Attention Authors and Writers...

[NOTE FROM BARB: My good friend Bobette Buster is one of the folks participating in this telesummit. She truly is one of the best in the business as a script analyst and writers coach. I don't know about the other folks. Sorry about the formatting. The file they sent me was problematic.]

The Writers Telesummit

What if you could be coached by 24 of the Best in the Business - All without leaving the comfort of your home?

Join us for an Amazing Virtual Writers' Conference!

Imagine spending a full hour with each of 24 world-class writing professionals. Each one dedicated to helping you write regularly, effectively and more profoundly. They want you to sell what you write and have your part in living the writing dream!

When?

Thursday, September 4-Sunday September 7, 2008


24 great sessions. 6 one-hour sessions over four days conveniently scheduled to suit your needs whether you live on the East Coast, the West Coast or anywhere in between. (And if you live elsewhere in the world, all sessions are recorded!)


Where?

Right in the comfort of your own home or office!


Who?


The Writers Telesummit brings together an amazing team of knowledgeable, successful - and genuinely helpful - industry professionals. They will all be in one place, talking directly to you and taking your questions.

This is a not to be missed opportunity. Not only is our roster excellent, but our presenters will be focused on telling you what you need to know to really move your writing career forward. They'ss share the things they wished they had learned starting out. The keys. The very best tips.

Unlike an ordinary writers conference, with The Writers TeleSummit you don’t have to choose between sessions or choose a track. At a regular writers conference you get one or two keynote speakers and then you have to make choices. Here all of our 24 speakers are keynote speakers. You get to hear them all and learn from all of them as they present—and listen to them again at your leisure.

Acclaimed author and creativity coach, Eric Maisel, PhD., has arranged what may be the best writers conference ever put together, to be held as a teleconference and web streaming event from September 4 – September 7, 2008. As a creative person you really must check it out.

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=781752

The Writers TeleSummit features 24 world-class professionals in the field. Accomplished authors, agents, publishers, all at your disposal for four days. The cost? Only $295, a fraction of the cost of any other kind of conference of this caliber.

All calls are professionally recorded and available for play back and download. Your registration includes audio downloads of all 24 keynote addresses for the entire four day conference. That's 24 hours of inspiring audio available as in MP3 format included in the low cost of registering. There is also an option for having CD's of all events sent to your door.

There are several great free gifts that are ours to keep when we register. We’ll get four lessons from Eric Maisel's popular Coaching Writers Training, lessons that you can’t get anywhere else. If you wanted them, you would have to pay more than the cost of The Writers Telesummit to join the training. You get them for free when you sign up. We'll also get three professional tips from each presenter, that's 72 tips to jump start our writing/creative careers before the conference even begins. And if we are in the first 50 people to register, we get a free copy of Eric Maisel's E Book "Sleep Thinking." It's an incredible value.

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=781752

Our amazing presentations:

0. The Odyssey of the First Novel

. The Odyssey of the Memoir

0. Writing and Selling the Romance Novel

. Writing and Selling the Contemporary Novel

. Writing and Selling the Mystery Series

. Writing and Selling the Children’s Book

. Writing and Selling the Nonfiction Book

. Writing and Selling the Interview Book

. Writing and Selling the Self-Help Book

. Writing and Selling the Illustrated Book

. Writing and Selling the Travel Memoir

. Writing and Selling the Nature Book

. Writing for the Niche Market

. How to Turn Your Expertise into a Bestselling Book

. The Fundamentals of Screenwriting

. The Art of the Spiritual Book

. The Nonfiction Collaboration

. Literary Agent Basics

. Finding the Right Literary Agent

. What Editors Want

. How to Handle Rejection

. Book Publicity Basics

. Branding, Positioning, and Self-Promoting

Our amazing roster:

Rebecca York - our speaker on “Writing and Selling the Romance Novel”

. A New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-selling and award-winning author, Rebecca has written over 115 books. Since 1983, Rebecca has authored or co-authored 85 romances and romantic thrillers, for Berkley, Harlequin, Silhouette, Dell, Kensington and Tor, many with paranormal elements.

. Her KILLING MOON was a launch title for Berkley’s Sensation imprint in June 2003. Seven more books in the series have followed. Her next Intrigue is CHRISTMAS SPIRIT, October, 2008.

. Her many awards include two Rita finalist books. She has two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times: for Series Romantic Suspense and for Series Romantic Mystery. Romantic Times recently honored her as a Pioneer of Romance.

Cindi Myers - our speaker on “Writing and Selling the Contemporary Novel”

0. Writing as Cynthia Sterling, Cindi wrote seven historical romances for Berkley and Kensington before turning to contemporary fiction.

. Cindi has published more than 30 romances and women’s fiction titles, among them MY BACKWARDS LIFE, LEARNING CURVES, THE RIGHT MR. WRONG, and A SOLDIER COMES HOME.

. Almost half a million copies of Cindi’s books have been published around the world. Her books have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, German, Dutch, Korean, Japanese, and Greek.

Camille Minichino - our speaker on “Writing and Selling the Mystery Series”

. Bestselling author of the periodic table mystery series, whose titles include THE OXYGEN MURDER, THE LITHIUM MURDER, THE CARBON MURDER and THE NITROGEN MURDER.

. Camille also created a second mystery series based on her lifelong love of miniatures. Writing as Margaret Grace, her titles in this series include MURDER IN MINIATURE and MAYHEM IN MINIATURE.

. Has a Ph.D. in physics from Fordham University, is on the staff of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has written wildly popular articles like “Experimental Very High Pressure Equation of State and Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Ta and W” and “Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Tantalum and Molybdenum” and further demonstrated her range by penning MEMOIR: THE BOSTON BRAVES.

Sheree Fitch - our speaker on “Writing and Selling the Children’s Book”

. Sheree is a multi award-winning writer, speaker, and educator and the author of twenty-three books in a variety of genres. Since the publication of her first book, TOES IN MY NOSE (Doubleday 1987), she’s traveled the globe as a visiting author, writing instructor, and literacy educator.

. Sheree is one of Canada’s best-known and best-loved children’s book authors. Her books for children include THERE’S A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!, IF I COULD WEAR MY SNEAKERS, NO TWO SNOWFLAKES, THE HULLABALOO BUGAGABOO DAY and many others

. Sheree received the Vicky Metcalf Award for a body of work inspirational to Canadian children and two honorary doctorates for her contribution to Canadian literature and issues affecting women and children.

