So I decided that this year I wanted to watch thru some of my TV on DVD collection, as I’ve gotten to the stage where I have several but have watched few. Something that’s been on that list for a while has been The OC. While I did watch the show all the way thru of its initial run, I’ve been wanting to return to it for some time, especially since there were a few episodes there in the last season that I missed.

Watching the show now in my mid-twenties as opposed to my late teens, it’s a very different experience. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s simply the fact that I watched all 27 episodes (huge season!) back-to-back so quickly but I couldn’t get over the whopping amount of storylines that were covered, just in the first season alone. My blurry teenage memory of it all recalls such storylines as the Seth/Summer/Anna triangle and the Oliver debacle as such epic sagas, when in reality they only lasted a handful of episodes.

Another thing that I remembered every little smile and gesture the characters made, especially the teenagers, as being so significant and meaningful to both them and to me as I watched. On second viewing, I found I glossed over a lot of these subtleties at least towards the start of the season anyway.

This leaves me to wonder is it just a teenage thing and my own perception of stuff where every little detail can have such a huge impact on events, or a case of the writing not being as thought out to start with since it was a new show and finding its stride? I guess maybe a mixture of both.

But despite these minor foibles, I greatly enjoyed re-exploring this TV gem. How could I not love all these delightfully complex characters, each of which are far from perfect but lovable in their own ways.

First we have Ryan Atwood, the wife-beater wearing tough guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Facing a long stint in juvie after he and his brother stole a car, it’s up to Ryan’s legal aid attorney to get him off. Enter the compassionate Sandy Cohen, who of course, does just that.

After some hiccoughs from Ryan’s mother kicking him out and then abandoning him, he goes to stay with Sandy and his family until a better solution can arise. But all is not cocktails and bagels in Newport Beach. Ryan is far from Chino, Dorothy, and he’s gotta learn to adapt fast.

Kirsten Cohen, Sandy’s beautiful and powerful wife, is hesitant of Ryan. While not without sympathy for his circumstances, she is fearful of the impact he could have on her family. Son, Seth Cohen, the geeky loner trapped in the socialite community he hates, is however, delighted to finally have someone to talk to who doesn’t judge him and upon whom he can unleash all his comical idiosyncrasies and neuroses.

Ryan tries his best to fit in with the new order of things but it’s hard. He befriends the girl next door only to piss off her boyfriend who is captain of the water polo team; gets into fist fights (dragging Seth in too); burns down a model home and lands himself back in juvie, all in the first few episodes.

Rushing to his defence again, Sandy does everything he can to help the troubled teen, but it is Kirsten who unexpectedly opens her heart and her home to give Ryan the second chance he so desperately needs to start again. This of course after witnessing just how terrible his current life course is and the depths that it would inevitably take him to.

Over the course of the season the characters go a long way, as I said before. Perhaps none of them go as thru quite as much as popular girl turned social outcast, Marissa Cooper. In season one alone she has to go thru her parents’ divorce; moves houses; loses her virginity; gets cheated on by her boyfriend; overdoses on painkillers; gets sent to therapy; faces rejection; is the object of infatuation of a mentally unstable teen; gets threatened with a gun; has to deal with her parents moving on and dating again; her ex-boyfriend has a series of romantic trysts with her mother; she runs away from home; her mother remarries; she gets rejected again and finally turns to alcoholism to numb her pain. And I’m sure I’ve forgotten other things that happened to her in there as well. But seriously, yikes! How much can one girl take? While enjoyable I found some of this stuff annoying to a degree for the lack of realism. Any one of those events would impact a teen majorly but to have them all happen like they did, well, alcohol ain’t gonna do much for you honey, except cause more problems. But of course that’s the idea.

Aside from Marissa and Ryan and all there dramas, what I really loved watching were the storylines involving Seth, Summer and Anna. Oh I love Anna! The down point of the season for me was definitely when her character left; even though I knew it was necessary.

