Among the other things I’ve been ‘meaning to do’ when it comes to the creative endeavors in my life was something I considered doing for a recent competition but did not have the time to do a justifiably decent job. It’s continued to sit in the back of my mind, and the trends in my traffic lead me to believe that, with the time I’ll have away from the day job in a couple weeks, it may be worth doing even if I may not get attention from people that see its potential. If it has any.
So, mostly for kicks, to see what would be involved and what the result will be, the IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! on Christmas Eve will be The Emperor’s New Groove as a video, with new audio and a few surprises.
Given how the schedule is falling together, there will still be new fiction on the 15th and the (hopefully) final rewrite of Citizen In The Wilds will be finished by the end of the year. I’ve also contacted some artists to give me a hand with character sketches and other promotional art.
Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I hope I don’t disappoint you with the results of my endeavors.
Good filmmaking is rightly lauded in modern cinema. Consistently good filmmaking is damn close to a miracle. Take a look at the films of Martin Scorsese, and it’s very possible that this little guy with bushy eyebrows is the closest thing filmmaking has to a god amongst men. Casino is no exception.
Told mostly as a narrated flashback, Casino introduces us to life-long friends Ace & Nicky, who come to Las Vegas in the service of their old-school Italian mob leaders. The old men saw Vegas as virgin territory for profit and their agents go to ensure the cash flow. Ace, a natural born gambler, quickly becomes involved with a casino, the Tangiers, helping the already-assumed house wins to grow to giant proportions while Nicky begins carving out a little criminal empire of his own, free from interference or even much oversight from back home. A grifting hooker, corrupt politicans and the hubris of these friends are the aggravating factors that cause their endeavors to start coming undone, and in the process it’s likely Ace and Nicky will come undone as well.
There was a time when a film like this would have Ace and Nicky be a close-knit wise-cracking criminal duo. Ace would be the smiling, charming face of the operation, while Nicky works behind the scenes with brass knuckles, a baseball bat and a silenced .22 to get the real business done. In other words, they’d be the villains in the story. Casino instead focuses on Ace and Nicky as protagonists. We don’t see them as victims or even great guys, but they’re still human beings with dreams and ambitions just like any other. Putting a face on ‘the bad guys’ is something Scorsese is legendary for doing, and Casino is a shining example of this work.
“I am, in fact, talkin’ t’ you, Ace.” “Yeah, well, you amuse me, Nicky.”
Scorsese is also known for having an eye for talent. Casino was the 8th film he made with Robert DeNiro. Playing Ace, DeNiro’s intensity is focused entirely on how his character is trying to keep things together. Here’s a man who knows a sure bet when he sees it, bets with confidence and never loses. The very prospect of losing doesn’t even occur to Ace; left to his own devices, he’d achieve just about anything he went after. When Nicky and Ginger get involved, though, you can feel Ace’s frustration, the sort of anger a stereotypical villain might rant abouot at the drop of a hat only to put some outrageous scheme of revenge into motion. Ace is too smart for that, though. He plays his hand close to his chest.
Nicky, on the other hand, may not be playing with the entire deck. As much as it seems sometimes that Joe Pesci only has one role, he plays things so well here it’s hard to hold some repetition of roles against him. Nicky is as ambitious as he is uncompromising. Where Ace does business with a handshake, Nicky does it with a bat. Where Ace tries to keep the peace, Nicky itches for action. Yet these two are friends, and very close ones. They really are flip sides of the same coin, a bright and lucrative coin that spins through the air and catches the lights of the Vegas strip. As the film goes on, it’s hard to say which side of the coin is going to land right-side up.
Yeah. She’s pretty distracting.
