A is for Amuse

As in Amuse Bouche from the French literally meaning "mouth amuser", it is tiny bite size taste of the chef's choosing to wet the appetite and prepare the everyone for the feast ahead and the chef approach and theme.

What better way to start an Austin Friday's with an evening of JFC, than with such a delicious idea, something to prepare for later on in this evening, a little feast for the eyes.


And the theme of this cuisine is?

Remember OMG's JFC Discussion starts and 5:00pm EST today and runs through Sat. Hope everyone can stop by discuss, ask questions, and enjoy.

Planned acts of Randomness

As if you needed a reminder of OMG's JFC Discussion beginning tomorrow (Friday) evening at 5:00 EST. You still have plenty of time to watch the first hour of JFC and make a list of you comments and questions.

Last week this picture was one of two up as a JFC reminder and the question was do see anything in the pictures? Maybe this picture should have been "Where's Austin?" Did you seem him in the mural?

In a way Austin is kind of like that in life. Kind of slips around undetected for a while and then appears. It is that almost planned kind of randomness in a way that creates a persona.

As it has been said before that someone who wants to climb to the top of the ladder in Hollywood would be using every opportunity to get their face and name out there, trying to get some coverage and buzz. But is seems that isn't the Nicholas Plan as we have watched him over that past few years. Not a lot of bold face mentions in the scene & heard sections, not many red carpets pics or mentions.


Is the randomness planned? Or is it happenstance? Is more beneficial or detrimental for him? Or is it all about balance? Giving him the balance between his private and professional life?

Write On - Write Off

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but apparently not for Annie Proulx. In article in the UK's Independent, despite the success of Brokeback Mountain, it has according to Proulx become "the source of constant irritation in my private life".

How so? It appears that Proulx is being sent "pornish" (her words) mail by fans offering their interpretations of the story, yes that's right Fan Fiction. While the fans see the story of Jack and Ennis a spring board of inspiration, Proulx sees the fan fiction differently.

"There are countless people out there who think the story is open range to explore their fantasies and to correct what they see as an unbearably disappointing story. They constantly send ghastly manuscripts and pornish rewrites of the story to me, expecting me to reply with praise and applause for 'fixing' the story. They certainly don't get the message that if you can't fix it, you've got to stand it."

In a way you can understand, say you've won a Pulitzer prize, a National Book Award, and a PEN/Faulkner award and have 7 books under your belt and you're getting daily rewrites of probably now the famous story you've written. The people who sent it mean no harm they are just excited and inspired by your work, but they expect you to be as excited as they are or maybe say oh this so much better than mine, I wish I could have thought of it. Annie Proulx is not that. She is a nonsense kind of person , that's not saying she's simplistic, oh the contrary, Proulx is as complex or even more so than the characters she creates.

She doesn't really like to do interviews, she's not is an entertainer, she's not a star. If she wanted to be and if the publisher got what they wanted she would be. But that's not Annie. She's writer who just wants to write. A storyteller who needs to tell the story, just like many of the fans of her work are. She's happier on her ranch writing than talking about what she wrote. She is more about the stories she writes speaking for themselves.

You'd think after all this she would move away from the Wyoming setting to give a break from the comparisons and comments but she is going back for one more time for her new collection of nine stories, Fine Just the Way It Is, based on the lives of the women on the ranches. "In a real sense, women on ranches are secondary citizens. But many, if not most, would be furious if you said that out straight, They see themselves as mythic Western women." She did say this is the last time she would visit Wyoming as a setting for her stories, saying she didn't want to be known too closely associated with only one region.

But does Annie's comments mean that writers shouldn't write fan fiction anymore? Any great work inspires many and that's what this does. There will always be fan fiction writers, writing and exploring the answers and solutions that they would like to see. Writing is a exercise of the mind and soul and that is what is for many Brokeback writers.


***********************

A little BBM and Annie moment from an interview on Bookslut.com

Annie gave Heath public praise for his performance as Ennis. It always made you wonder if she singled him out.

"You said earlier that you were pleased with Heath Ledger's performance. Did you feel that way about the whole cast?

