tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39897593807184626122024-03-05T14:26:01.092-05:00Leo FinelliLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-15179174168418676072019-08-06T14:45:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:36.965-04:00Finally A New Post...And Finally, Nielsen Speaks!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">First of all, I'M SORRY for not being on for 9 months. I was fertilizing this post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />Second, this post isn't mostly mine. It's mostly Nielsen's. Nielsen, as you know, keeps the viewership ratings for TV and has since the 1950s. They have disclosed the Top 10 most-watched telecasts of the 2018-2019 season (which they are defining as July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.) Nielsen emphasizes that the following statistics have not been finalized, and there may be errors, but there is only a 5% margin of error with the following tallies. So, here is my analysis of what was most watched over the previous season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>1. SUPER BOWL LIII</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Sunday, February 3, 2019, 6:30 to 10:30 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>CBS<br /><i>Viewers: </i>103 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>Yes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2. LAST EPISODE OF "THE BIG BANG THEORY"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Thursday, May 23, 2019, 8:00 to 9:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>CBS</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>50 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>Yes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>3. GAME 7 OF THE 2019 STANLEY CUP FINALS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 8:00 to 11:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>NBC</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>37 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>Yes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>4. THE 2019 OSCARS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Sunday, February 24, 2019, 8:00 to 11:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>NBC</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>33 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>No.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>5. LAST EPISODE OF "GAME OF THRONES"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Sunday, May 19, 2019, 9:00 to 10:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>HBO</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>32 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>No. It is impossible for me to watch HBO when it airs at my house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>6. RENT: "LIVE" ON TELEVISION <i>(notice the quotes around the word "Live")</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Sunday, January 27, 2019, 8:00 to 11:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>Fox</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>30 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>I should tell you, I should tell you...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>7. THE 2019 TONYS </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Sunday, June 9, 2019, 8:00 to 11:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>CBS</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>23 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>Yes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>8. THE 2018 MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Thursday, November 22, 2018, 9:00 to 12:00 am Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>NBC</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>21 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>No.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>9. THE 2018 EMMYS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Thursday, September 13, 2018, 7:30 to 11:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>NBC</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>20 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>No. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>10. THE ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE: "THE FORCE AWAKENS"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Date and Time: </i>Sunday, February 17, 2019, 7:00 to 10:00 pm Eastern</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Network: </i>ABC</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Viewers: </i>16 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Did I watch it? </i>No, but that was only because there's <b>so much information</b> <b>out there now</b> that I didn't know it was happening until <b>after it happened</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">If I had known it was happening before it did, I would absolutely have watched it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>EVALUATIONS:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">1. Quite a normal balance of different types of programs: 2 sporting events, 3 awards shows, 2 movie specials, 2 series finales, and 1...parade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">2. 7 of the 10 were on Sunday nights. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">3. Not only that, but 4 out of 10 took place within a month of each other - and that month wasn't even a stretch in November/December! </span></div>
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-48453116311234539772019-05-11T16:04:00.000-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.253-04:00Oh No, No Posts This Year So Far!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Look, if you quit my blog when I went five months without any new stuff, come back. Because I've assembled an evaluative list of something I started thinking about roughly a month ago: <b>Major Causes of a Work of Media Being Better Remembered for Something Else Besides its Actual Content.</b><br />
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Meaning, when people remember a work of media, or they hear its name, they remember it solely, or at least primarily, for something other than what was genuinely written into it as its content. When this happens, it is usually one of eight things that are remembered over the content.<br />
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<b>1. Controversial casting choices. </b>This usually comes in one of two forms: casting a white actor as a non-white character, and casting a non-LGBTQ actor as an LGBTQ character. <i>Ghost in the Shell</i>, the 2016 movie, is a recent example of this, when a white actor, who I will protect the privacy of by referring to as Garnett Johnston, played an explicitly Japanese character. Sometimes it happens the other way around, and controversy has erupted (though in admittedly smaller form) over LGBTQ actors playing non-LGBTQ characters...but of course, non-white actors playing white characters is apparently creative genius because it helped us all go crazy over <i>Hamilton.</i><br />
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<b>2. Positively unexpected and/or groundbreaking casting choices. </b>Like I said two lines above, <i>Hamilton. </i>And the 2016 <i>Ghostbusters </i>reboot as well. Promotional news appearances and talk show appearances by the cast of the <i>Ghostbusters </i>reboot, as well as most news coverages of the reboot, were clearly more interested in the fact that it was a blockbuster action movie with a primarily female cast than the fact that it was rebooting a blockbuster franchise. This overshadowing reached almost insane levels. Any work of media (stage, movies, TV) that makes a positively unexpected and/or groundbreaking casting choice can count on these casting choices getting anywhere from 50% to 400% of the coverage and attention its actual content gets.<br />
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<b>3. A tragedy strikes the work and/or someone involved with it, or a tragedy somehow connected with the work strikes after the work's release. </b>The fatal helicopter crash on the set of <i>The Twilight Zone Movie </i>(1983) is probably the best-known example of the former. I have never seen any person or book mention <i>The Twilight Zone Movie </i>outside the context of the helicopter crash. The latter is best codified by the movie <i>Batman: The Dark Knight Rises </i>(2012), which, though it was an enormously successful summer blockbuster movie, is still best remembered for playing on the big screen as fatal gunshots sounded in an Aurora, CO theater.<br />
