I have a confession to make.
I'm really not big on Shakespeare.
Not sure why, maybe I can blame the whole semester I had to take in high school of it, taught by one of the most boring teachers I ever had. I imagine I'd like it, had I ever seen it performed well. But I haven't. I like the Sonnets, but I just can't get into reading the plays. I hear you should read them aloud. In any case, I'd much prefer something by Sartre or Shepard.
Keanu has many times professed his love for The Bard. Maybe someday he can teach me an appreciation. You know...after I've flung the chessboard at him enough times.
In the beginning of 1995, Keanu took on the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. It's choices like this that makes me have so much respect for him as an actor.
Fans came from literally all over the world to see him. I certainly would have liked to have been there, just for the experience. Hopefully sometime in the future he will again choose to hit the stage. I would like to see him in something more contemporary, but the idea of him doing the Scottish play has been mentioned.
KeanuWeb has a great thorough page on Keanu's Hamlet, complete with pictures and quotes.
To check out a couple articles, click "MORE"...
Kenneth Branagh, who cast Keanu as Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, had this to say about Keanu in this interview.
What if Keanu Reeves is Hamlet? Would that qualify as agonizing?I didn't see it. [smiles coyly] But I commend Keanu enormously for his courage and his commitment to it. He's, to me, a very genuine individual and I think a much more talented actor than anybody gives him credit for.
You have worked with him...
I have.
And you got a lot of flack for casting him in Much Ado About Nothing.
Yeah. I personally think it's just because people find it much harder to drop the baggage that actors may have. Maybe because movies are so huge here in America. When people are in a successful movie, the image from that picture goes with them. [Keanu was in] Bill and Ted, those two movies, and that image of Keanu is one that people carry. And actors that don't fall naturally into a way of presenting yourself in all this circus of media, you know, so that people think, well, that's who he is. I think, for instance, he did a beautiful job in that Bill and Ted film, but actually doing that kind of stuff is not remotely as easy as it looks. If it were, everybody would be doing it much better. It has real charm, real lightness of touch, real kind of comedic ability. I mean, he worked like a dog on Much Ado, he's really easy to work with. And I think when you're in his position and you know that you're gonna get flack out of every corner for doing something like Hamlet, people would say it's an act of hubris or vanity, I'd say an act of great courage.
Here's a review from the Toronto Star, found at Heather's Keanu site
Here's one of the better reviews, thanks to wrygrass for this article.
Keanu Shines as Hamlet
by Stu SlayenWhen movie giant Keanu Reeves signed on to play Hamlet at Winnipeg's Manitoba Theatre Centre the critics, and some fans, were skeptical. He's a little more than skin, some said of the heart throb. They were less than kind. The were also less than correct.
The 30-year old Reeves has proven himself a legitimate acting force time and time again in film hits like Speed, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, My Own Private Idaho, River's Edge, Dangerous Liaisons and more. His performance as Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, on a midwinter prairie stage confirmed what I already believed-Keanu Reeves is a most excellent actor.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet has long been considered one of the theater's most grueling roles. Demanding an exhaustive emotional range, physical agility and the delivery of some 1 500 lines, the role is reserved for the select few. Reeves proved himself worthy of the part with fluid body movement, convincing facial expressions and clean, well-enunciated delivery of the bard's script. Most of the cast was strong (Gary Reinke was brilliant as the ghost of Hamlet's father) with exception of Liisa Repo-Martell who played Ophelia, the love of Hamlet's life. Keanu Reeves outperformed her by miles and their scenes together were somewhat uneven as a result.
Hamlet, as I recall from my Coles Notes, is the story of a prince whose mother and uncle marry after the death of his beloved father. His father's ghost comes to Hamlet and reveals that he was poisoned by Uncle Claudius who wanted the queen and the throne. The ghost wants Hamlet to take revenge on his step-father, the new king.
To see his uncle/step-father's reaction, Hamlet stages a play wherein a king is killed. Uncle Claudius is scared out of his tights and banishes Hamlet to England where he is to be killed. Hamlet escapes, returns to Denmark and finally gets to fulfill the ghost's wishes.
But the real story here wasn't the prince, the poison or even the performance but rather the presence. The fact that Keanu Reeves was here at all was big news.
The show sold out and people came from all over the worked to catch a glimpse of Keanu. One of the local newspapers had a "Keanu Hotline" so people could calling when they spotted the guy. A local TV station interviewed the manager of the restaurant where Keanu spent New Year's Eve. The newspaper reported how he accidentally left his credit card at men's clothing store. Mall security paged him and shoppers flocked to the store in anticipation of him coming to pick up the card. (They were disappointed when a friend returned instead.) One of our music writers saw him alone eating a piece of cake at a local pastry joint on Christmas Eve. His every move was watched of this eight week stay.
My favorite story is about a couple of young girls who saw Keanu and some fellow cast members eating lunch at a restaurant on a rehearsal break. They pad the busboy two bucks for Keanu's cutlery and even dove into a garbage can after his half eaten bread roll.
Keanu Reeves' visit was big news, but apparently not big enough to tell the world. The theater, Reeves and the actor's managers decided that there would be no national or international media interviews during his stay. He's uncomfortable being interviewed, rumor has it, and his management probably didn't want to make a big deal about their $7 million per movie star doing regional Canadian theater.Keanu did eight interviews-ten minutes each-with two local papers, four local TV stations and two local radio stations. The interviews were done on the day he arrived (December 8), probably before the plane had even cooled on the tarmac. What! A Magazine's request for an interview was turned down as were request from People, A Current Affair and other international media.
(I watch two of the local TV interviews. During one particular, Keanu was so uncomfortable it looked like he was sitting on thumb tacks. And the interviewer asked such riveting questions like, 'what do you like better, film or stage?'. Keanu must have stunned the viewers when revealed that he likes them both.Wow! I hope the National Enquirer doesn't get a hold of that tidbit! It could be splattered allover supermarket checkouts!)
So Keanu was here. Canadians didn't get to hear any great insights and only a few spent any time with the man. But we did get to see a true master at work. And that's what's important. After all, it was Shakespeare himself who wrote- "The play's the thing."
~What! (Ca), February/March 1995
I'm bored out of my skull today, so I've been cruising around eBay a bit.
I'm hoping to get this cool creepy postcard.
It'll be neat framed in the bathroom.
I saw these loveley Tibetan embroidery pieces, apparently screen used in Little Buddha. They're nice. If it were in US dollars I would consider bidding. They would be nice to frame individually. Maybe as gifts.
Lastly, I want to point out that there are a ton of Matrix II 3-D teaser posters out there.
DON'T bid on the one that has "unloaded" in the title. That's mine, dammit (mtrxhzu).
Open letter to whom it may concern.
Regardless of the validity of some rumors floating around regarding someone very close to someone we adore, I would like to suggest those of you wrought with concern, or seething with ire at the tabloids, to use this energy productively.
Find out what you can do to help.
leukemia.org
cancer.gov
marrow.org
Say your prayers, send your positive energies to anyone who may be facing this.
And count your blessings if you are not.
If anything good can come of this type of thing, it's awareness and a push into action.
Thanks to kaz for sending me this article from the aussie mag, Juice.
*slight spoiler warning*
I recently realized that while I've blogged my love for Bret Domrose, I haven't really paid much attention to Rob Mailhouse.
Shame on me.
Well, aside from being Dogstar's drummer, Rob is also an actor. He's done a number of feature films and lots of television work. I only found out recently that he guest-starred on an episode of the canceled FOX show, The Tick. Damn! I knew I should have watched that show!
Anyway, Keanu fans will spot Rob in Speed, where he utters "Jesus, Bob. What button did you push?" in the elevator. He most recently appeared in the new Goldfinger video, Open Your Eyes. Which I haven't seen because I'm poor white trash with no cable. Has anyone seen this? I'd like to hear about it.
Anyway, the story goes that Keanu met Rob in a store or something. Rob was wearing a hockey jersey and they struck up a conversation. Acting, music, hockey, blah blah malebondingcakes. A few garage jams and the beginning of what would become Dogstar ...um, began.
I joke about one day having the hyphenated last name of Domrose-Reeves, and that I'll have a kinky and torrid affair with Mr. Mailhouse in between marriages. Rob has always struck me as a very fun and funny guy. He certainly is a nice guy. Tall dark and handsome, too. A few of us affectionately refer to him as "Da Tree" and joke about being members of the Robert Mailhouse Arbor Day Society, because we so want to climb him.
Because he's always stuck behind that damned drum-kit, good shots of Mr. Mailhouse aren't as plentiful as the other two-thirds of the band. Someone needs to get a stage pass and rectify that next show. I can offer you a little audio sample of the wonder of Dogstar's drummer, though.
Here's a clip of Rob's drum solo from Summerfest (right click and save)
Thanks to Lori of Dogstarfans for that.
For more about Rob, you can check out Millie's Rob Mailhouse site.
In searching for some stuff on Hamlet (for a future post), I found an article from U magazine, October 1995
"He's Hollywood's latest heartthrob and was catapulted to superstardom in the film, Speed. Adored by millions of women he remains an enigma.
There are two words guaranteed to reduce most women to quivering lumps of jelly - Keanu Reeves. The six-foot tall Canadian hunk has become one of the world's biggest sex symbols since the smash-hit flick Speed, which also made him one of Hollywood's richest actors. He owes his chiselled features and olive skin to an Hawaiian-Chinese father and English bohemian mother who, in a burst of abandon during the 1960s, eloped to Beirut where Keanu was born. It's a romantic streak which Keanu claims to have inherited. But if you're wondering which lucky girl benefits from it, you'll have to stay wondering. Though he admits to wanting a wife and kids, Keanu is notoriously shy about his private life. We do know he has angrily dismissed rumours he's gay, says his longest relationship with a woman lasted two years and recently dated a girl called Autumn.
