My favorite bit from this article is the nod to the band leading the crowd in an acapella rendition of Bulls on Parade.
EDIT - Now with Tom Morello Guitar-free video:
Friday, September 05, 2008
The Strange Bloody Fate of Coil Island - Chapter 3
(Start at the beginning here)
Page 1 – 2 panels
Pane l: Inside the car, DANNY is dialing with one hand and steering with the other. SANDMAN leans against the window, looking out in the back seat.
DANNY: You been plannin’ this for a while.
SANDMAN: You believe me?
DANNY: Don’t go confusing that with trust. C’mon, pick up…
Panel 2: SANDMAN leans forward, a little bit in DANNY’S space looking towards the road.
SANDMAN: I’ve been honest so far. I’ve turned myself in. I made sure you had enough time to get your wife and kid off the island.
DANNY: What say did you have in that?
SANDMAN: They wouldn’t start without me. I just took my time announcing myself.
DANNY: You’re in touch with these people?
SANDMAN: …
Page 2 – 5 panels
Panel 1: The car has pulled up the tiny little village police station. The sign out front says COIL ISLAND MUNICIPAL POLICE. The lights are on, but they seem tiny in the storm.
Panel 2: INT. of the empty police station, DANNY is framed by the doors pushing SANDMAN into the vestibule. In spite of everything, DANNY is not manhandling SANDMAN.
SANDMAN: Looks like we picked the one night the police would take off.
Panel 3: The broad man in the ill-fitting uniform is DEPUTY BUCK. He walks out of one of the back offices whistling while in the process of zipping and adjusting his pants. He’s in mid-whistle as he registers the two soaking wet people in the station.
BUCK: I’ll be dipped.
Panel 4: DANNY approaches BUCK with SANDMAN in tow.
DANNY: Deputy…
BUCK: Buck. Royal Benjamin Buck.
DANNY: Where’s Sheriff Tate?
Panel 5: BUCK scratches his head, looking for all the world like he’s as embarrassed as can be.
BUCK: Burst appendix.
DANNY: Everybody else?
BUCK: I’m it. They got me on loan from Chicona County.
Page 3 – 4 panels
Panel 1: From the angle of an open cell door, we see DANNY approaching, pushing SANDMAN through the station, while BUCK follows, continuing to look confused.
DANNY: You got keys? I need to get into your holding cells. Get on the phone with –
BUCK: Phones is out. Storm got ‘em, maybe.
DANNY: Net access?
BUCK: We got lights and runnin’ water.
SANDMAN: Doubt it.
Panel 2: (Panels 2 and 3 are lined up side-by side) SANDMAN is behind the doors of the cell, looking out at DANNY and BUCK neither of whom is in the panel. He looks curious, like something just occurred to him.
BUCK: Who are y’all, anyway?
DANNY: Danny Salvador. I’m Federal and this is my prisoner.
SANDMAN (this dialogue is partially obscured by the other two speakers’ text, making it clear they’re ignoring him): Could one of you tell me the time? I can’t see the clock from here.
BUCK: He a terrorist or somethin’?
DANNY: He’s got a way of thinking that comes from the same place.
Panel 3: The same shot as in the last panel, SANDMAN is rolling his eyes.
SANDMAN (ignored again): I just need to know what time it is.
DANNY: He’s saying we might have some cold-blooded killers – excluding himself – on the island.
BUCK: What they come here for?
SANDMAN (ignored): You’re both wearing watches. You can just—
DANNY: Don’t know. Not even certain they’re here.
Panel 4: Something large, just about the size of a human head smashes through the station window.
Page 4 – Splash panel
Panel 1: From the angel of the bloody package wrapped in newspaper we see DANNY and BUCK standing outside of SANDMAN’s cell reaching for their sidearms. SANDMAN looks blasé about the whole thing.
SANDMAN: Must be 11:00 already. Game’s started, gentlemen.
Page 1 – 2 panels
Pane l: Inside the car, DANNY is dialing with one hand and steering with the other. SANDMAN leans against the window, looking out in the back seat.
DANNY: You been plannin’ this for a while.
SANDMAN: You believe me?
DANNY: Don’t go confusing that with trust. C’mon, pick up…
Panel 2: SANDMAN leans forward, a little bit in DANNY’S space looking towards the road.
SANDMAN: I’ve been honest so far. I’ve turned myself in. I made sure you had enough time to get your wife and kid off the island.
DANNY: What say did you have in that?
SANDMAN: They wouldn’t start without me. I just took my time announcing myself.