Ed Hooks - our speaker on “Writing for the Niche Market”

0. Ed has been a theatre professional for three decades and teaches acting to both animators and actors. His books include THE ACTOR’S FIELD GUIDE, ACTING STRATEGIES FOR THE CYBER AGE, THE ULTIMATE SCENE AND MONOLOGUE SOURCEBOOK, and ACTING FOR ANIMATORS.

. Ed has taught for many companies, including Disney Feature Animation (Burbank, Orlando and Sydney, Australia), Ubisoft, Blue Sky, DreamWorks/PDI, Lucas Learning, Animal Logic, Rising Sun Pictures, Microsoft (X-Box/Fasa Studios), Big Idea, Scanline Productions (Munich Germany) and Crystal Dynamics and twice instructed at The Ringling School of Art and Design (Sarasota, Florida).

. Last year Ed taught in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ed’s newest book is ACTING IN ANIMATION: A LOOK AT 12 FILMS.

Cathleen Rountree - our speaker on “Writing and Selling the Interview Book”

. Author of the bestselling interview series ON WOMEN TURNING 30, ON WOMEN TURNING 40, ON WOMEN TURNING 50, ON WOMEN TURNING 60, and ON WOMEN TURNING 70

. An entertainment critic, film critic and movie lover who wrote THE MOVIE LOVER’S CLUB and who writes for Documentary Magazine, Film Arts Magazine, GreenCine, and many other publications

. Cathleen is also the author of THE WRITER’S MENTOR: A GUIDE TO PUTTING PASSION ON PAGE, a book for – and beloved by – writers.

Jennifer Louden - our speaker on “Writing and Selling the Self-Help Book”

. Created the internationally known and bestselling Comfort Queen line of books, including THE WOMAN’S COMFORT BOOK, THE COUPLE’S COMFORT BOOK, THE PREGNANT WOMAN’S COMFORT BOOK, and COMFORT SECRETS FOR BUSY WOMEN

. Prolific author whose other books include THE LIFE ORGANIZER: A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO A MINDFUL YEAR and whose articles appear regularly in Body + Soul Magazine

. An in-demand speaker and a leading spokeswoman for women’s well-being, she has appeared on the Oprah Show, Later Today, MS-NBC, Fit TV, and more than a hundred local news shows in most major markets.

Bobette Buster - our speaker on “The Fundamentals of Screenwriting: Finding the Story in Your Script”

0. A world-renowned lecturer on “What’s the Big Idea? The Art and Craft of Feature Film Development,” a course which she created as an Adj. Professor at the University of Southern California’s Peter Stark Producing Program, while working as a Hollywood creative film executive with Tony Scott, Larry Gelbart and Ray Stark.

. An in-demand worldwide workshop leader and lecturer who for the past dozen years had been visiting faculty at the University of Milan, La Femis in Paris and the Media Business School in Rhonda, Spain, as well as the creator of the Origination Lab for Screen Training Ireland, guest lecturer at Pixar Studios, advisor at the Sundance Lab for Latin American Writers and speaker and advisor to film programs in Mexico, Cuba, Germany, The Czech Republic, Italy, Denmark, Norway and Japan.

. During each of the past ten years, one of the Top Ten Box Office films has been from a student of Bobette’s. Her students are now major Industry players, writers/directors, executives and producers and have been nominated for or won the top awards in Europe and Hollywood, including the Emmys and Oscars.

Janet Rosen - our speaker on “Literary Agent Basics”

. Janet is a senior agent at the prestigious Sheree Bykofsky Associates Literary Agency, where she represents a wide range of nonfiction.

. Former president of the NYC chapter of the Women’s National Book Association, former associate book editor at Glamour Magazine, and – hold on to your hats – stand-up comedienne, appearing at some of NYC’s better and seedier clubs.

. Specializes in the areas of business, health and fitness, humor, narrative nonfiction, pop culture, psychology, religion and spirituality, self-help, dating and relationships, and current affairs.

Roccie Hill - our speaker on “The Odyssey of the First Novel”

. Roccie has worked as the executive director of several non-profits, among them Earthshare of California, The Housing Trust of Santa Clara, and The Leakey Foundation. She is currently the executive director of Guide Dogs of the Desert.

. Her first published novel, THREE MINUTES ON LOVE, ran the gauntlet of over 100 rejections before finding its home at The Permanent Press and its publication October, 2008.

Hollywood Catholic Underground Aug. 16

Catholic Underground ©, a.k.a. CU, is a cultural apostolate of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal - www.franciscanfriars.com. It is a direct response to a call that began with Pope John Paul II, and is continued by Pope Benedict XVI. JPII said that because the Gospel lives in conversation with culture, we must be fearless in crossing the cultural threshold of the communication and information revolution now taking place.

The first part of the evening is Eucharistic adoration, and begins with Vespers (Evening Prayer). This is the universal prayer of the Church - prayed by the Catholics throughout the world in every time zone and in every language. After Vespers, there is a time of simple praise. This provides a window for each person to personally encounter Jesus Christ. The beauty of the darkened Church illumined by candles helps us enter the mystery of our Lord's presence in the Eucharist. The holy hour ends with solemn Benediction.

The second part of every evening showcases Catholic artists. Here we experience the “new evangelization”. The Underground includes music, poetry, visual art, dancers, film, drama, etc.


AUGUST 16 - Singer-songwriters Judd and Maggie will be performing. Visit their website at http://www.myspace.com/juddandmaggie

Hope you can make it!

Catholic Underground - Los Angeles
The Intersection of Catholicism and Culture
Third Saturday of the Month
8:00pm - 10:00pm
St. Victor's Catholic Church
8364 Holloway Drive
West Hollywood, CA

New Season at my Favorite Theater Company

Actors Co-op Season Tickets Now Available!

The membership of Actors Co-op invites you to join us for a season of theatre that transports your mind and transforms your spirit. The coming 2008-2009 season includes :

• the powerful and challenging drama The Elephant Man
  

• the side-splitting comedy Leading Ladies

• a world-premiere musical Makin’ Hay
  

• and the classic drama “The Crucible.”

Shows start in September. For more information, please go to our website or call (323) 462-8460.

