Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 94
March 19, 2023
March 19, 2023: Suji Sunday!
Riding in style.
Considering your offer.
Warm weather hat.
Hanging out at the coffee shop.
Suji ASMR…
The post March 19, 2023: Suji Sunday! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 18, 2023
March 18, 2023: Hey, what happened to all the donuts?!
Finally picked up the digital transfers of dailies related to two Stargate episodes: Wormhole X-Treme and Window of Opportunity – 7-8 days of main unit and some 2nd unit shooting as well, roughly 17 hours of footage. I haven’t had the chance to go through it all, but came across some pretty good stuff including THIS, my small screen debut as Miscellaneous Crew Member, “Hey! What happened to all the donuts?!”, Guy from Wormhole X-Treme…
Good times. Good times.
Also came across a few interesting playback files as well from Stargate: Universe…
That second one looks particularly ominous.
Went to Bymark Restaurant this week to check out their famed burger, a 6 oz beef burger cooked medium rare and served with brie de Meaux, shaved truffle, and grilled porcini mushrooms. I had mine with a side of roasted heirloom carrots that were cooked just like grandma used to make, provided your grandma worked as a cafeteria cook in a prison.
The burger was delicious – but I honestly could have eaten two. The carrots on the other hand – what can I say? They tasted barely boiled, topped with an insipid and dilute “bourbon glaze”. The waiter who cleared our plates didn’t even bother to ask how we’d enjoyed our meal. I think he knew.
Today’s Yes/No…
Strawberry Daifuku Pie? Yes/No
McDonald’s adds a Japanese daifuku pie to its menu for a limited time https://t.co/FHEq2IkoRs via @RocketNews24En
— Joseph Mallozzi
(@BaronDestructo) March 18, 2023
The post March 18, 2023: Hey, what happened to all the donuts?! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 17, 2023
March 17, 2023: I Remembered to Blog!
I woke up this morning to a DM from my friend, Dr. Blackjack, a message time-stamped 9.42 p.m. last night: “Blog entry today!”. Indeed, it had completely slipped my mind. And, I suppose, I could have just skipped the March 16th blog entry, but in the interest of preserving my blogging streak, I uploaded a very late Thursday entry at around 7:30 a.m. on Friday…though, to be fair, I’m sure it was Thursday somewhere. Maybe Mars? I don’t know.
Anyway, I woke up this morning with a fabulous idea for a horror movie. I pitched the first act to Akemi and she loved it. Now, all I have to do is come up with two more acts, an awesome ending, and write the script – but not before finishing up work on these various other projects including the overview for that android-themed murder mystery.
First it was Roald Dahl, then it was James Bond, and now they're making changes to R.L. Stine books.
Not a fan of these new titles. #RLStine #Goosebumps
'Goosebumps' author R.L. Stine says publisher made 'woke' edits behind his back https://t.co/mlWnOWyngt via @nypost pic.twitter.com/V1VOSsJnJB
— Joseph Mallozzi
Also in this vein, in case you missed it…
These are by far the most egregious changes made to #RoaldDahl's work pic.twitter.com/uVWvhAvZyV
— Joseph Mallozzi
"We’re refreshing Bond for a progressive new audience" states Ian Fleming Publications Senior Editor Adora Swallowscock.#Bond #JamesBond
James Bond books rewritten to remove ‘offensive’ references https://t.co/OI3bWJ5KuT pic.twitter.com/cWpPuePbco
— Joseph Mallozzi
I’ve come to realize I’m cut out for neither in-person meetings nor zoom meetings…
Me learning that in-person meeting has been rescheduled to a zoom call vs. Me finding out that zoom call has been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/780jbAR3Y4
— Joseph Mallozzi
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I ordered chocolates from Akemi’s second favorite chocolatier, Jean-Paul Hevin (her favorite chocolatier, La Maison du Chocolat apparently doesn’t ship to Canada). A month later, for White Day (Look it up!), I ordered from my favorite chocolatier, Patrick Roger –
Heavy on the pralines!
Akemi explaining the London Eye to me: "It's like a merry-go-round, but 3D!"
