The Writer's Life 2/20 - Passions

I'm tired of movies based on comics, but, for some reason, was attracted to Ant-Man (2015), perhaps because I knew nothing about it. I watched and enjoyed it last night, courtesy of Netflix. It takes its time to develop the characters and get to the action. That may explain why it was not the blockbuster other films based on the Marvel brand have been. It brought in $180 million on a budget of $130 million in the USA alone as of 12/15, respectable but a far cry from others of the genre. Paul Rudd stars as a recently paroled genius recruited by a legendary researcher, played by Michael Douglas, to stop a former protege who aims to peddle the master's technology to the highest bidder. Of course, the real star is the spectacular effects. The first-rate cast takes a back seat to them. I could not place the female lead, Evangeline Lilly, the star of TV's Lost, maybe because of the dark hair and absence of freckles. Corey Stoll has become one of Hollywood's go-to guys for villainy. The always impressive Bobby Cannavale plays a cop married to the hero's ex-wife. Anthony Mackie and Michael Pena provide comic relief. The most amusing part of the cast is Martin Donovan in the role he has mastered -- unscrupulous white collar criminal. Rudd shares screenwriting credit with three others. Peyton Reed, who has 29 credits as a director, was at the helm. I am unfamiliar with his other works. 240,000+ users at IMDb have rated Ant-Man, forging to a consensus of 7.4 of ten, which seems right. It runs less than two hours. The tone is lighter than usual for such fare. The violence is never gross. Although the outcome is predictable, it's a fun ride. A sequel is planned. I doubt I'll watch the next installment now that my curiosity has been satisfied.

For some reason the blog hits have increased dramatically this week. It usually averages ten or less per post. One day it received 163, another 25. My thanks.

When I first started writing in 1975, I would sort my thoughts during long walks. Since the first manuscript I did way back then is requiring so much work in the rewrite, I've been thinking about it throughout each day, especially during my morning walk. It's as if I'm traveling back in time, especially since the novel takes place in the '70's.

When electronic trading put the kibosh on open outcry, the brokers had to find work elsewhere. Joe Lisi followed his passion -- football, especially the collegiate variety. He wore a different jersey each dress-down day. He has a strong web presence he hopes will lead to a network gig. It's an uphill battle, as he's doing it from scratch, having never attended broadcasting school. In a phone conversation this morning I pointed out that Woody Allen didn't attend film school. He thanked me for buying his new ebook and offered to help plug my football opus, Adjustments. Joe put his heart and soul into trading gold futures, working independently, without customers, often taking big positions. I'm sure he goes at football with equal zeal. Here's a link to his book:  http://www.amazon.com/Gridiron-Sandbox-Memoirs-College-Football-ebook/dp/B01BUYULSK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456002821&sr=1-1&keywords=joseph+lisi

It was an interesting session of the floating book shop. My thanks to the gentleman who dropped off a number of books as I was setting up. For the first hour and a half not a single passerby showed any interest in my wares. Then Steve, aka, Mr. Conspiracy approached and picked up a large tome on knitting and crochet. He said his wife, Ruth Hornbein, is famous in the field. I just googled her. Here's an example of her work:

Steve bought the book and a cook book. Then Cindy came along, on her way into the bank. I'd guess she's at least 35, probably 40. She's been acting for 15 years, has even had speaking roles in independent films, and is still dreaming of a breakout role. She wanted to give me a few books for good luck. I insisted she take a large pictorial issued in supermodel Linda Evangelista's name. She said she would friend me on LinkedIn. Finally, Ralph arrived in his new, gleaming white Ford. Finding the line in the bank "around the block," he exited immediately and bought three works of non-fiction. Thanks, folks.

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