Extremely random, but, again: tired

[cleolinda]

Had a good time at the baby shower; kind of tired. Just a few quick things, because I like the perfect attendance streak I have going here, as it were:

Deaths:

Actress-drama teacher Nina Foch ('An American in Paris') dead at 84.

Sunny von Bülow, 76, Focus of Society Drama, Dies.

'My Three Sons' actress Beverly Garland dies.

Pinup Bettie Page hospitalized after heart attack.

Peter Jackson Eulogizes Uncle Forry.

Director Catherine Hardwicke Fired From Twilight Sequels! Ohhhhhh shit. You know, I didn't like her visual style so much, but she was so good with the actors and getting the "normal people" scenes to feel real. I am really, really concerned about who Summit might get for the sequel(s), to tell you the truth. Particularly since I kind of hate New Moon anyway. You know I'm going to have to see it; I'm already getting people asking me to do a Fifteen Minutes for a movie that doesn't even exist yet. If this turns into a trainwreck--oh God, please don't film the sequels simultaneously--I don't know what I'll do. Please don't make this any harder on me than it has to be, Summit. I mean, you know, because my considerations are clearly the most important (she said with a completely straight face).

I'll say this much: if Robert Pattinson and/or Kristen Stewart leave? I will walk away from this whole clusterfuck without a single look back, peace out. Which, quite honestly, might be the ideal resolution.

(Side note: Twilight actually held on to #2 at the box office this weekend.)

On TV tonight: Reminder: Extended Goblet of Fire to Air on ABC Family Tonight, Half-Blood Prince Sneaks Online; 'Dear Zachary' Airs on MSNBC Tonight!

Miscellaneous:

Harvard lost how much money? (And which country could you buy for that amount?)

Stephen King: Best books of '08.

For my money, this is the best pickup line I've ever heard: *holds out hand* "Can you hold this for me while I go take a walk?"

I can no longer deny this fact: someday, I will, in fact, own this locket.

And finally: WHOA WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? And it's been there since 2007? Holy crap. And it's not even flagged for unnotability! WHOA. I can but Keanu in response.

(I'm "Cleolinda 'Cleo' Jones." I mean, not that this is incorrect, I just... I have a Nickname™, y'all. This is so surreal. I knew about that page but I hadn't really brought myself to look at it before. Wtf.)

(I have "a large cult following," which is probably the epitome of "debatable.")

(WHOA MY BIRTHDAY IS ON THERE AND EVERYTHING. I mean, not like it's hard to find out, but--my birthday is on Wikipedia like PEOPLE WOULD CARE. SO BIZARRE.)

Speaking of my birthday, I've decided--I can't remember if I mentioned this or not--to just have a nice, pleasant day next week and not "do" anything for it. I just feel like being quiet and low-key about it, I don't know. It's my thirtieth, and I think that's why I want it to be quiet. It's not an "omg I feel so oooooold" thing, because I don't--it's just... I'd rather not really think about it, or how many things I feel like I should be or have accomplished by now, or how many opportunities I've blown, or... see? I can feel you gearing up to tell me how many things I have "accomplished," but they all exist in the ether of the online world. I don't have anything "real" to be proud of--even the book I wrote (three years ago) isn't out in North America. I'm not gainfully employed--not until I can sell something--and I can't even drive. So I'd just rather have a nice quiet day and not think about it. There's really nothing I can go out and do that wouldn't make me feel ridiculously sorry for myself, I don't think, so I'd rather try to be positive and just... not deal with it. My friends seem to be having a hard time with this ("You don't even want to go out to dinner?"), but... well. There it is. I want to be happy. I think this is what I have to do--or not do, rather--to accomplish that.

Comments

[thestarlet.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, not Bettie Page!! :(

[shlupquack.livejournal.com]

I'd still hit it.

[tripletoe.livejournal.com]

OMG, I'm part of a cult following. I'm scared of myself now!

[northernphoenix.livejournal.com]

Yeah; I heard about Hardwicke getting the boot and everything. A friend of mine directed me to a page that I hope is a hack, but if not:


If that's the case, it'll be the biggest wank-filled trainwreck ever.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Oh man. I hope Bettie Page pulls through.}:(

[thestarlet.livejournal.com]

I keep checking for news, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. :(

[mollywobbles867.livejournal.com]

Hardwicke fired? Oh God, I hope there's wank!

Also...I didn't know Betty Paige was even still alive.

[lyrangalia]

lion_lamb never stops wanking.

Ever.

[rosetapestry.livejournal.com]

I have no particular like or dislike for Hardwicke, but I do wonder how all of the actors will work with someone else - from news reports and interviews, it just seemed like that was one big Hardwicke family on the set.

