Bryan Caron's Blog, page 26

Movie Mayhem – Goosebumps

From what I can tell, whenever Jack Black does a kids movie, it can go one of two ways:

1. It rocks! As in the School of Rock, which was one of those films that takes you by surprise by how good it is; or

2. It’s too big for its britches. As in Gulliver’s Travels, which was a huge disappointment to say the least (but, then, not all that surprising in hindsight).

When I first saw the trailer for Black’s newest kiddie adventure, Goosebumps, it didn’t impress me all that much, but neither did the trailer for School of Rock. Let’s just say, I was really hoping the film would rise above the so-so trailer and prove itself to be monster fun, but was afraid it would crash and burn in a pile of melted goose flesh. It turns out to be somewhere in between — not great, but fun nonetheless.

Goosebumps — 2015; Directed by Rob Letterman; Starring Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush

Black plays reclusive R.L. Stine, author of the popular Goosebumps book series from which the movie is based. Stine despises everyone except for his sixteen-year-old daughter, Hannah (Odeya Rush), whom he essentially keeps locked away in their house and away from any real interaction from other kids her age. Only when Zach (Dylan Minnette) moves with his mom (Amy Ryan) to the small town of Delaware for a fresh start after the death of his father does Stine’s complacent world erupt into utter chaos. You see, in typical movie fashion, Zach immediately takes a liking to Hannah, who peaks his interest even more when she sneaks away with him to an abandoned fair in the woods nearby.

After Stine catches Hannah cavorting with Zach, he’s clearly upset, and it appears to Zach through shadowed arguments, that Hannah is being abused. Upon breaking into her home to find out, we learn Stine’s crazy fun secret — the characters that Stine writes have the ability to literally jump from the pages of his story. It seems Stine was bullied when he was younger and was able to channel all of his anger and loneliness into writing his own friends, monsters that would eventually become real and occasionally wreak havoc. The only way to control his imaginative creations is to keep them locked up tight in their original manuscripts. Zach doesn’t know this and unlocks a couple of the manuscripts, one of which releases a psychotic ventriloquist du– er, um… oh, what the heck. A dummy — Okay. I said it. It was a ventriloquist DUMMY! His name is Slappy (voiced deliciously by Black), and because he’s tired of living his life on a shelf decides it’s time to release all of Stine’s creations and burn the books in their wake so that there’s no chance he can capture them again.

Black also voices the Invisible Boy (who oddly doesn’t get much screen time), and with all three characters, Black is clearly having a great time. With Stine, he’s able to level his natural insanity with a dose of Xanax that keeps him controlled but allows him to retain the Jack Black flavor that shows up in a more boisterous turn as Slappy. Not only that, but he respectfully steps back to play second fiddle to his younger costars, no more so than with Rush, who has a charm about her that glows bright with the simplest of smiles. She’s cute, innocent and holds your attention no matter who she’s on screen with. Hannah also has one of the more unique twists of the movie, one that really isn’t explored as much as it could have been, leading to a climax that doesn’t quite resonate as much as it should have.

The character I haven’t said much about, but who does a good job balancing the scares with a light, fluffy attitude, is Ryan Lee as Champ, who becomes the epitome for the main issue I had with the film. There’s a lot going on, but none of it ever seems to fully flesh itself out. It’s like eating an entire bag of marshmallows — sweet and tasty, but not a whole lot of nutritional value. You’ll no doubt have fun watching the characters look for answers to how to stop the monster menace, but there’s no real resonance with any of the character arcs. Champ, for example, is in love with a fellow student who’s dating a jock. The payoff for the arc does work on a substantial level, but with just a few lines of dialogue and maybe one extra scene, the conclusion to this subplot would have given us so much more to care about in the moment.

But you don’t go to a Goosebumps movie for the characters. You go for the monsters. I have to admit, I have never read a Goosebumps book, so part of my lack of enjoyment with the movie may stem from not knowing who these monsters are and what they do in the actual stories. Someone who has read the books, and are fans of Stine and his series, would probably appreciate the storyline, the characters, and the monsters much more than someone like me, who has no pre-existing connection to them. Then again, is that not where the film falters the most? It’s great to see a movie like this pay homage to the source material in the way it does to give its fans what they expect. However, the filmmakers must be careful not to alienate non-fans, making sure to create a world of characters we can enjoy as first time readers and viewers. They do accomplish this pretty well at the beginning, as Champ talks about having read the books and what they meant to him as a kid. But it doesn’t go far enough. What needs to be considered is how do we connect the monsters we see in the movie to what they did in the books, and does that even make a difference to the enjoyment of the film?

Case in point is Slappy. Through several subtle clues, we know there’s some sort of history between the dummy and Stine, and what Slappy may have done in the story he originated from, but there isn’t enough context to understand what his abilities are (as it appears he can disappear and reappear at whim…) and why he was created in the first place. It’s a little bit of backstory that could have gone a long way in developing this character and his relationship with Stine. This would have given Stine and his monsters — who are all well done in relation to the animation aspects (especially the giant praying mantis), but still seem to make the film feel too fake for its own good — much better character development, helping connect Stine to his daughter on a much deeper level and sprinkle that extra magic that keeps Goosebumps from chilling you with laughs and heart.

My Grade: B+

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Next week, new movies include The Last Witch Hunter, Jem and the Holograms and Rock the Kasbah. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

Art Imitates Life: Real-Life Character Creation

From the scrawny hacker with an inferiority complex to the thick-headed jock with an impotence problem, the single mother of quadruplets who desperately needs a spa day to the neighbor who smiles on the outside but cries on the inside, characters are the spine of any good novel. You can have the greatest, most original plot ever, but without well-drawn characters to keep readers interested in what’s going on, no one will ever know about the stunning twist because they’ll have walked away from the novel way before they get to it. And no writer wants that. But how do you write compelling characters that aren’t a boring, cliche-riddled, over-the-top mess that leave your reader turning the next page in fear of their eyeballs falling out of their sockets from too much eye-rolling?

The best place to start is with yourself. What attributes about yourself do you believe your characters would do well to receive? This can be anything from having green eyes to how you felt when you were bullied as a kid. You may have heard the adage, Write what you know; well, you are the best resource for what you know. We’ve all lived; we’ve all had experiences; we’ve all gone through a gauntlet of emotions at some point in our lives. Feed off of that. If your character must be scared of something, what are you afraid of? How does that fear make you feel? How debilitating is it? Now use those emotions to develop the character, giving them reasons for the actions they will take throughout the course of the book.

