计较
我的剧本创作“Routine”在亲友的祝福下，得到了三百元的勉励奖。无法超越自己两年前的成就，我多少感到有些失落，不过 落败不是没有原因。比赛的三甲得主都是电视媒体工作者，个个都是职业编剧。其中一位是每年的常胜军。
这位仁兄是有着十多年经验的编剧，还曾是我老师在电视 台的同事。据老师说，此人曾经违反比赛规则而遭淘汰。当时新传媒员工被禁止参加比赛，这位仁兄便以假名参赛，结果到场领奖的竟是一位老婆婆。老婆婆被问到 剧本内容竟达不出一个字。奸计被识破，然而主办单位仍然让他再来届比赛中参赛，令人费解。坦白说，他年年得奖，才华早被肯定，他要的显然不是名，而是利。 今年此人变本加厉参加了五个作品，还每个都得奖。老师过后替我抱不平，但我也释怀了。要玩这样的游戏，就得接受这样的规矩。我不知道我还得花多少年时间才 可以打败这位先生，但我期待这一天的来到。
比较
自 从更换老板心里一直不踏实，总有怀才不遇的感觉。而且部门越变越大，成就自然就更容易被漠视。有时感到严重失望的时候，就会想要换个工作算了。不过一旦和 别人 比较时，就会发现我没有想象中的不幸。我有些朋友天天工作至十点钟，到家还有继续做。假日时得到老板电话，还要回到公司。现在她忙得连觉都睡不好、饭也吃 不好。待遇方面好像要没有多我多少。不要说别公司的朋友。就连同公司、同职位但不同部门的同事也有较差的待遇。
从朋友的悲哀中来缓和自己的失落多少也觉得讽刺。
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
天啊，送我一些更可靠的朋友
我的星期六原本可以过得很开心，但如今却在家里过。因为两个字：爽约。而且是被两组人。也不知道是不是八字出了问题，我还蛮常遭人爽约。
我觉得人应该对别人维持一些基本礼貌。不能碰面就拜托你让我很早就知道。不要以为是朋友就可以或必接受临时更改约会。你要明白，我的时间拨给你，就代表我推掉了其他的事情。任何事都是有Opportunity cost 懂不懂？世界不是，也不该绕着你一个人转。
而且如果真的逼不得已一定要更改约会日期，我觉得礼貌上要亲自道歉。不要随便传个简讯就想了事。
我实在不能接受“忘记日期”这个借口。有一种东西叫organiser，记性不好就去买一个。拜托，帮你自己一个大忙。
看来圣诞时，要买好几个organiser送人。
我觉得人应该对别人维持一些基本礼貌。不能碰面就拜托你让我很早就知道。不要以为是朋友就可以或必接受临时更改约会。你要明白，我的时间拨给你，就代表我推掉了其他的事情。任何事都是有Opportunity cost 懂不懂？世界不是，也不该绕着你一个人转。
而且如果真的逼不得已一定要更改约会日期，我觉得礼貌上要亲自道歉。不要随便传个简讯就想了事。
我实在不能接受“忘记日期”这个借口。有一种东西叫organiser，记性不好就去买一个。拜托，帮你自己一个大忙。
看来圣诞时，要买好几个organiser送人。
快乐,不快乐
一周间，经历了快乐也尝尽了失落。
一周前~
首先是一大早就突然有灵感，要如何完成一个在我心里沉睡多年的剧本。相信在不久后终于可以完成这个故事。这个剧本如果发展得不错，我打算砸钱把它拍成短片。
还有我 终于和一个近期很想合作的同事碰了面。其实我想换部门有一段时间了。和这个同事碰面的其中一个原因就是想了解他的新部门的运作。他人比我想象中友善好 多。我们聊了一个半小时，他邀请我加入他的一个team。而这个team的领队刚好又是另一个我很想合作的同事。(我也同时对其他的部门感兴趣)。顿时觉 得我换职一事还颇有希望!当然一切还言之过早，一切还得看后天的努力，但至少我可以理所当然地接近我想接近的人。
然后是我接获“Routine”入围剧本创作比赛，有望摘下大奖。我已经收到邀请涵，会参加颁奖礼。到时会有多个圈内名人，光想就十分兴奋。
一周后~
得到了一年一度的员工奖励花红，结果比想象中差。失望是必然的，不过早有心里准备。自从很照顾我的两个上司在去年上旬相续离职后，我的机遇就大不如前。再没有人罩着我，没有人关心我事业上的未来。
我现在的老板不是不好，而是他们和我直接合作的机会很少，而真正和我时常接洽的上司显然地没有帮我争取更好的待遇。所以我的成就逃过了大老板的眼睛。当然这样下去不是办法，我也在想法子为自己找机会。好工作难找。好老板更是难求。我突然担心起我的将来。
一周前~
首先是一大早就突然有灵感，要如何完成一个在我心里沉睡多年的剧本。相信在不久后终于可以完成这个故事。这个剧本如果发展得不错，我打算砸钱把它拍成短片。
还有我 终于和一个近期很想合作的同事碰了面。其实我想换部门有一段时间了。和这个同事碰面的其中一个原因就是想了解他的新部门的运作。他人比我想象中友善好 多。我们聊了一个半小时，他邀请我加入他的一个team。而这个team的领队刚好又是另一个我很想合作的同事。(我也同时对其他的部门感兴趣)。顿时觉 得我换职一事还颇有希望!当然一切还言之过早，一切还得看后天的努力，但至少我可以理所当然地接近我想接近的人。
然后是我接获“Routine”入围剧本创作比赛，有望摘下大奖。我已经收到邀请涵，会参加颁奖礼。到时会有多个圈内名人，光想就十分兴奋。
一周后~
得到了一年一度的员工奖励花红，结果比想象中差。失望是必然的，不过早有心里准备。自从很照顾我的两个上司在去年上旬相续离职后，我的机遇就大不如前。再没有人罩着我，没有人关心我事业上的未来。
我现在的老板不是不好，而是他们和我直接合作的机会很少，而真正和我时常接洽的上司显然地没有帮我争取更好的待遇。所以我的成就逃过了大老板的眼睛。当然这样下去不是办法，我也在想法子为自己找机会。好工作难找。好老板更是难求。我突然担心起我的将来。
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Happy Feet Vs Cars
Finally finished 'Happy Feet'. It's not better than 'Cars', Pixar's most mediocre work to date.