[lunylucy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, these are my thoughts as well.

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

The sociologist in me who's doing a year-long paper on the marginalization of women in the television industry thinks it's interesting that they're booting Catherine Hardwicke now that it's a bona fide money-maker. But they probably just want to get someone who can handle a smorgasbord of special effects better.

[profbutters.livejournal.com]

^^^^
This. That is what I thought, too. I'm actually a little bit angry, since she just directed a movie which made so much money for them. It was one of the few things I liked about the movie.

[endless-reader.livejournal.com]

Maybe New Moon will be better? * shrugs*

[dachelle.livejournal.com]

I also didn't do anything for my thirtieth, for much the same reason. So you're not alone!

[jeikora.livejournal.com]

Yay! You've officially crossed he threshold of the renowned when you get your own Wikipedia page. :P

In other news, I was talking to Harvard's Dean of the Faculty of Arts in Science (erm, my academic advisor) the other day, and he's definitely feeling the sweat from the $8 billion loss since everyone is looking at him for an answer. It doesn't help that the University is in the middle of a somewhat frivolous plan to extend the school southward into the next city. But now he's trying to cut back the budget, and everyone is mad at him for cutting their programs. And he's only a few years into the position. I would *not* want to be him at this moment.

But as long as they don't cut my financial aid, I'll make no complaint.

[missmp.livejournal.com]

Believe me, there's enough pork at Harvard that they could cut stuff for a year straight and not touch financial aid. The bitching from the faculty is going to be epic though. And if worst comes to worst, they can just sell off that half of Allston they own.

[shlupquack.livejournal.com]

I mirror your feelings on the New Moon subject.

[anthraxpretzels.livejournal.com]

I agree on the actors: Hardwicke at least gave personalities to Bella's not-friends :[

I also totally have a crush on the actor for Eric

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Sure. Catherine Hardwick makes the movie that's earned the most money for a female director EVER, so naturally she has to be canned.

Fuckers.

[nik-bella.livejournal.com]

cause, obviously, if a man had made it, it would've made more.

[wenelda.livejournal.com]

I'm confused... Wasn't (or, isn't?) "Twilight" considered a huge success? So why would they fire the director that got it there? Or was this a pre-emptive, "we just don't think your vision would work for the sequels" type of thing?

[albauk.livejournal.com]

Wait, an extended version of Goblet of Fire? Damn, and I just watched the DVD last night. Is this other than what's on the DVD? (Do they even have deleted scenes?) Oh well, it's on as we speak, and I'm watching House instead.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

You know, I don't even know. I was kind of wondering about that myself--I saw it so many times on HBO that I don't know if I ever cracked the DVD.

[swsa.livejournal.com]

I am all mixed feelings about the Hardwicke thing. Part of me feels like okay, she clearly couldn't really handle the action, so switching her out could be a good thing. Nikki Reed could get canned, again, a good thing. Summit's obviously playing hardball, so my hopes of a Jacob recasting are alive again. Good thing. Flip side, I have a feeling we're going to lose a lot of the naturalistic tone to the high school scenes, and even worse, the conspiracy theorist in me is remembering SMeyer bitching about the sparkling affect publically and is wondering if she was doing even more bitching privately. The thought of SMeyer having ANYTHING to do with this and possibly wanting a director who'll honor her "vision" more gives me the CHILLS. My dearest hope is that they get a big enough name director who will have no fear of telling her to get the hell of his/her set. But as Summit seems to not be giving Hardwicke credit for making a lot of this crap palatable, I fear they think it's all SMeyer.

I'll say this much: if Robert Pattinson and/or Kristen Stewart leave? I will walk away from this whole clusterfuck without a single look back, peace out. Which, quite honestly, might be the ideal resolution.

This. I'm amazed how protective I've come to feel for both of them, but even more amazed by how much trust I have in their judgement. I think it's only because of them that I can imagine the next two films working at all.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have deep faith in Pattinson's interpretation of Edward and Stewart's refusal to say shitty lines.

[cleojones.livejournal.com]

*points to username and then flails uselessly*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heeeee. I really feel like I shouldn't be "Cleo" Jones because YOU'RE Cleo Jones.

[threeparts.livejournal.com]

For your birthday - or the days leading up to it - is there anything you could do to feel accomplished? I know things like someone offering you a three book contract or going on a trip to Paris Morocco are completely out of the question, but maybe something simpler? Start driving lessons, look into casual volunteer work, or even just update your website. I don't know how busy your life is, but maybe doing something tangible could help with the blues.

And that pick-up line is adorable.

