Hello, gentle viewers! It's been sooooooooo long! I hope everyone is doing well after the holiday madhouse that I'm sure turned most of your lives into a topsy-turvy change of seasons. I know it definitely did so for me! One thing about the holidays, they may not always be the most fun, but once you see one drunk friend after another, they're definitely the most entertaining.
So here's what's happening in my neck of the woods. I have a friend of mine that's really REALLY starting to annoy me, I have recently gotten a new job and am working in a call center for Verizon Wireless(which I absolutely LOVE). So, that's been me for the last few months. Between work and other things in my life, I haven't really had the time to do much. I have, however, had the time to think up a plan. A wonderful plan! Shall I tell you guys about it? I think I shall!
I don't know if you guys have realized this or not, but I am somewhat of a Buffy fanatic. I love the series, the music, and I think the show had some of the smartest writing within the history of television. All this being said, here's my plan...(pause for dramatic effect)...I have decided upon doing an audio version of the show starring some of the biggest fans of the show! One of the main reasons that I had decided to do was because I have the opportunity to jump in on some stage projects for the show which I am really excited about! I figured that upon playing these parts(and yes I actually have different parts throughout different seasons), it would help me as far as interacting lines with others. I can quote the show forwards and backwards, but interactions a different story.
What do I want from you guys? Here's my thoughts: As I've already told you, I want to do an audio of the series. All 144 episodes in a podcast type format. The parts of Joyce, Drusilla, Darla, Tara, Giles, and Faith are cast already. I'm still in need of a Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Kendra, Spike, Riley(GAG), Oz, Master, Glory, Adam, Prof. Walsh, Snyder, Princ. Flutie, Mayor, Luke, Dawn, the diffent Potentials for Season 7, Angel, and tons of other extras parts! Here's what I'm proposing. I'd like to hold auditions, either via Skype, GTalk or some other audio platform. If your acting skills aren't the best of the best, don't worry about it. This is for fun. Just audition if you want to take part in it. Acting skills aren't really a neccessity as long as you can do some inflection in your voice! :o) You guys can either shoot me an email, reply to/DM me on Twitter(@tholmes86), send me a message on Facebook, or just leave a some comments on the blog. I do want some feedback on this one as to if you guys like the idea or not so leave some comments! I'm hoping this will be a blast for everyone that takes part!
Also, just wanted to give you guys a heads up, I am presently scouting out some different locations in Atlanta, GA and the surrounding areas to hold a showing of BUFFY: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING for Halloween this year. Planning on doing it ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW style...everyone come dressed as one of the characters from the show and there will be call back lines! Much like the OMWF sing-a-long in Texas if any of you guys went to it. If so, I bet I saw you there! :o) So that's definitely something for ya'll to gear up for as well! It shall be a rolicking success! :o)
I guess I'm all tapped out today! See you guys on he next go around and take care of yourselves! :o)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Tale of the Outraged Director
Hiya, guys! It's been a while! I hope everything is going great with everybody! Spiffy even! :o)
I wasn't really certain what to blog about, or even if I was going to, until my new pal Val kinda screamed, BLOG! at me via the Twitterwaves! Buckle up, kiddies! For those of you that have read the bloggage before, as always, it's gonna be a bumpy ride with plenty of rib crackin' fun!
I figure I shall tell you a tale. A tale of my youth when I was just a silly young thing about 700 or so...wait...that wasn't me. That was Anya(gotta love the Buffy references)! Where was I? Ah, yes! I was somewhere around the ripe old age of 16. Usually, when my stories begin with my age, you can about bet that it's going to be about a theatrical experience. Well, guess what? This one's no different. This one may not be so much theatrical as the events surrounding the theatrics. You've heard the story of THE ALABAMA DENNY'S. You've heard the tale of THE DRUNKEN ACTRESS OF LES MIS, but for your reading pleasure, or demise, not sure which yet, you shall hear, THE TALE OF THE OUTRAGED DIRECTOR. As I was saying, I was 16. Everyone caught up now? Good.
Sixteen was a pretty fun age for me. I'd spent a month during the summer with a friend of mine in California, and hi-jinks always ensued when we were together. Still do. After I had to come back to Georgia, I was kinda down. I always hate to leave LA. Anyway, I came back and was working at a local bookstore at the time. I'd been employed there since the previous year and I'd asked the owner if there was anyway I could take my month off. He was always real good to work with me about things like that. I'll never find another manager like him. I'd had to have a certain type of schedule to fit around my acting. Anyway, I started back at work and then the next week it was auditions galore. A friend of mine and I, yet another one I tended to get into trouble with, were audition partners.
For those of you unfamiliar with theater audition etiquette, I shall take a moment to fill you in. In a cold reading, which is typically the first step in an open audition, you sit in this circle of people, some of whom you've never worked with before, and read these parts, yielding expressive voices, when you've only had about three minutes to review the character you're reading for. After separating the sheep from the goats, so to speak, the director decides who he'd like to audition.
My friend Chris and I used to feed off of one another's acting. We'd been improv partners for probably close to six years by that point in time, and it was automatic for me to say something, being completely dramatic, and for him to just pick up another character part in tandem with my own. We could keep up a good ruse for HOURS! Naturally, he's going to be the person I pick to audition with for the couple audition section, right?
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up. The second step is a solo audition. Since I did musical theater, this typically called for a spoken monologue and a solo song choice. Well, I, being the Buffy obssessed individual that I was at the time, chose to do Buffy's "Men With Your Sales" monologue from RESTLESS. I had absolutely no idea that the director, a very handsome gay male, absolutely loved Buffy. I mean, LOVED Buffy.
I began delivering the monologue and I hear this...ya know...I'm not real sure what you'd call it. It was a cross between a squeal and a shriek. A very disturbing sound. He'd recognized it automatically. Well, I was so stunned by his outburst, and yes, I KNOW a trained thespian is supposed to be able to continue no matter what happens, but you didn't hear this sound! Chris, being the awesome friend that he was, yells at me from somewhere offstage, "I SHOWED UP EARLY SO I GOT TO BE COWBOY GUY!" which got an eyeroll from me, but it made me able to find my place and attempt to take back over.
I was planning on taking back over anyway, until the director shouted at Chris, "Shut up, you oversized government experiment! You're ruining the best piece of pop culture in any world that's ever been created!" and yes, he was talking about Riley, but it left Chris stunned.
The director composed himself from his mental breakdown and said, in a very calm and serene voice, from the yell that had rang through the theater, "Continue, Miss Holmes." So I began again, making it all the way through the short monologue and into my song, FULL OF GRACE. Buffy nut. Remember?
