by Groonk at 07:55 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Movies, Quotables
April 24, 2007
Jake Gyllenhaal Sums Up ZODIAC with Cell Phones
"Well, I actually believe that this film [Zodiac] is - you're probably going to look at me like I'm a madman - but I think it's about the advent of the cellphone. It would be a 25-minute movie if there were cellphones in the 70s. Because all the things that go wrong, if there had been a means of communication on your person that had been as quick as text message or a phone call, I think they could've solved this. This movie is a lot about the lack of technology."
The strange thing is I had those exact thoughts while watching ZODIAC. The 70s cellphone. The apparent lack of technology in 70s crimefighting. Yeah, I thought my angle was crazy til he said the same thing.
(via ontd and the guardian)
Posted by Groonk at 07:57 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Movies, Research, Technology
April 21, 2007
Simon Pegg Shared a Secret with Princess Leia
"I was at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2004, promoting Shaun of the Dead and got in line to meet Carrie Fisher," Pegg recalls. "I told her that I used to kiss her picture every night before I went to sleep. She asked me if confessing this made me feel better. I said it did."
Pegg also reflects on his love of pop culture and a Star Wars prequel movie idea that makes me positively beam.
(via ontd and starwars.com)
Posted by Groonk at 03:23 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Interviews, Quotables
April 18, 2007
Gillian Anderson Curses Up an Insightful Interview
Gillian Anderson, oh how I've missed thee. IN the following, she talks a bit about her new film Straightheads.
Anderson sits and regards me, a shade suspiciously, through unblinking cornflower-blue eyes. 'I think it is a very poignant comment on the dilemma women find themselves in,' she says. 'And not just women. It's as though people increasingly feel that the only way they can vent their anger and frustration at their powerlessness to do anything about what's going on is through violence.'
'But isn't it just saying that revenge is not only desirable, but even necessary?'
'No!' says Anderson. 'It's not saying that at all. My character is completely f—ed by the end. Emotionally, I mean. She's not redeemed in any way by what she does.'
By now Anderson, who's famously combustible, is already starting to smoulder round the edges. 'I don't understand why you're asking me this. I mean, in the film Man on Fire why didn't anyone ask Denzel Washington what it was like to stick a bomb up someone's arse and then explode it?'
'I have no idea,' I say truthfully.
The rest of the interview is just as boss. Although I find it suspect when an actor bad-mouths television. Especially when television was the means to their success.
(via ontd, stella magazine)
Posted by Groonk at 06:06 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Movies, Quotables
April 06, 2007
Kelly Sue DeConnick Talks 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, Swooping and Banging, and Manga
DeConnick has interesting words on translating manga to english. I've always had an interest in that business. She talks aboout 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, mainly, but I'm not as familiar with that work. She also talks about the birth of two terms I use quite a bit.
NRAMA: And finally…you’re credited with being the first to call San Diego Comic-Con "Nerd Prom." How’s it feel to see that term become so widespread?KSD: Heh. Funny you should ask that. There's been a mix-up somewhere. Fraction actually coined "nerd prom." (In fact, I thought it was Han Q. Duong's, but apparently it was Fraction's.) I think I was the first one to use it with Ellis, and thus the legend was born. I came up with "futurephone," and somehow Fraction got credited with that, so I suppose it all comes out in the wash.
(via matt fraction, newsarama)
Posted by Groonk at 01:14 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Grammar, Interviews
April 04, 2007
Louis Theroux Chats with the most Hateful Family in America
This family pickets funerals of soldiers that have died in the current Iraq War. They picket the mourners and say that all the bad things that are happening is because it is God's revenge on the US for tolerating homosexuality.
...
If I ever find them picketing a funeral of anybody I'm familiar with, my wrath would strike without prejudice. They would write songs about what I do to each and every one of those hateful bastards.
What else do you tackle in the film?What we're trying to do in the documentary is look at an activity that is so antisocial, so strange, so futile and at its worst, so cruel, and we're saying "Why? Why do that?", especially when you seem to be, for the most part, kind and sensitive people. We're exploring what is cruelty, trying to explain how something that really does very often just amount to cruelty could be perpetuated and passed down in a family. Why would nice people do such horrible things?
Do you think you've come to an answer?
Yes, I think we do. I think that the pastor is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps.
(via bbc news)
Posted by Groonk at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Religion, USA, War
February 05, 2007
Best. Non-Official Wii Commerical. Ever.
From Super 78 on the above Wii spot (via Gizmodo):
I really love the Wii and I had been reading these stories about Wii controllers flying out of peoples hands. We had some down time at the office so I got together with one of the animators and I sketched out a storyboard of the spot. In the board the controller is this high energy maniac and the nun-chuck just wants to get away. So our most talented animator Michael Smith created this fun spot there is a lot of character...This was done by us, Super 78, using our own resources, no agency was involved, no money changed hands. I am hoping that you could post it so we can see if it catches fire.