Barb in Glimpses

I did an interview recently with Heather Goodman for her weekly eZine "Glimpses." The eZine is for Christians who are artists or who care about arts and culture and I recommend checking it out and possibly subscribing. I'm going to put the whole interview here because there isn't a place you can link to it on line.

In Her Story
interview with Barbara Nicolosi: art for the masses

Barbara Nicolosi is a screenwriter, founding director of and teacher at Act One, and co-author of Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture, and that's only the beginning of her C.V.

I first heard Barbara speak at the symposium, Transforming Culture: A Vision for the Church and the Arts. She had us laughing so hard, we threw our heads back and snorted. She understands the artist, and yet she doesn't excuse the artist. She speaks what she thinks. More than that, she lives what she thinks.

HG: Tell us about your move from a nunnery to Hollywood (couldn't help myself--it's Shakespeare in the Park season). What was the catalyst for this?

BN: Everybody always wants to know why I left the convent. I think it is a much more interesting question why anyone in this day and age would go into a convent. But since you asked...

For nine years in my twenties, I was a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, which is a women's religious community dedicated to evangelization with the media. We published books and ran bookstores, and were supposed to be engaged in using all the modern means to spread the Gospel. Unfortunately, the community had actually retreated into serving just the very limited constituency of Catholics who go into Catholic bookstores. There wasn't any real interest in the community in what I thought was the most compelling part of our constitutions, which was the mandate to master the most powerful means of communication - movies, television, radio, music - as vehicles for the Good News. We also had a mandate to provide formation for media professionals, but none of the folks with any clout in the community seemed to want to take that on either. So, I found myself categorized as a bit of a rebel in the convent, just because I wanted to do what I thought I would be doing when I joined the community. I was always either bored unpacking books in the centers, or kicking against the goad, to borrow from St. Paul, by trying new things and getting in trouble under the heading, "Who do you think you are?"

I left the community with many friends, and I still feel a great affection for many of my former sisters. When I think of them I always feel a wave of sadness though because the world really needs from them what they were supposed to give. But, personally, I wasn't a patient enough person to let thirty years of my life pass in frustration.

HG: It seems that often, we're facing frustrations no matter what field we're in. Too many of us, though, don't do anything about it...

How did Act One get started?

BN: My first job in Hollywood was as a creative executive at a production company. I spent my days and nights reading scripts, books and articles trying to find project ideas for our company. Because our company was run by a prominent Christian, we got a look at lots of scripts from believers, and pretty much all of them were terrible. By terrible, I mean they were unprofessional in their format, and had very little understanding of the possibilities of the screen art form. They tended to be completely preachy, lacking in dramatic tension, and frankly, lame.

I had come to Hollywood thinking that Christians were being persecuted here. I realized very quickly that we were committing suicide. So, a group of other Christians and I got together under the banner of Inter-Mission, which was an Evangelical ministry to Hollywood, and we concocted a rigorous program that would combat the four principle problems that we saw in the efforts of Christians as they started out in the business. Act One with its keynotes of professionalism, artistry, ethics and spirituality was the result.

HG: What is your vision for Christians in Hollywood?

BN: Hollywood matters because it is the global center for art, entertainment and storytelling. Art is the way that human beings respond to the cosmos. Every generation is supposed to put something beautiful out there as an expression of gratitude and love, for future generations to brood over and in which to take delight. Storytelling is the way human beings learn. It is the way we define our values. It gives us heroes and noble dreams. Entertainment is the way we stretch ourselves beyond the limits of our work a day world to experience the depth of our human nature. Our entertainment should lead us to laugh hard and to cry with empathy and to feel exhilaration and wonder.

It makes no sense at all that Christians would be missing from this unbelievably influential and urgent landscape. We have something to say that would be sorely missing in Hollywood were we not here. Namely, we bring a note of hope. We also bring a mandate of concern for the needs of the audience. And we bring the glory and creative energy of the Holy Spirit.

My vision for Christians in Hollywood is basically that we be here. That we be here as artists and professionals of integrity and probity and nobility and skill. And that we are here as presences of prayer and charity in the heart of every studio lot, office, set and writers room.

HG: How can non-filmmakers support this vision for Christians in Hollywood?

BN: Act One has been extremely successful at identifying, mentoring and launching hundreds of Christians into the business. What we haven't been successful at, is convincing the broader Christian community how vital it is for us to be here training, mentoring, exhorting and challenging. We are a shoe-string non-profit that struggles every month to meet the salaries for our grossly underpaid but wonderfully dedicated staff. This makes absolutely no sense to me.

Christians outside of the industry need to see organizations like Act One as missionary efforts that need their financial and prayer support. We are here on the front lines, trying to make the future for your kids better in terms of movies, television, video games and the Internet. People can donate to us through our web site at www.actoneprogram.com, and that would be a huge thing people can do to make a difference.

The other thing that needs to happen is prayer. We need Christians to be praying fervently for a new generation of faith-filled artists and professionals to come to Hollywood to be writers, directors, actors, executives, agents, publicists - everything. There will be no substitute for having Christians on the ground here, befriending people and changing hearts one at a time. We have to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send many laborers into Warner Bros, Paramount, Dreamworks, Sony, ICM, CAA, etc.

HG: How can Christians get beyond curse word counting and overtly pious themes to determine if the message of a movie is Christian or not?

Christians need to view movies and television with a sense of context. That is, when considering a movie or television show, the questions need to be who is this show for, and what here is true? And then, what is there in this show that is a sign of the times that I can use as a means to talk to people about the Gospel? Too many Christians are not even reading the signs of the times. We are so engaged in ducking and running, and wishing we lived back in the 1830s. No, this is our time. This moment with its post-modern confusion, with its 24 hour chattering news cycle, its post-Sexual Revolution cynicism and vulgarity, and with the incipient sloth which is the ultimate gift of all our modern conveniences.

Christians need to grow up and understand that this is a very dark world which is locked in a high stakes struggle. What I mean by that is, we have people on one side thinking homosexuals can make a marriage, and scientists over there are experimenting on baby humans, and folks over there are wanting to euthanize grandma. This is not a moment in which a Precious Moments style message and apostolic approach is going to help anything. Christians should be the ultimate realists who are not shocked by the ravages of sin. An old nun once said to me, "Only fools are scandalized." The Scriptures say that Jesus knew what was in the heart of man, and so must we if we are going to tell stories that will lead people to compunction, and then grace.

