Reading anything?

[Rev. Powell]

It's a fantasy/magical realist tale about a pagan boy who's the last one in his tribe who can speak the language of snakes, which gives him powers over other animals. Very interesting so far. From the novelist who wrote the book that was adapted into NOVEMBER (I was looking for that one but it hasn't been translated into English).

[The Burgomaster]

I have that exact copy, as well as their Decameron.  Lost some others in a move.

I got it as part of the 100 Greatest Books collection from the Easton Press. I'm slowly working my way through all 100 . . .

[Couchtr26]

I have that exact copy, as well as their Decameron.  Lost some others in a move.

I got it as part of the 100 Greatest Books collection from the Easton Press. I'm slowly working my way through all 100 . . .

Exactly where I got mine as well but ended them unfortunately.  Think I got ten before it was cancelled.  I wonder.. 

[BoyScoutKevin]

Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz'
The Big Picture

Reason #2 The CEO
a. He went against what Hollywood has believed for the past 2 or 3 decades.
--Make all types of movies for all types of people.
--Make mid price ($30 to $60 million) films.
--Make a lot of motion pictures
--Make original moving pictures for adults.

b. Or, to put it another way, his decisions were counterintuitive to the typical Hollywood conclusion, as they upended the industry's conventional wisdom.
--Do not make dramas for adults nor thrillers nor romantic comedies nor bawdy comedies nor horror movies nor star vehicles nor anything controversial nor political nor anything R-rated.

c. Stop laying down singles and doubles and start swinging for the fences.

d. (IMHO) The Babe Ruth of Hollywood. Like Babe either strikeout or hit a home run. Though, unlike Ruth, a greater percentage of home runs to strike outs.

e. He has the uncanny ability to smell success. Thus, he knew when and how to spend and make the kind of investments that drive success (i.e. Lucas Films Ltd., Marvel, Pixar, etc.)

f. He thinks long terms.

g. He moved not too quickly, but strategically.

h. He followed the lead of Steve Jobs. Quality + detail, then milk it endlessly.

I. He has a clear view of what the company is doing. It may have taken them a decade to get there, but they got there quicker than many of the Hollywood studios, such as Paramount.

j. Both inside and outside the company, they underestimated him, and that gave him the edge.

k. He smoothed out the corporate feuds and improved the bottom line, thus making a dramatic impact on films.

l. (IMHO) Where schmoozing is an art form, he can schmooze with the best of them.

m. And he is not Michael Eisner.

Next time: lesson #3 Branding

[indianasmith]

Just finished BLOOM COUNTY: EPISODE XI - A NEW HOPE by Berkeley Breathed.

After a 25 year hiatus, the master of silly satire and laughable lampooning is back, roasting right, left, and center in equal abandon with a heavy dose of the absurd thrown in for good measure.  In short, it's brilliant!!


Between reading that and watching the Irwin family being back on Animal Planet, it was a REALLY nice weekend.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz
The Big Picture

Reason #3 Branding
a. It has almost the only brand name that means anything to anyone.

b. Or, how it is possible to create a release slate in which almost every film is a hit.

c. Thus, it is not in the film business, as such, but in the brand business, why it makes more money, more consistently, than almost anyone else.

Next time: Reason #4 Advantages

[BoyScoutKevin]

Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz
The Big Picture

Reason #4 Advantages
a. They have advantages almost no other Hollywood studio has.
b. They own Marvel, which was one of the 1st to understand the importance of the overarching film narrative.
c. Their action films appeal to almost everyone nationally.
d. They have the heroes and superheroes which have, not only national appeal, but international appeal.
e. It has its fairy tales.
f. Time is on their side.
g. They do not have to worry about the parent company not putting the cash into the studio. They are the parent company.
h. Their films are watched o'er and o'er again.

Next time: reason #5 miscellaneous

[ER]

lauts and lauts of notes and books and computer screens in fallout 76. i'm told there are thousands of pages worth of reading material.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Ye-es!
Concluding . . .
Ben Fritz'
The Big Picture

Reason #5 Miscellaneous
a. It gives audiences what they really want. When they say they want new ideas and fresh concepts, in reality, they want familiar ideas and concepts.

b. It did what Columbia should have done. It took someone from the best run division, the TV division, and put them in charge of the whole ball of wax.

c. It understands that hit films sell a lot of merchandise.

d. Thus, they make films that generate long term value in merchandise, sequels, and spinoffs.

e. Hollywood is a herd animal and the Mouse is the leader of the herd.

f. Thus, it is the one, that most others emulate.

g. It went from a studio where many did not want to work to one--and its subsidiaries--where almost everyone wants to work.

h. It generates profit margins of 30%, when 10% is considered respectable.

