A week of Wows

Despite the job hunting going like wading through ever in thickness increasing mud, I had a week of wows. I witnessed beautiful things that really made me stop and say “Wow”.

Dan and Hugh


The first WOW was Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, Thursday a week ago exactly. I already wrote about that here, so I will spare you any further remarks. Clearly they have the wow factor. For obvious reasons.

Tim Burton Exhibition – Moma, New York


On Monday I visited the Tim Burton exhibitions in the museum of Modern Art (Moma) in New York. It was great. I am a big fan of Tim Burton’s film work and have seen most of his films. He has a very distinctive style and the exhibition showed a lot of film props from his films, models, drawings and paintings by Tim Burton. It was great to see some of the models used in stop motion productions (The Nightmare of Christmas, The Corpse Bride). Sketches of what the hands of Edward Scissorhands should look like and more. It is amazing what a creative and weird brain this man has. Very enjoyable and wow if you are a fan.

My favourite Tim Burton films: Big Fish and Edward Scissorhands. I also quite liked Sweeney Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and can’t wait for his take on Alice in Wonderland (the trailer with Johnny Depp looks amazing).

You can read more about the Tim Burton exhibition here, and also have a look at some videos. The photo above is the only photo we were allowed to take, a Tim Burton designed inflatable in the entrance area of the museum.

Do you like Tim Burton’s work and what are your favourite Burton films?

Snow Patrol in the Royal Albert Hall

And yesterday there was Snow Patrol in the Royal Albert Hall. I admit that I was quite late in discovering Snow Patrol but better late than never. The Royal Albert Hall is a fantastic place for concerts and Snow Patrol made good use of the hall’s possibilities. They even used the amazingly huge Albert Hall organ in one of their songs. They had a lot of musicians with them on stage (I counted 15 people at some point!), strikers, a horns sections, a harpist, and lots more and also had an amazing light show.

They played most of the songs from their latest Up to Now – The Best Of album. The first half was dedicated to the more quiet numbers (Run played with the violinists made me cry, as did the thousands of people singing along to it, fantastic atmosphere). And the second half was more rock ‘n roll and people got out of their comfy seats. It was an amazing experience.

The concerts are filmed for a later to be published Live DVD.

Some of my favourite Snow Patrol songs:

And some others:
Chasing Cars
Run
Take Back the City

Do you know Snow Patrol and what are your favourites?

Oh and a final Wow !! for all those people who have signed up for the non-xmas-card thingy. You can still signup if you haven’t done so and I better start drawing soon!

Travel plans – version 1 – I need your help!

US trip

It has been a while since I have been on a far (ok further) away trip, so this year I have decided to cross some items of my “would love to see” list.

(Here is a bigger version of the map on Google)

But I need your help dear readers.

But first, the plan. Here are the places I want to visit:

1. Boston
I want to go to Boston to do a Whale watching boat trip. I have long been wanting to see whales from up close and Boston seems to be a perfect place for it.

I also want to do this Lighthouse tour, this area is about an hour north of Boston.

But apart from that, is Boston worth a visit?

2. Niagara Falls
I want to do the Maid of the Mist tour and just see these impressive falls. (Am planning to stay here for one day and then move on)

3. Chicago

I don’t know anything about Chicago, but it is just one of these places that sound so familiar.
Question to you reader: is it worth visiting? And what to see there?

4. San Francisco
I know what I want to see here: the Golden Gate bridge. And it is on the coast, so I am sure there is a beach too. And light houses.
And there is some more whale watching to do here as well. Wait a minute, do I actually need to go to Boston at all?

Has any of you ever been in San Francisco? What area is good to stay? And what to see and do there? How much time would you spend here?

5. Los Angeles
This is a bit the same thing as Chicago. I have heard the name so many times before. I know they have the “HOLLYWOOD” letters on the hill there. But is Los Angeles worth a visit? What to see and do there? How much time would you spend here?

Any tips and hints and comments are highly appreciated!

(I am planning on spending about 2 weeks in the US)

I can hear you think – where is New York on the map! I know, I know, but Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman did not have time to see me before November, so New York is scheduled then. Honestly, I am not even sure I will survive watching both Craig and Jackman on one stage.

