writing/ Michael Trucco/ movies/ Religious Girl

Dec. 6 Writing: Today after work I worked on my script The Fighter for one hour. Glynis Whiting gave me this tip that I should use fewer words. I was being too repetitive and having the characters say what the audience already knows. That reminds me of this comment on twop.com on the thread Secret Life of the American Teenager. All the characters talk around in circles.

That also reminds me of the TV show 7th Heaven. Both of those shows are created by Brenda Hampton. I didn't realize that my script did have repetition in dialogue. Now I'm going over it, and Glynis did point out specific scenes to dialogue I could have deleted. I then deleted it.

Dec. 7 Charity: Starbucks is doing the "red thing" like the GAP. Everytime you buy a cup of coffee, 5 cents will go to the Red charity that will help people in Africa who have AIDS.

News: I read this in the Journal a couple of weeks ago. Coca- Cola is obviously trying to sell their products to kids with animated polar bears and Santa Claus. They say they aren't, but it's pretty obvious that they are. At work, we got this big poster board of Santa giving a bottle of coke to a baby polar bear.

The coke people gave us these big decorations to decorate the restaurant with. They let us keep them which is cool.

Health: Last night I took two Gravol pills and I end up feeling more sick. It's like that song by Pink called "Just like a pill." The lyrics: "You're just like a pill/ Instead of making me better/ You're making me ill." Extra strength Tylenol and Gravol aren't working. Gravol says it will specifically stop you from vomiting.

I'm not a hypocondriac, but the other day I thought this may be stomach cancer. It did make me think about life and death. It kind of motivates me to finish that script now. It is done, but it needs to be at least 90 pages and I'm at about 50 pages.

Dec. 8: Today I can say I am healthy again. I got my appetite back.

Dec. 9: My sister said that 80% of restaurants close down within the first 5 years of opening. I can take her word for it because she was in business. I also remember hearing something like that from Desperate Housewives when the Scavos open the pizzeria. Lynette also mentioned on the show that most of the profits are made from the alcohol so a liquor license is important.

Funny: The other day S was ranting to my dad about this classmate of hers: "This was the same classmate who told me about that job that paid $7.50/hr. That happened 4 years ago, and I'm still mad about it." Ha, S is just like me. She is mad about old things. I'm sure we still get mad about things that happened years ago.

Religious Girl: I probably ran this to ground, but I still think about that girl who is in a religion that doesn't allow her to talk to boys. I remember Jeff Woodman asking: "What if a guy starts talking to her? What does she do?" Miss Johnston: "She pretends that she doesn't speak English or didn't hear him."

Now I think about all these other questions:

What if a policeman asks her a question? She can't walk away from him.

Is she allowed to chat online?

What if the other person is a guy?

Can she pick up the phone and if it's a guy on the other line, does she hang up or pass it to someone else?

What if male teacher ask her a question, can she answer?

What if a teacher ask her a question?

She answers in front of the entire class with male students, is that allowed?

Is her mom in her religion?

 If she is, how did she get married?

What if she wants to get a job?

What job can she get when she can't talk to guys?

I doubt Miss. J could answer those questions.

Michael Trucco: Today I was watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I read in the Metro that Michael Trucco guest- stars in it. I don't know who it is. I went on imdb.com and saw that MT was on the show Battlestar Gallactica. As you know, the most well- known actor who guest- stars on the show, is most likely the guy who did it. Yeah, MT did it.

Kelly Hu, the Asian woman from the movie X2 guest- starred in it too. She had the sharp nails and fought Wolverine. MT is hot. Check out his photos.

Here's one in color:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2616629504/nm0873998

Here are his headshots in black and white:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm579377664/nm0873998
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3912146176/nm0873998

I feel like these photos don't do him justice. In the episode he looked good. He's also 38 years old, and I don't really like guys that old. He's the exception.

Dec. 10: It turns out I have seen MT before. He was on the old TV show Tru Calling back in 2003. On that show, I had this crush of Shawn Reaves who plays Tru's brother Harrison on the show. He's so cute and funny.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2561120768/nm0714188

I still remember that old episode where Harrison goes to a job interview.

Boss: You don't have a resume.
H: What is a "resume"? (Uses air quotations.) A list of jobs that didn't work out?

I also want to say that there is an exception to the rule of the well- known actor in a Law and Order episode is the guy who did it: I saw an episode where Stephen Collins (dad from 7th Heaven) guest- starred and he was a bad guy, but he didn't commit the crime.

Movies: Last night I was checking what's on TV and saw that there is a movie called Confessions of Pit Fighter. It's about mixed martial arts. I have never heard about it before and it came out in 2005. Here's the synopsis from imdb.com:

"Confessions of a Pit Fighter is a character driven action film about regret, consequences and the triumph of the human spirit. Eddie Castillo is a quiet man. He has survived seven years of incarceration in the state pen and wants nothing more than to live out his life in relative tranquility. He moves in with you younger brother David who as a kid, idolized him. Castillo soon learns that the "tranquility" he was seeking is shattered by David getting involved in illegal underground fights, the same type of fights that coincidentally led Castillo to Prison. As much as Castillo tries to get David to go straight, he has to make his own way. David eventually gets killed in an underground fight and this sets Castillo on a collision course with destiny. Having no other choice, Castillo goes back into the underground fight game to find his brother's killer. Castillo sets out for revenge and in the process forsakes it for redemption. "From the day I was born I had to fight to survive. I fought everyone and everything that came in front of me. On the streets, confessions are made in Blood. They say that when you confess your sins, only then can you be redeemed. This is my redemption. This is my confession."

I saw Never Back Down over the summer. That movie came out this year. I should check out Red Belt another fighting movie. Here's the imdb.com synopsis:

"Is there room for principle in Los Angeles? Mike Terry teaches jujitsu and barely makes ends meet. His Brazilian wife, whose family promotes fights, wants to see Mike in the ring making money, but to him competition is degrading. A woman sideswipes Mike's car and then, after an odd sequence of events, shoots out the studio's window. Later that evening, Mike rescues an action movie star in a fistfight at a bar. In return, the actor befriends Mike, gives him a gift, offers him work on his newest film, and introduces Mike's wife to his own - the women initiate business dealings. Then, things go sour all at once, Mike's debts mount, and going into the ring may be his only option."

I have to do my research on fighting movies because I'm writing one.