I basically knew I had the part in the bag if the awe in the director's eye was anything to go off of. Any part I wanted for that matter. Chris auditioned, and the director loved him too, so we'd both made it through to the team audition. Most of the time, during a team audition, you typically drag someone to the audition that isn't planning on having a part in the play. It's hard to audition with another actor because you have to worry about one overshadowing the other, and then the director doesn't see the potential in the other person. Chris and I balance pretty well, so it wasn't really a problem.
We did an excerpt from a Rowan Atkinson skit called FATAL BEATINGS in which a teacher is explaining to a very upset father that his son has been beaten to death by said teacher. Very funny skit! After that came the duo song number and we performed PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. We both got the parts we wanted and all was hugs and puppies...except for this one minor problem. This girl that the cast began calling Margoat behind her back.
The girl's hair might have been bleached blonde, but her brain was the real deal. I mean this girl could tell you anything about what color clashed with what, but ask her the capital of Georgia, her home state, and you'll wait a year before she comes up with Buckhead...and no that isn't right. She makes a grape look intelligent. Margoat, bless her heart, had a penchant for wearing white. All white. No one ever knew why. We'd finally had it with her one day. She thought she knew better than any of the other cast members what we were doing wrong with our parts if we had any issues.
Chris and I, the troublemakers of the group, devised a scheme to shut Margoat up. We'd put our heads together and decided that the next rehearsal, when Margoat came in wearing her signature whiteness, that we, along with three other cast mates, would bring our supersoakers...filled with purple grape juice as a manner of payback, so we went into the costume room two days later. There's no modesty in theater, you all change together. Hence the reason we were all in the room waitng for her.
There were somewhere around 8 excited cast members in the room, 5 of us with SupersoakerXP water guns filled with grapey goodness. It was dark on stage as there were no stage lights on, meaning the costume room offstage was dark as well. The door opened, and Chris yelled, "NOW!" We fired before the lights even came on, only seing the outline of our outraged target.
After emptying our guns all over the figure in the door, Tyler, another Supersoaker wielder, realized that the screams and shouts were coming from a very feminine sounding man. Chris flipped the light switch on and saw a now purple clad, irate director standing before him. It turned out Greg, director man, had somewhere he had to be and was about to call everyone to let them know we weren't rehearsing.
It just so happened that since he was going somewhere special, he'd felt the need to buy a brand new Ralph Lauren Polo baby blue linen suit. Parts of it were still blue, but I really don't think he appreciated the tye-dyed effect we'd given the ensemble. That could have been him pointing at the door and saying, "Go." in a deathly cold voice after yelling at the entire room for 15 minutes tipping me off though. Sigh. Guess we'll never know if he was really angry.
Rehearsal resumed the next week, and the incident was never spoken of again. The production was a success, and Greg stopped directing right after that...wonder why? Hmmm.
Till next time, guys! :o)
I wasn't really certain what to blog about, or even if I was going to, until my new pal Val kinda screamed, BLOG! at me via the Twitterwaves! Buckle up, kiddies! For those of you that have read the bloggage before, as always, it's gonna be a bumpy ride with plenty of rib crackin' fun!
I figure I shall tell you a tale. A tale of my youth when I was just a silly young thing about 700 or so...wait...that wasn't me. That was Anya(gotta love the Buffy references)! Where was I? Ah, yes! I was somewhere around the ripe old age of 16. Usually, when my stories begin with my age, you can about bet that it's going to be about a theatrical experience. Well, guess what? This one's no different. This one may not be so much theatrical as the events surrounding the theatrics. You've heard the story of THE ALABAMA DENNY'S. You've heard the tale of THE DRUNKEN ACTRESS OF LES MIS, but for your reading pleasure, or demise, not sure which yet, you shall hear, THE TALE OF THE OUTRAGED DIRECTOR. As I was saying, I was 16. Everyone caught up now? Good.
Sixteen was a pretty fun age for me. I'd spent a month during the summer with a friend of mine in California, and hi-jinks always ensued when we were together. Still do. After I had to come back to Georgia, I was kinda down. I always hate to leave LA. Anyway, I came back and was working at a local bookstore at the time. I'd been employed there since the previous year and I'd asked the owner if there was anyway I could take my month off. He was always real good to work with me about things like that. I'll never find another manager like him. I'd had to have a certain type of schedule to fit around my acting. Anyway, I started back at work and then the next week it was auditions galore. A friend of mine and I, yet another one I tended to get into trouble with, were audition partners.
For those of you unfamiliar with theater audition etiquette, I shall take a moment to fill you in. In a cold reading, which is typically the first step in an open audition, you sit in this circle of people, some of whom you've never worked with before, and read these parts, yielding expressive voices, when you've only had about three minutes to review the character you're reading for. After separating the sheep from the goats, so to speak, the director decides who he'd like to audition.
My friend Chris and I used to feed off of one another's acting. We'd been improv partners for probably close to six years by that point in time, and it was automatic for me to say something, being completely dramatic, and for him to just pick up another character part in tandem with my own. We could keep up a good ruse for HOURS! Naturally, he's going to be the person I pick to audition with for the couple audition section, right?
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up. The second step is a solo audition. Since I did musical theater, this typically called for a spoken monologue and a solo song choice. Well, I, being the Buffy obssessed individual that I was at the time, chose to do Buffy's "Men With Your Sales" monologue from RESTLESS. I had absolutely no idea that the director, a very handsome gay male, absolutely loved Buffy. I mean, LOVED Buffy.
I began delivering the monologue and I hear this...ya know...I'm not real sure what you'd call it. It was a cross between a squeal and a shriek. A very disturbing sound. He'd recognized it automatically. Well, I was so stunned by his outburst, and yes, I KNOW a trained thespian is supposed to be able to continue no matter what happens, but you didn't hear this sound! Chris, being the awesome friend that he was, yells at me from somewhere offstage, "I SHOWED UP EARLY SO I GOT TO BE COWBOY GUY!" which got an eyeroll from me, but it made me able to find my place and attempt to take back over.
I was planning on taking back over anyway, until the director shouted at Chris, "Shut up, you oversized government experiment! You're ruining the best piece of pop culture in any world that's ever been created!" and yes, he was talking about Riley, but it left Chris stunned.
The director composed himself from his mental breakdown and said, in a very calm and serene voice, from the yell that had rang through the theater, "Continue, Miss Holmes." So I began again, making it all the way through the short monologue and into my song, FULL OF GRACE. Buffy nut. Remember?
