An Australian movie called. . .

This may be just me, but that new 'Australia' movie makes me grow a big rubbery one.

Seriously, I just could not care less. Part of it could possibly be the fact of working in a cinema and having seen the trailer and the advertising to the point where it's seared into my DNA. But the thing is, it just does not capture my attention. One bit.

OK, first up. Being a kid in the 80's, every time there was a rainy sport day at school, they would put on some Classic Aussie film. Thanks to the doco 'not quite Hollywood', I have since found out that there were a slate of great Aussie action, thriller and Horror movies made during the 70's and 80's in Australia. Unfortunately, these weren't the ones we were shown. Instead, we got to see things like 'Picnic at Hanging Rock" and "We of the Never Never". Dramas and love story's. Nothing says riveting entertainment to an 8 - 10 year old boy like a story about one woman's struggle for Independence in a foreign land. So, the imagery that they are trying to sell this film with - The dirt, the trees, the rocks, the aboriginals in traditional dress - sends me straight to sleep.

Secondly, the incredibly hard sell this film is getting. It is completely being shoved down our throats. As I sat he writing this, three ads have been on TV promoting it. And I'm a fast typer!! It's now part of the station call sign on channel 9. So every time they go to a new show, or promo a new show, or tell you what show you're now watching, what show you could be watching, what show you might have been watching and what show you probably shouldn't be watching, you get a quick Australia ad shoved down your throat. It's getting to the point where they almost seem like they are insisting you see this film.

Lastly, the pressure this film is putting on itself. It's the most expensive Australian film ever produced, at a time when hardly ANY Aussie film is being produced. Most of the film's financing is coming from the Aussie Film Finance Commission, of FFC. This film is meant to save the Australian Film Industry. That is, of course, if it's a hit. This thing doesn't turn a huge profit, and that's pretty much it for Aussie film. For a long time at least. No, for a guy who is trying to get into the film industry and is dating a girl who also works in the film Industry, that's not a pleasant thought. But that's not where it ends. The film is also supposed to reinvigorate the Aussie tourism industry, as well as re educating Australia and the world about large chunks of Aussie history that is seemingly forgotten. Personally, I knew about most of this stuff. But then again, I also seem to be in possession of some common sense, a trait so rare now days it's considered a Superpower.

All of this aside, even if the above wasn't present for the film, I still don't think I'd be too thrilled by it. The story just doesn't interest me. I mean, some rich, upper class English chick meets up with a lower class, roughneck whom she clashes with, develops a bond with and then falls in love with. Then something bad happens and the fight their way through it. Then Hugh dies. Or doesn't. I dunno, it depends on which ending they're using. You replace the dust with Ice, and it's just Titanic all over again. And didn't we have enough of that the first time around?

Yeah, I should probably wait and see it before I start passing judgement. Maybe I'm just pissed off that the biggest film this season is something I just don't care about. I'm used to a slew of big films coming out over Christmas, and this year there's sweet FA. Maybe that's getting my goat more than anything.

Oh yeah. That "Day the Earth stood still" remake is REALLY going to suck.

Can you hear?

When the city screams out for Justice,

answer back with a whisper.

on the flip side

There are things that make the rest of it worthwhile.

Stuck in the middle with you

OK, so I'm at a little bit of a low point right now.

Ness found this great job on the web for me. Creative Artworker. Film industry. Doing DVD covers. Must love films. Perfect.

We went through so much for my application. Ness completely rewrote my resume. She wrote and updated my cover letter. I redesigned my resume to be a bit more eye catching. We sent it in. I called to make sure it arrived. Expressed my interest. Sent in some work examples. Everything and anything I thought might get me at least an interview.

I just got a response from this women. Wouldn't even accept me for an interview. No other feedback.

What the fuck does it take now? Jesus H Christ!! I've been applying for jobs for the last 18 months or so, and I think I've had two interviews. One was only with a fucking agency for Christ's sake!! Jesus!! All I want to do is talk to these people, show them who I am, what I can do. I'm so fucking sick of this! SHIT!!

