EvRobert

I'd sit on his lap, he was a Bobo Nathan Fillion.

Doctor seems to be the go to mom profession if I remember my Disney Original Movies. It's DISNEY on the Disney Channel, why not a Disney song?

This is EXACTLY the number I was thinking of when I said some songs make sense and some don't. I think this is the second song of the show? So they've established via the karaoke number that when people sing in this world it makes sense. And then they break that rule but not having it make sense in this context. Kenny Ortega is such a talented director too. I actually like his work on Newsies and some of his other stuff but this feels like a favor to someone at Disney.

There is a literal ton of stuff to unpack here LOL Also, I go write for 4 hours and this is what I come to, 4 pages already!!! I expected one or two. First of all, I can't remember hardly anyone's names, so if I refer to a character by the actor's name or by a descriptor I apologize in advance. re: sports in school @Cam Bert, I grew up in Kansas and football, basketball and in particular wrestling are quite big here. I've seen schools shut down and not have classes because of "state wrestling" competition. There are not nationals, so state is the highest they can go. Why? I think if you asked it would be said "because of scholarship but I think the truth is closer to what someone earlier said re: Troy's dad bascially being Al Bundy, a lot of parents have their kids in sports to relive their childhood OR to accomplish what they couldn't. Here in KS, people will often get married in their early to mid 20s (right out of college) and start cranking out kids. They can have their kids in "Kids Wrestling" as early as age 5. That means, in some case, within 10 years of graduating high school, they are spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year, for something that may end when the kid is 20 or 21. And it's something that their parents did for them and so on. I have friends that I graduated college with who are grandparents (I graduated in 95) and talking about their grandkids wrestling "career". I think schools push sports because it is one way to make money. The town I grew up in, a town of 6,000, has two high schools (a private school and a public school) and a community college. All 3 have sports teams and all 3 generate large crowds. I know one older gentleman who, when he retired from being a speech writer for the governor in early to mid 90s, started selling ads to businesses and covering area high school sports. He covers 3 or 4 schools and employs around 5 people. He started off on radio and has moved into live streaming video online. It is crazy to me that he manages to do it, but he not only manages to do it, he has a very comfortable life doing it. The sports vs scholars vs arts part of HSM actually really rang...not true but not a total "movie troupe". I was almost only an arts kid. My dad was from eastern Kansas and I grew up in western Kansas, but he was a very respected athlete who was scouted by professional baseball teams. I was the arty kid of the family, reading (I would go to basketball games with him and sit and read a book, sometimes two if we watched a girls and boys game, which we often did), writing, acting, etc. My brother was the athlete (soccer, football, wrestling, baseball, track). My sister was a dancer (drill team) and vollyball player. (I'll also add that there is 13 years between my brother and me and 20 between my ssiter and me). But my parents never forced me to do sports or the arts. They actually encouraged me to do both but didn't balk when I quit basketball to focus on acting. They would go to debate tournaments I was in, attend every play (my dad sat through I think 6 performances of McBeth--he loved it. This former baseball player, maintence man, blue collar guy fell in love with McBeth.) every musical. Two years ago, a play I wrote was being performed by a children's theater in Atlanta. They not only helped me pay to go, my dad went with me. But I digress. There was a bit of a...I wouldn't say rivalry between the arts and the sports, but they didn't often cross paths. That was a part of this that did ring true to me. RE: HSM being aimed at a more younger crowd, I think you are spot-on. There is a "rule" in YA writing that the character you write should be older then the readers you are writing for. You will notice that in a lot of younger and middle grade fiction, the protagonists are often older middle grade or younger high school students. In more traditional YA, the characters are slightly older then theirtarget audience. There are exceptions (Harry Potter comes to mind right away) but for the most part that is the "rule". Things I hated: In musicals, it seems to me that there are two schools of though, when the singing makes sense (i.e. The Blues Brothers, the songs are almost all the songs are presented in a concert setting. I think Aretha's is the only one that doesn't really fit that motif, but even that does to a degree because we have established that Matt "Guitar" Murphy was part of the band and that the neighborhood (via Ray Charles' music shop and John Lee Hooker sitting outside singing) is more musical.) and when the music doesn't make sense, when people just break out into song (traditional stage musicals).HSM doesn't follow these rules. The first song makes sense, it's karaoke (although it's a song no one but the people in this world know. If they were going for this, I would have made this a hybrid original musical/jukebox musical.) but the second song doesn't make sense.And this continues throughout. Sometimes the songs make sense and sometimes they don't. That really bothered me. More things that bothered me: I love the character of bowler hat girl. As a writer I was like "oh wow look a writer character." But what kind of cheap ass high school produces a student musical, that isn't a "performing arts school". How I would have made this work is this; Gabrille, Sharpy and her weird brother, bowler hat girl, and the teacher, maybe a few others, are from a performing arts high school that, due to budget cuts, has to merge with a traditional high school. Gabrielle and sharpy are rivals. THAT would explain the whole part about the drama teacher thinking that her program was more important and not understanding the sports side of things. It would also explain a sports team at a loss when the captain wants to try out for the musical. Maybe the sports school has cut their arts programs out for one reason or another. This could all be established in the first classroom scene and the scene in the principal's office. Also what kind of musical is this girl writing? I see Romeo and Juliet like castle motifs, tree with holes for a face, and a CAMEL? I want to see this musical! That said, I think it's best we not see the musical. It's the Studio 60 syndrome. You hear about how funny this show is, but when you see their skits, they aren't that funny (and I love Studio 60). Also how did all these kids who were auditioning know the songs from the musical that was brand new? Every audition I've been to, you do 16 measures of a well known musical theater song. Then you do a reading or you read with others and work on chemistry, etc. Also, when I've directed musicals and theater (even on a community theater level) I would never allow two people to duet as an audition piece. I think having Gabrielle be super smart and a great singer who is shy and has to overcome her shyness be a bit too much. I get what they were trying, but I think if they were committed to her being the "new girl" I would have made her a new girl who could sing and had something "tragic" happen. Maybe she bombed on American Idol like auditions? Also, this was 2006, Disney had already made a movie about an athlete who wanted to be a cook and getting his team to accept him. This was post the rise of Emerial, and Iron Chef and bobby Flay and food network. I like the character of Zack (I think?) but why is being a baker such a big thing to hide? Finally, did anyone else get a weird Jamie and Cersi Lannister/incest vibe from Sharpy and her weird brother?

