My boredom and Research Addiction is trying to fill in the blanks on my Hackett Continuum history and world setting. The results so far...
INCLUDED
* Firefox and Firefox Down
* The Hunt For Red October
* First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II
* Missing In Action
* Uncommon Valor
* Blue Thunder (the movie AND the TV series)
* Airwolf (through the second season)
* Deal Of The Century
* Team Yankee
* 007: For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, Never Say Never Again and View To A Kill
I think I want to include Best Defense as well, but want to see it again first.
EXCLUDED
* Commando
* Iron Eagle
* Top Gun
* Red Dawn
* Invasion U.S.A.
* Spies Like Us
* The Fourth Protocol
I'm on the fence about some "properties" simply because of their relevance or timeframes.
INCLUDED
* Firefox and Firefox Down
* The Hunt For Red October
* First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II
* Missing In Action
* Uncommon Valor
* Blue Thunder (the movie AND the TV series)
* Airwolf (through the second season)
* Deal Of The Century
* Team Yankee
* 007: For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, Never Say Never Again and View To A Kill
I think I want to include Best Defense as well, but want to see it again first.
EXCLUDED
* Commando
* Iron Eagle
* Top Gun
* Red Dawn
* Invasion U.S.A.
* Spies Like Us
* The Fourth Protocol
I'm on the fence about some "properties" simply because of their relevance or timeframes.
Writer's Block: Dream Trip
Feb. 17th, 2009 09:29 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
The World Is Not Enough.
The World Is Not Enough.
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My favorite TV show of all time is The Equalizer, which I wouldn't mind seeing revived. It was a thinking-man's private detective show. The hero was a former international spy who liked taking on unusual cases and clients--and the cast was fabulous. Did I mention the musical score by Stewart Copeland of the Police? The excellent writing? The great use of Manhattan locations? The fact that it had cool to burn?
It would have to be a from-the-top remake. But what modern actor could make a good Robert McCall?
My favorite TV show of all time is The Equalizer, which I wouldn't mind seeing revived. It was a thinking-man's private detective show. The hero was a former international spy who liked taking on unusual cases and clients--and the cast was fabulous. Did I mention the musical score by Stewart Copeland of the Police? The excellent writing? The great use of Manhattan locations? The fact that it had cool to burn?
It would have to be a from-the-top remake. But what modern actor could make a good Robert McCall?
The Now That Is No More
Feb. 20th, 2008 10:57 pmMSN Article: Movie Plots Made Obsolete By Modern Tech.
The writer limits himself to business and consumer electronics, so I'm a little disappointed that the material from war and spy movies isn't covered either. One example I know from good ol' 007: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. James Bond has to crack a safe in an office building to find out what Spectre is doing. Well, as the building is next to a construction site, he manages to have a crane operator send a coffin-sized safecracking machine (or was it an x-ray machine? Have to watch it again. In spite of it being Mr. Lazenby, it's still one of my favorites)/photocopier/printer to the room where the safe is located. These days, the safecracker could be just one of dozens of functions of his super cell phone. Heck, it could be an MP3-player...all the more harmless-looking and unlikely to be confiscated.
FP (who would love to have a GPS unit with a Diesel-punk design case and display)
The writer limits himself to business and consumer electronics, so I'm a little disappointed that the material from war and spy movies isn't covered either. One example I know from good ol' 007: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. James Bond has to crack a safe in an office building to find out what Spectre is doing. Well, as the building is next to a construction site, he manages to have a crane operator send a coffin-sized safecracking machine (or was it an x-ray machine? Have to watch it again. In spite of it being Mr. Lazenby, it's still one of my favorites)/photocopier/printer to the room where the safe is located. These days, the safecracker could be just one of dozens of functions of his super cell phone. Heck, it could be an MP3-player...all the more harmless-looking and unlikely to be confiscated.
FP (who would love to have a GPS unit with a Diesel-punk design case and display)
And Further Thoughts...
May. 21st, 2007 01:59 amAs I said way back in January I kinda always wanted to put on film a car chase sequence, the cheapest and sneakiest way possible. My "what if?"-ing brought me to a new product from Revell: the RPMz radio-controlled car (in faithful 1/24th scale).