(watch out! YouTube, gizmodo, awesome Super 78 animators)
Posted by Groonk at 12:03 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Marketing, Video
February 01, 2007
The Internet Jesus has a Novel Coming Out
I was gonna wait for the book cover, but fuck it. Have a quick taste of His Ellis-ness:
This summer, Warren Ellis’ first novel, Crooked Little Vein debuts from William Morrow. The book follows a burned-out private detective that is put on the trail of the U.S. Constitution… no, not that one – the real one. Hired for this by a corrupt Presidential aide, Michael McGill sets out on a cross-country scavenger hunt that reveals a surreal underbelly and threatens to make him a part of it. McGill is joined by a surreal and socialable college student named Trix who serves both as his assistant and encouraging voice as he descends to his ultimate destination.[...]
Newsarama: What inspired you to write about such lurid activities as you have in Crooked Little Vein?
WE: It's all out there, Chris. This is what the internet trades in every day. These activities are the stuff of normal life and leisure for millions of people. It may be colorful, but it's certainly real. I invented very, very little in Crooked Little Vein. Even the macroherpetophiles; I found them back in the early days of the web, when I was writing professionally about the internet for a British computer magazine.
[...]
NRAMA: That said, what's the secret to writing material that is far out of bounds from most people's experiences and still making it accessible to them without watering down your intentions?
WE: Not hyping it, I think. The protagonist, Mike McGill, is our eyes into the world of the book, and most of the time he's really not sure what's happening to him, which I think is a useful representation of a reader immersing themselves in the book. But he's low-key. He doesn't run around waving his hands and shrieking. It's all presented matter-of-factly, with some humor, and Mike's there just trying to cope. It keeps the material grounded. And when I vary the tone, and things get substantially scarier halfway through, I think that helps carry the reader through.
(via warren ellis, newsarama)
Posted by Groonk at 02:43 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Interviews
December 21, 2006
Jack Kerouac Shares THE ROAD with Steve Allen
Wow. How in the hell did I miss this? I should visit BoingBoing more in 2007.
There is a year's worth of other videos at BoingBoing, right now.
There's a documentary on Jack Kerouac on You Tube in its entiety.
(via boingboing 2006 year in video review and vintage YouTube and Jack Kerouac)
Posted by Groonk at 02:13 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Interviews, Video
November 30, 2006
KIWI! What's Stopping You?
It really is beautiful...
...in an strange surrealist fashion.
(via Fabulist and flightless YouTube and the brilliant Dony Permedi)
UPDATE: Found an interview with KIWI creator Dony Permedi.
Posted by Groonk at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Movies, Video
November 08, 2006
Emma Thompson is a Bit of Alright
Taken from and interview she did at Newsweek:
Do you get upset when you see all these skinny young actresses?
I can't bear it. When I come to L.A. next week I'm planning to wear very tight dresses that emphasize my behind enormously and sashay around, wiggling my large bottom, saying, "This is normal and what it should be like."
Posted by Groonk at 10:33 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Quotables
November 06, 2006
HOW TO: Gain Godlike Acting or Writing Skills
The husband wife team of James Gunn(SLiTHER, DAWN OF THE DEAD) and Jenna Fischer(THE OFFICE,LOLLILOVE) shared some advice on their respective professions. Let's have a look, shall we?
Remember, these are 8 TRICKS, not 8 RULES. I believe each of these gives a person a greater chance at becoming a successful screenwriter. But NONE of them are NECESSARY to becoming a screenwriter (although the last one comes pretty close.) Here goes:1) Write at least 3 hours a day 6 days a week.
2) Move to Los Angeles. Of if you can't do L.A., move to New York.
3) Spell check, of course, but also make a pass checking for "its" and "it's", "their" and "there," "your" and "you're", and so on.
4) Don't even think about trying to get an agent until you have completed your best possible work.
5) Don't blame others for your failures as a screenwriter. By assessing your own responsibilities, and learning from your failures, you supercharge yourself and become unstoppable!! (NOTE: it's good to read this trick out loud and pump your fist up in the air while doing so).
6) Got friends who like to cut you down and tell you "this isn't possible" and "that can't be done"? Lose 'em.
7) On the flipside, have 3 good objective readers, who are very honest, even harsh, and who have your best interests at heart. (Mary Harron agreed with this trick, but added that you should make sure the objective readers at least somewhat share your tastes -- that is, they have the same goals you do).
8) FINISH WHAT YOU START. Are you doubting what you write? Are you starting to think it's crap? Good! That's a part of being a writer! We are doubting, tortured, angst-filled souls, and all it takes to be a writer is to write in the face of that!!
So those are the tricks.
(via myspace james gunn)
Fischer actually went into great detail in her blog about her experiences in the world of professional Hollywood. The entire entry is worth the read if you have any aspirations for working in the entertainment biz, whether you want to be an actor or a writer.
I know how hard it can be when you first get out here. Go out and meet as many people as you can. Create a family for yourself of creative, supportive people. AND, don't stop your personal life for your career. I know a lot of people that wait to do things - visit family, friends, have relationships, get married - because they are waiting until they "make it". Or, they don't go to a friend's wedding because they might "miss something". Life is too short and it's not worth it in the end. I always took off and did that stuff and it turned out fine. I was often anxious and worried in the process but I did it. I believe that in order for my professional life to move forward, I have to keep my personal life moving forward as well.I wouldn't be where I am today if not for my husband James. He is the one who convinced me to quit my job as a secretary (ironically) and focus full time on acting. I didn't totally believe I could make it but he did. He supported us financially and supported me emotionally. He ran lines with me and coached me before countless auditions. He put up with my highs and lows. He was, and still is, my biggest cheerleader. And, you need that out here.
