Good afternoon. If you do not know me, I am Gigi the parti poodle and I am the owner of a novelist. Specifically, the one who writes this blog. I had a splendid Halloween barking at children who took the treat bags my novelist put together and set outside the door so children could pick up Halloween goodies and social distance. That was great fun. I also lay on the couch near my novelist and watched Psycho. Unfortunately, the Maltese took part as well. It is an astounding film even to this day. I do not believe I should go into the motel business. However, at times I look at the Maltese and think I would not mind giving him a bit of a scare during his bath. Without further ado, here is my novelist.

I had the great pleasure of re-watching Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho this Halloween. What is so remarkable about the film isn’t just the masterful direction, the brilliant score, the spectacular set design, the extraordinary script (based on Robert Bloch’s novel) or the astonishing cinematography all of which were passed over for Oscars (it was nominated in four categories: Best Supporting Actress for Janet Leigh, Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock, Best Cinematography for John L. Russell and Best Art Direction for Robert Clatworthy, George Milo and Joseph Hurley). What stands out for me about this film is the accuracy with which both Norman Bates and Marion Crane’s psychology are executed.

Now this is not just based on the acting, although the acting here is iconic. It’s the details and every facet of their existence in the film. Marion is shown as competent, intelligent, attractive and normal. Familiar even. The name in Hebrew means “bitter” and the name in French means “little beloved”. In contrast is Marion’s sister Lila. Her name means “night”. In the first scene in the hotel room we see Marion wearing a white brassiere and slip as she rolls around in bed and converses with her boyfriend Sam Loomis. Sam must give most of his money away in alimony which keeps he and Marion from getting married and their affair secret. Marion is also in her early thirties which in 1960 would add to the desperation. She is not yet married. In her mind Sam is her last chance.

The fairy godmother character comes in the strange form of her boss’s client, an unlikable misogynist named Tom Cassidy. He has $40,000 he wants her boss to put into the bank for his eighteen-year-old daughter who is about to get married which Marion offers to do. Remember, Marion is in her early thirties and this guy’s daughter is eighteen. I can’t imagine that didn’t sting just as much as Cassidy’s unwanted flirting. Also note in this same scene Marion is dressed in white just like she was in the hotel room.

Under normal circumstances Marion would have taken the money to the bank. Someone with her personality would do so. But desperation forces her to make an uncharacteristic choice. Instead she feigns a headache, takes the money and drives home to pack her bags and head for Sam in California. Note that while she packs her bags, she is no longer wearing a white brassiere and slip. She has instead changed into a black brassiere and slip. This is symbolic of a couple of things. One is Marion’s shift from a logistical person to someone trying to be tactical. Secondly her contrast with her sister whom we have not yet met but has been mentioned in her conversation in the hotel room with Sam. Innocence and impurity. And finally, life and death. Looming in the background of course is a shower.

Marion’s conscience haunts her on her route to Sam. She becomes tired and pulls off the road where a policeman finds her. She talks to him and manages to drive away but is concerned she may get caught. She finds a used car dealership and looks for a new car in exchange for hers. But the policeman is not far behind. He parks across the street, leans against the car and watches her. Marion becomes more desperate. She offers the salesman more than the car she wants to trade hers for is worth. She excuses herself and goes to the bathroom to retrieve the proper amount of money to secure the car and get out.

As she drives her paranoia helps her brain to concoct conversations, ones she imagines the policeman and the car salesman are having about her. Marion has committed a crime and now she is beginning to project her thoughts onto other people. Sound familiar? Marion and Norman are mirror characters. They may be on opposite sides of sanity, but they parallel each other.

The character Norman is based on real life serial killer Ed Gein, who was a profoundly disturbed and heinous man who liked to perform his own version of taxidermy. In order to make this a tolerable observation of Ed’s habbits, Marion’s last name is Crane and Norman happens to have a collection of stuffed birds. Norman’s traits are, for a film made in 1960, remarkably accurate for a psychopath. His stutter for one. Psychopaths tend to double words in their speech. This is a relatively new discovery and yet, here is a film made fifty plus years before that research depicting this trait. Also, Norman is constantly eating and offering food. Psychopaths have essentially three things they focus on: sex, money and food also a relatively new discovery. And here the movie depicts Norman’s fixation on food. And we know he fixates on sex made obvious by varying observations especially the peephole from his office to Marion’s room where we see Marion take off her clothes and once again we see her in a black brassier and slip indicating not that Norman looks at her with love but rather with lust.

