Tag Archives: movies

August 27, 2025 · 14:06

The one we overlooked

That is at times the setting. I am watching a golden oldie. The movie is Outland (1981), a gem with Sean Connery. It has always been one of my all time favorites. So it was time to rewatch it. This movie is a gem made by Peter Hyams. And I think that after 44 years it might be time to make a newer version. It could be bolstered with additional settings. You see, at present the world has not fixated itself on Klaventium yet. It can only be found on Jupiter. It is a layer 8 element and those elements cannot be only be found in places where temperature and pressures tend to non-Human kind and Klaventium is apparently essential for cold fusion (it is at least 20 times more powerful than plutonium) as such we can embellish the storyline above what Peter Hyams originally wrote. His premise was good and should not really be messed with, but the setting that he gave us could not be set in a 3 hour movie, but with additional elements on Jupiter, the original was 112 minutes and it is a good setting, add the Jupiter factor and the special effects we have now, we can improve on the movie. Although, I really like the look the old space station had, but for Jupiter more is needed and that is now possible. The second problem is the actor. Sean Connery set a next level marker on ding that movie. I reckon that not many can equal this. As I see it, the only actors that could equal Sean Connery in this role are Tom Hardy or John Krasinsky. I reckon that the director should figure it out and perhaps Peter Hyams could take another shot at his work on the other hand this could be a nice challenge for his son John Hyams. And this could be another great idea for a global stream release. 

So to set the additional premise there are two ways (as I see it). In the first is the reconnaissance on space stations and additional medical settings could be added. The setting of the additional field (on Jupiter) is a new stage of technology and in that there is the setting of Jupiter station where the hitman come from so you get two additional settings. The space station around Jupiter, the drill site in Jupiter (it is all space shuttles that connect to the drill devices) and the space station. In addition to this is the operational settings on IO station and as such that is basically all my mind can thinks off as the original is still good after 44 years. The shuttle could use some details, but more about the embarking/debarking settings then anything else. 

A stage where we see corporate greed and drugs is good, but the additional settings could be industrial espionage. If you are willing to do one, the next step is really easy. So as the people see the Big bad wolf (greedy corporate shark) the industrial espionage becomes easy. Although that is not a given. I always had reservations about the deputy as he comes in at the final moment. He could be the industrial espionage plant as I see it, a two level setting where the corporate dodo (played by Peter Boyle) is not the Industrial spy, but Sergeant Ballard (played by Clarke Peters) is, He brings his own hit team to muddy the waters and to take out both players (the sheriff and the hit team), The sheriff has to take both out and in that mean time find out what the Jupiter mission was all about. We get two rings of disco era and whilst they are intertwined only the last segment gives us that there were two stages to it all. 

That is all I have for now, but I reckon that Peter Hyams can talk to Junior (that’s funny) and get it all sorted. So, another idea by yours truly. For now I am taking a rest, then I will focus on another IP setting (if I get the upper had over DARPA with 9 field goals I’ll be happy).

Have a great day (still yesterday in Vancouver and Los Angeles)

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August 7, 2025 · 09:59

Simpsons epic vacation

Yes that happens, we all have vacation, but this one has a difference. The vacation is already sold out, a year in advance. And in comes a hero shaped like Bart Simpson (aka Tom Holland) and he is accompanied by grandpa Simpson (aka Matt Damon) there is a princess involved played by Zendaya, it might be a coincidence, but Tom Holland is her +1. Bruce Wayne is involved (Robert Pattison) So as the story goes about grandpa getting home to son and wife we get to see a abundance of types and people. OK, this is as much damage as I can get away with (and stay alive) against the setting of the journey home of Matt Damon. As such this is the book about the journey home after they sacked (also destroyed) Troy, which can be seen in the 2004 movie Troy. 

So why am I talking about this?
A few months ago I saw the announcement that tickets are already being sold a year in advance for the IMAX version of the movie. I desperately want to see it, but I have to save my coins to afford that ticket and there will be a showing in Sydney (one in Australia and I reckon Sydney gets it) there are also more codes according the CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/christopher-nolan-1.7597788) these are 16 in the U.S., six in Canada, two in the U.K., one in Australia and one in the Czech Republic, according to the source that gives us ‘Sellouts for Nolan’s The Odyssey shows audiences’ hunger for movies projected via film’, I want to go as Nolan’s movies are awesome. The last time I went to the IMAX was a decade ago to see the 3D version of Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. That movie was so amazing that it still caresses the retina’s a decade later. I also got the Blu-ray of that movie and I love it, but it can never compete to the 3D IMAX experience. As such it is time to see that youthful young sprout shine on IMAX (I did mean Christopher Nolan). 

So why?
I reckon that most people have the same setting. To see the works of Christoper Nolan on IMAX is pretty much a must and to see what Christoper Nolan makes of this classic work is stimulating the ‘must see’ vibe in my blood. In addition to see what can be made from a 1400 year old story is one you just have to see and the crowds are set on seeing it to, at least the thousands that will go to see it in the 26 IMAX theaters. 

One might think that it will make Homer rich, but as his bones have turned to dust, it is un likely that he will see a penny of this. There is a side of the CBC article that I tend to reject. It is “The rush could be interpreted as a rejection of near-ubiquitous digital screenings in favor of the analog appeal of celluloid.” I don’t think the writer is wrong, the writer is merely incorrect. Apart from the IMAX experience, there is the setting that we have been bashed to near death with Marvel and DC movies. Don’t get me wrong, I like these movies too, but when did you last see an epic movie? For me it was the Avatar movies and they do have their own appeal. Then we get Gravity, Kingdom of Heaven and Apocalypto. These movies are rare to say the least and to get the advance tickets of a movie like that (optionally a week before anyone else sees it has appeal), massive appeal. 

The reason for my attention to this is the fact that the movie is already sold out a year in advance and the fact that it comes to IMAX, and the fact that it is the latest Christopher Nolan experience. The fact that this movie is nothing less than star studded is merely icing on the cake. And it is a bonus for all the actors (actresses too) that are involved. Christoper Nolan expects excellence and the fact that an actor is involved shows us that these are real stars (if that expression is allowed), so I will try to get a ticket in a few months, but in the end I might have to wait until the movie is released. The article has a lot more than I looked at, it is a nice trivia of IMAX to behold yourself. As such there is a risk that you might want to get a ticket yourself and it will be money wisely spend.

Have a great day today.

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July 27, 2025 · 21:42

Forgotten greats

That is where I saw myself. Thinking of a near forgotten great. It was 1935 and a relatively unknown director (in those days) it was his second movie for a new firm and that movie, the setting have been burned into my memory for over half a century. It takes a lot for something to happen to anyone. I am talking about the 39 steps. Even in 1935 the dangers of industrial espionage were seen as monumental and today this is worse. So as I see it. Based on the book by John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir the movie by many that matter is seen as an absolute masterpiece (one of them is Orson Welles). As such I see a setting where someone can sort of rewrite the story to be more contemporary. The indication quote given in the movie is “The 39 Steps is an organization of spies collecting information on behalf of the foreign office of…” and we never heard the end because mr Memory was shot at that point in during the public performance. The act out of clear fear is a setting that should not be underestimated. Now, I would love to have a bite at that, but I already have three more running originals, one is a miniseries, one is a story in three seasons and one is an open endeavor spanning 3-4 seasons for now. As such my hands are full and the first work hasn’t even been sold yet. That one is a movie meant for Arabic streaming channels. As such, I need to hand it over to someone who feels frisky to go up against a great like Alfred Hitchcock. Trying to equal this masterpiece is already a herculean task, surpassing it will be close to impossible, but do try, I challenge you.

Consider the settings we have now. NIP (Near Intelligent Parsing), ‘AI’ advertisements by Facebook (or Meta) and that is merely the start. We have woke ‘idiots’ and we have religious nuts, take in measure the settings of a political administration that shoots itself in the foot, the disability of acting out against Russia and everyone is considering the yellow peril (aka China) setting the new frontier. All elements that can make a massive impact in a storyline. 

So as we consider the IP that is starting to make waves (Hyper-loop, AI (aka NIP)) and that is intertwining in western, eastern and Arabic settings. If that doesn’t make for a compelling story, it is out of my hands. Oh, and before you think it is merely governments. Consider the settings that Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok and Huawei take on the global stage. And they all want the same thing whilst aiming for similar goals. 

I think there is enough space for a rewrite of the 39 steps, the politics, business and technology are setting the stage that all want to ‘enable’ empowering that setting. And even as the 1935 original was merely implying that setting. Consider that we were given this month “Chinese theft of American IP currently costs between $225 billion and $600 billion annually.” Yet that is a two way stream. As I see it, the west has close to nothing to counter the innovations of Huawei and there is more. So what happens when a ‘dedicated’ corporation merely sets the goals towards profits and become the axial of all this? A sort of SMERSH in real life (like Bond faced in the 60’s) but there is no need for Mr. Memory. So what happens when data sets are given to OpenAI (or ChatGPT) and that system links (falsely or not) the parts that matter? So what happens to the overseers of such a system? I am merely opening doors for someone to pick up the quill and parchment (a laptop is so passé) but the idea comes across I hope. And considering last week, news with the alleged hacks by Violet Typhoon, this movie plot could thicken.

