One of the finest shows on TV these past six years has been FX's Justified. Based on an Elmore Leonard novella entitled Fire in the Hole, the series followed the exploits of a Deputy U.S. Marshal named Raylan Givens, as played by the exceptional Timothy Olyphant. Raylan's primary nemesis was Boyd Crowder, an outlaw from the Kentucky hills who once worked in the coal mines with Raylan. Boyd was played to perfection by Walton Goggins.
While Raylan and Boyd were strutting their stuff week in and week out, the producers of Justified, led by show creator/showrunner Graham Yost, also created a stellar group of women characters who often stole the spotlight from the two peacocks of the series. In particular Joelle Carter as Ava, Natalie Zea as Winona, Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks, plus guest stars like Mary Steenburgen as Katherine Hale, Kaitlyn Dever as Loretta McReady (she's an up and comer we should all keep our eyes out for) and Emmy winner Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett.
Tonight Justified airs its series finale. I had the opportunity to see it last night night at a special screening and I have to say that it's fantastic. Fans of the show will not be disappointed. If you're a writer wanting to see how great TV writing can be, you can check out each season on Amazon or Hulu Plus.
Yesterday I wrote more about Justified over at Popdose. I hope you'll check it out.
Last summer I was pretty ambitious about my serial novel, Legendary, which ran on Popdose for three months. I posted a new chapter every other day, each one with at least one song and an original work of art. I was so excited about it and I had planned to write entries about each chapter here on the BS Blog.
What I didn't realize is how exhausting the whole project would be and how quickly my energy was used up at the end of every day. I failed miserably.
I apologize to anyone who was paying attention, which may be about 15 people.
Hey you 15, SORRY!
Anyway, I'm going to do my best to finish what I started and write a little blurb about each music artists I used in the book.
By the way, wach chapter is still up on Popdose, along with the music and art. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to this LINK, which explains everything. Links to successive chapters are available at the end of every chapter, if that makes any sense.
I may still publish it as a Kindle book. Any opinions from anyone on that front? It kind of worked out for the Basement Songs book (still available in paperback from Lulu and Amazon- see the column to the right).
One of the columns I used to write on a regular basis for Popdose was The Three Strike Rule. It was a weekly (!) review of some television series, usually new, based on its first three episodes. With the advent of instant opinions available on the web, I started to fall behind on my reviews and, frankly, lost some interest.
With binge watching and people discovering shows both new and old every day, I've decided to give it a try again. I'm not out to impress anyone, just offer my two cents and maybe start some conversations.
I must also admit that I felt some apprehension writing about television during a period of time when I was submitting spec pilot scripts to managers and agents. But you know what, I'm forty-frickin-five, so if someone wants to hire me they would have done it by now. I'm giving up, mind you, but I'm tired of holding back on writing about the subjects that I enjoy.
I love telkevision, and I do enjoy writing about it. I also enjoy podcasting about TV (which I've been doing for a couple of years), so perhaps this renewed energy for The Three Strike Rule will lead to something new and exciting.
Is that a hint?
Anyway, here's a link to the latest Three Strike Rule over on Popdose.
It's no secret that I'm a diehard Journey fan. Besides growing up listening to their music, the song and story behind their hit from the Vison Quest soundtrack, "Only the Young," has a special meaning to me and the cystic fibrosis community. I frequently go back to their studio albums featuring Steve Perry, although I tend to listen to the first four with Perry (Infinity, Evolution, Departure and Escape) more than the others. Although 1983's Frontiers came out at the peak of their world domination (stadium tours! music videos! two video games!), and although I saw them for the first time on the tour to support that album, I've rarely listened to the LP in the past 32 years. It's not that there are bad songs on Frontiers (mind you, I'm speaking as a Journey fan; Journey haters keep your snide comments to a minimum), it's just that the album is so front heavy with the hits and ballads, and there is a cold bitter tone throughout the record, that returning to has never given me the thrill it did when I was 13.
A few years ago, I wrote a comprehensive overview of the band's history in my Popdose Guide to Journey, reviewing every album by the group. It's an exhaustive read, but I had a good time doing it. One reader commented on Frontiers recommending changing the sequencing of the songs and swapping out one of the lesser tunes for "Only the Young." That song and another soundtrack song, "Ask the Lonely" (featured in the John Travolta/Olivia Newton John movie, Two of a Kind) were recorded during the Frontiers sessions. They were cut at the last minute in favor of "Back Talk" and "Troubled Child" (according to Wikipedia).