Perhaps he's more interested in his acting career. Next month he opens in A Walk in the Clouds. And with any luck this film should do for him what Legends of the Fall did for Brad Pitt. It's his first romantic lead and is sure to set all his female fans into overdrive. The plot concerns a World War II soldier, Paul Sutton, who meets a tearful woman on a train and learns she's pregnant out of wedlock, heading home to face the wrath of her father, a wealthy vineyard owner. The soldier gallantly volunteers to pose as her husband for a night, meeting her parents, sleeping on the floor of her bedroom, then ducking out before dawn so the baby will seem legitimate. Soon, of course, he's picking grapes and locking eyes with his new love across the vines.
Keanu, apparently, is painfully shy and when asked about himself, he squirms like a schoolboy or lapses into silence. His own family experiences have been fraught; with his mother's family alien to him and his recently jailed father a stranger to him for over half his life.
Keanu moved to LA in 1986 and since then his list of film credits is impressive: beginning with Youngblood, Permanent Record, The Prince of Pennsylvania and then moving on to Dangerous Liaisons, I Love You to Death, Point Break, Parenthood, cult film My Own Private Idaho, Much Ado about Nothing, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Little Buddha. And of course there was the adrenaline filled Speed which set millions of hearts throbbing and rocketed at the box office."
There's an interview included where Keanu talks about some things that I normally wouldn't post about, but since these are his own words I'm going to go ahead and include it, as it's pretty interesting.
If you'd like to read on...click "MORE"
--------
"Speed was your breakthrough as an action hero. Will A Walk in the Clouds do the same for you as a romantic lead?
Hopefully. That's part of the reason why I wanted to do it. It was very sensual and sexy and the script really appealed to me.
Is it up to you entirely what films you do?
I have my agent and other than that, my interpretation of the part, so there's a lot of me in it. I certainly feel my interpretation of the part comes from my interpretation of my own life and what I see in the part. The character is very romantic and I feel I am too.
Your character Paul Sutton is a very honourable guy. Is there something similar in that respect in yourself?
I don't know. A good actor can make you believe anything. He can make someone seem like a saint. But I'm not always a good man. I'm only human, I can also be a rat! Everybody has their dark sides.
But you seem like an honourable person. We don't often hear about Keanu Reeves in a sordid tabloid scandal!
I know. That's what makes me so boring. It's not that I work all the time and that makes me boring. I'm boring in my spare time too! That's why people make things up about me, I'm sure. (Keanu laughs). They're like, "God, we've got to give this guy life, if only in print."
You laugh about it but does it sometimes make you angry?
No. Well, not until it's so intrusive or insulting or in really bad taste, then it gets to the stage where I can't ignore it. I wish they wouldn't say things about the people I love.
Why do stars like Charlie Sheen and Hugh Grant pay for sex but you never seem to get caught up in anything like that?
As I said, I lead a boring life. I don't do anything. That's why people manufacture stories about me. I don't think what Hugh Grant did is much to do with being a movie star or actor - prostitutes aren't exclusively for stars. It's to do with the kind of person you are and whether you obviously get off on that kind of thing.
Do you think what Hugh Grant did was somehow a reaction to his sudden fame?
I don't think Hugh Grant did it out of guilt because he's suddenly successful. It's not like he said: 'I must pay penance! I'm too good!' I think it's just human behaviour. I don't know him so I can't see the whole picture but I don't suppose work pressures would send a guy like that to, say, a prostitute or to hit the bottle. Not like they did with someone like Spencer Tracey, who was supposed to have been a priest before he became and actor. He used to go on two-week drinking binges. They used to stop filming and he'd go and lock himself up and just drink. So he needed that release. It was just natural behaviour for him. I visit prostitutes. (He laughs). No. I play music, I read. I spend time with my friends.
How do you feel about the rumours that you are gay? Do you get angry over that?
For a long time I'd say to people who asked me that, "It's none of your business!" But eventually I was told by my manager and agent that I should address the question because if you don't collaborate with the press to a certain extent, they get quite venal. And that starts to get in the way, especially in Hollywood, when you're perceived in terms of your media image. One has to address it, especially if there's no end to the rumour.
What about the rumour that you're married to David Geffen (gay record mogul)?
I didn't know it was going around until recently. Someone told me and I was amazed because it seemed so ridiculous. Then the rumour just took on a life of its own so that's why I started addressing it.
Who were your screen idols when you were growing up?
I don't know anybody who really influenced my acting or my style, if there is a style. But I loved English actors like Peter O'Toole. He's really the one I looked forward to seeing. I hear him and Richard Harris used to do a lot of boozing together!
Your background is a mixture of different races. Do you feel that contributes to a dual nature?
Yes, I do think that. I'm half English, a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese. I guess from my English mother I inherited the good manners (Keanu laughs). That's very important. And from the Hawaiian side I guess I have my earthy aspect which makes me very well-grounded. I know Hawaii is an island and so I should associate that side of me with water and lighter stuff. But if you look at Hawaiians they have these very broad feet, big toes and big thumbs.
So you have big feet?
(Keanu lifts up one leg to reveal a huge hiking boot) Yeah, they're pretty big! And that's why I'm well-grounded. That's the earthy aspect of me.
What about your Chinese side?
I don't know about that. It's one thing I've always wondered about. What does that part of me mean? It's weird because my family is Hawaiian and so I get a sense of that tradition from them but I don't have Chinese family. Those roots are Polynesian, I guess, in correct terms.
That's on your father's side. How close are you to your mother's side of the family?
My mother has a divorced relationship from her family so I don't know who my grandparents are on that side. I don't know anything like that about them.
In A Walk in the Clouds the girl doesn't see eye-to-eye with her father. Are you still estranged from your own father?
Very much so. Otherwise I'm fairly close to my family. (Appearently, Keanu counts his sister Kim as his best friend) I wouldn't say that we are as traditionally close as the Aragon family in the film. Their traditions are important to keeping the family together. What I love in the film is the way it shows how relationships within the family struggle or harmonise as they do in real life. The character Victoria is interesting. She is confused and tries to establish her independence from the family, or from her father, by going to school and then by getting pregnant by the English professor. The traditions of family are valuable but that incident shows how they can smother a person and cause them to react against the family if the traditions are too wilful.
Does it hurt that you're not close to your father?
(Keanu takes a deep breath) I don't know if it hurts anymore but it did in the past and I can't forget that. The experience of what I felt as a young child is very much who I am today. Very much so. I live with that every day of my life.
Do you feel that part of your ambition and drive to prove yourself comes from the rejection you felt as a child?
Yeah, of course. The rejection has fuelled the need for me to be accepted, accepted on a wider scale. There's also the quest to do something with my life so that I can feel proud of myself and not feel like the rejected child. A lot of what being an actor is about is proving yourself for similar reasons.
Do you talk to your father at all now?
No, I haven't heard from him since I was 15 years old. It's part of my life that is very complex and unresolved. There are a lot of issues and some that are very painful. Perhaps too painful still.
Are you ever able to deal with such issues in your own life through playing out roles, such as Hamlet, who sees his father as an idol?
I never felt that when I did Hamlet (on the stage in Canada last year). I've never felt that with any of my roles. I think Hamlet is as much about the mother as the father. It's the first think he speaks about.
But the father is the key element.
Right, but it's the nature of the father. It depends on your interpretation of that. The first soliloquy is about his mother. I've never had a personal catharsis from acting but what has come out subconsciously have been things that are contained in me. You know, feeling for my mother. What I really felt playing Hamlet was anger. It was anger not toward my father but toward my mother.
That must have been cathartic.
No it wasn't because it wasn't freeing from the event. Acting has never brought me freedom from trauma but it's introduced me to perhaps a trauma that's been contained in expression. It's never brought release. It does give me that moment of freedom from it so I get to live.
Is it true you live in hotels?
Yeah, especially when I'm working. Now I just need a suitcase with my stuff in it. That's all I've been using. I think I now want to get an apartment.
Are you a loner?
Yes, I'm a loner. I like to be alone. But I also like to be among people. When I'm in the right mood.
What are your best qualities?
My manners, thanks to my mum. But manners are not much. So I don't really have much to go on.
Do you like to watch yourself on screen?
When I'm good because then I don't really see myself. I just see the character. When I'm bad I just see myself and that's painful to watch. They say that you learn from your mistakes but I don't think it helps me to improve when I see myself (he laughs)."
------------------Chris Carbury.
As Cheryl would say, this must have been before the filters...
I especially appreciate the last question, about watching his own work, because I've always wondered that about him.
Oh, and the part about his big feet....*snerk*
Well, the internet is still working against me today.
I can't stay connected and I'm sick of losing work so I'm not going to fight it.
Have a loveley Sunday, everyone.
Yes, the site was down earlier but everything seems to be OK now.
Thank you to those that emailed me.
Everybody's blogging like mad today for blog-a-thon. I actually have work to do so go visit my sponsorees:pervert club, and also kd and skarlet, & zel and see what up.
You can also go to the main blogathon page and check out all the particpants, news, awards, yadda-yadda...
So, shoo! Scat! Go spend some quality time reading about....damn near everything, I'd guess.
It's a good thing.
update: It's also HOOPTY's birthday so go dole out some cyber spanks.
When the new season of 24 starts, you can find me over at snark!fest! dishing about every new hour of the second longest day of Jack Bauer's life.
Hosted by the loverly skits, snark!fest! was (I think) originally a Buffy blog, but it's branching out. So when I found out that 24 would be one of the topics, I signed on.
Now I can feel a little bit better about my sordid affair with Kiefer, since I won't be over here waving it under Keanu's nose.
Anyway, if you're a Buffy, 24, or Smallville (hey! aren't ALL those on tuesday nights?) fan and find yourself with no place to vent about how fucking stupid Kim Bauer is, or how you want to bear Spike's or Lex Luthor's evil little children, then check out snark!fest!, eh?