So what happens when that is the setting towards the conclusion, the middle is the start and during the movie you get start to middle in segments and that goes towards the conclusion of someone getting to the end of the story. My idea is that this could make a magnificent movie with a woman in the lead. Perhaps Florence Pugh, Jenna Ortega, Sydney Sweeney, Anya Taylor-Joy, Saoirse Ronan, or Elle Fanning could be cast. You see, this needs to be a ‘younger’ actress. As I see it under 30. A side story would be that she is into climbing, a loner that is driven to succeed in her IT/Consultancy job. Oh and these are merely characters I know off, there are plenty of actresses that could apply. I am merely thinking of the type, not the exact character and I think that this is meant for the one taking up the baton. Would be great if a Canadian or Nordic picks up that challenge. And I got a few more ideas. It could be set against actual political events of 2025. As I see it, this movie makes a massive impact if the movie starts with:

This movie is entirely fictional, any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental

As a wink to the 1932 claim against MGM is entertaining enough, but when you base this on 2025 events it will gain traction by millions of conspiracy theorists who will drive the movie along making a lot more interested in seeing this work.

A simple setting that should make Alfred Hitchcock wink at the writer and director, in equal measure Orson Welles would applaud the setting as it is a wink towards The Night That Panicked America and the October 30 1938 broadcast it was based upon. It was one hell of a peekaboo. 

I reckon this can be done again and nicely on the bog screen. So if you reckon to be a script writer, here is your chance.

Have a great day. Another fine idea released before Monday morning.

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July 10, 2025 · 10:25

That old song

That happens, we are at times driven to an old song. Something we sang before, or a song we heard others sing and it is a catchy song. That happened to me mere hours ago when Hacked OFF (https://www.hackedoff.org/) gave me ‘20 years after 7/7, victims of terror are still not protected’ (in an email) and as Paul Dadge states “Victims of press abuse feel let down and betrayed, and victims of terror are still not protected from being hacked and intruded on by the press.” I saw this years ago and I had a proper response (the other idea to shoot them in the head was instantly rejected by myself). You see, the media needs money and as the media is becoming ever pressured by peer pressures, they have to keep on adding the pressures. At first I thought that there was no real solution, but I got to thinking (I do that at times) and as I saw the desperate movement to digital dollars and revenue I saw a solution. You see, what is possible that judges can set the media, towards a new profit driven revenue and as such these people lose there tax exempt setting. Those ‘media’ dodo’s relying on 0% VAT now become fully VAT responsible. A month for every transgression. As such they will face a new adversary, not that pussy organisation called IPSO, but the MP of the victim and a group of three judges, one from the district the victim is in and two additional judges. They decide the fate of the transgressor and when found guilty that Media outlet will face the 20% VAT on the revenue they have that month. So these publications, like magazines, and newspapers will face the brunt of the VAT from 0% (I think it is 20% in the UK at present) and there is no hiding behind the people have a right to know. When you transgress on the privacy of people you get to pay the price. There might be a few snags in my way of thinking, but the publications that this is bound to happen we get to see all these media people crying like little bitches, just like they did at the time of judge Sir Brian Henry Leveson.

Even if it doesn’t come to pass, we can TikTok and Youtube the hell out of these media alleged transgressors and if we learned something in this last two years than it is that they are feeble and money hungry, suddenly lose 20% a month at a time and they might consider being a little more ethically acceptable towards the mess they made themselves.

Just my take on the matter and I reckon even if Nathan Sparkes, Hugh Tomlinson KC, Dr Rosa Malley, Emma Jones, George Eustice, Hugh Grant, Jacqui Hames, Mandy Garner, Professor Paul Wragg, Professor Steve Barnett, Terrence Tehranian don’t think it is achievable or practical, they will go into the weekend with a giggle and a big smile. Isn’t that worth reading this article? 

It also serves as deterrent as the masses of the world are looking for larger solutions to keep the media in an ethical place. Just my 0.0284 cents on the matter (2 cents adjusted for inflation).

Have a great day today.

