"Group Hug": Slayage and Community

Last week, I attended the 5th Biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses. The conference is exactly what the title would have you believe - plus so much more. It is a gathering of academics and fans, coming together to celebrate, discuss, and analyze the works of writer/director Joss Whedon. It is also a community that I feel blessed and thrilled to have become a part of.

This year's conference was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, which only added to my desire to attend after a paper proposal I submitted was accepted back in February. I had recently received my first real publication credit as a contributor to Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, and the fact that my opportunity to attend Slayage grew out of something that amazing to begin with still boggles my mind a little (OK, a lot).

Like any first-time attendee of a conference, I didn't really know what to expect. Not only was this my first ever academic conference - I had also flown literally coast-to-coast for it, I didn't know a single person there, and I was at turns terrified and overwhelmed by pretty much everything around me. Not to mention how nervous I was about having to present a paper in front of who knew how many people. The litany in my head went something like this: You're going to miss a flight and be stuck in Toronto Your presentation is going to go badly You won't be dressed well enough Your paper isn't very good and everyone is going to know it but maybe they'll be too nice to say so Oh and whatever you do, don't keep any apples in your bag when you go through customs because apparently bringing apples to Vancouver is illegal. 

True story, folks.

Then the first day of the conference came around, people actually started showing up, and everything I was worried about just kind of...stopped mattering. I was early for registration, and I sat there expecting to see lots of academics with expensive suits and at least a monocle or two in the mix. What I got instead was a crowd of friendly people wearing jeans and t-shirts that celebrated Firefly, Serenity, Buffy, and Doctor Horrible, among others. Everyone was so happy to be there, and it didn't matter if you were at your fifth Slayage or your first - the one thing made abundantly clear by and for all was that you were welcome here.

Over the next four days, a few of my friends from home texted me to see how things were going. I jokingly texted back to them "These are my people, I belong among them." But after thinking about it a bit, I realized just how true that silly phrase turned out to be.

See, I've always been a geek in one way or another. Granted, 21 years isn't all that long to be anything, but still. As terribly hipster as it sounds, I was a film and comic book geek before it was 'cool'. I was in high school when people almost always laughed at geeks and nerds, not with them like they (sometimes) do now thanks to shows like The Big Bang Theory. I'm the kid who read books on the playground and dreamed about wearing a cape like Superman when I grew up (I don't know who I'm kidding - I still do that). Movies like Back To The Future (the greatest movie of all time as far as I'm concerned), Christopher Reeve's Superman, and Star Wars thrill me to the core even when most of the people I know don't really understand why. I have never been embarrassed to call myself a geek or a comics nerd - but man, sometimes it can feel lonely, at least to this small-town kid from rural Maine.

I guess that's why I (and people like me) look to characters like The Doctor from Doctor Who, or Superman, or The Avengers, or any of a hundred thousand others like them out there in the fictional world. They're alone, more often than not, and they choose to rise above and thrive both in spite of and because of this. They're all the inspiration we think we need.

But I'll do you one better. Because if there's one thing this summer has been teaching me, it is that we don't need to look just to fictional characters to find inspiration. We have each other. I only started realizing this earlier this summer, and Slayage was really the defining moment in helping me form an understanding about how true it really is. Over the last few months, I've met new friends and gotten back in touch with old ones, and I found out that they're a lot like me. I'm not the only one who is just as happy spending his day inside watching a movie, reading or scrolling the internet than going outside and do something involving crowds of other people and sunlight.And there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean I'm antisocial and strange. It just means I enjoy different things than other people.

Slayage took things a step further. There I found not only people who love the same shows and things that I do, but who love them enough to take them seriously as creative efforts and truly believe that shows like Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Sherlock, and Supernatural  have things to teach us, that they are more than just shiny things to look at for an hour one night a week (or for hours at a time on DVD). Plus we had puppets. Puppets are cool.

At Slayage, I felt like I really belonged entirely, for the first time in a very long time. It wasn't just me and my few friends, lurking in a corner and talking about things that made people who overheard us ask "Are you speaking English?" (Also a true story.)