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<b>4. Someone strongly involved with the work is the perpetrator of a serious and/or violent crime. </b>As long as it's not the actual horror movie actors, this will persist. Very few productions have ever hired convicted criminals, and the reason we haven't heard of this as much as it happens could be because people will boycott works in which convicted criminals were involved. Like TV-Land, and the Cosby Show.<br />
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<b>5. Someone strongly involved with the work holds an anti-progressive or otherwise socially taboo opinion, or makes a comment that is unintentionally interpreted as support for such an opinion. </b>This one makes me a bit worried, and I could talk for quite some time - for several pages, in fact - about how worried I am that people will get fired from production teams just because they're Republicans. (And I've read NPR reports saying it's been done.) Of course, I agree with the motives of those who caused this effect to become what people think of when they hear the titles <i>Roseanne </i>or <i>Megyn Kelly Today.</i><br />
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<b>6. Love triangles and other romantic events come into play during production. </b>Nobody ever mentions the movie <i>Mr. and Mrs. Smith </i>(2003) except to talk about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie falling in love on the set. Nobody ever mentions <i>The Huntsman: Winter's War </i>(2015) except to talk about Kristen Stewart's cheating scandal that coincided with that film, in which she starred, being released. And don't even get me started on Marilyn Monroe's <i>Seven Year Itch </i>print ads.<br />
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<b>7. The work surprisingly wins or surprisingly loses an award. </b>There are movies that are only remembered nowadays because they won Best Picture when no one expected it. There are movies that are only remembered nowadays because they didn't win Best Picture when everyone expected it. This even extends beyond movies - <i>Stop the World, I Want to Get Off </i>was a 1963 Broadway musical written by <a href="https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/LeslieBricusse/" target="_blank">Leslie Bricusse</a>, and everyone thought it was going to win the Best Musical Tony. It lost to the less heavily promoted and less attended <i>Hello, Dolly </i>by Jerry Herman. Now, <i>Hello, Dolly </i>is running a national tour starring Betty Buckley, and even Broadway legends don't remember <i>Stop the World, I Want to Get Off </i>as anything other than "that show that <i>Hello, Dolly </i>upset for the Tony in 1964."<br />
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<b>8. The work is an attempt to revive a lost or dwindling genre. </b>This was a publicity point for the Clive Donner-directed, Paul Zindel-written, Leslie Bricusse-songed, and Leo Finelli-plagiarized <i>Babes in Toyland </i>made-for-TV movie that aired on NBC in 1987. NBC placed an ad in TV Guide promoting the movie as "Finally, An Original Musical for the Whole Family Comes to Television Once Again!" Critics failed to give the movie a pass for its cheap-looking bear suits, patched-together stock costumes, and other inexplicable content, and the thing disappeared until Kimani Wilson-Hunte, God bless him, posted his parents' tape of the special on YouTube. Perhaps if this thing didn't have cheap-looking bear suits, patched-together...you get it, and everything about it was as high-quality as Paul Zindel's writing (well, most of it) and Leslie Bricusse's score of eight ear worms, NBC would have gotten what they wanted. Whenever TV Guide mentioned the movie in subsequent issues, it was usually as "the special they thought would bring the family musical back but didn't."<br />
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I could be a part of this effect myself, considering that if I ever write something for network TV, the Guide might use the exact same headline. Proof that the medium is dead. At least I have a calling...</div>
Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-28054060654908008862018-12-11T10:31:00.000-05:002020-05-15T20:55:37.331-04:00Scientifically Proven to Make Your Mind Jingle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On their November 4, 2018 episode, <i>Wait Wait...Don't T</i><i>ell Me!</i>, the NPR news quiz, reported on a study that proved Christmas music makes you crazy.<br />
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But what is crazy? And for that matter, what is Christmas music and what's not?<br />
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This got me thinking about songs that qualify as Christmas songs by the slimmest of margins, but that I have heard the local Christmas radio stations play. I've compiled a full list (not a Top 10, this one's in no particular order) of songs that qualify as Christmas songs by very small margins. Here they are:<br />
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<b>"Jingle Bells", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Winter Wonderland", "Let it Snow", "Sleigh Ride", and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" </b>all contain zero mention of Christmas or imagery exclusively connected to Christmas. They are all winter-themed songs that due to a phenomenon called "pop-cultural osmosis" have become heavily associated with Christmas despite never mentioning it. (And, yes, I am aware that some radio stations are refusing to play "Baby, It's Cold Outside", so don't tell me that in the comments.)<br />
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<b>"Do You Want to Build a Snowman" and "Let it Go"</b> don't mention Christmas at all, but the songs have loads of winter-related imagery and are from a movie that has loads of winter-related imagery. The movie is also a Sound of Music Effect movie. (See the glossary if you don't know what a Sound of Music Effect movie is.)<br />
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<b>"Put One Foot in Front of the Other" </b>doesn't mention Christmas, or winter, at all, and in fact is a song with a message that works year-round. However, it was written for a Christmas television special, and for many stations that's good enough.<br />
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<b>Tchaikovsky's <i>The Nutcracker </i>score </b>has no words, so it can't mention Christmas - but the score is heard so often around the holidays, and going to see the ballet on stage (or watching it on TV) such a beloved and common Christmas tradition, that the instrumental music qualifies as Christmas music.<br />
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<b>"Toyland" </b>by Victor Herbert and Glen McDonough, which they wrote in 1903 for the "stage extravaganza" <i>Babes in Toyland</i>, is oft-played. The song never mentions Christmas, and neither does the stage musical (or, at least, the early versions of it; the musical has been remade so many times over the years to fit new audiences that it is hard to decipher the original work from the 30+ reimaginings I'v seen, and usually these revised takes mention Christmas), but the fact that it's themed around the concept of toys works well enough for many radio stations.<br />
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<b>"My Favorite Things" </b>doesn't mention Christmas ever, but a combination of three factors seems to have turned it into a Christmas song: 1) It's from a Sound of Music Effect movie, in fact, from <i>The Sound of Music </i>itself; 2) It contains several instances of winter-related imagery; and 3) The lyrics may evoke a wish list for some.<br />
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<b>"When You Wish Upon a Star" </b>doesn't play on the radio as much as others on this list, but I know that Rod Stewart and Idina Menzel both recorded it on their Christmas albums. Its likely qualification as a Christmas song is the fact that it contains the words "wish" and "star" in the title - but <i>Pinocchio </i>is <b>not</b> a Sound of Music Effect movie.<br />
