BROADWAY'S; GYPSY, starring Patti Lupone

Patti Lupone, strong wonderful performance, applause, applause, the lady is a star, she understands the philosophy and essence of the stage, wonderful. Act one was very entertaining as the story unfolded and the actors began to introduce their character. At times the story/musical seemed to lose some of the momentum it had built up . I've said it before, in a musical, to much dialogue suppresses the moment, it tends to slow and depress the point of the story. Leading up to intermission there was a welcome surge in sound and song, adding needed flavor before intermission. Soon after the curtain went up for act two, wow, the St James Theater roared, a jolt of pure, live, full filling musical entertainment filled up the theater, and captured the audience till the final bow.
With such a powerful, talented leading lady, the ending should of taken advantage and capitalized on her extraordinary talents, sing, sing out loud, leave the audience speechless. The ending was sufficient for the story, the most obvious way to conclude, but Patti Lupone left something on the stage.

OLD ways vs NEW ways of thinking in Hollywood !

My point was further explained nicely in a recent article in thenewyorktimes,tuesday,april15,2008, "Bridging the gap, the sequel" by Laura M. Holson. This article leads me to my title, "OLD ways vs NEW ways of thinking."
 I've said it before, and I'll say it again, only this time I will not elaborate as much to make my point, reading my other articles goes more in depth on the topic.  The New York Times Article  helps prove my point. The essence of Mrs Holson's article is the cultural differences between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Again, Old way vs. New way of thinking. Hollywood is thinking for today, lets not think for tomorrow, definitely not next year, whereas Silicon Valley often capitalizes on planning for the future and strengthens from failure, needless to say, one failure in Hollywood and your done, things tried, failed and learned, vs. tried, failed, never to be seen again. There are going to be failures, and there have been many in Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Hollywood has a readily captive audience, that forgives ,and forgets, and is an audience asking for new waves of creativity.

I will use quotes to show some very fine points Mrs Holson captures in her article, " how each culture approaches failure, Silicon Valley, to a point, celebrates it, while "entertainment creators" in Southern California distance themselves fast enough from anything that might be a bomb. And Hollywood talent likes a success story, but only if it is their own," well said! This is the point I explained in my articles, if they, Hollywood, can claim credit immediately, they will, Hollywood today, unlike years past, if it takes  a new creative way of thinking, it's wrong and will not be accepted,  not worth the time, and as I've said in my other articles, this is why there has been an absence of quality content in television / film, but things are changing for the best.

Simplistic theory of cartoons

Cartoon theory, a prelude to comedy, drama, & mystery. A simplistic view of the theory behind cartoons, and how that basic principle can be applied to other forms of television and film. Cartoons in itself is a very simple theory to understand. One very important basic ingredient, "laugh-able colorful characters. One other very important trait to include, "colorful & majestic," scenery that will entice the viewer. You see, with cartoons, there does not necessarily need to be a particular format of rhyme or reason,  short story telling is fine. One verse/segment in a cartoon can be as short as a few minutes, as long as it includes, laughter, colorful characters, and interaction by the voices and jest between the fictitious.There can be multiple dialogues/direction (story lines) encasing a plot, used for sitcom, or in a movie (film). Similar to scenes found in a short story, the same theory will be applied in a book of short stories, and/or a comedian on stage performing his / her act. Everything is a story, not necessarily parallel to each other. Eventually if the writer chooses, they can be shown to have some similarities that shows some form of bonding. Television principles has  relied on the premise of telling a story(plot) applying the same formatting principles since its inception . This dark way of thinking has bought a slow halt to the advancement of creativity in many forms of entertainment. It is not until that paradigm is finally put to rest, that new forms of enjoyable, creative entertainment will be developed, think creative entertainment.

Said it before, I'll say it again

Nonsense,
it's as if someone had a brainstorm,
thought it was clever, a skeleton piece of work,
someone else bought the nonsense,
someone in the network inner circle, remember I said one time that someone with fresh creative talent would hardly ever / never be considered , unless of course the idea was purged,
 redesigned / restructured so it looks as if something clever was created internally, then the inner circle presents it as one of their own.
the networks inner circle should dissolve all copy cats, and scream for a blast of new talent.

