Movies, Funerals, and Family: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:

I got off work, ran some errands, and saw Resident Evil: Extinction. I didn't love it or hate it. It was very mediocre, and I hated the ending. Actress/singer Ashanti was cute. That's all I have to say about that.

Saturday:

I got off work, rushed home, and my brother and I drove to Somerville for my great-uncle Willie Herman's funeral. We missed the funeral, but went to the burial and the repasse at my home church, Brooks Chapel Church of God in Christ. It was good to see my family. One of my cousins kept teasing me about my TV commercial. My uncle Eugene calls me a "movie star". Yeah, okay. I'm still keeping my day job. I enjoyed my family, but after I finally left them, I was too tired to go out Saturday night. I enede up missing the Tunnel Clones' (www.myspace.com/tunnelclones) album release party. Shout out to Dev, Bosco, and DJ Redeye Jedi. Their new album, Worldwide Open, will be available this Tuesday in Memphis at Spin Street, Cat's Music on Union Avenue, Shangri-La Records, and other local outlets. End of Commercial.

Sunday:

I chilled out, left the house around 4 PM and saw 3:10 to Yuma. I'm not a big western fan, but I thought it was solid. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe gave solid performances. I liked it a lot more than that Resident Evil crap. After that, I did some early birthday shopping for a few people at Target. Hey, I care. Also on Sunday, I saw a couple walking past the movie theatre. They had on matching white and black-striped sweaters and were holding hands. It was sickening and sweet at the same time. I am not a fan of the matching outfits. Of course, if I ever get a girl, that may change.

Monday:

I have watched Pulp Fiction twice now, the normal way and with trivia popping up on the screen (way cool). I am now watching the other DVD features. Quentin Tarantino's interview on Charlie Rose is very informative. Be easy, readers!!!

Random Items and a Plug: 9/20/07

1. Kanye West's album Graduation sold WAAAYY more copies than 50 Cent's album Curtis. I bought Kanye's album, and I am glad. Kanye's arrogant, but 50's a bully. I don't like it when people try to bully others. I never have. It's nice to see the big, bad 50 taken down a peg. Of course, 50 still sold over 600,000 albums. That's not as many as Kanye (957,000), but he's not starving.

2. This is for my African-American brothers and sisters in Memphis. What is up with adding the word "slick" to every damn sentence?! For example: "I slick like that film", "I was slick trying to do that". You know what? I don't slick hate the use of that word, I utterly loathe and despise it. Did you do soemthing or didn't you?!! Commit, dammit!! Okay, end of rant.

3. Yes, I have another screening coming up. Yes, I will give you details below. Hey, I have to promote me. It's not like I have an agent (anymore). Be easy, readers!!!

Plug Time!!!

Lil' Film Fest 7: Rhymes with Pelvis

We're proud to announce "Li'l Film fest 7: Rhymes with Pelvis." This quarter we will be featuring a variety of short films focusing on...(shhh)...Elvis. We'll be showing the works of many festival veterans as well as some newcomers. So, come on out and show your support for local filmmakers!Li'l Film Fest is a quarterly, theme-based film festival, focusing on highlighting our local talent while showcasing interesting happenings around town. Our goal is to encourage and inspire Memphis filmmakers while engaging a local audience in order to strengthen our artistic community.
The Short & Sweet:
Theme: Rhymes With Pelvis
Duration: 5 minutes or less
Festival Date: September 22, 2007 / 2pm
FestivalLocation: Media Co-Op (1000 S. Cooper), located in the basement of First Congregational Presbyterian Church.

Upcoming Screenings

Plug Time!!

