The Master of Verona

Tantalizing

I have been quite silent of late. Life is busy, and there are two new writing projects (or three, depending on how you count them) and one theatre project that I am being a trifle circumspect in mentioning. Why? Because until I have a contract in hand, I don't want to tempt the gods.

HOWEVER - there has been movement on ALL of them in the last week. One is the Roman novel, and the movement is internal - I've discovered a format that has been eluding me. Whether it stays or not, it's assisting me in creating the story, so it's lovely.

But the others - ah, the others! The movement is all external, with requests for more material coming from three separate sources. It's pretty cool, I gotta say. Now, there's a good possibility that none of it will come to pass, but at the moment two of the three are looking very promising. Hopefully by this time next week I'll have news to share, and then the posts will grow more frequent.

At least, until my daughter is born. Which could also be next week, or else the week after.

So stay tuned, ladies and gents. The fun is only starting!

ps - the hints are in the Categories

Muppet Shakespeare

I get a lot of hits by people Googling "Muppet Shakespeare", thanks to my two casting calls for MUPPET ADO ABOUT NOTHING and MUPPET KING LEAR. For those people, I now present this. (I got this thanks to the ever-amazing Shakespeare Geek, but rather than link to a link, I'll go direct.)

Strollerderby has a post including embedded video of the Shakespeare episodes of Sesame Street's MONSTERPIECE THEATER.

For the record, I've been quoting that Elmo-Hamlet bit for years.

Enjoy!

The Evil Big Blue Jet

Okay, I have a dark turn of mind. I'm aware of this, and most often I can keep it away from the brighter parts of my life.

But today I am convinced that the evil Big Blue Jet is controlled by Annie, the Little Einstein.

My son Dash adores two TV shows - the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Little Einsteins. And before someone out there gets their knickers in a twist, no, it's not Baby Einsteins. These are four little kids and their big red rocket (called Rocket) going off to have adventures. There's always a featured piece of music and a featured work of visual art, and they travel the world having silly "missions." It's not terrible. With one exception, which I will get to in a moment.

However, the creators must have decided there wasn't enough drama. Just as Mickey Mouse needs Peg-Leg Pete to hassle him, so the Einsteins needed some nemesis, some evil force that was always playing dirty tricks and messing up the Einsteins' lives. They created the anti-Rocket, Big Jet. Rocket is curvy and red, so Jet is angular and blue.

Now, we never see if anyone's flying Big Blue Jet (tinted glass). But my wife turned to me about a month back and said, "You know there are four evil children aboard. Evil genius children. Probably call themselves The Little Oppenheimers."

I laughed, but it got me thinking about the stories in a way that they were not meant to be thought about. How does Big Blue Jet always know what the Einsteins are up to? How does it know the exact route they're taking BEFORE they get there? Well, if there are four evil geniuses, maybe they could figure out the route. Maybe they're bugging the Einstein's HQ.

But this morning there was an act of sabotage on Rocket. His flight button was broken, just before the big race. And it dawned on me, "This has to be an inside job."

Now, there are four Little Einsteins. Leo is the leader, and he conducts the music. Then there's Quincy, who plays the instruments, and June, who dances. Finally, there's Leo's little sister Annie, who sings.

I have long held that Annie is the Einstein I'd like to vote off the Rocket. Her little made-up tunes to classical music are insipid. But worse, she's not the best singer of the group! The other Einsteins are far better than Annie, who is always a half-step flat. Naturally, Annie is Dash's favorite, prompting his mother to implore him, "Please, honey, don't ever date an Annie."

This morning I realized that Annie's bad singing is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Einsteins reputations. And she must be the one behind the destruction of Rocket's ability to fly.

Which means that Annie is in league with Big Blue Jet. The world is in grave peril. Spread the news. I only hope we're not too late...

Christmas Cheer

While Dash has fallen in love with A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (probably because I play Vince Guaraldi music through the year), I've been doing a marathon of Christmas films that aren't really about Christmas. You know what I mean - DIE HARD, THE THIN MAN, LETHAL WEAPON, etc. This before I watch the holiday classics like MIRACLE ON 34th STREET, WHITE CHRISTMAS, & THE BISHOP'S WIFE. Because seriously, there's more to the holidays than good cheer. Apparently there's a lot of ass-kicking and wise-cracking.