Entertainment Profiles: FRONTPAGE SYNOPSIS FOR A SITUATION COMEDY, DRAMA, & MYSTERY.

Entertainment Profiles: FRONTPAGE SYNOPSIS FOR A SITUATION COMEDY, DRAMA, & MYSTERY.

FRONTPAGE SYNOPSIS FOR A SITUATION COMEDY, DRAMA, & MYSTERY.

FRONTPAGE SYNOPSIS FOR A SITUATION COMEDY, DRAMA & MYSTERY.
 Basics  for developing a situation comedy, drama, and mystery.
There is no set criteria, provided there is a taste of  intrigue and / or humor, the basis for a situation comedy will exist. For to long, television has relied on a standard format for script writing. This does not imply that's it's wrong, simply to say that there needs to be some leverage allowed within the formatting process for creative expression / exploration to exist. Even in the simplest story there can, and will be be multiple story lines, comedic situations allow for this expansion . Hollywood / television has been, and still is to selective in their selection process in determining who, and what they will consider, and if so, when it will be considered. And not allow for unknown or outside invention  and / or creative thought, unless it's from an established source. Hollywood, until only recently simply relied upon replaying or altered writing what's already been established, with slight variations. This is not wrong, just not very creative. There are reasons for this. Not allowing or expanding on  century old boundaries, the industry will never  discover new ground. In all actuality television is still in an infancy stage because of this stalemate.   Creative storytelling is endless , allow for a new beginning.  Television has reached a point of boredom, but is beginning to snap out of it, experimenting with prime-time comedy, reality shows and drams. Not until television / Hollywood redirects/or enhances their way of thinking will things change, and more creative and / innovative storytelling can be seen and heard. While writing/ formulating and evaluating ideas for a situation comedy, the need to stay focused on a direct line of  expression does no longer need to exist. The expression of the written word(s) can veer off in a totally different direction, existing to create another form of expression from an already conceived notion/or feeling, as long as some linkage is eventually available, and if not, that's OK. The creation of short story telling is a process that takes exploratory thought, and when creatively woven, if the work is finely sculptured, it makes for some very enjoyable and creative television. Again, if done correctly, a situation can be woven to tell any tale, each situation or illusion can be expanded on for expression, and the situations can eventually link at the end. Hollywood needs to reach out and explore the unexplored dimension, that until now, has not been uncovered in television and film. If any advancement in new forms of creative expression will exist, now is the time.
The same paradigm holds true for a drama /mystery, the need for some form of expressed linkage at the end can be crucial, but the highway to get there can be woven differently than how it's been done in the past. Again, television/Hollywood rely to much on the same formatting process for their expression and how it relates to a drama/mystery. The plot of an unknown, or, who done it, does not need to follow the same footsteps all the time, television again relies to much on a process to a plot line.


A very basic, but good analogy of this statement can be viewed from watching the television shows, PERSON OF INTEREST, MEDIUM & TWENTY FOUR "24" these shows explore a different form of expression than what the norm has been , one that I'm sure will open the door and allow for more creation and thought. With shows such as these, the viewer must watch week to week, only because they are telling a story, and playing catch-up can be time consuming and confusing for the viewer. Again, in it's simplest form, an occasional linkage to a point of reference is all it takes to make a complex theme, seem simple.

Academy Awards 2008,There Will Be Blood - the movie

THERE WILL BE BLOOD, definitely, should not be a movie considered for an Academy Award (Oscar) nomination. http://www.therewillbeblood.com/ a long, drawn out movie. The movie attempts to tell an epic tale of a oil pioneer. Some of the ingredients are there to make a tale of the theme, but, the pieces aren't knit together closely enough to make this movie work. Things need to happen /develop quicker, the movie does not flow smoothly, absolutely no suspense / intensity at all. There is way to much empty dialogue or space between each scene, the audience is waiting for something to happen. The movie desperately tries to build up some intensity, but never delivers. This story of a wanna be oil magnate set in the late 1800's and early 1900's does have the basic ingredients to deliver a masterpiece, if only it didn't try to be so refined. Daniel Day Lewis portrayed the part of a oil pioneer fine. There Will Be Blood was too slow in developing the story, the movie should of capitalized on the scenery of vast fields, hills, and mountains, and delivered more in the way of ruthlessness on part of the man involved in trying to capture the oil, and the people trying to negotiate for it. The movie should of taken a more aggressive approach to tell this tale.

