40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair

40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair.

One of the first jobs I got when I moved to Los Angeles in November 1987 was working here, at The Groundlings. The first week I was in LA, I was walking along Melrose when I came across a sign proclaiming “Theatre.” Now, I’d been involved in theatre since I was 9 and after a successful run as the Teddy Bear in elementary school holiday play (thank you Mr. Kaiser, for making me audition) I joined the Rainbow Company Children’s Theatre. I grew up on and behind the stage so when I was feeling alone and scared in the big city of Los Angeles, I thought a theatre was the place to be. If nothing else, I figured I could paint sets, usher, do whatever. And I could meet people and begin my Los Angeles Adventure.

Continue reading “40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair” →

Review: Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of tomorrowI heard a rumor flying around Hollywood years ago, that Beverly Hills Cop was originally written for Sylvester Stallone. As the story goes, Stallone liked the basic story well enough but, you know, being an Academy Award nominated writer, he felt he had to put his own take on things and so re-wrote it extremely, turning the comedy into the action film Cobra. The original went on to be successful on its own with Eddie Murphy. This illustrates the idea, well trod ground in a number of screen and creative writing handbooks, that one way of being creative is to take an idea and swap genres with it. Danny DeVito did it with Throw Momma From the Train and now Tom Cruise and Doug Liman are doing it with Edge of Tomorrow. Continue reading “Review: Edge of Tomorrow” →

25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss

words words wordsI love this stuff!

25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss.

These are the kinds of words which make English such a fun language to play with. Interpretation is everything. This is also what makes communication difficult sometimes. I always tell my students that as long as I can understand what they are trying to say, then it doesn’t matter so much about the grammar and spelling… but then if they’re using words like these, I may have no idea what it is they’re trying to say. Continue reading “25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss” →

Margaret Talbot: How the Y.A. Novelist John Green Built an Ardent Army of Fans : The New Yorker

 

John GreenMargaret Talbot: How the Y.A. Novelist John Green Built an Ardent Army of Fans : The New Yorker.

I think the title doesn’t do justice to this piece but it’s a fascinating read nonetheless. And if you haven’t read The Fault in our Stars yet, click the title and do it before the film comes out. It’s well worth the hype.

And if you want to know what I think of his books, I’ve read and reviewed The Fault in our Stars here and Will Grayson, Will Grayson here. I’ve also read and enjoyed Paper Towns, but evidently I didn’t write a review of it. Bad critic!

Oh… and then there’s this – a John Green Interview on CBS.

The Audition

castingSo last week I get a call from a number I don’t recognize. The problem here in the LT with screening calls is that, well, you can’t. There is no answer-phone system easily discernible (which is to say I can’t access it. I think one exists but the instructions are in Lithuanian and besides, I get very few phone calls and the ones I get are usually students and since this was the last week of instruction and studying for finals was about to begin, my initial thought was that the call was from a panicked student wanting to know what chapters in the book were absolutely going to be on the exam because, well, job and no time to actually study. Continue reading “The Audition” →

DAVID • Think: What’s Next Kids?

David june 14DAVID • Think: What’s Next Kids?.

Here’s my latest piece for David Magazine. My thoughts on what a commencement speech should say and do.

For all of my students who are graduating, for anyone who is in school or university now and looking forward to the day when they can wear the cap and gown and for everyone who has already crossed that stage and shook hands while receiving their diploma, this is for you.

And for everyone else about to enjoy the summer, there’s other great articles in here for you, too!

Review: Godzilla

godzilla-posterWhile Godzilla isn’t necessarily a good film, it’s not a bad film either. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s not even just one film. I’d say it’s two films, each serving a different purpose with a different result. The first film, the one with the character development and real story, is at the beginning. This is the part where Bryan Cranston (Joe Brody) is actually the star he is being touted as. This is a short film about a father and son dealing with a familial tragedy. It starts 15 years in the past when Brody is the chief at a nuclear power plant in Japan when something goes horribly, tragically wrong. Then, when we hit present day, it really blossoms into a smaller film, a story about redemption and forgiveness and what it means to be both a parent and a child, often in relation to the same person. This is NOT a monster film. This is a more intimate social drama.

Continue reading “Review: Godzilla” →

Review: My Life as a White Trash Zombie

My Life as a White Trash Zombie
My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know it’s weird to get a book you don’t think you’re going to enjoy but we all do that from time to time, don’t we? Like going to see a bad movie specifically so we can tear it apart. It’s a like a whetstone for our critical senses, just something we can use to hone our wits and bring out the kind of absurd criticisms which are normally reserved for James Cameron films. A couple of times, this has completely backfired on me. I walked in to Evil Dead 2 with my sarcastic bon mots ready and walked out a fan for life of Sam Raimi. The same happened here. Continue reading “Review: My Life as a White Trash Zombie” →

Going once…

A couple of months back, I was approached by my friend Aiste about helping out at a charity auction. Aiste is a writer and filmmaker. She’s also one of those people who knows absolutely everyone and is involved with all sorts of great causes and events. Through her I’ve had a couple of interesting adventures here in Lithuania so when she asked if I’d like to play auctioneer I naturally said “sure!” The cause this time was the International Women’s Association of Vilnius’ annual Blossom of Hope charity event, this time being done up as a 20s themed gala with a silent auction, a live auction, dinner, and live entertainment in the form of singers and dancers. And somewhere along the line, I went from auctioneer to host and MC. The last couple of years they’d had a Lithuanian and a translator but this year, since a good number of guests would be from various embassies, the organizing committee figured a native speaker would be the way to go and I got drafted.  Continue reading “Going once…” →

The Most Inspiring Travel Video I Have Ever Seen. Hands Down.

The Most Inspiring Travel Video I Have Ever Seen. Hands Down.

Two things I learned from this video:

1) I need to travel more. There’s so much more of the world to see. And naturally doing it via motorcycle would be the best way to do it.

2) I really need a GoPro camera.

This summer for sure I’m gonna edit a bunch of my photos into a nice music video. I wish I had had the foresight to do the same kind of picture everywhere so it could seamlessly blend together but oh well, lesson learned and I can do it moving forward!

Review: Trust Me

trust me posterI like Clark Gregg the actor. Seriously, what’s not to like? Granted, I only have a limited exposure to him, mostly through his Marvel Cinematic Universe work as Agent Phil Coulson (Okay, and his two episodes in Sports Night were quite amazing).  It doesn’t hurt he often plays likable characters, even his portrayal of badasses is tinged with a genial good guy vibe. He comes across as the kind of guy who, while he might not lend you fifty bucks, at least he’d feel really bad about not lending it to you.

Who I didn’t know before catching this film was Clark Gregg the writer and director. And to be fair, I like him almost as much as the actor. Maybe even more. This is the first time we’re getting the whole Gregg package, too. Yes. he’s written and directed a film before, but that was an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk‘s Choke. Gregg’s last foray into an original screenplay was for Zemeckis‘ What Lies Beneath, in which Gregg didn’t even appear as an actor. But with Trust Me, we get the complete vision, and wow, was it worth waiting for.  Continue reading “Review: Trust Me” →

Why understanding grammar matters…

 

#Randbrackets, The Fun New Out-Of-Context Game

You want to know why education is important and why not understanding grammar is a bad thing? Here’s a great example for you. Look at those brackets in the above quote attributed to President Obama. Those mean something. Do you know what? They are not there for emphasis, they are not there to highlight the words within. Continue reading “Why understanding grammar matters…” →