Troubled Midnight

Summer is over...

2009-08-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

And it has been for almost two weeks now. I love my college classes and my high school classes ain't too shabby either. Today during Creative Writing I remembered one of my old stories, a story that I really wanted to write but never finished. And so I dug it up and began it again. So far I have three new words. Oh well, it's a start. Working on getting a playlist down for it to listen to. But I have spare time right now, so I want to write.

N&J HIATUS

2009-07-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Project is temporarily on hold, check back for more announcements on this.

Until I can get it back on track with a full cast, I'll continue working on other projects to start... still trying to get two short film ideas fleshed out.

N&J PRODUCTION JOURNAL - ENTRY #1

2009-07-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

Nick and Joseph has completed casting. Production begins this weekend... I can't even begin to express how excited I am. Cast is going to be wonderful. For the curious, I'm shooting it on my Sony Handycam with a budget of zip, so it is extremely indie and extremely ultra low budget. If you're on Facebook, become a fan of Rozeboosh Productions

After we finish Nick and Joseph, I'll begin production on a new movie in September with my friends in another production company. Not sure what the movie even is, we're just determined to collaborate.

Next entry should cover the first day of filming. Until then...

New Project

2009-07-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

It's entitled With the Fishes and it's a black comedy about two friends and a dead body. Another short film, hopefully shorter than Nick and Joseph ended up. Speaking of which, I've got two of the three roles in N&J cast, and I want to begin shooting as soon as possible. My friend Keagan Karnes is producing.

Project Status

2009-07-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Been quite busy lately with swimming and coaching, but the season is over now. State was marvelous, our team won. And I went a best time in one of my events and didn't do too shabby in the others.

Finished my short film screenplay 'Nick and Joseph' ... hopefully I can film it and edit it and put it on the web within the next month. Hopefully a production journal will be the next entry on this blog!

HIATUS SUMMER 09 - OVER

2009-06-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have finally returned from Europe. In actuality, I returned like a week ago, but I haven't got around to updating this until now. While in Europe, I was actually able to write a lot, at least while I stayed with the French family. I started two projects, one that had been in my head for a long time and really I just have to sit down and write it, and the other started from a distinct image that I thought of.

One, entitled the Gangster Project for now (because I have no idea what I want to call it), is about a girl who gets kidnapped by a drug cartel and her boyfriend tries to save her... but as with all movies, things are not what they seem and it turns out to be bigger than either of them. It is a feature-length screenplay, and I hope to finish it by the end of summer for production either sometime during the schoolyear or next summer. It is similar to Brick and is also a 'summer' movie, in that it starts out on the huge optimism that every teenager and kid has when the summer starts.

The other project is called "Nick and Joseph," and it is a short film screenplay that I'd like to finish this week and start filming it ASAP. I have three scenes left to write, but they're the three most difficult. That's no excuse though, that's simply another challenge. Neither of these two projects have happy endings, so after I finish them I plan on writing something lighter, or at least with happier endings.

I am also planning on doing "Write a Book With Me" with Holly Lisle, a sort of laidback writer's group to finish the small town project... the real problem with that project is that I need to write the most depressing scene in the novel first, to really understand what my characters are feeling after it. I also have no idea how it starts, because the depressing scene is in like the fourth chapter.

My friend Kara and I are also writing a feature-length screenplay called The Ditch for fun to film at some point, about three kids that find a body in a ditch and get in way over their heads ... Las Cruces provides some great locations for desert chase scenes.

And with all that, and summer reading and swimming and movies coming out and keeping my sanity, I have a very busy summer ahead of me.

HIATUS SUMMER 09

2009-05-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, I haven't updated this in a month and a half... but it will continue to be that way, unfortunately. I'm going to Europe [France, Switzerland, and Italy] for about a month. I will return on June 22, hopefully with some writing done and a great knowledge of French.

My Twitter will continue to be updated while I'm away, though. http://twitter.com/benrymort
And my new Tumblr, perhaps. http://gmmorvis.tumblr.com/

Until then,
au revoir.