— Joseph Mallozzi
Today’s Yes/No…
Beer-Flavored Popsicles? Yes/No
Thanks(?) to @Thogar https://t.co/xOdetT5bwK
— Joseph Mallozzi
The post March 17, 2023: I Remembered to Blog! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 16, 2023: Our Horror Marathon continues with five more fearsome films!
Orphan: First Kill (2022)
After orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family.
My thoughts: Any sequel (or prequel) is going to be hard-pressed to match the original’s deranged twist, but Orphan: First Kill does its unhinged best on its way to a deliriously frenzied finale.
4/5
Sea Fever (2019)
The crew of a West of Ireland trawler, marooned at sea, struggle for their lives against a growing parasite in their water supply.
My thoughts: The characters are a little shallow, the visual effects a little rough, the story a little too straightforward, but still a solid entry in the deep sea horror sub-genre.
3.5/5
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022)
When Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig, the teen who befriended him, puts his smart phone in his pocket before burial. When the lonely youth sends his dead friend a message, he is shocked to get a return text.
My thoughts: It feels like the movie isn’t really sure what to do with its intriguing premise, never fully embracing its supernatural underpinnings.
3/5
Blood (2022)
Jess, a separated mother and nurse, moves with her daughter and young son Owen back into her old farmhouse. Shortly after settling in, Owen is bitten by the dog, resulting in a mysterious infection from the bite.
My thoughts: Your enjoyment will hinge on your willingness to accept one enormously implausible decision on mom’s part. And I wasn’t buying.
3/5
Play Dead (2022)
After faking her own death to steal evidence from a morgue, a young woman discovers the coroner has been using the morgue as a front for a sick and twisted business. A scary game of cat and mouse ensues.
My thoughts: Preposterous and completely nonsensical.
1.5/5
The post March 16, 2023: Our Horror Marathon continues with five more fearsome films! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 15, 2023
March 15, 2023: Amazing Covers!
A few that caught my eye this week…
Avengers Forever #15 – cover art by Alex Ross
Hulk #13 – cover art by Alex Ross
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #4 – cover art by Alex Ross
Scarlet Witch #2 – cover art by Alex Maleev
The X-Cellent #1 – cover art by Leonardo Romero
Black Cloak #3 – cover art by Mattia De lulis
Seven Sons – cover art by Jae Lee
Batgirls #16 – cover art by David Marquez
Danger Street #4 – cover art by Jorge Fornés
Superman: Lost #1 – cover art by Lee Weeks
Star Trek: Resurgence #5 – cover art by Josh Hood
So, which were YOUR favorites?
The post March 15, 2023: Amazing Covers! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 14, 2023
March 14, 2023: Stargate SG-1 season 7 concept art and episodic insights!
Fallen…
Before work began on the show’s seventh season, I emailed Rob Cooper a notion I had of an angel cast down from heaven, stripped of his memories and left to start a new life on Earth. Rob ended up taking the whole “stripped” thing literally – much to the delight of Michael’s fans.
Paul flagged an exchange at the script stage. One off-worlder notes Teal’c’s presence with: “He is Jaffa.” to which O’Neill replies: “No, but he plays one on t.v.”. Paul felt it broke the fourth wall but was ultimately overruled. When the episode aired, many fans loved the exchange – while many others followed suit and waved their own red flags.
Following the scene in which O’Neill appeals to an amnesiac Daniel, DJ refer to Jack as “Jim”. It’s a gag that Brad calls back to in SGA’s The Shrine.
Homecoming…
No concept art 
Even though the Jonas Quinn character never found firm footing on the show, I was nevertheless sad to see him go. Actor Corin Nemec was a good guy and we got along well so I wanted to make sure he got a proper, respectful send-off that left the door open for a possible return. And I think we accomplished that in Homecoming. Corin returned later in the season seven to guest in an episode for which he received a story credit: Fallout.
