Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Watch out for falling coconuts"

Sheila Blackstone has a heart on the highway. (intodarkness) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2010-08-10 18:35:00

Entry tags:

fūjin, nephthys

Who: Chris and Sheila
What: Movie-night
Where: Chris’ apartment
When: Sometime during the week after this
Warnings: ~~Sean Connery in an orange loincloth~~ Swearing?

Chris’ text came while she was at work and answered immediately after. Sheila didn’t think much could be worse than a screwing with mythology or more horrifying. At least Disney’s Hercules poked some fun at its inaccuracies. Clash of the Titans had taken itself far too seriously. As a storyteller – even if words were her forte versus filmography, it had been embarrassing. Some bad movie from the 70’s couldn’t be worse, could it? Mainly she was humoring Chris and enjoying an evening that should at least have some humor More often than not, Chris provided it.

She didn’t bother changing from her work clothes, only tossing her shoulder bag into 301 before heading down the hall. She rapped on the empty doors as she went along before pausing in front of Chris’. Finding no reason to glance around, she put her hands to her mouth and hollered. “HEY, OPEN UP! IT’S SHEILA.” No point in being quiet about it.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 01:21 am UTC (link)

Sheila couldn't help but laugh as Chris yelled. Maybe it was the red hair that set him off so easily - she wasn't sure if she'd had a conversation with him yet that didn't lead to a screaming match. In any case it was amusing - more so than she could properly convey and she grinned as the door opened. "And what about voices and lungs?" she countered.

She slipped inside, heading straight for his couch. Messiness didn't bother her - it revealed more about a person then being all piled up and hidden away - and she curled her feet under her. "I take it you're in a good mood?" she asked lightly.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 01:35 am UTC (link)

"Doesn't matter. Knock on the door. If I don't answer, then you can yell." He shut the door behind her and made for the kitchen again, splashing the plate with water and tossing the silverware in their little to-be-washed bin before rubbing his hands on a towel and coming back around to the couch. "I dunno. Good's kind of a state of mind. I hate working and that's all I fucking do, but I guess the fact that I get to hurt your very soul with his movie is canceling it out."

Chris smirked and crouched in front of his TV, pressing the right buttons on the remote and setting up the DVD player instead. Other than his car, this was his pride and joy: his entertainment system. It wasn't top of the line, and it wasn't the best of the best, but it sure as hell was nice, and effective, and the surround sound was killer with the right movies (obviously not this one). Popping in the DVD, he all but lunged backward and flopped onto the couch, looking at-home and completely comfortable and unwilling to move until something else decided to bother him. Like the fact that the lights were on.

He was up in three seconds, aiming to shut them off.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 01:44 am UTC (link)

"But where'd the fun be in that?" She stayed in her seat, peering around about. Having been over on move-in day, there wasn't much that was surprising but it gave her a chance to read off of him. The TV that was front and center gave away more than anything else did though. "It would take a lot to affect my soul," she said honestly. Sheila let most things roll of her back. "You seem pretty confident about this."

She did settle in though when he got to the couch. Slouching down, she twirled a loose strand of hair about her hand until he'd hopped up and come back again. "You're supposed to keep the light on for scary stuff, you know. Are you going to have nightmares after this?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 01:49 am UTC (link)

She had a point, he guessed, but still! Knock on the door! Or kick it, or something, and then yell. Chris was probably, deep in his heart of hearts, a raging hypocrite, but he'd never admit it. Things made sense to him, therefore obviously they made sense to other people.

"It's not like horror-blood-gore-aliens-monsters-chainsaw BS scary," he said, flicking off the lights and climbing over the back of the couch to rejoin her as the menu, in all its glowing glory, came up on the screen. "You keep the lights on for that. This is like psychological mindfuck what-the-fuck-am-I-watching scary. Though I'm pretty sure they didn't intend it to be that way." He glanced at her, half-grinning. "The director got committed to an asylum after the finished filming."

