It All Ends

Hey, if the marketing department at Warner Brothers came up with something that works, who am I to try something else?

WARNING! Accio Spoilers!

When Joanne Met Harry

In its first weekend, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II broke box office records. I have seen it and I promise a review if forthcoming.

Last Monday, Lifetime aired their newest original movie entitled “Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story.” Three guesses as to what it’s about.

Voldemort Lovers Unite!

So, I guess everyone survived the rapture. So we get to continue watching Doctor Who! I guess God wants to see how the season plays out.

The Rebel Flesh or “Scenes from the Voldemort Lookalike Convention”

So…doppelgangers are always evil. Always.

My Top 10 of 2010

Where did 2010 go? Seriously, where did it go? Anyway, as the year draws to an end, many lists start popping up all over the place. And I love lists! So, while I go search for where 2010 went, you can read my top 10 list of memorable events from TV, movies and Broadway from 2010!

10. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane at the Tony Awards. Months later, when I’m still trying to remember who won all the awards, I still remember these two. They came out and had a series of jokes that were quite funny before revealing they were presenting the awards for Best Actor and Actress in a Musical, the very categories in which they were snubbed. Their reactions were even more memorable. Bravo to the two!

9. Betty White’s Snickers Commercial. I am not a big sports fan. You can ask my former co-workers who teased me mercilessly when I confused rules and terms. So, I am one of the hundreds who watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. And I loved the Snickers commercial that saw Betty White running around on muddy field and insulting the other players.

8. “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit” from How I Met Your Mother. For the show’s 100th episode, the creatives finally let Neil Patrick Harris have a song of his own. When Barney is given an ultimatum—lose the suits or lose the girl—he sings this song about how much he loves his suits. Ted, Robin, Marshall and Lily even get involved as well. Great song, great sequence.

7. Tangled and Toy Story 3. Of course, I love everything Disney. Well, most things Disney. I can admit that I hated the fact that they took over “Doug” and ruined everything. But, I loved Tangled. Rapunzel and Flynn were great heroes to root for and Mother Gothel has to be one of Disney’s cruelest villains. And Toy Story 3 was a great addition to the series and nearly made me cry. Long live Woody and Buzz!

6. Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan on “Glee”. Glee’s premiere season was awesome. For a new show, it managed to secure some great guest stars—Josh Groban, Eve, Kristin Chenoweth, etc. But in an Emmy-winning turn, Neil Patrick Harris starred as Bryan Ryan, a former member of the Glee club and rival to Matthew Morrison’s Will Shuester. Their duet of “Dream On” was a highlight. Bravo!

5. Ann wins “America’s Next Top Model”. She limbered into the competition as one of the tallest models in the most recent cycle. She took best photo a record breaking 5 weeks in a row. Sure, she wasn’t the best runway nor the best commercial, but Tyra was focusing on Vogue this year. And Ann won one for the awkward girls!

4. Jane Lynch recreating Madonna’s “Vogue” video. Glee knew this was so epic, they released it ahead of the episode. It was a shot-by-shot remake of Madonna’s video and proved that Jane Lynch could hold her own with the other cast members. I half-expected Benny Ninja to actually show up as well! And extra points for all of Sue’s shots at Will’s hair.

3. Brandy is eliminated from “Dancing With the Stars.” In the first results show, hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke teased that there was a surprise elimination that night. But the real surprise came during the semi-finals result show when Brandy and her partner Maks was eliminated from the program. Derek Hough’s face said it all—he did not hide his surprise. Both Lacey and Jennifer Grey also did not applaud for Bristol’s safety. While many believed every Republican and Tea Party member was voting for Bristol, I think Maks was the pair’s ultimate downfall as his teaching methods had been called into question and he argued with judge Carrie Ann Inuba.

2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”. Probably one of the year’s most anticipated movies, Harry Potter’s seventh film delivered. It set up part two and kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Bring on July!

1. David Tennant Passes the Torch to Matt Smith. Okay, I’m a big Doctor Who geek. And the “End of Time Part II” is still with me, despite airing on Jan. 2 of this past year. While it had a good plot with the possible return of the Time Lords and excellent performances by John Sims and Timothy Dalton, it was really a good-bye to David Tennant. He visited past companions and some special guests (though I would’ve liked one more appearance from either Dr. Ida Scott or Jenny) and then regenerated into Smith, who has been doing a wonderful job as the Eleventh Doctor.