DANNY: You’re in touch with these people?
SANDMAN: …
Page 2 – 5 panels
Panel 1: The car has pulled up the tiny little village police station. The sign out front says COIL ISLAND MUNICIPAL POLICE. The lights are on, but they seem tiny in the storm.
Panel 2: INT. of the empty police station, DANNY is framed by the doors pushing SANDMAN into the vestibule. In spite of everything, DANNY is not manhandling SANDMAN.
SANDMAN: Looks like we picked the one night the police would take off.
Panel 3: The broad man in the ill-fitting uniform is DEPUTY BUCK. He walks out of one of the back offices whistling while in the process of zipping and adjusting his pants. He’s in mid-whistle as he registers the two soaking wet people in the station.
BUCK: I’ll be dipped.
Panel 4: DANNY approaches BUCK with SANDMAN in tow.
DANNY: Deputy…
BUCK: Buck. Royal Benjamin Buck.
DANNY: Where’s Sheriff Tate?
Panel 5: BUCK scratches his head, looking for all the world like he’s as embarrassed as can be.
BUCK: Burst appendix.
DANNY: Everybody else?
BUCK: I’m it. They got me on loan from Chicona County.
Page 3 – 4 panels
Panel 1: From the angle of an open cell door, we see DANNY approaching, pushing SANDMAN through the station, while BUCK follows, continuing to look confused.
DANNY: You got keys? I need to get into your holding cells. Get on the phone with –
BUCK: Phones is out. Storm got ‘em, maybe.
DANNY: Net access?
BUCK: We got lights and runnin’ water.
SANDMAN: Doubt it.
Panel 2: (Panels 2 and 3 are lined up side-by side) SANDMAN is behind the doors of the cell, looking out at DANNY and BUCK neither of whom is in the panel. He looks curious, like something just occurred to him.
BUCK: Who are y’all, anyway?
DANNY: Danny Salvador. I’m Federal and this is my prisoner.
SANDMAN (this dialogue is partially obscured by the other two speakers’ text, making it clear they’re ignoring him): Could one of you tell me the time? I can’t see the clock from here.
BUCK: He a terrorist or somethin’?
DANNY: He’s got a way of thinking that comes from the same place.
Panel 3: The same shot as in the last panel, SANDMAN is rolling his eyes.
SANDMAN (ignored again): I just need to know what time it is.
DANNY: He’s saying we might have some cold-blooded killers – excluding himself – on the island.
BUCK: What they come here for?
SANDMAN (ignored): You’re both wearing watches. You can just—
DANNY: Don’t know. Not even certain they’re here.
Panel 4: Something large, just about the size of a human head smashes through the station window.
Page 4 – Splash panel
Panel 1: From the angel of the bloody package wrapped in newspaper we see DANNY and BUCK standing outside of SANDMAN’s cell reaching for their sidearms. SANDMAN looks blasé about the whole thing.
SANDMAN: Must be 11:00 already. Game’s started, gentlemen.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
In 20 Years He'll Be A Chuck Norris Meme
You know who's awesome?
This dude right here.
Despite being in so many awful movies, I'll still watch a new Jason Statham flick. Any Jason Statham flick.
There's something really compelling about the guy. I don't know if it's that outside of Bruce Willis, we don't have a lot of prematurely balding action stars. Maybe it's the ten-pack-a-day voice*. I think it all boils down to a natural charisma that a lot of your 80's action stars had.
Saying it out loud, yeah... It's like someone hopped in a time machine, ignored the chance to say, kill Hitler or make themselves rich in the stock market, or accidentally become their own grandpa and instead dragged this guy by his thinning hair into the 21st century.
This is all a very long digression of course in order to say that The Bank Job is not a terribly good movie. In fact, for what it has to work with, it's kind of bad. Not the kind of bad that I want to spend a thousand words talking about, but just bad enough to leave me disappointed that a 70's-style heist flick involving secret naked pictures of a crown princess, bent coppers, and a plan to tunnel under a bank went so flat on me.
And the Statham (because in 10 years, it'll be a title, like "the champ" or "the ombudsman") is actually kind of wasted in this. The thing that even the crappiest movies with him do well is make him an engaging hero (or at least protagonist). Here, he's some dude who's not particularly more interesting or smarter than any of the other dudes, digging in a hole for about an hour before things get complicated.
Ostensibly based on a true story, there's an incredibly interesting movie to be made about these events. It's just too bad the one we got was sort of muddled, didn't have particularly interesting or fleshed out villains, and just kind of ends with an "and then everything was okay" text scroll.