I've considered this reader's comment many times over the years (and if you're the person who wrote it, please chime in and take credit), and can only recall a couple of changes he suggested, in particular moving "Frontiers" to the top of side 2 and placing the power ballad, "Faithfully" into the second to last slot on side 2 (where "Frontiers" had been placed).
Over Christmas I gave this a try, and then began toying with the album even more. In addition to "Only the Young," I wanted to find a way to include "Ask the Lonely," which is one of my top 10 Journey songs. This week I came up with a track order that not only included these songs, but gave the record new life, bringing attention to songs that were buried on the second side and omitting two inferior tracks.
Here's how my reimagined Frontiers album looks:
Side 1:
1. "Separate Ways (World's Apart)" - No need to mess with perfection here. This is a great song to kick off any record.
2. "Only the Young" - Originally, "Send Her My Love" filled the second slot. Moving it down one and placing "Only the Young" here gives the record the flow of a concert. Two fast songs in a row keeps the energy up before moving into the first ballad on the record. "Only the Young" is also less angry that "Separate Ways," and a nice break before getting into the bittersweet "Send Her My Love."
3. "Send Her My Love" - Although technically a ballad, I'd call this song a mid-tempo rocker, similar to "Who's Crying Now" from Escape. Although it has quiet moments and is driven by Jonathan Cain's piano playing, the song moves at a fast pace and Neal Schon has an soaring guitar solo at the end.
4. "Edge of the Blade" - My toughest decision was to cut "Chain Reaction" from the album completely. While it's a fun, hard rocking song that appealed to me as a 13-year-old, it really doesn't add anything musically to Frontiers that isn't already covered by other songs. Following "Send Her My Love" with a blistering rocker is still the way to go, though, and shifting "Edge of the BLade" (which originally kicked off side 2) is a great way to achieve that. Additionally, it pulls one of the songs that were relegated to side 2 (often never listened to by casual fans because of the front loaded first side) into the spotlight. In a way, it replicates what "Keep on Runnin'" does on Escape.
5. "After the Fall" - This sometimes forgotten hit is a good way to close out the first side. It brings you down nicely from the assault of "Edge of the Blade," and has an excellent fade out that you can imagine ending with a needle lifting off of vinyl or a cassette deck snapping off.
Side 2:
1. "Frontiers" - An odd, experimental song, I never understood why "Frontiers" was shoved to the end of side 2. It has a really interesting percussion pattern by Steve Smith, Journey's excellent drummer. The way the song opens with the sound of wind and ends with the band a capella makes it a fine way to begin the second side.
2. "Ask the Lonely" - Inserting this great rocker as the second song of side 2 brings you back to the trademarks of Journey. It features the band's great harmonies, an impassioned vocal performance by Perry, and one of Schon's most succinct and melodic guitar solos. It also replaces the inferior "Back Talk", which was never a good song. Aside from the great drum beat on "Back Talk," the song does nothing for the album.
3. "Troubled Child" - The original track number two is nudged into the three slot. This is an overlooked slow rocker that also uses an unusual time signature for a rock album. I wonder if this could have been a single if the band had continued touring into 1984.
4. "Faithfully" - One of Journey's most enduring songs. Placing it as the penultimate song would have given listeners reason to listen to most of Side 2. And with this new song order, which I believe is stronger, it could have made Frontiers an even bigger success than it already was.
5. "Rubcion" - The original album closer and still the best way to wind down Frontiers,
I've been listening to this new version of Frontiers for awhile now. After getting my mind to adjust to not hearing certain songs following others (especially the original side 1), I've grown to love the reimagined Frontiers and actually look forward to listening to is when I'm in the mood for some Journey. In my mind, this song order flows better and provides the listening experience of Escape, which is a near perfect melodic rock album. Besides reconfiguring a Trevor Rabin album back in the late 80s (using a cassette deck), I've never toyed with an artists work like this before. I don't know if it's a challenge I'll continue with other albums, but I think this experiment was a success.
