The Muse at Sexy Sur

It seems the Muse was out and about and enjoying the charms of Sur in West Hollywood.  Sur and her sister restaurant Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills are both quite nice and enjoy a "Moroccan" flavor to the decor with their Spanish-Middle Eastern-No. African influences.  I've been to both places and they are very charming and exotic in a "Midnight at the Oasis" kind of way (I love that song).

I hope he enjoyed the food too.  Villa Blanca has a dish similar to my mom's chicken fricasse' which was rich in spices, olives, raisins, and cut up potatoes.   Will have to check out the menu next time to see if Sur serves it.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it and it's almost 2:30 a.m.  Darn!  Wonder if mom included it in all the recipes she wrote down for me when I got married so many years ago.   I remember that she (as grandma taught her) always served it over rice but it is wonderful over couscous too!

We've been having great weather in La La Land and it looks like G has been making the most of it while he's here.   I wonder how long he shall grace us with his presence?  Not long, I think, as the man is always on the move and I don't think he can stand to be in one place for too long before he starts getting antsy.

Laker Game

He's been keeping company with the likes of producer Avi Lerner (Playing the Field), who has floor seats right next to uber Laker fan Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks) and in those photos it looked like he just rolled out of bed from an afternoon nap and just in time to make the game.   At least I am assuming he was napping, although with Gerry's reputation one never knows if he actually was sleeping or ....

Well...never mind!   It's always nice for actors to be in the good graces of the people with the clout to get movies made and, as we've observed before,  Gerry does pretty well in that regard.

Life seems to be going well for Mr. B. at the moment.  Let's hope his troubles are behind him and he is smart enough to keep his nose clean.  I like to see him when he's up.

Oooops!  Did I just really write that? (grins)

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

Another New Project...

...and a parental visit in sunny L.A. look to be a few of the things keeping the Muse busy these days.  It was a great day to be out of doors and except for the ever present pap, which they are doing their best to ignore, it looks like they are enjoying their visit to Farmers Market and The Grove.   It is a destination for a lot of people who come to L.A. and you can always see some celebs there if you look carefully.

I am also happy to see that G. has a new project on the horizon called Olympus Has Fallen.  This one sounds more promising than the other (unless the script IS really brilliant) and I am keeping my fingers crossed they can attract a decent director to helm it.   As an action film,  I am also hoping  he will have learned to be more accepting of using a stunt double for the more harrowing of the action sequences to protect himself from further injury.  All the fame and money in the world can't make it up to you when your body starts falling apart.

I think G is looking good these days.  I particularly like the way he looks in the photo below.  Don't know if it is just my imagination or maybe wishful thinking, but his look is direct and clear here.  Let's hope his substance problems are behind him.   He will always have to be doing reality checks because of who he is and because of the career he has chosen.   I wish him luck.  It can't be easy.

If he can stay off the booze and the cigarettes, perhaps he's up to the task of this one too.  I am fond of this person and I'd hate to see him be chewed up by excesses of fame.

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine over dinner tonight concerning certain recreational substances and why people use them and what they personally did for him at one time, but I'll save a bit of that conversation (me probing down to the nitty gritty and he enlightening me) for the other blog.

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

Brilliant? Hopefully!

The Muse has another project on the horizon.   I am sure he will be happy to work with his Ugly Truth director again, since he had so much fun doing the last movie with him. Hopefully (seems I'm always hoping on this blog) this is not another silly comedy with a lackluster script and that he gets a quality co-star he has some "real" on screen" chemistry with and a tight story that will keep it in theaters longer than a week.

I would love to see someone with a little gravitas as his female co-star...someone with a certain "onscreen charisma" of her own that would add to the plot.  Off the bat the only two that come to mind with the "charisma card" at the moment  are Marion Cotillard or Berenice Bejo (she was great in The Artist). These actresses aren't cutesy types and they can act, plus they have a "vulnerability" side to them.  I'm thinking their accents would add a separate dimension...perhaps some confusion of the comic kind between the leads due to language misunderstanding?  Or perhaps you could keep your accent for this one if the script permits.

Sorry.   I really know nothing of this script but my vivid imagination can't help making some suggestions that "I" would include to up the ante on a romantic relationship, especially in a comedy.   There has to be a serious side to a protagonist, even in a comedy, to make him really "whole" as a character.  The comedy has to come from his natural wit and the writing, but he has to have some gravitas himself to be able to pull off the "romance" side of it...so he will be unforgettable past the theater door.  Hopefully he is not just a "boob" a la Hangover type.  Clueless male is okay off screen, but onscreen, we women want to be "wowed" by those we think should be classic leads.

Perhaps I am hoping too much here.  Time will tell where he is going.

I have to assume that since his last few outings (Coriolanus and Machine Gun Preacher) have not provided a big payday, this one serves that purpose, since he is not producing.  The plot for Brilliant,  as it is presented in the few articles on this project, has been replayed too many times already (Sean Connery and Katherine Zeta Jones, one of the Ocean's 11 movies, etc....).  Hopefully this one will have a unique twist somewhere in it that will make it different.  Look at Katherine Heigl...the best work she has done has been on television in Gray's Anatomy, otherwise she has been typecast and just keeps playing the same character in most of her movies....  To think she was my favorite character in Gray's at one time.  I wonder if Luketic is looking at reuniting the same team for this flick?

I do understand Gerry wanting something light and not too physical in the action sense that will provide a comfortable set and some offscreen fun as well, after his "near death" and "rehab" experiences and can't begrudge him this. However, dear Muse, I do hope the two you have in the can already are entertaining (and the comedy, witty).  I did so enjoy watching you have some serious on screen chemistry with someone...even if that someone was male (R. Fiennes in Coriolanus).

Now why does that sound familiar?

As always, I wish you the best and hope (there it is again...that word) that I am pleasantly surprised by this one if, or when,  it comes to fruition.

Zoni

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate