Victor D. Infante's Blog, page 171
April 1, 2012
The Big News
I've gotta admit, it's amazing how much attention a small brief in The Hollywood Reporter -- one that wasn't even even online -- can get, but I've been fielding phone calls all weekend, so I suppose it's time to say something. I've been prohibited from talking about this much, but since HR let the cat out of the bag ...
Yes, the news is true. My agent has negotiated a simultaneous book and screenplay deal for my semi-autobiographical novel, Never Spoken: Sex, Redemption and Poetry. The contracts are signed, and I'll be heading to New York in a few weeks to talk over the schedule for manuscript revisions, etc., etc., etc.
I haven't even seen a hard copy of Friday's HR yet. I should probably have someone send me it. But evidently, it launched a whole slew of questions, which I should probably address. The answer to most of which is, of course, "I don't know."
1.) Does this mean your quitting your job/leaving Worcester/moving back to California: Not as of yet. It's a nice chunk of change, I won't lie, but I don't foresee me giving up my day job just this moment, especially as I have a number of projects coming up soon -- including developing new content for Telegram.com that's under way, and putting the final touches together on the Worcester Hip-Hop, Spoken Word and Burlesque Festival. For the moment, I'm terribly committed to those projects, and will find ways to make it all work.
2.) Who's going to star in the movie? I have no idea. No one's been cast. There's not even a director signed on. HR said that Judd Apatow is attached to the project, but that was the first I'd heard of it. I'm told that he might be coming on as an executive producer, but after that point, it all goes over my head. I will say that, when talking about how I envisioned the movie, I was asked who I saw playing myself, and I answered Paul Rudd. So maybe I'm getting my wish.
3.) Am I In The Book? Not really. I mean, it's semiautobiographical, of course, so there are superficial resemblances. It follows a young poet's career from slamming in inner-city Long Beach to the national stage -- kind of like 8 Mile, but with more Snoop Dogg. Legally, I can't really give away any plot details, and of course I'm under contract to do a rewrite anyway, but I can say that I'm not really inclined to bring any dirty laundry to the fore (which seems to be a big concern in the phone calls I've had), although there are a few sly winks to things that really happened. Nothing to worry about, though. (On the other hand, there is a character named Manny Holis, who's naked the entire book. Because I couldn't resist.)
4.) Will there be poetry in the book/movie: Oh, yeah. I've written some material specifically for the book, a lot of which has entailed me having to master the metrics and technical aspects of rap, which has never been my forte. I haven't been able to read any of it out, because the project was under way, but hopefully I'll be performing some of it at features later this year, and putting together a one-man rap show to tour. I'm very excited about this! I love hip-hop, but this is new territory for me as an artist. Of course, professional actors will be doing the rapping in the movie, but if I can get this polished enough, I'm hoping to cut a CD. Which would be pretty cool. I had joked about how cool it would be to work with Long Beach rappers such as Snoop and Warren G, and my agent seemed pretty certain we could pull something together. So .. who knows?
And that's all I've got. More info when I have it (and am allowed to share it!) Thanks again for your support and well-wishes!
Yes, the news is true. My agent has negotiated a simultaneous book and screenplay deal for my semi-autobiographical novel, Never Spoken: Sex, Redemption and Poetry. The contracts are signed, and I'll be heading to New York in a few weeks to talk over the schedule for manuscript revisions, etc., etc., etc.
I haven't even seen a hard copy of Friday's HR yet. I should probably have someone send me it. But evidently, it launched a whole slew of questions, which I should probably address. The answer to most of which is, of course, "I don't know."
1.) Does this mean your quitting your job/leaving Worcester/moving back to California: Not as of yet. It's a nice chunk of change, I won't lie, but I don't foresee me giving up my day job just this moment, especially as I have a number of projects coming up soon -- including developing new content for Telegram.com that's under way, and putting the final touches together on the Worcester Hip-Hop, Spoken Word and Burlesque Festival. For the moment, I'm terribly committed to those projects, and will find ways to make it all work.