So while TV bombards you with reruns of holiday classics to make up for the dearth of new material (see United Hollywood for more WGA Strike news), go out and rent - don't download! - a good holiday mystery or action film.

Beacuse now I have a machinegun. Ho. Ho. Ho.

WGA Strike, Unions, and My True Colours

If I haven't been blogging this week, it's because there's some interesting family stuff going on, even as I finished three chapters of Book 3 and started my revisions on Book 2.

But in all honesty, all my internet time this week has been spent following the WGA strike.

As anyone who watches late night talk shows knows, the Writers Guild of America is on strike. Their demands are so astonishingly reasonable that it's only through their opponents' complete ownership of all major media outlets that the average American isn't out there on the picket line with them:

1) $.08 cents per DVD, which is double the whopping $.04 they make now, which was negociated in bad faith 20 years ago with the promise of an increase over time.

2) 1.5 - 2.5% of "New Media" meaning the internet and downloads. The corporations are claiming that they don't know the profitability of the internet (even as they impress their stockholders with their internet earnings). But that's the beauty of a percentage - if the company doesn't make money, neither do the writers. I think writers are willing to take that risk.

That's basically it. Those are the issues, and to avert a strike the WGA even removed the first demand from the table on Sunday. The AMPTP (film and TV producers) declined. They allegedly see the strike as a good thing - a way to break the WGA, DGA, and SAG once and for all, and clean house while they're at it.

There are a lot of great other sites covering this, and if I tried to express all my thoughts I'd be up all night writing this blog, rather than the next book. Allow me to point you to here, here, and here. These are sites I visit regularly, as Jan and I have been working on a TV pilot for the last year - the last six months a little more seriously.

Which brings us to why I'm following the strike so closely. There's been interest in the pilot. Which we cannot sell until the strike is over, as we will not cross picket-lines - even over the internet.

I actually called the WGA on Monday to ask a few ethical questions. They were very nice and we chatted for a time, despite the insane number of calls they were getting. I was the second novelist to call that morning. I was asking two questions, the first about selling the film rights to THE MASTER OF VERONA (they asked me not to), and the second about signing with an LA film/TV agent (they said go ahead, just don't shop the pilot to any studios).

Today I talked with an entertainment lawyer who said that the industry is shut down out there. His actual comment was, "It's a good time to be a novelist." He'll be walking the picket line on Monday to show solidarity with his clients. 

Clearly, since I'm in Chicago, there's no one here to picket. But for anyone who stopped by this blog to talk about books, or writing, or even to do their homework - take a second and check out the issues at stake.

This will not be over soon. So when your favorite show goes off the air, I suggest you watch BBC news, get involved in local politics, send a soldier a letter, send Hillary's poor waitress a tip, listen to WFMT, don't watch "Ellen", and don't download shows from the internet until this is all over.

Unions are hurting in this country today, mostly because of apathy and a feeling that their usefulness is behind us. Not so. Just because I belong to a particularly toothless union (Actors Equity), it does not diminish my belief in the concept. Teachers, Auto Workers, Nurses, Teamsters, IATSE - I support them all. Union leadership may not always be the wisest or best, but the Unions themselves are vital to holding back a new age of serfdom and indentured servitude in this nation. Unless you want Debtor's Prisons, breadlines, and riots, support your unions, folks.

Though I have a very mixed bag of beliefs, I vote Democrat by default these days. I am an FDR Democrat, a Truman Democrat - hopefully an Obama Democrat. I think rural electification and the building of dams and roads are good things. I'm in favor of cheap public transportation. I believe pensions are a moral as well as a legal contract, and cannot be erased. I honestly believe that single-payer health care is the only way to make our industries competetive in a global market - Ford and GM can't afford to pay for their workers' health costs when their overseas rivals don't. It's the same short-sighted idea of money now, debt later that is crushing the middle class.

On the other hand, I believe in states' rights, a fundamental right to privacy, and that every law (outside of violent crimes) should have a sunset clause and have to be renewed by the legislature. I actually admire the old Republican idea of less Government interference - I just have a different concept of what interference means. Nixon created the EPA, after all. But the only Republican who still believes in the Goldwater principles is Ron Paul - and he scares me. Just a little.