We interrupt this pop-culture blog...

...to save the elderly and chronically ill from the State of California.

Good grief, I hate to be right sometimes, but I saw this coming two years ago when the Chinese doctor on ER euthanized her father as a Christmas present.

Don't you love the rhetoric of this latest way to kill people? "Terminal sedation." Doesn't it just take you back to killing unborn babies as "dilation and extraction"?

Please pray.

________________________________________________

Dear Friends,

Our faith and the church itself are being gravely challenged at this moment. Bill AB 747 on terminal sedation is anticipated to pass the Senate in August and be sent back to the Assembly where it was narrowly passed last month.

The bill will mandate a physician to offer terminal sedation to all patients a doctor believes has a terminal illness; this can be anything from cancer to diabetes. It requires the doctor to tell a patient they can be sedated till unconsciousness and then starved to death. It will lead to euthanasia and place in jeopardy many souls who might select this treatment out of fright when told they may have a life threatening illness, even if it can be treated.

It will jeopardize all Catholic hospitals as they may be mandated in the future to provide such care. From a moral stand point it may mean the closure and loss of the Catholic presence in our community and across the nation. This is what they want.

I urge you to call, write, and do all you can to convince (especially Democratic Assemblymen) to vote no on this bill. We need only to change 4 votes. Thanks.

Sincerely,


Dr. Vincent Fortanasce

UPDATE: FROM BARB.....

Apparently this story goes back to late June, and the Catholic Bishops managed to rally a coalition of care providers to stop the bill. Here is a message from the CA Bishops web site:

AB 2747 - A Legislative Victory



Late on Wednesday, June 25, Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Eureka), the author of AB 2747 , End of Life Care, was forced to take the amendments which removed the language creating a platform for the legalization of assisted suicide. She accepted the amendments—which had been requested since the introduction of the bill in February—in order to secure the votes needed for her bill to pass the Senate Health Committee. On the following morning, the amended version cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee—only after the author accepted a number of other suggested technical amendments. The Judiciary Committee chair, Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), who may have been opposed to the bill in its original form, was the deciding vote which she cast with the caveat that "a lot of work still needs to be done on this bill."

The author's capitulation occurred because of the outstanding work of the lobbyists and physicians of the Northern California Oncologists' Association (ANCO), the representatives from the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)—as well as the advocacy of the many dedicated members of Californians Against Assisted Suicide , and the emails sent to Senators by the subscribers of the Catholic Legislative Network . If you participated in this effort—a heartfelt thanks to you!

The amendments in the revised bill included:

* Expansion and clarification of the definition of "healthcare provider"
* Removal of the definition of palliative sedation
* Removal of the definition of Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED)
* Removal of the "one year or less to live" trigger for discussion of end-of-life "care" options
* Removal of palliative sedation and VSED from the menu of end-of-life "care" options
* Recasting of the section requiring the transfer of a patient requesting a treatment his/her healthcare provider declined to offer—to allowing a transfer only when the healthcare provider did not comply with the patient's request for information on end-of-life care options.

The last amendment listed above disabled the author's intent to funnel patients to Compassion & Choices (formerly Hemlock Society) and satisfied the oncologists—who already provide information early and often to their patients.

This "event" was an important win for us. The amendments the author accepted now make the bill a hospice/information bill only—not a stealth bill setting up a mechanism for hastened death. We remain committed to quality end-of-life care including ensuring that patients are aware of the benefits of hospice and the availability of adequate palliative care and pain medication. We will continue to work with others to secure that reality.

Thank God for this victory, and thanks to Bill Cork for the update. But we have to know it is only temporary. As soon as the Culture of Death figures out how to make killing the elderly profitable, they will be back with a whole new rhetoric of choice and how to control your dying. I am sure their are lot so fpeople now who are regarding the whole grey-haired baby-boomer generation with capitlistic glee - how to make $$$ by sending to their graves the generation that sent millions of unborn babies to theirs. Ah, the delicious irony of history.

Brideshead Eviscerated

How dare they.

No, I mean really, how DARE they?! Imagine if someone did a new adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird and it ended up savagely racist? That's what they've done here. A profoundly Catholic novel, in this "adaptation", Brideshead Revisited is viciously anti-Catholic. They turned a movie about God and the soul, into a lurid love triangle between a homosexual, his sister and a hapless hunk. It's lame. It's bad.

I will have much more to say about why I think this happened, and what the failings of the movie are even setting aside it's gutting of its source material's core themes. But I wanted to put this out there fast now, so that faithful fans of the novel like me who might be planning on spending $12.00 a piece to see the movie this weekend, should stay home. The filmmakers here have done a hatchet job on this book and their effort deserves outrage and not any kind of box-office rewards.

I'm going to Mass to pray for them.

_____________________________________________


Okay, I'm back now and want to flesh out my initial warning off of Julian Jarrold's new adaptation of Brideshead Revisited

Where to start? Hmmmm.... How about here.

(from the London Telegraph, 7/19/2008)

But now a new film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited will out Sebastian Flyte as a homosexual and even feature a gay kiss between him and Charles.

In one controversial scene in the new £10 million film, which has its world premiere in New York on Tuesday, a love struck Sebastian attempts to kiss Charles on the mouth before his amorous advances are resisted.

The scene has been welcomed by some gay rights campaigners who have already dubbed the film “the most overtly” gay Brideshead ever...

Andrew Davies, the Bafta winning dramatist who co-wrote the film’s script said: “I think it will probably upset the purists.

“But one thing we wanted to make clear was that Sebastian was gay and that Charles although terribly fond of him is heading in another direction sexually."

... The film’s director, Julian Jarrold however admitted that things weren’t so clear cut in the book.

“There is a level of ambiguity in the relationship between Charles and Sebastian in the book. Sebastian needs and wants Charles but it is veiled...