Okay, so what I'd do, if I had the funds right away.
Get four of the RPMz as the stunt vehicles, and shoot the action video some place where I could set up backdrops, maquette stand-ins for buildings and scenery. Perhaps the corridors of a building. Digitize the resulting video into a computer model that could be merged with other computer models. Do it in such a manner that the model cars still look like model cars, that the scenery looks like toy scenery, and thus keep the camp/geek value intact.
If you're crude, get technical; if you're technical, go crude. Why not technical AND crude?
FP
Okay, so what I'd do, if I had the funds right away.
Get four of the RPMz as the stunt vehicles, and shoot the action video some place where I could set up backdrops, maquette stand-ins for buildings and scenery. Perhaps the corridors of a building. Digitize the resulting video into a computer model that could be merged with other computer models. Do it in such a manner that the model cars still look like model cars, that the scenery looks like toy scenery, and thus keep the camp/geek value intact.
If you're crude, get technical; if you're technical, go crude. Why not technical AND crude?
FP
Too Ambitious AND Too Small? You Decide
Jan. 2nd, 2007 01:44 amIn ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
vsprtn's blog, she remarked that this year is Year 007, and that fact reminded me of a project I wanted to do a very long time ago...basically a James Bond spoof movie (or video) with a breakdancing superspy. As I was in High School at the time, I would have had NOTHING as a budget, so one idea was to stage the car chase sequence using stop-motion animated Matchbox toy cars.
Of course, this never came to fruition. My only film project in High School was basically a repeat of the stuff I did in Grade School Gifted (montage animation) and not as well done (or worth saving).
If I wanted to do it now, I probably could. I have a digital camera. I have sources for scenery and could arrange for space to set it up. I have lighting. Cars, I could get anywhere.
But I bet somebody's already done it, and the results are on YouTube. *shrug*
FP
vsprtn's blog, she remarked that this year is Year 007, and that fact reminded me of a project I wanted to do a very long time ago...basically a James Bond spoof movie (or video) with a breakdancing superspy. As I was in High School at the time, I would have had NOTHING as a budget, so one idea was to stage the car chase sequence using stop-motion animated Matchbox toy cars.Of course, this never came to fruition. My only film project in High School was basically a repeat of the stuff I did in Grade School Gifted (montage animation) and not as well done (or worth saving).
If I wanted to do it now, I probably could. I have a digital camera. I have sources for scenery and could arrange for space to set it up. I have lighting. Cars, I could get anywhere.
But I bet somebody's already done it, and the results are on YouTube. *shrug*
FP
Postscript to a Story I Haven't Told Yet
Nov. 25th, 2006 11:35 pmThis is about my Number Two car.
It was a Toyota Tercel four-door sedan, with silver paint. When the transmission failed on my AMC Concord station wagon and was replaced (circa 1989), the replacement trans on it was no improvement and I lost trust in it. So the Concord was passed on to my brother, and the Tercel was acquired to replace the Concord. The previous owner of the Tercel was a high school classmate of mine named Anton. In hindsight, I should have nicknamed the car the Anton-Martin, as at one time, my college parking permit number was 007. But I never thought of it.
I forget how long I had the Tercel. It served me till my mother lost her driver's license (she flunked an eyesight test and that led to her getting Lasic surgery) and so I could take over driving her car...and my brother eventually came to the same conclusion on the Concord I had, and took over the Tercel as his car.
Cars like the Tercel are perfect for towns like Asheville. When brother bought his next car, the Tercel was passed to one of his friends. And it continued to get passed around, from buddy to buddy.
My bro and a buddy of his visited us yesterday. I was told that the Tercel finally fell apart recently. Somebody noticed an oil leak, took it to a shop, and when they washed the underside they found that the dirt was the only thing holding the axle together.
I'm glad that a car I owned 15 years ago lasted that long, but I also am taking heed that regular maintenance is more than just getting the oil changed every X000 miles.
FP
It was a Toyota Tercel four-door sedan, with silver paint. When the transmission failed on my AMC Concord station wagon and was replaced (circa 1989), the replacement trans on it was no improvement and I lost trust in it. So the Concord was passed on to my brother, and the Tercel was acquired to replace the Concord. The previous owner of the Tercel was a high school classmate of mine named Anton. In hindsight, I should have nicknamed the car the Anton-Martin, as at one time, my college parking permit number was 007. But I never thought of it.