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<b>"Feed the Birds" </b>from <i>Mary Poppins</i> could not be further in subject matter from a Christmas song at first glance - but if you listen closely, you'll notice that the song has a message themed around generosity and kindness (abstract concepts heavily associated with Christmas, at least in the USA). In addition, <i>Mary Poppins </i>is a Sound of Music Effect movie.<br />
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<b>"Pure Imagination" </b>from <i>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory </i>has been played on one local station rather often. I'm guessing it's played as a Christmas song because it is themed around the concepts of imagination and childlike wonder (again, abstract concepts heavily associated with Christmas) and because <i>Willy Wonka </i>is a Sound of....do I even need to say it?<br />
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<b>"Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)"</b>, a 1962 country song, has been played frequently on several stations. The song tells the story of a young girl who spots a doll in a toy store window and seeks to buy it with the money she has, but then spies another young girl in worn clothes who <i>doesn't </i>have the money to purchase the doll but wants it badly, so of course the privileged girl buys the doll and gives it as a gift to the less privileged girl. The song doesn't mention Christmas and doesn't specify at what time of year the action is taking place, but the concepts of toys and generosity in the song have seemed to turn it into a Christmas song.<br />
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<b>"Everlasting Light"</b>. By The Black Keys. Not kidding. One station played this, and I'm positive it was because of <a href="https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/film/macys_lighthouse" target="_blank">THAT</a> Macy's Christmas ad. I knew that ad had made many people cry (and, for me, inspired a 21-page script and a song), and I knew it had won the Emmy for Best TV Commercial, but did the radio station really think enough people would remember that commercial to accept it as a Christmas song?<br />
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Okay, maybe I am going crazy. Are these exceptions to the rules? Does only true Christmas music make you crazy? You tell me. Leave your responses in the comments below.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-45807595046558538602018-12-11T09:54:00.000-05:002020-05-15T20:55:37.075-04:00Nobody: The LeoFinelli.com Person of the Year 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, nobody.<br />
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This is not a symbolism of any cultural movement or phenomenon. I'm just not naming a Person of the Year this year.<br />
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And it's not because I feel the need to do other things; it's just that naming a Person of the Year last year had a purpose. This year, it doesn't.<br />
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Last year, <i>Time </i>named "The Silence Breakers" (aka all the women who spoke out against sexual harassment and assault) the Person of the Year. I was genuinely angry. Feminism had dominated the year's news even before the fall of #MeToo. <i>Wonder Woman </i>was the #1 movie. <i>The Handmaid's Tale </i>was the #1 TV show. (It wasn't a "real" TV show, but that's another post.) Fearless Girl was the #1 work of public art (?) The Women's March in January (which is misnamed; an essay about its misnaming will be posted in due time) attracted millions around the world. In my opinion, <i>Time </i>should have named "The Woman" or "The Feminist" as their Person of the Year.<br />
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And that's why I named Fearless Girl my Person of the Year. Because she encapsulated the whole year's feminism news into a 50-inch bronze statue. I hoped to mediate my feelings about <i>Time</i>'s choice by doing that post.<br />
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But after <i>Time </i>chose "The Guardians" (aka journalists who were killed, targeted, or denounced for their work) as Person of the Year, I have no such anger. I do not need to mediate disagreement by naming my own Person of the Year.<br />
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That's why LeoFinelli.com is not naming a Person of the Year in 2018.<br />
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And presumably, only when I'm unhappy with <i>Time</i>'s choice will LeoFinelli.com name a Person of the Year - and this year, I can accept that choice.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-79047081565379728292018-11-30T13:52:00.000-05:002020-05-15T20:55:37.410-04:00A Helpful Glossary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The following is a glossary of terms I will occasionally use in my posts, but don't want to have to explain the meaning of every time. That's why I'm writing a glossary.</div>
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<b>Poke in the coconut: </b>To affectionately touch another person's head with something in between a tap and a poke. Can also mean to bother.</div>
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<b>Family programming sweet spot: </b>Wednesday night before Thanksgiving to the night of Christmas Day, when TV sets special time aside to cater to the family.</div>
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<b>Supplements: </b>Gross pills I pop every day before I eat.</div>
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<b>And You Were There: </b>When a story that's set mainly in two general locations (usually, but not always, reality and fantasy) has the same actors who play characters in one location also play characters in the other. Named after a line at the end of <i>The Wizard of Oz, </i>in which Dorothy acknowledges that all the people she met in Oz looked and acted exactly like people she knew back home in Kansas (and were played by the same actors).</div>
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<b>Christmas Special Types: </b>Five categories I divide Christmas specials and movies into, depending on what they present the "true meaning of Christmas" as.</div>
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<li>Type One Christmas Special: presents the TMoC (True Meaning of Christmas) as the Biblical TMoC (the birth of Jesus)</li>
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<li>Type Two Christmas Special: presents the TMoC as generosity, the fact that it's better to give than to receive, and that the kindhearted actions of one person can have a positive impact on the lives of another</li>
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<li>Type Three Christmas Special: presents the TMoC as believing and/or always being a child at heart and/or enjoying and then later remembering your childhood</li>
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<li>Type Four Christmas Special: presents the TMoC as accepting people no matter how different from you they might be</li>
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<li>Type Five Christmas Special: presents the TMoC as spending and enjoying time with your family and other loved ones</li>
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<b>And I Was There: </b>A variation on And You Were There, in which a character hearing a story told to them imagines themselves as the main character of that story.<br />
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<b>BHAG: </b>Big hairy audacious goal. Coined by the 1990s business book <i>Built to Last.</i></div>
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<b>Rehash: </b>An adaptation of a previously existing story that is not done for comedy (as a parody is) or as plagiarism, rather, it's simply meant to be a retelling with a twist (or more than one twist, occasionally).</div>
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<b>Car crash song: </b>A song, usually a centuries-old song, that has recently had its lyrics changed officially or unofficially for reasons tied to political correctness or a changed cultural perspective.</div>