But there’s another way you can bring depth to your characters that don’t keep them confined to only those experiences you’ve had. And that is reaching out to your friends and family for inspiration, or outright basing your characters on people you know and care about in real life. If you really want to, you can even throw a friend or family member into the book, warts and all. So long as you know them well enough, basing your characters on people you know and love will help them to pop off the page because you already have an emotional connection with them. But be smart about how you go about using your friends and family in your books. After all, you don’t want to upset them beyond repair. Your friends and family are human and can feel slighted if you go too far. To make sure you don’t tear a relationship apart while writing the next great American novel, follow these four easy steps.

Step 1: Make sure they are okay with you using them in your book

When I started writing my new novel, The Spirit Of…, one of the characters needed to be outlandish, a little insane and very boisterous in order to balance the serene characters and add an infusion of comic relief. Me, I have hardly any of those traits (I may be a little insane, but the others…). My boss at the time was the perfect example of what I wanted the character to be. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I pictured her as that character and I couldn’t resist. But I didn’t simply throw her in the book. People are sensitive and their tastes are eclectic. Some may not care what type of book it is, but others may have an issue with what you write, or won’t want to be a part of your book for personal reasons. Maybe the book is about sexual molestation, and the person you want to include in the book went through a similar situation that you never knew about, and using them in your book could make them relive memories they don’t want to relive. That’s an extreme case, of course, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Before I wrote a word in relation to the character in my book, I went to my boss and asked her if she wouldn’t mind if I used her as a character. I explained to her what type of book it was and what the character would be doing. She was so excited, she had no objections. So with her blessing, I was ready to go.

Step 2: Do your research

This is especially important if you don’t know the person well. Perhaps they are a co-worker you talk to on occasion or a mutual friend of a friend that you hang out with at parties sometimes, but what you’ve seen of them and know about them on the surface is what you’re looking for with your character. But to really understand the character and flesh them out, you’ll need to go beyond the surface, even if nothing but the surface shows up in the actual novel. Take your subject to lunch to get to know them better and find out what makes them tick. You can do this with anyone, actually; just because someone is your best friend doesn’t mean you know everything about them. If, for whatever reason, they can’t sit down with you one-to-one, go online. Google them; check out their Facebook posts, their Twitter feed, their Instagram. This can, and sometimes will, give you much more insight into who they are more than even a face-to-face would. Researching the person not only serves to help you better understand the character you’ll be writing, but it helps keep you from writing anything that may be deemed inflammatory or libelous. That doesn’t mean you can’t exaggerate the character, or develop their flaws in unique ways, but by sitting down with them and getting to know their personality, you’ll have a better understanding of how far you might be able to go.

Step 3: Craft a detailed character study and outline

Once you’ve compiled all of your research, it’s time to create a character study. This is where you will make sure you truly understand who the character is. You’ll want to lay out everything from physical characteristics to personality traits, likes and dislikes, and even religious affiliation. Put down everything you think you’re going to need to know. How much money do they make? What type of job do they have? Do they have any friends? What do they eat for breakfast? Many of these things may be trivial and won’t end up in the book at all, but it’s always good to have that information in the back of your mind as you’re writing. Once this is complete, match it up with the plot and write a couple of paragraphs about how the character fits into the story and what they will do to help move the story forward. Make sure to write down key plot points and how they will react in the situation.

Step 4: Be respectful, but don’t be afraid to go for it

Now it’s onto the writing. But be careful; when writing a character based on someone you know, there may be a tendency to soften them up, to ignore certain flaws in order to make sure your friend doesn’t throw the book through your head after reading it. All this will do is weaken the character. If you’re going to base a character on someone you know, have the balls to get your hands dirty when it comes to writing them. At the same time, you must remember to remain respectful. If you write something that you feel may be going too far, let them read the pages. Explain to them why you’re writing them that way, or why it’s important for the character or the plot and give them a chance to object. Be cautious, though, as you don’t want them to write anything for you. Everyone has an opinion, and 99% of the time, it’s a bad one, at least when it comes to your novel. But understand where they are coming from, and if changes can be made that aren’t detrimental to the character or the plot, then by all means, make them.

Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to turning your best friend into everyone’s best friend.

Have you ever created a character based on someone you knew? Were you encouraged to tone the character down in fear of hurting them? How did it come across? Were they happy or disappointed? Are you still friends?

Movie Mayhem – The Walk

Whether or not you’ve read Philippe Petit’s book, “To Reach the Clouds” (for which The Walk is based), or seen the 2008 documentary Man On Wire, which takes an in-depth look into Philippe Petit the man, as well as the amazing tightrope act that occurred on August 6, 1974, you basically know how The Walk will play out. However, even though that fateful walk is an awe-inspiring moment, one you wish you could have witnessed when it actually happened, it’s not the end of the film that matters; it’s the journey, and Zemeckis does a terrific job formulating the high wire act that Petit must make to get to his point of infamy.

The Walk — 2015; Directed by Robert Zemeckis; Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon & Ben Kingsley

On the surface, the walk the title refers to is of course the tightrope walk Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) makes between the world trade center towers a few months prior to their completion. At the time the tallest buildings in the world, doing something so dangerous (and incredibly illegal) was Petit’s moment to prove he was more than just a silly circus act — he was a artistic performer, one who wasn’t afraid to go beyond the boundaries of what was considered safe in order to dream to walk among the clouds. But under the surface of that incredibly dangerous act of artistic expression lies the real heart of The Walk, which becomes a metaphor for how we all should be living life. According to Petit’s mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), it doesn’t matter what you do on the wire if you fail to complete your final three steps. In other words, it’s not how you get to where you want to be, its what you do, despite all odds, with those final three steps that ultimately make you who you are.

Zemeckis has given us some incredible movies over the years, from one of the most perfectly crafted films in Back To The Future, to the engaging fascination of Forrest Gump and the zany artistry of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, among others. But, with The Walk, Zemeckis takes a risk of his own, walking a high-wire act between respecting the memory of those who were lost when the towers fell in the 9/11 attack by honoring them with a story of bravery and conviction, and disrespecting their lives by glorifying the possibility of someone falling from the towers to their death. By taking those final three steps and making the movie he was compelled to make, Zemeckis is able to give us a very authentic homage in remembrance of what those two towers meant to not only New York, but to the world. What Petit accomplished helped change the essence of the towers from being gaudy obstructions to the grandeur of hope and destiny.

