The Bloated Penguin

Just read some interesting news about the upcoming season of Dollhouse premiering September 25th. It turns out that after a really rough start, the Joss Whedon action drama is finally starting to find a niche. We don’t know how long it will last or if it can even make it through an entire season without some studio drama, but for now things are looking quite promising. Turns out Whedon veteran Summer Glau will make an appearance (or a few) in Dollhouse this season but not as a character you might expect. Judging from her past characters (River Tam in Firefly and Cameron Phillips in Terminator) you’d assume she would be cast as some ass-kicking “active,” in the world of brainwashed twenty-somethings, but instead she’ll be playing a normal human being working as a normal employee at the Dollhouse. Although this is all that is reported so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if Glau beat up just one guy for old time’s sake. In the mean time, have a look at the gang from Big Bang Theory as they gawk over her in an episode from last season.

I remember WAY back when I was still in high school and picture day came around. For some it was an event – girls get the hair and make-up done as well as the nails and the newest outfits, guys plow through their heads with large amounts of hair spray and practice their non-smile… (blah) but for someone like me it was torture. I’ve never been at the height of fashion, the epitome of cool or even someone who would be recognized for… something. Instead I was always the kid who showed up on picture day in the same shirt as last year wearing way too much hair gel and cologne (?). It sucked. We lined up, sat there, got blinded by a ridiculous flash and moved along. Even though everything up until this point was pretty much terrible, the worst part was that every student had to have the same background. Usually it was something like a dark blue wash or a solid color that made everyone look like they were posing for the fill-in picture IKEA uses for selling frames, and on the final picture day they threw in a wild-card and had you sit in front of a fictitious library (that was sarcasm…)

So back to the title of this post and why my rant about school photos is relevant. Wouldn’t it be cool if school pictures were themed? Like the entire student body decided on a few backgrounds to be used and then got to pose the way they want. Imagine being able to take a school photo in like Santa’s workshop or a Mad Scientist’s Lab. It would change the landscape of school photos forever. I think it would also show more than how people change physically as they grow up because the backgrounds and themes would reflect who they are as people. In a way, why can’t school photos be more like wallpapers and themes for computers and devices? They change, people change and we want to show that.

Anyways, this rant was inspired by seeing the latest press photos from the Twilight Series. They are photoshopped to death (sorry, had to…) but if your school had a Vampire theme on picture day, everyone would be a little bit more enthusiastic about the already horrible experience.

HAGS

If you’ve been following True Blood up until last Sunday then you’ll be excited to hear that Evan Rachel Wood will be playing the Vampire Queen Sophie-Ann. At the end of Sunday’s episode we saw Bill scurry away to some posh house only to have the episode end before the Queen is revealed. Well, as I’m sure many of you are aware of, the part is being played by Evan Rachel Wood from The Wrestler and the upcoming Spiderman Musical (more on that in a sec). Like most Vampire lore, age is simply a number. Vampires never, “get old looking,” so casting the right part can go in any direction. When I heard about the casting news of Wood joining the cast of True Blood, I had no idea she would be playing the Queen, but after thinking about it for a second it actually makes perfect sense. I’m not sure of the origin of the Queen, but it is probably similar to that of Godric in that a young person was turned a LONG time ago and has simply remained in that state ever since.

But back to this whole Spiderman Musical deal. When I first heard about this a few months ago I really did think it was a joke. A web-singing Peter Parker? I don’t think so. Then the news of Bono being attached really capped it off. Apparently the show is in a state of limbo as they have run into financial problems, but I don’t think anyone is surprised. Anyways, if this whole Broadway Musical thing doesn’t work out, I’m sure the fans of True Blood will come calling for much more of Wood in the future.

It’s strange how you begin to appreciate the finer things in life when a lot of the freedoms you are used are stripped away by conventions. I’m speaking of course of creative writing within the confines of a specific number of characters. Working in content development and creative writing has really tought me to wear a couple of different hats at all times. On one hand I’ve got to look at things like SEO, find ability, ease of read and the scan ability with pretty much everything. Rope all of that in with a low character limit and you might be able to understand why I’m trying to adjust my own vocabulary to include nothing but 2-syllable words of late.

On the other hand I’ve got a sense of creative pride and integrity that will stop at nothing to write most creative and engaging piece of copy anyone will ever read (alright, maybe that’s stretching it a bit, but I’ve got lofty goals just like anyone else). I want to generate interest on an intellectual level for niche audiences that stay with readers / viewers at all times. This of course hardly ever takes anything else into account and I’ve appropriately named this stage of the interactive writing process as “The Selfish Draft Stage.” Basically what I mean is I create the most engaging version of what I want to write first. Sometimes it’s as short as a paragraph, while other times I go on to write a 500 dissertation about the ideals of what a campaign can accomplish (again, lofty goals ). Once that’s all sorted out I put on my lumberjack plaid shirt and just start hacking.