Norman is also twitchy and jittery. Psychopaths are often misdiagnosed with ADD at an early age. One great scene depicting Norman’s twitchiness is when he and Sam have a conversation at the motel. Hitchcock made certain to put Norman’s tapping forefinger in the forefront of the shot.

My Books

You can check out my books Chicane and the first two books in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby! andMusicology: Volume Two, Kid!on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will will Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: MARNIE (1964)-Peacock

In a salute to Sean Connery I thought I would offer up one of my favorite films of his. Wonderfully it is also directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Tippi Hedren. If you watch the trailer to this film, you will hear Hitchcock say, “Marnie is a very difficult picture to classify.” It is indeed. Marnie is a young woman who appears harmless. But she is anything but. In fact, she has a passion for embezzlement and lying. But unlike Marion in Psycho Marnie does not appear to have guilt about her crimes. When she steals from the wrong firm a complex and sinister young partner named Mark figures out what she has done and hunts her down. Because that is what Mark does, he hunts. If Marnie tries to leave him, she’ll go to prison. If she stays, she remains his prey. Marnie is based on the book by Winston Graham.

SMART MOVIES FOR SMART KIDS: The Adams Family (1991)-Netflix

Although Halloween is over, I still think this is a fun film for kids. Steeping in droll humor, The Adams Family is about the famous eccentric family sans Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) who appears to have gone missing for twenty or so years. Realizing this a con artist (Dan Hedaya) joins forces with a woman named Abigale Craven (Elizabeth Wilson) to have her strange adult son (also Christopher Lloyd) pretend to be Uncle Fester in order to cheat the Adams Family out of a large sum of money. But they underestimate the charm and wit of Gomez (Raul Julia), his wife Morticia (Angelica Houston) and their two lovely children Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) and Wednesday (Christina Ricci) all of whom make “Uncle Fester” feel right at home.

SCREENWRITINGU FREE CLASS FRIDAY: GREAT CHARACTER; GREAT SCENE

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Hello. I am Tucker and I am a Maltese. I am filling in for Gigi the parti poodle today because she had to have a bath and she does not like baths. They make her moody which scares me. I do not like baths either. I had to have one too and it scared me. Our internet went out today and our novelist was not sure she would be able to post. I do not like it when the internet goes out. That scares me too. Halloween is this weekend and little humans in scary clothes come to the door and make me bark. They scare me but it is fun to bark at them. My novelist gives them treats. I do not get Halloween treats. I wish I got Halloween treats. I guess a lot of things make me scared. Nothing scares me more than Gigi though. Poodles are scary. Happy Halloween. Here is my novelist.   

Today I am continuing my anatomy of a scene with the first chapter of my novel Musicology: Volume One, Baby! This second part of the scene which takes place at the bar of the Viceroy Hotel in Burbank, California introduces Ruby Diamonds. Ruby in my mind is a rock and roll diva much like Ann Wilson, Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry, Lita Ford, you get the picture. She is the quintessential aging California beauty with her blonde hair and tan skin. Men want her and women want to be her. She has what we’ll call a checkered past and was known for doing outrageous things onstage and off which get mentioned here and there throughout the book series. And she is Max’s Achilles heel. Max believes that when Ruby left his label Master Lab Records for Merciless Pig Records, she ruined his life. But he is still madly in love with her. I like to think he is on board with becoming a mentor for Devon’s show the moment he sees Ruby enter the bar. He would never admit this of course but he is.

Ruby has given up her vices and come to embrace a healthy west coast lifestyle. She claims to no longer drink and instead imbibes on many styles of green tea. At the bar however she orders a non-alcoholic cranberry juice and soda. This was something coworkers I used to know ordered and I myself have been known to drink one on occasion. Ruby has a maternal quality to her and is the matriarch of the story. She is the only one who can get Max under control when he loses his temper or goes off on one of his tirades. Ruby is used to his redundant outbursts and manages them expertly.

The reason the novel is called Musicology: Volume One, Baby! is because Devon always calls everyone baby. The second novel Musicology: Volume Two, Kid! is in reference to Max who calls everyone kid including Ruby the first time he says hello to her. Instead of saying, “Hi, Ruby” he instead says “Hi, kid”. This is also a hint that despite his attraction to Ruby she is younger than he is, and he sees her as a child he took under his wing, a daughter of sorts.

Devon tells Max and Ruby they are going to embark on a road trip. This of course gives Max and Ruby a way to become reacquainted and provides the reader some insight into their relationship. Devon also introduces the shows new judges: rock star Robbie Sexton, Bonnie Lake another rock diva and Dick Dandy a comedian. Both Max and Ruby are befuddled as to why Devon hired a comedian to be a judge for a singing competition. But Devon essentially explains he’s an assclown and assclowns get ratings.