2.) Who's going to star in the movie? I have no idea. No one's been cast. There's not even a director signed on. HR said that Judd Apatow is attached to the project, but that was the first I'd heard of it. I'm told that he might be coming on as an executive producer, but after that point, it all goes over my head. I will say that, when talking about how I envisioned the movie, I was asked who I saw playing myself, and I answered Paul Rudd. So maybe I'm getting my wish.
3.) Am I In The Book? Not really. I mean, it's semiautobiographical, of course, so there are superficial resemblances. It follows a young poet's career from slamming in inner-city Long Beach to the national stage -- kind of like 8 Mile, but with more Snoop Dogg. Legally, I can't really give away any plot details, and of course I'm under contract to do a rewrite anyway, but I can say that I'm not really inclined to bring any dirty laundry to the fore (which seems to be a big concern in the phone calls I've had), although there are a few sly winks to things that really happened. Nothing to worry about, though. (On the other hand, there is a character named Manny Holis, who's naked the entire book. Because I couldn't resist.)
4.) Will there be poetry in the book/movie: Oh, yeah. I've written some material specifically for the book, a lot of which has entailed me having to master the metrics and technical aspects of rap, which has never been my forte. I haven't been able to read any of it out, because the project was under way, but hopefully I'll be performing some of it at features later this year, and putting together a one-man rap show to tour. I'm very excited about this! I love hip-hop, but this is new territory for me as an artist. Of course, professional actors will be doing the rapping in the movie, but if I can get this polished enough, I'm hoping to cut a CD. Which would be pretty cool. I had joked about how cool it would be to work with Long Beach rappers such as Snoop and Warren G, and my agent seemed pretty certain we could pull something together. So .. who knows?
And that's all I've got. More info when I have it (and am allowed to share it!) Thanks again for your support and well-wishes!
March 30, 2012
Worcester College Poetry Competition
Today, I am home puttering after dental surgery. Whee!
Sunday, I'll be a judge (along with the awesome Dan Lewis) at the Worcester College Poetry Competition at 2 p.m. in the Banx Room at Worcester Public Library. The event will be hosted by poet, professor and all-around great guy, Ian Williams. There are usually snacks, but I'm not gonna promise anything. Remember, I'm on painkillers right now!
Afterward, I'll be heading over to the WCUW Frontroom to catch one of my favorite poets and favorite people, Regie Cabico, read. More information here. Can't think of a better way to kick off National Poetry Month!
March 24, 2012
"Hunger Games," but first ...
Saw Hunger Games last night, and enjoyed it immensely, but before I ramble about that, go read read my wife's brilliant essay:
The Fifth Wall: Strategies of the Self in Ginsberg, Plath, Neruda & Rilke
, over on Radius. I'll wait.
Done? Good, because when you're talking about Hunger Games, you're talking about perspective. In Suzanne Collins' novel, the story is told exclusively from Katniss Everdeen's perspective, and in a lot of ways, that obscures the ramifications of events and actions throughout the book. the misery of District 12 is inferred from the way Katniss lives -- poaching to survive, living in fear of authority, dealing with having to take care of a young sister and a traumatized, mostly absent mother. Her view of the world outside District 12 is shaped exclusively by television ... and even then, mostly through previous Hunger Games, televised gladiatorial events were teenagers are forced to fight to the death as punishment for a rebellion 74 years previous. In a lot of ways, her world is small, and because we only have her as a guide, that's all we know of it. We only know misery. Oh, we get flashes of the outside world -- the security transport that flies overhead while she and Gale are hunting shows us that not everything in her world is as rural and poverty stricken as her surroundings, but it's not until Katniss is taken off to compete in the Hunger Games that she and the reader get a sense of the disparity between her district and the capital.