(via myspace jenna fischer)
UPDATE: Gunn has decided to do a series of posts on how to break into the film biz.
Posted by Groonk at 04:27 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, Interviews, Tutorials, USA
October 04, 2006
Peter Cullen: The True Voice of Prime Speaks
An interview with the 20 year Optimus Prime voice actor reveals a humble soul.
PopCandy: How did the role of Optimus Prime come along?
Peter Cullen: It was a cattle call, really. I rememer being very, very confused. I said, "What is this? A toy?" I had no idea what it was all about. Then I read the character breakdown, and it was pretty straightforward. One of them was to be the lead of the Autobots, and his character was described as a leader ... I had always kind of kept in the back of my mind the idea of what a hero would sound like if I ever got the opportunity. It fit really well.
PopCandy: So they didn't give you any instruction on how he should sound ...
Peter Cullen: No. Like all characters, they'll give you the words, and they'll give you a picture of what the character looks like, and it's up to you to come out with what you think it would sound like. When I do animal cartoons or funny cartoons, I always look at the body structure to see how big a frame they have or how small ... would he sound like tuba, or would he sound like a trumpet?
I think Optimus was more -- his voice came more of substance of character. I kind of modeled Optimus Prime's voice out of many people I had known over the years, my family especially. My brother was a captain in the Marine Corps, and a very big hero in my life. His approach to serious situations was always calm and controlled an authoritative. So my brother is in there. Even my dad, too, (and) former friends who have now departed but are strong in my memory.
How neat.
(via popcandy)
Posted by Groonk at 07:21 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
July 20, 2006
Kevin Smith Speaks for the Fanboy/Normal Joe in Us All
Some critic, whose name I don't recall and can't be bothered to click over a tab in my browser to re-discover it, threw a tantrum at the screening of Kevin Smith's "Clerks II". "Clerks II" is getting my money regardless of what some dipshit getting paid to sit on his ass and review other people's work says. I vent on flicks, but god helo me I don't get paid for it. If I ever do become a salaried reviewer, I've paid a friend to whip the piss out of me every day until I get a job worth having.
Now I've heard and seen this before. You have to see and hear it yourself before you would ever believe it. WATCH Kevin Smith talk about the first time the new Superman project was being bounced around Hollywood, how he got to write th efirst draft, and his many, insane, interactions with a producer by name of Jon Peters.
It's about 20 minutes but what else do you have planned today?
Hmm. Peters didn't want to see Superman in the suit. And he didn't want him to fly? Sumbitch, that's freaking Smallville. Maybe that's why I can't fully get on board with that show.
(via the superficial)
UPDATE: A radio interview with Joel Siegel(the aforementioned critic) backtracking on his rude behavior and doesn't realize he's talking to Kevin Smith. So now this hooha is becoming viral. How funny...curious...sad. It's definitely one of those.
LISTEN: The rants are iPod ready.
Posted by Groonk at 03:19 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Interviews, Movies
July 16, 2006
Rosario Dawson is Goddamn Awesome
The cool thing about running your own site and not being under Big Media's thumb, you get to curse as you damn well please.
I love me some Rosario Dawson. That lady's pleasing to the eye as well as the mind. And did I mention she's pleasing to the eye? In the following Entertainment Weekly interview, she talks about being a "hot geek" and apparently whatever else enters her mind. The world needs more "hot comics geek chicks".
I mean, she's starting her own comic. My gods, she may be the perfect girl.
"The Bible has been translated into Klingon," she exclaims, apropos of nothing. "That idea is so fascinating to me: language, how we communicate." From there, Dawson warp-jumps to talk of Illinois senator Barack Obama, Shakespeare, and impulse buying. "You know that movie A Christmas Story?" she blurts, her full lips spreading into a broad smile. "Remember the leg lamp? Dude, I got it! One leg and a high heel with fishnets that lights up. It's, like, the cheesiest thing on the planet."
[...]
Now, all of a sudden, Dawson's choices are forming a pattern. In August she begins shooting Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's film Grind House. And she'll soon reprise her role as Gail, the trigger-happy streetwalker, in Sin City 2, Rodriguez's second adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels. More immediately, she's starring in Clerks II, the sequel to Kevin Smith's breakout 1994 slacker salute, which opens July 21, and she's just released her own comic book, Occult Crimes Taskforce, which features a gun-toting likeness of her. But it seems Dawson isn't so much a dream vixen for game-playing, metal-loving, comic-flipping nerds as she is one of them.
''[She] is one of the few actresses that I've met who doesn't have eyes on the prize,'' says Clerks II director Kevin Smith. ''She's not sitting there going, 'How many films will it take me to get an Oscar? How many to get on the A list?''' Even so, the filmmaker couldn't fathom why Dawson would want to play fast-food manager Becky, the seductive love interest in his low-budget dudefest — that is, until she showed up praising Rob Zombie and quoting lines from an obscure comic called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. ''She's a fangirl,'' declares the director. ''The hottest geek on earth.''