I. Where failures exceed successes, it has fewer failures and bigger successes than most of the others.

j. It knows that consistent quality [not as good as some, better than others] = a tiny slate of films + time not being an issue + money not being an issue.

k. It has an infrastructure and resources to market and distribute a film across many media.
--TV -- theaters -- dvds -- digital formats.

l. And (IMHO) some not mentioned by the author.
--Broadway shows -- cruise ships -- ice shows -- publishing -- recording -- theme parks.

m. (IMHO) Success breeds success.

n. And, finally, (IMHO) in a town as schizoid as Hollywood, it is a harrowing ride, and sometimes you just have to get lucky., and, so far, they have been lucky.

Next time: we'll skip the 6 of 1 and go right to the half dozen of the other.

[FatFreddysCat]

Just started re-reading Ace Frehley's autobiography, No Regrets.

[indianasmith]

I just finished reading IKE'S BLUFF by Evan Thomas, which is far and away the best book on President Eisenhower I have ever read.
This was my Amazon review:

For most young Americans, Eisenhower is a forgotten President.  If anything, he is remembered as "that bald guy from the fifties."  However, as the Cold War fades into the rear view mirror of America, historians are gaining more and more respect for the quiet, confident ex-general who presided over its early years.  Ike had seen war at its most destructive and horrible, and was quick to come to the realization that no one could win a nuclear war between the two great superpowers.  But how to prevent such a conflict from breaking out?
   Ike understood that to avoid war, you have to give the appearance of being ready for it at all times, and to make sure the other side understands that you will not go in with half measures, but go all out. By projecting a willingness to use America's nuclear arsenal, Ike made sure America would never have to.  His calculated bluff kept America safe for eight years, kept the country from being taken over by militarists who would have squandered our resources in an endless arms race, and assured America's allies that the USA would not abandon them in a crisis. 
    A strong, quiet leader whose outward passivity matched a hot temper and a keen understanding of the world, Eisenhower is consistently rated as one of America's top ten Presidents these days - far cry from his near-bottom ranking in the first historian's poll, conducted by Arthur Schlesinger in 1962.  The more time passes, the more we see our national politics dominated by shrill hatemongers of the far right and well-meaning but incompetent ideologues of the left, and the more we appreciate this gentle warrior who united the nation rather than divided it, who kept us at peace by being ready for war, and who presided over a decade of peace and prosperity that his policies made possible.   - Lewis Smith, author of THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY

[lester1/2jr]

The Apostle - https://www.amazon.com/Apostle-Sholem-Asch/dp/0881841676

it' the sequel to the Nazarene. That was the story of Jesus, this is the story of Paul. It picks up 7 weeks after the crucifixion and is also a quadrillion pages long

[BoyScoutKevin]

Ye-es!
A half dozen of the other.

Kyle Cassidy
American
1st book
This Is What a Librarian Looks Like :
a Celebration of Libraries, Communities and Access to Information

Total 214 from all 50 cities and 5 foreign countries. With each getting a photo + 1 paragraph, except for 9 who get more coverage..
And librarians are cool. 15 or 7% have visible tattoo.


Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook :
the Avengers Initiative

Covering from the 1st Iron Man to the 2nd Thor or from 2008 to 20013 or the 1st 8 films from Marvel Studios
Featuring players, places, organizations, weapons, and more and published in 2017.


Scarlet Witch
[graphic novel] in 3 v.
v.1. Witches' Road -- v.2. World of Witchcraft -- v.3. The Final Hex


Lumber Janes
[graphic novel] v.3. To the Max
collecting chapters 17 - 24, having previously read chapters 17 - 20.

The one long running series that I enjoy reading.


Gareth Russell
northern Irish
Young and Damned and Fair :
the Life of Catherine Howard, 5th wife of King Henry VIII.
2 more non-fiction

about a woman, for women, but by a man! Which is why it is worth reading, as I have found men come at such subjects differently than most women writers. And we'll talk about another such writer, next time, when we talk about Motivation and Colette.


Star Wars
[graphic novel]
v.5. Yoda's Secret War
collecting issues #26 - 30 + annual #2

Next time: motivation and Colette

[BoyScoutKevin]

Motivation
I read a lot of mysteries, which are set in various times and in various places, but, there is one thing they have in common, and that is the villain is often given no motivation for what they do. So, what motivates a villain in a mystery? I thought I'd look at the 61 literary characters for whom I have some empathy, 22 of which are villainous criminals or 36% of the characters. And what did I find out about their motivation? Nothing. But, I did find that 11 or 50% of the characters exist in a time and place that does not exist, has never existed, and never will exist.

Colette
a graphic book on the life of  French authoress Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, better known as Colette, who lived from 1873-1954. A historical anomaly, for in a time and place when men dominated, she was the dominant one and who dominated the men in her orbit. And as interesting as that is, and it is, what is more interesting is what motivates a man, when man is dominant, to become submissive and submit himself to a woman.

Next time: another historical and literary character who submitted himself to a woman, in a time and place when--again--men were dominant.

[Rev. Powell]