Honorable mentions:

“Memphis” wins Best Musical. This musical had music from Bon Jovi’s David Bryant and was up against a musical filled with music from Green Day. But the story of a radio DJ who integrated the airwaves in Memphis and put colored music (Rock and Roll) in the center of the dial won the Tony voters. And my family.

Paul Byrom leaves Celtic Thunder. While this wasn’t an earthshaking moment nor even one that made the mainline news, it was still an important event. Celtic Thunder is very popular here in the United States and Paul has a lot of fans—myself included. While I am certain the group will continue, it will be interesting to hear how their sound changes. And I wish Paul all the luck in the world on his solo career.

The Chilean Miners are rescued. For months, the fate of these men was world news. They were stuck underground, trapped but alive. And the government was racing to get them back to the surface. Their predictions said they could free the miners in time for New Year’s and they kept the miners alive with assists from NASA. Then in October came the word that they were able to bring up the miners sooner than expected. As every news station broadcast, the first miner was lifted to the surface and embraced by his son. The rescuers sang the Chilean national anthem. Thirty-six hours later, all miners were rescued. Since then, one has ran in the New York City Marathon and all have been invited to Walt Disney World. It was the feel good story of the year and only made the honorable mention because I needed another countdown to remind me of it. And this is the list of things that made 2010 memorable to me.

So, that’s my list. Agree? Disagree? Find 2010? Share!

The Beginning of the End

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know there’s a new Harry Potter movie out. And unless you’ve been under that rock for the past year or so, you know that this is only the first part of the final Harry Potter saga.

The movie opens with new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimegour (Bill Nighy), warning the populace to remain vigilant. As he speaks, we see Hermione with her parents, Harry watching the Dursleys leave Number 4 Privet Drive and Ron staring into the distance outside the Burrow. This sequence finishes with Snape arriving at Malfoy Manor, where Voldemort’s Cabinet is meeting. Snape informs Voldemort that something’s going to happen on Saturday. After Voldemort is satisfied with Snape’s intel, he kills the heretofore unseen Muggles Study professor. Alan Rickman (Snape) and Tom Felton (Draco) should be commended for their acting in this scene—Snape keeping a schooled expression on his face, Draco showing he cared about the professor.

At Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry bids adieu to the closet underneath the stairs—his old bedroom. A small party arrives to take him to the Burrow. It is here we meet Bill Weasley (played by Brendan Gleeson’s, Mad-Eye Moody, real-life son). An exhilarating chase sequence ensues as they race for the Burrow. At the Burrow, Bill marries Fleur and happiness enters the movie for a brief period. But the happiness ends with news that the Minister of Magic is dead and the Ministry has been invaded. Harry, Hermione and Ron flee the party.

As they regroup in a London café, the three friends begin the race against time and Voldemort, running for their lives. Harry is desperately trying to find the remaining Horcruxes, whose destruction will aid in the defeat of Voldemort. Along the way, Harry faces new dangers and the trio faces trials to their own wills. Their friendship undergoes some of their hardest tests in this movie as well. As the movie reaches its climax, Harry learns of the Deathly Hallows—supposedly mythological items given to three brothers by Death. These could tip the scale in favor of Voldemort and the movie ends there.

The place the filmmakers opted to split the movie was the logical one in my opinion. The first part has its own climax but appropriately builds up to the second part. I myself was curious how they would fit in the wedding considering Bill was never introduced, but they did it well. The film’s lighting continues to be dark, just as it has been since Prisoner of Azkabahn. The cinematography is beautiful and the locations the trio travels to in order to avoid detection are breath-taking. Though there were a few bits in which the camera switched to a Blair Witch style shooting and, on the IMAX screens, it led to a few of us getting dizzy.

The actors have really matured, both physically and as actors. From a shallow perspective, some of the male actors have become handsome young men—namely, the Phelps twins (Fred and George Weasley). Though my friend made a comment after the movie that I had to agree with—Daniel Radcliffe took his shirt off many times during the movie. It would seem that since he bared all for Equus a few years back, he had no problem anymore taking it off. But his acting skills have vastly improved over the seven movies and I can’t wait to see how he handles the intensity needed for part two.