I'd been racking my brain trying to decide on the pic to use for August's calendar. Last night Elsinore sent out those incredible Sunny Bak photos and I knew the search was over.
Is it hot in here?
...my loved ones are going to find nothing but a pile of ashes in front of my computer, and it's going to be ALL ELSINORE'S FAULT!
"What would happen if you melted? You know, you never really hear this talked about much, but spontaneous combustion? It exists!...[people] burn from within...sometimes they'll be in a wooden chair and the chair won't burn, but there'll be nothing left of the person. Except sometimes his teeth. Or the heart. No one speaks about this, but it's for real." ~Keanu on spontaneous human combustion
This Saturday is blog-a-thon.
All kinds of bloggers, including kd, zel, file13 and my sponsorees, the pervert club will be blogging every half-hour for a full 24 hours to raise money, and (more importantly) awareness for their chosen charities.
Hats off to you blogathonners! I plan on doing my best to harass each and every one of them in their comments on Saturday as a show of support.
And next month, coming right here to my humble hometown is BlogCon2002.
I'll hopefully be there for a good part of the festivities including the event that's being hyped more than the Matrix sequels, and is thrice as controversial...
That's right.
SHAVE HOOPTY!
Everybody's fave-O-rite freakboy, hoopty has been growing his hair out since....oh, god knows when, and he's going to let some lucky contributor do the honors of shaving it all off at noon on Saturday, August 24 at Blogcon.
He's doing it all for Locks of Love.
You can contribute to the pot over at shavehoopty.net.
I'm going to be giving a dollar for each item bought at keanuvision's online store up until August 14. So far, that's only about 20 bucks, so I urge you to not put off buying yourself a pair of "I [heart] KEANU" boxer shorts any longer.
I still have a few copies of Quattro Formaggi to give away, and if you buy more than one item, I'll throw in a Bill and Ted comic book.
Just email me after you receive your order.
And oh, so far away
I fell in love with you
Before the second show...
Yes, I'm yearning for Dogstar again still...
I'll never forget my first show. November 2000, right here in Vegas. Happy Ending* tour. I was lucky enough to get good seats for 2 friends and myself. Great ones, right in front of the bass player. I was afraid he'd catch me looking at him. It's hard not to, though. It's hard to say if the vibrations were from the low frequencies of the monitors or just his presence. What ever it was, it the feeling was almost sexual. The way he bounced that bass off of himself. His hands may as well have been on my hips, the way he moved me. I needed a cigarette afterward.
Your guitar
it sounds so sweet and clear
but you're not really here
It's just the radio
Live music is almost always better than recorded. That's true with any band, I think. It's the experience. Dogstar puts on a great show. No flash, just rock. Bret is one of the better frontmen I've ever seen. Just enough banter. Casual. He makes you feel at ease. Like you're among friends...everybody having a good time. Even though half the audience is pretty much in heat and about one raised eyebrow away from a catfight.
Not us of course...those other bitches.
Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby
I love you, I really do
When Happy Ending came out, Ultimatum Records' "street team" contacted a lot of Keanu sites to help promote the release. I was invited to go to a "meet and greet" at the Key Club show in LA. The car I had at the time wouldn't make it to LA, neither would my budget, so I had to miss out. I remember saying that "They'll just have to come to me." Shortly after that the Vegas show was announced. I took it as further proof that yes, indeed....the universe does revolve around me.
On a Dogstar axis.
My moods also control the weather.
Loneliness
is such a sad affair
and I can hardly wait
to be with you again
It's nearly a year since the last shows. Still no word on new dates anywhere here in the states. I can only hope that these guys are as eager to get together and play again as we are to hear them. Maybe there will be a couple gigs in LA this fall, maybe they will even get to Vegas before the end of the year. Maybe I'll discover diamonds in my backyard and fly to Japan.
What to say
to make you come again
Come back to me again
and play your sad guitar
They played Superstar at that first show I went to. And a few other times I've seen them. It's not one of my favorites on the CD, but it takes on a new dimension when played live. Sometimes they throw a nice little jam in the middle. It's sultrier, grooooovier live.
Here's a short clip of the live version, so you can see what I mean.
Superstar-Live (right click and save)
Thank you to Lori of DogstarFans for capturing it from a webcast.
So, like so many others, I do my best to wait for a possible new CD (HEY! you guys got cover art yet???), and hopefully some tour dates.
I know it will happen (you know, universe~revolve~me) So it's just a matter of WHEN.
Now?
Nope.
How about Now?
Not yet....soon...
Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby
I love you, I really do
*sigh*
*Happy Ending is getting harder and harder to find. I wish I hadn't given my second copy away to Roi.
You can still get it at cdnow.com, though.
Keanu's horoscope this week from freewillastrology.com...
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If I were your psychotherapist, I'd urge you to talk to me about control and manipulation, about dominance and surrender, about how to transform power struggles into exercises in mutual empowerment. Whereupon maybe you'd blurt out, "No way, man! I'm bone-weary of you always trying to regulate what we discuss. In fact, I'm sick and tired of *everyone* who tries to move me in the direction they want to go without any regard for where I want to go." And this, Virgo, would be the exact response I'd have hoped to elicit from you. It would blast away your excessive humility, maybe even purge the compulsive aspects of your desire to be of service. I bet you'd then set out on a quest to claim the authority and command you have forbidden yourself from owning all these years.
If I could pick any character that Keanu has played to be my boyfriend...
well, I'd have a hard time making a choice.
But up there at the tippy-top of the list is Ted "Theodore" Logan.
Yeah, Neo's got the moves, but he's way too busy being "The One" and all.
Paul Sutton's a sweetie, but he's a little too sweet for my taste. I'd get bored and end up breaking his heart over a weekend fling with Kevin Lomax.
Johhny Utah and Jack Traven sure are hunk-a-licious, but I couldn't bear having to constantly worry that one day some uniform is gonna show up at my door with a box of ashes and a badge.
Johnny M? ISSUES. And probably pretty high-maintenence, too.
I could see myself with Thomas Anderson, both of us in a little loft, geeking out at our his and her's workstations....but what do do once he's unplugged?
Shane Falco has tremendous boyfriend potential....if I didn't have a history of seasickness.
Aside from maybe Donnie, Griffin and Marlon I'd probably give any character he's played my real phone number.
But, ahhh......Ted.
First off, I love musicians...and ones that don't have a problem having their girlfriend in the band? Bonus.
He's got a best friend that's likeable enough that I wouldn't mind him hanging out all the time, but not someone I'd ever be into so there'd be no complications. His other friends are pretty cool, too.
He makes me laugh. He's adorable.
Plus, he's got a great future ahead of him.
I "heart" Ted.
Matrix-y stuff in the August issue of Empire(UK) magazine.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'm going to swing by a bookstore on my way home tonight.
Providing I survive the sauna that is my office today.
I might even buy it if there's some new pictures.
They'll have to be GOOD pictures, though, for me to buy something with Tom on the cover.
Thanks to Jena for this info.
UPDATE: More lemur love for Jena for typing out the article.
It may be a bit spoilerific (not terribly) so if you want to read it, click "MORE"
THE MATRIX RETURNS
EMPIRE VISITS FOX STUDIOS AUSTRALIA FOR AN EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT THE SPECTACULAR SEQUELS THAT WILL RULE 2003.
Exclusive Report from Australia
On Saturday evening, May 18, Joel Silver snuck into the back of a theatre in Westwood, L.A., showing Attack Of The Clones. He was not interested in the film (although he liked it), he was there to watch the trailers. Or more precisely: watch the audience watch the trailers. "The first trailer that came up was Minority Report," Silver recalls, "which had a very tepid response, and then Sum of All Fears, which kind of got a nice response, and then our trailer started and it was unbelievable: the kids went crazy and they stayed crazy. When it ended there was this thundering reaction I've never heard before. I've never seen a collective response for a piece of entertainment like that before - ever."
Said trailer, of course, was for Matrix sequels: Reloaded and Revolutions. After three years of near-silence punctuated by the occasional disturbing rumour, it took only one minute and 15 seconds of slow-mo tease for everybody to be certain: The Matrix is back, baby - and nothing will ever be the same again.
Today, back in his production office in Fox Studios Australia, overlooking Sydney Cricket Ground, Silver is taking a break from overseeing the marathon production which begain in Oakland, California, in March 2001 and is not scheduled to be completed until July 2002. ("This is day 209," Silver smiles, "I think.") It is a working holiday, with Silver meeting a select handful of the world's press - including Empire - while "the boys," as he paternally dubs the Wachowski brothers, Larry and Andy, continue shooting in any one of the six huge sound stages currently occupied by 'The Burly Man' (Warner Bros' transparent code for The Matrix).
Silver shyly informs Empire that he has not yet told "the boys" about the Westwood incident, acutely aware that the brothers are already starting to feel the burden of expectation. Empire wonders whether Silver himself is showing any nerves. He rubs his beard and grins: "No, because we got it. We got it. We got the movie right here."
Exactly what Silver and the boys have got, though, remains something a mystery. During a week on set in Sydney, Empire catches glimpses of some of the mammoth sets (in total 150 have been built, including, for one climactic car chase, nearly two miles of freeway at the former Alameda Naval Base in California!), but hears very little about the plot, "We've all agreed," Silver confirms, "to not really say what it's about because we really want people to experience the picture."
What Silver will confirm is that the expanded storyline was fully in place before The Matrix became a $460-million global phenomenon. "Actually the first script ended further than the movie - you actually went to Zion (the last remaining human city), which we really felt we just couldn't do. We had too much story, so we just backed up a little bit. But we knew that the story continued."
Of this continuing story, Silver offers only tantalising details:
- It is not two movies - "It is one enormous movie that's being cut in half." (The action apparently takes place over one 24-hour period.)
- The aforementioned is a "mind-boggling" car chase that takes place within the rules of the Matrix.