"Veiled?" Only if you are an idiot, or willfully imposing an agenda on the text. The nature of the relationship between Charles and Sebastian is quite thoroughly discussed in the book. And Sebastian is repeatedly set off from the group Evelyn Waugh dubs "the sodomites" who are led by Antony Blanche - who in the book is THE homosexual in the story AND whose role in the story is to articulate the point-of-view of well, Satan. The key discussion of the relationship between Charles and Sebastian comes through the analysis of the Italian mistress, Kara. She speaks of "these romantic male friendships that you British have," which occur in youth and are a precursor for adult love. Her warning about the relationship has to do with the fact that chumming around getting sloshed and being feckless with your buddies is something children do, and that growing up will mean letting the idyllic, wistful summers of childhood go. And she thinks Sebastian is going to struggle to accept adulthood.

AND THIS is what Brideshead Revisited is about. The invitation of grace to "grow-up" and assume responsibility for our lives (which invitation, Dostoevsky refers to in his Brothers Karamazov in his words (paraphrase) "The greatest temptation to human nature is to give over one's responsibility for one's own life.") Sebastian isn't a drunk because he wants to be gay and the Church has filled him with guilt about it. He is drunk because he doesn't want to accept the limits and urgency and intensity of adult Christianity.

Good grief!

The ethical question that is here to be discussed is this: In adapting someone else's work, do you owe any fealty at all to the original author's intentions? Would it be a problem, for example, to do a Christian Mein Kempf, you know, and actually make it a lovely, inspirational piece about the power of the human spirit? Do I, as a writer, have a right to take something that has come out of someone else's brain and heart, and using it's name for notoriety and marketing, gut out its heart?

Obviously, it is one thing to violate source material because you are too stupid to understand the heart that you are gutting. This diminishes moral culpability, although it seems to me you could still end up in hell for having the hubris not to step aside when a task is so far above your skills and experience. (I would call this obama-ishness.) It is quite another problem morally, to hate the heart you are about to gut, and then willfully subvert it.

In the case of this new version of Brideshead both of the above are coming into play to render the project a mess. The task was above the intelligence, insight and skills of the adapters, AND they hate what the book is really about: "that Catholic thing."

I could cite probably twenty examples of the film's anti-Catholicism. But let me just use one of the most egregious. In the book, the Flyte family basically opposes Julia's engagement to Rex. In fact, the catchesis of the moral pygmy Rex Motram, who as a purely materialist capitalist is in Julia's words, "half a man", takes up the whole mid-point of the book. The family is seriously worried about Rex's lack of "spiritual curiosity," but Lady Marchmain respects her daughter's freedom too much to interfere in her daughter's marriage. Then, when it is discovered that Rex had been previously married and divorced, the Flyte family vigorously opposes the marriage and eventually Julia is cut off for leaving her faith to marry a divorced man.

In the movie, when Charles asks Julia why she married Rex she basically says that her mother forced her to do it because Rex was a rich Catholic.

Ya see what I mean?

I have to be frank and say that it is difficult for me to analyze the aesthetic flaws in this new movie. I was so distracted during the screening by the way that every scene in the movie had the settings from the book, but with a twisted heart, that I had to force myself to focus on the movie as movie. After the first fifteen minutes when it was clear that Jarrold and writer Davies were going to tell a completely different story than what was in Waugh's novel, I started saying to myself, "Okay, ignore what you know from the book and just see what they are doing here."

But it was nearly a futile enterprise. I really know and am in awe of this book much too much to completely separate myself. So, I did bring a friend of mine who is an astute and highly sought after Hollywood script doctor. She hadn't read the novel, and I wanted her there to help me just look at the movie for itself. And she said, 'I would not ever revisit this Brideshead."

My friend's main notes had to do with the utter lack of sympathy with which all of the characters in the film were drawn. The audience is supposed to believe that Charles Ryder has fallen in love with the Flytes. (In the book, evil Antony warns Charles to be careful of the Flyte "charm" - which for Waugh is a code word for the sacramental sensibility of "matter is good and delightful" and also "frank seeing life in the face and naming it truthfully" which is predicable of the Flytes who are Roman Catholics, albeit tortured ones.) In the movie, the Flytes have no charm at all. Sebastian is flamingly effeminate, narcissistic and contradictory. Julia is reduced here to just a babe, and a mean one. Cordelia has only two or three lines in the movie. Bridey is a blinking-eyed, officious idiot. And Lady Marchmain is a one-note, bitter fundamentalist who is intent on destroying her children's lives by saving their souls, and then wonders in her last days, "Why do they hate me?"

There is no "charm" in any of the characters. It's been stripped right out in the filmmakers' efforts to unmask the Flytes as victims of the ravaging effects of religious dogmatism and specifically Catholicism. For a Catholic not to be offended by this piece is inscrutable. "Do you not have eyes to see?"

It's not an accident that the movie is hostile to the Church. Here are a few choice quips from the screenwriter, Andrew Davies:

I must confess that as a vicar's son, I am only too familiar with the sinuous arguments that inflict themselves on adolescent Christians...

On the one hand, you have Charles, the outsider, desperately cramming on the laws and customs of these privileged peacocks, in the vain hope of acceptance. On the other, you have Sebastian and Julia, experts in the intricacies of their own caste systems, choking on their own religious guilt.

It gets so bad that you want to scream at them to run and never look back.

With this in mind, the role of Charles Ryder leapt out at me. Here is a young man on a thoroughly modern journey of self-discovery that embraces tolerance of the spiritual with a more contemporary, individualistic search for meaning in this life.

...Contrary to some reports, God is not the villain of our adaptation. The villain is man-made theology; the emotional and moral contortions forced on to individuals by their adherence to a particular set of codes and practices. Inevitably, as in Waugh's novel, the film debates the merits and demerits of such belief systems in people's lives.

As for the sex, I've always believed there's a visceral relationship between a yearning for spiritual bliss and sexual ecstasy. Look no further than Bernini's The Ecstasy of St Teresa. Like laughing and crying, sex and religion are twins. The film will not shy away from that. (More of the interview here)

Here's the writer further revealing his anti-Christian bias in press for his earlier film, the highly panned, anti-Christian hit piece Driving Lessons:

"My [vicar] father was an intelligent and articulate advocate for old-fashioned notions of kindness and liberalism, but in the end I just did not feel that loving him was a justification for believing in a whole theocratic system. Religion in certain circles has become increasingly exclusive and aggressive. Fundamentalist attitudes pervade, and that, in its most extreme form, means you can kill anybody you want to because they’re an unbeliever." (Jeremy Brock interviewed by Sheila Johnson in the [London] Telegraph.)