Dollars and Signs screening in Chicago tonight!!
MEET THE FILMMAKERS: Double Feature (Local)Facets Cinémathèque – Wednesday, 7pm / 9pm IFP and Facets present a chance to get a first look at two new movies and their Chicago-based makers.
First up: DOLLARS AND SIGNS, a movie that pitches an ugly fit between a Memphis businessman and two anti-corporate activists, presented by writer-director Brandon Hutchinson;
followed by Marc Buhmann's DEAD IN THE WATER, a suspenseful genre piece set in one of the most beloved horror backdrops: a remote cabin on a lake. The screening is FREE for IFP and Facets members, and cheap for all others. CLMore info at http://www.facets.org/.

The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114.

Lil' Film Fest 7: Rhymes with Elvis
We're proud to announce "Li'l Film fest 7: Rhymes with Pelvis." This quarter we will be featuring a variety of short films focusing on...(shhh)...Elvis. We'll be showing the works of many festival veterans as well as some newcomers. So, come on out and show your support for local filmmakers!Li'l Film Fest is a quarterly, theme-based film festival, focusing on highlighting our local talent while showcasing interesting happenings around town. Our goal is to encourage and inspire Memphis filmmakers while engaging a local audience in order to strengthen our artistic community.
The Short & Sweet:
Theme: Rhymes With Pelvis
Duration: 5 minutes or less
Festival Date: September 22, 2007 / 2pm
FestivalLocation: Media Co-Op (1000 S. Cooper), located in the basement of First Congregational Presbyterian Church.

Be easy, readers!!!

Late-Night Filming

Last night, I played a thief in Jonathan Postal's student film. He's getting a Masters from the Memphis College of Art. He paid for my meal at the Lamplighter Inn, which was real cool. I hung out there with the bartender and her brother. Her brother and I were watching Monday Night Raw. Later, Jonathan and the crew arrived. One guy, Dwayne, met me briefly at a blogger bash. Fortunately, he remembered that I act and recommended me for the part. Thank you, sir!!! Dwayne (forgive me if I am misspelling it) and Louis were the crew, and they also attend Memphis College of Art. Jake is the young actor that played the kid. We ran lines and chitchatted. He seemed like a cool guy. I hope he keeps acting. I had to light a cigarette with one hand. I don't smoke, and I don't really handle lighters. It took me a few takes (and several cigarettes) to get it right. I appreciate everyone's patience. We kept having to stop because of passing cars, but we eventually wrapped. Jonathan let me keep the short-sleeved denim shirt that I wore. It's not really my style, but you can never have too many wardrobe choices in the indie film game. Lord knows, I need more clothing without logos, anyway.

I also needed the outlet because I received some bad news yesterday. My great-uncle Willie Herman passed. I have mixed emotions. I will miss him, but I am glad that he is not suffering anymore. He has been in and out of the hospital. The gray-haired, wise-cracking uncle that I once knew had been replaced by a very sick man. I didn't even recognize him at Christmas last year. I believe that he is in heaven now. Pray for my family, in particular my great-aunt Velma. I believe that this was her last living brother. Part of me wanted to go over there last night, but I felt like I needed to go ahead and work on this film. I need a few days to wrap my head around this before I am around my family.


Plug Time!!

Dollars and Signs screening in Chicago tomorrow!!

MEET THE FILMMAKERS: Double Feature (Local)Facets Cinémathèque – Wednesday, 7pm / 9pm IFP and Facets present a chance to get a first look at two new movies and their Chicago-based makers. First up: DOLLARS AND SIGNS, a movie that pitches an ugly fit between a Memphis businessman and two anti-corporate activists, presented by writer-director Brandon Hutchinson; followed by Marc Buhmann's DEAD IN THE WATER, a suspenseful genre piece set in one of the most beloved horror backdrops: a remote cabin on a lake. The screening is FREE for IFP and Facets members, and cheap for all others. CLMore info at http://www.facets.org/.

The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For
more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114.