Gordon-Levitt, is fun, energetic and mesmerizing, creating a genuine representation of a man who not only needed to risk his life (and his freedom) for something his soul deeply desired, but who was riddled with conflict and doubt about how this act would affect those he chose to share the experience with, not to mention the innate fear of failing, which would cost him more deeply than he’s ready to admit. He helps Zemeckis keep the pace of the film light and quick, making sure we are never bored as we wait for the main event to occur. The supporting cast, including Charlotte Le Bon as Petit’s girlfriend, Annie, and Clément Sibony as one of his many accomplices (and official photographer), also does a fine job in capturing a free, swift essence that honestly bonds the audience to Petit. The chemistry between Gordon-Levitt and Le Bon isn’t quite as electric as it is comfortable, but that’s enough to keep us fascinated in how the two will grow to love one another and keep us interested in whether or not the death-defying artistic act will hold them together or break them apart.

If there was one thing that I felt kept Zemeckis from taking that final step to instant perfection, it’s the awkward narration that Zemeckis chooses to inter-cut with the rest of the film. In the beginning, it’s actually quite fun and somewhat necessary, as Petit stands on the torch of the Statue of Liberty to help us understand who he is and the journey he took to get to where he was. As I said, Gordon-Levitt is very whimsical, and his infectious energy keeps you smiling without even trying. But as the movie moves forward, having Petit continue to describe what’s going on and how he’s feeling in any given moment starts to become a detriment to the film by taking us out of the movie itself far too often. No more so is this apparent than in the actual walk itself. The scene of Petit walking between the two towers is so gloriously captured, it makes us feel as if we are there, on the wire, feeling the fear and trepidation and excitement that goes along with it all. But Zemeckis continues to cut away to revisit Petit on the Statue of Liberty, draining all of the power and emotion of the moment, forcing us to have to recapture those feelings every few minutes rather than allowing us to truly live what Petit lived. After all, life (walking the wire) isn’t about living in fear; it’s about overcoming your fears to express something that’s ultimately more than yourself.

My Grade: A

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Next week, new movies include Crimson Peak, Bridge of Spies, Goosebumps and Woodlawn. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

A Little Story About Me

It’s been a little over two years since I started this blog, and with some of the changes I’ve been making recently to my social media activities, I thought this would be a good time to give my fans a little taste of who I am and what makes me tick as a writer.

Stop me if you’ve heard this: I’ve had an artistic drive for as long as I can remember, but the moment that sticks out the most as it pertains to the desire to become a writer is when my class was asked to write a one-page ending to the short story “The Lady or the Tiger?”, for which I wrote seven pages. Mind you, this was long before personal computers became a thing (well, maybe not lo-ong before… but it was the eighties!) so everything I wrote was hand-written. And not on elementary-lined paper, either; you know where the space is so big, you might have a hard time getting a hundred words on a page. No, sir. This was college-ruled paper and just as I do today, I write extremely small. So you can imagine the amount of text I wrote, but the ideas that came to me (which I still remember, though what happened to the actual document, I’m not sure… sad face, sniffle) were just so ravenous, I couldn’t help myself.

Writing stories was just something that came extremely natural to me. Growing up I would write fascinating sequels to movies I loved (well, fascinating in my mind), such as Beetlejuice and Clue. Sometimes, I’d bail on Sunday School class to go sit in the parking lot and write. You can imagine how excited I was when I got my first Brother word processor! In fact, I still have that very word processor stored away in a closet, as well as all of the original three and a half inch disks that stored all of my wonderful ideas! (I do believe all of those files are now safely stored on my iMac, but man, those make for some great nostalgia points). I spent hours writing short stories and novels on that work horse. I added screenplays to my repertoire around the time I entered high school, and even completed my first two full-length screenplays on the word processor before my family bought the cow (that is, a Gateway computer). More stories, more “attempted” novels and more screenplays flushed from my fingertips throughout high school.

This is where the story gets a bit rocky. Believing my passion was more movies than writing, I headed off to film school right out of high school. That lasted about three months (or one semester). It was during an editing class at the start of my second semester when the professor said something I’ll never forget: “When you’re watching a film, and all you can think about is how you would have edited the film, then you’re an editor.” Bam. It struck me right then and there. When I watch a movie, especially a bad movie, I don’t edit the film in my head — I write the film. I pick out all of the flaws in character development, dialogue, plot… that was it. Making films was not my true calling. And yet, even with this realization, I was too stupid to walk my true path, choosing to go to art school instead. If I recall correctly, I couldn’t find a decent school with a writing major (again, this is when the internet was in its infancy; you know, back in the days of dial-up and AOL — “You’ve got mail”), so I opted for one where I could get a writing minor, choosing art as my major, since that was also a passion of mine growing up. It was during my final semester there that I took a creative writing class that once again slapped me upside the head.

One of our assigned books was written by an author named Dwight Yates, who also taught writing at the University of Riverside. I immediately looked into UC Riverside and learned they had a really good writing program. The decision to transfer was a no-brainer. Along with learning the ins and outs of metafiction from Mr. Yates (those were some terrific classes! Reading some of those stories, like The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and the works of Aimee Bender influenced me a lot. He even sent one of my stories to Ms. Bender, who wrote back with a very kind letter of appreciation), I became close to two other professors: screenwriter , who helped me hone my screenwriting skills, and award-winning author Susan Straight, who was also my thesis instructor. All three of them were very integral in my growth as a writer, and I can’t thank them enough for there talent, their dedication and their commitment to their students and their craft.

After failing to earn my way into an MFA program, a couple of years went by before I realized my degree in writing wasn’t taking me anywhere. I had written a couple of new novels (one of which, Jaxxa Rakala: The Search, actually started as my college thesis!), a couple of new screenplays, and I wasn’t going anywhere. I don’t like to talk about it, but I hit a pretty serious bout of depression for some time. When I finally understood what was happening, I was able to come out of it and find a new path — graphic design. Doing that helped me pay the bills while doing something I loved and gave me time to write on the side. Getting my degree in design, coincidentally, helped reopen the door into film making. After working for a short time at a film school, I quickly scrounged up some money to produce my very first feature film (which, looking back on it, has major issues, but I learned quite a bit from the experience, and that’s what counts), which then led me to the Fallbrook Film Factory, where I met my next mentor, Ronald Shattuck, who, along with some of the industry veterans that he knew, like screenwriter and (who you’ll see were production coordinator and stunt coordinator, respectively, on my film, My Necklace, Myself) helped me grow as both a filmmaker and a writer.