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<b>Banned book points: </b>The American Library Association discerns the most censored books of each year by giving a book 1 point for an unsuccessful challenge and 3 if the challenge results in the book being removed.</div>
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<b>Femvertisement: </b>Any TV commercial that is, at least by intention, celebrating women and girls. Usually will hardly even mention the product.</div>
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<b>Holamonizing: </b>Taking songs from an existing yet forgotten or outdated musical and changing the lyrics to fit them for a new story with little or nothing to do with the one they were originally written for. Name comes from Ken Holamon, a director of children's musicals who frequently does this.</div>
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<b>The Sound of Music Effect: </b>When a movie that has very little or nothing to do with Christmas is aired on network television during the family programming sweet spot simply because families are looking for things to do together at that time of year and networks are looking for cash. Named for <i>The Sound of Music </i>(1965), the most famous example of this concept. To qualify as a Sound of Music Effect movie, a movie must:</div>
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1) Be rated G or PG.</div>
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2) Have been shown during the family programming sweet spot for at least two years in a row.</div>
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3) Have had at least half of its network TV appearances during the sweet spot.</div>
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<b>Colbert Bump: </b>When one event causes a burst in popularity and/or fame for a previously existing yet previously lesser-known phenomenon.</div>
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<b>TV Redemption: </b>When a movie that did poorly in its original theatrical release becomes better-known through network telecasts. <i>The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life, </i>and <i>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory </i>all achieved TV Redemption.</div>
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<b>Edie Not-Youmans: </b>When a character (usually a child character) in one of my scripts is named after the actor I picture playing the role in first name only, but receives a new last name. The name of the term is derived from Edie Jurgens in <i>Christmas in Charlotte, </i>who was named for Edie Youmans, Xfinity "spokeskid" and the actor I pictured in the role.</div>
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<b>Narrative Lost in Toyland: </b>When a story is retold in many different ways, none of which even remotely follow the plot of the original, because the original was dated and/or mediocre. Named for the 1903 operetta <i>Babes in Toyland, </i>to which this has happened.</div>
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<b>It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary Number: </b>A rousing duet in a musical between the musical's male and female leads. Name references the number in <i>Mary Poppins </i>that is this.</div>
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<b>Villain Song: </b>A song in a musical sung by the villain about their evil ways.</div>
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<b>Test monkey: </b>A person being used as a test subject against their will.</div>
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<b>Zingdak: </b>A comical insult that I directed at a frequenter of this blog, who I will not name, back in 2012. Defined as "a monkey who cannot write poetry".<br />
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<b>MacGuffin: </b>An object that is not always front and center in a film, but moves the story along perhaps more than any character does.<br />
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<b>Adaptation Via Song: </b>When a song in a musical is heavily based on another song in another musical. For example, in <i>Christmas in Charlotte</i>, "Charlotte" is modeled on "Toyland" from <i>Babes in Toyland, </i>and "I'm So Spry" (revision 8/6/19: that song is getting cut) is modeled on "I Gotta Crow" from <i>Peter Pan.</i><br />
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<b>Charity Single: </b>A song that donates all the money from its sales to helping a cause and has lyrics about that cause, such as "Light It Up Blue", "Do They Know It's Christmas?" or "We Are the World".<br />
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<b>Nureyeving: </b>Creating a fictitious person and/or situation in your head to deal with a problem in your real-world life. Named for Rudolf Nureyev, whose ballet heroes would often do this.<br />
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<b>The Parisian Conk: </b>Referring to an incident that happened in Paris, France, on April 2, 2018, this is when I fall asleep in an uncomfortable place in the middle of the day.<br />
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<b>Narrative commercial: </b>A TV commercial that tells a story.<br />
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<b>Very special episode: </b>An episode of a normally lighthearted television show that deals with more serious topics.<br />
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<b>Page count is running time: </b>The idea that one page of a script equals one minute of screen time.<br />
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<b>Jumanji Double: </b>A variation on And You Were There, in which two characters who may or may not each correspond to a different location in the story are both played by the same actor for symbolic purposes. The name refers to <i>Jumanji </i>(1996), in which Robin Williams's character's father and the hunter that is an obstacle in the Jumanji game are played by the same actor to symbolize that he views these two characters with equal and similar fear.<br />
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<b>Leitmotif: </b>A theme in the musical score of a movie associated with a particular character.<br />
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<b>Whole Plot Reference: </b>When the entire plot of a work is deliberately meant to reference, for comic effect or not, the plot of another work that is more famous. This is a trope.<br />
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<b>Trope: </b>An oft-used plot device.</div>
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<b>Writer's Block: </b>When no new scripts appear on my site for a long time.<br />
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<b>The Bechtel Test: </b>A movie passes this test if two or more women converse about something other than a male character or a relationship.(Correction<br />
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<b>The New Dakota Principle: </b>With no relation to any fictional U.S. state, the New Dakota Principle, named after my February 2018 endeavors in revising <i>Fearless Girl, </i>specifically Dakota's climactic monologue, refers to criticism over stories and media that portray girls whose interests and tastes are in traditionally masculine things as superior to and more worthy of celebration than girls whose interests and tastes are in traditionally feminine things. In other words, stories that say male = female yet still say masculinity > femininity.<br />
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<b>Hutt Bucks: </b>Money that my street-performing one-man band the Notable Hutts earns. I am currently out, so the Notable Hutts must get another gig.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-30839240806915034352018-11-21T08:01:00.000-05:002020-05-15T20:55:37.488-04:00It's The Day Before Thanksgiving, So Here's the Schedule for the 2018 You-Know-What<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xsNS5SdH0SM-d6GNhFnKsmRG8yUWLp_C7OFWVx3GLrE/preview" target="_blank">Holiday TV Schedule 2018, Compiled by Leo Finelli</a></div>
Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-12750263731765454182018-10-22T14:13:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.565-04:00Top 10 Debates That Will Endlessly Divide Star Wars Fans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(First, a correction. A post on November 1, 2017 said that <i>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory </i>had only ever been shown on CBS. It has been shown on other networks, precisely NBC from 1975-1985, ABC from 1985-1993, CBS from 1993-1995, back to ABC from 1995-2007, and NBC currently holds airing rights to the film. LeoFinelli.com apologizes for the error.)<br />
