TV Bites: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

THE SNACK:
The Formosa Cafe Sticky Ribs


One more Chinese food recipe! Who knew?

First off, let me get this off my chest.... This was going to be part one of the "Hollywood Celebrity in a Fictional Story" double bill with the second feature to be JCVD. I had seen JCVD at Fantastic Fest before it opened and really, really liked it. But I hadn't seen it since. When I rented to view, I discovered that when it was theatrically released (and on the DVD) they had "Tarantino-ed" it, i.e., they jumbled the timeline of the movie in such a rotten way that I think they completely ruined it. The version I saw was linear, beginning to end. So I decided to pass. It's a real shame. I kind of understand why they probably did it - some idiot told them to move the action sequences forward. But they should have trusted their initial instincts. Sorry, Claude. And what really pisses me off is that I really wanted to make Mussels in Belgian Ale to pair with it. You can do it, but I ain't.

Alright then. Let's move on.... When I was like 10 years old, there was only one thing I wanted to be when I grew up.... a secret agent. I was obsessed with James Bond, Derek Flint, (all one day coming to Chef du Cinema!) and The Man from UNCLE. A life of intrigue, danger, espionage, and mysterious women. Sign me up. I guess that's why I relate to this movie so much.

The Class: Chinatown

THE MENU:
Shrimp & Watercress Steamed Wontons w/Orange-Soy Dipping Sauce
Chinese Seaweed & Pork Soup
Soy, Honey & Coriander Grilled Tuna w/Jasmine Rice
Orange-Ginger Chinese Broccoli
Chinese Toffee Apples w/Ice Cream



Well, I'm back from Montreal and having a great time with my 4-month old kitten, Miles. And this is part one of a Chinese dim sum double bill.

When I was living in Los Angeles - over 15 years ago now - almost any wannabe or successful screenwriter (and more significantly any screenwriting teacher) would say without hesitation that Chinatown was the perfect screenplay. In fact, the Writers Guild of America named it the third greatest screenplay ever in a survey in 2005 of its members. (And two of those top three - Chinatown and The Godfather were produced by Robert Evans And, just to keep it all connected, Chinatown scribe Robert Towne also did some polishing on the script of The Godfather.) Even today, almost 35 years since its release, Chinatown is still considered to be one of the great screenplays ever.

But what usually isn't mentioned in these praises is that the screenplay went through a very difficult birth process. Even though Towne gets full credit as the author of the script, director Roman Polanski's incredible input is rarely considered by writers and their teachers. Yes, it suits our writers' egos (which is the butt of many jokes - "How many screenwriters does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Answer: "Why does it 'have' to be changed?"), but I wish they'd teach this to writers on the first day of school. That's just the way it is, kids. Hopefully I'll not mangle this quote too much (because it was in one of several Charlie Rose interviews he did and I'm not going to listen to all of them to find it), but I once heard writer Richard Price describe what being a Hollywood screenwriter is like: "Screenwriting is like the Pony Express and the screenwriter is the horse. If the horse goes lame, you shoot it and get another one. Because the idea is to get the thing out to Los Angeles." Even Towne himself, who has script doctored many others' work, has said, "'Doctoring' is kind of misleading because all scripts are rewritten. Every script has to be rewritten;, it's just a question of whether or not it's going to be rewritten well."

TV Bites: My Favorite Year

THE SNACK:
Pot Stickers (Jiaozi)



My Favorite Year is one of those movies I go back to again and again whenever I feel the need for the warm & fuzzy. Even though I wasn't born yet, it reminds me of the New York I grew up in.... when real New Yorkers lived there, not people who say they're from New York but are actually from Ohio (no offense to Ohioans).

In the beginning of his commentary track on the DVD, director Richard Benjamin speaks about how this kind of comedy, those writers and comedians, could only have come from Brooklyn, the Bronx, and the Lower East Side and that they "clawed their way out" of there. Both my parents grew up in Flatbush (part of Brooklyn to your out-of-towners). My grandparents never watched a baseball game after the Dodgers left to Los Angeles. Going to visit them on the weekends was a lot like the dinner Benji takes Alan Swann to in the movie (if only Rookie Carroca was there!). They had the only color television set on the block and, on Sunday evenings, all the neighbors would come over and cram into the living room to watch with us.