The challenge of this movie was that the trio—Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint—carry it more than in the past. A few supporting players return in part one, including David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Natalie Tena (Tonks), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy)—just to name a few. Though brief, Neville gets an appearance in part one as well.  But the movie doesn’t suffer from the focus being mainly on Harry, Ron and Hermione. The young actors have bright careers ahead of them and this movie proves it.

When the credits started to roll, most of us in the theater wished we could immediately move on to Part 2. Part One was an excellent addition to the Harry Potter opus. The summer cannot come soon enough!

A Guide to Fanfiction, Part Four

Here we are now, Part Four of this little (ha!) guide. I hope this is helping some of you would be writers out there. Today, we'll just tackle one entire subject:

Setting

Now, I'm sure there are people out there who are thinking "Why do we need to focus on setting for a fanfiction? It's already there!" True, but that's not even half the work. Remember how in the last section we discussed description? I mentioned that good description can make the setting its own character and used the example of Hogwarts. Naturally then, Hogwarts is generally the setting of many a Harry Potter fic. Likewise, Rivendell or Gondor or Rohan end up used as various settings for a Lord of the Rings story. However, just writing "The Fellowship was resting in Lothlorien" or "Harry and Ron were in the Gryffindor common room" isn't enough setting. Of course, the authors have described these places so RESIST the temptation to merely open up The Fellowship of the Ring or a Harry Potter book and copy what Tolkien or Rowling wrote word for word. That's called "plagiarism." It's illegal and can get you kicked off most reputable fanfiction websites. It is okay to open those books and read what the author wrote so as to make sure YOUR description is similar to the original vision. In fact, that would be preferable than to you redecorating the Gryffindor common room as long as it is in YOUR own words.

Just a few words to the wise regarding certain settings. In the Lord of the Rings, neither Rivendell nor Mirkwood have castles. Rivendell is NOT a city. It is located in a valley and is a haven. It is an outpost, just the Last Homely House. Likewise, Mirkwood is called so because it is mirky. It is being invaded by Sauron's darkness and spider attacks are common. For safety, the elves live in caves. So describing Thranduil and Legolas' living quarters in grand statements that would better suit Versailles is rather laughable amongst Tolkien fans. Now, that's not to say there AREN'T times when you can play with setting. There are places that aren't really expanded on in Lord of the Rings where you can't use a little creativity to describe. Ithilien is rebuilt by Faramir and Eowyn after their marriage--what do you think the city would look like? Also, what about where the Haradim live? What is Mordor like now that Sauron is gone? Also, Hogwarts in Harry Potter is a large castle that has many nooks and new passageways that Harry and Company never explored. Why not have them explore those now?

But setting isn't just the place your characters are located at the time. There is also an emotional setting. How do the characters feel? The setting of a dark woods, properly shown and not told, can inspire your readers to feel the fear your character feels. A well placed rain shower or thunderstorm can reflect the character's sadness or inner struggle. Sunshine or bright settings can evoke an air of joy and peace.

In conclusion: Just because you are writing a fanfic, don't think your work on setting is done. It is a greater challenge because you must describe some place in your own words someone else has already written about. Rise to it, get it right and the fans will be more appreciative.

Next up: Dialogue!

A Guide to Fanfiction Part 3

And we continue!

Research, An Author's Best Friend

Okay, you've decided you are going to write a fanfic. You sit down and start writing. It's that easy, right? WRONG! Even if you weren't going to write fanfiction and write an original work, you can't just start writing. Every author has to do research of some sort. It's as my writing professor says, "Write what you can get away with. But to get away with it, research it." I used a New England town once in an original story. Had I ever been there? No, but I looked it up. I read all the information I could and studied pictures. Likewise, you don't have to be a medical genius to write a House or ER fic. However, it would be wise to research some diseases and medical practices so that you aren't pulling things out of thin air. It makes you, the author, sound ignorant and stupid and causes your audience to not trust in your abilities. And it's not like it's relatively hard to do research. We live in the internet age. Use Google, use Wikipedia...there is a place for you to find information. And it gives your writing authenticity. For example, there's a fic that's set in 19th Century France. However, the way the author portrays everything reads more like 21st Century America. Her story would've been improved slightly had she: looked up French names, French customs, French laws, etc.

