Yesterday, I found out what it’s like to be transformed into somebody else. My friend Stevie, who’s a top level make-up and creature effects designer (and who’s soon going to be moving to LA to work) has wanted to do a test make-up on me for ages. We did a life cast a few months ago, where I got to have my entire head encased in plaster of paris and that weird stuff that dentists use to take a cast of your teeth. And yesterday, after a sleepless night and a major stomach upset, I left the house at 7.30am to go and be transformed into what could safely be described as a “weird, gold-looking and slightly aristocratic robot”.

The photo studio was one that Stevie had gotten via his connections at The Sun (he did a few prosthetic related things for them), and we even had a photographer for the day. It was lots of sitting in a chair, for the most part, and watching myself be gradually changed into something completely different. Once the thing was on, it was kinda weird- like having your head wrapped in a very tight, very warm hood. It was peerfectly copable, though, and if I’d gotten a decent night’s sleep the previous night, I would have been fine. Looking in the mirror and finding somebody else staring back is very strange. Then, there were lots of pictures taken, and I accidentally ended up doing a “coy” pose for most of the afternoon. Then, removal- which was ridiculously easy thanks to the way Stevie had designed it. The man knows his stuff, and to be honest, I think he’ll rock their asses off in America.

I can’t post pictures at the moment- but when I have them, I’ll put links up to them. (I’m still on a free acount here, so no funky pictorial action from Sax. Yet.)

Just finishing my first round of selling on Ebay, and everything seems to have gotten to everybody okay- except for one bloke who still hasn’t responded or sent me any money. Grrr. Going to do more soon, but at the moment I’m more concerned with getting my major workload caught up. I actually turned down some more work- which I’ve had a few worries over, but I’m determined to not let get to me. Instead, I’m going to try and keep the momentum going, and see how far I can get.

Also saw the first episode of the second season of Lost on Friday- and, oh boy, it’s fantastic. Several moments had me going “No!!!!!!!!!!!!” and “What the hell was that?!?!?!?” and various other exclamations. I keep worrying about it ‘jumping the shark’ in the way that Alias did in its second season (The episode often referred to in American circles as the “Superbowl episode with Jennifer Garner dressed as a hooker”- thought by many to be a classic, but for me it was where the whole show fell apart), but to be honest, at the moment it’s better than Alias ever was, and if they can just keep the balance of mystery and character right, it’ll stay fantastic. What with this and the absolutely storming second season of Battlestar Galactica, the idea of trying to get excited over the upcoming second series of the new Doctor Who is… well…. rather difficult.

There’s work to be done, and I’ve gotta go do it…

Haringey Borough Council, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways…

After a whole year of bureacratic hoop jumping, delays and confusion, it turns out that despite giving George over £4,000 of benefit, apparently somebody didn’t do their job properly and George shouldn’t have gotten anything. So they’d like it all back now, please.

I am so glad I’ve never had to depend on benefits. The closest I came was signing on when I got to London- and getting a job the same day so that I had to immediately sign off again! Ever since then, I’ve walked away from a whole number of jobs, but with a full-scale “I WILL NOT GIVE IN!” feeling. And somehow, it’s worked. Often, my life feels like a succession of very happy accidents, and I’m not quite sure how I keep things on an even keel. But I do.

Still ridiculously busy, to the extent that I’m actually having to turn work down, which defies description, to be honest. Waiting for a moment when I’m going to be able to draw breath without having an insane amount to do, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be coming any time soon…

Okay- it’s a gag that only the film literate will get, but it made me laugh anyway…

Just so you know- Joint Security Area is a Korean thriller all about the border between North and South Korea, directed by the same guy who made Oldboy. A remake, set on the Mexico/US border (which, hey, is like… nothing at all like Korea…) is being developed.

From the AICN-Down Under section of Aint It Cool News:

– The makers of the upcoming US/Mexican border-set JOINT SECURITY AREA remake announce a remake of THE GREAT DICTATOR, to be set in Florida

Spent most of the afternoon zooming back and forth between the local dump. Stevie was incredibly generous in helping out with transport, as we’ve been trying to find ways of getting rid of our old Double Bed since… well, since about January. We weren’t able to get absolutely everything done, and one half of the old bed is left, but we did manage to shift a massive amount of stuff, and Stevie says he should be able to return to do the rest of it next week. It’s quite a shock- there’s room to manuevere under the stairs!

I’ve got even more work to do for Monday- but it is writing a review of the Hayao Miyazaki film Naussica of the Valley of Winds, so I’m regarding that more as a pleasure than a chore.

One of the biggest surprises this year is that I’ve suddenly gotten back into the idea of board games and- shock, horror- painting minatures. This is something that I haven’t done in an absolute eternity (last time was probably around 1990), and yet it’s actually very appealing. Probably the only frustrating thing is that in order to do it properly, you need loads of colours (I’ve currently got nine- so any colour schemes are very primary oriented), but I’ve done it a couple of times already, and it’s incredibly relaxing. I talked to Alec about it, and he said something that I completely agree with- that it’s nice to have something to do that’s completely meaningless, involves concentration, and has nothing whatsoever to do with watching something on a screen.