It's been so long since I've seen Tokyo Drift I just projected my own assumptions on it. You also have to account that Bow Wow KNOWS Han. So figuring in Bow Wow met Han sometime in there too. Plus Han has to set up his garage and make his connections. Yeah, it's a mess of a timeline.

I would assume that Tokyo Drift is happening at the same time as 4, 5, and 6. It doesn't flow QUITE evenly because han is all over 3, but I just assumed he was going back to Tokyo between jobs with Dom and we just weren't seeing it.

I still need to watch the finale, but I had scanned the Wikipedia article on the book when my last Audible credit came up, I was debating if I wanted to get the book or not (I didn't, I still may)

If...

I had the opportunity to audition for Guys and Dolls when I was in high school when the local community college was putting it on. I wish I would have, it's a great show. It is one of the "classical" musicals I really want to do (along with Music Man)

Also, Cakebug, I so want to talk dramaturgy with you LOL I've done SOME but not a whole lot. It's a fascinating field for me, as a playwright, to see who dramatrugy works.

I did The Complete Works of William Shakespere (Abridged) a couple of years ago (actually closer to 7 years ago now that I do the math!) and they do Romeo and Juliet in 30-45 minutes but that is a comedy and one of the roles (the one I played) sort of fills in as a narrator. They hit the major points but most of the characters are cut, which for that show makes sense since two actors are doing all the roles.

Twelfth Night in 45 minutes? Now THAT is a challenge. I mean I suppose it could be done, but I'm guessing you had to focus on just Viola/Olivia/Orisino triangle leaving most of the story of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria torturing poor Malvolio on the floor?

