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it's been pretty quiet around here?
So I want to host a comment fic-a-thon again. But these things tend to work better when there's some sort of theme to them. The Bechdel Test one was well over a year ago--anyone interested in reviving that? Or, if not, we could do crossovers or three sentence limits or something along those lines. Anybody have any thoughts? Anybody have any VERY STRONG feelings about not having something right now? Do these things tend to work better when they go up on a Friday and the we have the weekend to write? Basically, I'm lj-booooored and I want to do this, so give me some feedback, please. Even if it's just to say that you'd be interested or that you're super busy right now and can't possibly participate in anything even this low-key.
Also, I saw Tinker Tailor Sailor Spy last night, and I think they need to change the title to Everyone Has Really Bad Hair. Incredibly well-acted and directed, and whoever did the production design deserves an Oscar, but, like Roger Ebert, I sometimes felt lost and that I was missing out on important details. A quote:
I still think it was a very enjoyable movie experience and I don't regret seeing it, I just feel like I'll have to watch the movie six more times (or, more accurately, read the book which I've tried to read twice and couldn't get very far into) in order to pick up on everything.
In closing, all spy movies should be set during the Cold War. The end.
Also, I saw Tinker Tailor Sailor Spy last night, and I think they need to change the title to Everyone Has Really Bad Hair. Incredibly well-acted and directed, and whoever did the production design deserves an Oscar, but, like Roger Ebert, I sometimes felt lost and that I was missing out on important details. A quote:
I have every confidence that in this film, every piece of information is there and flawlessly meshes, but I can't say so for sure, perhaps because I don't have a mind suitable for espionage. I enjoyed the film's look and feel, the perfectly modulated performances, and the whole tawdry world of spy and counterspy, which must be among the world's most dispiriting occupations. But I became increasingly aware that I didn't always follow all the allusions and connections. On that level, "Tinker Tailor" didn't work for me.
I still think it was a very enjoyable movie experience and I don't regret seeing it, I just feel like I'll have to watch the movie six more times (or, more accurately, read the book which I've tried to read twice and couldn't get very far into) in order to pick up on everything.
In closing, all spy movies should be set during the Cold War. The end.
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I picked up Tinker Tail Soldier Spy (the book) at the library a couple of days ago. I'd heard good things, and the first page looked engaging. :) If I have any luck reading it, I'll be sure to let the flist know.
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Something about LeCarre's style drives me craaaazy. But if you love it a lot, I'll definitely give it another try!
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I would never PRESSURE, obviously, but since you asked, YES I would love to see the Bechdel Test Ficathon return!
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your icon!
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Also if you want any help with this one, let me know. I'd be happy to have something to do with it.
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[eta]
OH GOD LEXI I SHOULD NOT BE READING THIS. EVERYONE HATES MY GIRL. EVERYONE HATES MY BOY. EVERYONE HATES EVERYTHING THAT I LOOOOOOOVE.
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I also think that the hating on real people in that thread goes way too far. I do defend peoples' rights to dislike things they dislike, but talking that way about real people is terrible.
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I love the idea of the Bechdel again.
But the three sentences idea is also tickling my fancy...
Raw enthusiasm!!!
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How about a Girl-POV ficathon? That would include Bechdel (if you write about two female characters having an interaction, in most cases you'd write a POV of a female character, right?), but would be much broader?
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My control group was my husband, who doesn't know from George Smiley but who is very attuned to the language of film. He did fine, but even he didn't guess the mole until very late in the movie (whereas to me it seemed blindingly obvious). I can easily see that it would be tricky for a lot of viewers.
The thing about the book is, Le Carre isn't everyone's cup of tea. The writing is dense and sometimes just as confusing as the movie. I'm very fond of his Smiley novels, but you shouldn't drive yourself crazy trying to get into them!
Back to the film ... The story is told largely in flashbacks, but it's not always easy to tell when you're in the present and when you're in the past. A couple of things that help: any scene that John Hurt's in, after the first one, is a flashback, and Smiley's glasses are different in the past and present - you see him buying new ones right after Control's downfall.
You could also read a synopsis with spoilers (there's one here (http://cinesnatch.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-spoilers-tinker-tailor-soldier.html), for instance, which is pretty thorough although the prose is glutinous). After all, you've already watched the movie once, and it's not like you'll know more than someone who's read the book.
Bonus trivia - the sentence "I feel seriously under-fucked" was originally said to John Le Carre by W. H. Auden.
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* The prompt format over at the Fandom Love Mini Ficathon last summer worked really well for me: prompt + fandom, but no characters or ships in the prompt.
* A "Ships I don't ship" ficathon - either people prompting ships they don't ship, or writing ships they don't ship, or both. (The latter sounds like more fun to me.)
* A "Where in the World" ficathon, where people prompt a character/ship and a place. Like, Spike/Buffy, Paris or Spike/Buffy, the laundromat. Maybe too restricting? But it seems like it'd be fun. You could add silly punny non-places, too, if you wanted, like Spike/Buffy, out of their minds.
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I think we might need to clarify what "not shipping" means, though. It's not the same as "ships I anti-ship." Maybe it'd "ships I've never written fic for before"? "Ships I don't seek out to read"? We wouldn't want to constrict things too much, but we also would to give people plenty of encouragement to try things they just have never thought to try before.
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As for spy novels in general - you can't go wrong with John Le Carre (ever), but David Ignatius writes great ripped-from-today's-headlines novels too.
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Yeah, some things just need a longer format, and I wish that they'd done another miniseries with these same actors/director/etc. because the movie was fantastic other than the confusion due to lack of detail.
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Still IMHO NOTHING beats the books. History lessons with a punch.
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