Ruby doesn’t need the Musicology gig. She is a multiplatinum selling-millionaire with world-wide fame. Max, on the other hand, has not fared as well. He has made a lot of money, but his record label has slowly tanked. And now it’s in chapter eleven bankruptcy. Ruby does not know this until this scene plays out. And when she does get the information, she shows compassion for Max and agrees to go on the tour. That said even before she walks into the bar Ruby knows she is going to take the gig because she has an agenda. Her reason for taking the gig, which are not shown in the scene, are based on her compassion for Max just like her concerns about his financial difficulties.

My Books

You can check out my books Chicane and the first two books in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby! andMusicology: Volume Two, Kid!on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will will Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: IT FOLLOWS (2014)-Peacock

I am not usually a fan of horror movies as a rule. But this little indi film is fantastic. A young college woman goes out on a date and engages in a sexual encounter. She wakes up to find her wrists tied to a chair and her date telling her he has passed on a very unusual STD. Something terrible will now start following her. And if she doesn’t have sex with someone else and pass it on, it will follow her till it catches her and it will kill her. The terrible thing can take any human form. It is slow moving but relentless, and it never ever stops following. A chilling and engaging Halloween treat.

SMART MOVIES FOR SMART KIDS: MONSTER HOUSE (2006)-Peacock

An unusual and interesting tale. A thirteen-year-old named DJ has been watching his neighbor’s house from across the street and discovers things are not quite right. The house is owned by a crotchety old man named Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) who, if you dare to traverse his lawn, will take your toys away and you will never see them again. But that’s just the beginning. When DJ’s parents take a trip on Halloween eve and leave DJ with a babysitter named Zee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her boyfriend Bones (Jason Lee) he has to enlist the help of his friend Chowder and a plucky prep school student named Jenny to find out what Nebbercracker is really hiding.

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Good afternoon, Gigi the parti poodle here once again to introduce my novelist. This has been a more subdued week. My novelist has released her book and things have settled down to a languid pace as she prepares to release the third installment of Musicology in early winter of 2021. I am not fond of the dark mornings that come with the midrange of fall. I miss waking up in daylight. My novelist, like most novelists is insane and rises in the caliginous early hours. I myself cannot face the day until I have seen the sun rise and had my first cup of water with dental liquid. I am looking forward to Halloween which is fast approaching and barking incessantly at the strange children who take treats out of the bowl situated in front of the door. But enough of that rubbish. Here is my novelist.   

This week I thought I would start an anatomy of a scene with the first chapter of the first novel in my book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby! called Meet Max Buckner. When I originally wrote the story there was not a call girl in the room with Maximillian Buckner. The scene simply ran as it was three in the morning and Max got a call or rather three calls from his old buddy Devon Daniels. However, it was brought to my attention it would be cliché to have the story start with Max waking up in bed. So, I decided a good solution would be to have someone in there with him in order to make him active and not sleeping. This way he wasn’t being woken up at all but rather interrupted. The bottom line was there had to be a bed in the first scene because the bed is going to come back to be important later in the book series. And so, I added the call girl.

The reason I named my protagonist Maximillian Buckner seems obvious. He is a man who is about money. He’s the producer, the guy on the business end of music. He’s also the father figure in the story.  I thought it would be amusing if I let the reader in on Max’s physical description and his personality by the way he answers Devon’s call. First, he ignores it. Then he picks up the phone and throws it across the room. Then he screams profanity and takes his sweet time retrieving his device. As he proceeds to take Devon’s call, we find out he’s a smoker, and he likes expensive Russian cigarettes. He has garish but champagne taste with his gold Zippo, crystal Cartier ashtray, leopard print flip-flops and silk leopard print robe. We also get a small hint of his rock and roll lifestyle with his shaggy mane of hair. When I described his hair, my thought was it looked like Bender’s haircut from The Breakfast Club. I would not be surprised if Max has lit a few matches with his teeth.

When Max answers the phone the reader finds out early in the story this is not an average day for Max. His divorce from his second wife finalized the day before. This indicates Max is at the end of one journey and about to embark on another, especially when Devon tells Max he has a proposition for him. And so, Max’s call to adventure begins on page one.

The fact that Devon continues to call Max shows something about Devon’s character. He is not one to give up. The boat could be sinking, the meteors could be falling but Devon persists. He would have dialed Max’s number over and over till he got a reply. And he’s resilient. Max is gruff but Devon couldn’t care less. He just goes about his chitchat buttering up Max. He has a proposition and he’s out to get an answer. Devon is slick, sleazy, has impeccable taste and likes to spend money. He wears expensive designer ties and at the bar where we cut to next, he orders a trendy drink. Max on the other hand sticks to his guns. Though he too has taste he is more traditional than Devon and always orders Jameson Whiskey.  