The chemistry between all three of those actors was incredible, no matter how you paired them, even the two girls when they were having their brief truce. Ultimately though, you can’t beat the delight of the Seth/Summer relationship unfolding IMO. My favourite parts include the trip to Tijuana, Summer kissing Seth and realising “I like Seth Cohen”, the Wonder Woman moment, the coffee cart declaration and all the Captain Oats/Princess Sparkles bits.

Finally I want to make mention of the relationships between the adults. Like their teenage children, the adults of The OC are just as likely to land themselves in all sorts of trouble, but of course the scale is much bigger. Lovers’ quarrels, secret trysts, embezzlement, blackmail (emotional and otherwise), lawsuits, business ventures, affairs, weddings and divorces are but a few of their exploits.

Thru all of that though I think the adults are in better shape by the end of the season than the kids. I really like the dynamic between Sandy and Kirsten. Often playful and sometimes explosive and tense, in the end they love each other very much and are very passionate towards one another. Indeed, their relationship is a fairly solid anchor for the rest of the characters around them, particularly Julie and Jimmy.

There are so many other things I could mention about The OC because it is just so epic. I still can’t get over that it was able to run a whopping 27 episodes in its first season. This is phenomenal. I love the music and the humorous moments as well as the costuming. Again, Anna is my favourite for best dressed character.

If you never saw this show during its television run and you love drama then The OC has it in spades and I highly recommend it. Think Dawson’s Creek meets Gossip Girl and that’s kind of the feel that this show has.

So what are you waiting for? Put The OC season one down on your Chrismukkah wish list right now, pour your glass of wine, don your wife-beater and spread the cream cheese on your bagel!

Sadly for me, I never actually got to see the show on Broadway. For all who did, I envy you greatly. I think Nathan Lane would have been awesome on stage. But I did see the Australian cast perform the show when it came to Sydney. Therefore I feel I can talk with some assurance about the musical as a whole. 

Being the youngest person in the audience on the day at the tender age of 20, it was a very surreal feeling. Most of the audience for The Producers that day were senior citz, a phenomenon I can only attribute to the fact that Reg Livermore, the actor playing Max, is popular with people in the 50+ age range. 

But I digress. When I decided to go see The Producers, I really had no idea what the story was even about. All I knew was that it was by Mel Brooks and that it was supposed to be awesome. I bought the CD soundtrack prior to and listened to it enough to have a good knowledge of the all the songs so that was a plus, yet there were still a few pieces missing, such as what it meant that Ulla was waiting for Leo at eleven. 

Needless to say, the show did not disappoint in any way. It truly was shocking, outrageous, insulting and I really did love every minute of it. The sets were incredible. I liked the way the set revolved back to Max’s office when Leo decided to be a producer and he was kneeling in exactly the same position he had been when Leo left. I still am perplexed at how they had the white replica set of the office after Ulla “tidies up” and how they would be able to have that one last colour spot for her to paint over in white, show after show. 

Speaking of Ulla, I think the expansion of her character was a good move in pushing the story forward. It added an extra element to Max and Leo’s relationship that didn’t exist in the original film. Not to mention the fact that the characterisation of Ulla in the original film as a bimbo merely there for sex appeal and little else, most probably would not fly in today’s culture. And while she isn’t exactly the sort of girl all women would identify with, she does provide a bit more of a gender balance to the story now that she is more prominent. 

The idea of removing the beatnik L.S.D from The Producers is one that I don’t really know how to resolve. In the original film I thought it was an interesting and funny way of sending up Hitler. As I said in part one of this article, I suppose such a character would have been more socially appropriate for the time of the first film, whereas now it might not have worked. Still, Roger jumping in at the last minute to play Hitler is very funny. 