(photo by Katrina del Mar)
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:13 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
July 10, 2006
Adam Carolla knows how to Treat a Lady
Which is why the... controversial... Anne Coulter was promptly hung up on after she called into his radio show an hour an a half late.
HEAR: The first Anne Coulter interview that pissed off no one.
The transcript of awesome:
ANN COULTER: Hello.
CAROLLA: Hi Ann. You're late, babydoll.
COULTER: Uh, somebody gave me the wrong number.
CAROLLA: Mmm...ow did you get the right number? Just dialed randomly - eventually got to our show? (Laughter in background)
COULTER: Um, no. My publicist e-mailed it to me, I guess, after checking with you.
CAROLLA: Ahh, I see.
COULTER: But I am really tight on time right now because I already had a -
CAROLLA: Alright, well, get lost.
(via crooks and liars)
Brilliant!
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 07:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Interviews
June 12, 2006
Alice Cooper Asked for the Dream King's Help
This man:
Has the oddest social networking:
LISTEN-> Neil Gaiman, one time advisor to Alice Cooper
Posted by Groonk at 08:59 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Interviews
May 25, 2006
Joss Whedon Writes in Drag
His words, not mine. Honest. No hyperbole here. Read the entire interview and understand.
[...]
Buffy came right after that. They said, "Do you want to do a show?" And I thought, "High school as a horror movie." And it really was. And so the metaphor that I had begun to strike at in Alien: Resurrection became the central concept behind Buffy, and that's how I sold it, and that’s what they bought, and they got it, and they let me do it — and after that, everything was about it.
And then we came to Firefly, and Serenity, where I took away the metaphorical aspect — but science-fiction always opens you up to every element of history that you want, because the future is just the past in a blender. And so rather than a straight-on metaphor, it was more an idea of, "I can take anything from the human experience that I've read about or felt or seen — like, what is it like after a war? And it doesn’t matter which war or which country — what is it like for the people who lost?"
It's always about people. The idea behind the show was to take nine people and say, "Nine people look out into the blackness of space and see nine different things." That is the show. With the movie, obviously, you can't just say something that vague; I had to make the movie more specific. It's about freedom and about how much you can take, and how much you can control people, even for their own good, before you lose them.
(via whedonesque and she bytches)
Posted by Groonk at 05:55 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat
May 11, 2006
10 Years from Kingdom Come
CBR interviewed writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross about the 10 year anniversary of Kingdom Come. Jonah Weiland even (temporarily)posted his old Kingdom Come fan web site circa 1997.
It's scary how seeing that old site stirred long, gone net lurking memories of 1997. I used to visit Weiland's page about the KC book all the time.
Kingdom Come's premise was that superheroes grew older. Superman finally got fed up with the state of things and left the scene. All other classic heroes isolated their endeavours and the new generation went about carrying on the legacy. This plodded onwards until one fateful, tragic event brings the classic heroes back to the fore.
Interview extract below:
Now, wasn't Magog a character created as a response to all those characters that were popping up in the early '90s?
Yeah. That's a character that Mark Waid invented that was really just put to me like come up with the most God awful, Rob Liefeld sort of design that you can. What I was stealing from was - really only two key designs of Rob's - the design of Cable. I hated it. I felt like it looked like they just threw up everything on the character - the scars, the thing going on with his eye, the arm, and what's with all the guns? But the thing is, when I put those elements together with the helmet of Shatterstar -- I think that was his name -- well, the ram horns and the gold, suddenly it held together as one of the designs that I felt happiest with in the entire series.
Really?
Yeah. I don't think it ended up looking like a buffoonish character. In a way, that gold rams head affect took it to a new level of almost biblical metaphor that had a nice little touch to it. It's the kind of thing I should have been striving, but it was much more accidental.
It's interesting you used the words "biblical metaphor," as "Kingdom Come" is rife with Christian symbolism. Then of course today, 10 years later, Christian religions have a louder, more pronounced and influential voice than it had 10 years ago. Once again, the book proves prophetic.
Today, there's a lot more direct discussion of things regarding images and beliefs and faith and all that kind of stuff, whereas back then it really wasn't a hot topic of conversation. It was just a part of every day culture. Now we can find these types of images and debate all over our country today.
[...]
Allright, keeping all that in mind and the fact that "Kingdom Come" has helped inspire a new generation of comics creators, how would you do the book differently today? Or would you do it any differently?
Well, it's weird, because right now I could argue that the book is being done today, not so much in what I see DC doing, but with what I see Marvel doing in "Civil War." Really, "Kingdom Come" was meant to be a civil war between two different armies of super humans, particularly super heroes. You know, one team was mostly Batman, the other team mostly Superman. The story evolved in a very different way from that original intention of mine, but when I see what they're doing with Captain America and Iron Man and "which side" and the whole idea that there's this one, nuclear, devastating moment that sets off this whirl wind of change where the heroes have to put their own house in order, that's basically the set-up of "Kingdom Come."