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June 11, 2025 · 09:44

The dangers of a wannabe

Yes, that is the setting. I got rather annoyed by some guy named mr. Dom Riley. He writes (at https://winteriscoming.net/hbo-s-harry-potter-reboot-shows-the-limited-potential-of-the-franchise) the simple title ‘HBO’s Harry Potter reboot shows the limited potential of the franchise’, it is one of the most flawed settings. Not as bit as the stupid girl, who gave Hogwarts Legacy a 1/10 rating, but it is getting close. With the quote “HBO’s decision to remake Harry Potter rather than take the franchise in a new, original direction shows the limitations inherent to the Wizarding World.” It is not that simple, the larger setting that HBO is limited by greed is another thing. Why take chances on what could be (like Ubisoft milking the Assassins Creed franchise with Black Flag) we are given more of the same in a new jacket with cheaper actors (who reveal at the chance to be immortalised by the Wizarding World setting). This is nothing against these actors, if I were a mere 10 years old, I would jump at that chance. The setting is that it is not on the Wizarding World, it is on HBO. There is (of course) a setting that each seasons is a year and as such we are likely to get a lot more, but what if that is below par? I am not telling you, I am merely asking you. You see, the movies are great. The art of the movies were great and the setting is one that almost defies logic and it makes the entire setting re-watchable. Likely as JK intended it to be. It is my believe that she intended to create books that grew as the child grew, so it is a series that entices from 10-18 all in one go. 

So when I see “The Harry Potter book series is less than 30 years old, so it’s not exactly ancient. It’s been almost 25 years since the first movie, and just 14 since the movie series was brought to an end with Deathly Hallows Part 2, so it seems a little early for what is essentially a remake (or re-adaptation), especially as it comes from the same studio. Why not do something different? Is it possible that there’s only so much potential in the franchise?” My first question for Mr. Riley would be “When did you last have your sanity checked?” At what point did you ask what HBO was thinking? At what point did you wonder where the IP of JK was allowed to be? She wrote the books, HBO and others are merely fleecing their greed of a well set IP franchise. The only real original IP comes from Avalanche Software called Hogwarts Legacy and was published by Portkey games. It is an astounding game that has drive, originality (I wrote about it a few times) and an amazing story, so much so that I had to replay it 3 times to cover all the four houses. The game is that good. In addition, I wrote ‘It starts with options’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) offering an additional setting to Hogwarts Legacy 2 and giving the player an additional ‘stage’ for the game. Don’t try to buy it as it is at present the property of JK Rowling.

I am just saying that there were additional settings that HBO could employ, but as far as Mr. Riley tells us, they didn’t do that and he is merely (most likely stupid) and flawed as I created original new IP as did Avalanche software. As such winter might be coming, but it should be seen in the brain of the writer, not in the IP that surrounds the Wizarding World as that is up to scratch and amazing in many ways. 

I don’t go about slamming people, as they are entitled to their views, but this was one straw to many (camel is broken) and that is merely the start of it as I wrote at least one more article preceding that (which is also owned by JK Rowling) and it took me less than 4 hours to write both articles. (I reckon less than three, but that would be too close to the mark), so in 4 hours I dug a hole for HBO and Dom Riley to hide the caskets of their non-originality. 

In part I wrote it to remain creative (and I did) and should JK hand over that IP to Avalanche to add to the thrill of Hogwarts Legacy 2, it would be up to her.

And here I get the next setting where keeping a blog gives the reader the evidence that others ‘hide’ behind ‘I told you so, don’t you remember?’ The blog has a nice temporal setting and I have ben adding to that since 2011. There is no need to go on for 14 years of reminding people, it is set to the internet. And as such I feel that the larger setting is that if it isn’t written down it doesn’t exist. 

Have a great day

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May 22, 2025 · 15:02

The line of a story

That is at times the premise we attend to. This is not bad, not wrong. It merely is, as such we get to The Union. I only saw it last night, no biggie. I just had other things on my mind and after 35 minutes I had worked out part of the plot. Don’t get me wrong this is not a bad thing, or me dissing a movie, which I almost never ever do. The cast Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, JK Simmons, Mike Colter and Jackie Earle Haley all play marvelous, a setting worthy of watching (and rewatching). The movie has its set of special effects, but they do not overwhelm, or seemingly steal the show. Yet the final member of this crew should also be mentioned. It is David Guggenheim who wrote the script and it is was turned into a great movie. 

As I see it, it is the most fun I have had watching a movie this year. There is a reason this is a great movie and as such we need to watch these kind of movies a lot more as I see it and Netflix, always ready to cater to the needs of their audience, is building a production site in New Jersey. So, as we were given a week ago that ‘Breaking Ground on Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth, Our State-of-the-Art Production Facility in New Jersey’ we can expect a lot more in 2027 and 2028. As I see it, the loss of the coming franchise of True Lies (with Arnold Schwarzenegger), will surely be missed. Yet at this point the Union might be a worthy replacement and team Berry-Wahlberg is likely to be a sure attention grabber for Netflix customers and wannabe Netflix customers. 

