Moms are Awesome

First of all, did you know that Eleemosynary is a word? It means "generous in assistance to the poor." That is a very odd word. (Yes, I know I spelled "nosey" wrong. The iPhone is to blame.)


We spent Christmas with my family up in Utah. Here are some highlights:

Brown Bear Fail

My niece Skyli taking in the view at The Garden Restaurant at Temple Square

A little balancing trick, I do it every time I have a toothpick

Skyli in jammies watching Disney's Up

Spencer's mom made us some awesome, awesome, awesome t-shirts.

They are for our sketch/comedy troup Adventure Time Theatre.

(Watch the first episode of season two)

My friend Spencer has one too.

Mom's are just so awesome.

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The Muppet Man

The Muppet Man
by

Christopher Weekes

Synopsis

"The Life story and tragic early death of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets."

Thoughts

Truly touching and beautifully reverent to the man behind the fuzzy creatures and wild fantastical worlds that have touched so many.

I'm probably one of the biggest Muppet fans around, so I am completely biased, but this script truly touched me and made me (almost) cry. I loved every page and was endeared to the way the story unfolds.

Script Excerpt

[scrippet]
INT. BATHROOM, HENSON OFFICE, NEW YORK, 1963 - DAY
As JIM opens the bathroom door... a booby trapped wire causes the SHOWER CURTAIN to open...

...revealing a GIANT MONSTER FACE snarling from the bathtub.

JIM just blinks. Strange things happen all the time here.

JIM
Ha. Nice touch Don.

DON (O.S)
What?

JIM
What do you reckon?

The BOYS can be heard guffawing from outside.

JERRY (O.S)
Better watch out for those toilet monsters Jim.

INT. HENSON OFFICE, NEW YORK, 1963 - DAY
DON stands very proudly with his drink, laughing at JIM with the other BOYS.

DON
I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about Jimmy. No idea.

He goes to open his DESK DRAWER when THREE SPRING LOADED WORMS shoot out...

...scaring him half to death.

DON (CONT’D)
Jesus!

He falls backwards off his chair and onto the floor.

JERRY, CAROL and FRANK roll around with laughter.

DON (CONT’D)
Nice. Very nice.

JIM’S voice echoes through the room - laughing.

JIM (O.S)
Why thank you.
[/scrippet]

Learned

It is always a good thing to keep your truly high moments closely followed by setback or dark moments. This creates a good balance and helps keep the story progressing.

Title: The Muppet Man
Writer: Christopher Weekes
Pages: 138 (undated draft)
Status: Jim Henson Company is producing, still in development
Opinion: Absolutely Amazing.

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Tales From the Crypt

Hi.

It's me.

I'm not dead.

Here's a few things I've been up to:

• Employment: I have now become one of the many who can claim "full-time" status on their W2's. I started Monday the 9th as the assistant to two amazing agents at a top literary agency in Beverly Hills. Literary? I didn't know you've gone all novel books on us! No, that's not what literary agency means in Hollywood. Sorry to disappoint all you bookworms hoping for secrets on the next Dan Brown mystery. What a literary agency means in film business terms is an agency that specializes in Directors, Writers and Producers. It is the perfect job for a wannabe producer like me and I am learning tons.
• Reading: With my job comes new responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is to read new and upcoming scripts that are in the market. As many of you already know, the 2009 Black List has come out. The Black List is a collection of the greatest scripts (according to a group of Hollywood executives) that have not been made this year. I haven't been asked directly to read these scripts yet, but I wanted to get a jump ahead and get reading them for my own edification and for my personal knowledge. So far I have read one of them, and will be posting a quick review of it on my Script Review Friday feature today.
• Relaxation: With so much work, comes so much play. Tiffany and I have made the plunge - we bought season passes to Disneyland. This was brought to us, in part, by the generous donation from the people that lost their $200 at Disneyland last time we were there. We found the money, turned it in to lost and found. Then a month later we checked in to see if it was claimed and it wasn't! So Tiffany was able to claim it and we were able to buy ourselves some passes. We can go to Disneyland anytime we want to now. How about that?!? It's crazy right?
• Writing: One of the toughest things I have attempted to do the last few weeks is keep up my writing. I had planned to keep the blog going strong, even with a heavy new workload, but that seemed to prove difficult during the acclimation into the new position. What I have been able to accomplish is working on a feature script with my friend and hetero life-partner Spencer. We can't divulge too many details, but know that it explores one of the most ripe fields of genre and incorporates the vast knowledge of horror, sci-fi and fantasy that my cohort and I have attained over our many years of movie-watching. Hopefully I will be able to keep up the blog as well. I have a lot of great things to share with you all!

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Acme Burger (Not Mail-Order)

Today we have a very special treat. My friend Spencer - Master of Eats and Chefer of Fine Food, has written us a fabulous review of a gourmet burger restaurant in Salt Lake City.

For all you Utah-ites, or even the LA people who are heading to SLC soon for the Sundance Film Festival -- be sure to stop in and give it a try. I know I want to.

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