- Much of Reloaded is set in the Matrix and concerns itself with Neo coming to terms with "superhero" powers and the ability to "perceive" the mulitple levles and different "programs" of the Matrix.
- Multiple Neos and Agent Smiths will fight. (Look out for a table-top confrontation in a Chinese restaurant and a fight in a mirrored room.)
- The returning principals are joined by Monica Bellucci, who plays an evil Matrix temptress, as well as Nona Gaye (who replaced the late Aaliyah) and Jada Pinkett Smith who play warriors in the PVC-clad Trinity mould.
- Both movies, but mainly Revolutions, will visit "scorced Earth," where "biomechanical machines" terrorise Zion.
All this, and the Wachowskis are not scheduled to start the most ambitious action scene for another couple of weeks. "That," Silver smiles, "is a 14-minute sequence that is the most complicated sequence ever put on film." Indeed, you can forget the widely-copied 'bullet-time' - Silver promises effects shots so complex and expensive that "they will never be attempted again." (The combined budget of the two films is rumoured to be $300 million.) As Silver says of the special effects, "I really think the bar has been raised so high, that there is no bar."
So as long as there's still no spoon...
- Colin Kennedy
There's no A/C in the office today and I'm dying.
There's also gruesome mousedeath out on the sidewalk in front.
It's so grisly. Something is already feeding on it, so it's actually like a puff of lint with a spindley tail sticking out of it. I almost wish I had my camera with me so I could share. I bet you're glad I don't.
I wonder who's going to clean it up?
Anyway, moving on to the less macabre....
Went into the studio again Saturday night. We worked on Roi's stuff some more. The whole thing is a comedy of errors. Not only were the original guitar tracks tuned only to each other, they are full of unintentional rhythm changes.
So, when the drum parts were added, hilarity ensued. It's not like we have a real drummer on hand. Or even drums. We have guitarists, playing drum samples, on a keyboard.
You can only imagine.
In between the kick and the cymbal tracks, Roi did this infernal high pitched wood block tapping thing...throughout the whole song.
I went up to him and started tapping my finger on the center of his forehead and asked if that was what he was going for. Because if so....he nailed it.
I wanted to kill something by the end of the solo.
Hopefully it can be fixed in the mix.
Or not, Roi seems to like it.
Fucking artists....
I'm so glad I'm a spectator for the most part. I made one attempt at some background vocals (on a Grateful Dead cover, of all things) that was eventually ditched. Harmony is NOT my specialty. Especially not in spur-of-the-moment "just get in there and sing" conditions.
I made them give me a copy of the second song so I can practice this week before I go in and waste everyone's time.
I'm still thinking about doing one of my originals, just for the hell of it.
I just have to tone down the girly angst and refine the thoughtful irony in the verses.
::rolls eyes at self::
Whatever...I'd just prefer it didn't SUCK.
I could use a bass player, too.
Damn, it's hot.
Once I fleshed out my collection of Keanu flicks and started tracking down some of the earlier ones, I was not prepared for the squealfest that was induced by Winston in The Night Before.
The dancing alone was enough to make me revert to hopping up and down on the bed, and his giggle when he's talking about the magnet?
The cockles of my heart doth boil over.
He made me wish I'd went to my senior prom (instead of taking mushrooms and going to the drive-in, always the freak rebel....).
Of course, the boys as cute and charming as Winston didn't exist at Bonanza High. Or, if they did, they weren't falling over themselves to date the weird tall girl with glasses and two-toned hair.
So, have you seen this movie? Did you love it?
Go discuss over at the Backlot.
(but we really love his mind)
...That was the tag line for the cover story of Sky Magazine's 1993 interview with Keanu.
On a cool grey Los Angeles morning, Keanu Reeves throttles up the street on his red vintage Norton motorcycle, dressed in aging jeans, wine coloured shirt, leather jacket and hiking boots. He removes his scarred black helmet and shakes loose his long dark hair. Smiling, he extends his hand and settles onto a white canvas couch.
Reeves first grabbed the attention of audiences and film critics in 1987, for his role in Tim Hunter's disturbing real-life murder story, River's Edge. Starring alongside Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, and Ione Skye, it was Reeves (with Skye) whose character alters the final outcome of the film. River's Edge remains a popular cult movie to this day, and It's not surprising that Reeves is still proud of it.
Since that time, Reeves has titillated women (no other actor elicits more heated moans at the mere mention of his name) and the critics alike by offering moviegoers a myriad of roles. "I want to fall into all categories -- and no categories!" he says. "That makes it the most fun."
He's played a rich teenager in Brotherhood of Justice (1986); an offbeat high-school senior on a prom date in The Night Before (1988); the best friend of a teenager who commits suicide in Permanent Record (1988); a goofy time-traveler named Theodore Logan III (Ted) in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989); an 18th-century courtier in Dangerous Liaisons (1989); a troubled teenager in Parenthood (1989); a reprise of Ted Logan (who this time goes to heaven and hell) in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991); a stoned-out hitman in I Love You To Death (1990); a young sports-writer in Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1990); a surfing FBI agent in Point Break (1991); a troubled, bisexual hustler and son of the city's mayor in My Own Private Idaho (1991); and the dashing Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992).
I suggest to him that the trend among audiences today seems to be that people go to the movies to learn a lesson, which was the original idea behind movies, rather than simply for entertainment. "I think there should be both," suggests Reeves, adjusting himself on the couch. "If it's going to be entertainment, then keep it entertainment. A film like A Few Good Men was very confusing. It was almost asking for both. It was trying to ask a question, and be sociopolitical, and be entertaining. I don't like that. But I like it sometimes, like, when it's total-Henry-Rollins-in-your-face. 'Truth, man!' We need that, because it’s inspirational."
Keanu Reeves appears this month in the role of Don John, the half-brother of Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), in Kenneth Branagh's new film of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Although obviously one brother is black and the other white, Branagh felt it really didn't matter. He chose Reeves for the film because he wanted a cast who made interesting choices in their acting careers. "I wanted actors who seemed to have an appetite for doing different types of work," says Branagh. "What I like about the best American films acting is when it's emotionally fearless -- full-bodied and gutsy. That's what Shakespeare demands, and I think that American film actors have that. I've certainly seen it. I've also seen a truthfulness in Keanu's work. When I met him, he was someone I admired for his sort of curiosity and enthusiasm.
"He's also a tremendously passionate creature," Branagh continues, "and he cares a great deal. He will do two things [while working]: one, he'll go along with you. For instance, he would go with my way of working -- he rehearsed the way I wanted to rehearse, he learned it in advance the way I wanted him to do so. He would also fight for his own choices of the way he wanted to do it. I remember him wanting an extra take here or there. I was impressed that he was as disciplined as he was. I don't want to sound so cosy about the whole thing," Branagh chuckles, "but I was genuinely impressed by what I thought was a very grown-up individual who was utterly serious about his profession."
According to the background information on Much Ado About Nothing, the Villa Vignamaggio (midway between Florence and Sienna, where the movie was shot) was once the home of the Gherandini family, who had commissioned a portrait of their daughters sometime around 1503 by Leonardo Da Vinci. The daughter, who later became better known by her married name, La Gioconda, is today more commonly referred to by her given name: Mona Lisa.
"Supposedly," laughs Reeves, running his hands through his dangling hair. "That's what they say -- that the Mona Lisa was painted in that villa. It's one of those things like 'Elvis was here.' I'm finding out in Los Angeles that every big house it's like 'Charlie Chaplin lived here; Errol Flynn lived here.' But this one seems to have a strong presence. The villa is very impressive. It's on top of a hill overlooking a valley. It's one of the largest chateaus in the area.
The films ongoing theme of eating, drinking, parties and sex would be any modern-day man or woman's idea of heaven. "It's the way of the kings or royalty lived," says Reeves. "The Italians know how to live -- how to drink -- the art, and life! La Dolce Vita! There's no French existentialism or deconstruction, or American angst. The Italians are like, 'Whatever. Michaelangelo, cool.' I went to Florence a couple of times and I got to see the David. It was very cool. I was there for five weeks, and it was a very enchanted summer."
Performing Shakespeare is not new to Reeves: he has also performed the role of Trinculo alongside Andre Grefory's Prospero in the Shakespeare & Company's production of The Tempest, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Aside from the fact that is was Shakespeare, Reeves chose the role in Much Ado in order to work with Kenneth Branagh. "Branagh is a very exuberant, intelligent, witty man, and he's driven," says Reeves. "His drive and energy is remarkable. And the more I read the play, the more I enjoyed it."
"I love it. I love the soliloquies. I read Shakespeare and I love to speak it. I love acting Shakespeare, and it was Don John. And what was it he says?" Reeves begins to reenact his role in the film under his breath, before coming out with the favoured line, at which point he comes to life: "'In this, though I may not be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied that I am a plain-dealing villain'! I love that: 'I am a plain-dealing villain'."
One of the accouterments of being an actor is traveling to exotic locations to film, and Keanu Reeves has had his share of traveling -- one of his favourite parts of the business. "Traveling is, ahh," he sighs, throwing his arms up in the air. "I've been to Katmandu, Paris, London, Italy, Munich and Bhutan." Bhutan, a remote and secretive kingdom hidden in the Himalayas, was the site chosen by Bernardo Bertolucci for the location of his latest production, Little Buddha, which stars Reeves.
"Aah, Bhutan," smiles Reeves, "the snowy mountain. Two hundred and fifty dollars a day! No, Dharma bums, thank you. It’s very primitive and it feels like ancient air. You almost expect to see some kind of dinosaur peek out from behind a tree. When they're in public, the Bhutanese have to wear traditional clothing, but at home, in private, they're allowed to wear western clothing. I met some of the kids who'd wear jeans, sneakers and T-shirts underneath their traditional clothing. They are beautiful people; they were very kind to me. And there is one aeroplane there -- Druk Air. The king wants to protect his country so there is no television but they have VCRs.