Which hadn't actually had anything to do with the film, he'd admit, but it was still one hell of a lead-up.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 02:03 am UTC (link)

Her fingers threaded through her hair as he explained, mouth turning downwards ever so slightly. "For how much you raved on this, I thought it'd need lights." But her frown faded as he grinned - and she turned incredulous. "Really?"

Alright, she was doubting watching this now. She didn't fancy being crazy. "How many times have you seen this?" she asked, a hint of wariness creeping into her voice. "And how much are you exaggerating?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 02:15 am UTC (link)

"You might need lights, later, when you're in bed. Lying there, wondering if Sean Connery in this awful role is going to sneak into your room at night and do something horrific. Or just stand over you, staring. Forever." Not that he'd had to do it, since he was Chris, and the movie had just given him fucking weird dreams the next few nights. "And yeah, seriously, he was committed. Got out eventually, though, it's not like he died or something in there."

The movie started and he leaned back, watching the opening and talking between the lines.

"Like four times. I still don't get it. If you do, explain it to me at the end. And I'm not exaggerating at all. Look it up online if you think I'm lying." He would never lie. Not about something like this, which was too good to be true.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 02:24 am UTC (link)

An eyebrow rose and she shifted a bit closer to his end of the couch. "Personal experience with that? I thought Sean Connery was a hero guy. Wasn't he James Bond?" Sheila's film knowledge was slim, but even in a freaky costume, she thought this guy was supposed to be a hero. "Huh. So he wasn't really crazy then. The crazy ones are the ones who never get out."

That boded well for her - she could deal with temporary insanity, she thought.

She nodded, twirling her hair again. "I'm good at theories," she said casually. Her attention returned to the screen, distracted by it soon enough.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 02:38 am UTC (link)

"Fuck off, I just had a nightmare or two. Fucking weird movie, okay?" Chris sulked briefly on his end of the couch before finishing the answers to her questions. "Yeah, he was Bond, one of the best. He's done some really amazing work since then, too, but Zardoz was right after he got done being Bond, so it was like ... a rebound film, or something. Fucking awful. Of course, everybody thinks it's sooo deep these days, fucking hipster critics."

Chris was not a fan of movie critics, if anybody ever asked him. He was more than happy to expound endlessly on how awful they all were. Needless to say, he didn't get a lot of newspapers these days, if only because he hated the entertainment section so much.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 03:17 am UTC (link)

She did giggle as things weren't as serious as he may have been acting. Plus it helped the mood somewhat, as the movie veered more and more towards bizarro lane. "Sure. Just one or two." Her head tilted as he went on, giggles dying off.

"Is it actually deep and you just don't get it?" A simple question and her attention was diverted from the screen towards him. And hand reached out to pat his shoulder. "I forgive you if that's the case. I don't get most films."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 03:24 am UTC (link)

"It was," Chris grumbled, but the silence descended for a little while as the movie went on and the giant stone head descended from the sky to spew guns at the people down below, including the man of the hour. He half-grinned at the ridiculousness of it all when Sheila spoke again.

Was it deep? Was it deep? Hadn't he just told her it was shit? Chris scowled again and held up the star-speckled box, all but shoving the infamous picture of the awful costuming in her face.

"It's not fucking deep! It's awful storytelling and if it's supposed to have some kind of elaborate moral to it, then they went the totally fucking wrong way of doing it! If I told you the whole reason I think it's bullshit I'd spoil the whole story for you, so just ... no! It's not deep, it's confusing, and I don't get it!" Back to sulking, a glower now at the semi-violence and almost-nudity prevalent on the TV.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 03:31 am UTC (link)

She pulled her hand back, wincing as the box was in her face. She took it from him, avoiding a mouth with Sean Connery in it and placing it carefully on the couch between them. To an extent, her guess was proven. He was too defensive about it for it not to be.