[profbutters.livejournal.com]

Great. I just looked at the comments on the *Twilight* page and the fans are saying "well, they REALLY ought to have fired the screenwriter." I think Summit doesn't understand that what made the picture wasn't the "lush visual look" but the fact that somebody had the sense to throw about 85% of the book away. Whoever did that, whether it was Rosenberg or Hardwicke, has my profound thanks.

One of the few things that made me happy was "wow, look at that! A female director made a movie that made all that money!" I wonder what their problem is?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

omfg. If they kick Rosenberg out I am DONE. Unless they get someone even more willing to whip that shit into shape.

[jennawaterford.livejournal.com]

Twilight didn't hold on to #2; it moved up to #2 from last week's #3 ranking (Bolt was #2 last week and 4 Xmases was #1)

Re. Catherine Hardwicke

[jubilantia.livejournal.com]

You know, I've never actually found out what a director does. I know it's basically the director that works with the actors on the set, and decides which shots to keep in (maybe?). With a movie like that, though, (read: really bad in some parts, really good in others) it's hard for me to decide how I feel about it. I echo the sentiment about Robert and Kristen, though. In fact, I would be surprised if they didn't talk to the lead actors first to see what they would do, because they are basically carrying the thing.

On the other hand, I bet Hardwicke was "difficult" about staying true to the books- which kind of kept the fans coming back for repeat viewings, because you can bet if they had stuck with the original plan, the fan outrage would have pretty much sent it to the ends of the universe and shattered it.

Not that this is as important for the second book, in my opinion, but...

twilight drama

[suzeclues12.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised about the Hardwick firing. What she did well - creating a family mood between the "family of actors", capturing moods in certain scenes, choosing the right actors and knowing when the chemistry was right, etc. - was quite good.

But my major complaint - even more than the horrible special effects (low-budget=understandable, but the way they had Edward running while Bella was on board? Major LOLs!) - was the pacing. A lot of the movie could have been rescued by better pacing to allow motional transitions to seem more "natural".

Still, I was hoping to give her a second chance, with the budget and studios finally behind her. She had worked, it seems, quite hard for this picture, and it's success should have given her another chance at it. Still....not surprised. Somewhere, some greedy director is rubbing their hands together to get a chance at werewolves (which if you think about the movies in production right now, might be next year's vampires - popculture-wise).

Now a change in any of the actors - which I feel were spot-on - will incur major issues. Just consider the twi-hord's wrath!

PS - FYI - author Katherine Dunn, who wrote Geek Love, winner of the National Book award, live in Portland OR specifically because of its great mass transit. She does not drive.

I've driven since I was 13 (don't ask). I've accomplished ... not so much. But I'm certainly not listed on Wikipedia

PSS - A general apology to all readers, and certainly Cleolinda, for my rant yesterday. I've been told - retrospectively - that I was wearing my cranky-pants.

Re: twilight drama

[dives.livejournal.com]

I don't know what Portland's mass transit has to do with Twilight, but what I do know is that I love it. I love it a lot. Why, it even allows you to just ride around much of the city for free on the MAX, if you were the sort who would do that if you just did not feel like paying for a ticket that day!


(I am.)

[viorica8957.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. Hardwicke made Summit a metric shitload of money- why would they want to get rid of her? I'm also calling bull on the "difficult" statement, because when I watched the B-roll footage, I was struck by now cheerful and excited she was. Not bitching or anything.

[robinmc.livejournal.com]

I think the logic is that the metric shitload of money has nothing to do with Catherine Hardwicke. There are maybe a dozen people, give or take, who went to see this movie because it's a Catherine Hardwicke movie.

The thing that has stuck with me the most since I got sucked into all the publicity for this movie was an article that mentioned how she prepped for the movie thirteen, and she had Nikki Reed and a bunch of her friends over for a sleepover, and the fact that she seems so much more comfortable with teenagers and teenage subjects than with adults. She reminds me of a woman I used to be friends with, when I was 18 and she was 31, who has always been more comfortable around teenagers because she can talk to them and they don't realize that she's full of shit.

I don't know if Catherine Hardwicke is exactly like that, but it could be the reason that the suits/adults found her difficult to work with.

[churched.livejournal.com]

Congrats on being Wiki'd! I only hope you get better treatment than Jorge Larrionda did after FIFA.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I don't know what I heard about that...

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

Amusing sidenote: Your birthday is the same as my boyfriend's. I won't ever forget it, now.

[gorgeousnerd]

My twenty-third birthday is next month, just four days before my little sister's wedding (which makes me feel oh-so-joyous, I'll have you know). And I'm much in the same place as you: I'm not employed and I can't drive, amongst other things, so I don't really feel like I deserve much of anything for my birthday. So *hugs* in your direction.