And on top of all that, I still haven't found a place to live. I can't even get to the inspection stage with that either! They post the ad on the web, you call up straight away, and they either dick you around for four days until the property isn't available any more, or they leased it just before posting the fucking ad!

All I want is just a decent job and a place to live! Is that too much to ask!!! I'm 34 fucking years old, I've been working since I was 17, I've studied, I've got degrees, certificates, experience, I've actually gone out of my way to get experience in as many different facets as possible. But no one will even interview me, let alone hire me. So I continue to be stuck in this shitty cinema, for crap pay, which takes away all of my options for finding a place to live, because I just can't afford to pay what it takes to get a somewhat decent place! I don't even want anything flash. Just neat, reasonably clean, a kitchen and a bathroom. It's a basic human right to have somewhere to live, why is this so difficult!!

I'm too old for this shit, I really am. This is crap you do when you're 24, not 34. I should be past all of this. Why am I at this point? I'd blame Paula, except it would mean I'd have to acknowledge the moronic little bitches existence.

I've had it. I don't want to play anymore.

The Affirmation

I will have:

A nice, neat studio apartment, 20-30 mins from work and Ness, with a decent kitchen, a clean, tidy bathroom with shower, windows, solid door, private and secure. I will have somewhere to park my car where I don't have to worry about it, be it street or otherwise. It will cost me $180 a week in rent.

I will have this within the next 5 weeks, or before my room mates depart.

I will have the chance to live by myself in my own place, free to have my friends over, to allow Ness to stay whenever she likes and not have to stay within the confines of 'My Room'.

I will have room enough for my bed, my computer table, my drawing table, my TV and components and be able to hang my paintings.

I will have my own space where I can be free to live how I want, rather than always have to be altering my behaviour to fit in with other people's expectations.

This is not asking too much.

Who watches the Watchmen?

I DO!!!!!!!

Well, twenty minute of it at least.

If you're a regular reader, you'd have heard that I don't like my job. Bunch of reason I couldn't be bothered going into right now. However, every now and then, a perk will come along that almost makes up for all the other crap I deal with.

This was one of those perks.

Director Zack Synder is in Australia at the moment, working with a visual effects company on his next project. Guardians of Gilgemesh or something. I dunno, I honestly wasn't paying attention to that part. Zack's current project, however, is the film adaption of "Watchmen", the Graphic novel of Graphic Novels. This is my movie of next year. I'm looking forward to this like no other. So when I found out that we were having a special presentation at work, which included a Q and A with Zack himself and 20 minutes of movie footage, to say I was a little excited is like saying episodes 1-3 were kinda disappointing.

First up, Spoiler alert. I'm about to give away some stuff from the film. If you don't want to know, STOP READING!!!

The footage was in three main sections. There was the opening and title sequence of the film, Dr. Manhattan's origin and history and the jail break. If you've read the book, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

The first part I saw was the Opening and title sequence. The film starts with Edward Blake, AKA The comedian, sitting at home, watching the TV when someone bursts through the door. A fight ensues, one that the comedian comes out the wrong side of. He then gets thrown through a window and plummets to the city street below. This is the event that sets up the whole film, and it's handled beautifully. The fight is fleshed out a lot more than it is in the comic, although there are shots that are taken directly from the comic. One thing I picked up was on the wall of the apartment. A painting hanging there that the comedian gets thrown into is an old glamour painting of the original Silk Spectre. The Comedian having this hanging in his place has a special significance which, if you don't know the story, I'm not going to give away here. When he gets thrown out the window, there is a moment of Zack's trademark slow fast slow motion trick, during which we get a quick close up of the smiley face button which is so significant to the imagery of the film. I know a lot of people were worried about that, but don't be. It works.