Further complicating matters is Sharon Stone as Ginger. At first appearing as the sort of arm candy that shows up with high rollers to skim a bit for herself, Ginger becomes the one unpredictable variable in Ace’s life that starts to unravel the disparate threads he’s woven together. While none of the main characters are unaffected by Las Vegas, and indeed all of them succumb to varying degrees of decadence and depravity, Ginger is the one most dragged under by the the booze, drugs and lifestyle that was Sin City in the 70s and 80s. We watch her fall apart practically before our eyes, from her inability to seperate herself from her manipulative boyfriend and pimp to the lengths she’ll go to further her own ends, especially when it comes to the daughter she has with Ace. Everything goes to hell in a gradual fashion, a painful and inevitable backslide that unfolds as the movie rolls on.
While the movie is not painful in a bad or sickening way, it’s quite an ordeal to sit through. It’s nearly three hours long, and much of that is featuring fights, arguments, breakdowns and discomfort on a public or private level. There’s moments of levity and vindication, to be sure; the acting, writing and direction are all fantastic; the soundtrack is top-notch and walks us through the changing times as much as the cinematography does – but the overall length of the narrative begins to wear on the viewer. And it’s only at the very end that Scorsese delivers the ultimate point of his story.
“You sure I should be wearin’ this color, Marty?” “Bobby, I ain’t let ya down yet, I ain’t startin’ now.”
This movie is a eulogy for Vegas of old. It’s the sort of movie that longs for old-fashioned machismo, the slight haze of cigarette smoke in back rooms while the glitz and glamour flash in the eyes of suckers betting against the house run by the Mob. Nowadays, suckers bet against the house run by corporations. Ace lays it out for us: “In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it’s like chekin’ into an airport. And if you order room service, you’re lucky to get it by Thursday.” His arc follows that of Vegas itself. He rises out of nowhere into the Nevada desert, fastitious and self-assured. His life begins to spiral out of control, from his ne’er-do-well wife to his taste in clothes. And when all is said and done, he’s still the same guy – but hollowed out, older, a shadow of his former self.
That’s what makes Casino such an effective tragedy. That’s what makes it worth the long running time and Sharon Stone’s chewing of scenery. That’s why it’s one of Scorsese’s many great pictures, and why it should be on your Netflix queue. It is, like many memorable and timeless stories, a cautionary tale: Excess and success are not the same thing. If you’re unable to moderate your excesses when you’re successful, life’s circumstances are likely to take it all away from you. All you can count on, in the end result, is being who you are, and if you aren’t careful, they can take that away from you, too. Just a little bit of wisdom, and a touch of keeping your goals in sight, goes a long, long way.
Sorry, this is getting preachy. Watch Casino to see DeNiro in a salmon-colored suit. He looks fabulous.
Josh Loomis can’t always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it’s unclear if this week’s film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain… IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.
The truth that every novelist has to face is that you’re not going to get everything right in the first draft. Nobody does. It’s likely that George Lucas wrote a single draft of his prequel scripts, and look how those turned out. No, multiple drafts is more than just a means of editing out grammar mistakes and adding missed punctuation. If that’s what you’re looking for at this point, by the way, let me direct your attention over yonder to the Writing Haus of Wendig.
What I want to talk about is rewrites.
I’m not saying you’ll need to rewrite your novel, but you will almost certainly need to rewrite part of it.
As you write, your characters are going to grow and change. At least, they should. I’ve talked about this before. The tricky part is, you don’t want that growth to be spontaneous and unexplained. A character’s motivations should begin somewhere in the story. If you trace the character’s plot line from the end to the beginning, and lose track of where a change happens or don’t see it happen at all, it’s time for a rewrite.
Now, the prospect of a rewrite can be intimidating. But the good news is, it’s very unlikely that you’ll have to rewrite the entire work. Chances are, there are one or two areas in the narrative that just need some restructuring, a few conversations that need to be reworked, etc.
Of course, if you do find yourself rewriting great swaths of text, you may want to step back and take a look at the story as a whole. Why was this such a problem? Are you fixing it in the best way? What else will need to change as a result?