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Star Wars fans have arguments with fans of Star Trek, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings all the time. But the most heated arguments are the ones Star Wars fans have with themselves. These arguments have been known for creating rifts between Star Wars fans and putting the franchise into its own "What color is this dress?" or "Yanny or Laurel?" moments. I've ranked the top 10 here so you can see what I'm talking about.<br />
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<b>#10. The Porgs</b><br />
A neighbor of mine jokingly said, "Bob Iger (Disney-ABC CEO) invented porgs." He meant that the porgs in <i>The Last Jedi </i>were just in there to sell toys, with no purpose in the story. Fans have taken a humorous attitude to the whole porg situation, creating "Duel of the Porgs" on YouTube and doctoring the cover of the tie-in reader ''Chewie and the Porgs" to say and show "Chewie Cooking Porgs".<br />
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<b>#9. The Ewoks</b><br />
Again, creatures too cute for Star Wars? Many fans found the Ewoks too cuddly and marketable. But these guys dance and sing well and at least they have a point in the story. They did have their own Saturday morning cartoon in 1985 (yes, you read that correctly) and two TV movies on ABC. But come on, guys, Ewoks are darling yet mighty, that's how they're supposed to be! (I sure took a side here.)<br />
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<b>#8. Was Yoda Better as a Puppet or Computer Animation?</b><br />
In the original trilogy (as well as in <i>The Last Jedi</i>), Yoda was a puppet. In the prequel trilogy, he was a puppet when he could be, but for stunts that a puppet could not perform, he was CGI. Puppet Yoda is a practical special effect and surprisingly expressive, as Puppet Yoda has Frank Oz's signature touch (literally). CGI Yoda, though, can flip around and use a lightsaber. Wait a minute. Spell Check doesn't recognize "lightsaber" as a word. Shame on Spell Check.<br />
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<b>#7. How Many Toes Does Yoda Have?</b><br />
Yes, you read that correctly. Fans heavily debate the number and placement of Yoda's toes. In <i>The Empire Strikes Back, </i>Yoda has four toes (three pointing forward and one pointing back). In <i>Return of the Jedi, </i>Yoda has four toes, but this time the fourth toe is on the side rather than in back. In <i>The Phantom Menace, </i>Yoda has three toes, all pointing forward. In <i>Attack of the Clones </i>and <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>, Yoda has the same toe layout as in<i> Return of the Jedi, </i>and in <i>The Last Jedi</i>, his foot matches <i>Empire. </i>So which Yoda foot is canon? We don't know, and we endlessly debate.<br />
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<b>#6. The Prequels</b><br />
Just the prequels. Did they have any purpose? Were they good? Did they have their share of good moments? Are they even good enough to be considered canon? Was Jar Jar Binks funny? Was he racist? The prequels have spawned many debates as to their quality, and so I'm including them as a whole place on the list. Some fans, though, have said the new Disney films have put the prequels in perspective.<br />
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<b>#5. Should Chewbacca Have Gotten a Medal at the End of the First Movie?</b><br />
The TV show <i>South Park </i>reinvigorated this debate. In the film's 1977 novelization and comic book adaptation, Chewbacca gets a medal - but not in the film itself. Some fans think Chewbacca deserved a medal and should have received one, while others believe Chewbacca not getting a medal and causing him to growl in displeasure at the end of the movie made for an appropriate humorous ending.<br />
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<b>#4. George Lucas's Various Tweaks to the Original Trilogy Over the Years</b><br />
Han shot first. Jabba wasn't in the first one. Spaceships weren't CGI. Mark Hamill was the Emperor hologram in <i>Empire. </i>These are just a few of the changes George Lucas made to the original trilogy, first for their DVD releases in 2000-2001, and then in the Blu-Ray, Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu releases in 2012. Some fans argue that "the films belong to George Lucas, he can do as he pleases with them", while others argue that "the changes ruined the films". This may bring up another debate: which are better, the unaltered prequels or the altered originals?<br />
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<b>#3. Who's the Other Hope?</b><br />
In <i>The Empire Strikes Back, </i>Yoda mentions as Luke leaves Dagobah that "there is another hope". The subsequent <i>Return of the Jedi </i>film seems to say that this other hope is Princess Leia, who is revealed as Luke's sister in that film. So why would fans argue? It's because the book <i>The Making of The Empire Strikes Back</i> says that when Lawrence Kasdan wrote that line into the script, he and George Lucas had no intention of making Leia Luke's sister. The line was actually meant to suggest that Vader/Anakin was the other hope. Some fans reason that if the line referred to Vader, then it should be interpreted that way. Others refuse to let go of their own interpretation of the other being Leia - how they interpreted it when they first watched the films.<br />
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<b>#2. Was Disney Buying Lucasfilm a Blessing or a Curse?</b><br />
Many fans were excited when Disney purchased Lucasfilm and promised to make more Star Wars movies. This one really comes down to whether you liked <i>The Force Awakens </i>or not. Some fans were disappointed by the whole plot reference to the original 1977 <i>Star Wars, </i>saying that the franchise had lost creativity. Others, though, said that this was simply J.J. Abrams' way of stating that he wanted to make an original trilogy style film rather than a prequel trilogy style film. Many fans also worry that Disney is making Star Wars<i> </i>movies for profit, while George Lucas made them because he loved to tell stories. Which brings us to our final entry...<br />
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<b>#1. How Many Star Wars Movies is Too Many?</b><br />
First six was too many...and now what is thought will happen is, after the completion of Episode Nine, Disney will rebrand the first nine episodes as "The Skywalker Saga", and make another nine-episode saga, and another, and another, and we'll start debating which saga is the best instead of which movie. And don't forget Disney's planned anthology series of "Star Wars Stories". One of the things Star Wars fans like about being Star Wars fans is speculating. And if Disney wants to leave no room for speculation and only wants to fill their money bags, what will happen to Star Wars? That's where Imy storytelling might come in.<br />
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In closing, here is my verdict on each of these issues. Leave yours in the comments.<br />
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10. Porgs are extremely, and obviously, marketable.<br />
9. So are Ewoks, but at least they have a point in the story.<br />
8. Puppet. Frank Oz's puppeteer work and voice > just Frank Oz's voice.<br />
7. Do you have anything better to do than debate Yoda's foot layout?<br />
6. They're no worse than the originals.<br />
5. Again, a meaningless debate!<br />
4. The CGI'ed up versions are terrible. That's why I own the original versions of the original trilogy on VHS.<br />
3. It's Vader, because when I first saw that scene, that's who I thought they were talking about.<br />
2. I don't know. Ask me after Episode XXXVIII.<br />
1. End it after Episode IX and make room for a new generation of storytellers (such as myself).<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-22094628564645387262018-09-27T12:22:00.002-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.645-04:00This Image Says It All <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little girl learns that she never needs to be afraid to speak up. <br />Just imagine what the future holds for her.<br />Taken by Courtney Lavery and posted on Twitter, September 27, 2018.<br /></td></tr>