"It does seem to have a bad pacing so far," she admitted, before settling back in her seat. Her chin rested on her hands, barely wincing at the violence. Sheila was immune to it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 03:37 am UTC (link)

Automatically assuming she'd accepted his explanation, Chris sat on his end of the couch, slightly seething as the movie played on and the nudity came to the fore. God, this movie was awful. Genuinely awful. He couldn't believe that people tried to make sense of it. He was honestly hoping that she would get completely mortified by something in it so he could gloat.

If she actually thought it was meaningful or interesting, well ... he'd have failed. And his life would mean nothing. He'd have to jump out his window, and probably break both legs but not die. Fuck.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 03:48 am UTC (link)

Sheila kept quiet through the rest of the movie, eyes sliding to Chris only at the more insane parts. Like the violence, the nudity didn't bother her that much - frankly, Connery's costume was worse as it blinded her eyes. She continued to wait for the realization that the movie would make sense - or at least come to some kind of acceptable conclusion. Nothing happened though and it wasn't until the credits came on that she fully turned towards Chris.

"So," she started, before cutting herself off. Her brows furrowed and she glanced at the TV again and back to him. "Why did they make that movie? What was the point?" That would be her biggest question. Right after who agreed to produce it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 03:52 am UTC (link)

He knew it! He knew it! He was right and she was wrong and all those hipster critics were wrong and that movie made no fucking sense! With a triumphant grin, he turned to face her, the bowl of popcorn he'd gotten up to make halfway through the movie now balanced precariously on his knees.

"I have no fucking idea," Chris declared proudly, "and if I'm lucky, I'll never know. There is no point and I couldn't tell you why the director thought it was good idea, other than the fact that he was off his goddamn rocker. My question is, why would Connery pick it up? Lucky for him it wasn't career suicide, he was too damn good as Bond." He idly chewed on a few unpopped kernels, staring past Sheila into nothingness. "What'd you think?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 04:04 am UTC (link)

She snagged a handful of popcorn from the bowl, crossing her legs as if she was in kindergarten. Popping a piece into her mouth, she listened to him rant again. It didn't make sense. "I think it was stupid. The point of a movie - or a book - or any story is to impart something. If you didn't get the message across, you failed at storytelling."

Another piece went into her mouth as she chewed thoughtfully. "And it also should be enjoyable. At least to an extent. You shouldn't just want to watch it because it was a train wreck."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 04:18 am UTC (link)

He nodded at her evaluation, agreeing entirely, up until she hit the last sentence, and there the argument rose - but it wasn't his usual pure anger, it was an actual sense of arguing. As far into that as Chris could go without resorting to insults and yelling the roof down, anyway.

"Oh, come on! Just because that one's a total mindfuck doesn't mean train wrecks aren't enjoyable. You can look back on them and laugh! I watch movies just because they are bad. This one ... well, I tried that with this one. It only works half the time. You need a group to do it right." He pointed the bowl at her. "Don't tell me you didn't laugh a little at some points."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 04:28 am UTC (link)

She frowned, hands crunching the popcorn in her hands. "Maybe," she said, before jutting an elbow out to the TV. "But wouldn't it be better to watch something that gives you something? Makes you either feel better or worse, gives you some knowledge beyond orange is never anyone's color."

Pausing, she did conced - with a piece of the popcorn to her mouth. "I did laugh a little. But that's not the point."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 04:37 am UTC (link)

"This totally gives me something." Chris crunched the kernels and grimaced as he felt the little pieces lodge in his teeth, like they always did, but he just liked them, all right. "It makes me feel better in my own skills. If that piece of shit can get made with people lauding it all these years later, I've got this in the bag."

He meant, of course, his directing ability. Not that he'd made anything in over two months, what with moving and working and so on, but Chris was dead set on eventually making something great. If Zardoz could get a film audience, then he so could, no doubt. And they'd all love it, because he would hire a costume designer that didn't have five hundred bucks to their budget.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 05:42 am UTC (link)

He got a grin about that. "Good. But don't get sloppy because this was bad. You can still do better." She glanced at the box again, picking it up with her free hand. "Much better. I demand a decent plot. And no orange allowed."