While it will mean little to most of you, I thought the acting by the Australian cast was majoratively fantastic and in my humble opinion, comparable to the repute of the Broadway cast, with the exception of Bert Newton who played Franz. Bert is something of an icon here in Oz, yet I felt his performance left a little to be desired. It was hard to see past Bert Newton the man and believe in Franz Liebkind the character, something that I found a bit easier though still challenging with Will Ferrell in the movie version. Still, I believe that Bert’s health was not the best during the Sydney run of the show so perhaps that attributed to his less than astounding portrayal of the Neo Nazi nitwit. 

On the other hand, I greatly enjoyed Tom Burlinson’s interpretation of Leo and in some ways I feel it is even better than Matthew Broderick’s. While I have grown to enjoy Matthew’s Leo after many viewings of the film, there is just something about him as an actor that I can’t connect with. I found Burlinson’s pathetic and mouse-ishness as Leo humorous and entertaining while I find Broderick’s at times very annoying and frustrating. 

A further mention must be made of the Australian actor who played Carmen Ghia. Like Roger Bart and his hissing that never ended, the Australian actor decided to extend one arm diagonally up before himself and then move out of the scenery at a literal snail’s pace. Very funny and a very controlled and clever way of putting his own stamp on the character, in my opinion.  

Well, I guess since I have already talked about it a little, now would be a good time to turn my full attention to the film. Indeed there is little more to say about the Broadway version except as to how it compares with the theatrical version that came after it. 

I cannot deny that I simply love the new movie of The Producers, however, there are several elements to it that really do not work in a movie format the way they do on stage. It is these elements that I feel undermine the overall success of the film and are perhaps reason why it did not garner as widespread popularity as its immediate predecessor. 

From the minute the opening musical number starts, flaws in approach can be seen right away. I really think the secret to a successful movie musical is maintaining the illusion that the story unfolding exists within its own little world and that said world has no direct correlation with the real world of the audience. 

The “Opening Night” number doesn’t really achieve this. You feel just as if you are sitting in the audience at the stage show. The way the singers look up and out of sight as if playing to a theatre audience is very obvious and their actions and reactions are over exaggerated in a way that does not suit a film format. 

Another example is in the “I Wanna Be A Producer” sequence when the girls wearing pearls burst out of the filing cabinets. The “undesirable” girl in pearls simply does not work the way they have done it in the film. On the stage it is funny. You can tell that the actress is the same one who played the homeless lady at the beginning who suddenly pops up in Leo’s fantasy somehow. In the movie, you aren’t reliant on a limited stage cast to play multiple roles and in the translation, the gag is lost. While I understand that the song and dance routine would need to be reworked if this character were to be removed, I think it would have been worth the effort. 

A similar one is during “That Face” where Ulla and Leo rumble around behind the couch and it jostles to suggest their movement. Great on stage, not as good on film. A better gag could have arranged. Likewise when she asks him why he has gone so far camera right as opposed to stage right. 

But to ignore such negatives for now, I think there are quite a few positives in the film as well. I think the relationship dynamic between Max and Leo is a solid one. Both being film actors, I think Nathan and Matthew know how to strike the right balance in their portrayals from medium to medium as well as the chemistry they have obviously developed as actors. Afterall, without getting this element right, well, The Producers would then have become a flop about a flop. 

Once again the sets are stunning, as are the costumes, but due to the magic of the film world, the crew is able to go that one step further and really flesh out this world. The fountain scene is spectacular, even more so than in the original film. And the world inside Leo’s head when he fantasises about being a producer seems limitless now in a way that just can’t be achieved on stage. 

All in all, the question of to make or remake for me is an astounding yes. Sure, there are flaws and things that fall a little flat in both versions. Certainly the film suffers more from this than the stage show, but I think overall these second and third shots at building upon and making better this crazy story of two very different men with a very unique friendship are for all intents and purposes fairly successful and satisfy the sense of wishing to be entertained. 

Could they have gotten away with just the Broadway show and not the second movie? Sure, absolutely. Still, I do like that you can watch the movie again and again at your convenience. And I also like that for those of us who can’t make it to Broadway, we can still get a bit of a glimmer of what the experience might have been like. 