At a Sept. 2006 Los Angeles screening, Jeremy Brock explained that "if you do the Evangelical thing to that extent, you’ll invite chaos."

The guys a fire-breathing Christian-hater. What a shock that his Brideshead gets us so wrong. The only question is, why would producers choose a writer who so completely despises the core themes of the source material to adapt them for the screen?

I dunno. I think it is probably more evidence for Satanic interference in human affairs. Just doesn't make any sense from any purely human reasoning standpoint.

Another objection to the piece is how desperately clunky it is. Especially the dialogue. And this is particularly egregious because the dialogue in the source material by Waugh is so fabulously elegant. Why would you depart from it? As a screenwriter, I would consider the dialogue in Brideshead as an embarrassment of riches. Writer Davies refusal to use Waugh's words in scene after scene is also revealing of his ideological agenda. He can't use Waugh's dialogue, can he? Because he doesn't agree with what Waugh wants to say. So, in scene after scene he substitutes his own on the nose, agenda-driven hackiness, without the subtlety, magic and layeredness that makes Waugh's work so wonderful.

Also terribly clunky is the structure. Starts at the middle. Moves to the end. Juts back to the beginning and then skips through time madly trying to fit in set pieces. It had clearly been edited to death trying to create some kind of pacing, but alas. No suspense. Barely coherent story.

Just bleckkkkkkk. Bad, bad job, screenwriter. Offensively, bad.

Ooops. Gotta run. Will continue this later.....

Seeking Act One Gala Sponsorhips

Sent: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 2:37 pm
Subject: Act One Seeking Gala Sponsorships

Dear Act One Community:

The overwhelming response received last month for ticket reservations and table
sponsorships for the upcoming Gala was phenomenal! Thanks to the efforts of the
Act One community, we are well on our way to securing the support we need to
ensure that the Act One 10th Anniversary Kick-off Gala, scheduled for October
11th at Union Station in Los Angeles, is a huge success.  (For more information
on the gala, please see the attached document.)

However, we still need your help!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Each sponsorship opportunity
comes with unique bonuses.  See the attached document for what those bonuses
are. (Please note that co-sponsorship is encouraged and can be the beginning of
a collaboration between companies that have always wanted to work together!)

Won’t you help by asking your employer to consider sponsorship, or by putting
Act One in contact with potential sponsors?


Sponsorship levels:

(SOLD!) $2,250 - Sponsor/Centerpieces/Table Decor
(SOLD!) $2,500 - Sponsor/Video Production and Photography
$ 5,000 - Sponsor/Swag Bags
$10,000 - Sponsor/Event Printing
$10,000 - Sponsor/Cocktail Reception
$20,000 - Sponsor/Event Equipment Rental
$35,000 - Sponsor/Gala Production
$50,000 - Sponsor/Cocktail Reception/Dinner
$85,000 - Sponsor of the entire 10th Anniversary Act One Kick-off Gala

Please contact Rose@actoneprogram.com with sponsorship commitments or to purchase tickets.

Thank you for your continued support and efforts on behalf of Act One!

Rose M. Wright, Director
Advancement & Communications

A New Program from InterMission

A Life-Changing Career Seminar


Hollywood Assistant Training Program

The top ranks of Hollywood are filled with executives who started out as assistants. In this six week series, you will learn the skill sets necessary to be an employable, successful assistant in the entertainment industry.

Hollywood Assist will teach you about:
· Industry Standards & Etiquette
· Rolling Calls & Phone Sheets
· Written Correspondences & Submissions
· Research & Resource
· The Lay of the (Hollywood)land
· Filing & Organizational Systems
· Scheduling
· Navigating Personalities

Led by Lisa Suzanne Blum, a Talent Manager, Producer and Act One alumni with over 14 years of industry experience, along with expert Agent, Producer, and Executive guest speakers.

Starts August 5th 2008
and runs for 6 weeks
Tuesday nights from 7-8:30pm
West Hollywood, CA

Introductory price: $349
Register today at
lbasst@modusla.com
or call 424 202 3535.
SPACE IS LIMITED – CALL TODAY!

This message was sent by InterMission: 1763 N. Gower St. Hollywood, 90028

Six Quirks

Karen Hall tagged me for the "Six Quirks" meme, so in the spirit of friendship and solidarity, I am going to go along. But mainly, because I haven't spent a lot of time thinking of whether I actually have quirks. As a completely committed choleric, I tend to view what I do and the way I do things as THE way, so this is a demanding exercise for me...


6 Rules:
1. Link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged
6. Wait and see how far it spreads.

I don't see me doing number 4. My usual motif is to invite anyone who wants to be meed to join in.

My Quirks

1. I don't drink coffee.
2. I never learned to type. I only ever use three fingers and a thumb.
3. If there is a cat in the room, chances are I'm not completely listening to you.
4. On any given dinner plate, I only eat one food at a time.
5. I would rather be racked than hear someone tell me about a dream they had.
6. My sister says I take my glasses off and rub my eyes when I'm bored.

Dark (K)Night But Not in a Good Way

Too Dark.

Too long.

Too fast.

Too pretentious.



Too loud.

Too many characters.

Too much steady cam.

Too little substance.

Too little fun.

The whole world has lost its mind.

Heath was great, although the role was completely over the top and didn't call for any subtlety of performance. And his commitment to method acting certainly wasn't worth his life. But I bet they will give him the Oscar as an attempt at a kharmic balancing act: "Sorry we ate you up you beautiful young talented person. But here is a pretty golden 8 lb. statue."

So annoyed I stopped touring heavenly Amish farm country for this latest cinematic vision of hell.... Bleckkkkkkkk.

Act One Hiring Again

[Please cut and paste this, or link to it, or forward this on to help us get the word out. Thanks - BRN]

act one, inc.
2690 Beachwood Dr. Lower Floor
Hollywood, CA 90068
323-464-0815 office; 323-468-0315 fax
www.actoneprogram.com
barbara@actoneprogram.com

POSITION DESCRIPTION
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR- ACT ONE, INC.

Background for this Position and Organizational Overview:

This position description has been created for the position of Executive Director, Act One, Inc. It serves as a framework for defining the duties and responsibilities, lines of authority, criteria, characteristics and related information about the position. There are many other aspects of the duties and responsibilities of a position, which are developed during the course of the employment relationship. Those post-hiring adjustments should be documented between the Board of Directors of Act One and the Executive Director (with appropriate approvals according to current policies) by revising this from time to time.