Fragile Balance…
Actor Michael Welch delivers one of the show’s most impressive guest performances in the role of a young, cloned Jack O’Neill. He captures (Rick as) Jack’s mannerisms and rhythms perfectly and so wowed us that, in the following months, we tried to spin several different stories that would have seen Young Jack make a return. Unfortunately, none of these stories panned out. I did end up running into Michael Welch at the that year’s Saturn Awards (Best Award Show Ever!). He told me how much he’d enjoyed his experience on the show while I told him how much we’d enjoyed having him. Interestingly enough, it was the same night I first met actor Ben Browder. We discussed Farscape, scifi, and the possibility of him doing a guest spot on the show. I ended up writing a part for him as a potential recurring character on Atlantis but a scheduling conflict prevented him from accepting the role – which, in the long run, was a good thing because it allowed him to accept the more substantial role of SG-1’s Cameron Mitchell two years later.
This episode also sees an appearance by the talented Theresa Lee, a friend and huge film and t.v. star in Hong Kong and China (where she recently headlined their version of Dancing With the Stars). Whenever Theresa comes into town, we try to grab dim sum and rare is the occasion when she is not recognized by someone at a neighboring table. The last time we grabbed a bite, I glanced up from my sticky rice purse to catch her on the restaurant’s t.v. screen, starring in some Hong Kong comedy. Loved her in Big Bullet!
Orpheus…
Not to be confused with season 9’s Morpheus, Orpheus is another Peter DeLuise extravaganza. You can always recognize Peter’s episode because they always contained one of three things: Unas, noble Jaffa, and/or explosions.
Loved Carter’s review of Signs in the gym scene. Other movies I would have liked to see receive the onscreen review treatment: The Village, Lady in the Water, and The Happening.
Revisions…
This story started out as a pitch about a town living within a hermetically sealed bubble surrounded by a toxic atmosphere. SG-1 happens upon the scene and discovers its inhabitants are hiding a terrible secret. I hesitate to reveal the shocking conclusion I originally envisioned because the story we ended up with was so different that I’d love to repurpose it given some future opportunity. Anyway, even though the episode ended up quite different from the way I’d originally envisioned it, I loved it nevertheless. And I wasn’t the only one. Then VFX Supervisor James Tichenor really enjoyed the script. It’s a great SF standalone episode. And the location we found for the town was perfect in its bizarre cross-cultural architectural weirdness. It is, in reality, a former amusement park, Fantasy Gardens, with a fairly interesting history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Gardens. We would return here years later to shoot SGA’s Irresponsible.
Lifeboat…
An acting tour-de-force for Michael Shanks who delivers a multitude of terrific performances in an episode that sees him playing several different characters. Guest star James Park’s portrayal of the doomed Pharrin is also incredibly touching and the perfect compliment to Michael’s multi-layered turn. Brad had the idea for this story back in season six but, since he’d constructed the story for Daniel who had since left this mortal coil, he’d shelved it indefinitely. When Michael came back to the show the following year, however, Brad was able to dust it off and put it back in play. It’s one of those self-contained pure SF stories, like Revisions (and the episodes Brad used to produce in his Outer Limits days), that always appealed to me in much the same way that I always preferred the stand-alone horror X-Files episodes over the arc-driven entries.
Enemy Mine…
Enemy Mine was the working title of this episode which, like Watergate before it, went from placeholder title to official title before anyone could do anything about it. FYI, past placeholder titles that didn’t make it to official status include: Teal’c Interrupted, Turn of Events, Dark Gambit, Flowers for McKay, CSI: Atlantis, Ad Infinitum, Remember When, and Beckett Returns.
Writer/Director Peter DeLuise excelled at stories that, like this one, focused on the show’s rich mythology, building upon the races and characters established in previous episodes and developing them in interesting, often surprising, ways.
The post March 14, 2023: Stargate SG-1 season 7 concept art and episodic insights! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 13, 2023
March 13, 2023: Not done yet! The Horror Marathon continues with five more scary movie reviews!
The Exorcist III (1990)
A police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.
My thoughts: At times lurid, at times ludicrous, at times annoyingly talky, and at times undeniably terrifying. The best of the sequels to the 1973 original.
3.5/5
The Strays (2023)
A Black woman’s meticulously-crafted life of privilege unravels when two strangers show up in her quaint suburban town.
My thoughts: Terrible people exact revenge on a terrible person. It sets up some very interesting emotional repercussions – that are never explored.
3/5
The Price We Pay (2022)
After a pawn shop robbery goes askew, two criminals take refuge at a remote farmhouse to try to let the heat die down, but find something much more menacing.
