Posted on August 20, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Engaged Family Games is a very promising new site to provide some guidance for parents on computer/video games. I like the approach: helping families to make the most of the time they spend with games. Take a look!
Posted on August 20, 2013 at 8:00 am
Oscar-winning writer Jim Rash (with Nat Faxon he co-wrote “The Descendants” and “The Way Way Back”) hosts one of the best new shows on television, “The Writer’s Room.” The writers and key cast members of Breaking Bad, Parks & Recreation, Dexter, New Girl, Game of Thrones and American Horror Story tell the stories behind the stories that keep us coming back week after week. Highly recommended.
And while we’re on the subject of writing, check out this interview with Marc Norman (“Shakespeare in Love”) from my friend Robert Elisberg.
Posted on August 19, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I highly recommended my friend Rebecca Cusey’s very thoughtful essay on Patheos, Hey Conservatives, Don’t Blast ‘The Butler’ (From a Conservative). I am strongly opposed to reducing complex human stories to us-vs-them political bullet points (indeed, opposed to us-vs-them political bullet points of any kind). As Cusey points out, this is particularly foolish and inconsistent with “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” which is inspired by the true story of a man who served as a butler in the White House for eight Presidents, over a period that included the tumult of the Civil Rights Era.
The first reason that conservatives should like this movie is that its main character upholds core conservative principles of self-reliance, honor, hard work, and devotion to family. Of course, these are liberal values as well, but right now we are focusing on the “conservative” criticisms that Cusey rebuts so resoundingly. The movie makes the point that the butler and his son each devote their lives to service, an idea that should be embraced by people of all political views, even Libertarians, who may say they are acting only out of self-interest but who in their own way are trying to make the world more equitable. Cusey writes:
We need more, not less, of this in our culture because exploring the African-American experience through film is exploring our shared history and creates a conversation we all can share.
The conversation will not go very far if we conservatives immediately overreact to perceived slights in an excellent film.
The skill of the screenplay and direction in The Butler make it clear that the political views in the movie flow from and are expressions of the characters in the film. The movie itself does not make judgements on any of the presidents, but some of its characters sure do. And some of the characters disagree with each other.
That’s called good movie-making.
I think it is a beautiful and moving film for anyone to enjoy. Even whites. Even conservatives. Especially white conservatives. Try to understand the other side a little. Buying a movie ticket isn’t conceding every political point made by a character in the movie. It is simply learning.
Let me repeat that last point for emphasis.
Buying a movie ticket isn’t conceding every political point made by a character in the movie. It is simply learning.
In the first place, this movie in no way attacks conservative principles or those who espouse them. In the second place, even if it does, the way to respond is with empathy and respectful engagement. I found the movie’s portrayal of the Reagans to be very sympathetic. Some of the critics (not professional movie critics, just people who have expressed views about the movie) wanted it to be more laudatory. But Reagan, as all of the Presidents portrayed, was a complex figure who was not always willing to take on issues that in retrospect we might have wished him to, and apartheid was one of them. That is a historical fact. So were lynchings, which were frequent in the early 20th century and even proudly featured on postcard souvenirs. Thoughtful, sincere films like this one are intended to start conversations about ideas and experiences.
Cusey concludes her essay with a thought I wish everyone shared:
I maintain that every conservative should see this movie. Sure, there are things about which I disagree, but so what? It is excellent and we just might find we understand each other a bit better afterwards.
Posted on August 19, 2013 at 8:00 am
It was great to catch up with Lily Collins, star of this week’s release “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” based on the best-selling series by Cassandra Clare
You were a fan of the books before you were cast in the film, right?
I was. I had read the first book and so when I heard there was going to be a movie I sent out a bunch of emails saying, “I have to get in on this!” Then it happened very organically. I got the call that I had the role. I was a huge fan of the series and to be cast as a heroine I admire so much was a huge honor for me.
Tell me a little about what makes her such an admirable character.
She is on this whole journey because her mom has been taken. She has this entire adventure story based on finding her voice in this fantasy world that is new to her. What drives her the whole time is is getting her mom back. I am really close with my mom so I could relate to that. She is this really passionate, feisty, determined young woman who never lets herself be victimized, and I really admire that about her.
These books have some very committed fans. What have you heard from them about their hopes for the film?
I’m a fan as well, so like them there were certain things I wanted to see on screen. They want that connection to all of the characters that they have read about in the books. Cassandra wrote it in such a way that you really do feel like you could be friends with everyone in the books. Even though it is fantasy, everyone is down to earth and realistic. And Cassandra wrote comedy in there, too. You just laugh out loud reading some of the lines. And the action, of course. They’re hoping to see that brought to life, and the spark, the romance between Clary and Jace. It’s one thing to envision all the fight scenes and the weapons and another to bring it to life on screen. You’re going to be on the edge of your seat the whole time.
The characters in the book get markings on their skin called runes. What was that like?
My character only has two in the first book because I am just discovering that I am a shadow hunter and discovering my power. But the other guys had them all over their bodies. They had hours of makeup because they had to cover their real ones and then get the tattoos for the story put on top. I didn’t have as much time in the makeup chair getting them put on but when I did it was a cool process. Clary gets bit by a ravener demon, the reason I have the first one put on me, and there was a lot of prosthetic that took about two hours to put on. But it was cool and it really helps enhance the translation to fantasy out of reality.
This is your second big fantasy film. What are some of the challenges of fantasy?
In this film we luckily didn’t have that much green screen. Harold really wanted the set to be very realistic and for us to have the depth and the sense of being immersed in the world that Cassandra wrote. But of course there was some guy in a green suit where I was being pulled into something and had to imagine what it was. Having to emote to a stick or a piece of paper is very strange and not something you’d get in an independent drama. But you’re surrounded by other people who are going through the same thing and understand how it can seem ridiculous and you can have fun with it together.
There’s one scene where I have a newfound power and use one of the runes that basically freezes time and motion. So we had to avoid certain things in the environment but all we had were tennis balls on sticks showing us where things would be. How ridiculous do you look — there are lots of outtakes where we are laughing. But you get over it after two or three takes and you get through it.
And now you’re going to film the next chapter, right?
We start filming in September!
Posted on August 18, 2013 at 3:59 pm
For more, check out Frances England’s new Blink of an Eye CD.