Lil' Film Fest 7: Rhymes with Elvis

We're proud to announce "Li'l Film fest 7: Rhymes with Pelvis." This quarter we will be featuring a variety of short films focusing on...(shhh)...Elvis. We'll be showing the works of many festival veterans as well as some newcomers. So, come on out and show your support for local filmmakers!
Li'l Film Fest is a quarterly, theme-based film festival, focusing on highlighting our local talent while showcasing interesting happenings around town. Our goal is to encourage and inspire Memphis filmmakers while engaging a local audience in order to strengthen our artistic community. For more info (and to watch past films) visit: http://m1e.net/c?73510629-Og4nuh4hffRB2%402733997-nOcI9m7zcXkuI.
The Short & Sweet:
Theme: Rhymes With Pelvis
Duration: 5 minutes or less
Festival Date: September 22, 2007 / 2pmFestival
Location: Media Co-Op (1000 S. Cooper), located in the basement of First Congregational Presbyterian Church.

Be easy, readers!!!

Birthdays, Wrestling, and Films:The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:

I got off work, hung out, ran some errands, and came home around 6 PM.

Saturday:

I attended a faculty meeting at my job. I gave a little Powerpoint presentation about the services in my department. My supervisor gave us a lot of facts about education and poverty in the Memphis area. It was a little saddening.
After that, I went home and chilled out until about 5:30 PM. I went to the Best Buy on Germantown Parkway to meet Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, a popular wrestling mangaer in the 80s that got his start in Memphis. I grew up watching him, so it was nice to finally meet him. I did not win the raffle for the suite tickets for Sunday's WWE pay-per-view, however. Oh, well, at least I did have (very high up) tickets.
After that, I went over my friend Tamara's house. We were celebrating Yolandalyn's birthday. There was fun, drinking, silly conversations, and recordings for Youtube. Check me out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oDd2Uw0KaF4
Oh, yeah, questionable language (by others). Not work safe.

I had fun, but they started drinking, and I was tired, so I left and called it a day.

Sunday:

I had a meeting about a film with Timm Scalita, Chris Byers, and Duane. He wanted us to meet with the young actress and her father to show that we are professionals and serious about this. Jon "Sparky" Sparks (http://www.jonwsparks.blogspot.com/) is also in the film, and he came by. R.C. Knight of Knight Entertainment is working behind the scenes and he was there as well. I also learned that Timm Scalita is putting out a DVD of his short films, including the three that we worked on together. That means amother credit on http://www.imdb.com/. That's Markus Seaberry, if you want to type it in. It was good to see the old gang, and I am looking forward to working on the film.

After that, I met up with my normal wrestling crew: Denna Greer (What Goes Around), Donovan, Paul "P-Dub" West, "Angry" Nick Jones, Courtney Wright, and Wanda. We all rode to the WWE Unforgiven pay-per-view in Donovan's SUV. It was the first pay-per-view to be in Memphis in eight years. It was cool. Shout out to my cousin Hardy and my former high schol classmate Nathaniel Strickland, who I saw in line outside the Fed Ex Forum. Shout out to Josh, a guy I met at Jordan's Karaoke Bar and Grill, who was also in line. It was pretty fun. I hope they come again next year.

Monday:

I have finished Pulp Fiction. I am now watching it with the Trivia Facts on. I will then watch the rest of the Special Features. I always do that with DVDS. I am also filming Jonathan Postal's student film. Hopefully, everything will go well. Be easy, readers!!

Screenings, Karaoke, and Meetings: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:
I got off work at 1 PM, ran errands, and I saw The Importance of Being Russell (www.russellmovie.com). Russell is a redneck comedy that I have a small role in. No, I don't play a redneck, in case you were wondering. I think it's funny. Shout out to Jeff and Sean of Paradox Productions who worked on the film. Shout out to the cast members, and an extra special shout out to Conrad, an old friend of mine who came out to see the film. Conrad and I were friends in grades 8-10. We used to read comics and hang out. He's married now and he's writing screenplays in his spare time. It was really good to see him. I hadn't talked to him in years. Conrad knows Keenon Nikita (director, Just the Two of Us). Oh, yeah, Russell has four screenings daily at Studio on the Square until Thursday night. It shows at 1:20 PM, 4:35 PM, 7:25 PM, and 9:45 PM. Please support local filmmakers and see this film if you are in the Memphis area.