BROADWAY'S SPRING AWAKENING

Enlightening musical, high energy theatrical entertainment, great to see a cast with the stamina of this cast. The only part in the musical where there could've been a bit more energy was in the finale. The cast puts forth a  high amount of energy during the show, but  seems to lose  energy  and the grasp that it had on the audience during the ending scene. The theme and dialogue of the musical has the potential to make a lasting impression on the audience. The musical cannot veer far from the story/truth of the book that holds premise to the original story. This delightful musical  production can accomplish a powerful and memorable closing by simply adding a prolonged segment of song and dance.
http://www.springawakening.com/home.php

Academy Awards 2008

Now that the writers strike is over, the television networks/ film studios agenda is to try and rehabilitate the industry, deliberately trying to salvage something positive from the past year.
February 15, 2008 - By Michael Cieply - Movies
The industry is relying on the platform of the Academy Awards Feb 24, to accomplish this. Hopefully it will be viewed / reviewed a huge success, and most is forgotten. Always some  notable names will help the effort  restore the presumption of glam-our.
AcademyAwards 2008 - Oscars 2008, Red Carpet : People.com
( Zellweger, Clooney, Hanks,kidman, Alan Arkin, Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Garner, Hillary Swank, Travolta, Denzel Washington, etc) there job is to provide damage control and show good will to all . Let us not be concerned with who's getting the credit and top billing. The industry as a whole has allot at stake, not the viewing audience. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should allow a minute or two (during each selection) talking about the films, showcase them, explain a little bit about them from a insiders perspective, make the Academy Awards Show interesting, knowledgeable. Talk about the industry, selective locations used for filming, the hard work, bring the audience into the mix, deliver something informative, otherwise, viewers attention evaporates quick, the results are posted throughout the media outlets the following day.
There is no doubt that this year's Academy Awards will deliver a stellar performance given excellent quality of work, coupled with the energy to revitalize the industry , it certainly sure to deliver, (2008)

Woody Allen's "CASSANDRA'S DREAM".

I was never a huge fan of Woody Allen, so I really wasn't expecting any big surprises, or a movie with much  creative  make-up. Woody Allen's resume is supported buy some very good movie roles,  and has shared the screen with some fine actors. Allen's style is to predicable, things just fall apart, or seem to be left undone. In Cassandra's Dream, ,  where there should be a continuous stream of intrigue, and cleverness, there is none. At the very beginning of Cassandra's Dream, Woody Allen has what seems to be a great idea, and begins the movie with a bit of intrigue. But, that's the extend of the thought, he just waltzes through the rest of the movie as if he just wanted to finish without cultivating any more suspense. This film had the potential to be a really fine film.

Cassandra's Dream was simply okay, predictable Woody Allen. The movie would've been a really fine suspenseful mystery. It had many options available for creative exploration. He should have allowed himself to explore some of them. Instead, some parts were left empty and the ending typical Woody Allen. The acting was superb. A story that had the potential to be one of the years best mystery's certainly fell way short. Maybe next time Woody Allen will allow himself to dig a little deeper into thought and develop something special, he certainly had all the makings for it with this film.

BROADWAY basics

 Superb actors are performing up and down and across Broadway, wonderful sounds of song are being sung, awakening costumes,  it's Broadway.  Broadway basics - talking by the cast during the show's performance poops the production.  Dialogue carried on for too long  creates down time, quiet time, not good,  Broadway is  song and dance storytelling. This is Broadway, not TV, Film, or a book reading. When the performers sing & dance, oh, so beautiful. When you first hear the volume of voice you crave for endless song, when its absent,  impatiently you wait  for more. In many productions many of these extremely talented actors should have the opportunity to reveal more talent, it would  take  slight revisions in the script, along with some great songwriting. And the finale should be a  progressive build up to a bursting finale, full with energy, never just let it happen, not good. 

No talking, sing ladies and gentlemen , sing.