I basically knew I had the part in the bag if the awe in the director's eye was anything to go off of. Any part I wanted for that matter. Chris auditioned, and the director loved him too, so we'd both made it through to the team audition. Most of the time, during a team audition, you typically drag someone to the audition that isn't planning on having a part in the play. It's hard to audition with another actor because you have to worry about one overshadowing the other, and then the director doesn't see the potential in the other person. Chris and I balance pretty well, so it wasn't really a problem.
We did an excerpt from a Rowan Atkinson skit called FATAL BEATINGS in which a teacher is explaining to a very upset father that his son has been beaten to death by said teacher. Very funny skit! After that came the duo song number and we performed PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. We both got the parts we wanted and all was hugs and puppies...except for this one minor problem. This girl that the cast began calling Margoat behind her back.
The girl's hair might have been bleached blonde, but her brain was the real deal. I mean this girl could tell you anything about what color clashed with what, but ask her the capital of Georgia, her home state, and you'll wait a year before she comes up with Buckhead...and no that isn't right. She makes a grape look intelligent. Margoat, bless her heart, had a penchant for wearing white. All white. No one ever knew why. We'd finally had it with her one day. She thought she knew better than any of the other cast members what we were doing wrong with our parts if we had any issues.
Chris and I, the troublemakers of the group, devised a scheme to shut Margoat up. We'd put our heads together and decided that the next rehearsal, when Margoat came in wearing her signature whiteness, that we, along with three other cast mates, would bring our supersoakers...filled with purple grape juice as a manner of payback, so we went into the costume room two days later. There's no modesty in theater, you all change together. Hence the reason we were all in the room waitng for her.
There were somewhere around 8 excited cast members in the room, 5 of us with SupersoakerXP water guns filled with grapey goodness. It was dark on stage as there were no stage lights on, meaning the costume room offstage was dark as well. The door opened, and Chris yelled, "NOW!" We fired before the lights even came on, only seing the outline of our outraged target.
After emptying our guns all over the figure in the door, Tyler, another Supersoaker wielder, realized that the screams and shouts were coming from a very feminine sounding man. Chris flipped the light switch on and saw a now purple clad, irate director standing before him. It turned out Greg, director man, had somewhere he had to be and was about to call everyone to let them know we weren't rehearsing.
It just so happened that since he was going somewhere special, he'd felt the need to buy a brand new Ralph Lauren Polo baby blue linen suit. Parts of it were still blue, but I really don't think he appreciated the tye-dyed effect we'd given the ensemble. That could have been him pointing at the door and saying, "Go." in a deathly cold voice after yelling at the entire room for 15 minutes tipping me off though. Sigh. Guess we'll never know if he was really angry.
Rehearsal resumed the next week, and the incident was never spoken of again. The production was a success, and Greg stopped directing right after that...wonder why? Hmmm.
Till next time, guys! :o)
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Piece of My Past
Hiya guys! I hope this blog post finds all of you feeling great, grand, and groovy! So I was thinking today, reminiscing if you will, about the older days! Ya know, the times in middle school and high school that were totally awesome! Well, mine were anyway, which I mostly attribute to my close friends. What spurned on the sudden interest in taking a stroll down memory lane, you ask? I was checking my Formspring. In my inbox, someone had asked me the question: "Who was your best friend in school?" You know, I had a good many friends in school, and I didn't even have to think about who it was. Of course I fleshed out the answer on Formspring because, if you guys haven't figured out by now, I like talking! So I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about my best friend in my school days. :o)
Out of any of the friends in school I made, none could hold a candle to my friend Luke. I'm not real sure why I wound up calling him Luke, because everyone else calls him Lucus, but he'll always be Luke to me! He and I started hanging out my 6th grade year in Mrs. Betsill's 4th period English class. I'm not really sure how it happened. I think we were Agenda signing partners or maybe got paired together on a paper. Anyway! We clicked pretty well. I can remember during the summer us calling each other and, literally, staying on the phone for HOURS. To the point that I could switch from a cordless phone, to the corded phone, and then back to the cordless phone after it had built back up a full charge. I can remember sitting up on the roof at night chatting with him on the phone, and I can even remember him riding the bus to my house around 7th and 8th grade year. Those were good times! When I got my first job, and we didn't have any classes together anymore, he'd come visit me for lunch on the weekends. I always looked forward to them! He was someone that I knew I could confide anything in and I could completely trust him. I think we talked about EVERYTHING! Such fun!
That was then, and this is now. Now we're both busy, but we keep up with one another via the glorious mediums of Twitter and Facebook! Sometimes we even hang! I can honestly say he's my favorite lunch buddy ever! Wish there was more time to spend with him! He's definitely one of the people that I count among my lists of blessings. Love ya, Luke!
Till next time guys!
Out of any of the friends in school I made, none could hold a candle to my friend Luke. I'm not real sure why I wound up calling him Luke, because everyone else calls him Lucus, but he'll always be Luke to me! He and I started hanging out my 6th grade year in Mrs. Betsill's 4th period English class. I'm not really sure how it happened. I think we were Agenda signing partners or maybe got paired together on a paper. Anyway! We clicked pretty well. I can remember during the summer us calling each other and, literally, staying on the phone for HOURS. To the point that I could switch from a cordless phone, to the corded phone, and then back to the cordless phone after it had built back up a full charge. I can remember sitting up on the roof at night chatting with him on the phone, and I can even remember him riding the bus to my house around 7th and 8th grade year. Those were good times! When I got my first job, and we didn't have any classes together anymore, he'd come visit me for lunch on the weekends. I always looked forward to them! He was someone that I knew I could confide anything in and I could completely trust him. I think we talked about EVERYTHING! Such fun!
That was then, and this is now. Now we're both busy, but we keep up with one another via the glorious mediums of Twitter and Facebook! Sometimes we even hang! I can honestly say he's my favorite lunch buddy ever! Wish there was more time to spend with him! He's definitely one of the people that I count among my lists of blessings. Love ya, Luke!
Till next time guys!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
THE KILLING JAR
Hey ya'll! Long time no blog! I've missed you my lovable peeps! I've had so much to write about that I've had nothing to write about. Does that make sense? No? Hang with me for a little while and it will! I apparently get overwhelmed when I have more than one thing on my mind to write about. Who knew? Anyhow, since I wasn't sure which thing I had going on in my life to start from, I decided to try something different. A movie review. A movie review over...drum roll please... Amber Benson's movie THE KILLING JAR. Yeah, I know...she tends to appear in my blogs quite often. Deal with it! It's part of my charm! :o) It's not typical of me to do a movie review. I haven't really reviewed one since high school when I used to review films for both my Drama class and my AP Pop Culture class. I may be a little rusty at it, but I'll give it a go and you guys can let me know what you think! WARNING: I do NOT advise eating while watching this film. I mean really...fast first. And away we go!