I love books. I’ve been a bookworm since I learned to read. I’ve always kept a fondness for the Young Adult fiction world. There’s something about that time in your life- 15/16- which I find so compelling. At no other time in your life are you that confident in your rightness- yet so unsure of yourself at the same time. I’ve always held to the belief that that is one of the universal truths in this world- this will still be true 100 years from now: growing up sucks. It’s confusing, it’s scary, and it’s painful. But it’s also amazing, and beautiful, and the process of self-discovery is so twisty and long that you can’t imagine an end in sight. It’s a time of firsts, of maturation, and a loss of child-like innocence. It’s a time of first friendships, first loves, first sexual encounters, and the first time you realize your mother and/or father is not perfect, is not a hero, and is in fact as human as you- and is capable of mistakes. For girls it’s about realizing that the world DOES have certain expectations for you, that it will hold your sex against you sometimes, and that boys may not be as simple as you thought and sometimes they do have hidden agendas, and other times they don’t. And yes, it’s impossible to tell which is which sometimes.

“A Great and Terrible Beauty” by Libba Bray is about this and so much more. And it’s got corsets. And magic powers.

The book starts out in Bombay in 1899. Gemma, an English girl of some money is with her mother strolling through the marketplace getting together a nice meal to celebrate her 16^th birthday. Gemma’s mad because her mother won’t let her go to London to enjoy ‘the season’ (society parties and teas and the like- where one was like to find a husband) and her mother won’t giver her a straight answer why. They fight and harsh words are exchanged and suddenly Gemma is struck with a vision of her mother horribly being attacked and killed. Before she has a chance to react and understand what happened- her mother is dead and her life and innocence is gone forever.

Gemma finds herself in dreary England being shipped off to Spence Academy for girls. (Her family insisting on hushing up her mother’s death as “cholera”) Rigid, cold, and conformist Spence Academy prides itself on churning out thoughtless, mindless, pretty girls of some talents to amuse men, make fine marriages, and produce babies. (‘Lay back and think of England!”) At this school she befriends her roommate, Anne, who is the school’s scholarship student and only there to learn enough to one day become a governess to distant cousins that resent her existence and only want her for an unpaid servant. No one likes her, and she is a doughy mousey girl with zero confidence and a secret cutting habit.

She also befriends, Pippa and Felicity- two of the most popular girls in school. Pippa is beautiful but silly; hopelessly romantic she detests the ugly, old, and un-charming (but rich) suitors that only want her as an arm decoration. She longs for true love like in the stories and refuses to accept that that might not be a reality.

Felicity is the super confident daughter of a famous Admiral and is smart, conniving, and always with a hidden agenda. She feels powerless and desperately craves the rule over her own life and is hiding things from everyone.

They find an old diary that describes an ancient Order of women who used to run around the woods of the school and practice ancient magic and rule the realms. The diary is that of Mary Dowd and they read aloud her story of her and her best friend being initiated into this secret society, finding the sheer glee of the first taste of power, their joyous friendship… and how it all comes tumbling down. Not just them but the whole Order itself.

“I don’t yet know what power feels like. But this is surely what it looks like, and I think I’m beginning to understand why those ancient women had to hide in caves. Why our parents and teachers and suitors want us to behave properly and predictably. It’s not that they want to protect us; it’s that they fear us.”

What intrigues me is how our four main characters are all trapped in different ways. Anne- the most obvious- trapped by her poverty, her doughy looks, and her lack of family connections. Pippa, by her beauty, which only makes her a commodity her parents can sell to the highest bidder (and in a twist she has epilepsy. Something that if got out could ruin her chances of ever marrying due to the time period of thinking any malady to be a horrible weakness). Felicity, the daughter of a famous Admiral and a mother who all but left her is trapped by her circumstances as well. Gemma, trapped by her secrets. Her mother’s death, her burgeoning magical powers, and a complete lack of self-knowledge- the epic ‘who the hell am I?” problem.

