Mixed Nuts

1. Bruce Springsteen

Bruce's live stuff from the 70's is electrifying. Listen to the passion and LIFE in 'Wings For Wheels', or heart and soul in those versions of 'Racing In The Street' from the late 70's. Nothing like it.

2. The Big Year

Is a very cool movie with terrific actors. I love people that have passion for the sake of passion. If you're passionate about film, I get it, but there are millions of us. But 'The Big Year'? The characters are passionate about spotting birds.

3. Julie & Julia, Helvetica

That's why I loved Helvetica. It was lots of geeks, obsessed with fonts. They see the world in helvetica, georgia and verdana.

'Julie & Julia' is a film based on a true story, about a woman who decided to cook every meal from a Julia Child cookbook, in one year.

Passion is unique, It's personal. Most people say they never find their passions. I think they do, they're just scared to stand up for them. Try telling your wife you want to go bird watching for a year, or that you're obsessed with fonts--- It's not an easy ride. But how freeing when we embrace the hobbies and passions we're drawn to.

4. Shame

I went to see SHAME with Anna. She's the coolest. We get each other. We know how to piss each other off and we know how to inspire one another.

'Shame' did not inspire us. The performances were good and New York looked great; but not much else worked for me. I like small, artistic films; but this one I just didn't really get. Couldn't care about it.

I do like Carey Mulligan though.

5. Bon Iver

Just discovered Bon Iver. It's good when you learn music can still be amazing. Not for everyone but certainly for me.

6. Composers

I'm still figuring out how to communicate best with them. I love music and always know what I want; but I have no skill to really get that across. I'm still working on that. We usually get there in the end, in spite of me.

7. Upcoming films

Should I be excited about anything? I'm not feeling it.

8. Peter James Smith is the judge for The KITFR Disaster Filmmaking competition. Results soon.

9. Interviewing one of my favourite directors soon, just working around our schedules.

Actually I'm free all the time, so It's his schedule. Anyway, he's awesome and you love his films and we're in for a treat when he does it.

10. Up in 5 hours. When will I learn?

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we were

long lost distant nights
somewhere else
and i was someone else
you're gone gone gone

long lost distant nights
all those places we called home
young and laughing
whispers of years gone by

long lost distant nights
coke cans ice cream vans
we used to be 24

long lost distant nights
were we ever really here at all?

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The Jim Carrey Bang and Swerve

I was introduced to an actor today, and about an hour later we were standing on the platform at Sloane Square station, heading the same way home. And we got to talking about Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler.

A bit before that, we'd been talking about the industry and acting-- he was really interested in what I had to say because he'd not done much screen acting and was on the hunt for some advice. He brought up Jim Carrey to challenge my concepts about 'natural' acting and the 'less is more theory'. After that I rambled about how Carrey's films are different, because the world that exists in his movies is different-- like with Sandler, or Will Ferrell, the films give them permission to be bizarre and over the top.

Anyway, that's not what this post is about. The interesting part came after we stopped talking about the craft (our jobs), and instead, randomly, started talking about our favourite Jim Carrey films and moments.

I shared my favourite Carrey moment, and I was in hysterics as I explained it -- and then it got funnier because I remembered how the scene made me and my friend Nick laugh back when we were in school many a year ago.

Here's my favourite Jim Carrey moment. It's in 'Dumb and Dumber'. Harry and Lloyd have stopped talking to each other-- they go their separate ways.

A few scenes later-- Harry is walking through the desert, alone-- and then in a wide shot we hear Lloyd calling "Harry! Harry!".

Then we see it: Lloyd on a tiny, pathetic scooter. Then there's a BANG, and Lloyd swerves and skids, and then....

The rest is irrelevant. THAT is my favourite moment. And the actor today was like "That's so specific!". But that's the point! That's what we love about movies, those little moments that stick.

'Dumb & Dumber' is hilarious and I find that particular scene masterful for numerous different reasons, there's just something quietly hilarious about it. You couldn't reproduce it, couldn't copy it. The magic is etched in a moment caught on film nearly twenty years ago. It's amazing to me how I can love a scene in such an exact way, and recall it so randomly and unexpectedly on a tube platform in London. And the actor guy GOT IT. And I also remembered Nick from school, and how we spent the whole of school just quoting that damn movie and laughing and laughing.

Aren't movies just magic?

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When You Are Self-Critical And Hating On Yourself

Remember that It's just acting! Only writing! It's play! Make believe!

Everyone produces really terrible work sometimes if not often.

Why all the misery? Why beat yourself up? It's just pretending, It's out in the playground making up stories.

Why so serious? Because it's your life's Passion? Then have a nap, and start fresh in the morning.

It's fun and games. We're movie makers, this is all!

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Emails In The Front Row

Been blown away by some of the emails I've received recently. Really makes me realise how lucky I am to have such wonderful readers; that's all I've ever wanted here -- to connect with people, to share a view of art in the world. 

Kid-

I am a big fan of your blog.  I am someone who has known that I am a writer since I was nine years old, but has spent the last 30+ years denying that's what I am, trying to fit in as everything but.  Somehow I expect you to understand that, although not many people do.  At any rate, after a prolonged dark night of the soul, I have chosen to be who I am, and write, because it's the only thing I know I'm good at, the only thing I truly feel good doing.

None of this was inspired by you.  However, once I decided to stop my life dead in its tracks and change directions, the first thing I did is start a blog:  www.thunderstrokes.com.  Shortly after starting my blog, I found yours.  Since the moment I first read it, your blog has inspired me both as a blogger and as someone who's trying to figure out how to live a creative life, after so many years spent ignoring my gifts. Your advice has been second only the best advice I have ever received, and that was from F. Scott Fitzgerald, who once recommended that writers "give the best part of their day to their writing." For me that meant getting up early, before the day had a chance to beat me down again, and I lost confidence in my abilities.

I feel compelled to let you know how much your writing means to me.  You are a fantastic writer, and a gifted voice.  I don't know who you are really, and I don't know that it really matters.  You speak with clarity and truth about writing in a way which encourages and challenges me to become a better, and more honest, writer.  I'm sure that's true for many, many people beyond myself. You deserve to know that.

Whether you check out anything I've written or not, I just wanted to make sure you knew how important what you're doing is to someone like me.  

And to tell you once again, thanks for being there.

Kevin Thorson

Hi Kid,

I just wanted to drop you a quick email to say how much I've enjoyed catching up tonight on the blog posts you published this week. I feel bad that you haven't got as many comments on them as I feel you should have but perhaps there are other people out there typing emails to you rather than putting comments directly under the posts; I hope so.

For me it has been one of those weeks where the universe seems hell bent against me and yet I'm still persevering and certainly today has been pretty rewarding creatively. 

I guess I just wanted to let you know that I read your posts whenever I get a minute to myself and that I do get a lot out of them. Thanks for putting them out there.

All the best,

Abbey

Dear Kid,

In the process of creating

More often than not

We seek validation

That we are worth

What comes out of what we create

Kid,

You taught me

The one person that needs to validate my work

Is myself

And only when that happens

Can we reach out and touch people's hearts

In places so deep

So within

You write for yourself

That's why others read it

Keep doing it

Because it reminds others to keep on keepin'

In gratitude,

Val 

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