Some Love For Nick Stahl

Although relegated to straight to DVD releases recently, presumably because of his erratic behavior and history with addiction, Nick Stahl still has an impressive body of work.

He first came on my radar in Tall Tale the story of a boys friendship with American Legends Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and John Henry. It's a story about growing up and standing up for yourself and what you believe in. It's really inspiring, a great adventure. I remember wanting to be Nick Stahl in this movie. Because I liked Stahl so much I went back and watched him pair up with Mel Gibson in The Man Without A Face a somewhat more tortured coming-of-age tale.

The summer after 8th grade I went to see Disturbing Behavior with my first girlfriend Erica. Most movies we went to during the summer of '98 were just veiled excuses to have protracted awkward make out sessions. Not so Disturbing Behavior. I was keen on seeing it because of the subject matter, a diabolical doctor brainwashing high school students, and even more so because of Stahl. He plays a wise, stoned, Virgilesque character who befriends the lead and shows him the ropes around the school.

2001 saw Stahl in one of my favorite movies of all time In The Bedroom. His subtle, realistic performance is overshadowed by the powerhouse tag team of Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson but he rounds out and enhances a wonderful cast and an amazing story.

What solidified my love for Stahl was the short lived HBO series Carnivale. It had all the things that scratch my narrative itches- magic, tarot cards, depression era America, carnies, epic battle between good and evil, shadow figures- the show had it all. Stahl was the protagonist in the primarily ensemble driven show. His performance was conflicted, multi-layered, confused, tortured, and maybe redemptive. Unfortunately the show ended when it still had at least one more season left to tie everything together. Carnivale created an amazing dangerous world and Stahl along with Clancy Brown anchored it.

At the beginning of Carnivale Stahl appeared in the underrated Terminator 3 a movie I'll always watch when it comes on TBS, TNT, or FX. At the end of Carnivale Stahl appeared in Sin City as the sadistic sex predator son of a senator who turns into a yellow goblin creature. Both entertaining films.

Since 2005 Stahl has appeared in a series of mediocre straight to DVD releases(I watched The Night Of The White Pants and The Speed Of Thought just because Stahl was in them, woof)  and has come up numerous times in the media for drug offenses and rehab stays. 

He's a really talented actor with a lot of heart and a depth that he brings to each role. I hope he bounces backs and starts getting some more challenging material to work his magic on. In the meantime check out the titles listed above or go on your own Stahl hunt.

A Packed House, A Silent House

Tonight was a fun, odd evening of shows. There was a great crowd for Schwa because it was a new team's first show- Sonis. They had a good show, it was nice to see my friends Ryan and Ben on the cab stage, although it was a tad nerve infused as new shows tend to be.

There was nine of us for Schwa and because someone started saying "nine!" in a German accent we decided to do something German inspired. I flippantly suggested German expressionism, one of my favorite theater styles I studied in college, and everyone jumped on it even though it seemed Jeff and I were the only ones who actually knew what it was.

Our set was very weird and presentational. Lots of melodramatic pronouncements directed at the audience interspersed with scenes about death and futility. We at one point went through the nine lives of Danny's wheelchair bound character Donny ending with a chess game with Death. It was a lot of fun and a nice challenge to play within a certain genre. The audience dug it I think, they seemed on board and into all the bizarre transitions and content.

The Prime show afterwards was a different story. There were only about 8-12 people in the audience, not unheard of but relatively rare for our slot, small crowds have never really bothered me especially if I'm playing with people I love. We almost always win over small or reticent crowds because we play with an energy and volume that fills the room. Tonight was a rare exception.

After the first minute or so of the show we started ramping things up and gaining speed, doing fun physicals and playing multiple characters. I was having a blast and noticed laughs from time to time, not a lot of them, but I didn't think anything of it. When the lights went out and our show ended there was a thunderous silence. A good five seconds of no applause, no nothing. It felt like a full minute. Shock hit me in the face. Eventually there was a smattering of pained applause, we took our bow and got the hell out of there.