The movie does little to change this, and indeed, may tell us less about Katniss' dystopic country of Panem, as it doesn't offer much of the train ride from District 12 to the capitol, where she sees much of the country for the first time. It's a small thing, but it shows the limitations of telling a story such as this exclusively from the perspective of one character, either in fiction or in film. Thankfully, the film breaks away from that perspective from time to time, giving us glimpses of the machinations of political power players such as Seneca Crane and Coriolanus Snow, allowing us to see Haymitch wheeling and dealing on Katniss' and Peeta's behalf. Because these things are happening outside of Katniss' vantage, she only finds out about them afterward, or through inference (for instance, when Haymitch is able to convince a sponsor to send her something.)
Events in both the book and the film are often bewildering because Katniss has little understanding of how or why things happen. Indeed, she often doesn't even know the names of the teenager's she's competing against, either not finding it out until they make an impression on her by being either an ally, such as Rue, or a menace, such as Cato. Some names she only learns after they die. Some she never learns at all.
That anonymity is a strange thing, how these young people are expected to fight and kill each other but, really, have no idea who each other are. Less so the people watching them on television, and in many cases, less so those of us watching the movie or reading the book. It's an odd, understated reality, one that parallels chillingly when you, say, watch war reports on the nightly news as though it were a reality TV program. Living people become characters in a story, and a wall gets built between them and the audience.
But are the characters' lives and deaths without consequence, whether we or Katniss learn their names? Katniss herself is oblivious to the idea that her actions have any consequence in the outside world, preoccupied as she is with survival. There glimpses, of course. In the book, a gift delivered unexpectedly as a token of gratitude foreshadows Katniss' actions rippling throughout the real world. In the movie, we simply see the repercussions itself, and I'm not sure which is stronger storytelling, but it does set up the events of the second two chapters nicely.
Without spoiling anything, it becomes clear throughout both the book and the movie that, for all the violence, it's Katniss' actions of bravery and sacrifice, kindness and love that ripple furthest out into the world, with the most transformative effects ... effects she herself is largely unaware of.
For what it's worth, I enjoyed the movie immensely, even if it is "CliffsNotes to the Hunger Games" (much as the Harry Potter film franchise was really "CliffsNotes to Harry Potter.") I suspect it's a movie best enjoyed when you've read the books and can fill in the gaps yourself. Aside from the occasional shift in perspective, the film doesn't really deviate much from Collins' novel at all. Which is fine. Jennifer Lawrence is extremely compelling as Katniss, even if the viewer is left to discern what's going on inside the stoic character's head without the benefit of the novel's internal monologue. You can see, in her performance, why Katniss is a hero that's struck such a chord with readers over the past few years. There's an immense sense of too much responsibility being placed on the shoulders of the very young, and of that weight escalating to terrible proportions and, ultimately, still being accepted. Katniss is handy with a bow and arrow, sure, but that's not what makes her a compelling hero. She herself would probably not see herself that way, but then, heroism is often a matter of perspective.
Done? Good, because when you're talking about Hunger Games, you're talking about perspective. In Suzanne Collins' novel, the story is told exclusively from Katniss Everdeen's perspective, and in a lot of ways, that obscures the ramifications of events and actions throughout the book. the misery of District 12 is inferred from the way Katniss lives -- poaching to survive, living in fear of authority, dealing with having to take care of a young sister and a traumatized, mostly absent mother. Her view of the world outside District 12 is shaped exclusively by television ... and even then, mostly through previous Hunger Games, televised gladiatorial events were teenagers are forced to fight to the death as punishment for a rebellion 74 years previous. In a lot of ways, her world is small, and because we only have her as a guide, that's all we know of it. We only know misery. Oh, we get flashes of the outside world -- the security transport that flies overhead while she and Gale are hunting shows us that not everything in her world is as rural and poverty stricken as her surroundings, but it's not until Katniss is taken off to compete in the Hunger Games that she and the reader get a sense of the disparity between her district and the capital.
The movie does little to change this, and indeed, may tell us less about Katniss' dystopic country of Panem, as it doesn't offer much of the train ride from District 12 to the capitol, where she sees much of the country for the first time. It's a small thing, but it shows the limitations of telling a story such as this exclusively from the perspective of one character, either in fiction or in film. Thankfully, the film breaks away from that perspective from time to time, giving us glimpses of the machinations of political power players such as Seneca Crane and Coriolanus Snow, allowing us to see Haymitch wheeling and dealing on Katniss' and Peeta's behalf. Because these things are happening outside of Katniss' vantage, she only finds out about them afterward, or through inference (for instance, when Haymitch is able to convince a sponsor to send her something.)