Fast forward a few years, add in a boom in the self-publishing world, and here I am today. Four published novels with a fifth on the way, two produced feature films, a few produced short films, commercials and music videos, and my very own business. It’s been an extremely rocky road to get where I am today, and there is still plenty I would like to accomplish in the future, but I know that I am exactly where God needs me to be, and every one of those bumps and bruises was a lesson to help shape me as a writer, a designer, a filmmaker, and a person, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it — okay, maybe one thing, but that’s for a different post altogether!

What about you? When did you know you wanted to write (or do what it is you love doing)? What kinds of obstacles did you have to fight through to get to where you are today? Who were some of your mentors? Do you remember the days before computers?

Move Mayhem – The Martian

Over the years, there have been several “man trapped by himself” stories (not sure why it always has to be a man, but…), which include Tom Hanks being isolated on a deserted island in Cast Away, Sam Rockwell marooned on the moon in Moon, and both Robert Redford and Suraj Sharma fighting nature in All Is Lost and Life of Pi, respectively. What all of these movies have in common — besides the obvious — is the overwhelming commentary on the human condition and what it takes to survive, both mentally and physically, when you know your isolated with no chance of rescue. The power of these films comes from the strength of the main characters to overcome the deep wells of their own consciousness and rise above their conflicts in order to find triumph in their pursuit to get back home. Without a strong core, there would be nothing to grab hold of and connect to within the harrowing experiences no sane person would ever want to have to face. Ridley Scott attempts to invoke that same feeling in his new film, The Martian, but although the film as a whole is inspiring and captivating, the turmoil and struggles the main character must face aren’t digested enough to explore the deep sense of loneliness and madness that is tantamount for this type of film.

The Martian – 2015; Directed by Ridley Scott; Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Jeff Daniels

Based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir, Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, the botanist of a six-man crew researching the Mars landscape. When a storm hits, the crew leave Watney behind thinking he died during the evacuation. Watney must then do everything in his power to survive on a planet with no food or water until a rescue mission can be hatched — that is, if anyone even realizes he’s still alive. I will give it to Watney; he’s got a great head on his shoulders and knows how to stay calm and cool in such a vexing situation. But is it too cool and collected? Scott, it seems, wants to skirt above the turmoil and angst to keep things as positive as he can. By doing so, he focuses more on the moments of triumph and, except for one major setback, all but ignores any real moments of fear, anger, depression or sorrow. These darker moments would not only help flesh out the character in a way that allows us to really connect with his bravery and aptitude for achieving his milestones, but it would balance the lighter moments and give the overall experience a more satisfying conclusion.

The thing is, Damon takes what he’s given and delivers everything his fuel tank will allow. It may not be the deepest performance he’s ever given, but Damon is innately charismatic, so no matter how rosy and sunny the entire experience may appear, he’s still capable of pulling us in and keeping us invested in his plight. Damon has some terrific moments as he tries to figure out how to produce water or communicate with Earth, but the biggest success of the film is Scott’s decision to employ a narrative device in which Watney records all of his thoughts. Every time we see or hear Watney talk to us through the camera, Damon’s magnetism shines through and helps the film transcend the lack of character development to keep the film flowing quick and graceful.

That is until the focus heads back to Earth and we are subjected to a cast of thinly-drawn characters we probably could have done without. That’s not to take away anything from the cast, including Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Kristin Wiig and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but had Scott excised this part of the film and gave that extra time back to exploring more of Watney’s journey, being able to receive the information as Watney receives it may have made for a much tighter, crisper story that would have immersed us even deeper into the psychological toll an adventure like this might have on someone. It turns out that Donald Glover, as the mastermind behind the best way to save Watney, shows more enthusiasm and character traits in his ten minutes of screen time than most of the entire supporting cast combined.

This includes the one-note turns by Jessica Chastain, Micheal Peña, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie and Kate Mara, who make up the rather boring crew of the Ares III and are absent from nearly the entire middle of the film. Based on a decision by NASA executives, the Ares team is left in the dark about Watney’s fate, which keeps us from seeing any fallout from the decision to leave him, as well as their own personal tolls of space travel. Not to give too much away, but when it’s decided that the team will spend an extra year in space on a mission to rescue Watney, Scott fails to give them any time to contemplate what that actually means. Once again, the deeper wells of the psyche are ignored to stay as lighthearted and upbeat as possible, failing to find the emotional toll these character’s will have to face. Had their been at least one person who was desperate to get back home, but knew saving Watney was the right thing to do, the turmoil and the conversations alone would have given so much more meaning to the mission, not to mention the relationships between the characters. As it stands, saying they’d die for their companions comes off as merely superficial words.

There is a lot to like about The Martian regardless of its flaws (including some of the space stuff, which with the advent of films such as Apollo 13 and Gravity, felt a bit fake and awkward). The acting is good all-around and the science in the film is marvelously done. As we watch how someone might achieve survival on a baron wasteland, which includes Watney utilizing his own excrement as fertilizer to grow potatoes, it becomes clear that the film would have been so much more nourishing had we been given every level of the human emotion rather than just “the Good Parts Version” of everything that happened.

My Grade: A-

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Next week, new movies include Pan and Steve Jobs. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

Chaos Ran Me Over – But I’m Healing Nicely

Hey there world!

If you follow my blog on a regular basis, you may have noticed I’ve been missing in action recently. I took a siesta (or hiatus) from movie reviews throughout the month of September, and basically stayed away from really updating anything on my blog except for an article or two here and there whenever I found the time. Part of the reason for this was because of my work – I have to try to make money, after all, so I can pay my bills, which in the long run of course must take precedence over most of everything else. Another part was a fall into the pit of a creative black hole, which basically sucked all of my energy away and led to a long bout of procrastination. And then there’s my recent jump into attempting to engage my followers with a new and improved social media schedule, which I’ve also fallen a little bit behind on. All of these things began to create a massive whirlwind of choas that, as my own blog name suggests, simply led to more chaos. I’ve learned quickly that when you have so much to do and don’t have a system in place to contain and focus all of the projects, your energy can just flutter around in the sea, keeping you from finding the Northern Star and get you back on the right path. It got so bad, I started to become worse than the absent-minded professor, forgetting to do some simple simple things — which included showing up for jury duty!

But, that was September, and now that the month is coming to a close, I’ve finished a couple of big jobs and have had a few days to reassess where I’m at with everything, figure out how to reign in the chaos to better control my peace of mind and focus my creative energy into a structure that makes it feel as if I’m actually accomplishing something. I’ve created a schedule for myself and I’m hoping it will help my focus and keep me from straying off the path. We’ll see!