The weird thing is that this might be the first setting where Streaming would have had the upper hand over big screen releases, even though this was a worthy big screen release. Yet another mention of Mike Colter. He plays an absolute prick in this movie and soon there is likely another path for him in the movies. He might be remembered for the stern Luke Cage, and not everyone was a fan, but this role here, he nailed it with a hammer to the top of the Chrysler building. You will love to hate him and with that fashion sense he showed, he absolutely should be 😛

There are too many little details in the movie to give you a rundown (and I don’t want to spoil the fun), yet as I see it, even though Rotten Tomatoes gave it a mere 38%, I get the idea that some people miss the point. It is called Action/Thriller, I think there is too much comedy in it, to merely see it as such and the few times we see the Australian Jessica De Gouw run around seemingly British (her accent is nearly impeccable) the truth of the matter is that they all played their roles really well and there is enough tongue in cheek settings to merely sit down and enjoy the fun on your screen with a nice snack on the side. As I see it Netflix owns a very new and nice IP that is good for at least a few more movies. 

So feel free to check it out and make sure the snacks are at your hand to eat whilst you enjoy this work of art. Have a great time watching this movie (if possible).

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May 9, 2025 · 11:54

The end of defense

That is the setting that SBS (at https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australias-big-question-in-donald-trumps-movie-tariff-threat/apjiwwsr0) invites us to consider. You see, in the eyes of the ‘true blue’ democrats, the message becomes You cannot set the stage to an orange overtly bully baboon and perhaps they actually had the right notion. At some point it is pointless to merely play the defensive stage. In Pencak Silat I learned decades ago that defense without offense if pointless and offense without defense is useless. So it is time to up the game. No matter how stupid the actions of President Trump are seen, the game needs a boost and he gave us the perfect reason. And as ‘their’ presentations give us, California is at present the richest area. As such the link gives us ‘Australia’s $767 million question in Donald Trump’s movie tariff threat’ there is an upside and a downside. You see, the Commonwealth might see this as an opportunity, consider the Australian acting community (Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne and many more), the Canadian (Ryan Reynolds, Nathan Fillion, Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley) and many more and last but not least the United Kingdom (Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Tilda Swinton, Kate Winslet, Emma Thomson) and many many more, Agree that they will no longer work in American productions. They will seed the field for each others areas. So how long until the investors back away from America and Hollywood? How long until DC, Marvel and other franchises build their own studios (likely in Canada) outside of the US? 

It isn’t fair on these people, my view is that they made with one film more than most people will ever make in their life. (I should know as I hoped that Matt Damon would pay me $3,000,000 post taxation for one of my scripts and I have always prided myself of being a fair return on investment). Still it is not really fair on them, but it is an offensive move and it is one I just came up with. I reckon that Canada and Australia have the ability to mirror the English setting and create two distinct area of expertise. If America gets desperate they could always fund the Nigerian movie industry who is almost dying to expand. 

At this time (if enough people agree) America will get the White House under control with their desperate tariff settings. Consider that this President has shown to be a dictionary of two words (golf and tariff), as such I believe the time has come to start becoming proactive, this defensive actions to knee jerk reactions from Washington is upsetting the balance of established settings. The world is in too much trouble. At times this seems to be set to a old  premise that a comedian gave us (I forgot his name). “Lets put all the extremists in one room, the extreme right and the extreme left and let them expire each other”, it is slightly radical but in this day and age it might just work. 

So consider “This week, Trump announced he would be pursuing a 100 per cent tariff on all movies “produced in foreign lands”” next, consider that the bulk of the American movies get over 50%, sometimes as much as 70% from foreign lands. So should that be lessened by these tariffs? It is easy to think that it is all America, but that isn’t true. When all these non-American movie theaters pull their American settings, California becomes less in income than most other states and they still have the producing costs coming their way. In that time Canada and Australia grow their business and grow with aid from the UK. Then consider all the movies based on non-American scripts and novels. The setting enhances against America. A setting I saw within 600 seconds, so why aren’t the game play makers in politics? 

Is my plan flawless? Never a lessened truth was that obvious, there are flaws which starts with the national movie industry, but it might be a first step in getting President Trump of all our backs and that is never a bad thing.

So as we seemingly embrace ““The movie industry in America is dying a very fast death. Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform over the weekend.” Is that our fault, or is that the fault of free driven wannabe’s in Movieland? I seemingly might be one of them with my script (and 3 more on the road to completion, which is a story for another day). Consider that at present is set to “The number of movie scripts registered annually varies, but a rough estimate is around 50,000 screenplays registered with the Writer’s Guild of America each year.” All whilst a mere 350 make it to the screen. So is this a numbers game, or is it a quality game? 50,000 scripts implies 136 scripts a day are pushed to some producer pool and they are tired, going for amounts, not for quality. All hoping for a next dime, but there is always a snag hitting up and they wonder why America’s movie industry is dying? I reckon that Netflix, Disney plus, and others aided in that impeding death.

