Can't Sleep...Arg!!

Okay, now it’s nearly 2 o’clock in the morning, can’t sleep, I’ve already typed this freaking post once on Blogger, but when I got done with it nearly an hour later and went to publish it, Blogger had logged me out, and redirected me to the sign in page, and when I signed back in my post was gone. (SUCKS!!!) So I’m retyping it in Wordperfect, then cutting and pasting this sucker into Blogger.

Anyhow, I’ve got so many thoughts running through my head about my character Suzanne in Honeymoon At Graveside Manor. I got an e-mail back from Stan, he said that it did seem Suzanne was the follower and she should be a "dumb bunny". But after I finished reading Act II on Friday night, it seems to me that even though Judy thinks she’s the smart one and Suzanne follows her around, Suzanne is really the smart one even if she doesn’t realize it, a sort of Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead type dynamic between the two. That really appeals to me, and I’ve been thinking about how to make Suzanne young, and appearing dumb but smart.

I’ve also been thinking about costume and makeup for Suzanne. I’ll have to check with Stan to see if he has any specifics that he wants, but considering that he asked one of the other actors how he wanted to create his character vocally, physically, etc, I’m thinking I might have a say in costume and makeup for my character. I’ve actually been considering a punk-goth-alternative look like Avril Lavigne (I have no idea what genre her music falls into) and trying to figure out how I can do my hair to make myself look younger (lol, 32 yrs old to play 18 and younger, ha!) And unfortunately my character doesn’t have a lot to say when she’s on stage, so I’m thinking about how I can have fun with her, make her unique and interesting in spite of the lack of lines.

I also wanted to write about some movies I’ve seen lately:

The Terminal – This is such a fun movie, I was laughing out loud the whole time! I expected this to be a gentle feel-good romance, but this movie is a flat out comedy, the romance between Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones is only about 10% of the story. And it is so wonderful to see Hanks in a comedy again, it seems like ever since he’s become a big name he’s been doing dramas. (I don’t count Sleepless In Seattle because IMHO Hanks character was not comedic in that movie and I hated it anyway, or You’ve Got Mail because IMHO that was more of a romance than a comedy and most of the comedic parts were on Meg Ryan.) Anyhow, it was so much fun to watch Hanks in this movie, he did such a good job! And it was very refreshing to see the softer, more vulnerable side of Zeta-Jones. (Actually, she reminded me a lot of Meg Ryan in this movie. Hm.) Anyhow, I was disappointed in the ending, it was too schmaltzy somehow, unsatisfying. But overall, I loved the movie, it’s definitely going on my Amazon.com Wishlist!

Must Love Dogs – Another super-fun movie that I was laughing at the whole time! John Cusack is so cute, I’ve had a crush on him ever since I saw The Journey Of Natty Gann. And Diane Lane has an incredible ability to convey vulnerability with her facial expressions in this movie, but it was almost over the top. But this was such a fun and funny movie, but down-to-earth and honest at the same time. I was talking to my Aunt about it afterwards, and she said she's read some bad reviews about it, that it was every romance movie cliche in the book. "Was it like that?" she asked me. I thought about it, and replied, "Well, looking back on it, yes it was, but I was too busy laughing to notice." Another one for my Amazon.com Wishlist!

Stealing Time – Caught this one randomly on TV, missed the first 20 minutes or so. At first I was just watching the acting, but then I got caught up in the story line. This movie was well acted, the story was down to earth and real, and I was very impressed with Ethan Embry. I began wondering what the difference between the acting in a small movie like this with less-well-known actors and the Academy Award winners is. I know there is a difference, but sometimes it’s an extremely fine line, it seems to me. I’ll have to study some more on that one.

Box Of Moonlight – This is another one I caught randomly on TV, John Turturro and Sam Rockwell. Quirky but entertaining movie, well acted. I’ve realized how impressed I am with Sam Rockwell as a character actor, I’ve seen him in quite a few movies and he’s completely different in each one. I think he’s right up there with my favorite, Alfred Molina. I’m also beginning to like John Turturro, but I’ve only seen him in a couple of things besides this movie: Anger Management, and guest starring on a couple of episodes of Monk.

Slings & Arrows – This is actually a TV series from 2003 that I just discovered on the Sundance Channel. I watch it for the first time tonight, and I was very impressed. It’s very well acted and has a strong story line. This episode was about rehearsals for a theatrical production of Hamlet. The director has been seeing a ghost who he talks to and shouts at in the middle of rehearsal, the actor playing Hamlet refuses to use the Shakespearian text while rehearsing, and the actress playing Ophelia sucks; She is portraying madness by staggering around with her mouth hanging open. When the director asks her why, she says, "Well, I don’t have any personal experience with insanity, so I’m using the sense memory of being stoned. I imagine that must be what it feels like to be mad." The director then begins to explain Ophelia’s psychological subtext that has driven her mad, and as he speaks he connects to the subtext, and becomes so intense and emotional that it almost seems as if he’s going mad himself. It was incredible and awesome to watch. (and I use "awesome" to mean "wow" and full of awe, not "cool".) I also think that even though this is a fictional story, I can still learn a lot about acting from watching it. I’ve already learned and understood for the first time so much of the psychological undercurrents of Hamlet, I feel like for the first time "I’m actually getting Shakespeare!" (Lol.) Anyhow, looking forward to watching more of this series!

And now I’m done writing, but I’m still not sleepy, so I’m going to go play with my make-up, see if I can make myself look like Avril Lavigne. Goodnight!