Chapter 2 of Legendary is up on Popdose. This chapter features Van Halen's "Dreams," from their 1986 album, 5150. This was one of the first songs I considered for the Legendary soundtrack. 5150 was a huge triumph for the band. Not only was it a huge hit, with four popular singles, but it shut up the naysayers who thought that Van Halen would collapse without David Lee Roth as lead vocalist. When Roth quit Van Halen (or was shoved out - depends on whose story you believe), many believed that Van Halen was done. Enter Sammy Hagar.
Sammy is an everyman rocker who doesn't treat his audience as if they're beneath him. Roth, to me, always comes across as "I'm cooler than you," while Sammy is "You're as cool as me." This includiveness won over the Van Halen diehards, as well as new fans.
5150 may have had some half-baked electronic drums, but all of the songs rock, thanks to the combined efforts of Eddie and Alex Van Halen, as well as the impecible harmonies of Michael Anthony. No one sings better together than Sammy and Michael Anthony.
In Legendary, Brian and his suburban friends are guys who dabble in the burgeoning college radio music, but primarily stick with the blue collar, AOR/classic rock bands that maintain popularity despite the rise of hair metal and teenie bopper pop like Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. "Dreams" was a logical selection for the book, as it's a great summer song, and it wouldn't be surprising to hear it being played on the radio a year after it was released.
Chapter 1 went live on Monday. I'm sure you've already read it, otherwise why are you reading this post?
One of my favorite bands from the 80s, the Pretenders appear in this chapter. Seems that if you grew up in Cleveland during that decade you were bound to hear the Pretenders on any radio format, be it AOR, top 40 or Classic Rock. Chrissie Hynde, the leader and focal point of the band, hails from Akron. Because of that city's close proximity to Cleveland (it's about a 42 minute drive), Cleveland stations liked to claim Hynde as one of their own. I'm not so sure she wanted any part of that, but it worked in her favor as the Pretenders developed a loyal fan base in the Rock and Roll Capital of the World.
The Pretenders had their major breakthrough with 1983's Learning to Crawl, which features the haunting "Back on the Chain Gang," one of my favorite songs of all time. I considered using that song to open the book, but changed it to "Don't Get Me Wrong," the band's hit single from their 1986 LP, Get Close. I felt that this song fit the opening chapter much better because a) the song was current for that year, and b) the upbeat sound of it has a peppiness I'd associate with the mall. There is an optimism to "Don't Get Me Wrong" that places you in the mind Allison. She's ready for new and great things to happen, and this song conveys that feeling.
I made a concerted effort to include as many female artists as I could in the soundtrack to Legendary, With two female protagonists, I thought it was important that all of the music wasn't testosterone driven. That doesn't mean the songs aren't bad ass and don't rock. In the coming weeks, the Go-Go's and Joan Jett have some ass kicking songs featured in the book. Using the Pretenders was a no-brainer, and turned out to be a perfect way to begin the book.
I began adapting my 1980s high school screenplay, "Finding the Way," in the spring of 2010. I discovered that my train rides to and from work were my favorite times to write. The 45 minutes there in the morning, and the 45 minutes returning home gave me enough time to write 8 - 10 pages at a time. The year I spent writing the first draft of the book was the most enjoyable and freeing 12 months I'd ever spent as a writer. For the first time in my life, I didn't give a damn about what anyone was going to think about my work. I kept telling myself, "This is an experiment. I'm a screenwriter, not a novelist." I believe it was that lack of concern that allowed me to be so loose and to write so fast. I've been chasing that feeling ever since.
I completed the first draft around Thanksgiving of that year. Now entitled Legendary, I sent it to my friend who worked at Simon & Schuster. At Christmastime, we met for coffee to discuss the book's potential. She had general notes on how to make the book better, and felt that it was worth pursuing. Her two biggest suggestions were 1) changing the time period from the 1980s to the present day. This way, the
book might have a better chance of getting read, and I might get a
literary agent. And 2) reducing the number of main characters/narrators. In adapting the screenplay, I'd come up with seven different narrators for Legendary. The book may have captured the ensemble feel of a Paul Thomas Anderson film, but it was hard to follow.
I had no problem with any of what she said. On the spot I decided I would rewrite the book to follow the love triangle that made up one third of Legendary (the other two stories might make it into another book someday. Who knows?) The feedback I received got me excited to dive back into the text.