What comes to pass is Gemma discovering and revealing her power… and the ability she has to enter ‘the realms.’ The Realms are the place between life and death, they are where you sometimes go when you dream and are the source of all magic in this world. When The Order ruled over it, it was a place of peace and posterity (although that depends on who’s telling the story) and their job was to help spirits cross over the river into the afterlife. Spirits who do not cross over end up… corrupted and forever banished to The Winterlands. Gemma and the girls find themselves in a beautiful garden where anything they wish to happen happens. Pippa gets a handsome knight to fawn over her, Anne gets great beauty, Felicity learns archery and how to achieve power and Gemma starts her self-discovery of who she is with the ghost of her mother who is tethered to this world because of the evil that killed her.

This book is not only a great story full of twists, turns, magic, intrigue, romance, and suspense- but it is also an amazing historical representation of women’s roles, views, and wants in the Victorian Era on the verge of the new century. The feminist movement did not happen in one epiphany moment. Betty Friedan was not the first person to realize ‘woman can not live on mop-glo alone.’ Miss Moore, the new art teacher at the school represents the free spirited young single teacher who isn’t afraid to tell the girls it’s okay to think, it’s okay to have opinions, and that you have as much a right as anyone else to voice them.

And these girls want for it so much that it aches. They want power, they want love, and they want… freedom. Some things don’t change. What teenager now doesn’t want for the same things?

But conflict seeps in. Circe, the evil sorceress wants the realms and all the magic and power for herself. She killed Gemma’s mother to do it so now she’ll kill Gemma for it. I will say in the first book Circe is a little weak and seems more far away than she should be but- no spoilers- it is made up for in the second book.

Romance comes into the fold in the form of Kartik, a handsome young Indian boy who Gemma is inexplicably connected to. With racism the societal norm of the day Gemma has a hard time reconciling her attraction to a non-white boy in a way that does not feel cheap or unreal. A big pet peeve of mine in historical fiction is when characters in the olden times ‘happen to have’ modern 21^st century western morals and beliefs. Raised in India, surrounded by Indians she just can’t bring herself to be racist to him, but she fully knows that her world (and his for that matter) would never ever find their relationship acceptable. This, of course, only makes her begrudgingly want him more- especially when she starts dreaming of… ya know-ing with him.

Kartik is a member of the Rakshana, a different secret society composed of powerful men who wish to take the power of the realms for themselves and wants Gemma to suppress her powers and become a pawn of the Rakshana. Kartik’s agenda is complex, he wants Gemma but at the same time fears her power, and has a duty to his order and his brother who died trying to save Gemma’s mother.

This book is so worthwhile. The whole series “Rebel Angels” and “The Sweet Far Thing” is a true saga that will have you on the edge of your seat. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry- oh, you’ll beg for more. This is, in my opinion, one of the best Young Adult books written in the last ten years, and certainly one of the best paranormal ones for me.

In the end, the whole book relates to the famous poem at the beginning of the novel, The Lady of Shallot by Tennyson.

“And at the closing of the day

She loosed the chain, and down she lay;

The broad stream bore her away,

The Lady of Shallot”

The Book Wormer

Reviews of the Latest, Greatest, and Worst-est in Books and Comics

I guess it best to get my mad awesome introduction in order.

My real name is Stephanie, but I think most people know me here as Sunshineyness. It’s my handle. (And yes, I still call them ‘handles.’ For I think it’s 1995 and me and Crash Overdrive are SO gonna hack into some supercomputers.) I used to just go by Sunshine, but most sites I registered for already had that taken so I started going by the new name and it has stuck ever since. Wacky. I know. Anywhosits, I am 25, live in NY and have three jobs.

I hate two out of the three.