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-15901617644880035072018-08-17T14:17:00.000-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.152-04:00Premature Script Announcements Won't Happen Again!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Forget I ever wrote my last blog post. Revisiting <i>From Sea to Shining Sea </i>was more like a fleeting aha moment than an enduring script idea. Like my idea to revisit <i>A Place in the Puzzle, </i>this attempt at reviving a past story was an obsessive feeling that grew to an enormous size, then faded away.<br />
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So I've cancelled the script idea, putting the revised <i>From Sea to Shining Sea </i>in a box with Target, Audi, <i>Miracle on Tryon Street </i>aka <i>#JustChecking</i>, <i>A Place in the Puzzle</i>, and not in a box with Shea and Sheryl and Seuss. These were characters and stories that I could endure and spend time with for my whole life if I wanted to. This story, and its characters, didn't belong in that context.<br />
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So what am I going to do next?<br />
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Well, I know for sure, I will think about the sustainability of project/screenplay ideas before I start working on them.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-65316335508916913272018-08-07T17:27:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.723-04:00Blasts from the Past Setting the Future in Motion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As you might recall, in my post about Things You Didn't Know About My Scripts, I discussed ideas that I had never turned into scripts, such as <i>Target Presents The Holiday Odyssey, Miracle on Tryon Street, </i>and a proposed script based on <a href="https://vimeo.com/203513103" target="_blank">this</a> Audi commercial.<br />
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But what about ideas I had for stories even before I started writing scripts?<br />
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In addition to literal notebooks full of Star Wars fan fiction, there were others. There was a teen/slasher flick that was just ghastly in its writing and story. There was a version of the musical <i>Annie</i> that was supposed to run 6 hours. There was <i>A Place in the Puzzle, </i>a take on R.J. Palacio's novel <i>Wonder </i>that I wrote when I was 12. There was a story about a young man who tagged along on another family's vacation for personal gain but found himself doing impersonal things.<br />
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And then there was the story that defines one of Mr. Leo Finelli's key traits. Leo wonders occasionally, "Who is that female on my TV screen?" And if he figures out, Leo may wonder, "How do I reach her?" (Now I have ispot.tv to tell me who most TV commercial actors are. I say "most" because I'm still in the dark about one woman in a <a href="https://www.ispot.tv/ad/w0Fn/special-k-women-eat" target="_blank">Special K commercial</a>, but I'm working on that.)<br />
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And for over ten years, I have asked this question about many different people. They have mostly, but not all been, female. In the early days, when I didn't know these names, I would make up names. On January 1, 2008, I was flipping channels on TV when I found myself attracted to a 40-year-old woman with bouncy, curly hair. This was children's music legend (and now children's musical composer) Laurie Berkner. But I didn't know this. I called her "Rhonda Shaw" for a while in my head, until I realized her real name and invited her, to no avail, to my 7th birthday party. The same TV show that Laurie had featured on also brought me nine-year-old Jamia Nash (of <i>August Rush </i>fame). This was the first time I became truly obsessed with a child who I'd seen on TV - to the point that I even started writing a script about it.<br />
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<i>From Sea to Shining Sea </i>concerns a normal boy who becomes obsessed with a young female TV commercial and children's television veteran and meets her in Los Angeles. It was to feature <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3bRz_I8Mhw" target="_blank">this song</a>, performed by the normal boy and the TV-star girl, embracing the fact that they're both fun-loving kids at heart, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiDsjYLbWrQ" target="_blank">this song</a>, which in the link provided is performed by somebody who is trying to channel his inner Paul Simon, but in the script was performed by the TV-star girl on the playground with a bunch of other kids.<br />
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I don't remember that much else about <i>From Sea to Shining Sea, </i>except that there was something in the script, a plot point, maybe, about the endangered California condor. I do remember, though, that the second song I've linked to, as well as the children's book it was adapted from, was a MASSIVE factor in transforming me into a proponet of social justice. It was just such a good song, a song that the world needs to hear more than ever in the Trump Era.<br />
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So, could <i>From Sea to Shining Sea, </i>or a revised version of it with a different title, be my next project, or better yet, break TV ground? Rarely are TV musicals based on original stories. It hasn't been since the 1970s that a written-for-TV musical was based on an original story. (I believe the most recent example is a Rankin-Bass Christmas special entitled <i>Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July </i>in 1979.) All the most recent made-for-TV musicals have been adaptations of existing musicals or musicalized versions of previously existing stories.<br />
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I was all ready to work on <i>L8-L9, </i>a story about a robot torn between loyalties to his master and a young child who is clearly in need, but this story is being delayed due to requiring the name of the Special K commercial actress, who <i>L8-L9</i>'s leading lady was to be named after. Since I am still working on securing that data, there is a holdup on <i>L8-L9. </i>Therefore, I need something different to work on.<br />
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This post is not a formal announcement of a new version of my 2009 story idea <i>From Sea to Shining Sea </i>as my next story. It is, however, likely that my next story will be a musical that either is about an incident that happened in my past or is based on a story I first came up with the idea for in the past.<br />
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And as for the 6-hour version of <i>Annie </i>I mentioned earlier, I hope I never have to make that, or sit through it. </div>
Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-58600665569219375892018-07-26T11:40:00.004-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.801-04:00The Year of Living Fearlessly <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One year.<br />
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It has been one year since <i>Fearless Girl </i>was released to this blog. The work is almost surely my calling card and was also distinguished as without this script, I would never have created Sheryl Strongheart or Rennie Rochester. As in, writing it was what made me start identifying as a feminist (and writing additional girl-power scripts.)<br />
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<i>Fearless Girl, </i>the statue, was something I knew about vaguely, but was first presented with in image form for me on a Video Daily Double on the July 18, 2017 episode of the popular game show <i>Jeopardy! </i>One look at this elegant sculpture, uneasy at nothing, with her hands on her hips, asking society to throw at her whatever its gender-biased nature could. The SECOND the statue came onto the screen of our TV, I immediately wondered, "What would she look like as a human girl?" Followed, of course, by the question, "What would it take for her to become a human girl?"<br />
