Bon Voyage, Dear Muse!

Looks like the Muse is off to Australia to finish prepping for his role in The Gods of Egypt which is to start filming in Sydney in several weeks.  Gerry is there early to acclimate himself, get a feel for the terrain again and soak up as much as he can in terms of physical training for this movie.

Much to his credit, he has been keeping a low profile lately and trying to stick to some healthy habits with an eye on the grueling filming of the upcoming projects in his very full basket this year.

As we all know, Gerry is a stickler for getting himself physically ready to make a new movie and, playing a mythical god, he will certainly have to look the part.

Conventional wisdom tells me he is has also been prepping mentally, knowing the next few projects are going to carry hefty price tags in terms of filming budgets and he has to be at the top of his game in order to stay competitive as an actor. The relative success of Olympus Has Fallen has given his career new life and knowing him, he is going  to give it his all.

I also know that he is "itching" to get back into creative mode.

Gerard Butler down under prepping to "look" like a god?

I wish him much luck and hope that maybe this is the role that will surpass the visibility he garnered from 300.   Or maybe, I'll just wish him success on smaller victories...such as feeling that click that takes place when you have poured your heart into a scene and know you've nailed it!  I wish him more of those kinds of victories.  They are the real mana for the creative soul.

Other advice for the Muse:

Be safe, wear some sunscreen and don't stray from some of the good habits you've picked up where your health is concerned.   If you're in this racket for the long haul, you'd better realize that without good health (both mental and physical), the rest of it  turns to dust very quickly.

Also, don't forget about having a little fun too.  Guess you don't need advice from me on that!  (grins)

Zoni

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

300 Recipe for Success? It's In the Teeth, Zack.

Today, while browsing the internet,  I ran across the trailer for the new 300: Rise of an Empire movie, written and produced by Zack Snyder.

After watching it several times, I tried to think what was it that was missing or that could either make or break this movie's success at the box office and came to the conclusion that it just doesn't have the "teeth" the original 300 had, thanks to the shiny, white ivories supplied to the screen by my favorite Leonidas, muse Gerard Butler.

In a few words, Gerry's teeth had "presence."   They were freshly polished and probably whitened, as they were for Beowolf  (I doubt that august warrior had such lovely white choppers), and each time you see the venerable Leonidas on screen and he is rousing his men to a fervor for the fight, they are up front and present in all their Dr. Zoom glory.

During his 300 days, while every lusting male and female was  focused on Gerry's abs, I was focused on his teeth.  After all, when you are face to face with a body, the mouth and teeth are the things you are most often in very intimate contact with.... to begin with at least.   If that part of a male is not to my liking, well the rest is certainly not going to be, no matter how glorious.  Am I right ladies?

Now perhaps I am being hasty in passing judgement on the current incarnation of Greek warrior by likable scribe and producer Zack Snyder on just the strength of a trailer....but even though the lovely Eva Green has nice enough teeth, and the also lovely Lena Heady makes a return engagement as Gorgo, the only one who can compete a little with the grand Leonidas'  floridated enamal glory is Rodrigo Santoro, back for a turn as the hoop spangled King Xerxes of Persia.

Will that be enough to save the spectacle from its new male star Sulllivan Stapleton as Greek General Themistocles?   While looking fairly nice in a leather codpiece,  Mr. Stapleton's teeth just aren't able to carry the day or the gravitas that my dear muse, Gerry's wide arch and shiny, glorious, Dr. Zoom enhanced dentin did.... as he made his loud pronouncement to Spartan and foe alike in his turn as the lovely King Leonidas.....and I think the audience will pick up on that.

Show me a man's bite and I will tell you the size of his....ummm, character.  And the muse is a character, to be sure.

As for the hopefully promising  Mr. Stapleton?   Well he has quite a bite to live up to.  I wish him luck. But there is only one man who can do Sparta justice by showing his pearly whites and his uvula, and that man is Gerard Butler.

Take note, ladies and gentlemen!   I rest my case.

Look at that lovely, wide arch and nicely shaped choppers.

Just doesn't have the same bite, does it?

With tongue firmly planted in cheek,

xxoo
Zoni

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

Merry Post Christmas Day

Dear Muse and Fans,

A day late but very much in earnest, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Christmas Eve night (when I usually post)  I was soaking in a warm tub at 3:30 in the morning to combat achy muscles from last minute shopping at the Beverly Center, cooking, cleaning house, wrapping gifts, getting out my Holiday notes to friends and entertaining family.  The blog was just not going to fit in to the schedule, much as I wished to do it.