You know how sometimes there are films that move really slowly? Typically thriller and action type movies that are set in one specific place, for instance, a diner in the middle of nowhere, tend to be a little on the boring side and have a hard time catching your attention. Sure they promise you blood, gore, and scary dreams, but in the end, it just leaves ya kind of hollow. I was all on board with watching the movie THE KILLING JAR, namely for three reasons: Amber Benson(LOVE HER!), Kevin Gage(HE'S BEAUTIFUL!), and Michael Madsen(WONDERFUL ACTOR!). Even though I was kinda skittish about seeing the film because given Amber Benson's talent for nailing roles that she's killed in, I didn't think my heart could handle seeing her die...again. I made peace with the fact that it was a very distinct possibility that she could, what with the growing body count in the Copral Grill being one of the main aspects of the film, but I decided I'd watch it anyway. For a film that I had only sat down to watch for the primary purpose of looking at Kevin Gage's eyes and hear him speak, and yes also to support Amber Benson's acting venue, I was impressed! Let me back up right here and say that while I am a fan of certain actors, I am at least not blinded by my like of their acting style to know when the project they've worked on wasn't the greatest. For example, the movie TABOO. Even though Miss Benson did well with her role, the scripting just wasn't there, and the whole film was kinda lame in general. Which is in no way the cast members' fault. They can only give as much as the scripting allows them. That being said, I was pleased that THE KILLING JAR wasn't such a film. The script was well done, the casting brilliant, and plenty of surprises that you never once saw coming.
While it is your standard movie of a psycho looney tune goes into a restaurant and starts shooting people up, it goes way beyond standard with the intricate character details. Each character has their own secrets, a depth to them, which is kind of hard to find in a lot of thrillers that tend to circle around one primary antagonist. You always seem to find out little tidbits of info about the bad guy, but never the people that the bad guys kill. I was very pleased to see that the characters were real people. They had families with names, they had quirks, things they were good at, and a specific voice. You had Noreen(Benson), who was a self declared dumb waitress that was trapped in a marriage she should have left years ago, but she could count! Miss Benson seemed to be channeling her Alabama roots in the film because her slight Southern drawl stayed intact throughout most of the movie. She seemed to be the voice of reason in the film, and I was very pleased to see that the role kind of differentiated from some of the other roles she's done. Then you had Doe(Madsen), a random guy that just stepped into a diner wanting something to eat that wound up taking his frustrations for the day out on everybody in the diner. His character was simply rage. All out rage, but he was a smart guy! Michael Madsen played the part well. The role seemed to have been written just for him. Whether it was or not, I don't know. But I do know that he played it to a "T". Then you had Dixon(Harold Perrineau), a fast talking salesman that just wanted to get home after he'd been working. I call him reaction guy. He'd assess the situation, and most of the time act accordingly. The part was brilliantly played. Hank(Gage), was a soft spoken ex-military man that would stop in for some conversation twice a month with Noreen and Lonnie(Lew Temple). He seemed to be more of a quiet strength type character. Didn't say much, but when he did it really meant something. I felt that Gage portrayed that character in a way few other actors could have. He wasn't overly dramatic and you could sense every emotion his character seemed to be going through. You have all these subtexts going on under this main storyline and it's just kind of...typically I wouldn't use the word refreshing for a film like this, but we'll go with it... it was kind of refreshing to see director and writer Mark Young be able to interweave these little tidbits of the different characters lives into the primary plot to give it more substance. It takes a real talent to do that well, and he was spot on.
So the plot... big man that's highly ticked off, big gun, you do the math. I can tell you from experience, this is absolutely NOT a film to watch whilst eating anything with the slightest tinge of a red hue to it...as a matter of fact, I'd fast before watching the film if you happen to be a tad on the weak stomached side. I was eating a bowl of spaghetti...I can't even BEGIN to tell you what a mistake THAT was! The goal of the characters trapped inside the diner in the movie? To get out alive. The reality? The odds of that happening are pretty much impossible. If ya like blood, this is your movie, because there is definitely blood and lots of it! It is kinda nice to see a film that doesn't shy away from events as they actually happen.
All in all, I give this film a big round of applause. It may be a low budget independent film, but it's definitely one that shows what can be accomplished on a small budget as long as you have good casting, good scripting, and well developed characters. Another heads up for you! Listen to the song the credits are rolling to. It's none other than the song stylings of Miss Amber Benson! The song is called THE ONE I NEED, and the musician in me says it's a cool tune. Not to mention the vocals are awesome! If you're curious about the song, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQyv6ztdV7A My advice...watch THE KILLING JAR and enjoy. And remember... NO EATING!
Till next time guys! :o)
You know how sometimes there are films that move really slowly? Typically thriller and action type movies that are set in one specific place, for instance, a diner in the middle of nowhere, tend to be a little on the boring side and have a hard time catching your attention. Sure they promise you blood, gore, and scary dreams, but in the end, it just leaves ya kind of hollow. I was all on board with watching the movie THE KILLING JAR, namely for three reasons: Amber Benson(LOVE HER!), Kevin Gage(HE'S BEAUTIFUL!), and Michael Madsen(WONDERFUL ACTOR!). Even though I was kinda skittish about seeing the film because given Amber Benson's talent for nailing roles that she's killed in, I didn't think my heart could handle seeing her die...again. I made peace with the fact that it was a very distinct possibility that she could, what with the growing body count in the Copral Grill being one of the main aspects of the film, but I decided I'd watch it anyway. For a film that I had only sat down to watch for the primary purpose of looking at Kevin Gage's eyes and hear him speak, and yes also to support Amber Benson's acting venue, I was impressed! Let me back up right here and say that while I am a fan of certain actors, I am at least not blinded by my like of their acting style to know when the project they've worked on wasn't the greatest. For example, the movie TABOO. Even though Miss Benson did well with her role, the scripting just wasn't there, and the whole film was kinda lame in general. Which is in no way the cast members' fault. They can only give as much as the scripting allows them. That being said, I was pleased that THE KILLING JAR wasn't such a film. The script was well done, the casting brilliant, and plenty of surprises that you never once saw coming.