2009-04-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated. Busy editing Not While I'm Around for submission to a multitude of magazines... that's about it.
Lost marathon planned today. Trying to baptize others into the Church of Lost, and eventually the Church of all things BEN. Speaking of which, Dead is Dead was absolutely phenomenal... and people should stop criticizing the 'smokey' effects.

And this is my favorite thing ever.

it seems, it seems

2009-03-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Home from Albuquerque... possibly the best weekend of my life,
not that I can honestly judge things like that, especially considering I've had sixteen summers that I can't recall exactly,
but it was so much fun.

Except for the part where I might have sprained my wrist. I was trying to be Shawn Johnson and I was running towards the upper bar of a soccer goal and I jumped to grab it to try and flip over it but instead I missed and landed on my back and my wrist. Yeah. I'm typing with it right now and it sort of hurts...

And of course I feel empty because I realize it will be quite some time before I get to hang out with any of them again... and that I have to tell someone something that is impossible to say without coming across as a complete and total prick.

C'est la vie.

May I suggest Market Pantry gummy bears? three bucks and a bag way bigger than anything Haribo makes.

is that jumping the shark?

daily dozen #5

2009-03-28T11:13:00.001-07:00

Haven't done one of these in a while, it's been busy in ABQ.

I currently want to...
watch: The Earth Day movie
eat: food... breakfast food. like French toast.
do: VOLLEYBALLS.

I am currently...
reading: The Reader, by Bernard Schlink and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko
listening to: ---
writing: untitled 'small town epic'
--- wordcount for the day: ---

_____ of the Day:
song: Untouched, by The Veronicas
website: Twitter!
actress: Sally Hawkins... watched Happy Go Lucky last night. And it was wonderful.
actor: Matthew Fox and his JEARS.
quote: "OMGWTFPOLARBEAR."

apollo, apollo

2009-03-27T09:52:00.001-07:00

lost day...

2009-03-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

is over.
but that episode.
was amazing.
so. amazing.
best of season five I do believe.

which means it is on my top ten of all time, considering lafleur was already on it.

so amazing... I'm not doing a daily dozen today.

Oh, look...

2009-03-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

PERFECTION

LOST DAY

2009-03-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

From now on, Wednesday on my blog shall be known as Lost Day. And Lost Day will be filled with nothing but Lost. And other things that I find funny. Like this.

Watchmen the movie was about a C in my book. Adequate, not good, and only two of the actors really knew what they were doing. Three, but Carla Gugino should have had a bigger part.

daily dozen #4

2009-03-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

I currently want to...
watch: Fargo
eat: Thin Mints
do: sleep.

I am currently...
reading: East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko
listening to: Paranoid, by Kanye West
writing: untitled 'small town epic'
--- wordcount for the day: 500ish

_____ of the Day:
song: 24, by Jem
website: F*** Yeah Anne Hathaway
actress: Tilda Swinton. I watched Burn After Reading again.
actor: Brad Pitt. Same as Tilda.
quote: "Osborne Cox."

daily dozen #3

2009-03-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

I currently want to...
watch: The Brothers Bloom
eat: Moose Tracks Ice Cream...
do: write. so I'm doin' it!

I am currently...
reading: East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko
listening to: Brothers on a Hotel Bed, by Death Cab For Cutie
writing: untitled psychologist short story
--- wordcount for the day: 300ish, and rising

_____ of the Day:
song: Moab, by Conor Oberst
website: Previously on Lost Listen to Be My Constant.
actress: Rachel Weisz. Sometimes I think I'm the only person in the world who loved her in The Constant Gardener.
actor: Emile Hirsch. Speed Racer. Need I say more.
quote: "My heart is bleeding and so is my nose." - Be My Constant, from POL

daily dozen #2

2009-03-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

I currently want to...
watch: Where the Wild Things Are... or at least the trailer!
eat: more Laffy Taffy!
do: sleep

I am currently...
reading: East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko
listening to: Not Fair, by Lily Allen
writing: untitled psychologist short story
--- wordcount for the day: 0

_____ of the Day:
song: Nothing Gets Crossed Out, by Bright Eyes
website: The Ack Attack
actress: Angelina Jolie. Changeling was amazing and I forgot that she was a celebrity and remembered she was an actress.
actor: Kevin Spacey. Watched Se7en today. He's like Ben, without the sense of humor.
quote: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalt!" Michael Dawson, in LOST.