Events in both the book and the film are often bewildering because Katniss has little understanding of how or why things happen. Indeed, she often doesn't even know the names of the teenager's she's competing against, either not finding it out until they make an impression on her by being either an ally, such as Rue, or a menace, such as Cato. Some names she only learns after they die. Some she never learns at all.
That anonymity is a strange thing, how these young people are expected to fight and kill each other but, really, have no idea who each other are. Less so the people watching them on television, and in many cases, less so those of us watching the movie or reading the book. It's an odd, understated reality, one that parallels chillingly when you, say, watch war reports on the nightly news as though it were a reality TV program. Living people become characters in a story, and a wall gets built between them and the audience.
But are the characters' lives and deaths without consequence, whether we or Katniss learn their names? Katniss herself is oblivious to the idea that her actions have any consequence in the outside world, preoccupied as she is with survival. There glimpses, of course. In the book, a gift delivered unexpectedly as a token of gratitude foreshadows Katniss' actions rippling throughout the real world. In the movie, we simply see the repercussions itself, and I'm not sure which is stronger storytelling, but it does set up the events of the second two chapters nicely.
Without spoiling anything, it becomes clear throughout both the book and the movie that, for all the violence, it's Katniss' actions of bravery and sacrifice, kindness and love that ripple furthest out into the world, with the most transformative effects ... effects she herself is largely unaware of.
For what it's worth, I enjoyed the movie immensely, even if it is "CliffsNotes to the Hunger Games" (much as the Harry Potter film franchise was really "CliffsNotes to Harry Potter.") I suspect it's a movie best enjoyed when you've read the books and can fill in the gaps yourself. Aside from the occasional shift in perspective, the film doesn't really deviate much from Collins' novel at all. Which is fine. Jennifer Lawrence is extremely compelling as Katniss, even if the viewer is left to discern what's going on inside the stoic character's head without the benefit of the novel's internal monologue. You can see, in her performance, why Katniss is a hero that's struck such a chord with readers over the past few years. There's an immense sense of too much responsibility being placed on the shoulders of the very young, and of that weight escalating to terrible proportions and, ultimately, still being accepted. Katniss is handy with a bow and arrow, sure, but that's not what makes her a compelling hero. She herself would probably not see herself that way, but then, heroism is often a matter of perspective.
March 23, 2012
Three Ways of Looking at the Worcester Police Chief
1.) Doreen Manning and Jeremy Shulkin have an interesting and insightful itnerview with Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme in this week's
Worcester Magazine
. They let Gemme slide by some of the tougher questions, but it still gives a pretty good look inside the man's mind.
2.) Nick Kotsopoulos gives his take on the Jordan Levy-propelled rumor that several City Council members want him removed. Nick's got a great and comprehensive knowledge of the politics surrounding the situation.
3.) You can, of course, just follow the Chief's own Twitter account and see what the man has to say for himself. I was going to provide a fourth, but the hilarious
2.) Nick Kotsopoulos gives his take on the Jordan Levy-propelled rumor that several City Council members want him removed. Nick's got a great and comprehensive knowledge of the politics surrounding the situation.
3.) You can, of course, just follow the Chief's own Twitter account and see what the man has to say for himself. I was going to provide a fourth, but the hilarious
March 17, 2012
Nowhere Man
I had grand plans to get out and see things this week, but while I did indeed make it out Saturday to see Speaker for the Dead; the Furies; Little War Twins and Bright, the Morning, which was fabulous, work commitments made me fail at getting out to a couple other shows I really wanted to see, particularly the Duende Project CD recording last night in Providence last night. Didn't end up leaving the office until near 8:30 p.m. Argh.