Today, after cooking breakfast for my daughter and her boyfriend, I just wanted to sit back in my favorite chair, play my six "words with friends" ongoing games with D and catch up with my stack of unread newspapers.

My favorite chair.

This evening we will probably go to the movies and/or out to dinner.  We're feeling lazy and playing it by ear. It's been a beautiful (but too short) day and right now my body craves a short nap.

Yesterday we visited with my older sister and her husband (who has ALS) and family.  Then we stopped by to visit my sister A.  I took her a soft, cotton knit Ralph Lauren nightgown and took her caregiver leftovers from Christmas Eve at my house and some Harry and David pears.  Then it was on to my younger sister's house for Christmas Dinner with the rest of the family.

By the time we got home and unwound from the day's events, it was 4 a.m. before I literally crawled into my very inviting bed with a soothing cold, silk eye pillow over my eyes.

I hope you all made it through the holidays in similar fashion, spending time with family and/or good friends.

I noticed the Muse is in sunny California this year and hope he got to celebrate with family and/or loved ones too.  I also know he was recently in Liberia with the very charismatic Mr. MacFarlane-Barrow doing some good deeds and I admire Gerry for his good heart.  He/one could do worse than hang out a little with a man who runs rings around the more saintly with his intelligent simplicity and innate kind spirit.  Whether he knows it or not, it is there for all to see every time he speaks.  Those little children he feeds all over the world have a great champion in him.

In that same kind spirit,  I wish you and your families many blessings and much good health.

Now on to New Years.

With affection,

Zoni

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

Happy Thanksgiving...

...from Zoni and the Muse





















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

I've come out of hibernation today...

...  just to wish  you a Happy Birthday, dear Muse.

I see that you are finally signing on for some new roles after your travels and that must make you very happy.

I also notice that you are single again and I hope that is to your liking and not something forced on you.  Of course you say you like variety and perhaps that's so, so no use flogging a dead horse if that one is indeed dead.

I also see that you either finally got a stylist to help you dress since you have been looking quite the fashion plate for a while now, or you've finally gotten some fashion sense.  It makes me a little sad because I can no longer rib you about your lack of sartorial acumen.  Be a sweetheart and wear something totally mismatched just for me one of these days so that I can remember the good old days and have an honest to goodness smile knowing that still is part of who you are.

Little Boy Blue

As you enter middle age (sorry, I had to say that just to tease you) and you study how to be a better older version of yourself, I wish you much luck and good health.  I know you are always searching for meaning in everything you do and I'm glad to see that continuing classes with Mr. Speiser is part of the agenda.

I'm still watching from afar and hoping that one day I will see some of the sparks onscreen  that made me sit up and notice you in the first place.

I was reading an article about Tom Hiddleston this morning and he said that he loved that people remembered the characters he played on screen and not him the actor.  I wish that for you.   I think I've said it before and thought of you when I read that statement.   I think the problem that some of us have with you is that you are such a personality that those who watch you have problems losing themselves in your characters.   Being larger than life in person is difficult in the sense that people expect the characters you play to be as large and that doesn't often happen.

That wasn't the case when no one knew who you were.  You could be the stranger in Dear Frankie, The Phantom, King Leonidas or the guy in The Jury because you were still a new face to most.   Of course, I think the quality of the material you were working with in those instances was also there to support you and that helped.  I think the answer to this dilemma is not to tamp down your personality, because you are who you are, but to seek out roles that are maybe the opposite of what people expect or so interesting and well written that they will be memorable.

I still like to think that one day I will walk into one of your movies and see, not you, but a fully realized character with the power to move me.  There have been glimmers of it in a few good performances (Coriolanus and Machine Gun Preacher), but I'd  love to see more than a glimmer.  I do hope that once you get past your action hero phase (yes, I know you have to capitalize on that now) that you will find the right role (or it will find you) at the right time, with the right director, and that those of us who saw the early magic will see it blossom again, more seasoned, but there.

I wish you the best always, dear Gerry.  Some part of you still has a small hold on a tiny little corner of my heart because you made me care about something I'd forgotten about a long time ago and  because I had such fun watching you bluster through the scene like a small tornado with all the inherent debris left behind by its passing.

Be well, be happy and keep on being you...despite the fame and adulation.

Much affection,

Zoni

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

Olympus Has Fallen Review

After enjoying a steak dinner at The Whisper Lounge and buying a small popcorn  at the theater for dessert, I settled into my usual aisle seat to watch Olympus Has Fallen on Friday night.  For a 10:00  p.m. showing, the movie was pretty full, with people still coming in during the opening credits.

I understand I just missed seeing Gerry.  I read somewhere he was at The Grove Friday with a bunch of the stunt players from the movie checking out crowds for OHF on opening day.  This will be the third (or is it the forth) time we have just missed each other by inches and/or minutes in the past three/four months, so it doesn't surprise me at all.  We are ships passing in the night, not destined to say hello (grinning here because I don't do autographs or photos with celebs, so a simple hello would have to do).

I'm happy to report that I think he has a hit on his hands and I congratulate him and all associated with the movie.  It will be the salvation/resurrection, not only for Gerry's career, but for Film District as well.   Mr. Fuqua was destined for another hit too and it's nice to see him get it with this one.

I found the movie to be very entertaining, escapist fare and think that all the critics on the left or the right seeing it as anything else are taking their jobs just a little too seriously.  Not every Hollywood movie has to send a political message.  I think the producers were looking for another "kick ass" vehicle that would bring in a core male audience for Gerry and this one fit the bill.  They already know he has a built in female fan base that will see him in anything but they needed to pull in that male audience who knows him as the 300 dude and they found it.  Fuqua was the right director to bring it to the screen.  Pure and simple.  Good for everyone, all around.

I found all the performances to be believable (even if the story took a lot of liberties) and Gerry again showed he can shine in a decent action flick, although I would still like to see him do something very different some day.  Again, like in all his movies, I see tinges of his potential to really shine as an actor in something more serious, despite some of the critiques calling him a two dimensional actor.  I sometimes get the feeling that some of the critics who love to trash him don't even see the movie (and borrow from other reviewers) or go in with preconceived notions about him (or this type of movie) that make them see what they want to see.  Some of them simply can't suspend disbelief and not judge the movie without dragging out their political baggage.  Sometimes a movie is just a movie, despite the very extreme partisan climate!

Having said that, I do have to say the movie scared the "sh__" out of me when it got me to thinking that if anything were to happen to our President and Vice President, we would be stuck with the likes of our present Speaker.  God save us!

I came out of the theater hoping and praying that we don't ever have to face that kind of scenario and also feeling content the Muse has a solid box office hit that will give him the time to dig deep and explore where he wants to take his career from here on in.  Having a hit expands his choices.

The "pause" that conveys...

Personally I'd like to see him spend a little of that time working with a good acting coach (maybe female for a change of pace) who will show him some tools to relate to female characters on screen in a very natural way.  I want to see him learn (or relearn) to use his his body language, his eyes and yes, even his ever present wrenching gut to make me feel what the character feels in a role just by watching him feel it.  A good director should fill a little of that role for an actor on a project but I'm wondering how many do.   I do realize it all has to start with the bones of a good script that will give the actor the room to breath a little of his own life experiences into a character, once he understands who the character is.  Let's hope he will find a script that will fill that bill for him and shock the hell out of his worst critics.  Revenge can be sweet, served up with your hard work.

Congratulations Muse!   I hope the rest of the weekend box office is as good as the first day and I hope the movie has legs to carry it for a good run.

You did good!  Celebrate!  See you around.

Zoni

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

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

Just bought my ticket for the 10:00 p.m. show at The Grove tonight.  Despite some mixed  reviews, I'm wishing Gerry much luck and success on this one.   I know it's a "make or break" one for him and I think if he has a box office hit, he will have the chance to go on and maybe do some good work.

He's become such a fashion plate, trim and well fitted in some lovely looking designer suits, I can't poke fun at his "style" too much anymore....although I was tempted to post the "Airport" photo to show he's still the same guy underneath the fashionable exterior.   I especially loved the photo of him being dried off before his appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael.  It is so much something my "very bright" late husband would have done.... accidentally turn on the wrong faucet and splashed himself before an important meeting.  He too would have shrugged it off and put a good face on it like Gerry.   Perhaps that's part of the reason I like the Muse and am still here caring about what happens to him.


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