Drove

So Michelle and I started watching this great new show called Drove, oh wait, it was called Drive, but that was before it was unceremoniously canceled. Think The Amazing Race for real with some of the contestants only racing because their loved ones have been abducted. Admittedly it started a bit slow, delivering a substantial amount of road race action but not really showing the potential it had for developing the various relationships of the different racers until the second hour. But it did deliver the goods - as expected because the show was being helmed by Tim Minear, who is one of the more thoughtful and truly creative voices in television today.

While I'm sad that I won't be able to see more of what was on its way to becoming a very interesting relational action-drama, my thoughts and prayers go out to Tim, who has had four of his last shows canceled in their first year (Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside, Drive). I had the pleasure of meeting Tim at the Screenwriting Expo in L.A. where he did a seminar on breaking television stories where he led us through the creation of a new episode of Angel. He was very willing to help people and share what he knew and he is very talented. He shared his frustration of being canceled more than once by an industry that often isn't willing enough to give thoughtful television time to grow an audience. You could tell it had been hard for him in the past and one of the bits of good news he shared at the time was that he had just sold a pilot to Fox - that pilot was Drive.

Mr. Minear - May the Lord bless you. May the face of the Lord shine upon you.

The Namesake

Watching the movie trailer made me pull this book out of the library. For the most part it was an excellent read about the experience of a Bengali man and woman who move to America and begin a family. The story moves quickly, chronicling a generation with the focus being on how quickly the Bengali children born in America lose connection to their Indian heritage, and yet, in a way, remain somewhat alien in their new environment. It's written in present tense and the story really moves along from incident to incident. I felt like I was eavesdropping on the lives of a Gogol and his family. Ultimately however, I was disappointed with the end of the book because it went in a direction that was uninspiring. I don't believe that life ought to end with a sense of isolation and alienation, which is the case with the book, even as it points to some aspects of hope. The reason I read the book is because the film trailer made it look like a very inspirational story about reconnection with heritage and spirituality. The book is a fabulous portrayal of the problems that can result from the secularization of life and family, but does not move to presenting spirituality as a balm to those problems.

A Close Shave ...

Had the last day of shooting for Confessions of a Neufie today. Up at 4:30 to catch the 5:30 ferry in order to get over to Richmond Centre for 8:00 am. Thayne came along to watch the shoot and be an extra. There was no audio today, just shots of me walking up to a confession booth in the mall and being surprised by a priest.

You might be thinking, "I've never seen a confession booth in a mall." It was a photo booth, the kind where you pay $4 to get a strip of 4 photos, made up to look like a confessional. And if you've ever wondered "Can a person use that booth as a changing room?" Indeed they can, my friends. Indeed they can - just remember that changing is free - do not put in $4 if you're going to change your clothes.

It was a quick shoot, Thayne got to see some of how it works, then we headed back for the 12:00 ferry, and a half hour later I was shaving.

Old Friends

I spent the week in Caronport, Saskatchewan working out a story for this year's musical. This is the 6th year that I've written for them. They sell out about 10,000 tickets for four performances and it's nice to be a part of something that has such an obvious (and relatively immediate) impact.

I was also able to visit with a number of old friends who live on the campus (Briercrest College). Kyle and Kirsten Matthies - friends of ours from Winnipeg days who I hadn't seen in five years. Sean & Mandy Davidson and Kevin and Melanie Fawcett - both friends from college that I've been fortunate to see once a year. And Glenn and Kathy Runnalls, mentors and friends - who graciously consent to host me and the fam whenever we come through town.

Though the visit was short it was great to sit and talk with old friends. It's funny the kind of pleasure there is in just silently observing how their kids have grown; who they have become. It's very good.

