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March 30, 2007

Another favor to ask, of nite-owl friends

I still don't have Internet, and won't till Tuesday. Nor do I yet have an after-hours key to my office, and I don't know when that will be.

But Monday night, I'm seeing a movie in Culver City that I need to write about immediately. Will anyone I know plan on being up and around from, say 9 to 11, with a working Internet connection? (Bonus: you can come with me to said movie beforehand if you like)

Such would make my life easier. call if you have my new phone numbers, as I, uh...DON'T HAVE INTERNET YET AT HOME.

P.S. I'm not leaving town this weekend after all. It's a bummer when a potential host suddenly tells you of a conflict they totally forgot about, but such is life. Anyway, if anyone wants to do lunch on Sunday, I'll be coming up.

Posted by LYT at 5:24 PM | Comments (1)

Calling all broke-ass writers

I can't count the number of times people have asked me how to get a job like mine. Well, as Jonesy says, 'ere ya go. Come be my coworker:

We have immediate openings for full-time staff writers in Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Orange County. We're looking for experienced journalists who understand the difference between magazine-style reporting and the hurried fact-finding of daily papers. Houston and San Francisco candidates must have solid investigative reporting skills; all other candidates should have both news and feature experience. If your copy is as much a pleasure to read as it is well researched, we want to hear from you.

We offer competitive salaries and benefits. Send your best clips, a résumé and a cover letter:

Andy Van De Voorde
Executive Associate Editor
P.O. Box 5970
Denver, CO 80217

No phone calls or e-mails, please.

Don't say I never helped y'all out.

Posted by LYT at 5:11 PM | Comments (0)

March 29, 2007

another quick-shot (UPDATED)

My li'l review of Hills Have Eyes 2 is here

UPDATE: another li'l review, of a flick called DATING GAMES PEOPLE PLAY, is here

[note to readers - I'm planning to get away for the weekend, and will probably blog more substantially while away. The paucity of entries should be ending soon. Home internet begins Tuesday.]

Posted by LYT at 3:42 PM | Comments (1)

I have a short review

It's at the bottom of this page.

There'll be a couple more when the new OC Weekly goes online later today.

Last night I did a kind of undercover assignment in hostile territory. Interesting stuff. The payoff will be in next week's paper.

Still need to get a cover story piece going, though. I'm getting all kinds of ideas and pitches for short pieces, but nothing epic yet.

Posted by LYT at 1:43 PM | Comments (2)

March 27, 2007

frustration

no home phone yet

no home cable/internet yet

I tried to explain why, but this computer at work has a power cable that's remarkably easy to accidentally kick out of its socket. Big post got lost, and I have no desire to repeat myself too much

house full of boxes, many of them filled with crap that needs throwing out -- but moving sched was so accelerated i didn't have time to sort.

Work is awesome though. If anyone's desperate to reach me you can call the OC Weekly, but I'm doing fine. Will be better when I can whip the apartment into livable shape..

Posted by LYT at 6:39 PM | Comments (8)

March 26, 2007

NO more blogspot URLs

If you have a site hosted at blogger.com, shell out the cash for your own URL, like Pererro does.

In order to get rid of persistent spam, the word "blogspot" will now automatically send any comment containing it into moderation, where I may or may not notice it.

So yeah, you wanna link your blog, it had best be your own URL.

Posted by LYT at 6:16 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2007

brief advisory

I accidentally junked a few legit comments. If anyone has problems logging in as a result, please let me know.

Posted by LYT at 7:38 PM | Comments (4)

March 23, 2007

take my breath away

I'm having the absolute worst chest congestion/asthma-like symptoms I've had in a long time. Pretty sure they're allergy related, but short of getting a prescription inhaler, does anyone have any tips?

also. HELP NEEDED:

I have to watch two new movies on DVD over the weekend. I have no idea which box my TV and DVD player are in.

Would any of my friends out there be willing to let me come over and watch them? I won't be checking the site, so call me at the old number. Bonus for you is you get to see two new movies if you like (though you can also leave me to it), but they may not be super-exciting.

Posted by LYT at 7:01 PM | Comments (3)

March 22, 2007

OC Weekly stuff today

My very first ever art exhibition review. Here's the opening paragraph:

Twenty-four Panasonic widescreen TVs, in two concentric circles, with one set dead in the center. On each screen is a talking head, but the only one audible is the centerpiece, which changes daily. For each of the other screens, a stool and a headset are provided so that one may sit and listen at will. The subject is, loosely, Orange County, but the concept is Paradise—the myth, the reality, and the degree to which people are successful at attaining it in a place that is often promoted to the rest of the world as a land of dreams.

(my dad may have a thing or two to say about this!)

and there's a quickie film review by me at the bottom of this page

Posted by LYT at 4:35 PM | Comments (3)

See BEHIND THE MASK Friday night and meet Nathan Baesel!

If you didn't make it out for the movie's opening week -- Nathan and Robert Englund will be in attendance at the midnight show Friday night at the Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd.

If you get to meet Nathan, tell him you read the interview right here on LYTrules.com.

