Indie Spirit Award Noms just announced- November 29, 2005 Taking this quick writing break to spread the good word, announced just in the last hour. Nom list. Press release. I was happy to see two of my favorite small films of the year, Mysterious Skin and (to a lesser extent) Me and You and Everyone We Know nominated. (Skin for best director for Gregg Araki--quite the coup; and Me & You . . . for best first feature and best first screenplay.) Most of the big awards were dominated by films also in the running for Oscars: Capote, Brokeback Mountain,.http://blogs.salon.com/0001137/categories/myProfession/2005/11/29.html#a1773 David Poland's Brokeback Mountain 'conversion'- November 20, 2005 You all may be familiar with David Poland's influential 20 Weeks To Oscar site. Apparently he has had quite the turnaround on Brokeback--and it just leapt from 8 to 2 in his rankings this past week, a startling change. I'm in a rush, so I'm just going to post these links with commentary from Greg in the comments (original links from Rick): I had read Poland&146;s initial review, in which he was tepid on the film and outright critical of several aspects of it:...http://blogs.salon.com/0001137/categories/myProfession/2005/11/20.html#a1768 Watching Brokeback Mountain -- just about perfect- November 20, 2005 Watched Brokeback Mountain last night. Wow. Just about perfect. Every bit as moving as the short story, and then some. They really fleshed out the characters, and I empathized with them more strongly. Enough that I'm not angry at Ennis anymore. I totally understand why he did it. How he thought he had to. The problem with preconceptions is that it was hard not to sit there in the first half hour thinking, "Heath Ledger is doing fine, but 'a revelation' Not quite getting that." (And there...http://blogs.salon.com/0001137/categories/myProfession/2005/11/20.html#a1767 Nine hours still Brokeback Mountain!- November 19, 2005 I've got to finish a chapter, get my hair cut, pick up my pants from the dry cleaners, and then I get to meet Annie Proulx, and possibly Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana and Ang Lee. And then I get to watch Brokeback Mountain. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Stayed in working last night, worked my ass off all week, feel wrung out like a dishrag, but I got lots of copy so I'm happy and I like myself again and tonight is my night off. And what a night! Going dancing afterward. (Yes, I've been really good all...http://blogs.salon.com/0001137/categories/myProfession/2005/11/19.html#a1764 A strange pain inside- November 19, 2005 I remember exactly what I was doing the first time I heard it. I was a computer systems consultant for Arthur Andersen, in Dallas, Texas. It was a new project assessing the systems at an eyeglass manufacturing plant way out in Mesquite. Only a (half hour) drive from downtown, but a world away. Mesquite is the home to the major rodeo in the area, with everything that implies. The partner on the job was coming from another client, so I was going to drive out separately. He would introduce me.http://blogs.salon.com/0001137/categories/myProfession/2005/11/19.html#a1763 |