My thoughts: Director Ryûhei Kitamura revisits the same ground as his earlier No One Lives, but with more sympathetic characters – and an ending so ridiculously over-the-top you’d be forgiven for assuming it was parody.
3/5
Werewolf By Night (2022)
Follows a lycanthrope superhero who fights evil using the abilities given to him by a curse brought on by his bloodline.
My thoughts: A very enjoyable though somewhat insubstantial homage to classic Hammer Films.
3.5/5
Bed Rest (2022)
A pregnant woman on bed rest begins to wonder if her house is haunted or it’s all in her head.
My thoughts: All too familiar scares delivered in uninspired fashion enroute to an overly melodramatic ending.
2.5/5
The post March 13, 2023: Not done yet! The Horror Marathon continues with five more scary movie reviews! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 12, 2023
March 12, 2023: Suji Sunday!
Flower fun!
Okay. Now a goofy one!
Excitedly showing off her new toy.
Brace for impact! Running through her earthquake-preparedness drill.
Coffee…
And a snack.
When you post a picture and then realize your should have checked your nose first.
Hey! Heeeey! Pay attention to meee!
Goofing around.
The post March 12, 2023: Suji Sunday! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 11, 2023
The Top 10 Things I Hate to Write!
#10. Blog Entries
Not always but, every so often, when it’s late and I’ve realized I’ve forgotten to blog, the pressure is on to keep my daily 15+ year blogging streak intact. The pressure!
#9. The First Draft of a Script
Getting started is the most daunting part but, once you get going, and provided you’re backed by a bulletproof outline, you can get into a groove. And it can actually be a lot fun.
#8. Production Rewrites
This actor won’t be available for this scene. This location will have to be switched. We need to lose a page a half. It can be challenging but, like figuring out a puzzle, it can be quite satisfied as well.
#7. The Script Polish
By this point, the changes are (hopefully) minor, so the process is relatively painless.
#6. The Script Outline
A little foreboding off the top and it does require creative leg work to flesh out those scenes, but like the first draft it can be fun if you get into a rythmn.
#5. The Beat Sheet
Can be like pulling teeth. But once you get started, it’s not so bad. Unless you hit a patch that has you spinning your creative wheels.
#4. The Follow-Up Query Email
“Hey, hope you’re well. Don’t mean to be a bother, but it’s been six weeks since I sent you the script. Just wondering if you’re still alive.”
#3. The Pitch
Make it thorough, professional, yet conversational. Then forget half of what you wrote on the day of the actual pitch.
#2. The Pitch Deck
You’re basically writing a sales document.
#1 – The Second Draft
Your script is the Jenga and the notes are all the blocks at the bottom you have to rearrange.
The post The Top 10 Things I Hate to Write! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
March 10, 2023
March 10, 2023: My Horror Marathon Top 10, Part 2!
Another 100 horror movies; another Top 10 list…
My #Horror Marathon Top 10 (Part 2)
9. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) – USA
A father and son, both coroners, are pulled into a complex mystery while attempting to identify the body of a young woman, who was apparently harboring dark secrets. pic.twitter.com/ZGGSZgaVfj
— Joseph Mallozzi
My #Horror Marathon Top 10 (Part 2)
7. The Belko Experiment (2016) – USA
80 Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company's intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed pic.twitter.com/7FnHrYnsm7
— Joseph Mallozzi
My #Horror Marathon Top 10 (Part 2)
5. Orphan (2009) – USA
A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears. pic.twitter.com/O70sqllvm0
— Joseph Mallozzi
My #Horror Marathon Top 10 (Part 2)
3. The Platform (2019) – Spain
A vertical prison with one cell per level. Two people per cell. Only one food platform and two minutes per day to feed. An endless nightmare trapped in The Hole. pic.twitter.com/MhQvoXdaBZ
— Joseph Mallozzi
My #Horror Marathon Top 10 (Part 2)
1. The Menu (2022) – USA
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises. pic.twitter.com/k8VLXlgzMU
— Joseph Mallozzi
And in case you missed by first Top 10 list based on my initial 100 horror movies watched…
The post March 10, 2023: My Horror Marathon Top 10, Part 2! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.
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