Cashiers du Cinemart 17 - Call for Entries

I've gotten some questions if there's ever going to be a Cashiers du Cinemart 17. Why not? The last issue worked out well in terms of print-on-demand (not so much on the hand-printed issues as I have yet to get those all stapled, folded, and mailed).

Do you want to be a part of CdC #17? Here's the breakdown of what I'd need when:

• Idea/pitch of what you want to write about by 2/29/12
• Rough draft by 5/31/12
• Final version by 7/4/12

Don't forget that I'm a fairly harsh editor. I take a lot of pride in what goes into each issue of CdC -- except when it comes to my own shameless stuff.

Send your ideas/pitches to mwhite at impossiblefunky dot com. Just beware of my spam filter.

How Return of the Jedi Should Have Ended

Orgasm Inc. (Elizabeth Canner, 2009, USA)

It’s no secret that the pharmaceutical companies are cash-laden, corrupt entities but it’s still sobering to see them in action in Elizabeth Canner’s documentary Orgasm Inc.. After the phenomenal success of Viagra, it was a cinch that what was good for the goose should be good for the gander. And, suddenly, a new disorder was discovered. Women who had unrealistic expectations about orgasming via vaginal intercourse or who maybe weren’t even always in the mood weren’t just “normal,” they were suffering from FSD – Female Sexual Dysfunction, a disease defined by the drug companies.

Canner was given a gift. She was brought in by the company Vivus to document their quest for a “Viagra for women.” Their product, Alista, was one of several being developed. Canner demonstrates the “race for the cure” via a clever visual metaphor of several anthropomorphic products running across an expansive bed, trying to reach the goal of FDA approval.

Along the way, Canner demonstrates the fallacy of FSD by looking into the way questionnaires are manipulated to provide the answers that make 43% of women seem abnormal while ignoring the hard facts that women exposed either product or placebo both responded favorably to pornography! Canner also features a brief history of female sexual stimulation (a la Passion & Power: The Technology of Orgasm) and interviews with several sex therapists including shyster Laura Berman who’s been on Pfizer’s payroll doling out Viagra to women despite the FDA’s discouragement. There’s also discussion of female sexual plastic surgery which could be a documentary unto itself.

In all, Canner brings to light a shameful scenario in which a cadre of drug companies works hard and spends untold millions of dollars, banking of a huge payday for a disorder that doesn’t exist. Imagine if this same time, effort, and funds were spent on a real disease! Alas, that just isn’t as lucrative or as sexy.

Buy the DVD.

Downsized!

I don't like saying that I was "fired." That implies that I did something wrong. Maybe I did but it wasn't just my head on the block last Thursday. It was a number of people. How many? I'm not quite sure yet since I wasn't there.

I don't like saying that I was "laid off" as that implies that I'll be called back. There's no other word for it that "downsized," I suppose.

You see, it was my first day of vacation. Well, "staycation," really. Andrea and my Mom headed off to Hawaii that morning while I stayed at home with our three dogs and my Mom's two. I had plans of hanging out, watching movies, doing some writing, and taking the occasional phone call from work to keep my project there on track. I had brought home my work laptop in anticipation of some documentation updates.

When the phone rang and my boss's name came up I knew something bad was about to happen. Ever since I came back to work after my layoff in 2010, I'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I thought that I was going to be able to make it through the current round of cuts, especially as my supervisor kept saying, "Oh, there's nothing to worry about. We've proven just how valuable we are and have so much work coming down that we're safe."

Despite these assurances, I still put two and two together when the phone rang. I'm not sure just how many other people got let go that day but maybe I'll find out Tuesday when I bring my laptop back to work and sign my separation paperwork.

Oddly, things haven't sunk in yet. Maybe because I was in vacation mode. Maybe when next Monday, the day I was supposed to return, rolls around it'll hit me.

I'm trying to take it all in stride and look at the positive things like being able to dedicated more time to a few book projects, my podcast, and some other things. And then the job hunting begins...

Indy Fix

Mr. Plinkett has given us a new review of Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I always appreciate these dissections.

Part 1

Part 2

Also, be sure to check out Raiding the Lost Ark: A Filmumentary -- full-length documentary about Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Get more parts as they're available at Vimeo.

More fun stuff:
When George Lucas Had Talent
Jonesing for the New Indy Film (Revised in Impossibly Funky).

Ken Coffman's Fairhaven

Too many people abuse the term "homage" as a euphemism of "rip off" (I know I'm guilty of this myself, though I use it facetiously). When I use "homage" in this review, its intended use is the proper definition; "respect or reverence paid or rendered."

Ken Coffman's Fairhaven (ISBN: 978-0982773420) is a loving homage to the works of Charles Willeford, specifically the Hoke Mosely series (Miami Blues, Sideswipe, et cetera). The title plays off "The Grimhaven Manuscript" which I described in "Madness in the 20th Century" as:

An early draft for the second book in the Moseley series, New Hope for the Dead, is commonly known as "The Grimhaven Manuscript." Herein we witness Hoke burnt-out from his job as a homicide detective. He begins a quest for "absolutely nothing" and determines that this may best be attained through killing off his ex-wife and two daughters. Needless to say, Willeford's publisher refused the draft. The second (and successful) stab at the sequel, stands as not only the best of the Moseley books but of Willeford's oeuvre.

The Fairhaven of Coffman's title is Charlie Fairhaven, a rest home nursing assistant who finds too much pleasure in euthanizing patients around the Pacific Northwest. Curmudgeonly retired cop Jake Mosby (not to be confused with Hoke Mosely) gets reluctantly involved in the case when one of the customers at his decrepit bookstore dumps it in his lap.

Initially I was afraid that Mosby's grandson, Nort, would become a precocious source of comic relief a la Grandma Mazur from the Stephanie Plum books. Fortunately, Coffman handles Nort and all of the other oddball characters of Fairhaven well. Likewise, Coffman could have made Fairhaven more of a jokey send-up of Willeford. Instead, his references to Willeford's work are brief, appropriate, and appreciated.

Coffman excels at taught, compelling storytelling and has crafted a must-read for mystery enthusiasts, especially Willeford fans.

Buy it at Amazon.com.

Scripts Wanted

I'm looking for some scripts for projects that are either completely dead in the water or that underwent significant changes from inception to production (or even thereafter).

Any help would be greatly appreciated:

• Isobar by Jim Uhls
• Giraffes on Horseback Salads by Salvador Dali
• DUNE by Alejandro Jodorowsky
• INSECT CITY by Frank Henenlotter
• Robocop 2: Corporate Wars by Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner
• Eyes by John Carpenter (original version of The Eyes of Laura Mars)
• Elric by Chris & Paul Weitz
• A Confederate General from Big Sur by Brandon French
• A Confederate General from Big Sur by Anthony Lucero
• The Abortion by Anthony Lucero

Outside the Cinema: Best of 2011 TONIGHT

I've been invited to be a part of the Outside the Cinema podcast's "Best of 2011" show. It's going to be broadcast LIVE on 12/29 around 6:30 PM EST.

Watch below or visit http://livestre.am/lJe.

Please Rate The Projection Booth!

iTunes users - please take a minute to rate The Projection Booth podcast. It's accomplished in three (or four) quick steps:

1) Click here.

2) Click any episode's "View in iTunes" link

3) Under customer ratings, click to rate one to five(!) stars

4) If you're not logged in, iTunes will prompt you to do so.

That's it! Thanks! Oh, and if you want to write a review, that's cool too.