Ear and flathunting and Daniel Craig ice lollies

  • Firstly – and this will be the last time I write about it – my dizzyness is gone. I am not quite sure how well my ear is hearing, but I do hear with it. I just tried to listen to my iPod for the first time in weeks, and it seems that the music is more evenly balanced and true stereo now. (Don’t worry I am playing it on low volume!)

    They removed the packing from my ear yesterday (so nice because it itched like mad) and I need to return for a full hearing test six weeks from now.

    Even if my ear seems to hear better than it did before – I am not sure if I will ever do an operation like this again. My other ear has the same issue (but it is not bad enough to operate yet) and I have to be pretty deaf before I even consider going through this again. But all is good now, and I hope it will stay that way. Thank you for all the concern and thoughts and comments regarding this!

  • When I came back from Holland, I heard that my current landlord is contemplating about what to do with his appartment (the one I currently live in that is). I have decided that I no longer want to live like this – not knowing when he feels like raising the rent or quickly having to move because he suddenly wants to sell it (we don’t have a contract) . So I am now a full time flatshare searcher and am looking for another place to live. I have some potential rooms on the radar and will check them out – but if you happen to know someone who knows someone who has the nicest room ever – then please do get in touch. I won’t stop searching until I have found a nice place.

And here for some good news:

  • Summer has arrived, not only in London, but all over England. I found myself having a lovely freshly made milkshake at the Rinky Tink beach cafe in Lyme Regis last Saturday and it was marvelous just to be able to sit outside without having to wear a coat. Long may this weather continue – wherever you are.
  • The Boat That Rocked is still on in London! Rock on! I think I will catch it tomorrow, just to see what it sounds like with two normally functioning ears.
  • And oh dear – they have made Daniel Craig popsicle ice lollies … Enough said.

And you – how have you been?

Sweetarts: finding the right production manager

Where have you been?

Yes, sorry Daniel. It has been quiet here for a while. This is mostly to blame on my writer’s block which I think is caused by me waiting for the results of my bearaBill operation. I haven’t heard anything yet, which is a good thing. But the waiting kind of drains my energy and creativity and I am mentally exhausted. I have never slept this many hours before.

Today however, something sparked me into action: I have finally found a production manager for SweetArts. YAY! Not only is she very experienced, she is also the nicest person and she is really cool too! She is slightly older than I am and I feel so very lucky to have her on board.

I had spoken to her in the beginning in August, but my schedule seemed to clash with hers which is why it ended there. She suddenly called me last week to ask me how things went, we talked again, and she said that she loved the script and the project so much that she is going to squeeze it into her calendar. A shoot in October is now more than likely to happen.

I have spoken to a lot of experienced producers/production managers the last couple of weeks. It amazes me how interested (feature film) experienced people are in short films. I was about to settle for paying one to do the work and they don’t come cheap, but I just wanted to move on. And I also really want to pay the woman who I recruited now, but she doesn’t want any money – much better to put the money in making the film better – is what she said. See – she is such a great and generous person!

I need to start pick up things like casting, and finding the last 2 locations again soon. I will try to see what I can do before my holiday, but if all goes well I will have a good rest in Ireland and will come back ready to go and make it really happen.

If there is something I learn in this process – it is to be patient. I am so not patient by nature, but I am glad I waited for the right production manager to come along.

Oh, what is Daniel Craig doing up there you wonder? Nothing in particular. It’s just something nice to look at, and if you want to see more new stills from the upcoming Quantum of Solace, then here you go.

122 long days before the Quantum of Solace

Seeing as this is a year without any Bill Nighy films hitting the cinema (So tough! But next year there will be five!), we have to make the best of what we do get. That is not too hard really, as in 122 days we will get Daniel Craig in the new Quantum of Solace Bond film.

It is great to see that Danish actor Jesper Christensen is returning (QOS being the follow up to Casino Royale) in this new Bond. So after running the trailer for a couple of times, and having a look at the poster, I must conclude the following:

  • Awesome trailer (they will show it before Hancock (the new Will Smith anti superhero flick) which is the only reason I will go and see Hancock)
  • Awesome poster. (I think this qualifies for me as the coolest Bond poster ever. Simple yet effective).
  • Awesome visuals shots. (I love James walking up the hill, and also like the reference shot to Casino Royale, the one where you can see Daniel Craig half in the shade in the beginning)
  • Awesome music.
  • Awesome tuxedo.
  • Awesome blue eyes.
  • Awesome, ehrm, chest.