"I play Prince Siddartha in the movie," Reeves continues, "who, after the Enlightenment, is referred to as Buddha. But I only go halfway through the Enlightenment; there is no depiction of Buddha. I'm post-Enlightenment.
Possibly it's Reeves' enlightenment that directors see: he has been directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Kenneth Branagh, Bernard Bertolucci, Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasdan and Gus Van Sant, to name a few. "How much of an actors success is luck?" I ask. "Oh, I don't know the answer to that at all!" he moans, pulling his dark hair away from his face. "I don't! It's a lot of things. It's being in the right place at the right time. Karma, who you know, who you don't know, what you've done lately. Anything and everything. I don't know!"
Reeves recently completed a small role in Gus Van Sant's new film based on Tom Robbins’ book, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues -- "A cameo-cowgirl-cameo," he says, laughing. Due out later this autumn, Cowgirls is the story of Sissy Hankshaw (Uma Thurman), the worlds greatest hitchhiker. During her travels, she continues her lucrative career as a spokesmodel for a line of women's hygiene products made by an effeminate entrepreneur known as the Countess (played by John Hurt) and meets -- and almost marries -- an asthmatic Mohawk Indian named Julian Gitche (Reeves). Produced by Laurie Parker, the film also stars Rain Phoenix, Angie Dickenson, Crispin Glover and Roseanne Arnold.
This is Keanu Reeves' second film (After My Own Private Idaho) with director Gus Van Sant. In that much-talked-about film, Reeves portrayed Scott Favor, alongside River Phoenix, James Russo, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. Set in Portland Oregon, it was the story of a group of street hustlers, but concentrated on the relationship between Reeves and Phoenix, in which Phoenix's narcoleptic character was secretly in love with Reeves.
Keanu Reeves describes Van Sant as "soft-spoken, creative in the sense of ideas of what to do. He's got a really good sense of humour -- and when I say that, it's not a really aggressive, loud kind of 'Har, har, har!' But his humour is human stories. He's very respectful and he sets up an environment that feels very creative. He wants you to play and cultivate a situation. You can do anything -- even where you're not supposed to do something. It's an invitation to play. It's remarkable."
In Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, adapted by Hook screenwriter James V Hart from Stoker's 1897 novel, Reeves played the innocent young Jonathan Harker, who is forced to fight the forces of Gary Oldman's Dracula for the love of Mina, played by Winona Ryder. In an all-star cast, Coppola followed an artist's story-board, along with approximately 1,000 photographs, to bring the lusty horror film alive.
"From Coppola I got to witness a creative, industrious life," says Reeves.
"He's a man of many, many ideas and man who can enjoy the simple things in life. He creates things; he has ideas. He has plates made for his houses, you know what I mean? I know that is a very silly thing to say, but he loves the simple things in life, sitting, family, eating. But he also takes ideas and builds them, makes them. Oh gosh, Francis -- I can’t pay him enough due. A simple example would be," continues Reeves, as he leans into the recorder -- "I hope you don’t mind me saying this, Francis, but he has a place in Belize. He saw an article in the New York Times, I believe in '85, about this country that had gained it's independence and said: 'Hmmm, I'm going to go there and see what's happening.' He found a way, although it was very difficult to get there. He went there, and through dealing with the government and the people, he found this old hotel, and worked out a situation with the people there. Now he's helping them link up with making a museum. He wants to develop educational systems there. And he also has this groovy estate there. But that's how he is -- looking, searching, finding, building, creating, living. He throws down a gauntlet with a challenge of almost life or death in a sense. He sets up a creative situation where you can explore. He's forever writing and writing. When you work with him, it's like: 'OK, do it like the script. Now, improvise.' He really pushes." But while Reeves might love to act it's the trappings of publicity and stardom he doesn't particularly enjoy.
"The part of that which is un-enjoyable is sometimes the forum and the questions are out of balance," he says "In the sense that if it's a more popular magazine, the interviewer will ask you something like, 'why did you want to become an actor?' and I feel that there is an expectation. There's no real respect in the listening, or in the conversation that you're speaking about. That's frustrating. I generally don’t like to talk to strangers about myself in an open forum -- about personal things. I'm very happy to speak about what happened, generally, in what I did, felt and saw in my work. Outside that parameter I’m not very public. I’m also a fairly awkward speaker."
What are some of the favourite dumb questions? "So, what kind of girls do you like? What’s your dream date?" Reeves laughs. "In the early days I got questions like that. Hello? Is anybody out there?" And being photographed? "It depends on the day," he replies, looking a little restless. "What kind of photograph, how I’m feelin'. Greg Gorman [who shot these pictures] wants you to feel comfortable, so he directs a lot of attention on that. He sets up a situation that's very easy to be in. If you're feeling self-conscious or uncomfortable, he tries to make it so that you’re not. He'll make it work for you."
When he's not working, which is a rarity these days, Reeves does "as much as I possibly can -- and nothing. The past year was pretty intense, but I've been off work now for two or three months. There's always a transition. You finish, and classically what's happened to me in the last couple of years is that I've finished a project, and all of a sudden I come out on the other side, look around me and I’m a little bewildered and in wonder of it all. The second day after I finish work I’m full of angst, and the classic feeling of 'I'm never going to work again.' That usually lasts for a month, and after that, I sit down and enjoy the days."
Interview: Jim Turner
Photographs: Greg Gorman
Looks like advance tickets for the sequels will be available at getthematrix.com. Nothing but a "coming soon" message there for now, though.
Thanks to Miho for that bit of info.
Also, for those of you lucky enough to be in Sydney, there will be a live discussion event with "an opportunity for you to meet some of the key creatives behind the making of the MATRIX films", including ZACH STAENBERG and JOHN GAETA. Go to popcorntaxi.com for all the info, including dates, times and ticket prices.
Thanks to KeanuWeb and Jena for that great news.
I sure would like to be able to attend that, if only to see how J-Gae is wearing his hair these days.
Another reason you should head on over to KeanuWeb is to order yourself the extremely cool theatrical poster through the link on their front page.
It's all 3-D holographic and stuff. I'm planning on getting one soon.
It'll look great next to the holographic Johnny M one I have (that's still waiting to be framed).
I'm still on page 47 of Simulacra and Simulation. I started reading it again after not picking it up for a while.
And from There is No Spoon, comes this link to The Simulation Argument.
It all makes my brain hurt. Maybe I need to start doing Ginko speedballs or something. Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's Dogstar deprivation.
I can't think..
I'm so glad I caught this little article from Counting Down (via keanuweb)
Keanu Reeves talked to The Sunday Times about the philosophy behind his character, Neo:
Reeves winces and often tugs at his hair, clearly pained by having to explain Neo's motivation -- a messiah by default which, in many ways, echoes his own awkward approach to celebrity.The actor read the pre-existentialist philosophy of Nietzsche, the willpower theories of Arthur Schopenhauer and the empiricist teachings of David Hume to create Neo's mindframe.
"All of this is synthesised into 'how to be' and the kind of character Neo is in terms of how he views the world -- in terms of how he asks questions," Reeves said.
"He is always saying 'What is truth?' and he is searching for his life. He rejects fate and he doesn't want someone else's destiny.
"In terms of an academic discussion, I don't have the facilities to do that. In terms of a contrast and compare -- the Nietzsche in Superman, or Neo as reluctant hero or messiah -- I can't do that. Larry Wachowski could do that. I can't do that."
Because, frankly...I sure couldn't either.
I had no idea what to title this...
ANYWAY...
Here's an old article I found in my bookmarks.
An enjoyable read. I like this part...
(referring to working with William Hurt)
"He's a real serious, tense guy, you know? So I went up to him, asked him, 'Hey, Bill, what kind of movie do you think we're in?' And he said, 'Well, Keanu, if your name is Marlon and my name is Harlan, I guess we're in a comedy."
Hee.
I also have to mention this article, originally noted by zel at keanublog.
With a tagline like
Keanu Reeves's band, Dogstar, isn't very good--but since he's in it, who cares?
...I immediately went to the -"Dear Mizz Dunlap. Forgive me for not wasting the time to make the obvious joke about your name and allow me to simply say 'fuck off and die'"- place.
And yet, I read further.
::cringe::
It's so refreshing to have a music columnist acting all fangirly and focusing on the the movie star bass player....not. Of course, in the reading, I can't believe that she begins by saying how she's an admirer.
I'd hate to see how she portrays someone that doesn't make her all creamy.
God, some people just don't get it, do they? No wonder he hates interviews.
[Keanu speaking:]"...And Bret's wah-wah pedal is just a nightmare. It works, it doesn't work, it works, it doesn't work." Suddenly, he segues into a display of poetic gibberish that only his nonexistent twin might understand: "It wah. It just wah-wahs. It wahs, we wah over the wah that we wah." Then, as if some Ritalin had just taken effect, he's back to normal. "But those have been good tests--kind of fun, kind of wacky. We've had some really great shows and met a lot of great people. We're halfway through the tour, and all systems are go."
Every time I read that I can't help but smile.
I understood it.
It's whimsy, idiot. Can't imagine that he might be amusing himself in answering the groundbreaking question, "How's the tour going?" for probably the 23rd time that week. You're lucky you didn't get a buttload of "yes" "no" and "fine" responses.
Twit.
And as much as I hate the phrase "don't get me started", Don't EVEN get me started on her digs on Bret and Robert, or I'm going to have to lock myself in my office bathroom and scream.
I don't want to go back in there today, it smells pidgeony.
I see that this was her second to last article written for Westword.
Perhaps she was fired before the Bacon Brothers came to town so she didn't embarass herself further.
Geez, I'm all riled up now.
I'd better go read this article.
It always makes me feel better.
Telephone for you...
Someone named Emmy.
Congrats to Kiefer for his Best Actor nomination and to the cast and crew of 24 for their nomination in the Best Drama category.