Most people who know me know that I'm an introvert, and it's often really difficult for me to get up the nerve to get involved in conversations with other people. At Slayage, you couldn't shut me up. I was treated as being among equals (despite my lack of any sort of academic degree), and I never once felt that I was looked down upon or that people were just putting up with me until I went away. I made friends at Slayage, ones I hope to keep for a long time to come. I saw other people express what I already felt for myself - that these movies and shows I grew up on and continue to watch are more than just teenage escapism. They matter, almost as much as the people who watch them matter to each other.


What Slayage did was give me a chance to experience the dynamic I have with my friends at home happening on a much larger scale with a wider range of people, letting the same things bring us all together. For someone like me, belonging is one of the most important feelings in the world, and Slayage gave me that. So to everyone from the conference who might be reading this, thank you. Sincerely. You probably didn't know it at the time, but everything you all did made a huge difference to me - a difference I didn't realize was possible. You all helped me feel a sense of confidence in myself that I wasn't even sure was there. So thank you. 

To anyone reading this who hasn't had the chance to experience what I did in Vancouver: go out and find your own version of Slayage. Maybe it's a Magic or Dungeons and Dragons game on Thursday night with some friends. Maybe it's a Doctor Who marathon. Maybe its as simple as going to a crowded theater to watch a movie. Maybe it is one of a hundred other possibilities. All I'm saying is, don't be afraid to find out which one is yours.

 Never be ashamed to be where you belong. Embrace it. 

Nolan "Rises"

Fear not, citizens of Gotham. This review is simple, straightforward, and SPOILER-FREE. 


So. The Dark Knight Rises. One of the most anticipated movies of not only the summer, but of the year. I had the chance to see a midnight screening, as part of a 3-movie Batman marathon featuring both Begins and  Dark Knight, capped off with Rises. This absolutely influenced my feelings on the film, especially since so many elements from Begins arose again in Rises. Seeing Nolan's ducks lined up in a row helps discern the heart of the story he's telling, and how he's been planning to finish telling it since the beginning.


There's an awful lot going on in The Dark Knight Rises. Enough, even, that it seems the story well could have played out successfully over 2 films - or should have been trimmed down a bit to fit comfortably in the confines of a single film. The story overflows with characters new and old, from Bane (Tom Hardy) to Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), as well as Batman staples like Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Alfred Pennyworth (Sir Michael Caine). None of them feel shoehorned in just for the sake of having them there, nor do any of them get the shaft in terms of screentime. Much like Marvel's The Avengers, Rises does a great job of balancing a large and complex cast along with its story. 

This movie is not perfect. What it is, though, is the culmination of a clear vision on the part of director and writer Christopher Nolan. It may not be what we either expect to see or want to see, but it is unquestionably Nolan's story. This is Nolan's Batman. He's telling his version of the story the way he wants to tell it, and he's doing it well. I have an immense amount of respect for that kind of creative vision and storytelling integrity.


Nolan uses his story to grab hold of you and never lets go, something that's not easy to do in a nearly 3-hour movie. Both the scale and stakes of the movie are bigger this time around, and Nolan handles the necessary shift in storytelling perspective extremely well. I'm looking forward to seeing this film again, hopefully in IMAX, as I'm told the visuals that Nolan puts onscreen are even more spectacular in that format. Here's hoping we get more films of this caliber on our screens soon. 

Rise.

By now, most of you know the story.

12 people died last night, and at least another 50 (possibly as many as 70) were hurt. These people were at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado when a gunman burst in and opened fire without a word.

There is no adequate way to respond to a tragedy like this one. Words cannot encapsulate the pain and sorrow that the victims families and friends must be feeling right now. I can't pretend to be able to make sense of what happened. All I can do is share my sympathies and prayers with those victimized by this terrible incident.

The knee-jerk reaction to tragedies like this one is to attempt to eradicate any chance of it happening again. To that end, the NYPD has assigned officers to every theater in the 5 Boroughs showing Rises, and AMC Theaters has banned the wearing of costumes and masks in their theaters - both decisions that should be applauded.