It's actually fun for me to watch it being done again in this way because they're going to be able to give it a lot more time to expand, whereas the kind of work that Mark Waid and I did together was very compressed. There was only so much depth we could give any one of those particular concepts because it's a four-issue series that's only about 200 pages. That may sound like a lot, but for actual content there are so many more stories that could be spun out of there.
Complete interview after the jump.
Rob Liefeld. Man. There blows an ill wind. Luckily his "style" of drawing is out of favor these days. At least I don't buy it.
(via cbr)
Posted by Groonk at 05:28 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews, Just Freaking Neat
April 24, 2006
Dave Winer says 'Amateurs do it for love'
I'm paraphrasing of course.
Interesting interview with blog father Dave Winer on last Thursday's Rocketboom. They talked about writing style, rss, and the "training wheel" nature of Myspace.
I've been saying to other friends that I really don't get the popularity of Myspace. It's such a simple beast. Nowhere near the potential a social app like that could be. I know many folks who could code a better app in their sleep. Yet Myspace is here now.
Oh well.
(via 
)
Posted by Groonk at 09:32 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
April 16, 2006
No matter where you go...there you are
Son of a bitch. Buckaroo Banzai books are back in print. Fuck, Buckaroo Banzai books are in print period.
When and how did this happen? I must ask Moonstone Comics why.
Lori G: Joe, can you give us an overview of this ALL NEW Buckaroo Banzai mini-series? Can the fans expect to see all the all old favorites, like Pretty Tommy and the rest of the original Hong Kong Cavaliers?
Joe: Well, we fans can look forward to Perfect Tommy, Reno, and New Jersey (and Mrs Johnson of course) all being at Banzai’s side during this adventure. Plus, there are two NEW Cavaliers that we will meet that also play a major role: (bass player/sharp thing wielder) Lady Gillette and (drummer) Red River Daddy. The mini series is a complete story written by Banzai’s creator
Earl Mac Rauch. It is JUST as funny and crazy as the movie, and that’s the truth. The script just crackles with all of those crazy dialogue moments between the characters, as well as a heavy heapin’ of double entendre’s!
The plot, as always, is about saving the world! But, along the way, we get a few glimpses of Buckaroo’s secrets, as well as
get a view of life within the Cavaliers.
There is some far out action, fever dreams, alien technology, silly spoken inner thoughts, daring rescues, some rock and roll, some medical wizardry, and that wild JET CAR!
And if the books suck, that question will still be why.
(via moonstone comics)
Posted by Groonk at 11:46 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews
March 28, 2006
Drawing Restraint 9
First, let me say that art is subjective.
Second, what in fuck is this guy on?
Third, I hope to God his stash never gets in the global water supply. When that happens, all our noise is fucked.
Fourth, art is still subjective.
Fifth, after reading the interview, I have a better idea of what that "9" trailer is about.
Sixth, I drank what?
(note: I remember his noise from before.)
Posted by Groonk at 06:41 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Trailers, Weird
March 12, 2006
COMICS: Elk's Run
Heard about Elk's Run weeks ago via Bad Signal. Only now having a chance to read the write-ups.
There's a preview, interview, and review on Buzzscope.
It's got a rashomon effect about it.
Do you remember your first kiss? The first time you drove a car?
How about when your friend was killed or the first time you saw your father murder someone? John Kohler's coming of age story is unlike any you’ve ever read. He's growing up in Elk's Ridge, West Virginia, a once thriving mining town now cut off from the rest of the world, its secrets hidden for years. But when local police and FBI agents begin to investigate the town, the citizens of Elk’s Run will be forced to finally stand by the ideologies they choose to adhere to, no matter the cost.
Always more stuff to read.
Posted by Groonk at 08:28 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews
March 05, 2006
NYC Comic Con: day 3 with Jim Steranko
Part 3 of the Steranko info gather.
He spoke at the NYC Comic Con and had many stories to tell. The Gibson he referes to here is Walter Gibson, prolific writer of “The Shadow.” Gibson wrote 285 Shadow novels.
Talk about giving Bendis a run for his money.
Steranko talked about visiting Gibson’s house in upstate New York, and found it had different books in different rooms, a room full of detective books, a room full of magic books, a room full of mysteries, and every room had a typewriter on a table. This was so that Gibson could immediately sit down and write when the impulse came and he didn’t have to go into another room to do it.
The breakfast room had three typewriters in it.
“I asked him why, and he said, “I start with this one over here. When it gets tired, I start on the next one, then when it gets tired, I get back to that one. Walter could write 20,000 words a DAY! And I’ve seen him type till his finger were bleeding, because those were old manual typewriters and you had to really punch the keys!”
(via cbr)
Posted by Groonk at 03:42 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews
February 28, 2006
An 80s Zombie Recalls: Voice of El Dorado!
Back in th eday, cartoons were concentrated on only one day of the week. Saturday mornings. The one day you'd find me and hundreds of thousands of other kids waking at 8AM or earlier to see their favorite toons. Lately, the past has caught up with me.
The curious site Legions of Gotham has an interview with SuperFriends voice actor Fernando Escandon.
One of 80s producers' plays to cash in on America's growing diversity by adding ethnic superheroes like Black Vulcan or Apache Chief and such to their line up without much thought to character development or plot.
Truthfully. At that time, it worked on me.