Yep.

Imagine

Imagine, New York

  • Yes that’s New York. Which I kind of have an ongoing love and longing for. This picture is taken in November 2007, on the same place as this one. It’s peace, rock, passion and imagination in one.
  • George Clooney is in town, now that doesn’t make my heart beat any faster, but I am amazed by the attention he is getting (drinking tea with Gordon and all …). Seems like the whole of London is swooning for him. Come on, he is just an actor.
  • On Sunday however, now that we are with “just” actors, Daniel Craig will be in town too, to promote his new film Flashback of a fool. Now my thoughts on Daniel are quite clear: he has one pair of incredible blue eyes. But I am sure loads of women (and men!) are going to want to see this film with a trailer that is as “revealing” as this one. I will say no more … And ehrm, yes, I want to see the film too. Not because of that scene, but because he is such a great actor. OK, also because of that scene.
  • The sad news, from a Bill perspective, is that the release of Valkyrie has been moved to 2009. That means no Bill films whatsoever in the cinemas this year. Waaah!!

    2009 however will be an amazing year with no less than 4 Bill films coming out! (G-Force, Underworld: Rise of the lycans, Valkyrie and The Boat That Rocked). I can’t wait!

    And for the record – he is not “just” an actor.

  • My script is finished. Wow. Only took me about 2.5 years to write it (from the initial few word – there have been long breaks during that period though), which is kind of shockingly long!

    I am prepared for the gap that will appear in front of me, now that it is (temporarily) off the list of “Things I want to do in my life”. I have enjoyed writing it though. Will it ever be turned into a movie? I couldn’t tell – chances are not high, but where would we be without hope. And imagination.

  • So what’s next? The next script! The story has already formed itself a bit in my head and after a short break I will start writing it. It will be a romance/drama. Still with funny stuff too, of course.
  • I have booked a holiday. I will visit the Isle of Man for a week, starting the 10th of May. I think the Isle of Man is going to be the new Bornholm for me. And if it is half as good as that I will make it a yearly return. Apart from the amazing coast, the wonderful nature, the peacefulness and the fact that it is a small island, it has 5 light houses! Time to dust off my camera I guess.

Oh Daniel

Daniel Craig
Mr. Blue Eyes

The first time I saw the new Bond was in Oxted cinema. Oxted is far, it’s even beyond the M25, which, for Londoners, nearly categorizes it as being on the country side.

The idea was nice, seeing Bond in a small independent cinema away from the West End, and it was cheap too. And the cinema was cosy, but absolutely not geared to show a film like this. Crappy sound (we had a hard time hearing what they were saying), and chairs making the noise of doors in a haunting house. Very. Annoying.

All that, and the fact that this is one of those films you simply have to see in the Odeon (mega screen and brilliant sound, but so overpriced) on Leicester Square, made me go again. Today.
Daniel’s blue eyes looked even more blue, and his b…

Bzzz. Just a sec, telephone.

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Munich

Munich (2005)

To be honest, I don’t really know how to rate Steven Spielbergs Munich. It was gripping, and shocking, and long but not boring. Eric Bana (Troy) does very well, playing the main character. But while watching the film, I felt like I was missing a lot of background information. And did this story really happen like this, or is this how Spielberg thinks it happens. I guess you have to watch it and judge for yourself. You won’t get bored.

Bonus:
Daniel Craig is in it. The new Blueeyed Blond Bond Brit (you might also have seen him in The Road to Perdition or in Enduring Love) is becoming one of my favorites. He is a very interesting actor.

Tagline: The world was watching in 1972 as 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics. This is the story of what happened next.

Director Steven Spielberg
Cast Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ayelet Zorer, Geoffrey Rush, Gila Almagor, Michael Lonsdale, Mathieu Amalric, Moritz Bleibtreu, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Meret Becker, Marie-Jose Croze, Yvan Attal