So do the research. Don't just type something up and post it. Especially if your story takes place in a world outside of modern-day America. And also, remember that things are different in Omaha than New York City. And we will point it out.

Showing, Not Telling (AKA Description)

In fanfiction, there are two camps when it comes to description: bare bones and too much. There needs to be a "happy medium." In the bare bones camp, they are guilty of telling things rather than letting the reader "see it" or they tell the reader one thing, but what little they have shows another thing. For example, there is a fic where the author tells her readers that two of the main characters are in love. However, from what we've seen, it is more likely he's infatuated and she's suffering from Stockholm. Syndrome. He's killed one of her brothers, burned her house, killed her sister-in-law as well as the entire village, then kidnapped her at gunpoint--it's definitely Stockholm. I also think in the bare bones camp, they author is so excited to get their OMG! awesome idea out into the world, they don't bother building anything up. The sooner Legolas falls for their Sue, the better. In the other camp, too much description often bogs down the story and bores the reader. You don't have to describe every little thing nor do you have to use very flowery imagery. Sometimes simple is best. Also, description does not have to be wasted on characters or things we will never see again. I don't need to know what the server at the restaurant your characters are eating at looks like down to the shoes on his feet. Likewise, we don't need to know every article of clothing your character wears nor need to know every costume change.

Description should be used to expand the setting, which can be its own character. Honestly, can you imagine Harry Potter without Hogwarts? The school is a character in the books. Description can also be used to expand on characters. We'll use clothing again as a way to do this. Compare these:

A: "She always wore the most expansive clothing and liked fashion a lot."

B: "She wore the classic little black dress, accessorized down to her ridiculously high heels. It looked as if she had just walked off a Paris runway, not disembarked from a New York City cab. Her tastes were best served by Gucci or Versace or some other high-end European fashion house sold on Fifth Avenue. Nothing was a cheap knock-off from some third-rate retail store or, worse, Wal-Mart. She had probably never stepped foot in a Wal-Mart in her entire life; she's probably break out in hives if she did so."

Which paints the better picture in your head? Option B, right? Good description used properly can propel a story from mediocrity to greatness.

A Guide to Fanfiction

Okay, I'm a regular over at Fanfiction.net and throughout many years of reading fanfiction, I've learned what makes a good fanfiction and what makes a bad one. So, if you don't mind a bit of ranting, I'm going to share it. Because I feel there are people out there who need to know this.

Definition

Look, I'm sick and tired of fanbrats whining, "It's fanFICTION." You have to stop putting the emphasis on the last part of the word. It's as I told someone else earlier who whined about it. If you don't want people nitpicking you and telling you your doing it wrong, DON'T WRITE FANFICTION! Seriously, if you want to do whatever you damn please, write your own damn story. There's even a place for you to post it--Fictionpress.com. If you're still up to fanfiction, remember that the emphasis goes on the first part: FANfiction. It is stories written by fans for fans. You must respect the work at all times. Readers are coming so that they can be pulled back into their favorite book/television/movie/etc and not because you are such an OMG! Amazing writer.

Characters

There are two parts to this. First, the established canon characters. These are the real reason why someone clicks on a fanfiction story. They want to see the characters they love in a new scenario. So please respect the characterizations the authors or writers have established for their characters. Study their personalities, their quirks, their strengths, their weaknesses. Don't just write about them because their actors are hot. Hermione from Harry Potter is an average looking studious young woman with bushy brown hair and slightly big teeth who isn't lusted over by every boy in the school. She is not suddenly going to return from summer vacation as bombshell blonde with big breasts, a perfect figure, a sudden focus on getting into someone's (Harry/Ron/Draco/Fred/George/Snape/Remus) pants nor is the entire male population (including those that haven't hit puberty) going to start chasing after her. Also, Erik from the Phantom of the Opera isn't some misunderstood sexy man who was wrongfully scorned by Christine. He's an ugly, twisted, murderous, obsessed man who also happens to be a genius with the voice of an angel. In other words, don't change the characters to suit the story. Change the story to suit the characters.

Since long post is long, I will continue this probably Monday as tomorrow (err, today) is the Tony Awards. And that will probably be another long post.

Next: Mary Sues, Tenth Walkers, Setting, Canon, Romance, Alternate Universe and others. Hmm, this might take longer than I thought...