My main job is a bookseller for a ‘large chain’ bookstore in their children’s department. To help pay my bills I work freelance as an office assistant for a company that makes licensed children’s clothes (we have the rights to Warner Brothers/DC, Star Wars, Pokemon, some Disney, exclusive on Nintendo, etc.). About the only neat thing about that job is overhearing meetings with Warner Brothers people with any developments on the Green Lantern movie (basically, their marketing department told us to start designing tie-in stuff for it. But that could just be an overzealous marketing department. And they still keep proclaiming they’re on the ball with the Justice League movie. So I’m thinking overzealous licensing department.)

I am also desperate to break into the young adult fiction world and become a bestselling author of young adult fiction as well as write comics for a living.

Because, you know, they have ads for that in The Post, like, ALL THE TIME.

My biggest pet peeve is when people look at today’s YA market and dismiss it because they only see Twilight and Gossip Girl. Believe you me; there is so much other great stuff out there.

I’m usually pretty up-to-date with new releases in the book world and occasionally get my grubby hands on some fun advance reader’s copies. I specialize in the teen books because that’s what my favorite section is (though, in my opinion the distinction between teen and ‘young reader’ is only there for marketing and shelving guideline purposes and not necessary for anyone else) but I’ve been known to dabble in the other genres as well.

I love all books, since I was in first grade and learned to read I always attached on to the written word. My apartment has five bookcases (one small one dedicated to trades) and no kitchen table, and my library card is very well worn. One of my big tenants of reading is I don’t discriminate based on genre. I am judgmental mind you- but that mostly extends to the Nicholas Sparks’ and James Patterson’s of the world. If something in regular fiction looks cool- I’m there. Heck, I read romance novels if I get the craving for them. (And to be fair, romance is a very varied genre of fiction and some of the hottest sci-fi/fantasy writers do some amazing romance titles. It also makes up about 25% of all books sold in this country.) I’m not huge into genre-y fantasy novels, but I SWEAR one day soon I WILL start reading “Song of Ice and Fire.” (Promise Randy)

Anywhosit, just so you all know I cry every time I read “Summer of My German Soldier” or “Jacob Have I Loved” and just bought Terminator comics the other day. (Don’t look at me like that… it was extra discount week at work. Moment of weakness… stop judging me from your computer screen…I can’t help it. I’ll buy anything Terminator related. Just like how I bought a box of fruit snacks the other day because Batman was on the box. It’s a disease. A sick, sick disease.)

I can recite line by line Back to the Future Parts 1, 2, and 3 and on the flip side Wings of Desire is probably one of my favorite all time movies. My favorite YA author is Meg Cabot (she writes fun fluffy stories about geek girls who always end up with nerd boys! Tres cute!) and worship at the throne of Neil Gaiman. My first comic I ever read was Jeff Smith’s Bone in the old Disney Adventure magazine, but what brought me in as an older reader was Sandman. I’ve been a Marvel girl at heart ever since I started reading my brother’s comics when he discarded them on the floor as kids and I’ll read anything if Captain America, Hal Jordon’s Green Lantern, or X-Men are involved. A literary nerd as well, I love the Bronte sisters, Shakespeare and Henry James. I’ve eaten Harry Potter books like candy and think Maureen Johnson is one of the best new up and comers and preach the choir that is Rosemary Clement-Moore’s “Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil” series as well as Cassandra Clare’s “Mortal Instruments” trilogy. (Third book coming out this March! Yay!)

And as much of a book nerd and comic geek I am- I’m also a music-file and a hardcore film lover as well as bizarre TV coinsure and P.J Soles’ ‘Riff Randell’ in”Rock and Roll High School” is my favorite feminist icon.

I have been a loyal fan and commenter on Geekshow for a long time now and have no plans on leaving this really awesome and fun little community of nerds, geeks and otherwise miscreants. I eagerly look forward to writing awesome reviews of books and comics for you all and…

…just for the record, no I did not like Twilight. But I can tell you all about the hundreds of supernatural books for teens that are supremely awesome-r. And yes, I will be using words like awesome-r.