Posted by LYT at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2007

Cathy Seipp has left us

I met Cathy Seipp for the first time at one of the monthly parties she and Amy Alkon and Emmanuelle Richard used to throw for various authors. I was new to the journalism game, and appreciated the free food, not yet reckless enough to blow all my cash in hand on non-free drinks. Cathy was "that friend of Amy's in the bandana." She hadn't gone blonde yet -- I don't think she did that until after the first chemo.

I was naive then on some scores -- it didn't occur to me that cool people I met at parties might actually be right-wing. The first inkling of her beliefs I got was at the Press Club Awards one year, when Norm Jenssen asked her if she really really believed in the death penalty even though DNA testing was showing it to be unfairly applied.

"I believe in the death penalty for people who cut me off in traffic!" she responded. Glib, but a good line.

I think it was some months later that Roger L. Simon was having a book party and invited me and a bunch of other bloggers. Roger had not yet fully made the rightward turn, but many of the bloggers in attendance had, yet when the subject of gay marriage came up, everyone was for it except Cathy. Pretty much everyone in the room let her have it, too. Though I didn't agree with her either, I was struck by how easily she managed to debate an entire room without raising her voice her losing any aspect of cool. I mentioned that on the blog the next day, and she emailed to thank me for writing it, adding that she can't stand when everybody is so certain they're on the side of the angels. I think that informed most of her views -- never a "true-believer" Republican, as she put it, she was more of a contrarian. Had she lived in Alabama, I bet she'd have been a liberal, just to mess with the locals.

When New Times LA folded, Cathy was one of the only people at the monthly parties who actually talked to me. Over time, thanks to those parties and via Cathy's blog (which, by the way, her daughter dragged her kicking and screaming into at the beginning), I have had the occasion to meet many wonderful people whose presence has enriched my life. From Cathy's dad Harvey to various bloggers like Martin "Patio Pundit" Devon, to Cathy-philes like Brad Fikes and David & Julie Scott, associates like Gary McVey and Carla Sanders, to even, in a roundabout way, the only person in this world who can plausibly call herself my ex-girlfriend.

For someone known as a partisan writer, Cathy was one of the least partisan people in her personal life. I remember back when Martini Republic blogger Joseph Mailander used to go on tirades about how awful she was, and she'd respond by calling him "some obscure lefty blogger"...finally, one day, they met, and all of a sudden became friends. Part of it, too, is that Cathy never demonized her opponents -- the tone was always more like "Oh, why don't those silly-billies on the left listen to me?" as opposed to the standard right-wing-blogosphere "All Democrats are objectively America-haters!" I suspect the Canadian blood made her more laid back than some.

There were people who knew Cathy and still disliked her -- mostly, I think, they were people in some kind of authority who weren't doing things the way Cathy would have liked them done, so she made their lives difficult.

What I could relate to most, since I'm like this too, is that Cathy, while hugely self-promoting and having a high opinion of herself, was also hugely promoting of other people, and able to have a high opinion of them as well. I've always said there's a difference between ego and arrogance; Cathy had the former, but not much of the latter.

Cathy's legacy as I see it will be her ability to gather disparate people together, and advance the credibility of blogging as a legitimate medium (even though it took her so long to jump into it herself). I also think she would have been a better diplomat than Condi Rice or John Bolton -- if she could host a party where Andrew Breitbart and David Ehrenstein are both guests, why not Olmert and Abbas?

LA Times is reporting that funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Mt. Sinai Hollywood Hills, 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles.

Posted by LYT at 5:09 PM | Comments (5)

March 19, 2007

Quick updates

90% moved, after a weekend solely dedicated to same, watching movers be flummoxed by my possessions, and charging me up the ass for it.

Still no phone, Internet, or TV at the new place. May be like that all week. But I can be reached at the office, and you can find the main line at ocweekly.com, somewhere.

I'll be back Tuesday evening for a session of Blu-tack removal at the old place. Anyone who's up for joining in, I could use your help. If anybody would like to meet for dinner also, that can be arranged.

Party of some kind Saturday. Details to come, but keep your evening time free.

And while I moved all my worldly goods, Cathy Seipp went into ICU. If you ever enjoyed her work, go pay your last respects.

Posted by LYT at 4:26 PM | Comments (5)

March 17, 2007

Going dark...

This weekend, everything gets packed. Cable box and modem have to go home to their parent company, but new ones may not arrive for a while.

Anyone who needs to reach me urgently during the next week or so should probably contact the OC Weekly. Meanwhile, I'll try to check email when I can, and maintain the phone line here in Hollywood even if I stop living here sooner rather than later.

By April all things will be worked out. Go see Behind the Mask this weekend. And let the super-long Nathan interview tide you over till I can blog again.

Posted by LYT at 1:34 AM | Comments (8)

March 16, 2007

Nathan Baesel uncut

Seriously, once you all see Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, you'll understand why I'm giving the guy so much space. Anyway, Nathan emailed me this morning to suggest that fans of the movie might like to see a transcript of our complete conversation -- far more than could fit into the allotted space in the paper.

I figure, why not? I already did all that transcribing. I didn't transcribe 100% of the conversation, but most of it is here. Be forewarned that there are minor spoilers within, though probably nothing that anybody familiar with the slasher genre wouldn't have figured out.

Read on for my [almost] full conversation with Nathan...