The First Season DVD of 24 will be released on September 17th.
You can pre-order it at Amazon.
If you thought that I could let the latest pictures from MOPI sent out by Elsinore just sit around you were oh, so very wrong...
*um...n!pple warning*
Keanu's horoscope this week from freewillastrology.com:
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon was once asked why 90 percent of the books in his chosen field were so bad. "Ninety percent of everything is crap," he replied (or, by some accounts, "Ninety percent of everything is crud"). My own estimate of the crud factor is in the 75 percent range, but I do agree that most fields of endeavor and spheres of activity are dominated by mediocrity. That's the bad news, Virgo. The good news is that the rare pockets of excellence are now far more visible to you than usual. They're also more available and usable. And so I say unto you: Pluck and enjoy all the non-crappy treasures.
And still I think of you
So, it's been almost a year since I last saw Dogstar live.
Is it possible to miss someone you've never met?
Probably not. Yet, I still find myself wondering how he's doing down there in Sydney. Hoping that he's not feeling frustrated at the delays in filming, hoping he's having a good time. Then shaking my head at myself.
Of course he is. He's working. Working on a project he loves, with outstanding people.
We should all be so lucky.
Days when I couldn't live my life without you.
I guess I have always been a fan of his but I never really thought about it.
I just went to movies.
The internet has changed fandom. Especially the expression and fellowship.
This site and blog are just an expression of admiration and an attempt at fellowship, like when I covered my walls and locker with pictures of Van Halen. It's just the 21st century now. I liked when I connected and made a new friend because "Hey! Have you heard Diver Down yet?", and I like connecting with people because "You know, I thought Hardball was gonna suck, but I liked it, too!"
You all rock. For someone that is still pegged as a "meathead" by many( but of course, we know better), Keanu has amazingly bright, and thoughtful fans.
Of course, I still have pictures on my walls. But they aren't cut out of magazines and taped or tacked.
My Hamlet poster is mounted and framed, as is my Dogstar Fillmore poster.
It's not idolatry...it's ART.
Because I'm a grown-up.
Even if I do still squeal at times.
Without you...
There really is an "out of sight, out of mind" factor. I have to admit, I haven't even thought of Kiefer in a while. of course, when 24's new season starts I'll rekindle that torrid affair.
I wonder if I would still think of Keanu every day if I didn't have the site, or wasn't online.
Or, you know....had a life.
Ah well, no sense in worrying about that for the time being.
I just remembered that this was in the Keanu cartoon post that was lost into the ether. So I felt like reposting it.
I think it's cute in a creepy sort of way.
There's a post from Jem over at the Dogstar message board regarding the Dogstar tour delays and whatnot.
Yadda-Yadda filming-delay-cakes.
My awesome powers of deduction surmise (read: wild guess) that Keanu will be spending some time hanging from wires in front of a green screen over the next few months. I wonder if he'll be in a leotard with day-glo ping-pong balls attached (for rendering CGI Neos) at any point?
I'd pay to see that.
I was going through my word files last night and came across this interview/chat thing from somewhere. You know how when you cut and paste something that looks fine on the page, but when you copy it into a document it runs all together?
I hate that. Anyway, that was what this did.
Of course, I didn't bother to tidy it up before saving.
Anyway,there's a credit to Jean-Paul Chaillet, so I want to mention that. And CineLive has something to do with it, too
I think this was around the time The Gift was released.
I'm just going to share a couple of the more timeless and thoughtful questions and his answers.
Is it difficult to live your life when you are loved for being what you are not and hated for who you are?Wow! As for friends, I have a handful who date back to school. I have had very strong relationships with them since that time. The fact that I am famous doesn't change anything. But you know, being famous usually means to be greeted by a guy who crosses your path while walking down the street. It's nothing more than that! You have to look at the good side of being a celebrity: you are famous because people enjoy your work and so, it brings you more work! But, as far as my friends go and the way they perceive me, it's... Well, you have to be in my place to understand! (laughs) As far as my private life... I cannot lie about my real personality - even though some may think otherwise - and, in an intimate relationship, it is possible not to be one's self, to hide our innermost person... That is inconceivable to me.
Are you romantic? Have you accomplished any acts of chivalry? And, do you have any models?
(A bit ill at ease) Yes... Sometimes, I've acted like a knight! In a whole, I'm quite romantic. However, it's useless to ask me for any specifics. I am not the type to give out my little secrets. As an actor, I do not feel the obligation to share my private life with the public... They appreciate my films because of my acting performances. In that, I always try to do the best that I can. But, I don't owe them anything else.
Quintessential Reeves, no?
That's a second confirmation of Keanu's romantic side *swoon*.
I also asked him the question in a chat for Sweet November.
There's some daydream fodder, eh?
Cheryl really hated Johnny Mnemonic.
What did you think of it?
Go over to the Backlot and discuss.
So I'm watching Chain Reaction this afternoon.
And I have to say...it doesn't suprise me one bit that Eddie grew up to be a serial killer.
Oh, joy. Sundays are frequently "phone-it-in day" so in keeping with the tradition of craptacular posts I give you:
Anagrams of "Keanu Reeves"
thanks to this site
Eureka! evens. (Um, I don't really think that his name has an ! in it, although it should.)
Eureka! seven. (see above)
Suave keener.
Sake revenue.
A severe nuke. (Yeah, to my cervix.)
Ever nuke sea.
Keen as revue.
Keen rue save.
Keen suave re.
Ears nuke eve. (what?)
Even eurekas.
Eve nukes are.
Nukes ear eve.
Eve nukes era.
Even sake rue.
Knee as revue. (now these are just getting stupid.)
Knee suave re.
A revue knees.
Reek as venue.
Knee rue save.
Avenue reeks. (Those are just rumors!)
"Gosh! These anagrams are swell! Got any more?"
uhhh, sure.
Just click "MORE"......
Veneer ukase.
Ever, 'e's a nuke.
Ever a keen us.
Re sake venue.
Use keen rave.
Rake even use.
Ever use a ken.
Snake rue eve.
Sneak rue eve.
Nuke veer sea.
Nuke rave see.
Sure! a ken eve.
Ever keen USA.
Ever sane Uke.
Veneer as Uke.
Never! auk see.
Even erase UK.
Never ease UK.
Rave keen sue.
Seek 'n' a revue.
Nuke re as eve.
'e's rake venue.
Avenues reek.
'e's auk veneer.
Knave rue see.
Ever. Auk seen.
A nukes re eve.
Knee use rave.
Ever a knee us.
'e's a nuke veer.
Rake even sue.
Revenues ake.
Nuke sear eve.
Seek rue vane.
A venues reek.
Ever knee USA.
Nerve auk see.
Nerve ease UK.
Veer a keen us.
A ken user eve.
Nuke ere save.
Kea revenues.
Ken revue sea.
Seek revue. An.
Nuke eve eras.
Ark venue see.
Veneer UK sea.
Nuke re eaves.
Ever a ken sue.
Sake rune eve.
Knee rave sue.
Seek run eave.
Nuke ease rev.
Sure! even Kea.
Sure ken eave.
Ken rue as eve.
Saner Uke eve.
Ever sun akee.
Sure ake even.
'e's a ken revue.
Ever seek UNA.
A. Seek run eve.
Evens ear Uke.
Never! a see UK.
Revenue's Kea.
Even Uke ears.
Revenue's ake.
Ea nukes ever.
Never! akee us.
Nuke serve Ea.
Nuke verse Ea.
Evens Uke are.
Evens Uke era.
Seven Uke are.
Seven Uke ear.
Seven Uke era.
Never! Uke sea.
'e's a veneer UK.
Use veer a ken.
Veer keen USA.
Eurekas 'n' eve.
Sake rue 'n' eve.
Ask ere venue.
Ensue ark eve.
Keen rue vase.
Suave ere ken.
Nuke ear's eve.
Nukes re eave.
Veer sane Uke.
Knee a veer us.
Nuke sever Ea.
A reek us even.
Ever an UK see.
Akee runs eve.
Ake never use.
Ken rue eaves.
Seek rue nave.
Even re ukase.
Veer auk seen.
Sneer auk eve.
Even ease Kru.
Ever a seen UK.
Ake even user.
Nerve akee us.
Never use Kea.
Eureka! even S.
Even auk seer.
Nuke ae serve.
Nuke ae verse.
Nuke rase eve.
Nerve Uke sea.
Uke earns eve.
Nerve a see UK.
UK 'n' ever ease.
Even Kea user.
Serve keen AU.
Verse keen AU.
Ken user eave.
Eureka! v seen.
Severe. An Uke.
Use a keen rev.
Ae nukes ever.
Aves keen rue.
Reek use vane.
Auk 'n' ever. See.
Nuke eve Ares.
Uke raven see.
Use veneer ka.
Use Karen eve.
Ever ensue ka.
Ear ken us eve.
Nuke a Reeves.
Sever ae nuke.
Even erase Ku.
Never ease Ku.
Sever keen AU.
Veer a ken sue.
Ever snake Eu.
Ever sneak Eu.
Seek venue AR.
Never seek AU.
Reek even USA.
A veneers, Uke.
'e's even UK are.
'e's even UK ear.
'e's even UK era.
'e's ka revenue.
Use ere knave.
'e's erk avenue.
Nuke a rev see.
Knee veer USA.
Ken us eve are.
Ken us eve era.
Use keener Av.
Sure knave EE.
Reek an us eve.
Never! sake Eu.
Use nerve Kea.
Reek a sun eve.
Ake use nerve.
Knee rue vase.
'e's a nerve Uke.
Ever, 'e's an Uke.
Ake veneer us.
U keener save.
Ever seek Anu.
Ake evens rue.
Never ake sue.
A ken ruse eve.
Ever seek a nu.
Eureka! eve SN.
Uke as even re.
Veneer Kea us.
Ensure ka eve.
A keen sue rev.
Evens Kea rue.