By Scott Carelli

Black 20 is a website that I really can’t talk enough about. Their brand of comedy is right up my alley, and I think, if you gave them a shot, they could be right up yours, too.

I first came into contact with Black 20 almost a year ago when a fan of TGMP named Mike O’Gorman, let me know about an online show he was a part of called Out of Context. It featured O’Gorman and his more often than not partner in crime, Michael Torpey interviewing people at a gaming convention of sorts. I remember watching the DDR finale for the first time with tears streaming down my face. It was hysterical.

Unfortunately, due to budget restraints by the network that was producing the new online series, that pilot episode was the only one to ever see the light of day.

Meanwhile, a viral that the fledgling team of video producers created had made its way onto the internet. With all of the amateur crap that makes up most of You Tube’s video library, The Easter Bunny Hates You was a big hit.

The Easter Bunny Hates You

With a success under their belt, the group made a decision that would change their careers, and their lives, forever. They took what little money they had to the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, and bet it all on a single spin of the roulette wheel.

And with that began the journey to what is now Black20, an online network of series made to entertain, inform, but mostly, make you laugh.

Black 20 News, hosted by Jessie Cantrell, is a show that specializes in some of the most interesting sites and stories you can find on the internet. From an embarrassing live action Thundercats video to a site where you can watch cheese age in real time, Cantrell acts as the ringleader of an internet circus. Her sense of humor and good looks make her the perfect choice for hosting duties on a show that has saved me from many boring hours, mindlessly surfing the web.

Black 20 News

In the vein of many “man on the street” type shows that have come before it, The Middle Show makes fun of strangers, but mostly themselves. Hosted mainly by David Price, the series is a mash-up of interviews and office hijinks. With gems such as their New York Comic Con coverage and the iPhone launch, The Middle Show makes me feel like I’m laughing right along with them.

The Middle Show

My favorite of the bunch, though, is Net_work, Black 20’s weekly sitcom. Starring B20 poster boys Mike O’Gorman and Michael Torpey, Net_work follows the adventures of two internet video producers working at the Black 20 offices. Every week, this show never ceases to give my friends and I new lines to quote on a daily basis. I’ve seen every episode numerous times, and I try to spread word of the series as much as possible. The first season finished up last week and season 2 premieres on July 30, plenty of time to tune in and get caught up.

Net_work

Along with their shows, Black 20 have new articles posted daily on their main page, ranging from a variety of subjects, all with their unique brand of dry humor and wit. I especially enjoyed a recent article titled “Legendary Hollywood Mistakes”, by Michael Punsalan.

Black 20 also continues to create virals that consist of fake commercials, PSA’s, and everything in between. I strongly urge you to check out all of them.

With tons of stuff to keep you busy, and promises for much much more in the future, Black 20.com is the premiere stop for broadband entertainment. So what are you waiting for?

Check out Black20 Now!

A Script Review

By Scott Carelli

A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I am a huge horror buff. Whether it’s the creeping feeling of dread when you know a character is about to bite it, or the tension right before something jumps out at you (even though you saw it coming…), the whole experience always leaves me satisfied. From The Evil Dead to Nightmare on Elm Street, I love it all, Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, and everything in between. But there has always been one type of horror film that I’ve always favored above all: the slasher flick; and there has always been one film that has always stood out as my favorite above all of the greats like Friday the 13^th and Scream: John Carpenter’s Halloween.

Halloween is, in my opinion, the perfect slasher film, and Michael Myers continues to be one of the most iconic characters in the genre. From the opening scene of Michael as a child, murdering his sister in that all too familiar POV shot; to the bloody finale, it is pitch perfect, and everything a horror film should try to be. Being such a big fan of the film, you can imagine my disdain when I learned that it was being remade by none other than writer/director/musician Rob Zombie.