Throughout 2011, I revised, revised, revised. Some writers hate the editing process, but I find it thrilling. It's like a puzzle and you're trying to find the exact word or phrase to fit the sentence or paragraph. Maybe you cut entire passages, things you love, but it's all for the betterment of the book.
By the end of 2011, I had completed the new version of Legendary. My friend reread it and was enthusiastic. She even offered to submit it to her bosses, and to allow me to use her name in some of the query letters I sent to literary agents. This was how I knew that she wasn't just paying me lip service that Legendary was pretty good. If she was afraid that Legendary would have embarrassed her, she wouldn't have offered what she did.
I did the query routine, sending the book to a long list of agents. Unfortunately I was turned down by all. Maybe I shouldn't say that, but I'm not ashamed. That's part of the game, right? Rejection is how an artist grows. I actually received some very kind feedback from several agents. Most of them really liked the character of Allison (one even suggested rewriting the book entirely from her point of view), but almost all of them said that trying to get a book with a male protagonist as the central character would be too difficult.
It was disappointing, to say the least, but I didn't let it get me down. The experience of writing Legendary gave me the confidence to continue writing prose. For the second time in its life, "Finding the Way," now known as Legendary, was put to sleep in a file cabinet, or rather a hard drive.
*****
In 2012, while sending out all of those queries, I self-published Basement Songs, the book that collected some of my favorite posts from Popdose (but you know that because you're here and you own a copy, right?). In editing that book, I pretty much put to rest the "Basement Songs" column. It had run its course. I attempted two other columns for Popdose, "Scotty's Jukebox," which was supposed to be a look at all things pop culture, and "Goin' Country," an attempt at exploring country music. Neither gained traction. Or rather, neither got me thrilled the way "Basement Songs" used to do.
As 2014 began, I started thinking about what I wanted to write for Podose in the coming year. I was working on two spec TV pilots and a feature length screenplay, but these things wouldn't work on Popdose. Then it struck me: What if I published Legendary as a serial novel on the site? The book was complete, so I wouldn't have to worry about writing deadlines, and I could include music, like I did with "Basement Songs." But what music? And would a contemporary teen driven story connect with Popdose's audience.
Then I thought, "What if I returned the story back to its 80s roots?"
Within days, I worked out the details with Jeff and began revising the novel. I made 10 separate playlists of songs to include in the posts. And I came up with the idea to include original art with each chapter. There may not have been writing deadlines, but I have a spreadsheet charting everything that needs to be done for this summerlong project.
You know what? I'm stoked. In placing the story back in its original time period, I believe Legendary got better. For anyone who read the original final draft, this story will be familiar, but different in enough ways that I think you'll get a kick out of it. Plus, it has music and art, people, music and art!
So that's the general backstory about Legendary. I could write more, but the history isn't important, not in this case. What's important is that Legendary is out there, and that you enjoy reading it throughout the summer.
Check out Popdose tomorrow for the official introduction to Legendary.
Here is the banner for the character of Kate. All three banners will be posted together only once. That will be tomorrow, with the Introduction to Legendary. The book begins publishing tomorrow!
The early 2000's
were hectic and full of potential. Within a five year span, I wrote and
directed King's Highway, we bought a house, Jacob was born, I sold another
script, I took a new job at Cartoon Network, and I ran two marathons.
The life
changing moment in our lives was the day Jacob was diagnosed with cystic
fibrosis (CF). When you’re told that your newborn child has a life threatening
illness, your outlook on the world becomes radically different. His well being
becomes priority number one. This is one reason I began working at Cartoon
Network. The company offered stability and health benefits, in addition to the
opportunity for growth.
I felt limited
in what I could do to help spread the word about CF, a relatively unknown
disease, and how to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Running a
marathon became a way to get people's attention and raise money. Around this
time, I discovered a new way the Internet was allowing people to communicate
and express themselves, something called "web logging." It sounded like a cool way
to keep family and friends up to date on my marathon training, as well as providing information on Jacob's health. And so, I began blogging.
My first blogwas strictly about my training. I kept it for three years. When my body finally told me to "cut this shit out" and
quit running, I began a second blog, ''thunderbolt." It was on that
website that I created "Basement Songs," the periodic column about
the songs that were essential to my life. It was through “Basement Songs” that
I met Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and several other wonderful bloggers who were
supportive of my writing and my family’s pursuit of finding a cure for CF. When
Jeff approached me about becoming a charter member of the Popdose group staff,
I didn't hesitate. I brought along "Basement Songs," and published my
personal stories for over 100 weeks.