Seven Kea rue.
Never! Kea sue.
Laurence, over at file 13's Amish Tech Support doth rock muchly. Thanks to him, I've added a link at the bottom of my blogroll to allow you(dear reader) to add me (your humble internet Keanu-loving freak) to your blogroll with a simple click.
Wheee! I say, and verily.
Also, for those of you not on MT that want to be able to ping weblogs.com with updates, he explains how to do that with a simple click, too.
He's also funny and brilliant and if you aren't a regular file 13 reader, you should be.
Anyone into the Hollywood Stock Exchange?
I signed up ages ago, watched it for a couple days and got immediately bored. Maybe because I wasn't playing to make "money", but just to invest my imaginary riches in Keanu.
Now I check in about once every 3 months or so.
Last time I was there I dumped all my Matrix 2 & 3 stock, bought my limit of Kiefer, and used what was left over to put into one of Kiefer's upcoming films...because it was cheap.
Yeah, I know. Dumping an interest in the sequels wasn't particularly smart, but I liked the idea of having 50,000 shares of Kiefer more for some reason.
Go figure.
I haven't made a "killing" but you can check out my portfolio and see that I'm still in the black. Which is a nice change from my 3-D stock situation. (technology, D'oh!)
There's a signed bottle of wine currently up on eBay
No telling what the reserve price is, and it's certainly not something I'd bid on, because you know me...
I'd just drink it.
The wine itself, a 1995 Chateau Pichon Longueville Pauillac, is worth noting (though the seller seems to have overestimated the value of the wine itself).
I can't imagine that Keanu would give anything as a gift that he didn't enjoy himself, so you might want to invest in a bottle, just in case you're ever lucky enough to have him over for dinner.
Thanks to kaz for this picture of the helicopter from the big whoop-dee-do 14 minute sequence.
It's going to be a "Matrixy" day. I can just feel it.
If it wasn't the start of monsoon season (as in-it's no longer a dry heat) I'd be breaking out the PVC to wear on this casual Friday. As it is, I'll just run my fingers through my hair a few times until I have achieved the proper "wet ferret" look and pay homage to Revisited.
Edited to add:
This link to some news over at matrixfans.net.
*spoiler warning*
I just glanced at it. I saw the words "Keanu" and "Porsche", though, so you might want to give it a peep.
There's all kinds of blog bells and whistles being developed lately.
As usual, I'm arriving fashionably late to the party.
Right before the blog went temporarily down, I had signed up with blogrolling's service.
I just got around to adding the code. Now there will be a little arrow by those blogs who are recently updated.
There's also an MT upgrade with new gizmo, trackback.
I don't have the inclination to mess with it at the moment, I don't know how many cross-topic pings I would give or receive here at keanuvision ("The Dogstar of blogs!").
Of couse, kd could probably talk me into it.
I just inadvertently sniped an auction.
(ok, I knew what I was doing, but I hadn't planned on it...it was just how it worked out...)
I'd had this film can on my watch list. I figured it'd be handy to keep the few photographs that are currently kicking around loose or stuffed in some bubble mailer.
Anyway, so I go to my watch page and see that there's one minute left in the auction.
I have no idea what came over me but it was quite a rush.
The auction page comes up and now I have 53 seconds. *whirrrrrr!* Scroll down to the bottom! How much to bid? Guh! just put something in the box! Submit! Argh! password! I thought I'd stored that! *types frantically*
::ENTER:: Wait for page to load with those lovely words..
"Congratulations! You are the high bidder!"
Go back to auction page...
I DID IT! Yay, me.
then
*Wham* The guilt hits.....
I'll get over it.
I woke up exhausted from dreaming this morning.
Of course, I don't remember most of it. I had to take a test of some kind, and it had to be turned in on CD-ROM.
Dream Keanu made an appearance, though.
He spilled salsa on me. On my favorite pants. Then rubbed it in.
Who wants to take a whack at that?
It might have something to do with the above picture hitting my inbox last night.
In a totally unrelated tangent (except for the fact that his images remind me of my dreamscapes), Bobby Burgess doth rock muchly.
CNN reports that the release date for Reloaded has been moved up a day.
I'm still waiting on my invite, Warner Bros......
Also, new dates have been given for the Japan Dogstar shows.
Check out this link for info. (in japanese)
(Thanks to Miho for this, she has the dates and info in english on her site)
Finished the Jet Jam theme.
It was already a meg and a half, so I decided not to include a screensaver. I might get around to a Jet Jam saver at some point, though.
Also, if you check out the downloads page, I've made a couple Keanu icon sets for your amusement.
Icons are easy and fun to make, so I'll probably be making bunches more.
Here's a tutorial on how to change the icons on your WIN98.
Not sure about XP, but I'm sure it's not hard.
Won't your hubby, boytoy, roomate be thrilled when they come home and find the desktop covered in little Keanus?
Of course they will.
Norton Commando, that is.
This one is dedicated to Rhonda, even though she's actually a Harley Girl.
Thank You, Goodnight, the indy film project that Bret Domrose has a part in, will be shown in the Dances with Films festival in Santa Monica on Friday, July 12. If you live in the Los Angeles area, go check it out.
Bret plays "Jim", the drunk bass player, which is very funny to me. Wonder if Reeves gave him any pointers?
Thanks to "Jack-n-Coke", over at the Dogstar Message Board for the tip.
Speaking of independent films, I'm way late in congratulating C.C. for his buttload of REwind movie award nominations. Including Best Director. You can check out his masterpiece : Inquisition on DVD soon.
I can't bitch about not having the opportunity to catch cool events like film festivals. We just had CineVegas here, and did I go? Nope, didn't even know it was going on until it was too late.
I'm such a loser.
I gotta start reading the paper.
I'm working on a new desktop theme using the Jet Jam pictures that were on eBay a while back, and that Elsinore has sent out.
I just have to do the sound files (new ones, from OLV) and build it.
Of course, that could take me a week. *gurk*
Anyway, does anyone know who the actual photographer is? Because I'd like to list the credit in the readme file.
Also, I'm always up for suggestions for other themes or screensavers.
The temperature is supposed to get up to 117 degrees here today.
Which means I'll have to be very VERY careful when transporting my new copy of TMBG's Flood (THANK YOU RHONDA!) home, where it shall never EVER see the light of day again.
I've lived in Vegas almost my whole life, and I suppose I'm used to it, mostly...
It's the car seats and assorted brand-you-if-you-touch-it metal bits that will kill ya. Don't ever wear dangly metal earrings in the summer in Vegas or you'll actually burn yourself on the neck. I'll pass on the accidental body modification, thanks.
I think Keanu should retire here. He always seems to be dressed warmer than necessary. I think he has body heat issues...I think many of us would be willing to serve at human heat sources should the need ever arise.
Although on a hot summer Las Vegas night, nothing's worse than someone else's body heat making it even hotter.
Working up a sweat is one thing, but afterwards?
I'd be all..."Stay on your side of the bed and don't touch me! Auugh!"
Although, that's what ice play is for.
Anyway, in other news, The Daily Thud! COMPLETELY lives up to its name today.
GOD I hate these, but when I saw the last part of this silly little quiz, I knew it had to be posted...
You're Anubis. You are commonly depicted as a dog, or as having a dog's head. In the olden days, you were grandly potent; indeed, you were once the sole lord of the dead. However, those days passed long ago, Osiris usurped your throne, and you've been relegated to a less exciting role in the universe. You spend most of your time lounging about the acropolis in Memphis and howling at the Dogstar.
What Egyptian Deity are you? go to:the quiz!
Howling at the Dogstar, that's me! Bah-WOOOOOOrrrOOOO-aow-aow ahWOOOooo
(via Craig, who rode a V-rod over the weekend...*more howling*)
Zel started a webring for Keanu blogs.
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The permanent webring thingy over on the side is simple text, hope zel doesn't mind but I don't do orange. It'll clash with my bluish hues. ;)
Imported the few "keepers" (i.e., actual content and not just me bitching) from the old blog.
Added Much Ado About Nothing to Cheryl's Movie Backlot.
Oh yeah, and I re-uploaded 2 of the song samples in the Viper Room post.
I actually have work to do in 3-D today (I know, I'm as shocked as you are) so that's all for now.
Popping in..errr, on...whatever, to say thanks to kaz for this bit o'news.
and this link:
All the world's a stage . . . Filming stunts for the Matrix sequel in Sydney's CBD.
Here's hoping that this sequence is shot spectacularly, smoothly and most important...safely.
There's more info about it over at The Matrix Online. *SPOILER WARNING*
(no, I did not look)
I can't seem to stay connected for more than 8 minutes at a time so I'm going to chill offline today.
Go visit jaylincoln.com
Blog is back
Now, back to work.
I still have to make up for the posts that were made and lost, the only real important one being the Viper Room report (which I have at home, thanks to Zel *smooooch*)
I'll probably import some of the posts I did this past week or so over at blogspot.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
I'm just so fucking happy this is fixed.
Thank you all for hanging in there with me.
*happy dance*
Ya know, I'm just not gonna mess with anything for a few. Things are squirrelly and I don't want to lose a bunch of work again.
just keep yer fingers crossed, eh?
Ever since the most recent article from The Globe hit my inbox, I've been very, very troubled.
I knew that the making of The Matrix sequels was a huge undertaking that asked so much blood, sweat and tears of the actors involved. Far away from loved ones, facing long hours and possible injury. What kind of harsh taskmasters are the Wachowski brothers anyway? I'm looking forward to the sequels as much as anyone, but I'm wondering if the price paid is far, far too great.
Laurence Fishburne has literally worked his ass off.
::sniffle::
I searched the web for pictures of Laurence's former gluteal glory so I could try and determine when exactly this happened.
I'm pretty sure Laurence had a tuckus way back in the days of Cowboy Curtis.
Those chaps didn't defy gravity by themselves.