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2008

2009-03-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

Up until now I have hesitated putting my favorite films of 2008 in order. They change depending what mood I'm in. But this is the best I could do.

1. Wall-E
I have been on the Pixar bandwagon since Finding Nemo. The Incredibles and Ratatouille reinforced that. But Wall-E is something different. Because the first half of the film has really no humans in it. Sure, there's Fred Willard bein' all "Buy-N-Large" but when your hero and heroine talk in robotic beeps and you still care more about them than any human or human-speaking possibly EVER than you know you've done something right. Andrew Stanton is one of my favorite directors. And want my personal opinion on the Oscars? There's guaranteed one biopic in the Best Picture category every year... they might as well guarantee one Pixar film a year, because they are consistently better than a lot of the "Oscar drivel" that makes it in every year.

2. Revolutionary Road
This isn't my number one for two reasons. One, because I am more emotionally attached to Wall-E, and two, because I read the novel before I saw the movie and while it was a faithful and the best adaptation this year, it left one single, critical part out of the ending. But other than that, a perfect movie. Kate Winslet, I love you. Leo, I'm sorry for ever doubting you couldn't act. Michael Shannon, you are amazing. Kathy Bates, I love you. Milly and Shep, I hate your characters but you guys did awesome. Zoe Kazan, I HATE YOU. Sam Mendes, I love you. Justin Haythe, I love you. And Roger Deakins... you can do no wrong in my book. Needless to say, I want Kate to win this year because I'm pretending that she was nominated for Rev Road.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I loved this movie before it came out. F. Scott Fitzgerald + David Fincher + Brad Pitt + Cate Blanchett + Eric Roth = already amazing. And then the score and cinematography and Taraji P. Henson rocked too. So. This is sort of a no-brainer. I also love the theme.

4. Slumdog Millionaire
I enjoyed this movie because it had a very nice story, it reminded me of The Constant Gardener, and LITTLE JAMAL, LITTLE SALIM, AND LITTLE LATIKA. Dev Patel ain't got nothin' on Ayush Mahesh Khedekar! Danny Boyle deserves the accolades he's getting. The writing was worthy of recognition [though far from my favorite adapted screenplay]. And haters, who think that they exploited these young Indian children? GUESS WHO IS GOIN' TO THE OSCARS TONIGHT. Little Jamal and Co.!

ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MARKED FIVE... I COULD NOT CHOOSE AN ORDER...
5. Wendy and Lucy
The reason I love this film so much, apart from Michelle Williams giving a beautifully restrained performance, is because the story is so simple and the cinematography so simple and everything seems so simple, but at the same time, it wasn't simple. This movie was way too quiet to ever be really popular. And the ending was so powerful... I cried.

5. Happy Go Lucky
I saw the trailer to this and I was like, okay, I bet it will take me ten minutes to get annoyed by Sally Hawkins. I mean really. How is being optimistic a plot? And then I saw the movie. And I loved every second of Sally Hawkins. This movie was so awesomely optimistic, and it was so genuine and FUNNY. I've never laughed so hard in a movie theater.

5. The Fall
Even if the story hadn't have been so good and the acting sucked, this still would have made my top ten because it was SO DARN NICE TO LOOK AT. Seriously. I thought Australia's epic and colorful cinematography couldn't be topped. I was wrong. So wrong. Oh, and the little girl... so adorable.

5. Let the Right One In
Dear world, this is the best vampire movie I have ever seen. This is the best Swedish movie I have ever seen. Snow is very pretty to look at. Horror should be more about tension and less about surprise. And every little boy in the world should have hair like Oskar. The end.