Posted by Groonk at 11:43 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
February 21, 2006
Google should never have boasted their "non-evilness"
In this corner, Rep. Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor in Congress.
In that corner, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Cisco, corporate entities whose ethics are on notice for making dealings with known human rights abusing totalitarian regimes around the world.
The congressman is angry and, IMNHO, correctly righteous. The corporations in question are full of doublespeak and avoidances.
Google: Congressman, I actually can't, I don't think it's fair for us to say that we're ashamed.
Lantos: You have nothing to be ashamed of?
Google: I am not ashamed of it, and I am not proud of it...We have taken a path, we have begun on a path, we have done a path that...will ultimately benefit all the users in China. If we determined, congressman, as a result of changing circumstances or as a result of the implementation of the Google.cn program that we are not achieving those results then we will assess our performance, our ability to achieve those goals, and whether to remain in the market.
Lantos, to Cisco: Is your company ashamed?
Cisco: (Begins to talk about products that Cisco sells.)
[...]
Lantos, to Yahoo: Are you ashamed?
Yahoo: We are very distressed about the consequences of having to comply with Chinese law...We are certainly troubled by that and we look forward to working with our peers.
Lantos: Do you think that individuals or families have been negatively impacted by some of the activities we have been told, like being in prison for 10 years? Have any of the companies reached out to these families and asked if you could be of any help to them?
Yahoo: We have expressed our condemnation of the prosecution of this person, expressed our views to the Chinese government...We have approached the Chinese government on these issues.
Lantos: Have you reached out to the family? I can ask it 10 more times if you refuse to answer it. You are under oath.
Yahoo: We have not reached out to the families.
(via boingboing)
Posted by Groonk at 07:44 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
February 20, 2006
Step into Stephen Colbert's brain, it's chock-full of goodness
An Onion A.V. Club interview with Mr Truthiness himself, Stephen Colbert.
The whole thing is brilliant but this is one of two bits I dug most. It one won out by a nose hair.:
Stephen Colbert: Absolutely. The whole idea of authority-authoritarian is fine for some people, like people who say "Listen to me, and just don't question, and do what I say, and everything will be fine"-the sort of thing we really started to respond to so well after 9/11. 'Cause we wanted someone to be daddy, to take decisions away from us. I really have a sense of [America's current leaders] doing bad things in our name to protect us, and that was okay. We weren't thrilled with Bush because we thought he was a good guy at that point, we were thrilled with him because we thought that he probably had hired people who would fuck up our enemies, regardless of how they had to do it. That was for us a very good thing, and I can't argue with the validity of that feeling.
But that has been extended to the idea that authoritarian is better than authority. Because authoritarian means there's only one authority, and that authority has got to be the President, has got to be the government, and has got to be his allies. What the right-wing in the United States tries to do is undermine the press. They call the press "liberal," they call the press "biased," not necessarily because it is or because they have problems with the facts of the left-or even because of the bias for the left, because it's hard not to be biased in some way, everyone is always going to enter their editorial opinion-but because a press that has validity is a press that has authority. And as soon as there's any authority to what the press says, you question the authority of the government-it's like the existence of another authority. So that's another part of truthiness. Truthiness is "What I say is right, and [nothing] anyone else says could possibly be true." It's not only that I feel it to be true, but that I feel it to be true. There's not only an emotional quality, but there's a selfish quality.
Nail.
Head.
He hit that sucker dead center.
(via The A.V. Club)
Posted by Groonk at 02:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Interviews, Politics
February 19, 2006
REPOST: Prize Fighting Oscar Directors
Directors Steven Spielberg(Munich), George Clooney(Good Night and Good Luck), Ang Lee(Brokeback Mountain), Paul Haggis(Crash), and Bennett Miller(Capote) had things to say about their movies and movies in general:
Ang, you grew up in Taiwan. Which movies inspired you?
LEE: I always wanted to be a filmmaker, but I kept it a secret until I did my first movie.
SPIELBERG: You never admitted it?
LEE: No. I always felt ashamed.
Because your father didn't approve?
LEE: Yes. And because of the society I came from.
SPIELBERG: What would your father have wished for you?
LEE: Anything but this, I guess. Something practical. So film was a very repressed pleasure for me. I always had scenes in my head, but "The Virgin Spring" was an epiphany for me. After that movie, you cannot move for a long time. You feel you will see life differently now. [Pause] I always wished I could do something like that on screen.
(a little later, after Spielberg reveals his start in film was the Night Gallery pilot)
CLOONEY: Was Rod Serling around?
SPIELBERG: He was great with me also. I actually lit his cigarette.
CLOONEY: Did you really?
SPIELBERG: Yeah.
CLOONEY: You helped him die.[Laughter]
Clooney makes me laugh. He's a funny fellow.
Funny ha ha.
(via matt fraction)
Posted by Groonk at 11:21 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Movies
January 08, 2006
LSD told Albert Hoffman to "find me"
100 year old "Father of Acid" Albert Hoffman surprised me. I never thought of him as a romantic.
As the years accumulate behind him, Mr. Hofmann's conversation turns ever more insistently around one theme: man's oneness with nature and the dangers of an increasing inattention to that fact.