When I was in college, i had a scholarship to write for the college newspaper. It wasn't much (somewhere between $200 and $500 a semester) and since my parents worked for the college, I got to go for free (it was a SWEET deal found at community colleges in Kansas at the time. I don't know if it is still in effect). I used this money in typical college fashion, I bought beer. Therefore I had to actually put in content to the college newspaper. Being a huge film and movie fan, I pitched that I write a movie review column. I got both locla theaters to agree to let me see movies for free and a video store to give me one release a week before it hit the shelves. I say all of this to lead me to the best story about heckling. It was during one of my first trips to the movies as an "official" critic and I got the pleasure of watching I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. The theater is packed with older high school and college kids on a Friday night. Someone, I wish I knew because I would have been their best friend, decided to MST3K this movie. Brandy shows up, "oh hey it's the black girl-she's dead." Jack Black shows up "Oh it's a fat stoner-he's dead." It was wonderful. Second best story, I am in Kansas City for a friend's wedding. They are a very religious couple and had a very low key reception. No dinner, no dancing, no bar, etc. So afterwards, my friend's boss (who I knew from college), the boss' wife (who I worked with), and my brother (who worked with my friend and therefore the boss) decided we wanted to go out and do something. We went to one of those theaters where you can order drinks and food. The only movie showing at the time we went was Taylor Lautner's Abducted, or whatever that was called. Where he was the son of a spy and other spies were after him. It was the four of us and one couple not connected to our group. We ALL started drinking and heckling the shit out of that movie.

I am watching this right now and i'm just lile what the hell am i watching...i am going to have nightmares i just know it.

I also want to know why Jason Statham chose the Chipmunks Christmas song to play to baby Dom when it wasn't christmastime. I know it's a minor criticism, but it still bothers me.

A Man Apart, that is Vin is a rogue cop whose family is killed if I remember correctly, yes?

F. Gary Gray really doesn't seem to have a good grasp of comedy but he DID direct probably the funniest performance I've ever seen The Rock do in Be Cool. I LOVE the Elmore Leonard novel, and remember thinking Leonard must have been watching a lot of Attitude era wrestling because it features a character that is clearly based on The Rock (large Samoan who is charismatic and does a "trick with his eyebrow"). And for an actor just getting started in Hollywood it was brave of the Rock to portray a character that is gay, that is intimidating, and that is clearly poking fun at himself. So it doesn't surprise me that The Rock/Statham scenes are the best. Those two actors don't seem to care as much about their "persona" as so Diesel does (but then Vin did release those videos of him singing karaoke, so who knows)

Excellent...I know just the film too bwhahahahahaha

The last time I watched Pete's Dragon was probably 1987 or so, in my grade school gym waiting for Christmas break, Spring Break or Summer break to come. the movie, from what I remember, is strange as hell and I had vague memories of it being a musical. So revisiting your criticisms of it, made me cuirous. I'm going to check it out and report back because damn what vague weird memories of this movie. FYI, the 9/11 theater talk...I auditioned for Heven Can Wait on 9/11. Most awkward audition of my life (and I didn't like the director either). Peeps are okay as s'mores if you use really good chocolate (like Dove chocolate).

really going to try and be more active! I've lost two user names now due to inactivity on my part I think. so...sign me up please? I'm dreading HSM but I'll be there to join in the discussion of the movie from hell LOL

Of this new "trilogy" of FF movies (and really has any film series managed to reinvent themselves as effortlessly as the Fast movies have? 1, 2, 4 work as a trilogy...6, 7, 8 work well as a trilogy, and 3 and 5 are obviously in the same world and lead into each the next but are weird little stand alones.) this is obviously the weakest and with it doesn't really end. What this really needed was a more...dare I say confident guiding hand. It probably wouldn't be benefical to him, but the series could really use Justin Lin to return. That's not to say that the movie is BAD but it's weak and it's weak from the beginning. Here is what I would have done... Statham and the Rock were great and I even liked Kurt Russell. I know it's a bit of a troupe now, but the FF movies are big enough they could expand the series into a shared universe. I wanna see Kurt Russell give a job to Hobbs and the Shaw Brothers. Maybe throw in Ludacris but leave out Tyrese (or vise versa). Take time to develop some new characters so that part of the fun is WHO we're going to see in the future movies.