It was important to me to pick a song Max would play in his car on the way over to the Viceroy to set the stage. It had to be about a subject that fit the story. I played around with a few ideas and settled on “Gold” by John Stewart. It has a wonderful haunting quality so if this were a movie or you went and played the song after you saw it in the book it would evoke a certain mood that was not necessarily comic but not necessarily dark. But would hint to the reader that this book series walks a tightrope between humor and drama. It is said of “Gold” by John Steward that “the song takes a light-hearted but cynical view of the recording industry in Los Angeles”. And for me that could not have been more perfect for this story.

Next week I will continue with my anatomy of Meet Max Buckner.

My Books

You can check out my books Chicane and the first two books in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby! andMusicology: Volume Two, Kid!on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will will Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE BIRDS (1963)-Peacock

I was once asked to name some terrifying movies that rely on little if no gore. One of the first films to come to mind was Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. One of the most interesting notes about the movie is there is no musical score. Only electronic bird sounds for which Bernard Herrmann was the sound consultant. Bernard Herrmann did many of the scores for Hitchcock’s films. One of the things I like about this story is it is something that might happen. In fact, bird attacks are apparently getting more common according to experts. If you were to take a screenplay class for instance, you would probably be told that a horror movie should be about a subject that would most likely never occur. But Hitchcock has made a couple of truly terrifying films where the situation was possible. For instance, there really was an Ed Gein for whom the character who bares the title’s moniker Psycho is based on. I highly recommend The Birds which holds up fantastically over time. It is based on the book by Daphne du Maurier who also penned Rebecca, another one of Hitchcock’s greats which won the Oscar for Best Film.

SMART MOVIES FOR SMART KIDS: SPACEBALLS-Netflix

Okay, this one is for older kids as it is a little raunchy. But if you have a tweener or young teenager who has never seen it, I do recommend giving it a try. An obvious spoof on Star Wars this film had me laughing throughout. Mel Brooks wrote, directed and stars in this classic comedy taking on the Yoda role while  accompanied by John Candy who plays the Chewbacca role, Rick Moranis who plays the Darth Vader role, Bill Pullman who plays the Han Solo/Luke Skywalker role, Daphne Zuniga who plays the Princess Lea role, and the voice of Joan Rivers and the physical mime talents of Lorene Yarnell as the droid. Dick Van Patten also comes along for the ride as the King and father of the princess. Funny, goofy, satirical and whip smart this is an incredibly fun ride.  

Good Afternoon. Gigi the parti poodle here and thank you, I am feeling much better this week. My daily meals have been upgraded to canned food. I adore it…even if I must share it with the Maltese. It is the same gourmet brand but softer. And I deserve it…the food that is, not the Maltese. I am most proud of my novelist this week. She has released the second novel in her series. The book is called Musicology: Volume Two, Kid! I could not be prouder. I assisted her in designing the advertisements. What would she do without me? I am also delighted her films this week center around one of my favorite directors, Alfred Hitchcock. I adore the macabre. And it is a fitting season for it. Without further ado here is my novelist.

Musicology Volume Two, Baby is now available on Amazon as a Kindle book and a paperback! This is the second installment in the Musicology comedy/satire book series.

As a celebration of releasing this book I am offering the first book in the Musicology series Musicology: Volume One, Baby! FREE now thru Sunday, October 18^th!!!

I will keep you posted on the release of the third book in the series coming soon. And I will be offering another book deal upon its release. Please enjoy and HAPPY ROCKTOBER!!!!!

My Books

You can check out my books Chicane and the first two books in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby! and Musicology: Volume Two, Kid! on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will will Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)-Peacock

Since it’s Rocktober I thought it would be fun to spend the month choosing lesser known Hitchcock films for my stream of the week picks. Peacock offers some wonderful ones to view. The first movie I have decided to feature is Shadow of a Doubt. Shot in glorious black and white it is a marvelously malevolent film about a young woman named Charlie and the uncle she is named after. Uncle Charlie (coolly played by the fantastic Joseph Cotton) is in some hot water and has decided to go visit his older sister’s family who welcome him with open arms. And no one adores Uncle Charlie more than his niece Charlie (Teresa Wright). Uncle Charlie loves to shower his family with lavish expensive gifts, especially the emerald ring he gives his niece (the importance of the ring harkens back to the series I did on the importance of props in writing and the prop exercise). But upon the visit of men looking to interview the family Charlie begins to doubt the true nature of her uncle as things become more and more harrowing. Look for Henry Travers (Charlie the Angel from It’s A Wonderful Life) and Hume Cronyn who have some delightful scenes together.