First question: when do you sign the likeness deal to get one of these [an action figure], or have you already?

No, I haven’t signed any likeness deals, I haven’t signed anything, really, there’s nothing on paper, this thing never happened, so, uh, it doesn’t exist...If anybody licenses that wardrobe, I had something to say about that, so I better get a piece of that action

Was this project all together when you were attached, or did you help collaborate on it a lot?

It was surprisingly in collaboration - I thought that since it seemed to be such a full-steam ahead type deal, that I was just gonna get plugged in, but I was given a surprisingly great deal of influence over who the character was, both behind the mask and mask-off. I was thrilled to have a say in what the look of him was, what the general demeanor of the character was.

What was some of the research you did -- and didn’t -- do as far as slasher characters go?

I still have not seen the Halloween movies, any of ‘em, all the way through - I’ve seen bits and pieces, obviously, here and there. I’ve seen Friday the 13th part one; none of the others. I’ve seen Nightmare on Elm street 1-3, because when I was 13 years old, I went up to Washington state where my uncle had a video rental place, and that’s basically all I did for 3 days was watch movies...but yeah, I don’t gravitate towards horror films -- they scare the shit out of me! I don’t go and see horror films, generally speaking, but my sister in law who’s 18, she goes to see all of the new ones, and she’s grabbed me to a couple, and I love them because it’s such a visceral experience, that you don’t get with too many films, it’s a type of experience where two hours later, you’re not in the same place that you were when you came into it...it changes you and it effects you, even if it’s just on a kind of ...uh...what’s the word for ‘getting excited’...I mean, I remember Pet Sematary, which I read from some sources is kinda dated now if you watch it, but I remember watching that movie twice, because there were a couple moments - one where a kid got hit by a car, and another when a cat jumped out of a tree - it was just a cat jumping out of a tree, but it just hit me so hard, oh and the sister in the attic was fucking freaky. Stuff like that just really gets your heart pumping, and so I have a great reverence for horror films, but I think it’s almost too much of a reverence, it’s like people who live inland, who have never gone to the ocean. Because the waves, you know, they’re afraid of the power of the waves? Yeah, that’s kinda me with horror films.

So having seen the first three Nightmare movies, how does it feel to try to track down and kill Robert Englund onscreen?

Awesome! It feels awesome. I was so grateful to Robert Englund for his involvement with the film. He was such a sport from beginning to end. I did a show down in South Coast Repertory, a play, and he came to see it, I didn’t expect that he would be in attendance at all, but just the fact that this guy who I’d done a film with for a few days would go out of his way to come and see a project I was involved with and support me like that, I’m so blown away.

For someone who’s afraid of visceral experiences, it’s funny that you’re perhaps best known for chainsawing your own arm off on TV’s Invasion.

I love being asked to do things that are completely...people always tell me that I’m intense, when they meet me, that there’s something intense about me, which I’ve never understood, I’ve always felt like a pretty mellow guy, but I always gravitate and make choices as an actor that verge on intense, so I guess that’s what they’re talking about. I just really get turned on by stuff that’s really, um, the more dramatic side of nature. That’s just what I feel alive doing. I dunno, I guess it’s the same kinda thing that happens when I’m watching movies, when I have a visceral experience with it...I dunno (laughs)

Was it evident in the material that the film would get as many laughs as it does?

It was a total surprise. I really put into it what I thought my sense of humor was, and I could tell from the gestational stages of it, even when Scott [Glosserman] was casting the thing, I got this bizarre call from him even before I got the role, he’s like “it’s down to you and another guy. I saw the guy, I’ve got some history with him, and I think he’s really good and he made some great choices and he’s a great actor but you did something that was totally different than anything else I’d seen, and it’s actually making me have to rethink this whole movie, because I was taking it down this road of Waiting for Guffman-esque type thing, and now you’re making me think that it could actually be scarier, but still be funny. And I remember telling him, yeah, I think that this movie can be really really scary, and I think it should be really really scary, but I think that it should also be funny, and I think it can be both, and I think that with the right sensibility, it could straddle both of those worlds and make them equally effective and legitimate, legitimize both of them, ground them in a kind of truth that would make both of them totally right and totally believable, and I was gratified to see that once it got in front of an audience of people, and people started responding to it laughing, I was like ‘oh my god that was awesome’

I got a call from South by Southwest, from Brit on my cellphone, he called me at 4 different points throughout the film, and he just held the cellphone up so that I could hear the audience response to my favorite parts of the movie and I left the phone on and I just sat there -- I think it was actually during an episode of Invasion, that he called, so my wife’s watching this episode of Invasion, and I’m sitting here listening to this movie playing during south by southwest and I was just like, oh my gosh people are totally getting my sense of humor, this is crazy, I’m so grateful that I’m not a weirdo. [laughs] I’m a total weirdo, but everybody else is a weirdo too! That enjoys these movies.

Well look at the audience you’re playing to - I don’t discount myself from this. What I liked about this movie as opposed to Scream is that it doesn’t just point out the clichés, but it actually subverts them in a meaningful way.