I forget how long I had the Tercel. It served me till my mother lost her driver's license (she flunked an eyesight test and that led to her getting Lasic surgery) and so I could take over driving her car...and my brother eventually came to the same conclusion on the Concord I had, and took over the Tercel as his car.
Cars like the Tercel are perfect for towns like Asheville. When brother bought his next car, the Tercel was passed to one of his friends. And it continued to get passed around, from buddy to buddy.
My bro and a buddy of his visited us yesterday. I was told that the Tercel finally fell apart recently. Somebody noticed an oil leak, took it to a shop, and when they washed the underside they found that the dirt was the only thing holding the axle together.
I'm glad that a car I owned 15 years ago lasted that long, but I also am taking heed that regular maintenance is more than just getting the oil changed every X000 miles.
FP
Hey.
Decided to do this again, partly because I've gotten new Friends...and partly 'cause I liked it the first time:
Decided to do this again, partly because I've gotten new Friends...and partly 'cause I liked it the first time:
Frustratedpilot in Noun Again |
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small} frustratedpilot (Hugo Weaving) has had a rumour-plagued term in office. After citing a blunder in the ballot design, his running mate's reputation is in serious doubt, and domain69, his primary informant (Jack Nicholson), is beside himself with glee. weds (Jessica Alba) arranges a game of corporate snakes and ladders, though the plot is obscured by the biggest coverup of them all. |
Produced by  ianiceboy |
Frustratedpilot in Michelangelo's Shoes |
| Despite numerous attempts by the government to conceal it, frustratedpilot (Eric Bana) moves to a town where computers control the lives of the townsfolk. Car chases result. Coincidentally, droolfangrrl (Kate Winslet) creates a robot named aurora77 (Cameron Diaz) to fix the situation, which only makes things worse. Montages and spy music set the scene for a rollercoaster ride of a film with a deadly twist! |
Produced by ianiceboy |
Hey.
Back to 1982/'83: Looking at the prime time listings for the Big 3 networks, it seems to me that they were all in a mode of playing it safe and not being very risky. Shows that had long since worn out their welcome with the greater audience were still on the air because they retained worthwhile followings. New shows that year were only permutations on existing thematics (examples: St. Elsewhere taking the drama/comedy/soaper mix of Hill Street Blues in another direction, prime time soaps in full swing, Cheers picking up where Taxi left off, The A-Team being just another Cannell action show, Magnum P.I., Remington Steele and Simon & Simon continuing the domination of private detective shows). With Fox Network still in the wings and the other new networks years away, there was little point in taking risks. The viewers seemed to be content and brand loyal and the networks were happy to reward some of it. So more of the same ruled the land.
Whereas today we have twice as many broadcast networks, and shows are expected to gain an audience immediately or they'll be cut and replaced with something else. Where the term "season" is losing its meaning because new shows are added almost every month! Where the network brass are getting schizoid trying to guess the tastes of an audience they don't seem to understand anymore. If they ever understood.
FP
Back to 1982/'83: Looking at the prime time listings for the Big 3 networks, it seems to me that they were all in a mode of playing it safe and not being very risky. Shows that had long since worn out their welcome with the greater audience were still on the air because they retained worthwhile followings. New shows that year were only permutations on existing thematics (examples: St. Elsewhere taking the drama/comedy/soaper mix of Hill Street Blues in another direction, prime time soaps in full swing, Cheers picking up where Taxi left off, The A-Team being just another Cannell action show, Magnum P.I., Remington Steele and Simon & Simon continuing the domination of private detective shows). With Fox Network still in the wings and the other new networks years away, there was little point in taking risks. The viewers seemed to be content and brand loyal and the networks were happy to reward some of it. So more of the same ruled the land.
Whereas today we have twice as many broadcast networks, and shows are expected to gain an audience immediately or they'll be cut and replaced with something else. Where the term "season" is losing its meaning because new shows are added almost every month! Where the network brass are getting schizoid trying to guess the tastes of an audience they don't seem to understand anymore. If they ever understood.
FP