Not all bad, though. I came home to discover my copy of the new issue of Pearl, which includes my poem "When the House Was Burning," as well as great poems by Jan Beatty, Jeff Epley, Frank X. Gaspar, David Hernandez, Donna Hilbert, Lyn Lifshin, Gerald Locklin, Clifton Snider, Fred Voss, Charles Harper Webb and Clint Margrave, among others.
In the "things that I edit" category, I have an essay up today in Pop Culture Notebook called "Words (Sometimes) Have Consequences, where I touch on the strange phenomenon lately about how we talk about ... well ... how we talk, from recent local conversation about the police chief's Twitter account and the blog feud between the InCity Times and Worcester Wonderland, to the uproar over Rush Limbaugh and reactions from The Daily Show, to Amber Tamblyn's hilarious "awareness raps." It covers a pretty large territory, but hopefully people will find it interesting.
Also on Pop Culture Notebook, Jorge Bannister takes a look at the Boston Police Department's ban on moshing at the House of Blues; and I take a look back at Fiona Apple's "Extraordinary Machine."
Over on Radius (which I admit has also been a little slow because of my schedule) we have up we have Rachel McKibbens' thought-provoking "The Male Slam Experience vs The Female Slam Experience," and Jade Sylvan's essay, "Why Queer is the New Straight White Male," along with our signature feature, with poems by Marty McConnell, Ben Clark, Colin Winnette.
Woof. It's no wonder I never leave my office, isn't it?
Not all bad, though. I came home to discover my copy of the new issue of Pearl, which includes my poem "When the House Was Burning," as well as great poems by Jan Beatty, Jeff Epley, Frank X. Gaspar, David Hernandez, Donna Hilbert, Lyn Lifshin, Gerald Locklin, Clifton Snider, Fred Voss, Charles Harper Webb and Clint Margrave, among others.
In the "things that I edit" category, I have an essay up today in Pop Culture Notebook called "Words (Sometimes) Have Consequences, where I touch on the strange phenomenon lately about how we talk about ... well ... how we talk, from recent local conversation about the police chief's Twitter account and the blog feud between the InCity Times and Worcester Wonderland, to the uproar over Rush Limbaugh and reactions from The Daily Show, to Amber Tamblyn's hilarious "awareness raps." It covers a pretty large territory, but hopefully people will find it interesting.
Also on Pop Culture Notebook, Jorge Bannister takes a look at the Boston Police Department's ban on moshing at the House of Blues; and I take a look back at Fiona Apple's "Extraordinary Machine."
Over on Radius (which I admit has also been a little slow because of my schedule) we have up we have Rachel McKibbens' thought-provoking "The Male Slam Experience vs The Female Slam Experience," and Jade Sylvan's essay, "Why Queer is the New Straight White Male," along with our signature feature, with poems by Marty McConnell, Ben Clark, Colin Winnette.
Woof. It's no wonder I never leave my office, isn't it?
February 29, 2012
Help Find Missing Poet Jay Walker, Last Seen in Texas
Rhode Island pet Jay walker is missing. He was last seen in the Austin area. If you've seen him, or have any information, please contact the authorities. And please, spare a prayer for him and his family that he turns up OK.
February 27, 2012
My Most Brief Oscar Fashion Recap Ever
In a year where most of the dresses ranged from "nice" (Natale Portman) to "kind of bridesmaidy" (the cast of "Bridesmaids") to "Wait, is this some kind of pilgrim funeral?" (most everyone else), there was really only one dress worth talking about at last night's Oscars:
Game over: Milla Jovovich wins at Oscars.
February 24, 2012
Greetings From Limbo ...
Yeah. I took a few days off work to deal with personal matters, not the least of which is copy edits to the big Next ... Magazine anthology that's coming out from Write Bloody Publishing. Yes, that's right. I took time off from my copy editing job to copy edit something. Because that's how I roll. (Also, don't forget that Write Bloody's kind-of-insane and extremely brief open submissions period starts on March 1!)
Actually, it's been a lot of fun revisiting some of those old interviews and articles, and I really can't wait until people have a chance to see it.