While it is your standard movie of a psycho looney tune goes into a restaurant and starts shooting people up, it goes way beyond standard with the intricate character details. Each character has their own secrets, a depth to them, which is kind of hard to find in a lot of thrillers that tend to circle around one primary antagonist. You always seem to find out little tidbits of info about the bad guy, but never the people that the bad guys kill. I was very pleased to see that the characters were real people. They had families with names, they had quirks, things they were good at, and a specific voice. You had Noreen(Benson), who was a self declared dumb waitress that was trapped in a marriage she should have left years ago, but she could count! Miss Benson seemed to be channeling her Alabama roots in the film because her slight Southern drawl stayed intact throughout most of the movie. She seemed to be the voice of reason in the film, and I was very pleased to see that the role kind of differentiated from some of the other roles she's done. Then you had Doe(Madsen), a random guy that just stepped into a diner wanting something to eat that wound up taking his frustrations for the day out on everybody in the diner. His character was simply rage. All out rage, but he was a smart guy! Michael Madsen played the part well. The role seemed to have been written just for him. Whether it was or not, I don't know. But I do know that he played it to a "T". Then you had Dixon(Harold Perrineau), a fast talking salesman that just wanted to get home after he'd been working. I call him reaction guy. He'd assess the situation, and most of the time act accordingly. The part was brilliantly played. Hank(Gage), was a soft spoken ex-military man that would stop in for some conversation twice a month with Noreen and Lonnie(Lew Temple). He seemed to be more of a quiet strength type character. Didn't say much, but when he did it really meant something. I felt that Gage portrayed that character in a way few other actors could have. He wasn't overly dramatic and you could sense every emotion his character seemed to be going through. You have all these subtexts going on under this main storyline and it's just kind of...typically I wouldn't use the word refreshing for a film like this, but we'll go with it... it was kind of refreshing to see director and writer Mark Young be able to interweave these little tidbits of the different characters lives into the primary plot to give it more substance. It takes a real talent to do that well, and he was spot on.
So the plot... big man that's highly ticked off, big gun, you do the math. I can tell you from experience, this is absolutely NOT a film to watch whilst eating anything with the slightest tinge of a red hue to it...as a matter of fact, I'd fast before watching the film if you happen to be a tad on the weak stomached side. I was eating a bowl of spaghetti...I can't even BEGIN to tell you what a mistake THAT was! The goal of the characters trapped inside the diner in the movie? To get out alive. The reality? The odds of that happening are pretty much impossible. If ya like blood, this is your movie, because there is definitely blood and lots of it! It is kinda nice to see a film that doesn't shy away from events as they actually happen.
All in all, I give this film a big round of applause. It may be a low budget independent film, but it's definitely one that shows what can be accomplished on a small budget as long as you have good casting, good scripting, and well developed characters. Another heads up for you! Listen to the song the credits are rolling to. It's none other than the song stylings of Miss Amber Benson! The song is called THE ONE I NEED, and the musician in me says it's a cool tune. Not to mention the vocals are awesome! If you're curious about the song, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQyv6ztdV7A My advice...watch THE KILLING JAR and enjoy. And remember... NO EATING!
Till next time guys! :o)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I Need Your Opinion!
Hey guys! I'm still kinda ticked over the whole thing with Amber Benson's DRONES and the SyFy Channel's series "Human Relations". I just finished an article that didn't make me feel better about the situation. I posted a comment, trying to be as objective as possible, but I don't think I was all that objective. I tend to side with Amber. But I tried! Anyway, here's the comment I posted. You guys let me know what you think! I anxiously await your feedback!
"My opinion. I love Amber Benson. Although there are coincidences made in the creative world, I don't believe this was one of them. I was priviledged enough to see DRONES at the Slamdance Film Festival and remember thinking what a neat concept it was. I also remember the trailer being covered on SyFy, which leads me to believe they knew exactly what they were doing when the idea for "Human Relations" was pitched. In a previous entry, there was the comment from Prendergast saying he'd been working on it since 2008, which still places it being brought to the table AFTER the wheel for DRONES was set into motion. Also, the comment wondering where their synopsis came from, at film festival I attended, the verbal introductions were the same as the synopsis given by Benson in her blog. Also, it wasn't her idea that was claimed to be lifted... it would have been Acker and Blacker's idea. I'm not saying it was lifted, but I fully believe that SyFy knew exactly what they were doing when they set the field in motion for "Human Relations". To be fair, most people don't even know the name Amber Benson, unless they followed "Buffy", and still most only know her as Tara. Adam Busch's name definitely isn't "Big Hollywood", and while Prendergast's name is an mostly unknown except for maybe as the director of KABLUEY, he's still working for a major television network, so I'd consider that more "Big Hollywood" than Amber Benson or Adam Busch of late. Who's to say this isn't possibly a publicity stunt for SyFy? It certainly isn't harming them that their new program is getting buzz, negative or otherwise. Say the idea wasn't ripped off of Acker and Blacker's work. It still begs the question why SyFy would choose now to come out with this concept for a series. I think it's a possibility they could have known what would happen. Either that or they thought Amber and Adam were too stupid to figure out what was going on before the show aired. It doesn't explain why they would wait until 7 months before DRONES is set to release to make a series from it if they've had the concept all along. All this being said, I don't believe Benson owes anyone a retraction OR an apology. She never came right out and said the idea was lifted; she merely said that it was coincidental. And that point of fact CANNOT be argued. If she has no tangible proof, so what? He doesn't have any either. It's your basic argument of "he said/she said". If anyone is at fault, I believe the blame lays with SyFy. They fully know what is being promoed on their site, and I can guarantee you at least one person from the network made a film festival to see DRONES, so I believe they were fully cognitive of the situation. There is room in the market for similar products, but even in regards to knock off items, have the decency to let the one that was developed first get on its feet before adding to the mix. Indie films have a hard enough time making it as it is, no matter who's directing."
So there ya have it! What do ya'll think?
