Well, dear readers, I do believe I’m within spitting distance of finishing the book, but there’s no real way of knowing until I get there. I do know what’s left to write, it just depends on how long the sections are. I’m not rushing, I’m taking the time I need to take, both in futzing and finessing, and then doing new pages. The only difference in the last two days is that I’m writing more pages per day – nineteen two days ago, and twenty yesterday, but that happens on every book as I near the end. So, we will see what we will see when we see it and we will. See it. When we see it. Last night, I did manage to finish American Fiction. Some of it’s fine, it’s too long, and it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, so I can’t say that I loved it. Jeffrey Wright, however, is excellent and he’ll probably get an Oscar nod for Best Actor. After that, I watched The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne and starring Paul Giamatti. At two hours and fifteen minutes it perhaps overstays its welcome a couple of times, and we’ve had this kind of movie many times before, but it’s very well done, it’s funny and touching, and all the performances are top-notch. I’ve only seen a handful of Mr. Payne’s films, but while I’ve enjoyed a couple in certain ways, he’s not a favorite of mine. But I have to hand it to him with this film, because he captures the feel of the cinema of 1970. It’s very deliberate but so nice to see dissolves and wipes again, and retro logos at the start of the film and every now and then film anomalies like dirt and stuff. The locations and production design are spot on. It’s well written and thankfully while there are a lot of songs in the movie (you barely hear them or their on the record player and stuff), thankfully, there are only two or three times when a song actually plays out front. This movie could have been killed if it had a heavy musical hand sticking songs in every five minutes. But let’s cut to the chase – if Paul Giamatti doesn’t win the Oscar for this, then you know something is terribly wrong with AMPAS. I’m also thinking that Da’Vine Joy Randolph will not only get a nomination, but she has a great shot at winning. Anyway, I can absolutely recommend this one. Every amateur on YouTube is doing a video on their ten favorite films. I watched one or two a few weeks ago and it was just so predictable – just what you’d expect and then the really arcane lists that contain movies no one has seen. But last night I just clicked on one and while his list is fairly predictable, he’s the only person anywhere who’s included Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret on a ten best list. That film is literally being ignored by everyone, and as I keep saying, SAG members couldn’t be bothered to watch it, Academy members are the same, and so is, I’m sad to say, the DGA. I find it despicable.
Otherwise, it was mostly a writing day and a very productive one. I got eight hours of sleep and thankfully she of the Evil Eye did not come. It took a while to futz and finesse, then I wrote one new page, then went to Gelson’s to get something to eat. I got a chicken Caesar salad, and stuff to make pasta today. I did forget one ingredient, so I’ll have to go back today for it. I ate the salad, then I wrote six more pages, finished American Fiction, wrote another eight pages, and then another five after The Holdovers. I had some licorice for a sweet. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll futz and finesse, I’ll write new pages, I’ll do a quick run for the missing ingredient, I’ll eat, I’ll write new pages, I’ll try to watch Poor Things, I’ll write new pages and we’ll see where we are by midnight.
Tomorrow, I’ll futz and finesse and if I’ve finished I’ll send off the final batch of pages to Muse Margaret, or if I finish after futzing and finessing, I’ll sent the pages when I’m done. I think I’m being taken for an early belated birthday dinner. The rest of the week is getting back to the screenplay with David Wechter, some meetings and meals, and catching up on a lot of stuff.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, futz and finesse, write new pages, get the missing ingredient, eat, write new pages, maybe watch a movie, write new pages and maybe even finish the book. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be within spitting distance of finishing a book.