I’m having yet another busy week, which is kind of a shock- reviews are coming in thick and fast, but the thing which is really worrying me is trying to get my fiction writing on track. Writing a book is going to involve so much work, and if I don’t get started soon, how the hell am I ever going to finish?

So, what have we learned over the last few days?

Val Kilmer is more charming than you’d expect.
Michelle Monaghan thinks my name is “beautiful”. (No lie.)
Robert Downey Jr finds it very difficult to stick to one subject- or to avoid stealing people’s matches.
Pierce Brosnan is tall, bearded, and a teensy bit dull.

I’m also having yet another week when my entire life seems to be taken up with stuff. I thought I’d actually succeeded in getting all the stuff out of the way, when suddenly another wave hit and I’m now reviewing the documentary Inside Deep Throat. Due in tomorrow. Gulp. Being busy is both very good and terribly frustrating, as I haven’t been able to get any writing done for the past few days, and considering that the London Film Festival kicks off very soon, life isn’t likely to get any easier. It’s all terribly good fun, but it does sometimes feel like life is accelerating to a rather intimidating blur. I feel the need to leap off the Merry Go Round, and I’ll probably end up spraining my ankle in the process. Metaphorically speaking.

I wish I had a little more to write about, but normal life for me is the tiny gaps that exist between the gigantic wadges of work (I’ve got a screening tonight as well, on top of everything else…). One very nice thing which happenned, however, is that the Dark Future boardgame that I got via Ebay turned up, and it’s great- a 1988 game that’s in fantastic condition, and I’m finding myself actually quite into the idea of painting and converting some toy cars for it, which is very unlike me. I like the tangible nature of the Games Workshop games, particularly the 1980s era ones, and the social nature of games- something I wasn’t really used to until I ended up with a gigantic set of in-laws.

Have to try and catch up with Nessreader’s blog as well- witty and completely barking, she’s a total one-off.

Right- off to try and battle the forces of injustice. There’ll be more, after these messages:

“With Mash, get SMASH!!!””

(And so on…)

Okay- life has gotten rather intense. Every single second for the next three days has been crammed full of stuff to do. It’s nice, but it’s also downright scary. I’ve just gotten a shedload of DVD reviews, I’ve got the Press Junket tomorrow (which I’m worried about), I’ve got a Press Conference on Wednesday, and I’ve got to have the DVD Collection article done by the end of the week. Plus, I’ve got screenings every night for the next three days.

In a weird kind of a way, I almost miss Edinburgh.

Bagged the boardgame Dark Future on Ebay last night. Snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a last minute bid explosion. Hurrah! Also got LOST Season 1 (on Region 1), and DANGER: DIABOLIK!

That’s my birthday treat done.

Gotta go and do stuff…

Okay, I’m awake- but it doesn’t feel that way.

George returned yesterday, and it’s great to have her back. Spent ages just catching up and talking about all the stuff I hadn’t had anyone to talk to about (like the stuff that’s going on in New Orleans at the moment which, frankly, boggles the mind). I also managed to get a whole heap of stuff done in London yesterday, and I’m now staring at a whole heap of work to do over the next few days. I’ve got a press junket on Tuesday- my first- and I’ve got to do five round-table interviews. In a row. I don’t even know exactly how they work, which is something I absolutely detest (I can cope with most situations as long as I can actually know what’s coming). I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.

Also saw BROTHERS GRIMM last night which, as a Terry Gilliam fan, I found terribly disappointing. It’s got “troubled production” written all over it, and while there is some gorgeous stuff in there, it also seemed to bring out many of Gilliam’s worst and most incoherent excesses. The script is rather clunky, cookie-cutter stuff (what do you expect from Ehren Kruger, writer of The Ring?) and many of the fairy-tale references seemed awkwardly sandwiched in (an oil-like cartoony entity suddenly goes flat and starts shouting “You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” Er… why?). There’s also some very dodgy performances- including some dodgy villain work from Jonathan Pryce, and a near-unintelligible explosion of a turn from Peter Stormare, the man who you can rely on to demolish a movie in less than five minutes. If Gilliam was churning these out left right and centre, you could forgive him the occasional misfire, but considering he’s only managed five movies in the last fifteen years, it’s pretty dispiriting to see his films getting so messy so quickly.

Oh, the pain, the pain.

I’ve got a ridiculous number of films to watch, and only a short amount of time in which to do it. Probably better get started…

An hour.

Better than nothing. Not spectacular, but better than nothing.

It’s difficult writing when you don’t have a specific plan. I need more details down on paper- then, I’ll be able to function.

Time to loll around, anyhow. Life is getting action packed at the moment, so lolling is a goddammed priority!

Right. I’m about to sit down and write as if my life depended on it. I don’t know how long I’m going to last, but every little will help. This novel ain’t gonna write itself.

A better day today- I’ve suddenly got lots of work to do. Robert Downey Jr, Pierce Brosnan and Joel Silver are suddenly looming large in my life, for reasons I really can’t go into at the moment.

Watching Season 1 of Buffy again (well, skipping a couple of episodes…), and I’d forgotten how good it is.

Okay- I shall buckle myself in and see what happens.