Tuesday, August 31, 2004

The Station Agent About halfway through the film, Anjie and I looked at each other and thought, add this to the list of stories I'd like to emulate as a film writer. Quirky is not necessarily a virtue, but detail of character is what creates humanitiy, and here it is in full glory. Peter Dinklage plays Finbar McBride, a railroad expert who inherits a New Jersey railroad depot and retires there to escape the all-too-predictable difficulty of getting through big city life as a dwarf. Dinklage's performance is heartbreaking and inspiring all at the same time. The story gathers comic steam as "Fin" meets Joe (played by Bobby Cannavalle), the run-at-the-mouth driver of the vending truck doing business just outside his depot, and Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), a grieving mother who runs Fin off the road not once, but twice...on the same day. Another film about the creation of unlikely community as these three characters take a simple and unusual journey into friendship and interdependance. Well worth the time... 8:12:12 AM   comment []

"The Arthur Cycle" Arthur: The Begetting I got a letter in the mail the other day about the next step in the ongoing life of The Arthur Cycle. New York's The Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre has chosen Arthur: The Begetting for inclusion in its 2004-2005 season of the New Classics Reading Series. In the coming weeks, a director will be assigned to the piece, a performance date chosen, actors cast, etc. Watch here for further news as it develops. The opportunity to work with a new director is exciting, not to mention the fact that the play will be heard in New York compliments of one of it's most respected companies. Arthur: The Hunt Work will also begin in the next two weeks on re-writes for Arthur: The Hunt, which currently is living a sort of hybrid experience as two versions of the story get played out on different stages. Don't ask me how that happened, but the process is underway to find the final version of the play. Abilene Christian University's Theatre Department plans to take the play to the American College Theatre Festival this fall, while Taproot Theatre here in Seattle has announced that Arthur: The Hunt will be included in their 2005 season. Again, watch here for more details. I suppose I need to go see the Bruckheimer film... 7:43:08 AM   comment []

© Copyright 2004 Jeff Berryman .