She looked up, box still in hand. "Getting over-confident is one of the worst things you can do." Never mind that she was a hypocrite in that regard. She was imparting advice, not taking her own.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 05:54 pm UTC (link)

"Damn straight I can do better! This is like the bottom of the barrel. Or a couple inches above the barrel. If I have to get down to this level, I'll just jump out the window or something. And if there's orange, it won't be in loincloths, okay. There won't be any loinclothes at all." In this, Chris was absolutely confident.

Overconfidence, though, wasn't in his dictionary, and he scowled at her when she accused him of it - or suggest he not become it.

"I'm not overconfident, I'm fucking good, all right? Other people just need to realize that." He glanced at the stacks of movies from successful (or not) directors, from the people who'd had vision and brought it to life. He'd have his own collection someday. With his name on them. Then he'd be living like he should.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 08:14 pm UTC (link)

Her nose wrinkled slightly. "No need to kill yourself over that." Maybe. She didn't have much of an aversion to death in general; but suicide was a slightly touchy subject. One could walk into danger blindly. Killing yourself to escape something went back too far. "I think you'll be fine," she assured him.

She tossed the last of the popcorn into her mouth, chewing as he went on. "Okay. What's your next film going to be about then? Are you working on one now?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 08:23 pm UTC (link)

"I, uh ... "

Chris fiddled with the bowl and its last few unpopped kernels, looking around at anywhere but Sheila. As much as he loved movies and insisted he knew how to direct, how to work that sort of thing, how to make a fine goddamn movie ... well, there was a reason he was living in this apartment building and working at the Tower of Terror. Not that he would ever admit it, but it was still there.

"Not really, y'know. Just sort of putzing around and trying to get things to look good. I saw Inception like six times - I wanna try something like that. That was some intense shit, right there." He looked at her critically, suddenly distracted. "Did you see it?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 08:29 pm UTC (link)

Sheila knew that look well enough. Maybe he wasn't a writer exactly, but when Writer's Block was around it made everything impossible. She'd had her own few bouts over the years, dealing with that sudden inability to come up with anything decent to tell or write about. Not an easy thing to talk about and she switched subjects immediately. She didn't want to be too much of a hypocrite.

"No. Should I? I've been busy with work and hanging out at the parks."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 08:39 pm UTC (link)

A perfect distraction that took away all the disappointment and a good chunk of the anger, Chris leapt on the topic of a movie and ran with it.

"It's fucking amazing," he said, the half-grin back in an instant. "It's kind of a mindfuck, but not a bad one like this, it's a good one. The end is totally out of this world. Not that I'm gonna tell you, otherwise I'd spoil it. Anyway, it's got all sorts of ridiculous stuff in it - dreams in dreams in dreams and how they all effect each other." He almost wished he had more popcorn, playing the best scenes of the movie in his head like he was. "I'm not sure if the story's actually much good, but the way it's put together? Fucking amazing."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-11 09:08 pm UTC (link)

She settled back in her chair, smiling back as he went on. Half of it didn't make sense to her - though after Zardoz, she thought she really knew the difference between a good and a bad movie now. "That's always good," she said simply.

Dreams were always an interesting thing - they revealed more about a person than they'd like to admit. Subconscious and so on - she'd done a course on it in college. She filed away the subject as something to work on, glancing at her watch as she did so. "I'll make a point of seeing it. If it's still out when I'm free next."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-11 09:20 pm UTC (link)

"Do it. Or if you absolutely can't, then go see it when it's out on DVD. Fuck, I'll have it when it's out on DVD, just drop by and I'll show you it. It's not as effective on a screen this size, but ... " Chris sighed and shrugged a little dramatically. "Hey, better to see it small than not at all, right?"

Chris stood up and headed into the kitchen, dropping the popcorn bowl in the sink and looking into the microwave. There was some fake butter shit on the door, and a little on the sides, but he ignored it for the moment - he could clean it in a bit.