Lookwell

What if Peter Falk's Columbo never went on to make TV movies after the series ended? What if Jessica Lansbury's Murder She Wrote got cancelled after a couple of seasons and her career never recovered? What if a washed up actor, best known for playing a TV detective, decided to use his spare time and actor's workshop students to solve crimes? What if he erroneously believed he was good at it? This is the premise of Lookwell, a hilarious television pilot starring Adam West as Ty "I was Bannigan" Lookwell. The image you see is Lookwell confidently ripping his way into a police only crime scene.

Local Bowen Islander Chris Corrigan told me about this show which was produced in the early nineties. Sadly the network passed on the pilot and one episode is all that exists; thankfully it's available on youtube. It's a brilliant piece of work, I watched it twice and I laughed out loud numerous times during both viewings. Adam West turns in such a brilliant performance - it's a real shame he wasn't given more opportunity to play this character. Click below to watch the show:

I want to watch Lookwell

Picnic Weather

The weather this last week has been great – no joke, pretty much right after my parents left the sun came out and, for the most part, has stayed out. It’s been warm enough for picnics in T-shirts. We’ve had two so far. One just on the lawn, another down at the beach with a fire. Yesterday was about our nicest day yet. Today it was supposed to go up to 20, but, though it’s warm, we’ve got cloudcover and a sprinkle of rain.

Casino Royale

Michelle and I finally watched this a couple nights ago. I’m not sure how valuable a movie review is when most people have already seen the movie - anyway - it’s a very enjoyable film, I think it is easily the best of the bond movies. Daniel Craig is much more athletic than previous Bonds and what he may lack in obvious charisma is more than made up for by what is certainly the best written bond script ever. Previous movies have all pointed toward the fact that Bond is an emotionally disconnected sociopath, and yet his charm and jokey writing have undermined his character.In Casino Royale we see the best, and by that I mean most honest portrayal of who James Bond is. This is the origin story for James Bond – and we see that’s he’s a sociopath right from the start – breaking into M’s house – accessing her files with a stolen username and password. We see that MI6 is a little bit afraid of Bond – he’s dangerous and can’t be trusted – yet he’s too valuable in the field to just put down (or whatever you do with agents you cannot trust).

The film opens with one of the best action scenes I’ve seen in years: a foot chase that spans several locations in an African city, most notably a construction site ... Take note all you who think computer generated effects = action. I am so bored of seeing computer effects – CGI has no real drama. This foot chase cannot be described, only seen, and see it you should. There was a point where I turned to Michelle and said “can you imagine actually witnessing this?” Which is a testament to how well they pulled it off – it seemed like something we might have seen if we had happened to be there.

I won’t go into the details of the story, except to say it’s strong and is really a good character piece for Bond. Um and … the ending set piece is a bit far fetched … you’ll know what I mean when you see it.

Shooting Newfie

I’ve had two days of shooting on Confessions of a Newfie. The first day was a confession booth scene which we shot at Regent College – it was my first time there. I met Jason Ostrander, the director and we managed to shoot the scene in just under half an hour. The second day was shot at a home in Vancouver. Both shoots were preceded by rehearsals with Cliff Prang. I have two more scenes to go. The next will be shot over Tuesday night starting at about midnight and going till who knows when. Then there’s a no dialogue shot in a mall, but they’re still waiting on insurance issues with that.

It’s been very fun to be working with Cliff and Ali again and to meet and work with Jason. The downside is that I’ve been growing a beard, which I do not like. I’ve never gone this long without shaving and when I look in the mirror I don’t look like me anymore. I’ll be glad to shave it off when we finish shooting. On the upside I made a little “fat suit” which looks incredibly real. I think it would be fun to wear it sometime to a party and see what people say.

Van Dusen Gardens

My parents were out to visit just over a week ago. It was great to see them. The weather was pretty wet when they were here, but we did get one nice day. We decided to use it to go see Van Dusen Gardens in Vancouver. It was excellent and we will definitely go back and get the season pass so we can enjoy it more. Despite 70% of the garden not being in bloom it was still a fascinating place to walk around and examine the broad variety of trees and flowers. Going in season would really be spectacular.