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The story expanded over the next hour, and a few days later, it was all realized. Fearless Girl would need to be a source of inspiration, and her message resonate with, a young girl, who in the rough draft was named Madeleine (as opposed to Dakota). A kindhearted middle school boy (named Ari from the start) would help them. This is how the story looked on my 16th birthday (July 23, 2017).<br />
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However, I still felt something was missing. I wanted to tackle a specific genre of girl power, a very specific feminist message that could propel starts to talks in the household about misogyny. Then a blast from the past came - a certain Super Bowl commercial from 2015 that had moved me to tears with its message, as created by <i>Serial</i>'s Sarah Koenig.<br />
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I then looked back at the commercial and found out that the voice behind it hadn't been Sarah Koenig at all - the site I had looked at the day after the game contained errors. The real mastermind had been Lauren Greenfield (<a href="https://twitter.com/lgreen66?lang=en" target="_blank">who you can visit the Twitter of here</a>, it's mostly stuff about her new documentary, which I assume has been consuming all her time), a documentary filmmaker born in 1966. The minute I discovered who <i>really </i>was responsible for that ad, I totally fanboyed out for Lauren. Her commercial, which proposed a new, stronger meaning for the classic "you run like a girl" playground insult, was the missing piece I needed.<br />
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The commercial also changed a key aspect of the story. "Madeleine" became Dakota, whose name and appearance were based on Dakota Booker, who was ten when she showed Lauren how a pre-pubescent girl who has not yet been taught by society that being female is inferior throws a ball. Booker was the poster girl for the Always "Like a Girl" campaign. (I've discovered her Instagram, which you can visit <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dakotabooker/?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a>. Dakota Booker is a healthy, proactive, strong, fun-loving 15-year-old now.)<br />
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The script was completed in one day - July 26, 2017. However, I revisited it many times. In February 2018, Dakota's climactic monologue was heavily edited to change the "better meaning" of "running like a girl" from "running like someone who is good at running" to "running like yourself, even if you're not good at it." <b>I didn't want to put down girls who were bad at sports and/or didn't want to break stereotypes, which some accused the commercial of doing.</b> Around that same time, I drew a picture, in character as Ari, of the boy with Dakota and the now-human statue putting their arms around him. This picture, drawn in colored pencil, now proudly hangs on the wall of my bedroom.<br />
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I am still fanboying over Lauren Greenfield - but NOWHERE NEAR how obsessed I was with her in July and August of 2017. Lauren may be a documentarian, but there is not a single other person on the face of the earth that I would give the job of director for this fictional story to. I sent a letter off to Lauren's production company, Chelsea Pictures L.A., in August, and I <i>did </i>get something back, saying "we love all the girl power in your writing," "for someone so young, you present as wise beyond your years," "though you were writing specifically to Lauren, we are all truly touched by your kind words about Like a Girl," - but they couldn't pass mail to Lauren directly. They did however wish me "all the positive vibes in my imminently bright future".<br />
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As a recluse of sorts, I enjoy writing my scripts. I am extremely lucky to love my work more than anything else. Ari finds real friends in my script the way my scripts are my friends.<br />
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I'm going to close with a poll for my readers. Leave your response in the comments. The question is: In <i>Fearless Girl, </i>which is the most important "self-discovery" made between the three main characters? (I'm willing to let you go on your own criteria of what makes this discovery "important".)<br />
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A. Ari's discovery of true friends, his achievement of self-worth, and the feeling of being loved that friendship offers<br />
B. Dakota's discovery of the courage and self-confidence that was in her all along, and the secret to not losing it<br />
C. Shea's discovery of the human world, and her realization that as a human girl, she must leave her new world a different place than when she stepped into it<br />
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So, in your opinion, which is the most important? Let me know!<br />
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It's been one year, and I haven't really been the same as I was before I turned that statue into that story.</div>
Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-63534099641918468722018-05-25T14:07:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.879-04:00Poll: You Can Help Me Write My Latest Script!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, you, my readers, are going to help me with an important aspect of my next script!<br />
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No, not <i>Babes in Toyland, </i>or the one set in northern California. I'm postponing those.<br />
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We're talking about a story I wrote as a novella before I even wrote a single script. A story I wrote at this time of year in 2014. This is <i>A Place in the Puzzle. </i><br />
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A semi-autobiographical take on R.J. Palacio's bestseller <i>Wonder, </i>this is the story of 10-year-old Ryan Fitch, who is growing up in Louisville in 2003 (at least in the previous version). After being diagnosed with high functioning autism and befriending two supportive young girls his age, Ryan still struggles to make his way through the fifth grade (and the world). Meanwhile, his perseverance and good heart inspire a celebrated rising music star, as well as his older sister, to create artistic wonders. After a heated confrontation with a deceitful adult troublemaker on the night of May 31, the former boaster, though now more worthy than bragging rights than ever before, displays newfound humility that his peers admire.<br />
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I am revisiting this story to turn it into a feature script, but I am making several changes. The first and foremost one, though...should the main character remain a boy or be gender-flipped in the new version to being a girl?<br />
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If the main character is a boy, it will break the stereotype that girls are more thoughtful and inward-looking than boys. If the main character is a girl, it will break the stereotype that autism is only a boy thing. So the question is really, which stereotype is more important to break?<br />
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Is this story about a boy or a girl? You analyze. You tell me.<br />
Leave your verdict in the comments below.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-49225799811112759582018-05-20T13:47:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:37.955-04:0010 Things, In No Particular Order, That You Didn't Know About My Scripts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
From tragedy to tourney, Seuss to Strongheart, I've created a world of colorful characters in just 1.5 years. I've explored many worlds, from New York to Los Angeles to Cape Cod to San Antonio to the Corporate Sector and everything in between. I've fulfilled my wishes by just writing them, brought a piece of public art to life, and freed an entire galaxy from misogyny. I've even told an entirely fictional story - but all the characters are factual figures! So here are 10 things you did not know about 8 scripts.<br />