"Now you gotta share that piece of shit with the world, someday. The more people, the better. Hurt 'em good." Just a little sadistic, maybe.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-12 04:47 am UTC (link)

Sheila could care less about what screen she saw it on. But she had a good idea on how much this mattered to others and she nodded, mock serious. "Definitely. You just tell me when you have it then."

That advice did spark a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean? Why would you make more people see it?" Not that this wasn't exactly a terrible time with Chris' company and criticism countering the shitty movie - but not everyone would get that. Besides, it was his movie.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-12 05:17 pm UTC (link)

"Because, you show that to enough people, traumatize them so they actually believe you? It's hilarious."

A small part of Chris's mind tried to ring a warning bell here, but as per usual, he ignored it.

"The more people walk out a little more thoughtful on what actually makes a bad movie, the better. Some philosophical nonsensical piece of shit like that totally outweighs what people think is awful these days." He shut the microwave door and stood aimlessly in the kitchen for a few moments, as if picturing what the world would be like if everybody shared his vision of good cinematography.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-13 01:35 am UTC (link)

Her eyebrow remained raised throughout his explanation. One it didn't make sense - and he had an obvious fault in his argument. Her fingers twirled in her hair until he was done, waiting a moment before following him to the kitchen. "Not that I want bad books or movies, but if we didn't have them the bar of what is bad would go down."

She leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "If they walked out on all the bad movies, they'd stop being made. Then the good ones wouldn't be as good because the difference would be smaller. The whole scale of things would change."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-15 12:19 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, well, I ... "

He faltered in the face of her argument as it crystallized in his mind. It was true. If there were no bad movies, then there would, as a consequence, be no good movies. They'd have no good comparisons. Everything would be dragged down ... and what chance would he have? It was a realization he hadn't come to of late, and so Chris shook his head and pressed his hands against the counter.

"Shit. I never thought of that." He grimaced. "Does this mean that I have to put up with this kind of bullshit for the rest of my life? Ugh." Well, he didn't have to see all of them ... but the point was that he was slightly wrong, or had been. Damn.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-15 05:39 am UTC (link)

Her smile widened as it dawned on him. Good. Point made. She liked that feeling a tad too much, she realized. Maybe she should work on it. Shoving the slight self-consciousness aside, Sheila crossed her arms more tightly. "You don't have to watch it all. Just rise above it, y'know?"

She shrugged, going on. "And it's just logic, when you think about it. But you could learn from the bad ones people like. What things are popular." Here her nose wrinkled. "Even if they're just fluff."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-16 01:18 am UTC (link)

"Obviously. I mean, what else would I do? Sink to that level? Whatever." Chris waved a hand as if he was discarding and dismissing all the awful movies, the bad craftsmanship, the godforsaken acting - like he wasn't going to even acknowledge it. Even though he planned to, at one point or another. "Hey, just because something's popular doesn't mean it's good ... or bad. Whatever I make is something everybody's gonna like for one reason or another."

Naturally, anybody who said otherwise was just doing so to look cool. Fucking hipsters, clearly. Chris tried to ignore the potential for that and folded the half-empty box of microwave popcorn shut, dropping it back in its place under the counter.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

intodarkness
2010-08-17 06:07 am UTC (link)

As he dismissed it, Sheila couldn't help but giggle. No need to worry about that from Chris. It was nice to have artistic integrity about. "I'm glad," she said honestly. And to that she nodded fervently. "But people only seem to care if it is popular, versus it's true merit."

She watched him for a moment before glancing to her watch. "When are you on for work tomorrow?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

windbagged
2010-08-17 05:51 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, well, they can fuck off," Chris said absently. At least he knew all his friends - or the people he was acquainted with, anyway - would appreciate what he did. Popular or not, they'd see it, right? He planned to hold them to that kind of thing. That was what friends did, after all. "Early, because I got off early today. I'm there for opening and don't get off until late."

The life of a salaried Disney slave. Chris scowled and glanced up at Sheila.

"Why? What about you?"

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -