I caught the premiere of First Time last Saturday. Under the circumstances Lyle had to work under, I think he did the best he could. They did their damnedest to hide the lack of acting from most of the cast, so much so that it's almost unnoticeable (almost). The cinematography is gorgeous; I especially love Neil's work in Erwin's episode. And there's this great scene where Joel Torre takes off his clothes in the middle of Quezon Ave, where you have no doubt that you're watching an ACTOR, and not an artista, and it feels good that there are still people like him working in this industry.
As for my episode: most of what's there comes from my script, though most of the dialogue has been changed. There's a whole other character, who was added a day before filming began, who had no lines since she didn't exist, so lines were chopped up and given to her so she'd have something to say. But a whole lot's been cut out, or wasn't shot at all, and it was most of the bonding scenes, too. Not bondage, you filthy bastard. Bonding. As in all the scenes where I tried to flesh out characters. But this is not Lyle's fault; I know where the fault lies and it unfortunately can't be helped because without the perpetrators there wouldn't be a film to begin with. There are two massive changes to the ending (which, thus, isn't mine): one I object to, the other I'm ambivalent about. I really enjoyed the montage where Diane beats the shit out of Christian. :)
Lyle's one of the nicest guys you'll find working in film. I sure as hell don't hold anything against him; he kept me informed all the way, and with the amount of shit he had to go through, it's amazing he was able to maintain his sanity to the end (though he himself might contest this). For some reason, he really values the input of his writers (a rarity among directors, especially those working here), which was something I appreciated (as did Erwin and Lyndon) and will never forget. It was an honor and a pleasure working with him, and I would do so again in a heartbeat.
"Sana sa susunod, wholesome na yung script mo para mapanood namin."
-- Neva's friend Dang, said with a smile, just a few hours ago.
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It just struck me what Friendster is: a giant hyperlinked slumbook. And I'm glad to say I finally hit my Friendster threshold. Which means that for a while, I admit, it was like a new toy and I played with it for hours on end, checking all the features and whatnot... remember when blogging was new, and you'd post every day, and check every chance you were online whether or not someone had left a comment, but now you could really give two shits and let it wait? Sorta like that. Though secretly I wish the charges would come in so I could just drop it altogether.
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Read this. It's a little disturbing, in a good way...
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There are some books at CCHQ that I keep looking at whenever I'm there, and When I'm Old & Other Stories by Gabrielle Bell was one of them. Finally I was able to get it last Saturday (and Neva got the handsome The Iron Wagon by Jason), and that night I check some websites for comics news and I discover... wait a minute...
She's cute!
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Charles Bronson died about a week or two ago. Then, just the other day, Johnny Cash, and surprisingly, John Ritter. Ritter was only 54, which is younger than both my parents, and can be a little frightening fact if dwelled on for too long. He couldn't really escape the shadow of Three's Company, could he? Last thing I saw him in was Felicity, where he played Ben's dad. He was damn good, too.
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Last week's bout with Badminton made me realize: I really, really miss Ping-pong. And I shall try to get my friends to bowl.
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Had my first post-grad anxiety nightmare! People have been telling me about this dream for ages, but I had my first one last night. I was the only one in class who didn't study for an exam (under Mrs. Rodriguez, no less... I was horrible in her class because my Tagalog vocabulary is severely limited to conversational, though I was always interested, really I was...) and was really going to pieces. Plus, the exam was in a room that felt like it was underground, with bad lighting, and, of all things, Alia was my proctor! But not any kind of proctor, she sat beside me and talked to me as I was taking the test! Just striking up a conversation, or watching a TV that was for some reason beside her. And I just wanted her to give me the answers because I was sweating bullets. Then I woke up.
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Cine Europa and the Australian Film Festival are coming up. If any of you want to waste an afternoon, let me know.
"This is Major Tom to Ground Control..."
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