SMART MOVIES FOR SMART KIDS: DISTURBIA-TNT

This one is for the older kids. A clever young adult film loosely based on Hitchcock’s Rear Window, it’s the story of a teenager named Kale (Shia LeBeouf) who through a series of unfortunate events has found himself under house arrest. But all is not bad. A new family has moved in next door who happens to have a teenage daughter named Ashley (Sarah Roemer). With the help of his buddy Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) Kale sets out to meet the girl. But on the way he starts to notice something amiss going on at the house of his other new neighbor, Mr. Turner.

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The second novel in my Musicology book series, MUSICOLOGY: VOLUME TWO, KID! is now available on Amazon!!! Here’s the description:

Who is “The Kid”? After Ruby Diamond’s shocking decision, the Circle of Ten results have been revealed. Now Ruby is about to drop another timebomb into Max Buckner’s hands, a dangerous secret that puts the show on a collision course with legal and financial ruin. As Max scrambles to find out which contestant is “The Kid” and save Musicology from scandal, the Circle of Ten start carrying out agendas of their own …especially the resident diva who will stop at nothing in her attempt to destroy every contestant in her path, dominate the competition, and take the Musicology crown.

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle once again and this has been one of the most dreadful times of my life. I had my teeth professionally cleaned last week. Let me tell you that is no walk in the park. My novelist took me to the veterinarian’s office at eight in the morning where I was kidnapped, laid down on a disturbingly cold table and shot up with mind altering drugs. The next thing I knew I had a terrible taste in my mouth, and I had been brainwashed. Every thought I had was strange. I even hallucinated the Maltese took over my blog. Absolute pandemonium. And all this right before my novelist is about to publish her second book in the Musicology Series. One should always be in one’s right mind before their novelist is on the precipice of releasing a new book. Without further ado here is my novelist.

Musicology Volume Two, Kid! will be available on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback on Monday Rocktober 12th! And to kick it off here is the description:

Who is “The Kid”?  After Ruby Diamond’s shocking decision, the Circle of Ten results have been revealed. Now Ruby is about to drop another timebomb into Max Buckner’s hands, a dangerous secret that puts the show on a collision course with legal and financial ruin. As Max scrambles to find out which contestant is “The Kid” and save Musicology from scandal, the Circle of Ten start carrying out agendas of their own…especially the resident diva who will stop at nothing in her attempt to destroy every contestant in her path, dominate the competition, and take the Musicology crown. Vote for who you think will win Musicology at www.musicologyrocks.com!

Stay tuned there will also be a special Musicology surprise coming soon!!! Until then…

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and the first book in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!  on Amazon both in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s website at www.musicologyrocks.com The second book of the Musicology series, Musicology Volume Two, Kid! is releasing Monday, Rockctober 12, 2020!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE FROZEN GROUND (2013)-NETFLIX

This movie is based on the true events of an Alaskan serial killer named Robert Christian Hansen (played by John Cusack) also known as the Baker Butcher. The story which is set in 1983 primarily circles around Cindy Hansen (Vanessa Hudgens in a tour de force performance), a 17-year-old prostitute working in Anchorage who was wily enough to escape from Hansen before he was able to put her on his bush plane and hunt her down for sport in the Alaskan wilderness. Other women (about seventeen of them and maybe more) were not as fortunate. Cindy tells her story about Hansen to the police. But because she lied about her age and worked as a prostitute and Hansen is considered an upstanding community member, a family man with his own restaurant (Please note: the nineth most common job for psychopaths is chef) her story was not believed by the police…except for one officer, State Trooper Jack Halcombe (Nicholas Cage). Halcombe struggles to form a case to bring Hansen in before he claims more victims and tracks down and kills Cindy. The film was Scott Walker’s directorial debut and shot entirely in Alaska.

SMART MOVIES FOR SMART KIDS-ROOM ON THE BROOM (2012)-Amazon Prime

This is a cute short stop animation film based on the book Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Schleffler. It is the story of a kind redheaded witch and her orange cat and the wind which blows the witches items away one by one. Every item is retrieved by a different animal, each one asking after retrieving her item if there is room on the broom for them. It is appropriate for kids of all ages and witty enough for adults. Perfect for the Halloween season.

SCREENWRITINGU FREE CLASS FRIDAY: HOW TO WRITE EXCEPTIONAL SCENES

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