With that said, I wanted to catch everyone up on what I’ve been up to and the progress of my current novel. That one’s actually easy — nowhere. Editing The Spirit Of… had to be placed on the back burner as I took care of those other projects, but starting this week I’ve dedicated myself to spend at least one hour a day (or a bare minimum of 6 hours a week) editing the book and polishing it up for release in March. On that same note, I am going to be looking into some new, fresh ways to market the book that will hopefully draw some interest a couple of months before its release. If I had to choose one novel that was my favorite (that’s like choosing which of your kids is your favorite, isn’t it!), I would have to say, The Spirit Of… is definitely it. I just love what I was able to do with the story and it’s one where the characters really did take over and write the book for me. What I thought originally was going to be a four hundred page book ended up being a thousand pages, and though I know I need to trim a lot of fat away, the story is still very solid and the characters are fun, lively and at times infuriating.

Then there’s my social media. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been working with a PR company in an attempt to boost my followers and gain a better, more lively footprint on the web. On Twitter, I separated my personal tweets from my business tweets and created a Twitter account for just my thoughts and my writing – you may follow me at @BryanCaronBooks. Then there’s Facebook, where I originally wasn’t posting anything except for whatever blog posts and Twitter posts I wrote. But now I’m writing unique Facebook posts that you can only find there. Which makes complete sense, but I was too lazy to worry about it before. Adding to all of that, I also created an Instagram account. That one I’m still trying to get used to because I am not a picture person, as you can probably tell from my blog. But, it is another avenue for gaining a fan base, so hopefully, I’ll be able to figure it out soon. (If you have any suggestions to make it work the right way, I’m more than happy to take them.) Basically, what I’m trying to get at is that all of my social media is now separated from one another (for the most part; my Instagram and my blog are connected to my Twitter), so if you truly want the full experience, I’m afraid you’re going to have to follow me everywhere!

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll find on each of my platforms:

This Blog – Movie Reviews, Book Reviews, Television Reviews, random thoughts, longer posts on writing, short stories, and promotional posts for my books and my business.

Facebook – Short posts on writing, random thoughts on books and movies, and promotional posts for my books.

Twitter – Mini Movie Reviews, quick random thoughts, and promotional posts for my books.

Instagram (AuthorBryanCaron) – Pics and quotes related to writing.

There will be things that are spread across all forums, such as cover reveals, publishing announcements and things like that, however, I may do certain things wherein something is an exclusive to one account, but we’ll see how that goes. And there’s always a chance things might change. In the ever evolving world of social media, you just never know what will stick.

Yeah, so, that’s what’s been going on. How about you? Have you ever felt so overwhelmed you couldn’t do anything? Have you ever found yourself feeling creatively void? Do all of your social media accounts sometimes get the best of you?

Chaos Breeds Chaos 2015 Television Awards – Part 3

We’ve finally made it to the end. Here are the final awards for this past season of great (and some very awful) television. (See Part 2 here.)

Most Annoying Trend – Character Voice-overs

I’m not exactly sure what the appeal was, but for some reason, everyone seemed to want to jump on the voice-over bandwagon this season, and did so in a variety of ways. Here’s the rundown: it started with Red Band Society‘s coma patient explaining the meaning of the episode (and sometimes the interlude’s within) a la Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) on Grey’s Anatomy; Black-ish used the voice-over for no other reason than to add inane one-liners and comment on what just happened; Selfie spent a lot of its time exploring the inner workings of the lead character’s insufferable neurosis; Manhattan Love Story dove into the thoughts of the lovers, finding a way to tell a second story of what the characters are really thinking in any given situation; A to Z used an omniscient narrator (Katey Segal) to tell the story of the protagonist’s budding love; in The Affair, the main characters discussed how they were feeling throughout their specific segments as they retold the events as they remember them to a cop in an interrogation room; Jane the Virgin had an annoying narrator give us the play-by-play in a homage to the telenovela; Fresh Off the Boat tried to match wits with The Wonder Years, but the main character’s voice-over failed to capture the same magic; and finally, The Slap used Victor Garber to try and add context to the events that were happening, but ended up being simply superfluous.

Best Storytelling Device – The Affair

It’s not anything terribly new; the device has been done in plenty of other movies and television shows in one form or another, but with The Affair, we were given the chance to see two different versions of similar moments in the lives of Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Ruth Wilson) as they related what they remember to a detective. What made this device slightly different is that they allowed for discrepancy (sometimes, major discrepancy) in what was remembered — or at least embellished or revised for reasons unknown. Noah remembers Alison being a minx — a vixen who may be able to break him free of a marriage that has dulled over time. Alison remembers Noah as a pushy, energetic guy who she’s uncomfortable being around, but sees something in him that’s exciting and fresh, which just may hold the key to her overcoming the depression she has had since the loss of her baby. Telling the story from both points of view offer us a much wider spectrum of the events leading up to the mysterious death at the heart of the show, and it turns what could be a normal, routine affair into a captivating mystery of the mind, heart and soul.

Best Milestone Episode: Supernatural

Supernatural is always at its best when making fun of itself, and the producers let it all hang out with their meta-terrific 200th episode spectacular. The case of the week involved a trip to an all-girl’s high school where the head of the drama class was a hardcore fan-girl of the Supernatural book series first introduced in Season 4. She’s written a musical play based on those stories and ironically, just may find herself dead by the end of it. The episode not only tore apart the latter half of the series by claiming everything that happened is “the worst fan-fic ever written”, it gave us everything we love about Supernatural, including the brothers working together with no drama, Sam (Jared Padalecki) doing research and Dean (Jensen Ackles) arguing with prepubescents. A lot of shows in recent years have tried to do musical episodes to varying degrees of success, but Supernatural got it right by placing all of the musical numbers in the context of the play, giving us a sorrowful, yet moving performance of Supernatural‘s key song, “Carry On Wayward Son.” But best of all, the episode ended with the return of Chuck (Rob Benedict), which, depending on how you read into it, puts a lot of sub into the text.

Oddest Milestone Episode: Hawaii 5-0

A lot of shows do a really good job paying homage to all of the previous episodes in their milestones, but none have done so in a way that made the entire episode feel like a series finale. We not only got a rewriting of history through a brain altering drug administered to Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin), but we got the official death of series villain Wo-Fat and a final 5 minutes that basically summed up the series in one gloriously loving send-off… but it wasn’t. The show wasn’t canceled, it was only the 100th episode. So I’m not sure how I feel. Should I be ready to leave the 5-0 or continue on with all of their misadventures? Part of me says it’s been a good run, thanks for the memories. The other part says, wait… it’s not over? Okay. I’m ready. Bring it on.

