Film Noir (black film?) Screenplay

I have decided to join the ranks of the chosen millions (especially in Los Angeles) who have decided that they, too, can be the next Shane Black (a man who has gotten way too much cash for his scripts - unless someone buys mine, then we're both underpaid) and write a movie. Or, as we say in the biz, a script.
Not an ordinary script, though, (I wish) but a film noir script. A dark, twisted script with three basic characters: the hero, an ex-hitman turned bookstore owner, the femme fatale that makes the ex-hitman jump through the hoops, and the bad guy who tries to manipulate the femme fatale and the bookstore owner. This is all because of Script Frenzy in which we unwashed of the world pretend to be on deadline for a script.

• One month. June.
• One script. Die Me a Genealogist
  
• One film noir ready for sale. Ha.

So, naturlich, I looked up film noir ala wikipedia to make sure I've got all the ingredients for this particular caldron of soup. According to that we need the following pieces:

1. cigarettes - what genre comes after film noir, film cancer?
   
2. flashbacks - love it. All the screenplay gurus (Syd, Robert)say never use flashbacks.
3. a dame
4. a flawed hero
5. a flawed bad guy
6. voiceovers, of course - and, hey, didn't I write about this very thing not too long ago? Am I repeating myself? Do I have blog-alzheimer's? Yes I did! May 23 of this year. Look below! - Who am I shouting at? Myself? Probably. Who's in charge of this blog anyway!?

Today's recommended film noir movie (redundant, or what?) is "Touch of Evil" (released the same year as "No Time for Sargeants" with Don Knotts.) directed by Orson Welles, starring Orson, Charleton Heston, Janet Leigh, and, in a pre-Psycho crazy role as a motel clerk (can you say Norman 'Hi, Mom' Bates), Dennis Weaver (no, Weaver isn't in Psycho, I know that. That was Anthony Perkins. It's just that Weaver's hotel clerk in Touch of Evil is an over-the-top weirdo two years before Psycho was released.)

A bit over-acted in parts, the main reason for watching this flick is to watch Welles' directing - his camera positioning, his angles; his, what, ten-minute first tracking shot. And to watch Welles' character fall into the abyss as Heston watches and may have pushed a little bit, Janet Leigh gets gang-scared, and Dennis Weaver freaks out about marijuana.

If you're interested in film noir scripts, I've got one for you. Let me know. Contact me. Hit comment. Smile. Enjoy your life and hey, let's be careful out there.

"Die Me A Genealogist"
If this genealogist checks your lifeline, you'd better run.

Tapdancing South Korean Militant Breakdancing Funda-Squads

There's no reason for this other than to increase the number of google hits for it: "South Korean breakdancing squads" which Zay N. Smith (Quick Takes at the Chicago Sun-Times) coined and is trying to see how many google hits it gets vs how many yahoo hits it gets along with "tap-dancing militant Islamic fundamentalists" which, you have to admit, is a pretty amazing visual image.
On the other hand, Quick Takes is a good read for a quirky take on the news (i.e. printing contradictory quotes from the same person... read: Bush.) Currently, there is only One hit for "South Korean breakdancing squads" on Google.

And, for no particular reason, okay - because of the soothing music, the nice pictures, and the chance to read some Japanese - this video of the Kanazawa Yosui (water ways of Kanazawa, Japan):

Two More Reasons to Update Your Blog

Late last night or early this morning I updated another blog and got a comment really, really fast. Of course it was unabashedly spam but, hey, if I hadn't updated the blog I wouldn't have gotten even the spam, right? Right. That goodness for spam or I'd have no email at all. So, here are two more reasons you should update your blog regularly.

2. The cost of gasoline is rising, the cost of airline tickets is rising, the frequency of full body searches just before you get on the plane is increasing, the cost of doing anything in the Real world is rising, so, hey, what have you got to lose? You can't go anywhere without spending a small fortune And pollute the environment And get frisked by Elmer the banjo player from Deliverance with the teeth missing, so why not Update your blog and see what happens. It's free, at least. At least for now.

1. Your reader (perhaps your mom, perhaps your dad, too, if your mom tells him about the update) will be happy. Maybe. Unless you're writing one of those Mommie-Dearest blogs where you drag all your family's dirty laundry through the blogosphere on the mistaken thought that it will make you feel better. It won't.

Bless you all and to all a healthy vegetarian raamen. Thank you and good night.