"It's very, very dangerous to lose contact with living nature," he said, listing to the right in a green armchair that looked out over frost-dusted fields and snow-laced trees. A glass pitcher held a bouquet of roses on the coffee table before him. "In the big cities, there are people who have never seen living nature, all things are products of humans," he said. "The bigger the town, the less they see and understand nature." And, yes, he said, LSD, which he calls his "problem child," could help reconnect people to the universe.
So that's what Freddie Mercury meant about wanting to ride his bicycle. Color me an idiot for taking the song at face value.
(via boingboing)
When he returned to his lab the next Monday, he tried to identify the source of his experience, believing first that it had come from the fumes of a chloroform-like solvent he had been using. Inhaling the fumes produced no effect, though, and he realized he must have somehow ingested a trace of LSD. "LSD spoke to me," Mr. Hofmann said with an amused, animated smile. "He came to me and said, 'You must find me.' He told me, 'Don't give me to the pharmacologist, he won't find anything.' "
Posted by Groonk at 11:59 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Research
November 24, 2005
Mandy Amano: THE Hottest Fangirl in Comics
Contemplate the raw unfettered beauty of Mandy Amano(that pepsi girl) whilst I disappear into turkey dinners for the next few days.
WIZARD: Did your dad have comics all over the place when you were growing up?AMANO: Absolutely. We had artwork on the walls from artists like Frank Frazetta and characters like Wolverine, the Shadow, Rocketeer and Batman. And my dad had boxes and boxes of comics around the house and there were the weekend trips to the comic book store. Because it was such a part of me growing up, it didn't register that is was something different. I would really only notice it when I would go to my other friends' houses and they'd have Georgia O'Keefe and Thomas Kincaid art up and then they'd come to my house and scream, "Whoa, Wolverine!"
WIZARD:Other than the influence of your dad, what else kept you interested in comics?
AMANO: Aside from growing up reading and hearing about comics, I grew up on fairy tales, too. I was instilled with a deep appreciation and love for fantasy. And my dad is such a storyteller and a romantic person in the way he looks at the world. And that whole alternate reality of it where everything's heightened and stakes are so high and it's colorful. I think, too, the thing that's really appealing about comic books is that just like Chekhov and Shakespeare, it's telling really human stories, but it's telling it in such a timeless way because it's not preaching to you. It's coming in a package that's fun. And it's interesting in the sense that there are such moral, human issues being addressed in these stories, but most of these characters aren't human, so it's a parable of sorts. So I always felt like it was interesting to learn about the human condition, but in a kickass, fun way.
Posted by Groonk at 08:00 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Interviews
November 08, 2005
Sometimes there will be Zombies
CBR interviews Warren Ellis about his new zombie book Black Gas:
While in film, filmmakers have the ability to scare audiences by having characters jump out from shadows and what not, the same tools aren't available to comic writers as it's the reader controls the experience (i.e. flipping to the next page). Ellis said exploring the psychological side of the story is what will grip readers with fear in "Blackgas." "It's about drawing people in. It's about creating a tone, and slowly tuning it so that everything becomes threatening," said Ellis. "It's hard to do the sharp-shock of horror in comics, but it is possible to create a real miasma of disturbingness (which may not be a word). Bit by bit, you can worm your way into a reader's head and, not outright scare them, but disturb them... create genuine revulsion, so that they feel like they need a shower afterwards."
[...]
"Horror very much depends on the context of the 'good life,' the status quo," explained Ellis. "So you start slower, you show life as it should be lived. And then someone starts bleeding. And something is moving behind the door that's ajar. You know what I mean? The bad stuff leaks in. A little at first. And then a lot. And then when you think it couldn't get any worse lots of little men run in with buckets and fling some more on."
[...]
"Zombies tend to enjoy a resurgence when Western society feels it's up against a faceless, silent threat -- whether it's conservative culture threatened by Communists or radical Islam, or liberal culture terrified by all-enveloping capitalism and the world turning into a mall full of drones."
(via cbr)
Posted by Groonk at 06:07 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Research
October 02, 2005
Is it scary or funny?
--Neil Gaiman Onion AV Club Interview
I guess that should be obvious but it wasn't to me.
Posted by Groonk at 08:57 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Quotables
You Can Talk to a "Psycho" Like a Normal Human Being
My favorite Flickr photographer, Rebekka, gets her first interview.
Posted by Groonk at 04:19 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Flickrlicious, Interviews
July 02, 2005
Daria, cha cha cha!
Local Portland, OR goddess, Daria O'Neil has been keeping busy:
...[laughs] It's the planet where everything's perfect, but you can't break any rules. And Wesley breaks this glass enclosure and he's supposed to die. And the Prime Directive says that Wesley must die, because you can't interfere in other cultures and you have to respect their laws.
But he doesn't.
(Daria on Star Trek's Wesley Crusher not blogosphere's Wil Wheaton)
Her brother Damien's "Mark Trail" was freaking awesome. It was a warped version of the original comic series. Freaking funny, it was.
Daria's Local Entertainment Guides were what got me through the day back then.
Damn I miss hearing the old KNRK crew over my computer in the mornings.
