Some random thoughts from today.

[apolla]

So, aside from having only three hours (roughly) sleep this morning due to a combination of boring Mia with snippets from the story I might send into Richard and Judy literary competition (guaranteed publishing with 50 grand advance for the winner) and my mother being insane.....

1. Have watched Still Crazy for the fifth time in about two days. I just love this film so much. It's wonderfully funny, as you'd expect from the guys who wrote Porridge. It's also awfully sad. The ending gets to me every single time, probably because while Brian survived, my boys did not.

I'm sure most of you haven't seen it. In essence: it's the story of Strange Fruit, an excessive 70s rock band who are reforming for a festival. They're all broke, they all still hate each other and they're still as bonkers as always. Except that the genius of the band, Brian, is dead. Except not. Timothy 'Peter Pettigrew' Spall plays drummer Beano, my dear Bill Nighy (you guys know him as the singer in Love Actually) as the singer dude, Jimmy 'hit every branch of the ugly tree after being thrown from it' Nail plays bassist Les while the insanely brilliant Stephen Rea is the keyboardist. You might not think watching the antics of a bunch of 50 year old has-beens would be funny, but it really is, man.

Brian's 70s girlfriend Karen helps them get back together, becomes their manager, while their old roadie Hughie, played well (for once, and mercifully without nudity) by Billy Connolly, comes back for another round, to see how they manage to bollocks it up this time.

Oh, and Brian isn't dead after all. He had a breakdown, but he's more or less better now and not dead. Triumphal ending singing song about his brother Keith, the original Fruits singer who died of an OD in a Little Chef. The end, tra la la.

This being me, I can't just smile and say 'Oh, what a lovely story. Funny, too.' Oh no, I have to sit there thinking it's a bitch that my boys didn't survive. That my boys went the way of the Dodo instead of the way of Syd Barrett.

This is not helped that for the past few days I've been unable to listen to anything but Showdown by Thin Lizzy. This is a song that might as well be cocktail bar funk, and yet because it's Philip and the boys, I can't stop listening to it.

Clearly I am mad. I know this isn't new or news, but I like to remind myself every now and then that I am totally cracked.

2. Am trying to sit through the Coppola (Francis Ford not Sofia) Dracula. Man, this is hard going. Now, I like (rather, used to like) tragic vampires, I really do... but I don't buy Drac himself as that. Despite sucking on every other level, at least the idea in Dracula 2000 that Dracula was actually Judas was interesting. They really needed to fuse that idea with the fact that at least the cast of Coppola's can you know, act. And it has a budget slightly larger than the takings of an ice cream van in December.

That said, I'm about to see if my fist will magically travel through the screen and land somewhere on Keanu's chin to stop the bad accent.

Also, I don't care who Francis Ford Coppola is, there is no need to have Sadie Frost shagging a weird vampire wolf thing in the middle of a great storm. No need.

3. Am not sure I'm working on the right story for the Richard & Judy competition. They specifically said in today's segment that it's novels for adults, not kids. Now, I started writing this particular story with the young adult demographic in mind, although not entirely consciously. I think I just naturally write that way. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Either way, just so long as I have the first chapter and a synopsis of the rest into the competition by 15th October, I can do no more. Except write well enough to win. How cool would that be?

4. Ardal O'Hanlon on Jack Dee Live at the Apollo was the funniest thing I've seen in ages. I was in literal stitches at one point, man. No need to keep cutting to the guy who plays Martin Fowler in Eastenders sat in the front row. No need.

5. It has been made clear to me that I have no handle over the French language. None at all. This does not surprise me.

6. Tesco's alleged 'Finest' individual tiramisus suck. Cream good, rest bad. Bad, I tell you.

7. I've seen him in a few things lately and now in Dracula, but to me Cary Elwes will forever be Prince Westley. I'm sure this would hardly please him, but I think it's cool. To blave!

8. If any of you on the flist would like to seriously look over my competition first chapter, I'd be happy to receive any comments you might have. Mia's been hugely helpful (and also Christina awhile back), but I don't want to burden her!

9. I want a top hat. And proper 70s platform boots. Not together, obviously, but I would like them.

Comments

[marquiserachel.livejournal.com]

you know the pub where strange fruit meet up? that's filmed at avebury in the red lion. near my house. i've been there loads!
i will read your chapter if you want. richard and judy will love you