Classification and Accountability:

· Classification: This is a full time (minimum 40 hour) “exempt” position under the Act One Compensation and Classification program. The person in this position will be an employee “at will” as described in the Employee Handbook and will work out of office in Hollywood, CA.

· Accountability: This position, which is filled by the personnel committee of the Act One Board of Directors, reports to the Act One, Inc. Board of Directors. The position will be evaluated annually in January before the annual Board of Directors meeting which takes place in February.


General / Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

As the managing head and leader of the Act One team, the Executive Director will supervise the other members of the staff and community in support of the overriding mission and vision of Act One. The position requires an entrepreneurial leader who is eager to see Act One expand and grow in the quality and kind of services it renders, in its donor and supporter base, and in its reputation in the Christian community and in Hollywood.


Particular duties of this position include:

· Supervision of all Act One staff, volunteers, and advisory boards.

· Broad oversight of anything that carries the Act One name so that all the program’s efforts will be branded by our founding keynotes: artistry, professionalism, substance, and spirituality.

· Direction of all fundraising efforts, which includes supervising the Director of Advancement in identifying, recruiting and developing new donors and maintaining relationships with our existing donor base.

· Initiation of public relations and promotional opportunities for Act One, with a particular emphasis on mainstream media outlets.

· Ongoing development of the Act One programs’ curricula and services to support the goal of identifying, training, and mentoring candidates to become hirable for the entertainment industry.

· Initiation and direction of entrepreneurial opportunities to expand and promote Act One programs, to recruit students, faculty, and financial support.

· Oversight of the preparation of an annual budget every November for the coming year, and ongoing oversight of all program expenditures.

· Principal liaison to any other church groups, media ministry groups, universities, and industry organizations so as to advance Act One’s mission and effectiveness.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary: Negotiable, based on experience. Competitive with comparable positions in the non-profit sector in Los Angeles.

Insurance: Medical and Dental Insurance benefits are provided as defined in the Employee Handbook. The benefits will begin after an initial three-month probationary period.

Vacation: There are three weeks of paid vacation annually for this position, including one week at Christmas, which become available after six months of employment.

Sick Leave: There are two weeks of annual paid sick leave for this position which become available after the three month probationary period.

Personal Days: The position carries the added benefit of one half day each week off for personal professional work on entertainment industry projects not affiliated with Act One. These personal development days cannot accrue as regular vacation days and will be considered waived by the employee if not taken on a weekly basis.


Skills, Experience, and Other Characteristics:

The ideal candidate for Executive Director of Act One will possess the following desirable qualities:

· Christian Commitment: It is imperative that this person is a committed Christian and can articulate a Statement of Faith and personal testimonial to that commitment. The candidate should be a person of prayer who is an active member of a Christian church. The candidate must ascribe to the norms of a Christian moral life, understanding that the witness of life is a constituent element of our service to the Act One community.

· Entrepreneurial Leadership and Administrative Abilities: The Executive Director is the principle mover and energetic force behind everything that happens at Act One. The position calls for a person with the creativity and courage to launch and support efforts that will be consistent with Act One’s mission and vision statement. Ours is a very positive, “can-do” environment with a special emphasis on service and stewardship of resources. Knowing how to motivate and martial staff and volunteers, and draw in an ever-expanding network of collaborators is a constituent element of this position.

· Professional Experience: The Executive Director should be well aware of the executive and creative climate in the entertainment industry, and should make every effort to deepen and solidify relationships with working professionals. This will ensure that the program truly serves the industry by providing training that meets the real needs of the marketplace. The Executive Director should also possess the qualities and experience necessary to develop curriculum, particularly that meets the diverse needs of students at all levels of achievement.

· Non-Profit Experience: This job requires a fluid and responsive relationship with the Board of Directors. Responding to and implementing Board priorities, and developing better communication with Board members and committees will be of key importance.

· Communications, Attitude, and Behavioral Skills: The Executive Director should have excellent communication skills, and be comfortable in public speaking, press interviews, and formal meetings. Because of the interdenominational nature of the program, the Executive Director should be a person who respects the goods present in different denominations so as to be comfortable speaking with media, faculty, students, and donors from a broad spectrum of Christian traditions.

A Night of Great Theater!

My friends and frequent collaborators at Hollywood's multiple award-winning, operated by Christians, theater company, Actors Co-op are doing a whole bunch of cool things with Shakespeare this summer. They are calling it "Shakespeariments." (How cool is that? Why didn't I think of it?!) Check out here for a list of the pieces they are doing.

Here's a message about the current show from its director, Marianne Savell:

Hi Ya'll

It's been my privilege to work on a production of HAMLET with a fine group of actors from Actors Co-op and a generous and talented design team. 90 minutes, 6 actors...

There are only 8 performances as this is a second stage fundraiser for Actors Co-op.

Friday, July 25 8pm
Saturday, July 26 2:30pm & 8pm
Sunday, July 27 2:30pm

Friday, August 1 8pm
Saturday, August 2 2:30pm & 8pm
Sunday, August 3 2:30pm

Box office is 323.462.8460 x400
Suggested donation of $10

Actors Co-op is located at First Presbyterian Church Hollywood
on the corner of Gower & Carlos in Hollywood
Free, well lit parking on Carlos in front of the church.

Hope you can come!

Marianne

Why We Need to Pray for Actors...

"Remember this, never forget it, you're just a piece of meat."
(1950's studio boss Harry Cohn, to actress Kim Novak)

P.S. Think that is terrible? So do we. Checks here.

FIRST ANNUAL ACT ONE ON LINE FUNDRAISER!

When was the last time you went to the movies? How much did you spend and did you think it was worth it? Did the movie connect you deeper to God, yourself, or others? Sometimes movies and television leads us to a connection, but what if it happened more? What if you could make a small gesture to ensure that better movies and television will be there in the future?

Act One needs your help. We are looking to find two hundred people who care about the impact of the global entertainment media, and who are willing to give twenty dollars a month, the price of a movie and a Coke. Joining your small sacrifices to that of 199 other folks will go a long way to help Act One continue with its urgent mission by basically paying our rent and utilities every month. We just signed a new lease on our offices, and, I have to be honest, it was an act of faith. The rent has, of course, gone up, and I'm not quite sure how God is going to surprise us with corresponding new ways to pay it. So, here we are letting you know so maybe you can help.