After that, they played the title sequence for the film. Big deal, right? Title sequence, so what? If you're a fan of the book, this is going to be one of your favourite parts of the film. This, in a very stylized way, is essentially the history of the superheroes in this reality. It's also a lot of moments that, although they were mentioned in the book, there's never been a visual representation of any of it before. Moments like Dollar Bill's Death or the Silhouette's murder. This will make sense later to non fans. It seems to also show how the inclusion of Superheroes has altered the history of this world. For instance, the plane that drops the bomb on Hiroshima is now called the Sally Jupiter, which is Silk Spectre's real name. I was buzzing like nothing else every time one of these shots came up. The whole title sequence is a fan boy heaven.

The next sequence they showed was Dr Manhattan's origin and History. This segment is essentially Chapter four in the book and is one of the moments I was looking forward to the most. It wasn't till after and I went back and looked at the book that I realised how much they left out of this sequence, because it covered it all perfectly. It's done int the exact same style as it is written in the book. It starts with Manhattan, on Mars, looking at an old photo of him before the accident and a girl named Janey Slater. He starts going back through his history that led him to the point. It covers all of it. The job at Gilla Flats, meeting Janey, Wally weaver - who has been merged with the character of Dr Glass I noticed - The accident, him recreating himself, being with Janey, becoming a Superhero and a crime fighter which includes a scene of the Doc taking care of some gangster type in an extraordinarily gruesome way - I don't want to ruin it for you. It moves forward to Doc ending the hostilities in Vietnam and America winning that war, meeting The Comedian, meeting the other heroes, meeting the new Silk Spectre, Janey walking out on him - you name it. If it was in Chapter four of the book, it was in this sequence. This was obviously an early render, because a lot of the effects weren't completed. Doc looks great though. They seemed to have done him really well.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Zack has stuck EXACTLY to the comic in regards to Doc Manhattan. So, if nothing else, this movie will go down in history as the first film featuring a bright blue, digitally rendered Superheroes dick in it. The sequence ends with Manhattan creating his little palace on mars. This was no where near finished, but it still looked pretty amazing.

The last bit was the shortest. It was the Jail break. Once again, huge moment in the film. It starts with Nite Owl 2 and Silk Specter 2 in the Owl ship, having just had sex. Watchmen was the first book to really make mention of the Kinky Connotations of Superheroes. I mean let's face it. Superheroes are essentially people who dress up in Kink suits and dominate lesser people. Anyhow, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre break into the jail while there is a riot going on. They have to make their way through a sea of crims in order to find Rorschach. This features a fight scene that reminds you very much of some of the battle scenes in 300, with the whole sped up, slowed down styling. Once again, it works. They finally track down Rorschach, who has rather conveniently managed to get his costume and mask back. He's chasing an old Crime boss named Big Figure, who is a midget. Rorschach has just cornered him in the men's room when Owl and Silk find him. This was the only time we got to see Rorschach's mask effect, and it wasn't finished. At least I hope it wasn't finished. Owl and Silk wait some what patiently while they believe Rorschach is visiting the loo. He comes out and they walk off, followed by a great moment that is taken straight from the Graphic Novel.

This whole sequence was drastically shortened from the novel, and turned into more of an action sequence. I get the feeling they do that with the tenement fire as well. Rorschach sounds pretty good, except there seems to be a little of the same thing that maligned Sin City in the way he talks. Just because it works in a comic, doesn't mean it translates to the real world. Of course, I only heard him say four lines. But hard to make a judgement call based on that.

After that, there was a brief montage of completed clips from the film. Like I said earlier, I got to watch it three times, so I picked up on a few things. One of which was Silk and Manhattan walking through a scene of devastation, which seems to me like it came from the end in New York. Also, Ozymandias looks a bit better in context with the film. He looks way to young in the promo photos they released of him, but he fits here.

Oh yeah. The ending. There's been a LOT of speculation on the web about what has happened to the ending. Namely, the rumors have been saying that Zack has changed the ending. This was covered as bluntly but cryptically as could be during the Q and A. What Zack said was that the ending is the Watchmen ending, but the device for that ending has been changed. This was one of the battles he had to chose to get the movie made the way it needed to be made. What does that mean? Again, this is one for the fans of the novel, but my translation is there's no monster. That had to be replaced with something else. Which, in my mind, is a small thing. Admittedly, I was looking forward to seeing that scene replicated, but I think it was more important to retain the tone and the meaning, rather than a specific visual.

All in all, I was thrilled with the job that had been done on the film. For non fans, this is going to be a great film. You're not going to have to have read the book to know whats going on, and so you won't feel like you're the only one who didn't get the joke. As for the fans, There is one thing I can say to you. Relax. Zack has NAILED this. This is the film every fan of Watchmen has been waiting for. You may not see your favourite panel, or hear your favourite line. But you will see Watchmen, the story as it is know and as it has been told represented up there on the big screen. I for one am more excited than ever in anticipation for this movie. I pretty much can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

And on the flip side, I managed to get my copy of Watchmen signed and gave Zack a couple of my comics for him to read. So who knows? Maybe after seeing the mother of all Graphic Novels on the screen, we might one day see the worlds greatest Aussie superhero robotic rabbit up there as well!

Every tail has a begining . . .

That's a play on words on the title, before I get any comments about using the wrong spelling.

I'd thought I'd lost this. I was going through some stuff at my parents place and found it. This is the original drawing I did of RoboToon way back in 1989. You can see the heavy influence of the original Robocop on him.

This drawing is nearly twenty years old. I think that makes it officially an antique. It's amazing how much my drawing has changed since then. But, after twenty years of practice, you'd want to hope so! If I remember rightly, it took me a couple weeks work to do this. I think I managed to convince a couple of teachers it was for an assignment so I could draw in class. Seems like I was getting in trouble for that even then!

I never would have imagined that this guy would have still been with me after so long. Back then, it was just a silly idea that made me laugh. But then again, aren't they all?

More of the Bunny

I recently - before my untimely eviction notice - invested in a new A3 Scanner. Most of my art is done art A3 or close sizes, so it made sense. I've been making the most of it, much to the chagrin of my rapidly depleting storage space. I've mentioned before that I've started work on RoboToon 3.

So, for your viewing pleasure, here's the first, opening splash page of Robotoon, Issue 3.

Enjoy.

Help me! I'm Homeless!!

So I get home last Friday night and my flatmates need to talk to me. Never a good sign.

It seems that Glen and Therese have had enough of Sydney and are getting out. Way out. Mudgee out. Now, this is not something I begrudge them. Not at all. Sydney is getting rather difficult to deal with. Jobs are getting scarce, Traffic is a freaking nightmare, and the sky rocketing rent prices are getting ridiculous. Part of me envies them some. My friends Chris and Amie moved out to Wagga over 2 years ago know I think, and they're lives have just gone up and up. I have it in my head to take off up to Wagga as well and try my luck out there, except it wouldn't be in my Girlfriends best interests to drag her along and I'm not going anywhere without her.

Sorry Steve.

So they've made a life choice that's the best for them, and power to them. Best of luck, really. But it's left me in a little bit of a lurch. There are four people living in this house. Three are leaving. Which only make sense that I have to leave as well. And as I stated earlier, real estate in Sydney - sucks. It's either too expensive, to far away, or too similar in conditions to a Nazi Death Camp. At least they had showers! All right, yeah. Bad taste.

So, as I pack up my belongings and anxiously search for a room, I can feel that cold, dead feeling in the pit of my stomach that always shows it's head when I don't have a plan. I like new things and I like change. I actually need it every now and then. But I HATE no knowing! I hate it when things are so up in the air like this.

So yeah. I have about 6 weeks to find a new home. So far, things aren't going to well. So I need all the luck I can get. If you have a God, please pray to him for me. If not, can you borrow someone else's?