Celluloid Diaries: January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Currently reading / watching / listening to...

Garden cinema

Reading:

Under The Skin by Michel Faber. The less you know about this sci-fi thriller the better, because this well-written novel in which a mysterious girl picks up hitchhikers is full of surprises. Scarlett Johansson will play the lead in Jonathan Glazer's movie adaptation.

Chi's Sweet Home 6 by Konami Kanata. A cute Japanese manga series about a cat.


Watching:

* The first season of Boardwalk Empire. Intelligently made chronicle of the life on Nucky Thompson who was equal parts politician and gangster. Memorable actors and set design.

* Vanishing Waves (2012). A dreamy and visually stunning Lithuanian film about a neuron-transfer scientist who experiments with the thoughts of a comatose woman.

Amour (2012). This French film about an elderly couple's last days together mirrored my grandparents' current situation and how illness severely tests their bond of love. The film taught me that when in the same circumstances, many people act alike and say the same things. Amour was so true to reality that I was certain that Michael Haneke's inspiration was autobiographical (I looked it up and it was inspired by the suffering of an aunt, crippled by rheumatism at the age of 92). I can already say that Amour will be one of my favorite films of the year.

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012). Not sure why I watched it considering I disliked the previous episodes.

* American Mary (2012). Canadian film about a medical student who ends up performing underground surgeries for easy money. It felt forced and silly and I don't understand the rave reviews the film gets.

The Conversation (1974). A paranoid surveillance expert goes through a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered. Stylish, intelligent and subtle; this is Francis Ford Coppola at his best.

* Kotoko (2012). Tsukamoto's latest is a trip (literally) into the mind of a psychologically unstable woman. A fascinating watch, but not an easy one.


Listening to:

Ludovico EinaudiEliane Radique and Philip Glass. I also went to a concert of The Bersarin Quartett and a mesmerizing audiovisual performance of Murcof and Simon Geilfus.


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

On the set of a haunted house movie

Filmmakers Kurt Debaillie and Bjorn Verbeke invited me to the film set of their haunted house movie, Residual Residence. The majority of the movie was shot in the house of a recently deceased lady. To make the interior appear as real as possible, the filmmakers left almost all of the objects and furniture intact.

It soon seemed that not only the lady's belongings were still in the house, but the lady as well. Or at least, that's what it seemed like... Sudden wafts of perfume on the staircase, classical music only audible through the headphones, strange noises, cell phones playing music by themselves, clocks chiming every time someone entered the house, and unexplainable lights.

Fun fact: the house (which is situated in Bredene, Belgium) is currently for sale.

What do you think of this peculiar movie set? 

The director and lead actor of Residual Residence will be following the conversation here, so leave them a comment with your thoughts or ask them a question. They will be happy to respond.

haunted house
haunted staircase
haunted house bedroom
haunted house pictures
haunted house movie set
haunted house movie locations

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

All you need is love


The following post is by guest author Kimberly Krey who shares with you an excerpt from her new novel, Evie's Knight.

***

Evie’s Knight fits into multiple genres: From Urban Fantasy and Paranormal, to Clean romance or Young Adult. Yet above all the sub-genres, Evie’s Knight is, first and foremost, a Romance.

We all know that love goes deeper than simple attraction. Sometimes that undefined moment of love budding between two people is a presence all its own. A penetrating force that slips into the space between them. This post is dedicated to that initial connection between Calvin and Evie – the very first sparks of L. O. V. E. These are moments when Evie can literally feel herself connecting to Calvin on a deeper, more meaningful level.

Welcome to Part Three of ‘All You Need Is Love’. Here, Calvin, upon analyzing Evie’s art as assigned in their college class, has asked if she would be willing to share her inspiration for the piece.

The tender urging in his eyes encouraged her, gave her confidence to continue. He wanted to know more.

“My inspiration for this piece was … well, you know how I told you that my mother wasn’t a part of my life?”

He nodded, and she could barely believe she was about to go to this place with him. “Well, she used to be–a long time ago–but she left one day. She said she’d come back in time for my ninth birthday, only she never did come home.” Evie spun the ring on her thumb once again as she considered how much more to tell him. “My dad was all worried about her at first, thinking something must’ve happened to her, but then he found out that she was fine, that she was just staying away by choice.”

Calvin cleared his throat. “How did he know that? Did she call?”