The whole cast was magnificent. There wasn't anything not to be thrilled with, in anyone's performance. They were all extraordinary. And by singling out Heath Ledger, I didn't mean to slight Jake Gyllenhaal in the least, because he's an extraordinarily versatile, quicksilver, accomplished actor. Really, quite marvelous. And I think he went from Brokeback to Jarhead, and that is the kind of jump that is, like, "Oh, really?" And he did both with ease. Very expert ease.

All of the actors were just superb."

Super Movie Mix In

Today's like ice cream, you take a bunch of random good things (Jake and Austin projects) and mix them in together to get a sweet treat.

So get the base ice cream and add some:

Some Pop Rocks
While The Informers has release dates in Europe, it has nothing definite in the US. The assumption is some time in October and November.
Will Mickey Rourke getting an Oscar buzz for The Wrestler get a solid release date and add more screens for The Informers? What's going to get people to see it beside for OMG'ers going to see Austin? Bret Easton Ellis' story? Billy Bob? Winona? Bassinger? Amber Head? Or that it's Brad Renfro's last film?

Then some Gummies
"Jessica Biel, Catherine Keener Praise Director David O. Russell, Decide Not To Punch Him" is the title of the article on MTV's Movie Blog. Seems like despite his past reputation of bad behavior the ladies of Nailed praised Russell as a director. Despite the not knowing the fate of Nailed for distribution and all the difficulties in making the movie Jessica Beil said “He pulled such a bizarre cool interesting performance out of everyone. It was quite an interesting experience. David was amazing.” Catherine Keener called the political satire a screwball comedy and said
"if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the stoppages have inspired an attitude of perseverance in the cast." “This felt like it was happening despite all of the obstacles,” she said. “It felt like us against the man. We were like — you cannot shut us down!” Tracy Morgan seemed up beat about the film too even with all the obstacles. You think Jake feels the same?

And of course Chocolate
The old go to that you think you know everything about. Brothers. It's just on how the blend of ingredients works to see how rich it can be. We knew Mare Winningham was in it, but didn't Sam Shepard is as well. And casting Nat, Tobey and Jake? Sheridan said he wanted "the trio to be younger than they were in Bier's film. The only problem is that the 5 foot, 8-inch tall Maguire is 4 inches shorter than Gyllenhaal, who stands six feet. This violates the general biological rule that brothers are either roughly the same height or no more than two inches apart." Will there be some interesting camera angles or will Tobey have get "lift" or two? Will Sheridan ever film them side by side?

Blend until mixed. But then you have to go for the unexpected.

How to top it all off? How about something fresh, like the Fresh Prince of Persia.

Courtesy of Funny Junk

Now that's a mix -in.

Interiors

No not the Woody Allen movie, but similar in complexity. What we see on the outside is not what is truly going on inside. Morocco is case in point. On the outside it is a canvas of neutrals, but behind its interiors lies remarkable and intense beauty.

The beauty of Morocco is staggering. Behind high walls were cool fountains and brilliantly tiled courtyards, with small pools scattered with rose petals, simple seats overlaid with richly patterned rugs and cushions and bedroom walls glowing with polished pearly tadlakt glaze (made with lime, marble dust and egg white). The Moorish lights piercing the walls with slivers of light.

From passionate red of the paprika spice to the intense blue of the Mediterranean and the shimmering yellow of the Sahara. You can almost feel the decor as if it were alive! In fact one of the spectacular Moroccan decor is created with an intense blue as is there at Jardin Majorelle located in Marrakesh. There is no way you can fall in love with the blue color. The blue is unique because no one has ever been able to copy it.

Jake spent time at the Jardin Majorelle, the former resident of Yves St. Laurent, no doubt enjoying the not only the amazing interiors but the incredible gardens and aviary as well.

Now to think what the home of a 6th century Persian prince will be, the setting dressing for Prince of Persia interiors are going to take your breath away, if this is the Morocco of today.

Jake of course has worked in Morocco before, filming Rendition. But this time you suspect he is experience the cultural in a new way, completely immersing himself in it. Wonder if Jake will bring some of the Moorish influence back with him? The food? The furnishing? The rugs? The tiles? The garden design? The intense colors?

The colors, the textures, the scents, the heat of the desert day and the coolness of its nights and shadows. How could you not fall under its seduction, or seduce someone yourself.