(awesomest link ever link via medicmike)
Posted by Groonk at 10:41 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
June 28, 2005
Slashdot Interviews: Blogosphere's Wil Wheaton
Wheaton shares thoughts on the industry and other things in this Slashdot e-interview:
* You want to publish a book? It's easier than ever to create an e-book with free software like Scribus and OpenOffice.org, and use a service like PayPalDownloads to deliver it.
* You want to release your music? Garageband will host your files and connect you with people who want to hear you.
* You have a great idea for a play? There are 99 seat Equity-waiver theaters in every big city in America.
* Don't want to shop your brilliant short film to myopic studio buyers who are just going to steal your idea anyway? Produce it yourself! Film it on digital video, edit it on your Mac, and create your own DVDs.
* When you've got a physical product to sell, PayPal will process payments for you and create shipping labels you can print, or you can use a service like Yahoo Shopping to do your fulfillment.
If you've got passion, you believe in yourself, and you're willing to take financial risks, you don't need anyone's permission to release your work. Your success or failure won't be left in the hands of anyone else. You are in charge, and you'll sink or swim based upon your efforts. I'll repeat, as the voice of experience: You do not need the so-called traditional channels of distribution to get your work to an audience, and you'll probably be happier and more successful by not going through those channels.
I must keep these thoughts in mind.
(via slashdot)
Posted by Groonk at 06:54 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Interviews, Quotables
June 27, 2005
NJ Junior found 1888 Whitman Interview
He tells them to practice their craft and to break conventional models instead of writing traditional "poetry."
"First, don't write poetry; second ditto; third ditto," Whitman says. "You may be surprised to hear me say so, but there is no particular need of poetic expression. We are utilitarian, and the current cannot be stopped."
Whitman advised them to carry a pencil and piece of paper to jot down daily events. He even suggested they get their hands dirty in the mechanics of printing.
"Whack away at everything pertaining to literary life - mechanical part as well as the rest. Learn to set type, learn to work at the 'case,' learn to be a practical printer, and whatever you do learn condensation," Whitman said.
Kukawski said she combed through the newspapers' dusty pages to try to learn about what students at the time thought about education and the famous writer, but she didn't expect to find actual words from Whitman there. Then she saw the interview.
[...]
Folsom was not surprised that The Signal interview includes the advice to avoid poetry, saying Whitman equated accepted poetry with conventional form and style. But he said the call to learn printing was especially interesting.
"If you're going to write some unconventional stuff that's going to challenge people's thinking, you may damn well need to publish the things yourself," he said.
(link via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 06:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
March 09, 2005
One Fake Newsman
A surprisingly cool archived Fresh Air interview with the damn funny Daily Show straight-man Stephen Colbert.
(via npr)
Posted by Groonk at 04:13 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
February 10, 2005
Neal Stephenson interview
Stephenson's interview for Reason Magazine is now online:
[Walter] Winks interpretation of the New Testament is that Jesus was not a pacifist milksop but (among other things) was encouraging people to resist the dominant power system of the era, that being the Roman Empire. Mind you, Wink is no fan of violence either, and he devotes a lot of ink to attacking what he calls the Myth of Redemptive Violence, which he sees as a meme by which domination systems are perpetuated. But he is clearly all in favor of people standing up against oppressive power systems of all stripes.[...]
The success of the U.S. has not come from one consistent cause, as far as I can make out. Instead the U.S. will find a way to succeed for a few decades based on one thing, then, when that peters out, move on to another. Sometimes there is trouble during the transitions. So, in the early-to-mid-19th century, it was all about expansion westward and a colossal growth in population. After the Civil War, it was about exploitation of the worlds richest resource base: iron, steel, coal, the railways, and later oil.
For much of the 20th century it was about science and technology. The heyday was the Second World War, when we had not just the Manhattan Project but also the Radiation Lab at MIT and a large cryptology industry all cooking along at the same time. The war led into the nuclear arms race and the space race, which led in turn to the revolution in electronics, computers, the Internet, etc. If the emblematic figures of earlier eras were the pioneer with his Kentucky rifle, or the Gilded Age plutocrat, then for the era from, say, 1940 to 2000 it was the engineer, the geek, the scientist. Its no coincidence that this era is also when science fiction has flourished, and in which the whole idea of the Future became current. After all, if youre living in a technocratic society, it seems perfectly reasonable to try to predict the future by extrapolating trends in science and engineering.
It is quite obvious to me that the U.S. is turning away from all of this. It has been the case for quite a while that the cultural left distrusted geeks and their works; the depiction of technical sorts in popular culture has been overwhelmingly negative for at least a generation now. More recently, the cultural right has apparently decided that it doesnt care for some of what scientists have to say. So the technical class is caught in a pincer between these two wings of the so-called culture war. Of course the broad mass of people dont belong to one wing or the other. But science is all about diligence, hard sustained work over long stretches of time, sweating the details, and abstract thinking, none of which is really being fostered by mainstream culture.
(via boingboing)
Posted by Groonk at 12:12 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
February 01, 2005
The Top Ten Gods of F/X
And the people who deliver these money shots are becoming stars in their own right - earning up to seven figures, walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards, and being courted as if they were Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts. Meet Hollywood's new A-list.