But beyond that, rumors have begun to swirl regarding the possibility that Rises might be pulled from theaters. No official word has come down on this yet, but Hollywood.com's Paul Dergarabedian said he would be "shocked if that happened, but it's such an unprecendented situation." I put my money on Rises staying right where it is, in theaters. But that doesn't make the possibility that it might be pulled any more acceptable to me. Here's why.


I went to a Rises midnight screening as well, with my two best friends. Like the people in that theater in Colorado, I went because I was too excited to wait until morning. More importantly, I went because going to the movies (at midnight or not) presents me with an opportunity to be part of a community experience unlike any other. Being in a room full of people who are there to celebrate the awesome power of film and storytelling together is an entirely unique and awesome experience. Having that sense of belonging is an all-too-rare, and thus crucial, opportunity. The movies continue to teach me about storytelling, about friendship and magic and life in general. I wouldn't give them up or ignore what they've taught me for the world. As Christopher Nolan put it in his statement on the tragedy:


"The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me." 

In the days and weeks to come, many people will be looking to place blame for this horrible incident, and without a doubt, some will try to lay that blame at the feet of directors like Christoper Nolan, who directed Rises. When that happens, let's all try to remember what Joss Whedon said about the nature of creative work like Rises or his own The Avengers. 


"All wor­thy work is open to inter­pre­ta­tions the author did not intend. Art isn’t your pet, it’s your kid. It grows up and talks back to you." Basically, once it's out there, it's out there, and there's nothing you can do about how people respond to it. 


Holding filmmakers and artists like Christopher Nolan and his team accountable for the actions of a man who clearly was deranged accomplishes nothing. Not to mention that in this case, the shooter hadn't even seen the movie, so the point is really moot anyway, no matter what some people might say. 


Things like this have happened before, and the miserable truth is that they will probably happen again.
But if films (especially superhero films like Rises and The Avengers) are meant to show us anything, its this:
We can rise above tragedy. We are not helpless or without hope.

So please, don't let what happened in Colorado stop you from seeing a movie with your friends and family this weekend or any other time. If anything, let it encourage you to go even more. On one level, movies are an escape, and we all know it. But in helping us 'escape', the movies also unite us all. Now is not the time to separate ourselves from one another in fear.

It is a time to come together. Maybe even in front of a movie screen.

"Spider-Man" really is "Amazing" [Spoiler-Free]

I'll admit it: I wasn't all that jazzed for this reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise. I was never a huge Spidey guy to begin with, and after the virtual trainwreck of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 about 5 years ago, I was still experiencing some arachnid fatigue. Until tonight. The Amazing Spider-Man really is "Amazing", and not for the reasons you might expect. 

First things first. If, like me, you were hesitant to see this new Spider-Man because of the recent Tobey Maguire/ Sam Raimi trilogy, you can put those reservations to rest right now. Grab them, bundle them up, and toss them out the window - this is a new Spidey story, and when you see it, the last thing you're going to be thinking about is any other iteration of the webslinger onscreen. 

Like I said, I've never been a Spider-Man aficionado. I know nothing but the basic "with great power comes great responsibility" deal about the original story arc of Peter Parker in the comic books, so if it's a comparison between page and screen you want, this isn't the place to get it. What I can tell you about is the fantastic story I saw play out on the screen in front of me.

Amazing Spider-Man is a different kind of superhero movie. The approach taken by screenwriters Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves, and James Vanderbilt produces an incredibly well-crafted, perfectly proportioned origin story that director Marc Webb works wonders with. I wouldn't go so far as to call the film a character study, but I will say that its greatest strength is the heart its characters bring to it. 

Andrew Garfield is absolutely spectacular as Peter Parker, and the chemistry he shares with Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy makes their scenes together smolder with the kind of sexual tension you can only find in high school hallways - that reckless attraction you can't ignore, but couldn't define to save your life either. What's also wonderful to see here is that Gwen Stacy is far, far more than just the pretty girl who's around for Peter to conveniently save so she can fall for him. Gwen is smart - just as smart as Peter - and they fall for each other long before Peter puts on the mask. The hero side of things just adds a new (albeit huge) dimension to their blossoming relationship. 

