Film Geek Genome

My daughter, DC, and I are a lot alike. We have the same sense of humor, we both love to write, act and have a passion for movies. And nothing makes me happier.

This is best exemplified in the following examples. I'm a Hitchcock nut so my daughter and I watch his films together then review certain scenes to find out how they were shot and why they were effective. We once watched THE BIRDS and after it was over, DC immediately and excitedly said "Okay, explain a really cool shot to me!"

So we re-examined the scene where the crows fly behind Tippi Hedren and land on the jungle gym at the school. What is so great about that scene is, shot by shot, Hitchcock knows exactly what the audience wants and either gives it to them or denies them, depending on what is more suspenseful.

For example, when, unbeknownst to Hedren, the first few birds land behind her, Hitch then shoots only Hedren smoking and doesn't show you the jungle gym anymore. And, as the audience, as you're watching Hedren, you're wondering about the crows on the gym, but he won't show it to you to heighten the suspense. Then he teases you back and forth, showing the gym with more birds, then Hedren for a long period of time, then the gym with a few more birds, then Hedren, giving you a idea how quickly the birds are arriving behind her.

Then, it all ends with Hedren finally spotting a single crow, worried, following it with her eyes. This is slightly humorous because Hedren is so tense about a single crow, not realizing what we know as the audience, that there are a bunch more behind her. And we then follow this single crow to the playground only to find EVERYTHING is covered by crows, the gym, the building, the fence, everything.

Hitch sets an expectation on how quickly the birds are arriving only to climax the scene by throwing that out and bringing it way over the top.

When the single crow is in the air, the audience thinks they know information that Hedren does not (how many crows are behind her) and that makes us feel good, empowered. But, Hitch throws us a curve and when we discover the entire landscape is covered with crows, we and Hedren are saying "oh sh*t" to ourselves. We are thrust back into Hedren's shoes, being as disarmed and helpless as she is.

Great stuff.

So, last week I was explaining how symbolism can be used in films. I used the example in CITIZEN KANE where young Kane is outside playing in the snow. His parents, recently finding gold on their land, discuss the child's future in the house while we see young Kane through the window. The window is open when the scene begins, then when the parents decide to remove his voice from the discussion, they close the window, locking him in this box framed by the window, now closed, keeping his voice silent.

When they discuss that the child, upon his 21st birthday, will be entitled to money and decision making, they reopen the window, thereby giving the young Kane a voice in his life again. DC was enthralled by this.

She asked me to rent Citizen Kane on Netflix. When I told her it had arrived she jumped up and said "Yesss! Can I watch it tomorrow after school!?!?!"

I never would have imagined that my daughter would be so excited about watching a black and white film classic because she wants to study symbolism... and she's 12.

Amazing.

It just goes to show you that not only height, skin complexion and eye color can be passed down from parent to child. In the case of me and my daughter, the part of our DNA that holds our love of film has been inherited as well.

Predictor Pete - Week Six

Bad offensive mistakes and turnovers finally cost the Bucs a game, dropping to 4-1 after losing to the hapless Jets.

This week the Bucs take on the suprising Dolphins. Even though the Dolphins current record is only 2-2, they have played very well under first year coach Nick Saban. They have a solid defense and running game and their journeyman quarterback, Gus Ferrotte, is playing much better than anticipated.

Cadillac Williams may be available for this home game versus the Dolphins, which could help an increasingly shakey quarterback play by Brian Griese. Griese held a closed door players only meeting to apologize for his erratic play of late in an attempt to lead the team in the accountability department. Hopefully that will translate to a better performance on the field.

The Dolphins are hungry after losing a close game in Buffalo and the Bucs are licking their wounds from the Jets fiasco, so both teams should be hungry.

My Heart: Bucs 20-17.
My Mind: Dolphins 17-10.
My Colon: Dolphins 21-16.

My Pick: Dolphins 14-12...

The Bucs are 4-1, but they are not a very good team. They have a great defense, but three years into the Gruden experiment, the offense is still a question mark. When you look at other teams like the 5-0 Colts or 4-1 Bengals or the 3-2 Falcons, the Bucs do not match up well. They have the potential, but not enough talent to make mistakes (penalities and turnovers) during a game and expect to win.

I don't like picking against my Buccos, but unless Griese improves dramatically, I see his inconsitency costing us against an opportunistic Dolphins team. I don't think Griese is the long term fix for the Bucs QB position and if Simms isn't that solution either, then the Bucs are in for a long couple of years... and if that's the case then Gruden will probably not be the coach when they finally get the QB position fixed.

My Record: 4 - 1.

Wheel O' Opportunity

One of the things that I miss from my "youth" is the feeling that anything is possible, that the world is conquerable. As we get older and reality and responsibilities take their rightful place in our priority list, conquering the world seems far less important than just conquering the day that lies ahead of you.

But, that feeling that the world was full of a million opportunities just waiting for you to decide which path you were going to take... it was invigorating and exciting.

The challenge for me now, with a family and the need for health insurance and a steady income, is to find those intriguing opportunities in the limited scope of risk that I'm willing to take. I'm not willing to choose a path that will put my family, health insurance or income in jeopardy. But, we need to fight the possibility of life becoming stagnate.

The reality is that I'm still young and I still have a couple of hundred thousand opportunities in front of me and its my job, through prayer and discussion with my family to determine which opportunities, which challenges I'm willing to take on in an effort to improve myself and improve our lives.