Most Disturbing Scene: Hell On Wheels

There are scenes that can really make your skin crawl, mostly found on shows similar to CSI or The X-Files (I defer to “Home” thank you very much). But there was no scene in any episode this season that made me cringe more than when Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount) cut off Sydney Snow’s (Jonathan Scarfe) leg with a hacksaw on Hell On Wheels. The special effects team, as well as the team behind the sound were amazingly realistic as they showed Bohannan cut into Snow’s leg, which didn’t pull away until the leg was entirely cut off. It was mesmerizing to watch, to say the least, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel chills crawl up my spine. I’m very desensitized to much of the violence shown in entertainment these days; this was unexpected — and at the same time incredibly awesome.

Best Makeup: The Walking Dead

I’ve been watching The Walking Dead since the beginning, and I never really took notice of the makeup department’s perfection until just recently. And I’m not talking about the zombie makeup, which is expected to be incredible every episode. I’m talking about the makeup used on our merry band of survivors. What made the make-up standout so much this season over the other seasons, I believe, were the quick interludes AMC occasionally showed during commercial breaks highlighting scenes from past seasons. What stood out was how accurate and realistic the makeup team have made in relation to the amount of time it’s been since the beginning of the show. Take for example Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who started the show a clean-cut law officer. By the beginning of this season, he had a nice, full beard and long, curly hair that hadn’t seen a shower in months. And there it is: The Walking Dead isn’t trying to make anyone look good for the sake of the actor’s ego. Gone are the days when the protagonist looks immaculate in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems, and I couldn’t be happier. (And I have to give a shout-out here to The 100, which has also embraced this realistic make-up style. I hope continues.)

Most Misleading Title: Fresh Off the Boat

I know the show is based on a book with the same title, and it’s meant to invoke the feeling of being a fish out of water, so-to-speak, but I’m still finding it hard to trust a show with such a title when in the very first episode it is clear that no character is “fresh off the boat”, but rather simply moving to a new state and community. By asserting in the title that this family is an immigrant family that is now going to experience life inside the United States after leaving their home country (for whatever reason), it’s extremely disappointing to watch such a mundane change in environment. For me, it would have been more interesting to watch the family adapt to new cultural tendencies than to see them simply try and become acclimated to suburban life. But that’s just me, I guess.

Worst Special Effects: Olympus

I’m not even going to dive deep into why this show deserves this award. Let’s just say that I didn’t even make it to the first commercial break of the first episode because the special effects (not to mention the dialogue) were just that unwatchable.

Chaos Breeds Chaos 2015 Television Awards – Part 2

Now that the “Main” categories are out of the way (read Part 1 here), it’s on to some specialty awards.

Best development of a character: Dr. Schetany (Ben Shankman), Royal Pains

Character development can go one of two ways: either it feels natural and highlights a character’s flaws, fears, hopes and dreams, or it feels forced and goes completely against the character’s past and what he stands for. In Royal Pains, Ben Shankman has created a very uptight, neurotic character in Dr. Schetany, but as he continues to attempt to become a better person, he has had to step way out of his comfort zone to mature into a much more well-rounded person. Beginning with the kindness of taking Dyvia and her baby into his very clean home, Dr. Schetany learns how to break from his routine, which leads to helping a girl he has feelings for, all of which led to him falling in love and find heartbreak, betrayal and forgiveness. The scene where he sits at a new place and tries to banter with the waitress the same way he did with the girl he liked, and realizing, “It’s just not the same,” was heartbreaking and gives Dr. Schetany a depth that not a lot of characters embody.

Most excited to play a villain: Emily Rose (Mara), Haven

There are heroes and then there are villains, and as most actors will say, they usually find playing the villain much more fun. And as we wait to see how Jennifer Morrison takes to playing the Dark Swan on Once Upon A Time, Emily Rose had a grand ole time playing evil Mara last season on Haven. To some, she might have come off as too bitchy and possibly a little over the top with how she conveyed her evilness, but as the wicked supernatural creator of Haven’s troubles, Mara is who she is — sadistic. On top of that, Emily Rose does a good job separating Mara from Audrey and giving each a clear distinction as to who which is witch.

Actor who’s better than the show: Enrico Colantoni, The Mysteries of Laura

For a long time, Enrico Colantoni has marveled as the team leader in the brilliantly executed but far underrated (and even less watched) Canadian series, Flashpoint, as well as the titular mob boss on Person of Interest where he’s just as good being evil (depending on his situation and ultimate endgame of chess). Because of this resume (which also includes a perfectly comic turn as Mathesar in Galaxy Quest), it was very hard to watch him show up as Captain Dan Hauser in the abysmal new show, The Mysteries of Laura. His scenes with Michael Emerson on Interest are so well-crafted in their subtle intensity, it makes the scenes with Debra Messing feel downright labored, as if he was there as a favor to someone because they promised him it was only for one episode. And it’s a good thing it was, as this mediocre hit might have kept him from securing work in another property worthy of his talents.

Oddest trend of the year: Characters cutting their hair

Ah, symbolism. Much like Tris in Insurgent, we saw several characters chop off their locks in the first few weeks of the season to declare a point or signify a major change in their life. First up on Nashville, Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) sheared her locks during a nervous breakdown after losing Avery (Jonathan Jackson) due to her own foolish decisions; the thought of losing a part in a television movie after showing tremendous emotion during the audition didn’t help matters. Then, over on Haven (in it’s third episode of its last season), Duke (Eric Balfour) made the rash decision to remove all of his hair due to both the pain of losing his girlfriend, Jennifer (Emma Lahana), and the fact that the culmination of troubles he and his family have collected over the years were basically eating him from the inside-out. Finally, even though it was done off-camera, both Elizabeth Keene (Megan Boone), who found out her husband Will was an evil spy last season on The Blacklist, and Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni), who received her new position as Secretary of State on Madam Secretary, cut their hair to blossom into their new lives. Also in need of attention is Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, whose new do was so drastic, it deserves a mention here even though it was a personal decision and wasn’t part of the show itself (but still allowed for a lot of jokes during the premiere). That’s a lot of missing hair for a weeks worth of television. Here’s hoping they all donated to Locks of Love.