Also - and I can't really articulate WHY at this point - the movie wasn't very evocative of the 70's. It was set in the 70's and everyone sort of had bad haircuts and the ladies all wore dresses with blindingly busy prints... but I don't know. There was something too glossy and not appropriately vicious about the thing - like it wasn't willing to go far enough.
I'm a guy who needs my violent movies to go all the way... put out, if you will.
Anyway, tomorrow I'll spend 5 paragraps too many talking about Lena Olin.
Or maybe I'll post another script. Who knows?
*Fun game, kids - try talking like that in your everyday conversation. It's like trying to talk while gargling hot rocks, right?
This dude right here.
Despite being in so many awful movies, I'll still watch a new Jason Statham flick. Any Jason Statham flick.
There's something really compelling about the guy. I don't know if it's that outside of Bruce Willis, we don't have a lot of prematurely balding action stars. Maybe it's the ten-pack-a-day voice*. I think it all boils down to a natural charisma that a lot of your 80's action stars had.
Saying it out loud, yeah... It's like someone hopped in a time machine, ignored the chance to say, kill Hitler or make themselves rich in the stock market, or accidentally become their own grandpa and instead dragged this guy by his thinning hair into the 21st century.
This is all a very long digression of course in order to say that The Bank Job is not a terribly good movie. In fact, for what it has to work with, it's kind of bad. Not the kind of bad that I want to spend a thousand words talking about, but just bad enough to leave me disappointed that a 70's-style heist flick involving secret naked pictures of a crown princess, bent coppers, and a plan to tunnel under a bank went so flat on me.
And the Statham (because in 10 years, it'll be a title, like "the champ" or "the ombudsman") is actually kind of wasted in this. The thing that even the crappiest movies with him do well is make him an engaging hero (or at least protagonist). Here, he's some dude who's not particularly more interesting or smarter than any of the other dudes, digging in a hole for about an hour before things get complicated.
Ostensibly based on a true story, there's an incredibly interesting movie to be made about these events. It's just too bad the one we got was sort of muddled, didn't have particularly interesting or fleshed out villains, and just kind of ends with an "and then everything was okay" text scroll.
Also - and I can't really articulate WHY at this point - the movie wasn't very evocative of the 70's. It was set in the 70's and everyone sort of had bad haircuts and the ladies all wore dresses with blindingly busy prints... but I don't know. There was something too glossy and not appropriately vicious about the thing - like it wasn't willing to go far enough.
I'm a guy who needs my violent movies to go all the way... put out, if you will.
Anyway, tomorrow I'll spend 5 paragraps too many talking about Lena Olin.
Or maybe I'll post another script. Who knows?
*Fun game, kids - try talking like that in your everyday conversation. It's like trying to talk while gargling hot rocks, right?
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
The Strange Bloody Fate of Coil Island - Chapter 2
(Apologies for posting so late in the day)
(Start at the beginning here)
(Start at the beginning here)
Page 1 – 3 panels
Panel 1: EXT. DANNY’s house and the rain is coming down hard. DANNY has SANDMAN cuffed with his hands behind his back, pushing him into the backseat of a late-model sedan. DANNY intentionally shoves SANDMAN’s head into the doorframe on the way in.
SANDMAN: This isn’t necessary. You –
DANNY: I got you pinned to about two dozen bodies. So yeah, it is necessary.
Panel 2: In the backseat, SANDMAN looks out balefully at DANNY. DANNY is out of frame, still in the rain.
DANNY: Now we’re going to –
SANDMAN: It’s more like four dozen.
DANNY: …
SANDMAN: There’s a lot you haven’t found and a lot you don’t know. Now. You need… to start… listening to me.
Panel 3: As the thunder crashes behind him, DANNY walks around to the driver’s seat of the car.
Page 2 - 4 panels
Panel 1: DANNY adjusts the rearview mirror so that it’s filled with SANDMAN’s face. We can’t see DANNY’s face, only SANDMAN’s and he looks frustrated and drenched.
DANNY: Two questions. One… It’s been raining for days. You were dry when I woke up.
SANDMAN: You want to know how I got into your place without getting wet?
DANNY: I wanna know how long you were holed up before I got there.
Panel 2: SANDMAN has leaned back with his feet on the seat. He’s grinning.
SANDMAN: Two days in your attic. You were in rough shape when you got here. And I didn’t want to spook your wife and kid.