It is time to up the ante and nationalizing our acting guilds, movie producing guild and studio guild might be the way to go go about this (might is the operative word) but the tariff game is over, apart from the small fact that America might be already too broke to consider another matter. Oh, and I never took the Korean or Japanese market in consideration, so the problem is worse for America. As I see it, the offensive game might become the way to go, even if it is the only way to consider that whomever gets into the White House has a much larger vocabulary and ‘tariff’ is not one of them words. 

So feel free to disagree, but consider the setting the UK market has had for decades, Canada and Australia has shown to grow it in the last few decades and consider the stars you revere, are they all American? 

Have a nice day, a great one if possible and reconsider the setting you are confronted with, what is the actual solution? I am not sure what is.

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April 14, 2025 · 07:33

And now for a momentous occasion

Yes, it was a momentous occasion yesterday. For the people of my generation (that would be the generation that is old and decrepit), Yesterday it was the 50th anniversary of Monty Python. I got told this by the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250407-how-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-became-a-comedy-legend). I completely forgot that it had been so long. I was there, in front of my TV when the birth of Monty Python was shown to us on a 4:3 screen and I saw it on a black and white TV. Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin with additions from Terry Gilliam showed us a totally new concept in Television. They called it comedy and it was magnificent. 

OK, I have to make a slight adjustment. It was 50 years since their masterpiece Monty Python and the holy grail came out. The TV series are older. Still, we forget the larger picture. The movie made them globally funny, the TV was (in those days) often limited to Europe (mainly UK, Netherlands, Belgium) but the movie made them a global household name. These younger pups think that comedy comes from some guy named Steve Carell, what do they know? Apparently a marketeer from Dutch Barn disagrees, but I have no idea what that is about. And now that idea might never have worked, there is word that the youthful young Jim Halpert played by John Krasinsky was taken to a quiet place by his wife, so that’s that. And what do those people know? Monty Python was here first and it was magnificent. I remember those days. I was one year too young for the movie (14 years and older) but I became a knight who said ‘ni’ as well. I saw it a year later and it was magnificent. Of course I already knew Monty Python from TV and as such The TV characters were known to me but yesterday’s article brought it all back to the surface. Read it, it is a really good article. For one, I never knew that funding was a bit of a problem and the legendary band Led Zeppelin brought the bread to the table. We get from Michael Palin: “I say to people, ‘Led Zeppelin gave us £50,000 – and look where they are now.’” Apparently Pink Floyd also aided in the support of the movie. And it was money well spend. I still have the movie on DVD (I had the VHS tape as well) and it was the beginning of a great comedy movie franchise. And the setting of “the film’s budget was less than £300,000 ($393,000). This wasn’t much for a sweeping fantasy set in medieval Britain, so the team had to be inventive.” The realisation that that little money got a movie made that is still a character a timeless humor is to be revered. A movie that is hopefully still bringing in the pounds, shillings and dimes and it would have been doing that for 50 years. Today the average comedy like Evan Almighty is almost forgotten after 20 years, I enjoyed that movie and several other from him, he is a good actor, but the setting of 50 years is something completely different. It matters, and it brought a nice dish to the table. In the end the actor who played the Rabbit of Caerbannog was later served as Rabbit au vin and he was completely forgotten 2 days later, except for the eater, who caught indigestion for at least a week. Things happen.

Still, this milestone brings feelings to the surface, happy feelings and it was brought about by 7 youthful young individuals that went on shaping the stage of comedy. Later Terry Gilliam would blow my socks away with Time Bandits, Brazil, and later “12 monkeys” with Bruce Willis. 

Happy are feelings of those who bring is joy and the Monty Python team brought us a lot, including the thought that every sperm is sacred, so ladies don’t forget. 

Have a great day and if you haven’t seen Monty Python and the holy grail, try to see it this week, it will be the best thing you will have done all week.