Also worth noting: Martin Sheen and Sally Field are far more than simple trophy names to throw up on the poster here. Their story arc with Peter and his (absent) parents is at turns heart-wrenching and truly sweet. 

The greatest challenge for many origin stories lies in the fact that they have to incorporate two elements: first, the origin of the character, and then, the presence of the first major villain the hero must face before the film ends. Where so many stories fall short, then, is in the attempted mashing-together of these two threads. Take, for example, the first Iron Man movie, purely from a story standpoint. It gave a great origin to Tony Stark as Iron Man, but on the other end of the scale, the villain of the piece felt tacked-on and less than threatening to the hero.

Here, the two threads are intertwined from the beginning, which is what makes the story work so well. Peter Parker faces the Lizard not because he fancies himself a hero who needs a villain to defeat, but because through his emergence as Spider-Man, he is responsible for the origin of The Lizard as well. In this film, everything is personal, and that's what makes it resonate. Make no mistake - as the movie goes on, the stakes for Peter Parker get ever higher, and this hits us, the audience, right in the heart. Peter Parker is not invincible, and neither is Spider-Man. He gets hurt. He bleeds. He cries. And all this just makes us root for him more, makes us see just how amazing this scrawny science geek in a mask really is. 

Pixar Does It Again

Yes, there are a few spoilers below. If you don't care, read on. If you do, what are you doing online? Go see the movie already, then come on back. 

Brave is almost like a "Greatest Hits" movie for Pixar. Everything we've come to expect from some of the finest storytellers and animators in the business is here, along with some new elements to spice things up and raise the bar just a little higher for next time. 

It's the story of Merida (a Scottish princess) and her family. This is Pixar's first female heroine, and they do a fine job of spinning a new and exciting sort of story around her. Merida's father is a formidable warrior, the King of four allied Scottish clans, and her mother a loyal, loving, and very stubborn wife. She's intent on teaching Merida how to be a proper Scottish princess, and we quickly learn why. The time has come for the four clans to gather together in the service of finding a suitable husband for the princess, and the princess needs to be ready herself. Merida, a fiery redhead with a personality to match and the growing spirit of a warrior, is less than keen on the idea. That's where the real story begins. 

At its heart, Brave is the story of a girl and her mother. Through the magic of storytelling, it's also a story that's accessible to anyone and everyone. Being a 21-year old college guy, you might think this is the last movie I'd enjoy - but you'd be wrong. The relationship between Merida and her mother is one that anyone can identify with, because it's all about the nature of growing up, trying to form your own identity and making choices with consequences you can't always fully foresee. Granted, most stories of growing up don't see the parental figure in question turned into a bear, but still.

Brave's strength as a film stems from the fact that it's a personal movie. For all the action, adventure, and outlandish happenings, the true focus of the story is never forgotten or set aside for anything. Everything matters. For a discerning viewer, the message and direction of the film may be fairly obvious, but that doesn't make the ride any less enjoyable or touching. 

In the end, Merida doesn't find her prince and ride off with him into the sunset. She doesn't need to. And I think that's a wonderful thing. I'm not a young woman, so I'm not going to pretend I can fit in one's shoes (the heels would hurt my ankles, probably), but I can say this. Sending a message that you can be your own strength, that everyone is capable of being strong in their own way, and that perhaps one of the greatest strengths you can have is to understand and accept the strengths of others, is something to be truly admired.  It's a rare thing to find in this age of rom-coms and Twilight movies, but that doesn't make it any less true.  

Brave is a new sort of Pixar movie - in the best way possible. Sure, it may not objectively be the most brilliant, mind-blowingly wonderful movie they've ever produced. But somewhere (or maybe in a lot of different somewhere's) in the world is a person, or a family, or especially in this case, a mother and daughter, who watched this movie and felt things change for them. When you get down to it, isn't that what movies should be all about?