Best recollection of a star’s previous gig: Last Man Standing

Anyone who loved Home Improvement back in the ’90s would have been pleased with the first episode of the new year on Last Man Standing. Patricia Richardson, better known as Jill Taylor (wife of Tim “The Toolman” Taylor) made a guest appearance on the show as a neighbor who recently lost her husband — a man who thought he was great with tools but did nothing but juice everything up to their ultimate destruction. It was great to see them back together again, and in their first scene together, the references to the pair’s “old life” were flying high. The writers even found a clever way to pay homage to the late great Earl Hindman, as regular guest star Jonathan Adams (neighbor Chuck) poked the top of his head over the face to dole out some advice to Tim, er, I mean Mike. Leaving most of the political stuff to the B-story gave more time for the show’s star to reminisce and riff on the show that made Tim Allen a star… most likely because as Mike said in reference to Richardson’s quip that her husband would have had a better delivery on a joke, “maybe he had better writers.”

Most Surprising Death: Ruth (Kasha Kropinski), Hell on Wheels

When dealing with the possible death of a starring character, a lot of other shows would have copped out at the last minute and found a way to keep them alive. Not Hell on Wheels. With the death of Elam Ferguson (Common) earlier in the season, newcomer John Campbell (Jake Weber) brought in a new sheriff, Sydney Snow (Jonathan Scarfe), who promptly killed Ruth’s surrogate son when he burned the church with most of the town inside. Ruth found vengeance by shooting, and inevitably killing, Snow, and although she was continually offered a pardon, she refused it at every turn, believing she was not only right in killing Snow for what he did, but that she would pay for her crime, setting up the scene at the gallows where the rope goes around her neck. But where other shows may have had her finally take the pardon at the last minute (which could very well have been where it was heading as the mask was placed on and the fear in her eyes said she was having second thoughts), before you know it — through her devastating perspective — the lever was pulled and we go to commercial. It wasn’t so much shocking as it was surprising the producers would go through with it, but Hell on Wheels has never backed down from going against the grain for its entire run.

First Show To Die Award: Manhattan Love Story

The actors were fine, the characters were okay, but in the end, there was far too much inside discussions that it started to feel extremely cloying and self-important. None of the supporting characters were all that interesting (and at times could be quite annoying), and the situations the writers put them in could be too cute or too excruciating to believe. There were some highlights, as when in the pilot, the guy started to cross items off of her “To Do in New York” list, but there wasn’t enough of this to help raise the show above a typical, ordinary, familiar romantic comedy with nothing new to say. It’s not necessarily the worst new show of the season (see Z Nation and Mulaney), but someone has to go first.

Biggest Missed Opportunity Award: Once Upon A Time

As Once Upon A Time was wrapping up their writer storyline, they sent the majority of characters to an alternate fairy tale world where evil triumphed and heroes lost. The worst thing about this two-hour look at what could have been is the fact that it was only two hours. The producers really dropped the ball on this exciting development by restricting the idea to just the season finale. There was a moment at the very beginning of the final episode when the writer places his final period to cap the new version of events. This scene would have made the perfect season finale moment, allowing for the first half of the fifth season to explore this world in more detail and really extend the situations (like the rescue of Emma (Jennifer Morrison) from the tower) that felt extremely rushed and glossed over. At that point, they could have ended the first half of the season with the Black Swan set-up and explored that storyline throughout the back half, instead of starting the new season with it. That, my friends, would have been exciting, different and a change of pace for the show. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, I guess.

That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for the final awards, which include the best milestone episodes, the best storytelling device and the most disturbing scene of the season.

Chaos Breeds Chaos 2015 Television Awards – Part 1

Well, the 2015 Emmy Awards have come and gone, and as per usual, most of the winners (in fact, this year, I believe ALL of the winners) were shows I could care less about. I know a lot of people watch the shows that did win, including Game of Thrones and Veep, but because I don’t subscribe to HBO, or because I just simply don’t care much for the actors involved, I was none to pleased with the outcomes this year. So, once again, I’ve compiled my own list of awards given to both outstanding and poorly executed shows — moments and episodes that deserve a little recognition over the *yawn* inducing categories and nominees that show up every year on the Emmy voter’s radars. (Click here for a look at my 2014 awards). Please Note: these are for shows and episodes of television shows I watch that aired between May 2014 and May 2015.

Best New Show: The Flash

With not a whole lot of “great” shows premiering this year, there were a few that stood out, but none so much as the The Flash. It may have been spun-off of CW’s Arrow, but The Flash is definitely more Smallville than Gotham. Like the first season of any show like this, The Flash started with a “monster” of the week storyline, but did so with a whimsical attitude. As the season progressed and questions were answered (mostly in relation to Dr. Harrison Wells, played beautifully by the always charismatic Tom Cavanagh), the show steadily became more serialized and grew into its own mythology quite well. Grant Gustin does a terrific job as Barry Allen, adding just enough charm to his awe-shucks personality and lively attitude toward learning what he can do with his new abilities, from running up buildings, running on water, using his vocal chords to mask his real voice (take that Arrow synth-box!) or how much he has to eat to keep up his metabolism. And much like Clark Kent, Barry has an idealistic outlook that might just give the Kryptonian a run for his money.

Worst New Show: Z Nation

When I got toward the end of the first episode of Z Nation, I thought to myself, “Why does this feel like I’m watching a SyFy Original movie?” Later I found out that the creators of the show were also behind Sharknado and other such Z-grade cheese-fests. And then it all made sense. With poorly written dialogue, even more poorly written characters, and horrible time placement (I’m not sure where they were at the beginning of the show, but it took one of the characters a year to travel to New York on his way to California… which would mean either he was somewhere in England or the surrounding areas, or he took some major wrong turns in his trip across the U.S. — Did anyone ever think to say, “Hey, you’re going the wrong way!). Add to that DJ Qualls overacting a step above normal overacting and a weird little zombie baby that dies for no reason whatsoever, and you’ve got yourself a Walking Dead style spoof that thinks it has a steady heartbeat, only to find out it’s actually a corpse lying wait in a river for its cue to be scary.

Best New Character: Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), Gotham

Of all of the new characters on the air this season, there was only one that stood out as being the perfect case for locking someone away in Arkham Asylum. Oswald Cobblepot is the clearest definition of multiple personality psychopath who really doesn’t have a multiple personality disorder, and Taylor takes this maddening personality trait and imbues Cobblepot, aka “The Penguin”, with so much to both like and hate at the same time. He is so much fun to watch, so electric on screen that it doesn’t matter whether he’s killing someone, taking care of his mother, or cowering in the darkness to stay alive, when he’s on screen, you never really know what he’s up to. Cobblepot in that way is a master of manipulation, and I can tell, Taylor has made sure to craftily manipulate us, the audience, to love to hate in the best possible way.

