Amy Winehouse Halloween

I've finally decided on a costume for Halloween, the train-wrecked queen herself, Amy Winehouse. The costume will include a ratty beehive wig, fake tattoos, globs of eyeliner, heels, and an Amy-esque dress with a sweetheart neckline. Heck, maybe I'll spice it up with a faux bloody nose.

What are you being for Halloween?

What is being sold here?

Tongue Piercing [Video]

Now this is entertainment!

The video below features my roommate, April, getting her tongue pierced last weekend. I wanted to share it with you because I think the dialog is particularly amusing.

Watch her handle it like an old pro.

Thanks to Becca for filming.

AFF Conference Diary

As a conference volunteer for the AFF, I had the opportunity to attend a diverse range of panels with some accomplished guests.

From young filmmaker panels to scriptwriting for video games, I watched as film and television titans elaborated on the creative production process.

Some observational highlights include:

Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter of Twilight and Executive Producer of Dexter, spoke to high school students about keeping a series fresh and adapting a novel with a huge cult following into a film.

Greg Daniels, (left) creator of the office, blew Paul Lieberstein's (Tobey, The Office) cover and announced his presence to a room full of people. This inspired a small frenzy of fans to swarm him after the panel.

Giving directions to the Austin Club to John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride etc.

Phil Rosenthal, creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, joking that the creative process is fueled by a big breakfast.

Adam Resurrected Review

"Adapted from the novel, ADAM RESURRECTED is a searing journey through the post-WWII psyche that illuminates the indistinct lines between freedom and captivity, truth and artifice, tragedy and comedy. At the center of the story is Adam Stein, once a popular German cabaret star who now, in the early 1960s, is living in a very different kind of three-ring circus: an experimental insane asylum in the Negev Desert in Israel. (Austin Film Festival)."



Adam Resurrected, the new WWII festival darling starring Jeff Goldblum, is the type of film you expect to see at a film fest--it's complex, daring, experimental, visually stimulating and at times, emotionally draining. It is the kind of film that, for better or worse, leaves you speechless.

That being said, there is no denying the fact that Goldblum owns this performance; he carries the narrative on his shoulders, truly personifying the tortured yet spirited character, however likable or unlikable he may be. It is this single quality, perhaps, that makes the film inspire conflict and provocation of thought. Adam is brilliant and a victim of hardship, yet he is flawed with a raging temper, and a manipulative and domineering personality. Yet, as the film progresses, we begin to see glimpses of humanity, and motive for Adam's persona.

William Defoe, who portrays a Nazi in Goldblum's flashbacks, also gives an incredibly strong performance, as does the supporting cast--a peculiar and damaged crew of insane asylum residents.

In an industry where WWII films are a dime a dozen, Adam Resurrected gives the audience a haunting and personal glimpse into one man's life amidst the war's aftermath. The film teeters on the edges of sanity and humanity and explores the pain that comes with surviving tragedy.

House of Torment

No matter how chilling a haunted house may be, visitors can always find solace in one simple rule--the goblins and demons that roam the hallways are simply not permitted to touch you.

Yet, in the absence of traditional physical contact, the performers still find ways to make your skin crawl.

A popular method of torment seemed to be flowing from the mouths of numerous male creatures. While their cadaverous extremities politely halted inches from my body, their mouths broke rank and blew a gentle twist of lukewarm air. The act served as an unwelcome greeting.

As foreign diaphragms extracted breeze onto the back of my neck, it was clear the space barrier had been thoroughly penetrated.

They were no longer horrendous zombies or stalking masked nightmares, but just some creepy twentysomething dudes blowing on the back of each passing neck.

Volunteer Diary #2-- Danny Boyle

Friday: My first night of working as a film venue volunteer.

Arriving at the Paramount Theater at 6pm, I was scheduled to work the premiere of Dir. Danny Boyle's (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) Slumdog Millionaire. Little did I know, I was stumbling upon one of the festival's greatest gems.



The film drew the biggest crowd of any I saw all weekend, one that was only rivaled by Oliver Stone's W as a far as I can tell.

Slumdog Millionaire is a gritty yet heartfelt tale of an orphaned slum kid, Jamal, who rises to fame as a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
To the surprise of the producers, Jamal nervously flies through the questions, answering each correctly, until the buzzer sounds before the equivalent of the million dollar question. Accused of cheating, Jamal is taken into custody and asked to explain how a slumdog could possibly know the answers to such challenging questions.

What follows, is a beautiful narrative of Jamal's life; through tragedy and triumph, hardship and courage, each recollection demonstrates a life lesson to correspond with the gameshow questions.

The film encompasses many of Boyle's signature elements: stylistically skewed camera angles, vivid colors and all-around dramatic cinematography. All of these elements are enhanced by the film's backdrop--a mixture of natural beauty and urban waste that paint the screen, and come to mirror the relationship between the human spirit and the wicked obstacles placed in its path.

Considering that nearly half of the film is carried by actors under the age of ten, the performances are spectacular!

As the first wave of the audience exited the theater, heaps of teary-eyed viewers descended into the refuges, err, I mean restrooms to try and conceal the passion they felt for this moving plot. And even as the less emotionally-moved crowd made their way out of the venue, the positive buzz circulated like electricity.

No matter where I went, Slumdog Millionaire seemed to be the favorite film cited by many throughout the remainder of the weekend.
*A+

After Boyle's Q&A, there was a subsequent screening of his first film, Shallow Grave, which drew an incredibly large crowd for a 13-year-old movie.


Besides seeing two great films, the highlight of my night was being called "love" by Danny Boyle after a misunderstanding about a box of pencils. haha. :)