I’ve seen a lot of comments about that online, from blogs and reviews and stuff like that. I’ve never seen scream - I’ve seen scenes but I’ve never seen the movie, and that seems to be the one movie that it’s really being compared to, that and Blair Witch, but yeah, I thought that there was such an intellect that was applied to the script, that I actually felt total freedom not to have to, y’know, there was a certain amount of investment that I felt was required in pulling off the character because he was referencing so many of the standard conventions of horror, like I had to have a grounding in that in order to pull it off. But I didn’t feel like it was important to me to know really the specifics, because I felt like Scott and David had taken care of it all with the script, it felt like the script was so grounded already, and I didn’t really feel like I felt like a lot of the work was already done in the script. All I had to do was really embody it in a convincing way, and not forget the words, and then I’d be able to do my part.

It’s a very physical role - did they test you physically in order to get this role?

Oh no - I’m totally glad that you appreciate that, because that’s just something that I gravitate towards, as an actor, I love physical stuff, I’m just a very physical person, and with this movie, it was my first film, and I just got an opportunity to do everything. I got to do dialogue, I got to do physicality, I got to do acting on front of 35mm camera, I got to do acting in front of DV, I got to do everything, I covered the entire fucking gamut in, I dunno, 70% of the film, I just got to do what I wanted to do, and it was phenomenal, because there was so much leeway given to me to, if I had an idea, just to try it, and this movie, what I’m grateful for, is that it’s the epitome of an independent film, it’s everything that independent films have strived towards.

This film from the beginning was completely independent, and the whole spirit behind the independence of this film was Scott Glosserman, who’s such a smart fucking guy, and he put a team together that was methodical and it’s funny that it’s been such a slow process, it’s been over two years since we shot the first frame of this , but in all that time, every decision that was made along the way was really carefully considered, and intelligently reasoned, and it’s gotten the film to where it is now.

The entire third act of the movie was not part of the original planning -- at what stage was it added?

That was all done before I was attached. That was actually one of the last steps that they had taken before they had gotten into the process of casting, and I thought that felt for me the finishing stroke, for knowing that I was getting involved in the project and it would actually be something, when I read....I was really intrigued by the fact that this film was gonna bounce between filmic convention and DV realism, and that was something that was like, I’ve never seen anything like this, this totally turns me on, and sets this project apart from anything I’ve ever seen, it’s got potential to really touch a nerve, and I think what it came out of is that David had a really great script, and Scott had a really well-versed conception of the horror genre.

I got a call a couple of days ago from Scott, he gets great ideas. ...’OH, I got an idea! We’re gonna do the DVD commentary. EXCEPT, you’re gonna do it in character, you’re gonna do it as Leslie, and Taylor’s gonna be there, and Todd’s gonna be there, and blablablabla” and I’m like, ‘Scott, Todd’s dead, at the end of the movie’ He’s like “Yeeeahhhh....shit...I hadn’t thought it through...but it’s still a good idea right?” “I’m like, yeah, it’s a great idea” he’s like, “ okay, well...the ball’s rolling. Reserve this date, and I’ll give you a call once I talk to Angela”

There have been a lot of really strong horror movie performances recently -- yours, Tobin Bell in the SAW movies, Angela Bettis in MAY, Marc Senter in THE LOST, but they don’t get a lot of respect -- Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for Silence of the Lambs, but nothing since then -- but by the same token, you’ve guaranteed that whatever else happens, you can always go to conventions and sell headshots for $20 any time you want.

Part of the reason why I don’t go see horror films is because, no disrespect, but what I feel comes to me from promotion and what I gather over internet-speak that I’m now privy to because of the film...it just feels to me like there’s a desire to capitalize on a market, a group that is really, that respects the genre and has such a reverence for it, and I feel like so many of the projects are just witless. It seems to be from what I watch that it’s just a machine, it seems like we know that there’s a target group that’s gonna respond to this, we put out a film that covers X Y and Z, and we’ll be able to make such and such a figure, and that’s gonna cover us until, y’know, 2007, 2008 maybe, and then we’re gonna crank out the next deal, and it just breaks my heart, that there’s not the same kind of passion, heart, and intelligence and cleverness put behind each horror venture or slasher venture. It feels to me like it’s a group that’s taken advantage of, more than just about any other kind of genre.

Scott Wilson plays a mentor figure to your character in the movie. Did that translate to real life, with the relationship between you as actors?

Totally. Scott’s...uh...I wanna fuck Scott. No, I just said that because I drank beer. But he’s really an incredible guy. You know, he’s really the first time that I saw a real manifestation of something that years ago had been like a breakthrough concept for me of what it is to be a true professional actor, which he embodied. He flew up to Portland, which, I think, three days he was up there. He played a character who is pivotal in the film and for all intents and purposes, he could have phoned in something really solid, a good well rounded performance kind of thing, but this is a guy who, I won’t even venture an age on him [ he’ll be 65 in March, according to imdb] , he went up to , he flew thousands of miles to do a film, plug himself into a group that had been working for a couple of weeks, on a project that was already hitting its groove, and he threw himself into that current, which was moving at 100 miles an hour, and threw in with such gusto that I realized, this is what I want to be when I’m 50 years old, 60 years old, 70 years old, 80 years old as an actor, this is the kind of actor that I want to be when I really mature and come into my prime; a guy who’s got a resume that any actor would kill for, and a guy that really could with just very little effort at all could create a performance that anybody could step back and say this is all we can really ask of this actor, but he threw himself in so wholeheartedly that it really blew me away, and his wife was him too, that was the thing that really killed me, Heavenly, she was with him and she was with him and she was there the whole time and she was such a support for him, not just as a wife but as a partner, and I was like my wife can be there with me? She can be there for me? She can be part of the process? That’s awesome. He really threw himself in 100% and did for the film what I don’t think anybody else could have done. His participation in the movie legitimized it in the same way that Robert Englund’s participation legitimized it and gave it such a , what we were trying to hit was a note of humanity for these characters that I haven’t seen before, and he did it, and he was awesome.