Out Spotlight XXXX

Today's spotlight is singer, showman, Disco Drag Diva Sylvester.

Born Sylvester James, September 6, 1948, Sylvester is best known as disco and soul musician, and a gay drag performer. Best know for the one of the greatest dance songs and anthems You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) He performed under only his first name, Sylvester. Known for singing in falsetto (despite a rich baritone voice), he is also considered one of the first Hi-NRG artists. He was raised by his grandmother, the jazz singer Julia Morgan. Sylvester was the first 'male diva' of disco.

He lived in San Francisco in the 1960s, performing in a musical production called Women of the Blues, then joined a group of drag performance artists called The Cockettes in the early 1970s. Another member of The Cockettes was John Water's favorite muse and actress Divine. Both can be seen in a 2002 documentary about the group.

In 1972, Sylvester supplied two cuts to Lights Out San Francisco, an album compiled by the KSAN radio station and released on the Blue Thumb label. He released two rock-oriented albums on Blue Thumb (their self-titled debut was also known as 'Scratch My Flower', due to a gardenia-shaped scratch-and-sniff sticker adhered to the cover). He then signed as a solo act to Fantasy Records in 1977, working with legendary Motown producer Harvey Fuqua.

Sylvester soon met his frequent collaborator Patrick Cowley. Cowley's synthesiser and Sylvester's voice proved to be a magical combination, and pushed Sylvester's sound in an innovative new dance-oriented direction; his second solo album,Step II(1978), unleashed two disco classics: You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), and Dance (Disco Heat). By this time both his live shows and recordings also recognizably featured the back-up vocals of Two Tons O' Fun later known as the Weather Girls. In 1979 he had three Billboard awards and an appearance in the movie,The Rose, starring Bette Midler.

Sylvester and Cowley moved to Megatone Records in 1982, and hit with the classic with Do You Wanna Funk? His close friends inclduded other Megatone artists Linda Imperial and Jeanie Tracy and legendary Patti LaBelle.

With pressure pressure from the label to 'butch up' his image led him to attend meetings in full-on drag. A drag photo shoot, which he staged and presented to label heads as a gag (calling it his 'new album cover') would later grace the cover of Immortal after Sylvester died; it was the label's way of paying tribute to his spirit.

In 1985, one of his dreams came true as he was ask to sing back-up for Aretha Franklin on her Who's Zoomin' Who comeback album. Moving to Warner Bros. in the 80's, his only album for them Mutual Attraction with the single,Someone Like You, featured original cover art by Keith Haring.

Like so many others, including Patrick Cowley before him, Sylvester died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco on December 16, 1988. He was 40 years old.

On September 20, 2004 Sylvester's his anthem, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. A year later, on September 19, 2005, Sylvester was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievement as an artist.

The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, The Music, The 70s in San Francisco, a biography by Joshua Gamson was published in 2005.

Sylvester's You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)



Sylstar Website

Video Dance(Disco Heat)

Video Do You Want to Funk (Remix)

Video Some One Like You (1986)

Every picture tells a story

Sometimes a picture tells a story. Can you see any clues to JFC from the mural?


Only a week to get read for OMG's JFC discussion group. Discussion will be 5:00pm EST Friday, September 19th and throughout the day Saturday, September 20th.

Want to check out the mind of Milch as a writer and creator? Watch this lecture/talk/workshop/extemporaneous commentary Milch did at a Writer's Guild Association gathering.

The Idea of the Writer

The talk from December 12th gives a lot of insight. (NSFW - language this is Milch we're talking about )
Milch December 12th part 1
Milch December 12th part 2

If y0u have the time and interest check out the whole series.

And for the first episode of JFC - don't forget to listen to the commentary, more clues to figuring out what is going on.

But don't forget Kem Nunn. JFC wouldn't have had a surf setting with out the surf noir writer. (Tijuana Straits) While Nunn, didn't get writing credits until the second half of the episodes, he was a collaborator and producer with Milch on the project from the very beginning.

Here's an interview (check out the podcasts in the middle of the page) with Nunn, talking about writing surfing and influences.

And of course all this Toothy talk in September you can't help remember these pictures.