A couple years
after "Basement songs" began running, I was in a conversation with a
family friend. At the time she was a junior editor at Simon & Schuster in
their Young Adult division. She, too, was a fan of "Basement Songs," so when I remarked that I'd
always thought about writing a novel (which is true), she said, ''If you
ever have anything, I'd be glad to read it.''
I took her words
to heart. For two months I worked on adapting one of
my more recent screenplays, the story of a teenage girl with a sibling who has
CF, into a novel. I wrote about fifty pages before I hit a wall. If I'm being
honest, I wasn't prepared to write about cystic fibrosis just yet, not the way
this character me needed me to. However, I didn't want to give up. I really
wanted to try my hand at prose. I had nothing to lose. In need of a story about teenagers, I went into my files and pulled out that old script of mine. I decided to adapt
"Finding the Way" into a novel.
Here is a look at the banner for the character of "Allison" in Legendary. As you read the book, you'll start to see how the images here represent who she is. I think it looks pretty awesome!
For those of you
interested, I thought I’d explain some of the backstory and reasoning that went
into the writing and publishing of Legendary. While it would be
easy to just let the work suddenly appear without any explanation, our era in
is an information age and some readers like to get the poop on why some dude from
California is posting a serial novel online.
A great deal of
time and thought went into Legendary, as do all novels. It's roots
date back nearly 20 years, back to the first feature-length screenplay I wrote (discounting
my college senior film, which began as a feature, but I eventually whittled down to 45
minutes).
When Julie and I
first moved to Los Angeles, it was the rise of the 90s indie film movement. Directors
like Tarantino, Rodriguez and Anders were releasing personal films that didn't
adhere to the rules of Hollywood filmmaking. These movies inspired me, much in
the same way the great films from the 70s by Scorsese, Lumet and Ashby did.
When I sat down to write my first script (that's why we moved to California, after all), I chose
to tell a personal story, drawing from my past.
At the time,
Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused was gaining a cult audience thanks to
home video and pay per view. Dazed and Confused is funny, irreverent and a pure joy to watch. I wasn't the only person who recognized the
similarities between Linklater's film and George Lucas' classic, American
Graffiti, which was fine by me, as I'd loved American Graffiti since the early 80s. Unlike so many of my contemporaries, American Graffiti was the George Lucas film that influenced me.
Both Dazed and Confused and American Graffiti dealt with the
lives of a group of teenagers over the
course of one night and the changes, or lack thereof, the go through in that
time.These films are
beautifully shot, feature breakthrough performances by future stars (and
directors), and used music to help evoke a sense of time and youth. I thought
I'd write the 80s equivalent.
If I'd been
smart, I would have written a plot-driven, mainstream, high-concept
Hollywood-type film that could have acted as a showpiece to my writing, or I
would've written a TV spec script and gotten into the television industry. But
I was young, stubborn, and decided I would do things on my own terms. I wanted
to tell "real" stories, man. I was going to be an auteur!
Two years and
ten drafts later, I had an ensemble screenplay called Finding the Way. The
events take place over the course of one summer day in the mid-80s, and include
a house party, a trip to Denny’s, and a rooftop, sunrise that made a perfect
bookend to the film.
I was lucky
enough to get Finding the Way into the hands of a major literary agent. She
represented major players (I think Bill Murray was once one of her clients)
and was a rising star in the industry. Within ten years she would produce big,
splashy Hollywood releases and indie darlings. How did I get my script in her
hands? She was the sister of a guy I met
at my best friend's wedding.
That’s the way
it works, though. That excellent fellow you play a round of golf with could
have connections to the upper echelons of the film industry.So be nice to everyone, kids, because you don't know who might be able to help your career.
The agent didn’t read it immediately. In fact, she had her assistant review it, and when
the assistant labeled me a “Consider,” we spoke on the phone.This agent was
exceptionally nice. I still recall sitting in the computer room at Alterian Studios after work hours, speaking about the positives of the script, and what needed
to be tweaked. She offered great advice. I was over the moon. A major Hollywood agent had read my screenplay and gave positive feedback.