Did you meet Kane Hodder?

I got a call from Scott, probably 3-4 months after we’d wrapped, that he’d got Kane Hodder to stand in front of the Elm Street house and prune the hedges and shoot that scene, and I was like, ‘oh my god Scott...’ That’s when I realized he was like a miracle worker, or sweet-talker-slash-miracle worker.

Having Kane Hodder’s participation really honestly legitimizes the movie in the same way that Robert Englund’s participation, because he’s credited, but nobody is going to know his face except for horror fans, and I felt like we’re reaching out to those fans in such a way because those fans are going to know who what this house is, those fans are gonna know the significance of what this moment is, of Kane Hodder standing in front of the fucking nightmare on elm street house, I mean, nobody but horror fans are gonna get that, and that to me is the epitome of what we were trying to do, which was totally give so much love and respect to the horror fans.

That said, how has it been playing to people who aren’t horror fans?

Gen Art was the first opportunity that I had to see the film play in front of an audience, and SXSW, from what I understand, was a real genre-based, fan audience and Gen Art was not that, I mean when I was listening on the phone to the SXSW audience response, they were getting all the subtleties and nuance. New York, they weren’t grabbing all the nuance, they were responding with the same kind of enthusiasm to completely different parts of the movie, and I felt like, oh my gosh, these are not horror fans, these are the epitome of the audience that don’t go to horror movies -- these people are me. They don’t go to horror movies because it scares the shit out of them, but they’re enjoying the movie to the same extent for completely different reasons, and that’s when I felt like, oh, we got something amazing here, because we can really give so much attention and satisfaction to our horror fan base, and at the same time we can grab an audience that steers away from those movies for whatever reason, we can tend to them; the movie’s not offensive, and we can pull them in, and maybe , fingers crossed, give them an inroad to these films that they wouldn’t have had otherwise, maybe steer new fans towards the horror genre, even if it’s just from an analytical viewpoint, they’ll be able to get just as much out of the movies as horror fans.

The movie leaves it open at the end for a sequel -- would it be possible to a sequel that works in the same way, and would you do one if it were offered?

I don’t know, on both counts. I think so, because the passion and intellect behind the first film leads me to believe that there’s really no limit to the kind of conceptual, analytical, genre-based, entertainment-based choices that could be made to support a second film. It seems to me that that’s the only way a sequel would work for the film, is if it’s just as provocative, if not more provocative in the second one -- that seems to be to me the only way that a sequel would work. I don’t doubt that Scott and David would be capable of pulling off something that would be just as provocative, if not more provocative, in fact, to me, because Behind the Mask was so provocative, in so many ways, I’ve never been able to see a horror movie the same way since. I’m actually excited about seeing horror movies now, because of it. I wasn’t before. Because of their passion and insight and intellect I think they’re completely capable of pulling off something that would be even more provocative... whether or not I would do another movie, I don’t know. It would have to be really fuckin’ good. I think that the only way to do justice to the first movie, if there was a sequel, would be if the sequel were more provocative, and I’m not the kind of person, I’m not smart enough, I couldn’t come up with a sequel on my own. That’s the only way - if it was so much better than the first movie that I was like “why the fuck didn’t we make THIS movie”?

Tell us about your movie Like Moles Like Rats

It’s the epitome of a passion project. I don’t know where it’s at right now
It’s probably the most intense I ever got about a project, like shaved my head into a Mohawk, and really went to some dark places in my mind for an extended period of time, and that seemed like it was called for for my character, but there was also a real humanity to that character too, I think that’s something that I gravitate towards - characters that have a real extremity to them, but they have a humanity that grounds them

I hope they whipped it into shape and turned it into something that will have some longevity to it. It’s crazy, because I’m watching previews for Children of Men, which seems to me to have so many similarities to the work that we were doing. It’s completely different stylistically, and completely different in tone, but it has a lot of the same symbolism that we were working with, it has a lot of the same plot...I hope the best for the film, but I really have no idea where it’s at right now, and I understand that ...I really don’t know personally how my work turned out, it could have been over the top, just bullshit, but I put myself into it.

So other than that, what’s upcoming for you?