Agh so this is "Bloo" or "_Bloo_" the Earwolf forums hate me. I've weighed in on a few musical threads. Looking forward to finally hopefully jumping in on some discussions (provided earwolf forums don't screw with me when I try to retrieve my password from their "forgot your password" section). As to the question about high school arts; I WA the theater geek in my school. 5 years of musicals ( 8th grade-Senior year; Tom Sawyer, Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, Brigadoon) plus choir. I did band from 5th until 7th grade (the band teacher asked me to drop out) where I did clarinet. I also played guitar on my own. Then I studied theater in college and am currently trying to make it work as a playwright.

Not a first times listener or caller, like a couple of others here, I couldn't access my username/password and the password recovery isn't working. I'm wondering if it's because I don't log on real regularly or something and it does a weird clean out. I would get an email from password recovery saying click this, then I'd do that and wait for the reset password link that never came. (I also can't log on via Facebook). Okay that rant is over. On to the topic at hand... First WELCOME BACK CANON! I missed the minute and half mini ep announcing it would be back, so it was a very pleasent surprise to see it on my feed. Ghostbusters (1984)...like a number of writers, actors, comedians, directors, etc. of a certain age (of which I fall into) this film had a huge impact with me as a kid and into adulthood. It is probably one of a handful of films that helps shape how I write comedy (along with Groundhog Day, Scrooged, and The Big Lebowski...don't look at me like that!). I loved the cartoon, I enjoyed GB2, I even enjoyed Ghostbusters (2016) or Ghostbusters:Answer The call or whatever they are calling it. That all said, this is a soft yes for me. I would love for this to be a hard yes, but it's not. If it was pitted against say Stripes it would be an easy yes but if pitted against Scrooged or Groundhog Day it would be a no. But I believe that the Canon is big enough for more then one film of a certain type. In a lot of ways, it is like the WWE Hall Of Fame, there is no set of rules other then who hasn't pissed off Vince McMahon at that particular moment. So based on that, yes Ghostbusters DOES deserve to be in The Canon. If you're on Family Feud and they ask "Name a Bill Murray movie" Ghostbusters is going to be one of the first named and probably one of the highest numbered. You have verbal comedy, physical comedy, sight gags, and smart comedy. You have some interesting commentary on the 1980s; Venkeman, Egon, and Ray are scientests working in academia who are forced into the private sector due to budget cuts. In some ways it is an anti-Revenge of The Nerds. in RotN, the nerds think they are going to find a acceptance in the confines of college and they do, suggesting (and the sequels confirm this--showing Sheer's Law of Diminishing Sequel Returns.) that they will not leave college. But Ghostbusters shows us that in Reagan's 80s, academia for academia's sake is not safe. Academia must have results (like art in the 90s--if it's Government funded it can't provoke a response) in Reagan's America. So the guys are forced to go into the private sector. Then you have Louis and Dana live on the outskirts of the rich society, the same as the Ghostbusters. Louis is their accountant, Dana provides their entertainment, the Ghostbusters get rid of their ghosts (we can assume at least--maybe Venkeman is working on a sliding scale on the per ghost charge). The 80s were the land of the rich, the whole Wall Street Greed Is Good idea. Ghostbusters as a film is skewing this idea by showing what happens to the second level "caste" of people who service the rich (or maybe I'm reading too much into this LOL this is something I haven't really thought about it until this episode). The rewards of working for the rich (a nice apartment) leads to destruction, the cost of entertaining the rich is the destruction of your soul. You have the skewering of commercialism with the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. You have the EPA ostensibly as the #2 villain--the villain who stands in the way of the final boss, showing us that the in Reagan's america, you can't trust the government. The whole movie, 3 years in Reagan's administration, is taking a piss at Reagan's version of "Making America Great Again". I do wonder if the 2016 Ghostbusters had been made in 2018 instead of 2015 it would be able to take a stab at Trump's America and work better?