For ten years, we have been here in the heart of Hollywood - ready to meet and mentor and train your kids when they feel called to work in movies, television, the Internet and the whole range of new media. We are here to counsel, exhort and encourage established professionals who are trying to do good work for the world. And we are constantly trying to hold the line in the Church that we Christians should aspire to the highest standards of beauty and professionalism in the media and stories we create. We have taken a lot of hits for being so persnickety about Christians needing to have better standards in the arts and media- but it is the bond that unites all of us at Act One and in many ways, our reason to be as an organization. If you think that nagging voice is important - calling the Church to excellence and creativity and integrity and holiness in Hollywood - we could really use a tangible "vote" of support.

We need your help! The young people who come to us are, by definition, beginners. They often can not afford even the small tuition that Act One charges. Every day, we get letters and messages from young Christians who want us to start programs for actors and directors and publicists, and high school students. But frankly, we are already stretched too thin. We need a new generation of donors to come on board with regular support, so that we can continue what we are doing now, and expand it ten-fold for the future.

If you think Act One's presence in Hollywood is important, I ask you to please consider making the commitment to show it in a tangible way. Please tell your friends and family about what we are doing, send them a link to our website, and invite them to consider becoming a monthly small donor as well. Just keep telling yourself and your friends: "What we see on television and in the movies is not going to get better by accident. Act One is a smart and effective way to put people in place in Hollywood who will guarantee long-term and permanent change in the entertainment industry."

And now it’s easier than ever to contribute your tax-deductible donation! Log on to www.actoneprogram.com and click on Donate Now to sign up for a one time donation or a monthly withdrawal, which can be set at any time of the month.

Just the cost of a movie and a Coke once a month. That is all we are asking from you Church out there. Won'’t you consider a monthly donation to Act One?

Thanks and God Bless,

Barbara R. Nicolosi
Chair, Board of Directors

Why it was the 'Golden Age'...

"We want a story that starts out with an earthquake
and works its way up to a climax."
Samuel Goldwyn

Wall-E: No Garbage Here

I know it's brilliant. I just don't know exactly what it is.

I know what it isn't: a kids movie. It's too cynical. And too foreboding. I say this as someone who thinks Bambi/Lion King style tragedies are good for kids. Wall-E is different than these in that it is on many levels like a bedtime story based on Al Gore's Power Point movie. And I admit that made me uncomfortable for part of the film. I remember feeling waves of disappointment that Pixar was going to become one of those companies that just couldn't resist the lure of using their power to politicize instead of entertain. Because the movie maybe does just spend a few minutes too long showing us the remains of our planet a few years from now, after we bad ol' humans have wrecked it through an orgy of consumerism.

With an agenda to try and make people think about where we are headed as a society. it probably would have worked much better if the movie were set on some far away planet, like say the way Battlestar Galactica (2003) works. That show feels safe for the audience - not like politicizing - because the issues it raises are safely distanced from the corner voting booth by thousands of years and strange planets far, far away. But in the end, I am giving WallE a thumbs up because I think it was much less about environmental wacko-ness ("HUMANS ARE EVIL AND BAD FOR THE PLANET WHICH IS GOD!") than it is about greed and materialism. And I am always all for another explication of one of the seven deadly sins.

The humor in Wall-E seems to me to be mostly inaccessible to small children. Even the older kids at the screening we attended (I'm talking the eight to ten year olds) sat there almost politely, waiting for the rush and delight of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. It only came briefly in the one sequence in which Wall-E is floating through the solar system, a sequence which had all the wonder of the undersea vistas that made Nemo so lovely to watch. Several of the younger ones were actually taken out by their parents. There was one little boy in our audience who kept asking every thirty seconds, "What does that mean? What is happening?" The humor here also wasn't the witty jabs of the Shrek movies. Wall-E's images of obese humans being moved around in digitally created fantasies was much more wry than wit. Again, it felt like the filmmakers had a bit of an axe to grind. All about how materialistic we folks out in the audience all are.

Which is rather cheeky coming from Pixar, whom I don't see returning any of the 8 billion dollars they have made on their movies, and ancillary deals to put Nemo on Whopper wrappers, and Incredibles action figures and games and costumes and books and lunch boxes and Halloween costumes and....well, you get the point. I thought while I was watching Wall-E clean up all the trash left behind by the humans that the Pixar I know and love would have had at least one of those monumental trash compacted structures be made up entirely of scuffed up Pixar generated ancillary products....But they were being just a bit too earnest here for that kind of self-deprecating humor. Too bad. It would have worked and hence helped them in their thematic goal.

WallE is in in many ways a charming old style love-story - like um, Hello Dolly maybe? There are too many wonderful craft moments to mention - but I want to send a particular shout out for the use of the music from Hello Dolly as a aural contrast (read paradox) to the visuals on the planet. It was really genius and achieves so much for the storytelling that I was in awe.

Also on a narrative method level, it was incredible to me how they took us through nearly an hour of film with almost no dialogue track at all. I felt like I was watching a brilliant throwback to the heyday of silent cinema, before all the chattering heads came in to tell us how to feel. WallE is brilliant visual storytelling. Almost too brilliant, because as the story picks up pace, there are often two or more things going on in a frame and if you aren't watching very carefully, you will miss jokes and beats.

One friend pointed out to me that the movie is unabashedly a vision of heterosexual love. I hadn't thought of that before, but I think it's probably true. You have WallE the male, loving and then risking his life to protect the female robot EVE who is carrying the seed of new life in her "womb." So that's good. Probably too late for our society which is exhaustedly hell bent on trying to pretend that gender is irrelevant. And I do mean hell bent...

I thought the portrayal of the humans on the space ship was somewhat disappointingly over the top for Pixar. It seemed to me to be a lie about human nature - we could never all of us become just fat, lazy blobs with no passions or desires to learn and grow. I get that they needed to go that way for the storytelling, but by the way it made me uncomfortable - not emotionally but as a viewer of the craft - made me conclude it was a narrative misstep.

But do go see the piece with your teenagers and adult friends. It isn't Pixar's best piece of entertainment, but I would say that it is arguably the best piece of pure art they have produced. Enjoy.