Yesterday, I received my copy of The Más Tequila Review , edited by Richard Vargas. This issue has my poems "All Shine On" and "Suburban Blues," along with great work by Gerald Locklin, Charles Harper Webb, Jenith Charpentier, Michael C. Ford, Rich Boucher, Ron Koertge and others. Great read, and a nice looking journal.
We also received our copy of the New England College alumni magazine, NEC Today, which features an interview with Lea by current NEC MFA in Poetry student Dawn Coutu. You can find a PDF of the whole magazine here. There's actually a couple articles about the MFA program in there, including an interview with Ivy Page.
Otherwise, I'm trying to catch up with myself. Sort of returned my attention to a languishing short story, and decided to see what happens if I try to flesh it out a bit more. So far I'm pleased, but we're at early stages still. Otherwise, I have a handful of poems and a couple short stories I need to put back out on the market, and I find I'm dragging my feet a bit. Need to get over that. Submissions are a grind, but writing doesn't publish itself. Although wouldn't it be great if it did?
Actually, it's been a lot of fun revisiting some of those old interviews and articles, and I really can't wait until people have a chance to see it.
Yesterday, I received my copy of The Más Tequila Review , edited by Richard Vargas. This issue has my poems "All Shine On" and "Suburban Blues," along with great work by Gerald Locklin, Charles Harper Webb, Jenith Charpentier, Michael C. Ford, Rich Boucher, Ron Koertge and others. Great read, and a nice looking journal.
We also received our copy of the New England College alumni magazine, NEC Today, which features an interview with Lea by current NEC MFA in Poetry student Dawn Coutu. You can find a PDF of the whole magazine here. There's actually a couple articles about the MFA program in there, including an interview with Ivy Page.
Otherwise, I'm trying to catch up with myself. Sort of returned my attention to a languishing short story, and decided to see what happens if I try to flesh it out a bit more. So far I'm pleased, but we're at early stages still. Otherwise, I have a handful of poems and a couple short stories I need to put back out on the market, and I find I'm dragging my feet a bit. Need to get over that. Submissions are a grind, but writing doesn't publish itself. Although wouldn't it be great if it did?
February 9, 2012
40
I've been too buried lately to post, but right now I'm home while Mike, The Ninja of Plumbers, and his crew are dealing with Ninja Plumbing stuff, so I've got a moment. Which is good, because there's been a lot going on.
I turned 40 this weekend, and as previously mentioned, celebrated with a blowout show at Nick's Bar & Restaurant, featuring performances by Cha-Cha Connor and Dr. Nat Needles; McKendy Fils-Aimes; Sarah Sapienza; Jade Sylvan & Speaker For the Dead; Corrina Bain; Gary Hoare; Lea Deschenes; The Duende Project and Regie Gibson with musical accompaniment. I read a handful of poems, too, but mostly just to keep things moving while musicians rearranged instruments.
We had a packed house, and everything on stage killed. I mean killed. Everything was blisteringly good. I can't even begin to single out any particular bit. Everything was tight and energetic, and by the time we got to Regie at the end, with his amazing presence and singing voice, it was just an explosion of good energy. Terribly, terribly gratified by the all thing, and a great way to kick off my 40s.
Otherwise, everything is much the same as always. Busy, busy, busy. The next big thing is that I'll be LiveBlogging the Grammys for Telegram.com on Sunday. I have some preliminary thoughts in my column today. Please join me as I see how many LL Cool J jokes I can squeeze into a few hours!
And that's that. To tell the truth, 40 doesn't seem so different than 39. Let's see where it all goes ...
February 3, 2012
Apropos of nothing ...
"A wise man once said I’m not an optimist
but I AM a prisoner of hope
You’ve got to think like that to survive
you’ve got to climb in the cell when the day is done.
’cause too many people think they’re misunderstood
every time somebody disagrees with them
How could you be satisfied safe but bitter
When you could build something better
With enough room for the sun?"
-- Jess Klein, "Enough Room For the Sun"
(channeling Desmond Tutu, channeling Zechariah 9:12)