Not a goddamn thing. Pilot season will be coming up in February, this film will be coming out in February. I’m still at a point where it’s a really interesting predicament, because I feel like I’m a fuckin’ good actor and I got a lot to offer, but it’s just the extent to which people are receptive to it is the extent of my ability to continue to work and provide for my family, and that’s number one at this point, taking care of my family, so if auditions continue to come along, I’ll get out there, I’ll audition for Bozo the Clown, I don’t give a shit, y’know, I love stuff that’s challenging, I love stuff that’s pushing myself to the extent that I am capable, I hope I always stay that way, I hope I always keep the desire to be uncomfortable and to push myself. I have no idea, but life is good. I’ve got a baby. Two boys, it’s crazy, my wife’s awesome, she’s doing the best she can, I’m doing the best I can to take care of my family, even if it’s not supporting them with acting.

Posted by LYT at 5:41 PM | Comments (7)

March 15, 2007

Nathan galore!

Obligatory notice: I hereby grant Nathan, his publicists, friends, and fans the right to use any of these photos however they wish PROVIDED Luke Y. Thompson is credited as the photographer, and LYTrules.com as the source (complete with linkage if used on another website).

Here we see Nathan Baesel, er, "Behind the Mask" (an actual prop replica from the publicity office)

Nathan with a few "idols" (courtesy of the LYT collection)

A proud poppa

"Waiter! More beer!"

"Sorry, sir, you've clearly had enough to drink"

Nathan thanks Robert Englund for being in his movie.

[click any picture to go to my buzznet page - there are a couple more there, mostly alternate takes]

Posted by LYT at 9:37 PM | Comments (5)

It's been four months

...since you last saw a full-length review from me.

I'm back!

here's a taste:

"Such is the strength of Scott Glosserman’s Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Two parts mockumentary, one part balls-out slasher, it’s set in a world where the kill-sprees of Freddy, Jason, Michael et al actually happened, and a documentary crew, led by the enthusiastic Taylor (Angela Goethals), has been contacted by the latest would-be bogeyman. As they approach his house for the first time, it’s a classic horror set up—the place seems abandoned, there are vague glimpses of someone, or some thing watching them . . . "

I'm aiming for at least one of these a month, dependent upon what other obligations pop up along the way.

Posted by LYT at 5:20 PM | Comments (3)

Hey Vernon! KnowhutImean?

This weekend sees the release of BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON, a smart deconstructionist horror parody that's a must-see -- it does for slasher films what ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD did for Shakespeare.

To kick things off, I interviewed star Nathan Baesel. Though some headline writer apparently decided to call him the director of the film (an error I'm trying to get remedied online, possibly by the time you read it), the article is all good.

Check it out.

I also took a few photos of Nathan in a variety of odd settings -- I'll have those up later tonight.

Posted by LYT at 9:11 AM | Comments (6)

March 13, 2007

our first presidential poll of the next season

go vote!

UPDATED: I'm not surprised that readership of this blog leans towards Dems, but I am surprised that Hillary Clinton is in the lead.

Posted by LYT at 1:08 AM | Comments (17)

March 12, 2007

Up for air, briefly

Just checking in while I can. Things are not easy at present, but it's in the service of a greater good.

I was supposed to begin the new job on the 26th, and I planned to pace myself accordingly. Then there were two more resignations at the paper -- a new paper is being formed by ex-employees, and these two jumped aboard quite suddenly. So my first day on the job was moved up to today.

Meanwhile, I've had to be absolutely ruthless in paring down my possessions, which is a difficult thing to do. Ten years or so worth of stuff reflects a history of sorts, and having to give so much of it up is like cutting a chunk of yourself out. Those of you who wish I had less toys and feel certain I'd be somehow improved without so many, I hope you're right, because it's a painful transition. I'm not getting rid of everything -- but enough. I hope some kids and eBayers get some joy as a result.

Dishwasher. I'm gonna have a dishwasher. Yeah. Thinking positive.

Still need good OC story ideas.

Posted by LYT at 8:54 PM | Comments (5)

March 11, 2007

It's like a jungle sometimes...

I would have expected this back in the '80s, but now?

Posted by LYT at 12:47 PM | Comments (1)

March 10, 2007

A more elegant washing...for a more civilized age

I've never seen anything like it before.

The laundry machines in my new place...don't take quarters!

Instead, we get a card that's like a phone card. There's a machine on the wall that allows us to insert any kind of bills and add them to the card's balance. So it doesn't f'in' MATTER if you're out of quarters!

Seriously, why aren't these everywhere?

Posted by LYT at 6:21 PM | Comments (8)

My Grandfather's Column

Who wants to be immortal?

Just recently some scientific opinion seems to have reached the conclusion that before very long it will be possible for death to be overcome and people will just go on living for an indefinite number of centuries - more or less for ever provided that they take care not to get killed. I can hardly imagine a worse scenario than this.

Many wise folk over the centuries have believed that the purpose of life was that we should prepare for our death. This has been a particularly strong strand in Christian teaching; and of course it is matched by the Buddhist belief in re-incarnation until such time as perfect enlightenment is achieved when the enlightened one ceases to be reborn and enters the state of nirvana.

We do have a difficulty as Christians because Jesus appears to have taught both that we must die and also that those who believe in him will never die. I think the answer is that the Gospels teach about two quite different kinds of life: first there is plain physical life as we all know it. Clearly this life ends with our death; and I hope it always will. As for the second kind of life there is a neat way of putting it which comes in the first Epistle of John in our New Testament: "We have passed from death to life because we love one another." Our modern Marriage Service says the same sort of thing. It begins with the wonderful statement: "God is love and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them."