Whether you need to rewrite a little or a lot, don’t be afraid to do it. The end result is always going to be better than what you began with. Characters will grow more smoothly, plotlines will advance and complicate organically and your readers will be drawn in further to the world you create. I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing about those prospects I don’t like.
The Nentir Vale is a campaign setting provided to new players of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. It’s present in the Red Box and most of the starting materials. For a party almost all completely new to D&D and a DM re-familiarizing himself with the latest edition, it’s a great place to start a campaign. This will be an ongoing recollection of what happens to the party as they make their way through the Nentir Vale. Enjoy.
On the road to the druid’s grove, Krillorien recalled a conversation he’d had with Bensun Stonecarver, the dwarven majordomo of the house his father had given him. Despite having won the manse in a game of Three Dragon Ante with a compatriot, Krillorien’s father had never lived there, opting instead to remain with his people in Meloravia. Now that the manse was repaired and the threat of kobold or goblin invasion ended, Krillorien asked Bensun if he’d be willing to shut up the house and take his dwarves north past Winterhaven, to work on restoring the Keep on the Shadowfell. Bensun agreed, then told Krillorien to think up a new name for the place while he and his friends were out adventuring.
Krillorien and his friends were soon in the grove of the druid. The Iron Circle had, so far, left the grove of ancient trees untouched. A small cottage sat near the grove’s central menhir, tended to by a halfling woman and a young male human. Emerging from the cottage was Reithann, spry and bright-eyed despite her advanced human years. She told the adventurers that many potential warriors could come from Tor’s Hold to uproot the Iron Circle from the Harkenwold, if they could be freed from protecting their hamlet from bullywug attacks. Frog-like humanoids, the druid called them unnatural and said that by harassing the people of western Harkenwold, they were preventing Tor’s Hold from joining Albridge in open resistance. The party elected to deal with them first.
“Go, but be careful,” Reithann advised them. “On a cloudy day, the mouse does not see the hawk’s shadow.”
The party went to head west down the road, but Lyria stopped. “Wait… what?”
“Is it going to be an indoor or outdoor encounter?” – Mike
“Both.” – me
“*gasp* YOU JUST BLEW MY EVERYTHING!” – Eric
“I’m so excited I rolled!” – Mike
They moved down the road at speed. Without mounts, they kept to a brisk jog.
“She’s going to end up with two black eyes if we jog at 10 miles an hour.” – Ben, referring to Eric’s character
The elder of Tor’s Hold, Bran Torsson, was happy to see help arrive in dealing with the “damn croakers.” His wife, however, was feeling less than hospitable, especially when Krillorien offered to help with the wounded. A few jabs and insults later, Bran explained that she had run afoul of a priest peddling the blessings of Pelor for coin. He apologized for her behavior and for the fact that he could not send help with them to deal with the bullywugs.
The hideout known as the Toadwallow Caverns was a thoroughly unpleasant hole in a hillside overlooking the White River. A small waterfall spilled from the cavern entrance, feeding a stream that flowed south to the river. Lyria climbed up the 10-foot ledge first, on the lookout for patrols or traps.
“So if there are any traps there, you want to do them?” – Eric
“Maybe I like traps.” – Danielle
There was a small guard posted just within the cavern, but once the party was up on the rocks they took the bullywugs by surprise. Amongst the colorful mushrooms they did battle with the humanoid toads. As they fought, stirges swept in from above a nearby pool to assault the intruders. Even with the large insects seeking blood, the party managed to make short work of the guard.
Walking deeper into the cavern, they found a large central chamber dominated by a dragon skull. Beady eyes watched their approach and a croak carried a command. Minions emerged from the shadows to fall upon the party… …and were quickly dispatched. Oozes slid towards the newcomers, and Andrasian occupied them for the most part as the others tried to draw the bullywug chieftain out of his hiding place. Out of the protection of the ancient skull, he did not last long.
The party checked over their loot, took a moment to rest, and then gathered their belongings to leave the cavern…