9. Speed Racer
This is the movie that I have seen the most this year and I'm not at all ashamed to say it. I'm sorry, Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Ben Button - Speed Racer's visual effects KILLED YOU. I loved the performances too - everyone seemed to be having a darn good time. Emile Hirsch: you will be a superstar some day. And if NASCAR was like this, nobody would do anything else. So. Speed Racer accomplished its purpose. Deal with it.

10. Australia / Doubt / Vicky Cristina Barcelona / Frozen River
I couldn't decide which of these I liked better than the others. Australia was epic [sometimes good, sometimes bad], and had two of my favorite actors and this little boy whose name I never remember but his character name was Nullah and HE WAS THE BEST. Also, the cinematography was beautiful. breathtaking. epic. people who want to go to Australia... watch this movie. And who knew Nicole Kidman did humor so well? Doubt, to me, was a bit unsubtle, maybe better suited for the stage, and less than the sum of its parts. [However, when your parts are MERYL STREEP BEING A BITCH, Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing moral ambiguity, Viola Davis STEALING SCENES FROM MERYL STREEP [!!! that is a big deal. such a big deal.], and Amy Adams being adorable and innocent and I LOVE FROSTY, and cinematography by LIVING LEGEND ROGER DEAKINS, then you will have a hard time living up to your parts.] VCB was good, but it was basically the Penelope Cruz show [although I do love Rebecca Hall in this movie]... and Woody Allen is always good. Frozen River was the Melissa Leo show. With some side bits by Misty Upham. I loved the way this movie was shot [it was like Wendy and Lucy but less personal] but sometimes the screenplay jumped the shark... especially the ending. I hated the ending.

I also loved or liked: The Dark Knight, Baby Mama, Iron Man, Quantum of Solace, The Duchess, Kung Fu Panda.
I have not seen: The Reader, The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon, Milk, or The Visitor.

My top three favorites this year [in select categories]:
Actor: Leonardo diCaprio for Revolutionary Road, Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,
Actress: Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road, Sally Hawkins for Happy Go Lucky, Michelle Williams for Wendy and Lucy
Supp. Actor: Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road, Heath Ledger for TDK, RDJ for Tropic Thunder
Supp. Actress: Taraji P. Henson for Ben Button, Viola Davis for Doubt, Penelope Cruz for VCB
Director: David Fincher for Ben Button, Andrew Stanton for Wall-E, Kelly Reichardt for Wendy and Lucy
Original Screenplay: Wall-E, Happy Go Lucy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Adapted Screenplay: Revolutionary Road, Ben Button, Let the Right One In
Cinematography: Roger Deakins for Revolutionary Road, The Fall, Mandy Walker for Australia
Score: Wall-E, Slumdog Millionaire, Ben Button
Song: Down to Earth, O...Saya, Little Person

lily allen live... amazing

2009-03-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

coffee and pie, oh my!

2009-03-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movies, if not my favorite movie... absolutely brilliant. Rian Johnson is the only director who has made less than three films who can call himself a visionary [I'm looking at you, Zack Snyder... a true visionary gets decent performances out of all his actors, and not just the ones that already had an Oscar nomination or a recurring role on a show with consistent top notch acting... congratulations, Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan]. And this poster is beautiful. So very beautiful. Go watch Brick right now, if you haven't seen it.

daily dozen #1

2009-03-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

Daily Dozen, something I plan to fill out daily... if I remember, haha.

I currently want to...
watch: Happy Go Lucky
eat: bar food... which is why Farley's for dinner sounds delicious
do: be ungrounded and hang out with college friends

I am currently...
reading: East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko
listening to: Elephant, by Damien Rice
writing: untitled psychologist short story
--- wordcount for the day: ~100 [it wasn't enough to even merit an official word count...]

_____ of the Day:
song: Delicate, by Damien Rice
website: Not a Movie Poster
actress: Sally Hawkins... I'm not watching Happy Go Lucky for nothing.
actor: Michael Emerson... Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost
quote: "You think it's a Schwinn!" - Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading

2009-03-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Greetings! My name is Georgie Morvis and this is my brand new blog, where I will record a number of things, be it random lists, progress on my writing/film, reviews of music, literature, television, and film or just random youtube links. First entry is coming up soon!