Zombie’s first foray into film was with House of a 1000 Corpses, a film that I did not enjoy, but I’m aware is very popular throughout most of horror fandom. His follow-up, The Devil’s Rejects, a sequel to Corpses, was also met with very mixed reviews. Both films seemed to have a very “Love it or Hate it” relationship with its viewers. Zombie’s directing style leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion, and both films felt like a glorified music video. Neither film captured the sense of urgency or suspense that one would associate with a horror film. It seemed as though he was much more interested in making his films as sick and twisted as possible. So when I got a copy of Zombie’s script for the Halloween remake he is currently shooting, I tried to keep an open mind. Maybe he would make a film worthy of the original and restart a franchise that desperately needs a breath of fresh air. But after reading the 126 page screenplay, I can say one thing for sure: This is not that movie.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween is very different from the 1978 original. This version focuses a lot of its attention on what would make a young boy turn into an emotionless murderer, the Michael Myers story. The first thirty pages are all about what psychotic kid Michael is. I think we’re supposed to feel sorry for him; after all, he has a stripper mother who brings home a new jerk boyfriend that seems to always treat little Michael like crap, he is consistently picked on at school by bullies that are twice his size, and no one understands him. But if Zombie thinks that any of that will be reason enough for the audience to look the other way while a ten year old Michael Myers records himself killing a neighbor’s cat and then pleasures himself while playing it back later, beating a little girl to death and urinating on her corpse, and sodomizing his own sister with a baseball bat, I believe he will be sorely disappointed. These are just some of the over the top gruesome acts portrayed within these first thirty pages, and if they serve no purpose other than to show how screwed up he is, why have any character development at all? There was a reason John Carpenter referred to him as “The Shape” in his original screenplay, Michael Myers is not a character. He is a soulless empty shell, a “shape” that kills people without any remorse or pleasure whatsoever, almost as if he’s doing it out of curiosity. But Zombie’s Michael, is just psychotic.

The next 40 pages are supposed be all about the relationship between Loomis and Michael. Finally explaining what would cause a renowned doctor to give up on a patient after coming to the conclusion that there is not helping Michael, he is just evil in the purist sense. But the problem is when you give Michael a textbook serial killer childhood, he no longer represents evil incarnate. He is no longer “The Boogeyman”. He’s just an average psycho in a mask. I like the idea of showing Dr. Loomis trying to get through to Michael. It would have been a great place to explore Loomis as a character. If Michael is pure evil, without having a reason (i.e.: no bullies, drunk father figure, or stripper mom), it flies in the face of everything Dr. Loomis believes in as a psychiatrist, which causes his obsession with Michael. Instead, Loomis just comes off as an inadequate doctor, because with Michael’s past, isn’t it obvious what caused him to kill his family? And if it’s so obvious why can’t Loomis help him?

 
    On page 70 we finally meet Laurie Strode, the role made famous by Jamie Lee Curtis in the original film. From this point on the script goes into very familiar territory; all of the characters read just like their 1978 counterparts, and the story follows a very similar path to the climax that the original does, with minor changes here and there. The main difference being that it is revealed Laurie and Michael are siblings early on in the film, rather than the sequel as it was with the originals. This really didn’t bother me so much, but it does lead to another aspect of the script that I found the most wrong.

When Michael is a child he has a baby sister named Laurie that everyone calls “Boo”, and throughout the film Michael Myers will call out the name “Boo” when trying to find the now teenaged Laurie in what I could only imagine would be some sort of caveman-ish grunt. There are also several places in the script where Michael runs after his victims. Michael Myers does not run. He walks calmly after them, knowing full well that no matter how fast his victims try to get away, he’s going to catch them. It is something bothered me throughout the script as it seemed so out of character.

Overall the script seemed to prove that while he is obviously a fan of the Halloween series, Rob Zombie never really got them. I will reserve my final judgment for the film itself when it is released this fall, but it’s not looking good. Zombie’s script made Michael Myers just another hulk of a psycho like Jason or Leatherface, but he’s much more than that. He is pure evil. He’s the boogeyman.