Thoughts for the day

Childhood Hero

I met a childhood hero last night, Kenneth Cope perhaps better known as Marty Hopkirk from the 1960’s TV show Randle and Hopkirk Deceased. We are often told never to meet your hero’s because it can ruin how you thought of them or they may turn out to be arses.  This was not the case at all.  A nicer man you are unlikely to meet.  I’m lucky enough to be friends with his son Mark, so it was a very nice environment to meet him.  He insisted on buying us drinks and being just lovely, as are the rest of his family.  You can see that his wife is still thoroughly in love with him too, which is fantastic.  I’ve only ever really scene that with my mum ad dad before.  So I did something very different for me, I asked to have my photo taken with him!  Only Maggie Philbin has ever had that pleasure before.

He did point out that we both had big belly’s, reinforcing that I really need to do something about mine.

You’re Shit Sherlock

I watched about half of the first of the “New” Sherlock Holmes last night when I got back.  Am I the only person to think that this is awful?  Only upon reading some other reviews dis I realise what I suspected at the back of my mind.  That this was the work of the people that made Dr. Who? How badly cast is the new Sherlock? Rather then seeming calculated and  astute he comes off as arrogant and “pricklike”.  In Fact he is almost a carbon copy of the latest Dr. Who? in Casting.  The biggest shame for me is that this comes at a time when America is ruling the airwaves in good quality T.V. and we in the U.K. need to really step up our game.  The quality of writing needs to be improved, how we cleverly re-invent things certainly needs a kick up the arse.  I cant help but think if we are not careful all we will be known for is mediocre children’s television.  Holmes was never meant to be a toned down program akin to CSI-USA, its an adult story with actually very clever deductions, done in a way that is intriguing.   So what we have done is take the worst bits of successful American shows and carefully made them into a kiddies show, taking one of our greatest treasures with it.  The thing with Dr. Who when it was reinvented was that it could not get any worse.  The latest addition of SH?  Well it cant get much worse, so there is some hope that it can get better?

And how do the Americans Re-Invent Sherlock?

By making the brilliant television series “House MD”, they don’t use his name, its House rather then Holmes and Wilson over Watson.  Oh and they cast amazing actors too.  Yes they do have the budget, but its been proven time over, that that is not the be all and end all.  Just be clever with how you put things together.   The shame is that because we have been conditioned to poor, poor lazy writing and show making, this new show will be a success at least for a little bit.  And Martin Freeman?  I really liked him up to this performance.  Now I’d struggle to cast him, I think this may have damaged his career.  And the guy in the lead role, fucking hell, what are you doing on screen - you are appalling.  Let alone playing such an impotent character.  I’m dismayed.  We used to make such good television.  Soon all we will be know for is Top Gear, but I suppose at least the acting is better in that.

Laters,

Chalkster

My Turn

So yesterday Si was ruined by not being able to sleep, today it’s my turn, I’ve been up for at least a couple of hours now, and I’m going for a run in a couple of hours.  Hopefully that will invigorate me and perhaps I’ll have an effective day.  As it happens I’m watching an old Cybill Shepard in a TV adaption of the Martha Stewart Story.  It’s interesting mostly because I’ve been watching re-runs of Moonlighting, a hugely influential show on me, my writing and my directing [I only realised as I watched the re-runs].  Its weird though to see somebody age by nearly thirty years in just a few months.  On one program she is in her prime [making millions] and in the next she is old and scratching for work.

Some People

I often wonder how some people survive, I’ve been pulled into doing a free ‘charity’ video, that seams to me is not very charity, so we are not being paid for.  And here is the rub, as usual when doing a favor for somebody that you don’t really know, they keep pushing the boundaries if what they are getting for nothing.  It’s naturally this type of person that gets everything for free or little effort all their lives.  They seam to be missing some simple common courtesy’s like the words thank you or just the ability to remember your name.  What tends to happen is they get a less then impressive work from you because you stop caring.  Interestingly they will blame you and not look at the reasons the project has not been as good as it could have been: - Its their fault. Externalisers!

Laters,

Chalkster

Was on the telly last night

And I made sure that I didn’t watch it again.  I don’t go to the cinema anywhere near as much as I should or I want to.  Money at the moment is too much of an issue… And they don’t let dogs in. the point though is that I spent proper cinema going money watching this durge a few years ago.  That is time and money that could have been spent wiser, like in the toilet and on toilet role.

The thing is

I cant help slagging the film off because it is so poor.  I decided to look into some revues on IMDB and the people that do rate it highly seam to be rating it  as a great film, not because its a great film but because the people that made it financed it themselves.  One of the first rules of film making is that if you cant get somebody else to invest it’s normally because it’s not commercial or simply not good enough.  I’m not hugely experienced, so I get in experienced people to help me and learn from them.  Occasionally I may disagree and make a different choice, but not without listening and really exploring why you do something.  Open Water, breaks a lot of the rules and not in a good way.  What it did get was a healthy finishing fund (yup they still did the edit like that) and a huge marketing campain.  People went to see it because of the people that made it, not film and that is still the reason people like it.

Watch it again

If you liked it, I hate to make you waist that time again, but the second time around you will likely see it for what it is, a waist of money that could have been spent on real talent.  Don’t agree with me, then tell me what the director writer has done since.  Tell me what the actors have done, surley it should have propelled them to stardom if it is so good?  And It’s just been shown on ITV1!  Its disgusting.  Show the Maltese Falcon again, show anything but that!

Rant over!

Laters,

ChalkStar