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December 9, 2024 · 18:47

To box office, or not to box office

That is the question and the question is valid as the movies opened up in 2018 with a revenue of $2.6m, seems little but in the few years that passed, annual revenue went up to a quarter of a billion, as such screen daily kept an eye on the Saudi market (at https://www.screendaily.com/features/is-saudi-arabias-box-office-boom-over-or-set-to-rise-again/5199910.article) in that same setting I created the script ‘How to assassinate a politician’ about the assassination of Islamophobe Geert Wilders (the current prime minister of the Netherlands) the alternative title was ‘Essay’ (I came up with that later). I aimed it for the Arabic (Saudi Arabia/UAE) market. I contacted 2-3 player, but I never heard back from them. I thought that through streaming they could also get to the Egyptian market (as well as the Indonesian markets) The ‘bad vibe’ feelings in Indonesian markets might be well received. A Dutch politician getting the Sukarno treatment might keep Indonesian people on their couch watching the demise of the Prime Minister five times over. Anyway, those were my thoughts and it seems that they didn’t agree with me. Still the setting remains. As we get “At least one of the major exhibitor groups operating in Saudi is said to be exploring a possible sale amid high debt levels incurred during its rapid expansion. Last year, AMC Entertainment Holdings, the world’s biggest cinema chain, exited the Saudi market in the face of intense competition, selling to Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven), which is operated by the government’s Public Investment Fund.” The intense competition was why I tried the streamers as a possible interested party. We can think box office all we want, but in the end, the people need to be entertained at home. The last time I went to the cinema, it was $19 for the movie and popcorn and a soda set me back another tenner. That’s three months of Netflix. I reckon we need to consider the home office and for a lot of Saudi’s (as well as Indonesians, Egyptians and people in the UAE) the same setting is looming. It is not that streaming is better, it is merely more affordable. Now that Apple is getting more into Saudi Arabia, it will be soon that Apple TV is coming too (or already there). And with the setting of “Bidding wars for titles from major US sellers were common, but less so now. Minimum guarantees have dropped as a result, reflecting the reality of a market that has levelled out. “When Saudi opened up, almost any film would work. But now audiences are a lot more selective,” says the executive.” Makes me feel that there is still a chance of my script making it to the screens of people. The movie plays part in the Netherlands and part in Dammam (no real reason why I chose it) and one scene in Iran. The setting of a movie that deals with islamophobia was appealing to me, because it is something nearly any Islamic person is exposed to (especially in Europe) and as such I created an idea with my copy of Final Draft (given to me for that reason) and a stronger view is given with “One bright spot is the market for Arabic-language content, particularly from Egypt. The figures underline the executive’s point: the top five box-office films of the year so far include two Egyptian titles (action drama Sons Of Rizk 3 and romantic comedy Gawaza Toxic) and one Saudi comedy (Shabab El-Bomb). According to Comscore, Egyptian titles now account for an impressive 25% of the Saudi market, while local Saudi features have a 7% share. US films, by comparison, take 53% of box office in the country.” My movie is not in Arabic, but it was designed with the stage of an Arabic version in mind. I merely lack the language skills to make it directly in Arabic. Now I see that this setting is given with “Egyptian titles now account for an impressive 25%” gives me hope that my final curtain call is not here yet. Yes, it is hope because I had never written a script before this and as I look at the tally where beside ‘How to assassinate a politician’ I am working on ‘Kenos Diastima’ (a TV series in the making), ‘Engonos’ (TV series in the making) and ‘Residuam Vitam’ (mini series in the making). I created these series partly to keep my writing skills up and it wasn’t until ‘How to assassinate a politician’ had formed more completely in my mind that I decided to make it in a script (in Final Draft) and when I started pushing that title did I start to set the blackboard for ‘Residuam Vitam’ which is still forming. 

And as we see this we also need to take notice of Adon Quinn, CEO of Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas, believes that Arabic content can help drive future growth. I am willing to agree, but that is really in my favour. You see it is nice that things go to cinema (happy to help), but I reckon that the streamers in the UAE (Dubai Media) and Saudi Arabia (Aloula) will make the larger difference. The need for Egypt and Indonesia seem clear and Indonesia with a population of 277 million potential viewers should not be underestimated. As Quinn tells us “He points out the wider Saudi box-office slowdown echoes what has happened in markets around the world this year. Its main cause, he says, is the depleted supply of content caused by Covid and last year’s Holly­wood actors and writers strikes. “The strikes had a big impact on the first half of 2024,” he observes. “We’ve seen when the right content is there, the audience is there.”” But he also exposes a problem. The depleted supply is seemingly due to Hollywood. Still tapping the Canadian, Swedish and western European markets might not be a bad idea. Especially as California is about to get a few additional issues and they are not yet polarised into tinseltown (Hollywood). 

There are definitely options for the Arabic market, but I reckon that the streamers will have a much better time they do not need a movie distribution system and they can get a lot of traction roping in a potential viewing group of well over 400,000,000 people. You can fish in a barrel, but the same barrel holding either 400 million or a mere 35 million, that is the setting as I see it and as I have noticed Dubai Media is ready to get on board with that setting (I saw it was ‘proclaimed’ by certain individuals on LinkedIn). 

The market is where you cater to it and I thought it was a good idea to cater to the Arabic markets. Have a great day.

