Columnist, The Column With No Name
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Tell me about your column and your latest projects.
My column really is a stream of thought, depending on the day or the week. A lot of times it's based on what I'm watching on Netflix, a film I just never go the chance to catch up with until recently or random ideas that finally have come to fruition. Also working on a new site, Fistful of Media, which will be just that. A fistful to nostalgia, on all media fronts. Hopefully it all works out.
Who or what are the biggest influences on your work and If you could pick one person to collaborate with living or dead, who would you pick?
To be honest, wanting to get into the film industry, my biggest influence in my writing style and the films I tend to gravitate towards would have to be Quentin Tarantino. I know people are hating on him all of a sudden (not sure where it's all from) but I love the guy. We tend to like the same movies and when he reveals some lost euro shocker or spaghetti western, I tend to look for it to watch and fall right in love with it. And when I'm writing scripts, I tend to borrow from some obscure movie, as more of an homage as opposed to outright ripoff which a lot of people do now.
What album had the most influence on your adolescence?
Wow. Depends on what you mean by my adolescence. I used to be a huge Weird Al fan (what am I saying? I still am a huge Weird Al fan). But the album that kind of changed my life when I was a kid was when my dad gave me an LP version of Get Happy!! by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It just blew my mind at such a young age (I believe I was 5 at the time) and I've loved Mr. Costello since that day, trying to see him in concert any chance I get. It was on repeat for probably a year straight.
What were your favorite toys or games from your childhood?
An Animal doll from the Muppets. I was a baby when my dad bought it for me, but it was huge and his face was made from hard molded plastic. And he was a puppet, so I would do puppet shows and my family enjoyed them. I also had a great Curious George doll that finally kicked the bucket when I was in my teens from someone spilling soda on him and bugs eating his flesh. Or just infesting him. I forget which it was.
What is your pop culture guilty pleasure? (What movie, tv show, band, etc. do you love that you know is awful, but you love it anyway?)
haha well, when it comes to movies, I love a lot of shitty movies. Or at least people think of them as such. Stuff like Flash Gordon, Masters of the Universe, Howard the Duck, Garbage Pail Kids: The Movie, The Wizard. They're all movies that mean the world to me even though I know they're complete garbage to most. It's that nostalgia factor. TV shows I tend to like all geek centric shows, but one I get a lot of flak for is Mighty Max. Based on the toy line, but the cartoon kicked all kinds of ass. Skullmaster, the villain, was voiced by Tim Curry. That alone is worth a watch. Bands... I really can't think of any that are awful. I always liked music that became popular later on. I can always go for horrible rock from the 90's, like Sponge. Remember them?
If you could own one piece of artwork by any artist, who would you choose and why?
That's a tossup. I love Frank Frazetta's epic paintings of warriors and lizard demons. I also wish I owned some Neal Adams original comic book pages. Right now I'm into posters big time, so of course if I could own an original Drew Struzan, that would be key. Another comic artist I love to death is Paul Pope, but I am getting sent a print of his from Nakatomi Inc. So soon that will be complete.
What are your favorite television shows that you feel ended too soon?
Firefly, Profit, The Job, Freaks and Geeks, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies, Deadwood, Arrested Development, Carnivale, Greg the Bunny... the list goes on and on
Who is your favorite super hero?
He's not really super, but I tend to love Batman. Just the whole detective thing appeals to me. But if I was to pick one super hero who I always dig when he's around, I'm a huge Booster Gold fan. Yes, you heard that right. It's not like I said Ambush Bug.
If you were to have dinner with 5 people living or dead, who are they and what would you serve?
Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Edgar Wright. All influential on my film making in some way. Dead and alive. Still relevant even today. I'd probably serve a smorgasbord of just different flavors and countries. I'd probably go out for drinks with Werner Herzog afterwards though.
What fictional character do you identify most with?
My girlfriend likes to say whenever she watches Firefly or Serenity, she sees a lot of me in Malcolm Reynolds. Good natured, a bit hot headed, bad ass and always there for his friends. I think she just digs Nathan Fillion. I don't blame her. :)
What 5 movies could you watch again and again?
Evil Dead II, Shaun of the Dead, Terminator 2, Phantom of the Paradise and The Princess Bride
What book or author do you regularly recommend?
Sadly the majority of them are dead, but I always recommend anything by Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe and Clive Barker. One out of five are alive. Not too shabby.
What are your favorite web sites?
My favorite websites are either movie centric (CHUD, Ain't It Cool, Twitch Film) or nerd memoribilia centric (www.nakatomiinc.com, www.mondotees.com) or T-shirt crazy (www.teefury.com, www.threadless.com, www.dutchsouthern.com, www.goapeshirts.com)
What are you most looking forward to geeking out over in the coming year?
A lot of movies later in the year I can't wait for. A new traditionally animated Disney film in The Princess and the Frog. We have a new Peter Jackson film with The Lovely Bones. And a new James Cameron film that might change the way we look at film with Avatar. A new Scorsese film also with Shutter Island, which looks to be more in line with his B-movie classic Cape Fear. We have a new zombie film that looks good with Zombieland. And during the summer, we have new Tarantino with Inglourious Basterds, new Miyazaki with Ponyo and a new Bobcat Goldthwait directed film with World's Greatest Dad. And I didn't even talk about District 9 and Not Quite Hollywood. So it's a geek's dream this coming year for film. At least in my eyes.
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