into the box

a weekend aftrs course on writing and thinking about writing for television. it was a lot of fun and i met some cool people. i do know that i have chosen the right path, i just need to stay on it and stay moving and then i might just get somewhere.

two shocks, one night

so last night i sat in a cinema to watch a horror film. first time since 1985 when a nightmare on elm street visited my town (yes, a year after it was released, but we're talking kalgoorlie, western australia here). i am not a horror fan. in fact, i go out of my way to avoid them. but this was joss whedon so i had no choice. it was a funny kind of horror, though i was still made to jump and look at my lap (and close my eyes), i enjoyed it. written by whedon and drew goddard, it made me laugh. of course it did. it was saying all sorts of things but i'll give it a few days to try and make sense of it. but i liked it and no, there's no real chance of me getting more interested in horror films. i don't see the sense in them.

the second shock was also during the viewing. we had an earthquake. well, i didn't know it was a tremor then - what i assumed was that someone was tapping their foot/ leg on the ground and it was vibrating the seats. it lasted for 30 odd seconds so it was lengthy. it was only when i got home that the news came in that a 5.3 quake had it's epicentre in moe, a town about 130km east of melbourne.

sort of, but not quite, back

had a bit of a sabbatical from blogging. it's not that i haven't been doing stuff, stuff has been done. it's just that i haven't been bothered to write about it. i mean, since i last wrote there's been the annual trip to sydney for the writers festival, many films, trips to the theatre. oh, i went to the circus (research, i promise), a couple of art galleries and a day trip to clunes. so like i said, there's stuff done to be written about i just haven't.

but maybe i'm back, i don't know. i'll give it a shot.

i just finished watching a cool tv series from new zealand. i first read about it on a uk website, i can't remember if it was cultbox or den of geek, but anyway, one of those mentioned the almighty johnsons and i stumbled across the first season at jb hifi about a month ago. timing, i hope thou are looking up, as season two finished not so long ago and i was able to purchase that online as well. i was hooked. i love the story of norse gods who had immigrated to new zealand and found out their true identities on their 21st birthdays - awesome. hope the creators james griffin and rachel lang get picked up for a third series.

aftrs @ acmi

another one of aftrs friday on my mind sessions. this one started at 3.30 for a preview screening of australia on trial: massacre at myall creek.

the three-part docudrama was produced by december films for screening on abc, with each episode written and directed by a different team. this episode directed by ana kokkinos and written by andy cox focussed on the court case that involved white men on trial for the murder of 28 aboriginal men, women and children at myall creek in 1838.

after the screening, ana kokkinos conversed with sandra sdraulig so we got to hear how the actual court papers were used in the recreation of this fabulous episode. i was so utterly moved by the story and was sitting on the edge, hoping that the seven white men would be convicted (and thus hanged) but also knowing just how miraculous it would be if they were. this episode is airing on abc1 on thursday april 19 at 8.30 and the other two can be found on abc iView for the time being. check these australian stories out, they're fascinating.

the histrionics

i had won tickets to a preview of the histrionics at the malthouse which was awesome. i love theatre and the staging of this production was fantastic and as there was no research before arriving, i wasn't quite sure what i'd be in for. i wouldn't say i was pleasantly surprised, i was challenged - the playwright thomas bernhard's text was a dark comedy on ego and celebrity. "the world's greatest actor" dropped into a small village with all the demands and eccentricities that go along with it. an amazing performance by bille brown, who as the central character bruscon carried 95% of the dialogue - holy cow.

the malthouse continues to deliver thought provoking and excellent theatre. can't wait for the next show.

easter at the astor

how i love this film, the magic of henson creations, the imaginings of brian froud, music by bowie. just fabulous. the astor has a remastered digital copy of the original 1986 film. i remember watching this at the viewway cinema when it first came out, and even though i have my own dvd copy, it was awesome to watch it on the big screen again.

and what says easter more than a red tulip humpty dumpty egg? thanks mum. (yes, it was easter egg chocolate for breakfast - i don't care, i will never change). happy easter holiday everyone.

only a little foolish, happy birthday me