Grumpy McPoopy

I've been very grumpy lately. I feel tired, burned out and mentally wiped. Work has been very busy, but not for the right reasons. I don't mind working hard, but we're not working smart, which means a lot of our effort is wasted on inefficient processes. I'm making changes in areas that I can control, but so much of what lands on my plate at work is from departments I don't control.

At home, the home theater room is almost done, but the house has been in a state of dishevlement for three months now and we're all kinda over it. There's no room in the house that is relaxing, so there's no respite there.

I really want to be doing something creative, writing a script, shooting a movie, running a studio... anything other than what I'm doing, but I haven't had time do pursue that either.

I haven't slept well in months... probably due to all of the above. Overall, I'm just grumpy all the time. I don't like it, but I'm stuck here for the time being.

Bah... Humbug.

Male Bonding

For a long time my wife tried to get me more male friends. She thought that having only one best friend wasn't enough for me. What my wife didn't understand is that men don't need more than one best friend... as a matter of fact, having more than one takes too much effort.

As we all know, men and women are wired differently. Women talk through their issues, men only talk about their issues when they've run out of ways to solve them. Women enjoy each others company through conversation. Men don't like to just sit and talk. Men like to do things together... watch sport, movies, whatever. Sure, they'll talk during these events, but men don't bond through conversation, only through through shared experiences and similar interests.

I've had one best friend for the last 25 years... Tim. Tim and I have been friends since high school. We've lived together for a short time in college. I'm either the godfather or de facto godfather of all three of his children. We've endured a torturous drive to and from California. We share a love of football and movies. We've made movies since high school and he's been in every one of my Local Talent productions. We've shared Tampa Bay Bandit season tickets, attended Devil Ray, Buc and Lightning games. And every Monday night he comes over to watch football.

And that's the way male friendships are grown, through shared experiences and similiar interests.

My wife has tried and failed to bring other male friends into my life. But for the past 25 years, Tim has been there for me and me for him... and that's all we need.

Monday Morning QB - 10/9

The Bucs finally fall, this time to the pathetic Jets, 14-12 in the Meadowlands... a place where they have never won. Cadillac Williams was held out of the game due to injury and the passing game continued giving up points... as predicted in previous posts, it finally cost them a game

After two ugly wins, we get an ugly loss.

My prediction: Bucs 20, Jets 6

Score: Jets 14, Bucs 12

Today, Griese was outplayed by a 41 year old retired quarterback. That about puts this game into focus. Griese's first interception cost the Bucs 7 points and eventually the game. Over the last two games, 20 out of 27 points were off of Griese turnovers... he's the best weapon our opponents have. He's the worst QB on 4-1 team. He'll cost us another four games before the season is out.

Offense: F. Another interception leads to an opponents score. No running game. Four field goals. Multiple sacks. Pathetic.

Defense: D. The Bucs dominate time of possession in the first half and are leading 9-7. The defense, well rested, lets the 41 year old retired QB drive the Jets down the field for opening score of the second half, costing them the game. All day they couldn't get pressure on this immobile, old QB and allowed multiple 3rd down conversions in the second half. No excuses for that. They got whipped by a bad team.

Special Teams: B+. Hit all four field goals. Punting was great.

Coaching: C-. No running game. No pressure on an immobile QB. No fire in the belly of the team.

Outstanding Players: Matt Bryant, the place kicker.

Things That Drove Me Nuts: Griese again gives points away and can't get into the end zone. The defense couldn't stop anything on 3rd down in the second half. Michael Pittman is incapable of gaining yards after first contact.

Bucs Record: 4-1. If they don't get better, the Bucs could still reach that 8-8 record. The teams they face in the future are only going to get better. If Griese offers up one more turnover that costs the Bucs points, I'd bench him... I don't care what the record is.

Next Opponent: The Bucs take on a quality Dolphins team at home. If Cadillac doesn't return, the Bucs could go into the bye week 4-2.

Our Eternal Payday

I had to go to Mass at 7:00 a.m. with Gabe this morning because I have to work today. This weeks homily was our annual parish financial review, which was not very spiritually interesting. A few weekends ago, however, the Gospel was a one of my favorite parables... its the one about the man who, in the morning, hires workers at an agreed upon daily rate, to work in the field. At midday the man hires more workers. Near the end of the work day, he hires more workers.

When the work is done, the man pays every worker equally... they all get the same amount. When the workers from the morning complain, the man tells them they understood and received the agreed upon wage and they should not complain. It was up to the man's discretion as to what each would get paid.

It's such a great example of God's mercy... no matter how late we show up to the field, the pay is the same, the reward is equal. Like children, our human qualities inherently want the world to be "fair" but, to God, "fair" doesn't mean fair to us, but fair to Him. And what is more fair than anyone who seeks Him gets Him... anyone who truly searches for redemption and salvation gets it, no matter how late in the "work day" we try?

That is supremely and divinely fair. And completely opposite of how humans would define fair. Even understanding that, there is a part of me who kinda sides with those morning workers are coming from.

The bible says God's ways are not our ways and the more I understand my faith the more I realize just how far away I am from where I need to be. The goals set by the Almighty are so lofty (no pun intended) that I wonder if I will ever get close to reaching them.

I guess the thing I have to remember is that we never know when our work day will end, so we better get into the fields as soon as possible. The last thing you'd want is to show up to the fields when the work is done.