"My opinion. I love Amber Benson. Although there are coincidences made in the creative world, I don't believe this was one of them. I was priviledged enough to see DRONES at the Slamdance Film Festival and remember thinking what a neat concept it was. I also remember the trailer being covered on SyFy, which leads me to believe they knew exactly what they were doing when the idea for "Human Relations" was pitched. In a previous entry, there was the comment from Prendergast saying he'd been working on it since 2008, which still places it being brought to the table AFTER the wheel for DRONES was set into motion. Also, the comment wondering where their synopsis came from, at film festival I attended, the verbal introductions were the same as the synopsis given by Benson in her blog. Also, it wasn't her idea that was claimed to be lifted... it would have been Acker and Blacker's idea. I'm not saying it was lifted, but I fully believe that SyFy knew exactly what they were doing when they set the field in motion for "Human Relations". To be fair, most people don't even know the name Amber Benson, unless they followed "Buffy", and still most only know her as Tara. Adam Busch's name definitely isn't "Big Hollywood", and while Prendergast's name is an mostly unknown except for maybe as the director of KABLUEY, he's still working for a major television network, so I'd consider that more "Big Hollywood" than Amber Benson or Adam Busch of late. Who's to say this isn't possibly a publicity stunt for SyFy? It certainly isn't harming them that their new program is getting buzz, negative or otherwise. Say the idea wasn't ripped off of Acker and Blacker's work. It still begs the question why SyFy would choose now to come out with this concept for a series. I think it's a possibility they could have known what would happen. Either that or they thought Amber and Adam were too stupid to figure out what was going on before the show aired. It doesn't explain why they would wait until 7 months before DRONES is set to release to make a series from it if they've had the concept all along. All this being said, I don't believe Benson owes anyone a retraction OR an apology. She never came right out and said the idea was lifted; she merely said that it was coincidental. And that point of fact CANNOT be argued. If she has no tangible proof, so what? He doesn't have any either. It's your basic argument of "he said/she said". If anyone is at fault, I believe the blame lays with SyFy. They fully know what is being promoed on their site, and I can guarantee you at least one person from the network made a film festival to see DRONES, so I believe they were fully cognitive of the situation. There is room in the market for similar products, but even in regards to knock off items, have the decency to let the one that was developed first get on its feet before adding to the mix. Indie films have a hard enough time making it as it is, no matter who's directing."
So there ya have it! What do ya'll think?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Miffed
Hey guys! Long time no talk! I wanted to share something with you all that has really irritated me. A few months ago, a film called DRONES, co-directed by Amber Benson and Adam Busch and written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The trailer for the film looked promising, and it didn't disappoint. I don't want to give much of it away for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to see the film yet, but trust me when I say it takes a lot to impress me with a film, and this one did.
This little indie film is set in an office environment and takes place over the course of a week, following the life of Brian Dilks, an office drone who discovers that he may... or may not... be working with aliens who may... or may not... be planning to take over the earth. Yeah, I'm not telling which it is because I want you guys to be sure to see the film when it comes out. The lack of special effects in the movie make it that much better than almost anything mainstream Hollywood would ever be able to put together. The screenplay and dialogue is witty, catty, and just plain hillarious all at the same time thanks to the incredible writing team of Acker and Blacker, who also do the Thrilling Adventure Supernatural and Suspense Hour in Los Angeles; if you're out that way, make a stop in and check it out. The directors, what can I say? It's clear on the film that they knew what they were doing one hundred percent. Everything sounds peachy keen, right? So, you may be wondering what the downside is. I'm about to tell ya.
I have this pal o' mine that was nice enough to keep me posted on all things Twitter while my internet was down from moving over the weekend. I get a text message. "The whole DRONES thing sucks for Amber Benson." I was like, "Wait, what?" I was very confused. You never realize how much you miss until there's no cyber space... Anyhow, back to the story. After waiting patiently, and kinda worriedly, for the next text, I find out that the SyFy Channel is releasing a television series that is remarkably similar to the DRONES movie. I could have hit something. Namely... the SyFy Channel people. You know what? It doesn't even deserve capital letters. syfy channel. There. I like that better. I don't lose my temper all that often, but seeing someone's hard work just ripped off like that... infuriates me. Amber Benson was more diplomatic in her blog about this subject, but I don't have to be. I said RIPPED OFF.
When someone takes the mind spawn of two brilliant men like Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, changes the names of the character and the name of the show, but has the same plot line. IT'S THE SAME THING WITH A DIFFERENT NAME! I mean, COME ON! Acker and Blacker wrote the script in six days. Angela Bettis was brought on one day before filming. The crew pulled up dolly track so the camera could make a full circle, for Pete's sake! Hence the reasoning of the irritation, considering it's pretty much unheard of for a script to be done in that amount of time, or for an actress to do that well in a film in only one day's time. Chances are, the Syfy Channel, a mainstream cable network, probably took all of two seconds to rip the idea off.
Like Amber Benson said in her blog(found here: http://amberbensonwrotethis.blogspot.com/2010/07/drones-tv-show.html) people have similar ideas for programs and products all the time. I mean, look at Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Similar and yet different. However, truth be told, the recipe for Coca-Cola was stolen from an INDEPENDENT Pharmacy and taken to a pharmaceutical CHAIN to be used as cough syrup before the carbonation was added to make it a tasty beverage. So, yeah, not so much a fresh idea as a rip off... much like syfy has done to the creators and proud parents of DRONES. I, for one am miffed, and don't plan on sitting idly by. I'm thinking boycotting the network's programs. I've started a petition which can be signed here: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveourdrones
If you guys want to band together to possibly help getting the network to not release the series, sign the petition(for anyone) and add a DRONES twibbon to your Twitter profile pic, for those of you who have Twitter. Be sure to see DRONES when it is released in March 2011. Let's bring 'em down!
BRING IT ON SYFY!!!!!
This little indie film is set in an office environment and takes place over the course of a week, following the life of Brian Dilks, an office drone who discovers that he may... or may not... be working with aliens who may... or may not... be planning to take over the earth. Yeah, I'm not telling which it is because I want you guys to be sure to see the film when it comes out. The lack of special effects in the movie make it that much better than almost anything mainstream Hollywood would ever be able to put together. The screenplay and dialogue is witty, catty, and just plain hillarious all at the same time thanks to the incredible writing team of Acker and Blacker, who also do the Thrilling Adventure Supernatural and Suspense Hour in Los Angeles; if you're out that way, make a stop in and check it out. The directors, what can I say? It's clear on the film that they knew what they were doing one hundred percent. Everything sounds peachy keen, right? So, you may be wondering what the downside is. I'm about to tell ya.
I have this pal o' mine that was nice enough to keep me posted on all things Twitter while my internet was down from moving over the weekend. I get a text message. "The whole DRONES thing sucks for Amber Benson." I was like, "Wait, what?" I was very confused. You never realize how much you miss until there's no cyber space... Anyhow, back to the story. After waiting patiently, and kinda worriedly, for the next text, I find out that the SyFy Channel is releasing a television series that is remarkably similar to the DRONES movie. I could have hit something. Namely... the SyFy Channel people. You know what? It doesn't even deserve capital letters. syfy channel. There. I like that better. I don't lose my temper all that often, but seeing someone's hard work just ripped off like that... infuriates me. Amber Benson was more diplomatic in her blog about this subject, but I don't have to be. I said RIPPED OFF.
When someone takes the mind spawn of two brilliant men like Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, changes the names of the character and the name of the show, but has the same plot line. IT'S THE SAME THING WITH A DIFFERENT NAME! I mean, COME ON! Acker and Blacker wrote the script in six days. Angela Bettis was brought on one day before filming. The crew pulled up dolly track so the camera could make a full circle, for Pete's sake! Hence the reasoning of the irritation, considering it's pretty much unheard of for a script to be done in that amount of time, or for an actress to do that well in a film in only one day's time. Chances are, the Syfy Channel, a mainstream cable network, probably took all of two seconds to rip the idea off.
Like Amber Benson said in her blog(found here: http://amberbensonwrotethis.blogspot.com/2010/07/drones-tv-show.html) people have similar ideas for programs and products all the time. I mean, look at Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Similar and yet different. However, truth be told, the recipe for Coca-Cola was stolen from an INDEPENDENT Pharmacy and taken to a pharmaceutical CHAIN to be used as cough syrup before the carbonation was added to make it a tasty beverage. So, yeah, not so much a fresh idea as a rip off... much like syfy has done to the creators and proud parents of DRONES. I, for one am miffed, and don't plan on sitting idly by. I'm thinking boycotting the network's programs. I've started a petition which can be signed here: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveourdrones
If you guys want to band together to possibly help getting the network to not release the series, sign the petition(for anyone) and add a DRONES twibbon to your Twitter profile pic, for those of you who have Twitter. Be sure to see DRONES when it is released in March 2011. Let's bring 'em down!
BRING IT ON SYFY!!!!!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Alabama Denny's
Hi guys! I've missed you! Was telling a friend of mine a pretty amusing story about another friend of mine, who has absolutely no sense, last night. She reccommended that I write about it in the good ol' blog and so... here am I!
I should really start this off with a disclaimer. You know how different states have friendly state rivalries going on? Well in Georgia, we have this thing with Alabamans... there are tons of jokes claiming that most of the people in Alabama are... what's the word I'm searching for... unitelligent? Yeah... we'll go with that word. Anyway, we ALL know that isn't true, as one of the smartest people I know and someone I dearly love(Amber Benson) came out of Alabama. Also, my acting troupe did a lot of play productions with the Birmingham Community Theater, and I have to say, they had some extremely talented actors there. So, I seriously mean no harm or offense to anyone reading this. It was just a funny thing that happened. So, let's get this party started!
It was circa the year 2000 and my boyfriend, along with two other couples, and I were going to the state of Alabama to see a play that our troupe would soon be performing. I'm a tad fuzzy on which play it was. I had been coming out of a pot induced stupor when we arrived, but I have a good recollection of the events that transpired. Anyway! In tow, I had brought along a friend of mine that had just been dumped by her boyfriend and wanted to get away for a few days, so I had sorrowfully agreed to letting her come along with us as long as she paid for herself a hotel room, which she was fine with, so no hate comments! So this girl, we'll call her Megan to protect her identity, isn't the brightest crayon in the Crayola box. I love her dearly, but she isn't. She'll even tell you that, so don't think I'm all big, bad, and mean! Some of the drugs we used to do, messed with her brain a bit. I don't say that lightly in the least because it could have just as well had happened to me. Back to the story! We're driving down the road when Brandon, my boyfriend, announces that he's hungry. The rest of us were all, "Yeah, we could stand to eat." So he's pulls into the first restaurant serving breakfast we could find, which happened to be a Denny's, next to a big F350 truck that had a bumper sticker on it saying, "Duct Tape. Alabama chrome." . We were in a little town in Alabama called Prescott... you blink and you miss it, but by gosh they had their Denny's and it was PACKED OUT!
We settled down into a six person booth in the far right hand corner of the restaurant, with one of the guys pulling a chair over to the head of the table and taking a seat. We were sitting calmly, just talking about the upcoming play we were going to see, wondering if our upcoming production of the same one would be as good as theirs, as we ate breakfast. I don't know if it was the brutal blow of everyone being coupled up with their honeys except for her, or if the urge had just struck her suddenly, but Megan shoots up from the table and announces that she has to go to the bathroom. We all said that was cool, and she took off for the unisex restroom. The restroom that was located in the far LEFT HAND corner of the restaurant. She takes off, and we just happened to glance over at her... you're in a different state, with people around you don't know... you have to keep a check on your peeps. We had a clear view of the bathroom door from where we were sitting. My friends, Layla, Jenny, and I, us being the only other girls there besides Megan, and you can NEVER count on guy to notice anything, notice that she's standing in front of the bathroom door, looking rather confused. We were discussing whether or not to go see what was going on when Megan's voice rings out, loud and clear, reaching our ears on the other side of the restaurant saying, "You know you're in Alabama when the lock is on the outside of the bathroom door!" The door, for some reason, ONLY had lock on the OUTSIDE of the door. Denny's, which had been filled with a low rumble of pleasant conversation from the Alabama inhabitants, fell completely silent. It was in that silence that Layla's boyfriend, Cole, stands up at the table, cups his hands around his mouth and calls back, "It's 'cause they have to go in pairs in Alabama! One to use the bathroom and the other one to spend their time figuring out how to lock the door!" Oh, had I only been able to crawl under the table. We got some LOOKS! I mean, if shotguns had been allowed in that restaurant, we wouldn't have stood a chance!
With a light blush tinting our cheeks, Layla and I climbed over the guys in the booth, Layla desperate to get away from Cole at that moment in time, and headed to the bathroom to stand guard over Megan's door... just to make sure she wasn't assasinated for insulting Alabama WHILE WE WERE IN ALABAMA! We waited for a bit outside of the door and heard the sound of the toilet flushing, followed quickly by a hysterical giggle. Layla looks at me and whispers, "That last drag she took off of that joint must have finally hit her." I bit back a giggle, and knocked softly on the door, calling out, "Are you okay in there?"
She opened the door, her face the color of a ripe Gala apple and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it for yourselves." Then she burst into even louder gales of laughter again. Well, me being... well, ME, I'm kinda skittish when someone comes out of the bathroom and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it." I shot Layla a look, mostly filled with wariness, then I stepped cautiously into the bathroom, Layla stepping in behind me. I looked around the room and didn't see anything funny. Megan, noticing we weren't laughing like she'd been doing, stepped into the room and pointed. "Look CLOSE," she said, her index finger pointing to the porcelain throne. I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. I turned my head and saw Brandon and the other guys paying for our bills, and put my right index finger up, barely away from my temple and swirled it around, to show him that Megan was nuts. Then, I heard Layla start to giggle, and I snapped my head back around. Before I knew it, she was in a full fledged laughing fit. In between gasps she tells me, "Look at the handle! Alabama chrome!"