Panel 3: DANNY half-turned his body to look in the backseat.
DANNY: Just me.
SANDMAN: …
DANNY: Who are these six friends you brought here?
Panel 4: SANDMAN shrugs, looking like he has nothing to do with any of this.
SANDMAN: You developed my profile, Danny –
DANNY: Agent Salvador.
SANDMAN: Whatever. I was saying… you know I don’t keep friends. Not for long at least. These people are more like admirers.
Page 3 – 4 panels
Panel 1: SANDMAN looks ugly now, his face contorted with disgust. He’s leaned forward in his seat a bit, and you can tell he’s not looking at DANNY.
SANDMAN: Wannabes is what they are. They act like what I do is some kind of game. What I do isn’t something you do to keep score. To compete over.
DANNY: What’d you bring here?
Panel 2: SANDMAN has leaned back in the seat again, his face half-covered in shadow. Only his eyes burn in the darkness.
SANDMAN: Someone got the word out.
DANNY: How would they do that?
SANDMAN: Doesn’t matter. But me… the others… we heard.
Panel 3: Overhead shot of the island as the rain pounds down.
SANDMAN (Caption): Somebody said something about an island. How the big storms usually locked it down come the end of summer.
SANDMAN (Caption): Simple folk. Sheriff was set to retire. No real police to speak of.
Panel 4: The waves whip at the harbor, sending the ocean spray 10, maybe 15 feet into the air. A boat moored to the docks, threatens to pitch over with the waves.
SANDMAN: Somebody suggested we make a game of it… see who could get the most.
DANNY: The most…
SANDMAN: Yeah.
Page 4 – full-page
Panel 1: DANNY’s car races through the increasingly flooded streets.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Wherein the Cops Kick Your Ass for the RNC
I just saw this article (thanks MGK) and wondered - is this what the RNC wants to be known for? If McCain and the GOP are the party committed to spreading freedom, why don't we gave any Republicans on one of the major news outlets calling shenanigans on the Minneapolis police?
For that matter, where are the Democrats in all of this? After a rousing convention last week, one that saw the party energized and ready to take all comers in the next 60+ days, why aren't they out in front, challenging an agregious abuse of power in the city where the opposition is holding a Grand Old Party?
For that matter, how can we as individuals make more noise about this kind of thing? Look, no one is going to accuse me of being pro-hippy (frankly, I don't care for the sound of Jerry Berry and patchouli just smells awful to me). But I'll be damned if any segment of this society should be denied not only the right to protest but the right to plan to protest.
I'm not going to get all Orwellian doom and gloom now, but maybe it's about time that we do (get all doom-y and gloom-y, that is). As long as the press at large - the major media outlets - continue to refuse to dig deeper and confront the abuses of power, the closer we get to the future of the Demolition Man, where Taco Bell vies for supremacy as the main dietary staple, no one is allowed to cuss and Sandra Bullock is still a viable star.
We should be able to gather and say no to our leaders and we should damn well be able to gather and say no to our potential leaders. So anyone out there reading this - say something, post it on your own blog, link back to the original story - but most importantly just do something and show that you want the future to be more than a boot on your neck.
Until then, I'll be watching closely to see how the Minnesota authorities handles this group of known troublemakers later this week.
Audi,
Charles
For that matter, where are the Democrats in all of this? After a rousing convention last week, one that saw the party energized and ready to take all comers in the next 60+ days, why aren't they out in front, challenging an agregious abuse of power in the city where the opposition is holding a Grand Old Party?
For that matter, how can we as individuals make more noise about this kind of thing? Look, no one is going to accuse me of being pro-hippy (frankly, I don't care for the sound of Jerry Berry and patchouli just smells awful to me). But I'll be damned if any segment of this society should be denied not only the right to protest but the right to plan to protest.
I'm not going to get all Orwellian doom and gloom now, but maybe it's about time that we do (get all doom-y and gloom-y, that is). As long as the press at large - the major media outlets - continue to refuse to dig deeper and confront the abuses of power, the closer we get to the future of the Demolition Man, where Taco Bell vies for supremacy as the main dietary staple, no one is allowed to cuss and Sandra Bullock is still a viable star.
We should be able to gather and say no to our leaders and we should damn well be able to gather and say no to our potential leaders. So anyone out there reading this - say something, post it on your own blog, link back to the original story - but most importantly just do something and show that you want the future to be more than a boot on your neck.
Until then, I'll be watching closely to see how the Minnesota authorities handles this group of known troublemakers later this week.
Audi,
Charles
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