Bonus Prize: As a reward for reading all the way to the end of my review, here's a link to some of Pixar's "Story Rules" to live by. It's a great read! 

http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html

DVD Review: 21 Jump Street

In recent years, Hollywood seems to have been running short on original ideas. The glut of cash-cow remakes and "re-imaginings" of old properties, more often than not, is an excuse to make a lazy movie with name recognition and nothing else going for it. I thought that 21 Jump Street would be one of those movies. I was wrong.

Most people today only know of the television show 21 Jump Street as the starting point for a young Johnny Depp's career. I'm one of them. I've never seen an episode of the original series, but honestly, the conceit is exceptionally simple. Jump Street was (and is) about cops who are relegated to a small division whose job it is to go undercover as high school students. In the film, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill play two young, inexperienced cops who were anything but friends in high school - Tatum's character was a cool jock, while Hill was a nerd. 

The film plays well both as a spin on the traditional buddy-cop comedy and as a sly commentary on everything it portrays. The really great thing about Jump Street, besides the smart, tight script, is how self-aware and self-deprecating it can be. When the main characters are reassigned to Jump Street after bungling their first arrest, their captain describes the place as having been dreamt up by a bunch of people who have no original ideas and so have resorted to dusting off old programs from the 80's. Thinly veiled commentary? Sure. But it works. And it is funny. 

This movie stands on its own two legs in all respects. Is it perfect? No, but it sure is hilarious. I fully admit, I tend to shy away from a lot of contemporary Hollywood comedies, because I usually find them needlessly crass and painfully unfunny. That's just a personal feeling, and its one of the things that kept me from paying to see this movie in theaters. Jump Street subverted my expectations entirely in that regard. 

Watching the main characters return to high school and be totally blindsided by how the definition of 'cool' has changed in just a few years (Hill's character becomes 'cool', while Tatum's jock is suddenly 'lame'), is fantastic. The role reversal makes for some genuinely interesting (if slightly shallow) character development. The rest of the movie is purely knock-down, drag-out fun. Realistic? Absolutely not. Most of the things these guys do in service of solving their case are so illegal it shouldn't even be funny. But it is. I kind of want to make my college roommate (who is majoring in Criminal Justice and wants to become a cop) watch this so I can see his head explode over just how out there it is. Still, it works on all kinds of levels. 

Johnny Depp does have a cameo in this movie, and let me say, it is fantastic. It fits perfectly with the story and doesn't feel shoehorned in. Plus, its the most badass (and funny) Depp has been in years. I would pay to see an entire movie featuring his character in this film if it was done right. 

If you haven't seen it yet, this movie is well-worth the price of a rental. Fun, engaging, and plain old enjoyable. Check it out. 

Happy Birthday Joss Whedon!

If you read this blog with any regularity (or just know me personally) you know it's no secret that I love the works of Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse, among others. Most recently, he's been recognized for his work on Cabin in the Woods and a self-described "little art-house film" called The Avengers. 


Whedon is a huge inspiration to me as a writer, creator, and director. There are others, of course, but he ranks at the top of my list for sheer dedication and creative energy. I mean, the guy tried to take a two-week vacation, and wound up making a movie version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing in his backyard. Dedication to his craft? For sure. But more importantly, I think that 'vacation story' sums up what makes Joss such an admired figure for people like me. He didn't shoot Much Ado because he was hoping to make money off it. He shot it because telling stories is what he loves to do. You can be dedicated to something without truly loving it, but that's not Joss. The man loves what he does as much as the fans of his work do - and that's truly admirable.

So in appreciation of Joss' 48th birthday, let us all do THE DANCE OF JOY AND HONOR.

Or, if you're not much of a dancer, show your support of Whedon by going out and purchasing one of his works - for example, the DVD of Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, featuring Neil Patrick Harris...

or the many works about him, the most recent of which is Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, featuring an essay by yours truly. 

Happy Birthday, Joss. And thank you. 

Where's the Rock?

I wanted to love Rock of Ages. I really, genuinely did. I am an unabashed lover of rock'n'roll music, and for me, theater is a way of life. To see the two combined onscreen was a dream come true - at least in concept. In delivery, not so much. What really disappoints about Rock of Ages is that in the maelstrom of misfires, there are some genuine rock'n'roll moments, some flashes of what the whole film could and should have been all about.

There's a saying that'll be familiar to anyone who works in and/or enjoys musical theater: when you have something to say, you speak. When you can't speak, you sing. Musicals are all about that chance to express things that we can't find the words to otherwise. In Rock of Ages, the vast majority of the characters have little or nothing to say, which makes their singing, in a word...pointless. Because many of these characters are so shallowly drawn (and frankly, unlikable caricatures), their singing lacks the raw, explosive emotional power that sits at the center of any good musical. Musicals are built around just that - the music, as extension of character and story. When both of these elements are as flimsy as they are here, it undercuts the music. 

Like me, you may have heard or read that the real reason to see this movie is Tom Cruise's turn as the Axl Rose-inspired rocker Stacee Jaxx. That's genuinely true. Jaxx has an odd obsession with feeling other people's heartbeats (these people are almost exclusively women), but what's interesting is that he alone is the heartbeat of this film. Why? Simple. Stacee Jaxx is the only real piece of genuine rock'n'roll in the entire movie. Every time he's onscreen, a wild energy comes with him that invigorates an otherwise furiously dull film.

Other performers in the film can sing and dance perfectly well, for sure. One thing this movie isn't short on is talented, pretty people. Julianne Hough in particular gives a game performance and supplies great vocals. 

Unfortunately there's not all that much here for the performers to work with. The movie is set in 1987, and for some counter-intuitive reason, it seems more interested in chronicling the decline of rock'n'roll than celebrating the fact that it will never die. Watching Rock of Ages will just make you want to come home and blast your favorite vinyl record on the turntable. But that's really not so bad, is it? 

The Majesty of the Doctor

I don’t know why I keep watching this clip. It makes me cry like a baby every single time. The brilliance of Murray Gold’s score combined with the regeneration scenes of every Doctor are unbelievably powerful.

But what hits me the most about this clip is the roars that go up from the crowd as each Doctor’s face appears on the screen. You can tell how much people really love The Doctor and how important he’s been to them - in all 11 incarnations, to millions of people over nearly half a century, in so many different ways.

As a writer, as a creator, I find myself wishing that someday, I might be able to create even just one thing - one story, one character, one anything - that has an impact on even just one person the way that the Doctor has mattered to so many people. 

At first this idea seemed selfish to me…but then I realized, it isn’t. I don’t need the fame, the glory, the money that might come from it. I just need to create something that matters to someone else the way that the Doctor matters to me. He is a hero of mine and I look up to him, and I’ll never apologize for that. Maybe someday, if I’m lucky, someone will look, even just for a moment, to someone I’ve written the way I look to the Doctor now.  

Allonsy, everyone. 

Shameless Plugs (An Addendum)

In the spirit of my last post, and because I think they deserve it, I thought it would be a good idea to post links to some of the dedicated writers and artists I mentioned when writing about GraniteCon. If you have a chance, check out their sites and show them some love - metaphorically (or literally in the form of purchasing their work).

Juli Mayers (Wicked Little Studio): Not only is Juli a genuine, friendly person, she's also a great artist. I have a print of hers (the 9th Doctor and Rose) hanging in my room right now. You can find her at: http://www.wickedlittlestudio.com/

Charles Soule: Writer of 27 and Strongman, as well as the upcoming Strange Attractors, Charles is based in New York. I'm reading the first volume of Strongman right now, and it's very, very good. And I'm not saying that just because I met the guy. Give his work a read - you can find him at: http://charlessoule.wordpress.com/

Peter Vinton Jr. : This guy is an artist and illustrator, and his work ranges from covers to sequential art to portraits. Check him out at: http://petervintonjr.com/index.html

Joe Hill: Of all the folks on this list, he's probably the one least in need of what (little) help might come from a mention on this blog. The son of writer Stephen King, Mr. Hill is the author of the Locke and Key comic book series, which is ongoing, as well as the novels Horns and Heart Shaped Box. He is also the author of the superb short story collection 20th Century Ghosts. If you don't have a copy, do yourself a favor and get one as soon as you can. You'll be glad you did.
You can find him at: http://joehillfiction.com/