Worst New Character: Happy Quinn (Jadyn Wong), Scorpion

If it wasn’t for the rest of the cast of Scorpion, I may have left the show early on because of one person: Happy Quinn. I’m not sure if it’s the actress, or the writing or what was going on with that character, but every time she was on screen, at least in the early episodes, I cringed. Thankfully, due in most part to Eddie Kaye Thomas, Ari Stidham and the chemistry between the entire cast, I stuck with it, allowing Happy to eventually (albeit, very slowly) grow on me enough to where she was no longer a distraction. That doesn’t mean I’m on board; it just means I can now tolerate her and sometimes even enjoy the occasional repertoire between her and Thomas.

Best New Character in an Established Show: Governor John Campbell (Jake Webber), Hell On Wheels

For the first couple of seasons, the main antagonists for Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount) were Colm Meaney’s railroad man Durant and the creepy Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl). But as the Swede took a weird turn toward a religious faith, and Durant started to find a modicum of respect for Bohannan, in came John Campbell, who immediately stirred up the trouble as he looked to claim Charleston away from Durant. At the same time he had a hard-on for ultimately taking down Bohannan, going so far as to hiring a near vigilante (who was also once Bohannan’s friend during the Civil War) to rile him up and get him to make a mistake. I’ve been a fan of Weber ever since his stint on Medium, and here, he takes the wretchedness of a conniving politician and mixes it with the cunningness of a manipulative businessman to give Campbell a sneer and a wink that pulls you in and keeps you entertained.

Worst New Character in an Established Show: Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), Grey’s Anatomy

I have nothing against McCreary, but haven’t we already dealt with the storyline of Meredith and a long-lost sister? Yes we have, and it was dealt with so much better the first time. With the addition of Maggie Pierce and the revelation that she is the daughter of Ellis Grey (Kate Burton) and Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), it seems Grey’s Anatomy has hit The Simpsons status of repeating storylines for no other reason than because there’s nothing left to say. And it’s not just because the entire thing feels really forced, it’s because Pierce is nowhere near as entertaining or likable as Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh). Where Lexie was a joy to watch because of her optimism and charismatic lovability, Pierce is a downer – she’s always complaining and never seems happy. She is literally the complete opposite of Lexie, and not in a good way. If I had to choose, I would prefer the absurdity of Lexie’s ghost than have to put up with Maggie Pierce and her unstoppable whining any day.

Series that was better than expected: Galavant

I did not have high hopes for Galavant when I first started seeing the commercials. But the more I watched of the show, the more I got into the absurdity of the entire thing. The cast is not only fun to watch, but they are incredibly intelligent in how they present their characters. Joshua Sasse and Timothy Omundson are both hilarious in an opposites attract sort of way. Sasse plays Galavant with a strong authority that is only hindered by the ridiculous situations that occur around him, and Omundson infuses Galavant’s rival, King Richard, with a endearing stupidity that highlights the kind heart that he ultimately is trying to hide from his people. But credit must also go to the writing team, which does a terrific job in spoofing several genres at once while remaining true to the characters, their adventures and the worlds they inhabit. When it first started, I thought I was going to write it off after the first episode; now, I can’t wait to see where Galavant’s adventures will take him next.

Series that should have been better: Girl Meets World

I am a huge (huge) fan of Boy Meets World. There’s no denying that fact. So when I heard they were resurrecting the show with a continuation of Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga’s (Danielle Fishel) love story by following their daughter, Riley (Roward Blanchard) as she navigates her own world, I was excited. So long as they stayed true to the depth of the original (at least before college), I was on board. But my hopes were crushed pretty quickly as the first episode debuted. It wasn’t so much that I was disappointed enough to stop watching, but I was disillusioned enough to think they could recapture the magic of the original. As the show has marched on, I can say it has gotten better and the writers have done a good job at finding their voice and slowly moving the show away from the full Disney ideology. Yet, even though they’ve recently started to dig into some deeper subject matters, it still feels a bit childish and doesn’t quite hit all of the right notes at all times. You can see this discrepancy much clearer in any episode that brings back the original cast, especially those that have involved Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong). The love the writers show for these characters overwhelms the entire show and really does highlight its flaws. The one main standout of the new generation is Maya (Sabrina Carpenter), who lights up any scene she’s in, no more so than when she’s paired with Shawn. Their chemistry is so strong, the show becomes absolutely magic when they’re together. If Michael Jacobs can infuse the rest of the show and characters with the same attitude Maya always conveys (and shares with almost everyone on screen), the show could grow into something incredibly special. But if they want to be more than just another kids show (as the original made sure they were), I’m sorry to say, they need to ditch Disney (or in the very least, their rigid structure).

Tomorrow, check out more television awards, including the oddest trends, surprising deaths and great homages.

Casting Call – Kristin Stewart as Jacquline Brody?

A couple of weeks ago I posted this picture to Facebook to help give readers a chance to visualize the character of Jacquline Brody form my Jaxxa Rakala series:

A visualization of Jacquline Brody from Jaxxa Rakala: The Search and Memoirs of Keladrayia.

I received a comment from someone that it looked very much like Kristen Stewart, which made me laugh, not because that was my intention (it wasn’t; in fact the image I used as a guideline for this was Emma Watson), but because when I originally published Jaxxa Rakala: The Search, I was also going to school for graphic design. One of my assignments was to create a movie poster, or some other type of key art for a fictional film or novel. I chose to do the movie poster for my very own novel (natch) and this is how it came out:

Original movie poster design idea for the fictionalized film adaptation for Jaxxa Rakala: The Search (2007)

As you can see, along with Nathan Fillion as Ken Brody and a then young Dakota Fanning as Tracey Brody, Kristen Stewart was my first choice to play Jacquline. (And for the record, I still think Nathan Fillion would make a terrific Ken! Just sayin’…)

Don’t get me wrong, if we were to get Jaxxa Rakala: The Search into development today, I still believe Kristen Stewart would make a good Jacquline – the character is a bit brooding, sarcastic and lashes out when things get tough, or don’t go her way, and Stewart embodies those personality traits well. Take Bella from Twilight, add in a bit of Phoebe from American Ultra and then some of the spunk of Sarah from Panic Room and you’ve got the ingredients for Jacquline. Given that she’s only twenty-five, she’d definitely still be able to pull off playing nineteen, and though many may not know this, she’s also appeared in the space version of Jumanji (otherwise known as Zathura), so she’s been a part of the same types of environments, effects and creatures that inhabit Jaxxa Rakala. She also looks good in a leather jacket and would certainly have no trouble pulling off the faux-goth look.

So, yeah. If I had to choose one person that really conveys the attitude, defiance, pain and hidden love that Jacquline Brody carries, Kristen Stewart is probably the one that best fits that mold.