Saturday:

I got off work and started organizing my comic book collection. Yes, I am a geek. Yes, I nurture my inner child with comics, anime, and wrestling. Later that night, I went to Jordan's for a little karaoke. After that, I went to IHOP with Joe Smith (Delusions, Arrogant Dead People), Ritchie "The Mayor of Frayser" Pierce (www.mayoroffrayser.com), and Lina Fritsche (Unholy Passion). We hung out and joked around for a minute. It was good to see the Mayor.

Sunday:

Bryan Newcomb (Just the Two of Us, Divine Manipulation of the Threads) and I saw Shoot 'Em Up. It was....crazy. The violence was so cartoony and SO over the top. Eh, I liked it better than Death Sentence, I guess. After that, I met up with Jonathan Postal, an artist and filmmaker in this town. I've been asked to participate in a short film that he has written. It is an interesting character and good dialogue. I'm in.

Monday:

I have finally started watching Pulp Fiction. Yes, I know, I'm not cool, I'm from another planet, I am a weirdo, whatever. I figure I couldn't be a true pop culture geek without seeing this film. Now, people won't look at me crazy when I say that I haven't seen it. Cool. Be easy, readers!!!

Performances, Barbecue, and Family: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:

I got off work, and I saw Death Sentence. It was okay. Not Kevin Bacon's best work, but it was okay. Aisha Tyler (Ghost Whisperer, Talk Soup!) was in the film as well. She's hot.

Saturday:

I got off work, ran some errands, and I went to Jordan's for karaoke. I sang a few songs, hung out, it was cool.

Sunday:

I went over this guy named Jeff's house and watched a lot of cool independent wrestling. I was very pleased. He has a lot of independent wrestling, anime, comics, and other stuff. It's like a geek's paradise.

After that, I went downtown to check out the Memphis Music Heritage Festival. Thomas Spurlock (www.myspace.com/spurlockboy) performed on the stage inside the Center for Southern Folklore. He performed a few covers and some original tunes from his CD. Shout out to Thomas and the backup singers. The band (led by my good buddy Paul "P-Dub" West) were good as well.

After that, I hung out downtown for a minute, then I watched a performance by Will Graves and Soul featuring Tonya Dyson. Tonya lost her mother on Friday, so many of us thought that she might not perform. She showed up and did a fantastic job. My thoughts and prayer are with the Dyson family.

After that, I went to Karaoke Smackdown at the Vault on Highland. I hung out with Sean and the rest of the crew. I only did three songs all night becauses there were a lot of people, but I had fun.

Monday:

My brother and I went over my uncle Ray's house for a family gathering. My mom was there, and several cousins. There were a lot of children and a lot of running around. It was okay. The only thing that bothered me were the older people watching Amos and Andy. That show just bothers me.

After my brother and I made it back home, I visited the new home of my good buddy Ennis Newman aka Fathom 9, rapper/producer/sometime actor. I was talking with him and Infinito, a rapper/filmmaker/artist that I know. We talked about male-female drama and why it doesn't pay to be a "nice guy". Infinito's moving back to Chicago, soon. He's a great artist and he will be missed. He was always encouraging.

After that, I went over Keenon Nikita's house (director, Just the Two of Us). I chitchatted with him for a minute about my career, movies in general, and his next project. I feel really good about this next project. It will be fun to work with Rod and Keenon again.

Well, people are starting to see the commercials on Channel 5. I guess this means I am a "celebrity"....nah, not really. I am grateful for the commercial (my first!), but I know that one commercial does not a career make. I will continue to work and hone my craft. Maybe one day I can make a living off of this crazy dream. Be easy, readers!!!