I have always said that I would love to be a Republican. I just can't afford it.

All of which reveals more of my colours than I intended when I started this blog. But one political rant in 18 months isn't bad. Still, I prefer debating Shakespeare and Dante and who was the best Shadow radio actor. Tomorrow, back to novels of tyrants and dictators and writers in exile - you know, fiction.

Until then, show writers you love them - wear red and read a book. I can reccommend a dandy...

Dexter

Today the boxed set for DEXTER arrives on DVD. For anyone who hasn't seen this Showtime original series, go out and pick it up. Grisly? Yes. Disturbing? Yes. Funny? Yes. Michael C. Hall is the most sympathetic, cuddly, and moving serial killer in history.

I've read the books, and this is one occasion where the film version is better. It has a lot to do with Hall, but even more to do with the wonderful writing staff, who have created through-lines and snappy dialogue for all of the characters. They also have a better sense of story arc than the novels - and a 10 episode season allows them to paint on a wide canvas without diluting the story, as a 22 episode season can.

I've already seen the first two episodes of the new season, and they're just as good as the first. It begins next month - I can't wait. Thank God I have the first season to tide me over...

Life On Mars

    Haven't had much time of late. Rehearsing two shows, working out, and being with the family has kept me away from the laptop. However, I have been able to indulge in a new obsession. Having run out of sweeping nautical epics to watch while on the treadmill, I have heeded the advice of that crusty sage, Steve Pickering, and begun watching Life On Mars. A BBC show that showed up last year, it's a cop-drama with a time-travel twist, stranding a modern detective in the 1973 Manchester police force. Just superb. I wish I had occasion to add, "You're nicked!" to my vocabulary.

     I finished watching the first series two nights ago, and I hope to get my hands on series two soon. Meanwhile, I received the third season of Deadwood for Father's Day. I've seen it before, of course, but it might be a good way to kill time until I can return to Mars. You can never get enough Deadwood - the vulgarity alone takes on Shakespearean proportions.

Cheers,

DB

Slings & Arrows

I mentioned the other day that I was watching season 2 of Slings & Arrows. Well, I stopped. Not because it's bad. It's a marvelous Canadian show about theatre - basically, a send-up of life at the Stratford Festival.

No, the problem is I know these people too well. Not the actors, only a couple of whom I've met. No, it's the characters. These are the people I work with, day in, day out. Theatre people, the good and the truly painful. And, for some reason, I'm having trouble watching something so close to theatre life on the screen.

Or maybe it's that season 2 revolves around Macbeth, and there are things in their production of it that are driving me crazy. Little things as well as major themes. Like when they're staging the banquet scene, the actor playing Mac delivers a line to a thane - "This is more strange than such a murder is!" Okay, he's freaking out after seeing the ghost, fine. Only that line has to be delivered to Lady M. Why? Because her next line is, "My worthy lord, your noble friends do lack you." It means he's not paying attention to his guests, he's being unaware of them - but they're not unaware of him. It's what brings him back to his senses, and he addresses them like a nearly sane man. The choice made in the rehearsal scene is bad theatre - but the kind of thing that happens all the time in the business, because actors and directors have ideas outside of the text. Fine, do what you want with it - but then, cut the line that belies what you're doing! Be consistant! Think about what comes before and after!

That's an example of the little thing. A big one is the discussion of Evil. They keep discussing the fact that Macbeth, the man, is evil. Eeeeevil. Evil from the top of the show, from his first line. They justify this by saying that he is far too easily swayed by the witches telling him he will be king someday.

Too easily swayed? Have they read the next three scenes? The witches put the idea in his head, and he's fighting it as fiercely as he ever fought on the battlefield - but he just can't rid himself of the image. If he's evil, why does he need his wife to encourage him? If he's evil, why does he talk himself out of it?

Most importantly, if he's evil, where is the journey? It's far, far more potent to have him be a good man, a valiant soldier, and worthy general at the start of the show. Then, driven by ambition, he commits murder - he kills Duncan, the king. Then, all at once, he sees murder as the answer to his problems. He shows this right away by killing the king's guards, who were drugged and so unable to testify against him. Yet he sees their deaths as the only way of staying safe. Then it's his best friend and godson. Then it's women and children. Then it's anyone who even talks of fear. The show is about his journey to becoming a blood-soaked madman, completely deprived of sleep, shaken at night by the deeds he has done, hoping to stop them haunting him by killing anyone who is a threat.

(Actually, thinking about it, this would've been a far more interesting journey for Anakin Skywalker. Because it's close. I laughed at the notion that he becomes Darth Vader because he has... bad dreams! But if he's driven mad by the blood on his hands, well, the only way to hide the spot is to kill a whole lot of people!)

Anyway, I think the Slings & Arrows writers were trying to inform the audience about the basics of Mackers, which is understandable. But still, there is no value in making Mac evil, or Evil. If he's bad to the bone from the time the play starts, there is no Tragedy in his demise. And we have to remember, this is the Tragedy of Macbeth, not of Scotland. It's him we're supposed to be caring about - and to do that, we have to take his journey with him.

This is the stuff that's swirling around in my brain as I prepare to play the part. Thanks for listening.

DB

Nautical work-out

I start rehearsals for Macbeth next week, and for the last fortnight I've been working out steadily, trying to get back into some kind of shape - six months of sitting in front of a computer and writing apparently results only in a ganglion cyst (see the earlier post).

So, when I'm not lifting weights, I'm on the tredmill. While I walk, I watch a movie. Currently, I'm on a sea-faring kick. It started with Captain Blood, then The Sea Hawk (which, unlike the former, has absolutely nothing to do with the novel of the same name - though I understand the Douglas Fairbanks version is quite faithful). And yesterday I wrapped up my little nautical festival watching Master & Commander again.

I just want to say, this film is a masterpiece. It didn't get the raves it deserved when it came out. Maybe everyone was feeling Crowe-fatigue, I don't know. But, man, this is a perfect film. Details, heart, a sweeping score, excellent action, real character depth - O'Brian would've been so proud.

My one sadness is not technically about the film, but the fact that there will be no sequel. I wanted them to continue the story, tell why the Acheron is chasing them, which is to capture the doctor (the incandescent Paul Bettany). In the novels, Dr. Maturin is a gentleman-spy for the English. I'd love to see that story-line played out on screen. In fact, there was a single nod to the fact in an early conversation between captain and doctor that I enjoyed. Nevertheless, I completely understand why they omitted this detail from the screenplay. Anything more and the film would've been burdened with too much story.

Speaking of which, all this maritime cinema should be egging me on to see the third Pirates of the Carribean film. But it's not. I loved the first one, which was far better than a film based on a Disney animatronic ride has a right to be. But the second one, which I saw opening day last summer, was such a mess! And I hear that this one is no better. Kudos to Depp for finally finding a franchise, but boo to the writers who threw far too many ideas at a lovely premise.

But maybe I'll watch the first one next, after a brief viewing of the second season of Slings & Arrows.

Cheers,

DB

Sequel music

Having completed the sequel, I wish to mention music once again. While staples like Peter Gabriel and Tori Amos were often in evidence, this book was finished with the musical aid of two very special, but quite different, contemperaries.

The first is Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the composer of the soundtracks to Errol Flynn's CAPTAIN BLOOD, THE SEA HAWK, and THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. His work on those and other films were the model John Williams used for, well, everything he's done. The rousing opening score, the personal theme for the major characters, the variations on both for action and romantic scenes. I own three collections of Korngold's works, and put them on a constant loop, at random. I was always excited when the score for the great escape from THE SEA HAWK came up, because when those liberated sailors burst into song, well, there's nothing cornier - or better.

The other composer is Benny Goodman. Turning away from the various albums I own, I put on a loop of his radio broadcasts. It's amazing - Krupa on drums, the Trio, the Sextet, the full orchestra, varying singers each week, with even Benny himself joining in. While the staples like Is Everybody Happy, In The Mood, et al are there, it's delightful to hear his Jingle Bells, Bobwhite, It Comes Out Here, and a dozen other popular tunes of the late thirties, as interpreted by the Goodman crew.

Thanks to these two men, the sequel was finished to a rousing and jazzy fashion.