I found it kind of absurdly amusing. It was not as if the show was bad, it was in fact good, we put a lot of energy in it, so it was just the night or the crowd or the cold front that settled in. It was a nice reminder that most things are out of my control. I had a great time with my friends and that is all I can do, no sense in dwelling on it, just an interesting anomaly, another experience. Brett was the most bothered by it I think. He's one of those guys that is just so naturally funny, that audiences just inherently love, that he's use to getting laughs all the time so when he doesn't he's mystified.

It was a great night that ran the gambit, from energetic excitement to aggressive muteness.

'Gravity' A Review

Gravity is a scifi thriller about two astronauts marooned in space. The less information known about the particular machinations of the plot prior to viewing simply enhance the experience so I won't go into further detail. The visuals of the film are stunning and 3D or IMAX viewing are not a necessity but highly encouraged.

The action and visual scope of the film are immense and engrossing. It conveys a feeling of authenticity and truth rarely seen in movies involving space. The visual spectacle harmonizes perfectly with the emotional journeys and performances by the two leads Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. We are not only taken on a visual adventure there is a character/emotional journey interwoven in the film. The back story of the two characters is simple and is not overplayed or over explained hitting much needed counterpoint to the space catastrophe. The performances by Bullock and Clooney are subtle yet powerful drawing us in and enhancing the feeling of truly being there.

The film is an immersive and beautiful experience. All the elements come together to create a truly unique and complimentary thought-provoking space drama.

Don't Miss It.

Temporal Demands

A coffeepot bubbles
and well laid plans percolate.
The comfort of a bed beckons
for a moment only.
Fatigue closes in
to a single point.
Then the jaws of sleep.

Lights on, coffee cold,
a night slipped away.
The mind runs
but the body stays.

Lean On Me

We recorded season 2, episode 2 of Bubble Boys tonight. Bill was back to reprise his role as Uncle Gustus and we had Griffen in to play a 20th century scientific icon. I've been sick this past week and a bit worn out. While recording I could tell it effected my performance, my reaction time and my facility with dialogue. I was kind of beating myself up during and after it for not being able to deliver. After reflecting though I realized the session went great. Bill, the consummate professional, was on from the moment he got in the studio, and Griffen who I don't know that well, he was originally Tisher's casting inspiration, was wonderful. I didn't contribute a ton but what I did was funny and moved the episode along and Tisher was in good form throughout, having Bill in the studio, his favorite teacher, got his mode going.

At this point I can get a much better sense of what we can get out of an episode during editing. So any uncomfortable or long pauses where we(mostly me for this one) take a moment to come up with the next line can get cut out. The final product is going to have a steady flow even if the session came in fits and starts.

It's a great feeling to be working on a project I love and to know that even if I have an off night I can rely on Tisher and Tim and our guests. It's a collaborative project, we all contribute, we all share the creative responsibility and from time to time some people are going to shoulder more of it, and thats OK. The integrity and the end product are still going to be great even if I had a poopy week. That's reassuring.

We Get It! You're Funny!

Tonight I went over to Lynnae's to do her craft-and-conversation podcast We Get It! You're Funny! I'm not much of a crafter so I was relieved to simply color some pictures out of a couple of high-end coloring books.

We had a great conversation about performing, spirituality, relationships, and we told stories about our pictures. Listen below.
 

'Computer Chess' A Review

Computer Chess is a mocumentary about a computer chess tournament in the early 80's. The film is black and white and seemingly shot on a period video camera or digitally altered to reflect the poor video quality of that era. At first this affectation creates a nostalgic authentic feel but as the film progresses shot after shot is out of focus or has resolution so poor it's difficult to discern what is happening, It becomes incredibly distracting and detracting.

The performances range from realistic to contrived to surreal. The story flows without much structure loosely following the tournament as it progresses and focuses more time on the particular programmers participating.

Tonally the film is a little unclear. It's a comedy certainly but one that maybe asks us to take it too seriously or doesn't make it clear how funny we should think it is. The ideas of technological progress and artificial intelligence are discussed through out but with almost no weight. There are a couple of hard right turns into the absurd which are enjoyable but don't necessarily jibe with the over all arc of the film.

An engaging odd watch, which left a little too much up to interpretation.

Rent It.