Until tomorrow when I have to start Act I.
Apparently, those lovably close-minded anti-foie gras protesters were at it again this past weekend, harassing people out for a nice night out. As always whenever they show, foie gras sales picked up at Fuel on the night. Unfortunately, clients of the neighboring restaurant, a Thai eatery that doesn’t serve foie gras, were serenaded with shouts and curses as well. When the manager of said restaurant stepped outside to kindly ask the protesters to keep it down, she was told that her restaurant would have to suffer because they weren’t doing more to stop Fuel from serving foie gras. For real.
Anyhoo, the restaurants actually serving foie don’t seem to be all that bothered by the demonstrators (as I said, their foie gras sales actually go through the roof because, shockingly, people generally resent being told what to do). Still, I was inspired enough to post the following suggestion on a local Vancouver food industry board:
“Well, it’s great to hear that the protesters are doing their best to boost foie gras sales. However, if you’re looking to annoy – and I mean really annoy – and undermine their message, I’d suggest taking a page out of their own book and join ’em!
Yep, gather a bunch of friends and put together some home made signs that read –
“STOP THE WORM GENOCIDE! STOP SPORT FISHING!”
“SAVE THE TURKEYS! LEGISLATE AN END TO THANKSGIVING!”
“MILLIONS OF SHEEP GO COLD SO YOU CAN STAY WARM! SAY NO TO THE WOOL INDUSTRY!”
“GOLDFISH – SUBURBIA’S POLITICAL PRISONERS!”
“SHUT UP AND LET US DECIDE WHAT YOU SHOULD EAT! NO MEAT!”
– and then protest right alongside them. Really work hard to grab the attention of those passing motorists and passersby. Maybe put together a petition or two to “Designate Vancouver A Meat-Free Zone!”, “Force City Hall to Build North America’s First Spider Sanctuary!”, or “Outlaw the Sale of Bug Zappers and Fly Swatters to Save the Lives of our Insect Friends!”. “
It may seem like a joke, but I’m serious. Apparently, last year, when a lone counter-demonstrator did something similar – showing up alongside the protesters holding up his own homemade sign (something to do with turkeys being delicious I believe) – the protesters yelled at him, called him names, threatened to accuse him of sexual harassment, then simply lost it and made such a spectacle of themselves that the police were called in to arrest the ringleader. Heh heh. Good times. Good times.
Oh, hey, look! It’s the Control Interface Room.
- Look but don’t touch.
- Oh fer crying out loud! What did I say?!
Today’s entry is dedicated to Gilder.
Mailbag:
Mishmee writes: “Joe, you often mention beats when you are talking about script writing. Have you explained what you mean by beats? If not could you give me the Coles Notes version”
Answer: Sure thing. When I refer to “beats” I’m referring to steps in the narrative progression, the in-story developments that build the story (ie. Rush reveals he’s captured the Easter Bunny, Young attempts to contact Santa Claus’s spaceship to warn him, The Easter Bunny escapes with the help of Scott, They reach the shuttle only to find Father Time and his Minion of Mayhem waiting for them, etc.). A “beat sheet” is comprised of all of these general progessions – short and sweet- as opposed to the more “detailed outline” that is generally broken down into specific scenes.
Crayonbaby writes: “I wonder when they figure out DVD sales, they add in downloads from iTunes, Amazon, etc?”
Answer: They do but, according to the article, downloads didn’t make up for the drop-off.
Angelus writes: “Is it just me or are these pictures not clickable to see them in full detail?”
Answer: Nope, it’s not just you. I switched the settings for one pic and forgot to switch it back. I don’t know. I kind of like ‘em mid-sized. They make for fast uploading.
ADJM writes: “Working in the science fiction television creating business, and with the genre being so rich and deep in which to explore and produce such incrediable spectacles like Stargate, if I could ask, what is the thing for you that makes sci-fi such a great stand-out genre to work in, i.e. what it’s like to be creating stories for this genre in this medium?”
Answer: SF on its own allows you certain creative freedoms denied a writer in most any other genre. That said, one of the great things about writing for Stargate is that it allows you that much more freedom. Rather than adhere to a strict narrative structure, the Stargate concept allows us to tell very different stories each episode. We can do grand space battles or quiet introspective stories, visit bizarre alien worlds or explore Earth-bound mysteries, tell a story over multiple episodes or present a self-contained stand-alone adventure, do military SF, fantasy, or horror… The possibilities are endless.
Rebecca H writes: “I just finished Banks’ Use of Weapons and it was one of the most depressing books I’ve read in a long time. However, it’s still an excellent book.”
Answer: Yeah, I liked it enough. And then when I got to the end – Whoa!
Vecturist writes: “Joe, what’s your reaction to articles like the following: http://www.scifiheaven.net/index.php/2009/07/14/why-stargate-universe-is-destined-to-flop”
Answer: Well, I was alarmed as you can imagine. “Why Stargate Universe Is Destined To Flop”. Destined! What had we done to offend the gods? Why have the Fates reserved us to these woes? Should we take a day trip down to Delphi and make an offering? No? Too late for that? Well, I guess if we’ve been “destined to flop”, then there’s nothing we can do but strike the sets and go our separate ways. Thanks for coming everybody. Last one out turn off the lights…
Oh, wait a minute. Upon closer scrutiny, it would seem that I’ve been led astray. While the title of the article says the show is “Destined To Flop”, the article itself is only Chris’s opinion. A thoughtful, nicely presented opinion, but an opinion no weightier than yours or mine or those who thought SG-1 wouldn’t last or those who predicted Atlantis would crash and burn. Ultimately, it’s up to the fans. If they like the show, they’ll watch it and we’ll continue to produce it. If they don’t like it, they won’t watch it and I’ll finally be able to pursue my dream of owning my own petting zoo.
At the end of the day – meh. It’s easy to predict failure because the vast majority of shows do fail. It’s nice to see though that, just in case, Chris hedges his bets (“ Does the current writing team have the talent to pull of a directionary overhaul? I fear not, given how Atlantis turned out. Could they surprise me and create a good show? Absolutely.”).
Take THAT, destiny!
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