Of course we still have to face the problem: what is meant by this word love? We've got used to using the same word for all sorts of different kinds of feeling and behaviour. This highest kind of love is the total desire to promote the happiness and wellbeing of those whom we love, which should mean every man, woman and child whom we meet. If I believe God is my Father it follows that I also believe that every member of the human race is my brother or sister and is to be loved as God loves us.

There is just one more point I need to make, which is the difference between immortal life and eternal life. The former is life that just goes on and on, the latter is not about length of days but about the quality of life; it is a life of love and for Christians it means sharing in the life of Jesus Christ. John records him as saying: "This is life eternal to know you, the only God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." What we celebrate at Easter is the triumph of eternal life over the life which ends with death.

Many of us just love to sing the Easter hymns which express the heart of what I'm trying to say with words such as these:

Jesus lives! our hearts know well
Naught from us his love shall sever;
Life nor death nor powers of hell
Tear us from his keeping ever.
Alleluia!

--Peter Graham.

Posted by LYT at 5:42 PM | Comments (3)

March 9, 2007

Maybe my last E! Online review

is here

Posted by LYT at 12:01 PM | Comments (5)

March 8, 2007

"Leather Freddie Mercury" figure is being recalled

Turns out the gayest-looking action figure ever was sent out to stores without having been fully approved by Freddie's estate. If you have one, you've got yourself a collector's item.

The Freddie Mercury figure in the yellow jacket is fully approved, however.

Posted by LYT at 5:52 PM | Comments (2)

March 7, 2007

I worked hard on this story

It's all about gang crime statistics. And I had some help from Jill Stewart, but it was still an SOB to put together.

So please read it.

Posted by LYT at 11:59 PM | Comments (7)

What "faggot" means

I may have explained it before, but I suspect this is something that periodically needs returning to. Especially since Ann Coulter is now claiming that the word faggot doesn't actually mean gay, but rather a wussy type.

Sorry, Ann, but I know the actual origin of the term. Let me break it down.

A faggot traditionally means a bundle of twigs for kindling. This is how it became the term used in the UK for a cigarette.

The full nasty slang term for a gay person is "screaming faggot." It derives from the days when gay people were burned at the stake. Unlike sticks, they screamed in pain as they were burning. I suspect "flaming queen" originates from the same idea.

Just so you know. Not many people seem to.

Posted by LYT at 7:11 PM | Comments (21)

For those keeping track

I got the apartment I applied for. No bathtub, but A/C and a dishwasher, two things I've wanted for a long time.

Also - LA Observed linked to my "New Times LA alumni" post below, and it's already attracted the best troll-post ever.

Posted by LYT at 7:05 PM | Comments (5)

Looking for a charity that takes secondhand toys

Not new toys, opened ones. I used to have a source but lost it.

Google has not been my friend on this one.

Alternately, if you have a kid who doesn't mind opened figures and wants some action toys in the superhero/horror/wrestling genre, I might have free stuff for you.

Mario - do you go to children's hospitals at all?

Posted by LYT at 12:32 AM | Comments (8)

March 6, 2007

The Doc is Out

Dave White picks a random doctor and discovers he's gay.

So now I have my first homo doctor ever. He used to write medical columns for "The Advocate" too. He was nice and answered all my dumb questions (this was a check-up more or less, so I had a full year to accumulate a bunch of good stupid ones). Then he asked me how I was referred. I said, "I pulled you out of a hat on the internet. You were the closest and because your name begins with "B" you were first on the list. But you've been cool this whole time so I got lucky on that one."

Read the whole thing, unless you're Ann Coulter.

Posted by LYT at 10:54 PM | Comments (10)

Bad News, indeed

'80s wrestling superstar Bad News Brown, a.k.a. Allen Coage, has died of a heart attack, aged 63. Bad News was renowned as a legitimate tough guy, a former Olympic bronze medalist in judo. Competitors were often genuinely afraid to work a match with him, and it's been strongly rumored that Hulk Hogan refused to do any kind of long-term angle with him, though they did face each other at least once on TV, with Hogan ending Bad News' "undefeated" streak. I remember being really disappointed, having hoped that the streak would continue and Hulk would be humbled.

After the WWF, I saw some matches he did in Japan for shoot promotions. In a way he was a bit ahead of his time -- had he been 20 years younger, I suspect he would have thrived in the UFC, and enjoyed it more than WWE.

The master of the "ghetto blaster" ended his days as a mall security guard. His first-ever action figure was just released in the WWE Classics line by Jakks Pacific.

For more on Bad News, visit his official website.

Posted by LYT at 5:37 PM | Comments (3)

The trouble with Ann

The thing about Ann Coulter and her latest remarks about John Edwards being a "faggot," is that to me, viewed in context, knowing it's a spoof on Isaiah Washington, it actually does play like a joke.