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November 23, 2024 · 20:11

Reinvention

That is the thought of the day. We all reinvent ourselves. Shakespeare was reinvented several times through Hamlet in movies and plays. I particularly liked the version with Ethan Green Hawke. I liked the approach of an adaptation that kept the Shakespearean dialogue but presents a more modern setting, with technology such as video cameras, Polaroid cameras, and surveillance bugs. It makes for an amazing view in a new setting. I like it because someone took the trouble of reinventing the play, not merely the stage of the play, but reinventing the concept of the wheel. I like that. We can have version after version but when you make the car it drives a hovercraft it becomes something else entirely. Who would have guessed that the series I loved as a kid (Battlestar Galactica) could become the stuff of legends by Ron Moore. He pulled it off. What was just a decent dreary thing kids loved would become the version adults would revere. Lorne Greene was the version we adored when we were young and was decades later replaced by Edward James Olmos. The lieutenant that stood standing next to Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas became the stuff of legends as he gave greatness as William Adama (callsign “Husker”). Reinvention does that and as I see it, I gave the BlueRay a 96% rating, one of the highest rating I ever gave a TV series. As such reinvention is key to decades of entertainment. It enabled me to create the movie ‘How to Assassinate a politician’ (aka ‘Essay’). From there I started the stage of Residuam Vitam a miniseries where death is the central player and the views we have becomes altered in the hands of 8 billion, but only after people die. And the stage of Atheism becomes a new player, being it a tender one. So when we set the stage of history it becomes another matter. That let me to the beginning of us all. Erich Anton Paul von Däniken, the  Swiss author of The Gods Were Astronauts and he was not wrong. The origin of the Greek gods was just that and they came from the Sombrero galaxy (galaxy M104). I explore that in Kenos Diastima and it forms in me as a TV series (three seasons). Where it is not merely what we look like, it sets the stage of how we are set up. This rotates in another direction as Engonos the later series. Engonos translating as ‘Grandson’ where the first season was the view that he has, the second season shows us where it still is about the gods and the third season (for now) is shaped as the hidden trap the gods set for all of us and the hidden levers they set up their own system to never be held to any kind of account. So how is that seen when they are themselves their own creators?

Reinvention is key in all of this. I tried to ‘sell’ the script of ‘How to assassinate a politician’ to Dubai Media (as islam is centre in all of this) then I also tried to approach Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) and I can report with saddened intonation that I was unsuccessful. This media is not my stage. I created stories and I create what could be seen as dialogue. I believed that there was an islamic market for people, especially as islamophobia becomes an overwhelming issue and I personally believe that these idiots and morons hiding behind ‘Free Palestine’ to destroy anything they can like cheap Football Hooligans and soon that setting will grow tired on too many people and we get new fields of malice and destruction. In that I felt that I was able to corner a new market and with the Dutch politician Geert Wilder (before he became Prime minister of the Netherlands) I saw a story emerge where Arabic children saw their way to wrote him to death and we see his demise five times over. The setting where a movie was played in Dammam, Amsterdam and The Hague helped as I saw that this had never been done before. No matter how you reinvent things, it helps for the stage to be new and largely unknown to the watching audience. I thought I saw an option. However Dubai media and the Saudi Broadcasting Authority seemingly did not see it that way. My view was a story that appealed to millions of Islamic viewers and they? Perhaps they saw an immature script. That part is speculative as they never gave me any feedbacks (other than we have other projects running). 

You see reinvention also sets you up for two settings. The ego of others and the ego of self. The ego of others is what it is. You can cry, you can sulk and this setting merely is. The ego of self is different. It wants to believe in self, but the truth is that it also needs criticism of self to endure and see the brighter life of what could be. This is what I see in Hamlet (2000) and Battlestar Galactica (2004) they did more then endure. They reinvented themselves in more ways and we all enjoyed what came from that. The only thing I can do is to reinvent more and more. Games, stories, movies and ideas. I particularly like to reinvent in a different format. What was a scrolling game could be an sandbox RPG, what was a book could become a movie with a difference and there are other ways too. The idea in one form could be reinvented in other forms because it attracts a new audience. Look at Star Trek it went from the original series into the next generation and now there is Strange New Worlds. Yet for the most it attracts the same audience. That can be an option. To grow from the original audience to include a larger audience. This is what was achieved with Picard and it was an amazing achievement. But it is not a trajectory I am on (and I have no starting audience). Still the boundaries of reinvention are vast and there are so many corners to see. I merely hope that I find a corner that will find appeal to an audience.

All this looks nice (and academic) but there is a hidden corner is any creator (in me too). It is the setting of the imperfect creator hypothesis. It is what it is. The only way around that is to reinvent the reinvention. I sets the value of imperfection at bay but it also creates more doubt in self. A vicious circle to say the least. But any creator loves the battle that goes on inside ones self. The stage of creation and doubt goes on an on and perhaps at some point I will see one of my creations become a reality. 

Have a great day and seek the sunlight if you can. Not really an option in Vancouver, but in Sydney it was 30 degrees today with full sun during this day.

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