Lost habit

Several years ago (we’re talking at least four) Parker and I used to collect action figures. I mean; we collected action figures like bad habits. We had shelves of them, boxes of them. And it wasn’t just of a particular type, like say…Star Wars (Star Wars was simply the type that got the most prominence on our shelves). It was pretty much anything sculpted in likeness of our favorite film, anime and comic book characters. If they had made The Graduate action figures, I would have rejoiced in the irony of being able to hold it while saying “plastics!” Heck, at one point, I think Parker was even talking about traveling to Italy and learning to sculpt so a famous toy firm would hire him.
After a while of course, that habit broke down. The last time he or I purchased any figures was when Star Wars Episode III came out last year…and that was kind of like a “last hurrah” binge. Figures occupy very little space in a world now overrun with other, more academic pursuits. And yet, I might have to make an exception in the months to come.
I haven’t mentioned it before, but I’m a big fan of the television series Lost (no real surprise there – seems everybody is these days). Alex got me hooked on this series when he invited me over to watch a few episodes of season 1 on DVD. I ended up going home with the DVD that day, promising I would return it in a week or two. I think I ended up watching the episodes in a matter of days and returning it by the end of the week. Sensing this interest in the show, McFarlane toys seems to have made a series of action figures based around Lost.

Now, what exactly is McFarlane Toys? I have to conjure up “action figure geek” Brock to answer this question: McFarlane Toys is only the coolest action figure company around. Using photo-realistic techniques in conjuncture with a team of insanely precise sculptors, McFarlane has created toys based upon such properties as the X-Files, the Beatles and Where the Wild Things Are. A more recent venture was the company’s action figures based off of the film Napoleon Dynamite. They’re the best company to get the idea that, hey; some Lost figures would be pretty cool.
Ultimately, if I pick up one of these crazy things, they’ll be something neat to have around the Matter of Chance office (I.E. my computer desk).

P.S. Josh – I bought a couple of episodes of Season 2 on iTunes. And, I ended up breaking down and watching the Season 2 finale. I guess I just couldn’t wait for the DVD, especially since they start Season 3 the moment fall begins.

Weirless

I must admit, I am a little bit sorry to hear the recent news about Peter Weir and Johnny Depp’s project, Shantaram.

Peter Weir has always been one of my personal favorite directors, although I didn’t really get into him until film school. A few years back he did Master and Commander, one of the best sea-fairing movies ever, in my honest opinion, and since then, I’ve been intrigued by future possibilities and old projects.
Shantaram caught my eye because it was his first collaboration with Johnny Depp. Weir has done good things with actors before (Paul Bettany in Master and Commander is worth the viewing alone), and I figured that Depp’s “weirdness” would be an interesting new energy for him to try and harness. Moreover, Shantaram is about a drug addict who becomes a doctor in the slums of India, eventually moving on to defend Afghanistan against invading Russians. So, basically, it's one of those films that combines every single element I’ve ever written about or will write about. Of course I’m going to be intrigued.
Sadly, they had differing views about how the material should be handled. I can’t say whose interpretation would have been better as they both seem to have a keen eye about these things…but I’d venture to say that Weir’s take might have been gold. Ah well.
It’s still an intriguing idea and could make for a fine film…but the producers (I’m looking at you Depp) need to find a director with as much vision and integrity as Weir.

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I'm back... now the push to Wildlifeless begins. Oh boy...