And I just saw him in Quicksilver recently, where he played a bicycle courier, and we know a man with no butt can't ride a bike.
But I believe Laurence had "back" as recently as the original Matrix film, although it's hard to discern with the length of the jacket that Morpheus wore.
And this may very well be a stunt-butt..
But in other scenes, it's definitely there, in all its muscular, toned wonderfulness. Refer to the dojo scene, or the fight with Smith, if you need confirmation.
So what happened in Sydney this time? One more mystery of The Matrix, I suppose..kind of like that phantom hand in the FedEx scene, maybe Laurence's ass will appear again when we least expect it.
While investigating this I did find out some interesting things about Mr. Fishburne.
Like that he works with UNICEF, is a a playwright and a critically acclaimed stage actor.
So it's pretty safe to say that the sum of Laurence's talents extend much beyond a bodacious boo-tay, but still...
If the price of the mind-blowing Matrix Trilogy is those sweet, sweet Fishcheeks...
Well, that's a darn shame.
(pictures from various sources, including the Keanu pic-of-the-day club, matrix-posters.com, x-entertainment and keanu.org)
also, thanks to Jo.
Heh, I hate quizzes.
BUT I took this one.....
Which Keanu Sidekick are You?
this quiz was made by Zel
Zel rocks.
Thank you to Ann, who sent me a care package with 72 ounces of "Serenity Now!" (i.e., a 6-pack of Augustiner....) to help me get through these trying times.
This newest wallpaper is dedicated to her.
The file sizes on these are pretty big, but one of the positive things about this whole server upgrade nightmare is an increase in space, so I might as well use it.
And thanks goes to Elsinore at The Daily Thud for the lovely image from Little Buddha.
I Hope everyone has a Happy Independence Day...
And now, a Public Service Announcement from keanuvision.com:
1) Have you missed classes or work because of Keanu Reeves?
2) Do you have trouble refusing Keanu Reeves?
3) Do you need Keanu Reeves in order to have fun at a party?
4) Do you use Keanu Reeves to build up your self-confidence?
5) Do you use Keanu Reeves to help you relax?
6) Have you tried to give up Keanu Reeves and failed?
7) Do you crave Keanu Reeves as soon as you wake up?
8) Do you get into trouble because of Keanu Reeves?
9) Do you crave Keanu Reeves at a definite time daily?
10) Do you lie to others about how often you partake in Keanu Reeves?
11) Have you gotten into financial difficulties because of Keanu Reeves?
12) Do you often wish people would just mind their own business about you and Keanu Reeves?
Do you have a problem with Keanu Reeves? Only you can answer that question for yourself. However, taking the above quiz may help to put your relationship to Keanu Reeves in perspective for you. If you end up answering "yes" to three or more questions, you may want to take a good look how your life is affected by Keanu Reeves.
Of course, the correct answer is :
If Keanuholism is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
But watch yourselves this holiday. Don't Keanu and Drive.
(12 questions via brunching.com)
What the hell is it?
It's a lit Excellent Adventure video ad or something.
I needed it.
It'll make a spiffy nightlight.
'Cause, ya know....I'm afraid of the dark, too.
I also totally needed this Johnny Mnemonic clock...
Shut Up.
Thanks to Ann for this news from Cinema Confidential:
FROM THE NEWS ARCHIVES OF CINEMA CONFIDENTIALKeanu Reeves as Constantine?
POSTED ON 07/01/02 AT 2:00 A.M.
BY THOMAS CHAUVariety also reports that Keanu Reeves may be tapped to replace Nicholas Cage as the main star in "Constantine," the project based on the Hellblazer comic series.
Cage dropped out due to the departure of "The Cell" director Tarsem. Unless a new director is found, the trade reports, a deal with Reeves will not be made.
A comic character, eh?
I'll have to do a little infoseeking, as I've never heard of this one.
This comic thing seems too trendy (Spiderman, Daredevil) for Keanu to really be serious about.
I don't see this happening....but who am I?
I'd rather see him in a nice well written indy film next. It's not like he's gonna need the money from another blockbuster effects driven spectacle.
Not that that describes The Matrix Trilogy. But you know what I mean.
**Well fuck.
After a little investigating, I think I would like to see him play John Constantine. Especially since he's desribed as a "total bastard"...
Great. More comics for me to buy.
Of course, the first and foremost question being....
KEANU AS A BLONDE???
I'm not sure how I feel about that, and I know how the fanboys hate Hollywood altering crucial things like hair color in their idolized graphic novel mages.
OK, so that last statement was just so I could use the tems "fanboy" and "mage".
What do you want from me?
***After even more exhaustive research, I have decided that....
No. Keanu shouldn't play John Constantine.
The character was actually based on Sting, so WB should shell out and secure him for the role.
Jeez, can't the movie industry get behind an ORIGINAL concept/story for a change?
That being said, I would like to see Keanu play some type of "total bastard" again.
I had the absolute best time at The Viper Room on Thursday night, June 20th, When I went to see Bret Domrose live with his other band at The Viper Room in West Holllywood.
We got there about an hour early. Got a chance to see the man pull up while we stood in line and BONUS, Rob Mailhouse was there, too. We stood there trying to be all cool while two-thirds of Dogstar chatted on the sidewalk 10 feet away. I think I was the first paying customer to go into the club, and I proudly proclaimed I was there to see "Bret!" as I paid and walked up the stairs and, of course, straight to the bar. I ordered a Corona and thought about breathing calmly as Rob walked up and stood right beside me. I felt his jean jacket up against my arm, and frankly, it was all I could do to control myself to not just heave a giant sigh and lay my head between his shoulder blades. Yay for impulse control, eh?
Anyway, I squeezed my lime and headed over to what I officially consider "my spot" at the Viper Room. The right hand pillar with the little ledge for setting drinks on. I've stood there each time I've been at the Viper room. The friends I came with, Maria and Lori, came in a few minutes later, found me, and we basically drank and mingled and tried to appear as though we belonged there.
Chat. Drink. Look around. Repeat.
About halfway through my second beer I mustered up the cajones to walk up to Rob. I apologized for my boldness, but just had to tell him "Yadda Yadda big fan, looking forward to Dogstar shows , blah blah fangirlcakes". He was very very nice about it, asked me my name (aieeee!) which I somehow managed to not forget at that very moment. I met his girlfriend. We talked about the possible Dogstar show in Vegas (looks like end of August). I think I tried to be witty or something at some point.
Can't say as I recall how that turned out.
Whatever. I talked to Rob Mailhouse. Yay me.
Before they hit the stage, I maganged to snag Bret and say hello. He's so great. The man just glows with warmth and friendliness. And a huge talent, but you should know that already.
While I worked on my third five-dollar beer, Bret was handing out copies of a 6 song sampler CD. You know I'm all about the swag so I waved him over and asked for a copy. I'm not really about autographs, but I do think it's neat to have an artist sign a CD when you are buying it straight from their hand. So I dug out the sharpie. As Bret was signing my CD I asked him about the Ceasars Palace gig, and he gave me further confirmation. (So I'm going to make that show the next countdown over in the sidebar.) He also said that his new CD (which should have the songs on the sampler and more) should be out in the next few weeks.
So, so far the night has been pretty damn good, and the band hasn't even hit the stage yet. More drinking, more chatting. Around 10 pm, they start. The band consists of Bret, a second guitarist: Ben (more on Ben later), Mike Nightingale on drums and Tony Jardine on bass. Tony was playing the most beautiful 5-string (custom?) bass I've seen up close in a long time. Swoon.
Here's the set list (which I snagged solely for the purpose of writing this, really...):
Blinded+
Anything+
Comfort Me+
Fall*
4th of July+
Volcano*
Just Like You
I Burn
Walls*
+ right click and save mp3 sample
* from the Rough Around The Edges CD
I was going to give the lowdown on each song, but I'm going to let the samples speak for themselves. I will say that yes, it is Comfort Me (not Come For Me as my dirty mind believed previously) and what an amazing song it is. That and I Burn were definitely the stand-out tunes of the set.
Not to say that each and every song wasn't rockin'. And different from Dogstar, too. Fuller and Richer.
Part of that is due to Ben, the other guitarist.
Ah, Ben. I could gush about how abso-fucking-lutley adorable Ben is for the rest of this. But I should point out that he's obviously a fabulous guitar player. He's not flashy, but you can't take your eyes off of him. He compliments Bret perfectly both vocally in backup and melodically. Ben is joy in a raunchy t-shirt. And a sweetie to pose for a pic, too.
Take it from me. You LOVE Ben. I see many flung-onstage panties in his future.
Of course, you love Mike and Tony, too. They provide the flawless, solid rhythm to these great songs. Bret said between songs that 4th of July was named because the drums sound like fireworks. Ooooh and Ahhhh for sure.
I got a chance to talk to Tony afterward. I had to swoon over that bass. He's awesome and fully responsible for my relapse into bass-player-addiction. I was so thrilled to be talking to him, I completely forgot to geek out and ask to take a picture.
I do want to thank Bret for posing for the picture above, and for indulging me further by saying 'Hi' on the phone to a friend of mine that could not make the trip this time because of some recent health stuff. The first thing he said to her was "How are you?". In addition to being such a talented songwriter/musician/performer, he's such a great guy. I can't stress that enough. Genuine great guy. It was my pleasure meeting his beautiful girlfriend, too. Also, nice as nice can be.
So it was a great night. It was great to talk to everyone but the music is what made it. Bret Domrose rocks. His music caresses your cheek, runs its hands into your hair, then pulls you close and growls "FEEL THIS" into your ear.
Comfort You? Fall for You? Burn for you?
Yes. Absolutely.
Thank you to everyone, including the second band Jones (Check them out. They brought the funk! Hell, yes.) for such a great night. Worth the trip as always.
[note: since this was written, lost and reposted, the Vegas show has been scratched, along with some previously scheduled dates in Japan.]