Back, Break, Bond, Batman and a couple of other things not beginning with B

I've been meaning to post to the blog for weeks but not quite gotten around to it. Finally got some money in and topped up the phone, fridge and the car. It was weeks though. Weeks without a single penny. Mia helped as much as she couldbut she hasn't got a lot of money either, but when I got paid I let her have some back. She's going to Finland again in a few weeks, but once again I'm not going with her. Couldn't afford the fare when the tickets had to be bought, now they are too expensive. Ah well.

Oh and did I mention we had an offer on the house and I accepted? We're proceeding to contracts and so it means that I got to find us some place to live in a bit of a hurry. More about that some other time. It's less of a joy after a year of selling than it would have been, and not even a relief. It's just painful with lots of paperwork. Plus it means I have to talk to my ex at some point which I loath. I was always very kind to her, even when she was mentally ill and being spiteful all the time... and for some reason she's always treated me subsequently like I stole her wallet and killed her cat. I just get waves of hate. Well, after five years of provocation and screeching down the phone at me she's got her wish, now I hate her right back. Any of you who know me will be aware how very hard it is to make me hate someone. I don't like it but like any dog, kick them enough and they will turn. Angry? Moi? Moving on...

It's finally the school holidays. The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School finally ended for the Easter break, and I have to tell you it's been 11 weeks of hard slog. Joyful slog but hard. I directed four student films for the techie students, and basically taught them how to make films from 0-60 in about 6 days end to end. The results are a lot of fun and I may post them somewhere but we used commercial music so they are not really web safe... fun though. We had one story about a serial killer asking some nice young girlto marry him, and she hums and hars and then says yes. Then we find out she's a serial killer herself. (Real EC comics plot that one) Then a preist who seems as though he is a paedophile but in fact is just the real father of the kid he's watching. Sweet. Then we had a man visiting his girlfriend after being missing in action. Turns out he's dead and it's his ghost visiting her, but then we find out she's actually dead too. Dan-dan-daaaaan. And finally, we have a couplewho spice up their sex life by staging a kinky kidnapping, only to have the car stolen outside a shop when the husband goes in to buy some whipped cream. All of them enormous fun to write and shoot, but obviously being trsaining exercises filmed at a run, they are flawed and incomplete.

Going off to either Reading or Godmanchester next week to do some filming. John McNulty, my inventor friend, has come up with a brilliant idea and we're going to make a promotional film about the prototype device, then we're going to take some "background plates" and I'm going make a special effects driven "artists impression" of what a full size one might be like. Fun holiday job. :)

Saw the new Bond "Casino Royale" the other day and I was blown away. It's now my "go to" movie, if I want something to watch I'll just put that on. They really went back to basics, like the recent Batman movie. It's "Bond Begins".

And speaking of Batman, I saw this brilliant teaser poster for "Dark Knight" the second Batman flick. It's a photoshop job, and it looked really familiar to me... then I realised the face is Conrad Veidt from "The Man Who Laughs", the 1928 film which inspired Bill Finger and Bob Kane to create the character of the Joker in the first place... Genius.

Been listening to lots of new music and lots of old music. After my divorce 4-5 years ago I realised I'd not been listening to any music for years, and I resolved to fix that by listening to at least one new album a week. I now have a HUGE iTunes library and have picked up on some peopleI really like. This week on the playlist in the car is zany US guitar guy Beck's album "Guero", Japanese zany guitar guy Cornelius and his album "Point" and a 1995 album from Mazzy Star called "So Tonight That I Might See". Also listening a lot to my friend Brent's band Dogs Will Be Dogs.

Okay plenty of other things to say, but I'm tired and I'll save it for another day. Here's a bit I found on the web about the original Star Trek communicator prop. Fabulous detailed and reverent look at this icon of sci-fi fans and propmakers alike. I'm in awe.

Laters!