I can't say it was deserving of the animated picture oscar. I have to watch 'Monster's House' to decide. But then again, what difference would it make? The awards have been doled out, and nothing will change the winners, no matter whether they deserved it or not.
Of course, winning isn't everything. Some movies withstand the test of time and go on to become classics, even though their brillance didn't stand out in the beginning. 'Citizen Kane', Bonnie & Clyde' come to mind.
'Happy Feet' isn't entirely crap. It has a pretty good premise, and some bits of originality, something 'Cars' lacked. With 'Cars', it was very much travelling on a straight road with no view. I already knew the ending even without finishing the first act. I can't even remember the title character's name.
I laughed with the 5 mini penguins, the chief saving grace of this let-down. Story-wise, it was ill-developed, and scenes didn't link well or flow into one another. But it was cute that they integrated live action elements into the otherwise visually boring film.
Pixar recently recruited Michael Arndt, writer of LMS, and he's writing 'Toy Story 3'. Let's hope Pixar lives up to its good name again.
I can't say it was deserving of the animated picture oscar. I have to watch 'Monster's House' to decide. But then again, what difference would it make? The awards have been doled out, and nothing will change the winners, no matter whether they deserved it or not.
Of course, winning isn't everything. Some movies withstand the test of time and go on to become classics, even though their brillance didn't stand out in the beginning. 'Citizen Kane', Bonnie & Clyde' come to mind.
'Happy Feet' isn't entirely crap. It has a pretty good premise, and some bits of originality, something 'Cars' lacked. With 'Cars', it was very much travelling on a straight road with no view. I already knew the ending even without finishing the first act. I can't even remember the title character's name.
I laughed with the 5 mini penguins, the chief saving grace of this let-down. Story-wise, it was ill-developed, and scenes didn't link well or flow into one another. But it was cute that they integrated live action elements into the otherwise visually boring film.
Pixar recently recruited Michael Arndt, writer of LMS, and he's writing 'Toy Story 3'. Let's hope Pixar lives up to its good name again.
Monday, February 26, 2007
The Little Movie That Could But Didn't
And so, as oscar bloggers predicted, my fave movie of 2006, Little Miss Sunshine loses the Big One. Falling victim to a premature frontrunner status (thanks to its PGA and Screen Actors Guild awards), LMS found itself subjected to unprecedented backlash from audiences who once claimed that they enjoyed the movie. Unfortunately, most audiences, like the academy, suffer from genre biases too, and a comedy winning Best Picture is just an unthinkable thought.
It did not come as a surprise then, that The Departed soon caught up with the race to surpass LMS as the leader of the pack. Some rumours regarding support for Babel surged over the past few days, making it a three-legged race between Babel, LMS and Departed. However, the worries were unfounded. Babel only managed one weak win in Best Original Score (for a very original sounding score indeed), despite topping the charts with 7 noms amongst the Best Picture nominees.
I watched the Oscars live for the first time, and at the beginning after Alan Arkin pulled an upset win over Eddie Murphy, and Babel won score unexpectedly, I thought - "Now this is going to be interesting." Editing which had yet to come then, was said to be a toss-up between Departed and Babel. If Babel won Editing, then it will be 2 wins a-piece for the 3 Best Picture Nominees (since the categories for 2 screenplay categories and director were locked). But when Departed took Editing, I knew almost for sure that we had our Best Picture winner. And so, it was.