I strip away everything that doesn’t necessarily draw the attention of the masses. Then I strip away more, and more and more. Finally by the end I’ve got something I’m happy with presenting, but its really just a shell of what I had originally written. But why do I do this? Why do I strip and hack away the wonderful supportive words that keep me at bay? Because the creative brief always says, “Be as unique as possible, draw in as much attention as you can, don’t hold back. Please keep in mind that each line can be no longer than 45 characters with spaces.” It’s like reading the fine print – the tiny bit of extremely important information that is spoken of matter-of-fact-ly. It’s rough sometimes, but it has to be done and by the end of the project I’m usually drained of most brain matter.

K, I’m gonna get back to writing some amazingly engaging content that prompts readers to want to know more, interact and eventually spend money in some capacity – all within 45 characters including spaces…

I’ve been watching this trailer for Youth in Revolt over and over again trying to figure out if this is actually a new concept or just another recycled idea with a different audience in mind. I’m leaning towards new idea because I never would have expected Michael Cera to play someone with a conscious case of schizophrenia, but because of this I can’t help but remember another movie where a character created a different persona of themselves… Anyways, check out the trailer below and let me know what you think. Too Fight Club?

Dexter finally came back to TV last week after a very LONG hiatus. As one of my favorite shows, you can probably understand my excitement when the I heard the theme song and watched the opening for the first time in a very long while. Well, after watching the first episode of the forth season, I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed. Season 3 of Dexter was amazing. The introduction of Deb’s boyfriend and the entire Miguel Prado arc was great for not only advancing the story beyond what I felt it could do, but also introducing audiences to some of the nuances the characters have developed over the years of the TV series. The opening to season four had some major potential as Dexter himself was on the verge of fatherhood and he knew he would be torn up about how his own flesh and blood would turn out. Fast forward a few months and the baby has already arrived, but not with the same amount of problems you might expect. One of the show’s strengths in my mind was always the ability to advance the main arc, while telling a short tale each episode. Unlike a show like Lost, Dexter is something you could probably pick up at any time and understand what is going on. Until now. I have a feeling the writers dawning the Dexter T-shirts are trying something new that they really shouldn’t. The beginning of season four feels like the beginning of a brand new concept. Daddy Dexter. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s not really why I got into the show. I wanted to watch this noir type tale of a serial killer who’s intentions are good. Not a family drama. I’m not saying Dexter is turning into Brothers and Sisters, but I am a little worried that the show could be losing its touch.

On the flip side, one of my favorite characters has returned. The veteran (now retired) Detective Lundy played brilliantly by Keith Carradine. The parts of season two I loved most was when Detective Lundy would seem to be putting the pieces together only to be thwarted by Dexter later on. Hopefully they will bring some of that dynamic back. The other promising, yet confusing component of season four so far is the introduction to John Lithgow’s character. I’m positive he will at some point have to match wits with Dexter, but I really don’t feel like waiting until mid season sweeps to find out how. Dexter isn’t the best show on TV right now, but it is definitely in the top 10 for me. The problem is that the season four premier has dropped it down a few slots. Hopefully this isn’t going to be a slippery slope for Dexter and the show will recover from this minor hiccup.

Morning kids!

Was cruising through CNN this morning and noticed that Michael Moore has put up a trailer for his latest documentary entitled Capitalism: A Love Story. I’ve read some info on this flick but not a whole lot. The hype surrounding Moore’s latest is much more toned down than that of Fahrenheit and even Sicko for that matter, but it’s early and I’m sure things will start to pick up pretty soon. After watching this clip I’m having the same feelings I got when I sat down and watched Transformers 2 and Bruno… What is new? Seriously, Moore is basically just doing his normal shtick over and over again where he interviews politicians and people of power with the intention of making them look stupid, then interviews regular people from small town USA and edits the footage together with his somber voice over and some pop-culture inspired music. I’m not saying this is bad or anything, and I’m sure there will be moments of entertainment within this film, but I’m looking for something brand new, something that will WOW everyone to the point where the flick could be remembered for more than just making rich people look bad. Who knows though, maybe Capitalism: A Love Story is this, but after watching the trailer, I doubt it.

What do you think?

I’m sure some theaters are going to do a midnight showing of Quentin Tarantino’s latest flick Inglourious Basterds, but I don’t think I’ll be heading out that late this evening. Instead, I’ll probably check it out sometime this weekend. Anyways, if you’re unsure about what I’m talking about, Inglourious Basterds is the next film to come out of the Tarantino legacy. This is the big WWII film he’s been planning / writing for years now and when the script was released a little under a year ago, this flick was fast-tracked into production. You may have already heard of the film because it stars Brad Pitt (and he never seems to be able to get away from the news), but it’s also featuring some pretty amazing other actors as well. Check out the interview put together by the folks over at Latino Review. It should put you back in the mood to see some violence, Quentin-style.

Sorry kids, no embedding, but here’s the link to the interview.

Instead, here’s the latest trailer: