a comedy feast

caught two shows this evening with friends. best of the edinburgh fest was at the capitol theatre, one of my most favourite venues.

then gordon southern's a brief history of history in the ladies lounge at the forum. i swear i did not know that there was another room at this venue besides the theatre and the stage. though i'm also not certain i would call the space we were in a room. it was close to a walk in wardrobe or a broom closet. it was an extremely tiny room for a funny show about the enormity of history.

tina c is in the house

back at the malthouse for sorry seems to be the hardest word... this was a fabulous mix of comedy, country music and politics. i know, who would've thought it. and let me tell you how envious i am of her/ his incredible legs. wowee!!

i got hugged by three strangers, sang along to the australian national "anthem" of waltzing matilda and ended the evening in a mash-up line-dance. i kid you not. it was a lot of fun and also really thought-full. christopher green was the perfect host in the guise of tina c.

state of the industry

and just how is it? 50 years of the australian writers' guild in 2012. i joined last year, so there's some time i have to make up.

the address by david williamson was delivered at the wheeler centre. and i was surprised that the speech wasn't as passionate or well spoken as i had been expecting. oh, it was well informed and that was interesting in itself but there wasn't as many moments as i had hoped that would work to inspire.

i had spotted two faces in the crowd that i recognised from watching tv in the early 80s. took me a while but they were from cop shop, terry norris and terence donovan. funny to think i haven't seen them in years but the memories are still there. damn i love film and tv.

all day long, all day, all day

a story mastery workshop at RMIT with michael hauge. what was good about the entire day was that he explained his concepts against a couple of films, one of which was a local film, you may know it as red dog. i was exhausted by the end though, trying to fit all that information into my little brain. and i still have the problem of not knowing which project to write in april. not many days left to plan, dammit.

AAWWEESSOOME

loved it. nothing more needs to be said. i was caught up in the action all the way through... went along to melbourne central to watch it at one of the first sessions of the day so had my pick of seats (yah). i could've watched the next installment straight away, but i must wait. sigh. if you're going to see it and you should, make sure it's on the big screen with a good sound system, it's worth the ride.

golden oldies

i liked this film. it was lovely to watch. nothing jaw dropping or eye popping, just nice. thursday after work at the nova, what a jolly idea.

love this show

a mixture of fairy tales and reality - right up my alley. waltzed my way through 12 episodes this day. yes, i know i can get a little obsessive but i do really like this idea.

after school special

i've recently found out for those of us with nova membership cards, each thursday release of a new film means a big, fat saving. i tell you paying $11 for a movie instead of $17-18 will ensure that i get to as many thursday films as possible. unless it's a freebie of course, then the sky's the limit.

margin call. intensely thrilling, but not in that psycho death or car chase way. a really well written and directed film by j.s. chandor. it had me engaged the whole way through, except for those few times when i had my film-writer cap on and just marveled how one small action replaced the need for a whole lot of dialogue. blah blah blah. i know, me and films. anyway, a great ensemble piece lead by kevin spacey. see it. it's clever. oh and it's about the players of an investment bank the night/ day leading up to the financial crisis in 2008. not as dull as it sounds, honest.

baking

the icing was suppose to be red (it's not) and one day i'll learn how to pipe, but not today. quick cupcakes to take to work tomorrow, a celebration for a work colleague getting married. nothing says YAH like cupcakes.

(an aside: these things looked TOXIC in the light of day)

an afternoon movie

over to the other side of town for a free film, the lengths i'll go. an interesting story on the relationship between freud and jung but i still don't really like keira knightley as an actress. she did look quite freaky in her "mad" scenes however.

i can still dance

and dance i did at the substation in newport. a friend put together an awesome evening of dance, performance and frivolity and it was fantastic to catch up with a whole lot of people.

stole these pics from facebook, as i'm in them i didn't think it such a crime.  fun was had.

what a way to see 4 years in melb!!

amanda palmer and the grand theft orchestra... woooottt! they played the northcote social club for $10.  ridiculously low and awesome price. and not only were we dazzled by this most fantastical band of players but also mikelangelo, impossible girl and two strange but hypnotic dancers. for $10.  like i already said RIDICULOUS. fab evening of play with friends on and off stage.

happy BIG birthday mum

yep, she was born a few years ago now my mum. which is good because without her wouldn't be me.  ;) but seriously there were suppose to be photos here but my phone is playing up so i'll have to get that fixed first. i wasn't in perth to share her day but my awesome sister, uncle and aunt took her out to lunch. there was laughter and flowers and cake and presents and many phone calls and well wishes.  happiest of days to you my beautiful mum.

hold the press... sorted phone out so photos below contain mum, uncle retch and aunt christine.

skipped dancing for a movie

bad decision number one for the week, don't miss dancing next time. kind of didn't like this film. kind of turned me cold, even with the full frontals and the swaying and the menage a trois. i just didn't like the characters, had no empathy for them whatsoever. there was no satisfying resolution for the story or me as a member of the audience. it was nice to catch up and talk film and writing though.

ready to go

it's being handed over tomorrow. eek and ooh!

another reason fridays rock

an hour every friday forever... well for as long as it lasts. each friday at 5 there will be a gathering at acmi. today's was the first held in melbourne but these sessions have been running in sydney for the last 4 years. the idea is a weekly conversation on screen and broadcasting. hosted by sandra sdraulig, today's conversation was with matthew saville, notably director of feature film noise and director of cloudstreet and episodes of the slap. who will be delivered front and centre next week?? stay tuned.

summer is over

early evening found me walking through an autumn drizzle to the malthouse theatre for a performance of the wild duck. written by simon stone and chris ryan (after a play by ibsen) and directed by stone, it is a tale told within a glass house. i wondered if it the themes of secrets and family disfunction were amplified by the setting, hinting at the adage of "people in glass houses..."? i expect it had crossed the set designer's mind at some stage. a moving piece with such strong performances by all cast members. the team at the malthouse continue to entrance with their selections.