“She sent a letter, actually. To her own mother, who then told my dad. But it wasn’t until a few days after my birthday, after my dad put out a missing person’s report, you know? It’s weird, though, because before my grandma even told us,” Evie risked a glance at him, “I just … sort of knew she wasn’t coming back.”

“That is strange. Did that make it better or worse? Knowing.”

She gave that some thought, surprised by the certain ease that came over her as she opened up to him.  “I guess both. Better because I could sort of start mourning right away. Since I was so sure she wasn’t coming back, I dealt with it. And it was worse for the same reason–because there was no room for hope.”

“That’s got to be a lot different from having your mother die, like mine did. More complicated.” The warm brown of his eyes held her gaze, reaching an inner part of her, filling her with a deep longing for more. “But we do have that in common, don’t we–that we’ve spent half our lives without a mother.”

Evie nodded, melting in the magnetic connection. “We do.” The words came out quieter than she meant them to.  

About Evie's Knight  

When Evie falls in love with Calvin Knight, their young, virtuous romance conjures a truly wicked spell.

Evie always thought her eighteenth year would be magical, but so far it's not what she hoped for. Her best friend has gone wild, her love life is void, and she misses her mom more than ever. But life for Evie is about to change. Calvin Knight, the object of her fascination, is about to fall madly in love with her. Just one problem: Their love conjures a murderous woman from beyond the grave who wants Evie dead. The same demon who has haunted the Knight men for over four generations. Soon Calvin is forced to make a choice: Set Evie free and hope to evade the wrath of The Raven- haired Ghost, or use his newly gifted strengths to fight against her. If he chooses to fight and wins, Calvin will free the Knight men of this demonic witch. If he loses, Evie will become her next victim.

Purchase


Giveaway  

A tour-wide giveaway includes:  

Grand Prize: $50 Amazon gift card, a signed paperback of Evie's Knight, SoftLips chapstick, recipe cards, E.K. calendar card, postcard of The Storm, and bookmark.

2nd Prize: $25 Amazon gift card, a signed paperback of Evie's Knight, SoftLips chapstick, recipe cards, E.K. calendar card, postcard of The Storm, and bookmark.

3rd Prize: $10 Amazon gift card, a signed paperback of Evie's Knight, SoftLips chapstick, recipe cards, E.K. calendar card, postcard of The Storm, and bookmark.

Five more winners will receive an ebook version of Evie’s Knight!

Paperback winners may choose between old cover (shown below) or the new cover, featuring Calvin Knight (shown above).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, January 7, 2013

How to write a character study?

how to write a character study

The following post is by guest author Blair McDowell. She runs a B&B on the West Coast of Canada six months of the year. When the tourist season is over she travels the world, resides in her little house on a Caribbean Island and writes. In this guest post, she shares the process of how she created the character study for her latest book, Sonata.

***

I always begin any new book by choosing a setting I know and love, and then by creating the characters I want to put in that setting. Only after that do I start thinking about the plot. Then I write a synopsis for that plot before I write page one.

Any of these three things, setting, characters, or plot, can change as my story grows, but I have a very complete plan before I start any new novel.

This is, of course, just my way of writing. I realized that many very fine authors have started with the first line of their stories and kept going until the last lines. Who could ever forget “Scarlet O’Hara was not a beautiful woman.” And “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” I don’t know whether Margaret Mitchell was a planner or a seat-of-the-pantser. But somehow I suspect she was the latter. Gone With the Wind has a spontaneity that I don’t think could ever come from advanced planning. But perhaps I’m wrong. After all, she gives us a detailed backstory of how Scarlet’s mother came to marry the improbable Irishman O’Hara.

I like complex multigenerational stories. And I really like older men. In Sonata Sean McAllister, the father of my heroine Sayuri, is a fifty-something millionaire tech tycoon. He’s handsome and fit. He swims and kayaks. And he’s been a widower for eighteen years.

His daughter, my heroine, Sayuri, comes home after studying in Paris to find him engaged to a woman she’s never met and about whom she knows nothing. Who is Alyssa James? Below is the brief character study I originally drew of Alyssa. As Sonata developed, Alyssa became much more important to the plot than I originally intended, and I watched her character shift and change as my story shifted and changed. Alyssa James, as I originally drew her below, developed into a quite different character by the end of my story. That sometimes happens. Still, for me, it’s important to have a clear image in mind for each of my characters before I begin writing.