My eyes searched until they fell on the handle, and then I started laughing too, harder than the other two girls were. It seems, someone had broken the handle in half, and another poor soul had taken their time to fashion the other half of the handle out of pure, 100% DUCT TAPE! Oh it was hillarious!
I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face as I'm retelling this incident! Maybe it was a moment where you had to be there; I'm not sure. However, I hope this at least got a smile out of you guys! I look forward to hearing some comments! Also, I want to send a sincere thank you to the good people of Prescott, Alabama, and the workers of the Denny's in that area. Without you, this blog entry wouldn't have been possible! Until next time guys! :o)
I should really start this off with a disclaimer. You know how different states have friendly state rivalries going on? Well in Georgia, we have this thing with Alabamans... there are tons of jokes claiming that most of the people in Alabama are... what's the word I'm searching for... unitelligent? Yeah... we'll go with that word. Anyway, we ALL know that isn't true, as one of the smartest people I know and someone I dearly love(Amber Benson) came out of Alabama. Also, my acting troupe did a lot of play productions with the Birmingham Community Theater, and I have to say, they had some extremely talented actors there. So, I seriously mean no harm or offense to anyone reading this. It was just a funny thing that happened. So, let's get this party started!
It was circa the year 2000 and my boyfriend, along with two other couples, and I were going to the state of Alabama to see a play that our troupe would soon be performing. I'm a tad fuzzy on which play it was. I had been coming out of a pot induced stupor when we arrived, but I have a good recollection of the events that transpired. Anyway! In tow, I had brought along a friend of mine that had just been dumped by her boyfriend and wanted to get away for a few days, so I had sorrowfully agreed to letting her come along with us as long as she paid for herself a hotel room, which she was fine with, so no hate comments! So this girl, we'll call her Megan to protect her identity, isn't the brightest crayon in the Crayola box. I love her dearly, but she isn't. She'll even tell you that, so don't think I'm all big, bad, and mean! Some of the drugs we used to do, messed with her brain a bit. I don't say that lightly in the least because it could have just as well had happened to me. Back to the story! We're driving down the road when Brandon, my boyfriend, announces that he's hungry. The rest of us were all, "Yeah, we could stand to eat." So he's pulls into the first restaurant serving breakfast we could find, which happened to be a Denny's, next to a big F350 truck that had a bumper sticker on it saying, "Duct Tape. Alabama chrome." . We were in a little town in Alabama called Prescott... you blink and you miss it, but by gosh they had their Denny's and it was PACKED OUT!
We settled down into a six person booth in the far right hand corner of the restaurant, with one of the guys pulling a chair over to the head of the table and taking a seat. We were sitting calmly, just talking about the upcoming play we were going to see, wondering if our upcoming production of the same one would be as good as theirs, as we ate breakfast. I don't know if it was the brutal blow of everyone being coupled up with their honeys except for her, or if the urge had just struck her suddenly, but Megan shoots up from the table and announces that she has to go to the bathroom. We all said that was cool, and she took off for the unisex restroom. The restroom that was located in the far LEFT HAND corner of the restaurant. She takes off, and we just happened to glance over at her... you're in a different state, with people around you don't know... you have to keep a check on your peeps. We had a clear view of the bathroom door from where we were sitting. My friends, Layla, Jenny, and I, us being the only other girls there besides Megan, and you can NEVER count on guy to notice anything, notice that she's standing in front of the bathroom door, looking rather confused. We were discussing whether or not to go see what was going on when Megan's voice rings out, loud and clear, reaching our ears on the other side of the restaurant saying, "You know you're in Alabama when the lock is on the outside of the bathroom door!" The door, for some reason, ONLY had lock on the OUTSIDE of the door. Denny's, which had been filled with a low rumble of pleasant conversation from the Alabama inhabitants, fell completely silent. It was in that silence that Layla's boyfriend, Cole, stands up at the table, cups his hands around his mouth and calls back, "It's 'cause they have to go in pairs in Alabama! One to use the bathroom and the other one to spend their time figuring out how to lock the door!" Oh, had I only been able to crawl under the table. We got some LOOKS! I mean, if shotguns had been allowed in that restaurant, we wouldn't have stood a chance!
With a light blush tinting our cheeks, Layla and I climbed over the guys in the booth, Layla desperate to get away from Cole at that moment in time, and headed to the bathroom to stand guard over Megan's door... just to make sure she wasn't assasinated for insulting Alabama WHILE WE WERE IN ALABAMA! We waited for a bit outside of the door and heard the sound of the toilet flushing, followed quickly by a hysterical giggle. Layla looks at me and whispers, "That last drag she took off of that joint must have finally hit her." I bit back a giggle, and knocked softly on the door, calling out, "Are you okay in there?"
She opened the door, her face the color of a ripe Gala apple and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it for yourselves." Then she burst into even louder gales of laughter again. Well, me being... well, ME, I'm kinda skittish when someone comes out of the bathroom and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it." I shot Layla a look, mostly filled with wariness, then I stepped cautiously into the bathroom, Layla stepping in behind me. I looked around the room and didn't see anything funny. Megan, noticing we weren't laughing like she'd been doing, stepped into the room and pointed. "Look CLOSE," she said, her index finger pointing to the porcelain throne. I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. I turned my head and saw Brandon and the other guys paying for our bills, and put my right index finger up, barely away from my temple and swirled it around, to show him that Megan was nuts. Then, I heard Layla start to giggle, and I snapped my head back around. Before I knew it, she was in a full fledged laughing fit. In between gasps she tells me, "Look at the handle! Alabama chrome!"
My eyes searched until they fell on the handle, and then I started laughing too, harder than the other two girls were. It seems, someone had broken the handle in half, and another poor soul had taken their time to fashion the other half of the handle out of pure, 100% DUCT TAPE! Oh it was hillarious!
I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face as I'm retelling this incident! Maybe it was a moment where you had to be there; I'm not sure. However, I hope this at least got a smile out of you guys! I look forward to hearing some comments! Also, I want to send a sincere thank you to the good people of Prescott, Alabama, and the workers of the Denny's in that area. Without you, this blog entry wouldn't have been possible! Until next time guys! :o)
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