At the time, I
was already working on my next script, a romantic comedy, road trip movie about
a guy who learns that his true love is getting married in two days. He decides
to drop everything and go see her before she says “I do.” That script was
entitled Southern Cross.
As the 90s drew
to a close, I became involved with multiple screenwriting projects that never gained
traction, but took up years of my life. Sophie was born, I started a new job at
an animation company, I wrote and co-produced a short film, The Mind’s Eye,
and Southern Cross became a movie, one that I wound up directing and
retitlingKing’s Highway.
What became of Finding
the Way? As much as I loved the story and the characters, I placed it aside to
pursue those other projects. I felt like its time had passed, and I stored it away in
a file cabinet.
Legendary, the serial novel I'm publishing on Popdose, will begin posting on Monday, May 19th. The entire book is be 34 chapters, or installments, running into the early weeks of August. A new chapter will run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, EXCEPT for the week of Memorial Day, in which chapters will run on Tuesday and Thursday, and the week of July 4th, in which chapters will only run on Monday and Wednesday.
Music, baby!
One of the features that Popdose provides me is the ability to post songs with my chapters. This is one reason I'm not going directly the Kindle route with this book. Much like I did with every Basement Song post that ran on Popdose, a song will be incorporated into every chapter.
When I was a teenager, music was always playing, either on the radio, through someone's stereo, or over the PA systems in the stores or restaurants I frequented. You hear phrases like "soundtrack to my life" and that's what I tried to do with each character in the book. There are 36 songs total. Not all of them are obvious 80s songs (Mason Ruffner shows up) and the final soundtrack proves to be a pretty solid playlist.
Art
When I began putting together this project, I was leafing through a The New Yorker and a light bulb went off. Another way to make the serial novel unique and (hopefully) a reason for people to come by for 12 weeks would be to post an original work of art with each chapter. Much like you see in magazines like The New Yorker or The Atlantic, each chapter of Legendary will contain an original work of art that was inspired by the text.
I approached close to 30 artists and gave them free reign to draw, paint, photograph or digitally create something to post with a chapter I sent them. In addition, three separate banners have been created - one each for the three main characters - that will run with every post.
The artwork has begun coming in and I've been blown away at how great it's turning out. I think you will, too.
In the coming days I'll provide some background information on the book. Be sure to come back!
In my last post, I posed the idea of publishing my first (and to this point, only) novel on Popdose. After some careful consideration, I'm moving forward with this project. Not sure of the launch date, but I hope to begin weekly installments sometime in May. Each installment will include three chapters of the book, as well as songs that will fit organically into the contents. By the end of the summer, I hope that I'll have entertained people and given them a pretty cool playlist of great songs from the decade I came of age: the 1980s.
No, it won't be all new wave or hair metal. Anyone who knew me back in the day will recall my two crates full of LPs, as well as multiple cases of cassette tapes. I hope to cull from my collection to provide the soundtrack to the book.
What does this have to do with Basement Songs the book? Plenty. If you were a reader of the column when it ran on Popdose, you'll know that I managed to find a way to work music into the narrative each week. I took great pride in managing to do that and I look forward to doing that again.
I hope you'll check back for updates and read the series over the summer.
More to come. I'm excited. Are you?
I'll leave you with this spectacular Los Lobos song I rediscovered while combing through the Malchus archives. I have to warn you, you won't be able to sit down once you start the music.
A few weeks ago, I was out to dinner with my friends Will Harris and Zack Dennis, two of my Popdose colleagues I see a couple times a year whenever Will is in town. As we sat around and got reacquainted, the topic of our favorite films came up. It wasn't difficult for me to pinpoint my favorite motion picture and I told the guys that Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous ranked at the top of my list. It may seem odd for a recent film to be regarded so highly (although, it's now 14 years old), but this wonderful coming of age story speaks the truth about the power of music.
At the heart of the film is Patrick Fugit's youthful face, playing William Miller, a character who is essentially Crowe. The writer/director drew from his own youth, when he was an underage journalist for Rolling Stone, to tell the story of a 15 year old music lover who finds himself on the road with an up and coming band called Stillwater.
Early in the film, William meets his idol Lester Bangs, one of the earliest and most influential rock critics. He's portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, although embodies is a better way to describe Hoffman's performance. There is nothing false about Hoffman is this small but vital role. He has some of the most powerful dialogue in Almost Famous, words for William that would be intended for just about every kid whose ever fallen under the spell of rock 'n roll and wanted to become a writer.