The only problem is that she's not a comedian, and wasn't in a comedy club. Guys like Andrew Dice Clay and Nick DiPaolo say shit like that all the time, but they aren't paraded on news channels as serious pundits and thinkers. If Ann were to ply her trade in comedy clubs, she'd have a following, and people wouldn't react as viscerally...but the "just a joke" defense just isn't as workable if you're going to parade yourself as a serious political commentator. Everyone knows that if, say, Bill Maher appeared at a Democratic fundraiser and said something off-color, the right would be all over it.

I've always been amused by how straight-laced religious conservative types gleefully laugh when Coulter makes date-rape jokes about Bill Clinton (witnessed firsthand at the Liberty Film Fest). These are the same people who complain there's too much sex talk on TV.

Ann has said far worse things than the faggot joke. Wishing journalists dead is fairly unforgivable to me, since many of my best friends are journos.

But if it really is "just a joke," Ann, and you really follow a capitalist worldview, go out there and promote your stuff as humor. Compete in the comedy clubs. Shit, you can't be less funny than Ned "Carlos Mencia" Holness, and he has enough of a following to get on TV.

Just don't try to persuade us that you're serious. And those of you on the right who enjoy her "humor," quit trying to pretend she's serious. I'll accept her as a humorist when she consistently promotes herself as same.

Posted by LYT at 1:43 AM | Comments (8)

March 5, 2007

New Times Los Angeles alumni movin' on up

Congratulations to my bike-riding, Scientology-busting ex-colleague Tony Ortega, who is now the new editor of the Village Voice. This marks the fourth major cross-country move for him in the last five years or so -- starting from L.A., then Phoenix, Kansas City, Palm Beach, and now NYC.

And I think it's okay to announce now that I am going to be a staff writer at the OC Weekly, headquartered in Santa Ana. This new job entails more of a focus on feature/cover stories than film reviews, but I have no intention of completely abandoning the latter.

So if anyone has any tips on weird things going on in OC, I want to know about it.

Posted by LYT at 4:02 PM | Comments (56)

March 3, 2007

I may have a place

I've applied, anyway. It's right by 17th and main in Santa Ana.

Anybody want to tell me why that is or isn't a horrible place to live? The building's certainly nice enough.

A local bank teller warned me that it was "very Hispanic." I told her that's not an issue -- crime is the issue. Hispanic people are just people. Hispanic gangs would be another story.

Posted by LYT at 1:57 AM | Comments (12)

March 1, 2007

LYT LEAVING LOS ANGELES

I'm moving to Santa Ana. If anyone can help me find a place there, please do.

That is all.

Posted by LYT at 9:13 PM | Comments (18)

Don't toy with me

I think this is an oblique reference to me, though if it isn't, all can ignore any commentary that follows...

Point of discussion: If you own a toy collection worth thousands, should we feel sorry for you when you complain about how health insurance is too expensive for you to find it worth purchasing (even though you’ll still bitch when you get sick and have to pay for medical attention)? Cathy and I think not, in case you wondered.

I have a couple points of discussion myself:

1. Who evaluates the "worth thousands" aspect? Toys out of package aren't worth much, especially if they're common, and were bought as bargains to begin with. I suspect the sum total of what I could get for every toy I own on ebay is approximately what it might cost to buy some proper furniture or fancy clothes, which I have done without. I certainly doubt it would be enough to buy a $12,000 hospital stay, though it might pay health insurance for one year. Then what?

2. Is it relevant to the issue if most were accumulated during a period of actually having health insurance, prior to one's primary source of income drying up?

3. Shall we compare the price of health insurance to what I spend on toys? The ratio isn't even close. Especially now. I don't even pay to see movies on my own time any more.

4. If you own a house, do you have the right to complain about the price of health insurance? If you have anything that can be sold, must you sell it before you can complain? If you own a car? A fridge? A good TV? To name but a few things worth more than my toys.

5. The only time I've bitched about medical attention was after being gouged for the hospital stay associated with having a very basic, mandatory surgery (the surgery itself was a reasonable price. Everything else - less so). Doctor and prescription bills prior to that were always quite reasonable and sane.

But hey, maybe the comment wasn't about me, but about someone who actually owns all the original Star Wars figures mint-in-package or something. My stuff certainly isn't worth thousands, in terms of what someone in the real world would actually pay for it secondhand. Think of taking a large stack of CDs to Amoeba, and coming out with $10 cash in hand, plus a few of the same CDs because they wouldn't take them. Similar deal.

Thanks for clarifying where I should not look for sympathy, though. I wouldn't have figured that part out myself.

Posted by LYT at 4:07 AM | Comments (12)

My stupid body rhythms

I think it's being at home and in isolation that's doing this. It certainly isn't helping.

All day I feel groggy and useless and try to make myself productive. I finally perk up at night, like around now - 2:57 a.m. Great. I don't need to be productive now, I needed it earlier, and now I can't sleep.

Nothing seems to change this. I've tried altering my diet, having more caffeine in the morning, energy drinks...it's only different if I'm staying somewhere else, it seems. Or if I stay out all day, but there isn't much call for that.

Dunno why I'm even making this an entry, really. But maybe some of you have ideas? Caffeine tends to make me nervous rather than actually revive me.

Posted by LYT at 2:56 AM | Comments (7)

Cheers, Dad.

Here's to 60 great years.

Posted by LYT at 12:02 AM | Comments (4)