What did it feel like watching the Oscars live? Well, not very fun. This year's show was soooo long. It clocked at around 4 hours and 17 minutes. Ellen Degeneres tried her best, but some of the jokes fell flat, and the opening sequence with the nominees talking just did not work. We didn't know or cared for 80% of them. It was a bad way to start the show. Also, what is with the shortened acting clips of nominees? Each clip only had like 10 or 15 seconds at most. Acting clips are one of the best stuff audiences look forward to within a long show that drones on. It doesn't do justice to the artistes' work. It was also a let-down that most winners read off lists, and almost none of the acceptance speeches were inspiring. Perhaps Helen Mirren's was the best. But that's partly because she has admirable confidence and air. And I must say, I hate it when the announcer say that Departed is based on a Japanese film. Hello? Didn't you do your research properly for such a big event? Have some respect for the original film-makers!
Of course there were some fun bits. I like the "shadow play" performers. Like a style reminiscent of wayang kulit, dancers in skin-tight bodysuits went behind a white screen and showed us motifs of some of the nominated films. For LMS, it was the bus. For Departed, the gun. And my fave - for Happy Feet, we saw the 'silhouettes' of the 5 pint-sized "amigo" penguins! I also liked the fuss-free way of introducing the 5 Best Picture nominees. Instead of having people come out to introduce them, the producers cut to the chase and showed us scenes from the movie, which included narration from a key cast member or director on how this film was put together and how much it meant to them. Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and George Lukas cracked me up when they joked while presenting Best Director.
I'm also glad "Cars", the movie that induced me to sleep, lost. I'm not sure if "Happy Feet" is a deserved winner, yet to finish it. I'm not so glad that "Dead Men's Chest", the only movie that put me to sleep twice in a single screening, walked away with one win, in visual effects.
In terms of fashion, I thought the best-dressed person was Nicole Kidman in bright red (think she celebrated CNY too, haha!). Emily Blunt is resplendant in shimmery blue. Rachel Weisz and Cate Blancett also looked very elegant like sliver and grey respectively.
Will I watch Oscars again next year? Hmm, I dunno. Depends how much I love the movies this year!
It did not come as a surprise then, that The Departed soon caught up with the race to surpass LMS as the leader of the pack. Some rumours regarding support for Babel surged over the past few days, making it a three-legged race between Babel, LMS and Departed. However, the worries were unfounded. Babel only managed one weak win in Best Original Score (for a very original sounding score indeed), despite topping the charts with 7 noms amongst the Best Picture nominees.
I watched the Oscars live for the first time, and at the beginning after Alan Arkin pulled an upset win over Eddie Murphy, and Babel won score unexpectedly, I thought - "Now this is going to be interesting." Editing which had yet to come then, was said to be a toss-up between Departed and Babel. If Babel won Editing, then it will be 2 wins a-piece for the 3 Best Picture Nominees (since the categories for 2 screenplay categories and director were locked). But when Departed took Editing, I knew almost for sure that we had our Best Picture winner. And so, it was.
What did it feel like watching the Oscars live? Well, not very fun. This year's show was soooo long. It clocked at around 4 hours and 17 minutes. Ellen Degeneres tried her best, but some of the jokes fell flat, and the opening sequence with the nominees talking just did not work. We didn't know or cared for 80% of them. It was a bad way to start the show. Also, what is with the shortened acting clips of nominees? Each clip only had like 10 or 15 seconds at most. Acting clips are one of the best stuff audiences look forward to within a long show that drones on. It doesn't do justice to the artistes' work. It was also a let-down that most winners read off lists, and almost none of the acceptance speeches were inspiring. Perhaps Helen Mirren's was the best. But that's partly because she has admirable confidence and air. And I must say, I hate it when the announcer say that Departed is based on a Japanese film. Hello? Didn't you do your research properly for such a big event? Have some respect for the original film-makers!
Of course there were some fun bits. I like the "shadow play" performers. Like a style reminiscent of wayang kulit, dancers in skin-tight bodysuits went behind a white screen and showed us motifs of some of the nominated films. For LMS, it was the bus. For Departed, the gun. And my fave - for Happy Feet, we saw the 'silhouettes' of the 5 pint-sized "amigo" penguins! I also liked the fuss-free way of introducing the 5 Best Picture nominees. Instead of having people come out to introduce them, the producers cut to the chase and showed us scenes from the movie, which included narration from a key cast member or director on how this film was put together and how much it meant to them. Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and George Lukas cracked me up when they joked while presenting Best Director.
I'm also glad "Cars", the movie that induced me to sleep, lost. I'm not sure if "Happy Feet" is a deserved winner, yet to finish it. I'm not so glad that "Dead Men's Chest", the only movie that put me to sleep twice in a single screening, walked away with one win, in visual effects.
In terms of fashion, I thought the best-dressed person was Nicole Kidman in bright red (think she celebrated CNY too, haha!). Emily Blunt is resplendant in shimmery blue. Rachel Weisz and Cate Blancett also looked very elegant like sliver and grey respectively.
Will I watch Oscars again next year? Hmm, I dunno. Depends how much I love the movies this year!
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