Thing that moved me this week: Story Corps is a national treasure. They consistently remind me how amazing our every day lives really are.
Thing I’m listening to: Louis CK is at the top of his game. This is known. I love this old quote about the years of hard work it took to get there: “give it a minute!” This week I just heard his reflection on being interviewed by a critic who suggested HBO cancel his first show Lucky Louie. He wanted to write a mean letter in response but he didn’t. Listen to this five minute clip from Fresh Air to hear why.
Books I’m reading this week: Sea of Monsters and Titan’s Curse. That’s the kind of week it’s been.
Art work I’m inspired by: A colleague at work let me use some of her sculptures in a few storytelling sessions I had at school for Mad Hatter’s day. So I came up with a 20 minute adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. When teachers see my library sessions they come up to me after and say, “Wow, you could be an actor.” Check out the amazing work of Liudmyla Bezusko here. Maybe this will start a bigger collaboration.
New movie I’m excited for: New Wes. New Wes.
Honorable mention of awesomeness that stands the test of time: I’m in the middle of a Harry Potter home film festival and Prisoner of Azkaban, directed by Alfonso Cuarón is still an awesome movie. I was a projectionist when that came out and I can remember so many frames of that film. It is a beautiful fusion of storytelling and filmmmaking; an emotional roller coaster full of craft and subtlety. As the young child actors started getting better at longer scenes, Cuarón didn’t overwhelm them with carrying too much dialogue in his long takes. It seems as though he put them with some of the older, more skilled actors, and told the children to just listen. That’s a great acting lesson.