In this scene, Bangs bestows his first dose of wisdom on William. At the end, he gives William an assigment to cover a Black Sabbath concert, a gig that will lead to him to meeting the band Stillwater, falling in with them, and covering them for Rolling Stone.
Later on, after William finally gets home and has to write the article for Rolling Stone, the editors at the magazine have turned on him and William doesn't know who to turn to for advice. He takes Bangs up on his offer to call anytime, leading to this pivotal scene that explains everything we've all felt at some point in our lives.
Perfection.
Crowe couldn't have chosen a better actor to play Bangs. Back in 1999, when I read about the casting of Hoffman in the film, I was so thrilled because here was one of my favorite actors teaming up with one of my favorite directors.
I'd been a fan of Hoffman since he played a dickhead rich boy in Scent of a Woman and followed his career as he continued to take on supporting roles throughout the 1990s. I suppose there was a dream that maybe I could work with this man someday. After all, he was only a couple years older than me and I was so sure I'd be making movies on a regular basis by the time I was 30.
In the late 90s, Hoffman broke through with roles in Boogie Nights, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Happiness, Flawless and Magnolia. He wasn't a "star" per se, but his presence in those films brought a certain weight to them; he somehow made them better, even if they were already great films to begin with.
The same can be said about Almost Famous. It's already one of the finest films about music and growing up that has ever been made (as I told Zack and Will that night), and Hoffman's performance takes a magnificant film and turns it into a classic. At least, that's how I see it.
After Almost Famous, Hoffman continued to appear in ensemble films, always bringing his own gravitas to good and bad movies. His supporting turn in Punch Love Drunk, directed by his longtime friend and collaborator, Paul Thomas Anderson (he appeared in five of Anderson's six features) nearly stole the movie from star Adam Sandler. In 2005 he starred in the independent drama, Capote, a role that won him the Academy Award for Best Acting. He would be nominated three other times, for Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012). In between films, he returned to the theater, where he continued to grow as an actor, becoming one of the best.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead this morning, news that shocked me when I read it soon after returning from church. The sad details of what happened have filtered out and it seems as if his addiction to drugs came back tenfold after over 20 years of sobriety.
Addiction is a beast. It sinks its claws into men and women and wipes them of their souls. Doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, the beast needs to feed and it slithers around, searching for someone at their weakest and pounces. For those people who manage to fight back the beast and defeat it, it's always in the shadows waiting to pounce again, just when that man or woman is feeling a slip in their confidence, just when they're feeling down enough, or invincible enough to taste the beast just this one time. The beast is waiting because the beast never likes to lose.
The beast won today, and we lost one of my generation's greatest thespians.
More important, the beast took the life of a father, a partner, a sibling, and a son.
Why does Hoffman's death seem to hit harder than any of the other deaths that have happened in recent months? I believe it's because he was a regular looking guy, what Hollywood likes to call a "character actor." He was "honest and unmerciful" in everything he did, whether it was epics like Cold Mountain, piercing dramas like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, or mainstream blockbusters like The Hunger Games:Catching Fire. Although he didn't have marquee good looks and didn't "open" movies, Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the "uncool," who'd made it big and continued to give hope that we could make it one day.
With his death today, a little bit of that hope went away.
In case you missed it, I posted a new Goin' Country column at Popdose, the best damn pop culture site on the Internet. This week I discuss the Country Music Association Awards that were handed out on Wednesday (the same night as American Horror Story: Coven- it was a very eclectic evening).
The CMA Awards are a night of celebration of country music. If the show was just handing out awards, it would be over in an hour. To fill the other two hours, country music stars play some pretty great music.
Here's a link to my column. If you have a couple of minutes, please check it out!
Not sure why I haven't been putting up notices that new columns are appearing on Popdose. Seems like as soon as I finish something my mind is already on to the next thing I want to write. Anyway, today I have a new Goin' Country column up at Popdose. Please check it out!
On Tuesday night I attended the Patty Griffin concert at the Wiltern Theater. One of the songs she performed that night was "Be Careful," a song that I featured in the Basement Songs column back in 2009. I love this song and it always reminds me of Sophie.