Character study for Alyssa James

Sean McAllister’s fiancĂ©. Sean met her when her firm was hired to do some consulting for his business. Alyssa emigrated to Canada eight years ago from Great Britain. At thirty-five, she’s nearer Sayuri’s age than her father’s. Alyssa is the first woman Sean has been serious about since his wife’s death, 16 years ago.

Alyssa has blond hair, worn in an elegant French twist and an English peaches-and-cream complexion. She’s a bit shorter than Sayuri, graceful, sophisticated, worldly. She wears expensive designer clothes and stiletto heels and wouldn’t dream of going out without a hat. Her long fingernails are painted crimson. Expensive scent. (Guerlain?) She wears furs. Extremely feminine, she carries herself like a model.

She’s given to occasional sarcasm with Sayuri when Sean isn’t around. Sugar sweet when he is.

Alyssa James is the picture of an older man’s trophy wife, apparently in it for financial security and social position. She sees Sean’s daughter, Sayuri, as a potential threat.

write a character study

Excerpt from Sonata

Below is a brief excerpt from Sonata that gives a hint of Alyssa’s character at the beginning of my story.

Alyssa smiled. “You must stay with us while you’re in Vancouver. The house is certainly large enough for all of us. I hope you’ll continue to consider it your home.”

Sayuri was shocked into silence. Was she being told, none too subtly, that she was a guest on her own home?

Her father spoke sharply. “Of course Sayuri will stay here. Where else would she stay?”

“Just as I said, dear. We must organize some dinner parties and perhaps a dance to welcome your daughter back to our home.”

Sayuri threw a startled glance at her father. Our home? Alyssa was living here? She took a deep breath. Of course, she’d be living here. After all, they weren’t children and they were engaged to be married.

She turned to Alyssa and responded. “I have an incredible amount of work ahead of me in the coming months, preparing for my upcoming recitals and for my performance with the VSO. And I’ve been invited to replace the cellist in the Amalphi Quartet. On top of that, I’ve agreed to take some advanced students at the Conservatory and give some Master Classes at the University. I’m afraid I won’t have much time for socializing.”

A small frown crossed Alyssa’s features. “I shouldn’t think you’d need to teach, Sayuri. Surely your father can support you until your concert career builds in North America. You should concentrate on performing.”

“But I like teaching. It’s as important a part of my life as performing.”

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders, a small dismissive gesture. “As you like. We’ll keep the social life to a minimum until after your recital at the Chan. We must have a reception here after that. And of course, you’ll be involved in our wedding. We’re having the rehearsal dinner at the Club and a reception after the ceremony here at the house. We’ll bring in caterers for that. It’s a bit beyond Nora and Joseph, I’m afraid.”

Her father cleared his throat. “We were hoping you’d play at our wedding.”

Sayuri tried to hide her dismay. The wedding was that imminent? “Of course I’ll play for you. When is it to be?”

Alyssa answered. “Six weeks from today. We were just waiting for you to arrive.” She put her arm through Sean’s and smiled at Sayuri. “Shall we go to dinner?”

Are you an author? What are the first things you do when starting a new novel?

Purchase
Amazon

sonata novel

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

Christmas in Portland

Happy New Year, everyone!

2012 will forever be tagged in my head as one of the most surprising years yet...

In 2012, I...

  • met the love of my life
  • finished and published my screenplay A Good Man
  • wrote and published my short film script GPS With Benefits
  • got a new film deal
  • made new friends
  • went on trips to France, Ibiza and Bruges
  • learned that TV series can be just as good as movies
  • discovered the adorable manga series Chi's Sweet Home
  • got a Kindle
Looking forward to in 2013...

  • visiting film festivals (Cannes, Sitges, Brussels)
  • going on urbex trips
  • blogging more often
  • writing a new novel
  • learning more about photography and writing
  • spending more time with my cat and my love
  • going out more often with my friends
  • traveling

For the rest, I'll leave this year to the unexpected, because the best things that happen in life are usually the ones that weren't planned for. So here's to change. Here's to newness. Here's to not really knowing what the next day, month, or year has in store... And being 100% happy with it!

What were your best moments of 2012? What are you looking forward to?
If you leave a comment below (with your e-mail address), you'll automatically be entered for a chance to win a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, a $300 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card and a large pack filled with paperbacks, bookmarks, cozies, and more. The winners will be chosen on January 7th. You can find the complete list of participating blogs at http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/. Good luck!