When I wrote this piece Sophie was still a little girl. Now she's entering high school and I couldn't be prouder. It's a bittersweet feeling, though. She's growing up, and soon, oh so very soon, she won't need her dad any more.
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Since the day we moved into our house, I have regularly snuggled my daughter
Sophie for about 10 minutes before she goes to sleep at night. When she was
younger, it was to help ease her fears over the creaks and rattles of her room
when the lights were off. As she got older, this routine turned into an
opportunity for the two of us to catch up on our days. I found out about how
school was for her, and Sophie asked me questions about my job. For the
past year I have tried to end this nightly routine. Whenever I expressed
this to Julie, my great wife admonished me by saying, "There's going to
come a time when she wants nothing to do with you. Enjoy this while you can. Generally I pooh pooh this comment; I can't
imagine my daughter not wanting her dad around.
I vividly recall dropping her off for the first time at daycare when she was
just two months old. It happened to coincide with my first day at a new job, so
I was already a bundle of raw nerves. Letting her go and placing her into the
care of people I barely knew was one of the worst things I ever had to do, and
after I left the daycare, I had a meltdown in my car before finding the
strength to start the car. I felt like she was already moving on. In 2002, my son Jacob was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. While
Julie stayed with him down at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, I took Sophie
to preschool and went to work, then would pick up Sophie from preschool and we
would drive all the way into the city to see them. It was a long, stressful
week and I leaned on Sophie's tiny shoulders (she was three at the time) to
support me. She cried, missing her mommy, while I tried to put on a brave face
so as to not scare her. I'm ashamed to admit that I lost my cool with my
three-year-old. Amazingly, when I would hug her, apologizing for raising my
voice, Sophie would pat my back and say, "It's okay, Daddy."
We got through that time together, though I was lucky to have the music of
Badly Drawn Boy's About a Boy
and Patty Griffin's 1,000 Kisses
to free my mind from dwelling on things. If there is a moment when I felt like
I made a unique connection with my daughter, it was during that time.
The end of the baseball season is my favorite time of the year. Sophie and I
huddle on the couch to watch our favorite teams battle for a spot in the World
Series. As I pace the room, anxiously waiting the result of every pitch, she'll
ask a hundred questions about the rules of the game, the players, the players'
numbers, the lingo, what an umpire does, strategies and the team colors. When I
throw my arms up in frustration from her bombardment of inquiries, I quickly
apologize and she responds, "It's okay, Daddy."
Last week, most of her classmates went on a weeklong camping trip, and
Sophie didn't want to go. She's always had trouble sleeping over at friends'
houses, so a week in a strange cabin was too much for her. Still, she felt left
out, and decided that come next year, she wanted to go on the school trip.
Julie felt that in order for her to do this, she first had to conquer her fears
of having a sleepover with one of her friends. What this means is getting
accustomed to going to sleep alone and putting an end to our nightly snuggles.
I didn't expect the pangs of sadness that filled me when she told me her
plan. I thought I'd be happy that I didn't have to help her settle and that we
could have a normal conversation each night while sitting on the couch rather
than lying in her bed. This was my first dose of separation anxiety: My little
girl is starting to grow up.
Puberty looms on the horizon. I'll be honest; I'm scared to death about the
changes she's going to go through as she grows into a teenager. It may be a couple
of years away, but soon she's going to start liking boys, and they'll pass her
notes and maybe (gasp) she'll hold hands. I don't even want to talk about what
comes after that. I know how guys can be; I'm one of them. I broke hearts, and
made rude comments, and wasn't always the nicest guy. I wish I could protect
her from all the bad things, but the best I can do is tell her I love her,
comfort her in her low times, raise her up during her triumphs and always -- always -- tell her how much I love her. And
maybe I'll continue slipping songs onto her iPod when she isn't looking, like this
gem from 1,000 Kisses.
Sophie may never realize that I think of her when I hear this song, but that's
fine. Will we maintain the bond we've had since the day she came home from the
hospital? Will she still want to hang out and watch baseball? Will I someday
get to take her to a Springsteen show so she can finally scream out "Big
Man" during "Dancing in the Dark?" Will she still draw me
wonderful pictures that I can hang above my desk at work? Will she still ask me
to snuggle her on occasion when the creaks and rattles of the house have
stirred up some old fears?