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<b>1. "The Wish Writer", "Fearless Girl", and "Someone to Bring Me Home", my three shortest scripts, were all written in a single day. </b>"Wish Writer" was whipped up in two hours on December 1, 2016. "Fearless Girl" was written in one afternoon on July 26, 2017. "Someone to Bring Me Home" was finished just a few hours after Macy's released the original commercial, on November 20, 2017.<br />
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<b>2. My early character-naming strategy. </b>"Hannah" and "Luke" in <i>Wish Writer </i>were named for Hannah Zirke and Luke Roessler, who originated the roles of the then-unnamed brother and sister in the 2015 commercial. "Brooklyn" in <i>The Sun Shines in Heaven </i>was named for Brooklyn Silzer, a child actress I admired, as well as based the personality and mannerisms of the character on. "Dakota" in <i>Fearless Girl </i>was named for one of Lauren Greenfield's young test subjects during her "Like a Girl" social experiment that partially inspired the script. And although there is a young actress, aged 14, named Shea McHugh who resides in Burbank, CA, and she does have red hair, the Fearless Girl statue ("Shea") was NOT named for, modeled after, or based on Shea McHugh at all. McHugh does however "photographically enact" the statue's human form on my blog.<br />
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<b>3. I rate my scripts' quality using the Harry Potter O.W.L. scale. </b>This scale measures quality and has six grades, from highest to lowest: O (Outstanding), EE (Exceeds Expectations), A (Acceptable), P (Poor), D (Dreadful), and T (Troll). Here is how I rate the quality of each script I've written.<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"The Wish Writer": P</li>
<li>"The Sun Shines in Heaven": D</li>
<li>"Fearless Girl": EE</li>
<li>"Surviving Middle School": D</li>
<li>"Someone to Bring Me Home": P</li>
<li>"Girl on Fire": A</li>
<li>"When You Think About Seuss": EE</li>
<li>"One Shining Moment": P</li>
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I think "Fearless Girl" and "When You Think About Seuss" are the ones I like the most because they are the two I can actually picture on a TV screen. As for the rest, I really can't.</div>
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<b>4. I considered writing Fearless Girl as a children's book as well as a script, and now, the statue's sculptor is considering doing the same. </b>On the statue's official website, FearlessGirl.us, in addition to selling mini Fearless Girl reproductions, sculptor Kristen Visbal has declared: "Next Release: Illustrated Children's Book!" I wonder what that will look like - and how much it will resemble my 2017 script. Hopefully, I'll be able to pay Kristen Visbal a visit the next time I visit my grandparents in Delaware. Visbal's studio is within driving distance of my grandparents' residence.</div>
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<b>5. The song "Someone to Bring Me Home" is written to the tune of a jingle from a completely different commercial. </b>A cover of "Everlasting Light" accompanied the Macy's commercial the script was based on. However, I wanted to utilize a song, so I took the instrumental from another holiday commercial, this one for Hewlett-Packard, and turned it into my song. Click <a href="http://creativity-online.com/work/hp-create-wonder-in-your-world/53163" target="_blank">here</a> to see the HP commercial. It may help you learn the tune of the song.</div>
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<b>6. It says in the actual script PDF that "When You Think About Seuss" was based on the Broadway musical <i>Seussical. </i>However, there is no character in <i>Seussical, </i>or any of Dr. Seuss's works, named Lord Zashel von Mashel. </b>In the musical, the Kangaroo is the biggest villain there is. Thinking it unfit that the musical's two main protagonists were male and the main antagonist was female, I created my own male antagonist, who truly was evil, to counteract the male protagonist of Horton.</div>
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<b>7. Also, the young Seuss (Ted Geisel) himself does not figure as a character in the musical. </b>He essentially replaces Jo Jo, a young Who boy (or girl) who also has a repressed imagination that people learn to see the value of.</div>
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<b>8. I considered rewriting two scripts majorly after attending the March For Our Lives. </b>"The Sun Shines in Heaven" seemed to imply that thoughts and prayers <i>were </i>enough in response to a mass shooting and that a charity single was the best that could be done. If it had been written today, Brooklyn would rally against gun violence and fight for gun eradication. Also, "One Shining Moment" very nearly had a mass rewrite because I worried that it did not talk enough about the gun control movement - far and away the biggest news story of March 2018. I went back on this, not being one for retcons, a word which here means "rewriting past work to be in line with current work."</div>
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<b>9. There are some ideas I never really got around to writing, such as:</b></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Father-daughter story inspired by 2017 Audi "Daughter" commercial</i>: Abandoned because experimental test versions of the story's father-daughter scenes too closely resembled the father-daughter scenes in previous script <i>Girl on Fire.</i> </li>
<li><i>Miracle on Tryon Street </i>(bogus/working title <i>Just Checking</i>): Abandoned because attempts to write down a treatment were not going anywhere.</li>
<li><i>Target Presents The Holiday Odyssey</i>: Abandoned first because I worried that I could not balance pro-commercialism and anti-commercialism messages, then work on this script resumed, then abandoned again because the story utilized too many common tropes.</li>
<li><i>Fearless Girl 2</i>: In which a sexual misconduct case at the NYSE brings the bull statue to life. Longing to finally wreak vengeance on Shea, the bull scours the city for her. Abandoned because I realized I just wanted to write a good Shea-versus-bull fight scene (ending with Shea drowning the bull in the Hudson River), so you can see why I didn't want to write it. </li>
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<b>10. In my more recent scripts, even if characters weren't named for these actors, I still had certain actors in mind to play them. </b>The main roles in <i>Girl on Fire </i>were written for the young stars of Sean Baker's 2017 film <i>"</i>The Florida Project", though I knew these actors would likely not actually play the roles - Brooklynn Prince (not Silzer) as Sheryl Strongheart, Valeria Cotto as Arianna Aspire, and Christopher Rivera as Riley Resister. I also wrote the role of space pirate Erin Energizer for #MeToo initiator Alyssa Milano. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Christopher, Brooklynn, and Valeria...or, in an ideal world, Riley, Sheryl, and Arianna. Aren't they adorable?</span></div>
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<b>And in closing, one final note...</b>I'm working on two FULL BLOWN musicals, with all original songs, a written-for-TV adaptation of the 1903 operetta <i>Babes in Toyland, </i>an adaptation which will be more pleasantly sentimental (in the mold of the 1961 Disney film and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-zJKiiiaW4" target="_blank">1987 Drew Barrymore made for TV movie</a>) than the original and infamously dark operetta, as well as a written-for-TV and yet-to-be-titled fantasy set in and around the redwood and sequoia forests of upper California. These scripts will likely be in the 115-125 page/minute range, making them my lengthiest endeavors yet.</div>
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But I'm ready. </div>
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-9651212619810890052018-05-10T12:21:00.002-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.033-04:00Some Family Feud Answers That Worked Too Well, Not Well Enough, or Were Just Off the Wall...(Clean Answers Only)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yet again, I am doing a post on game shows - this time Family Feud, which has been airing since 1976 and I've accounted for some of the most bizarre answers in show history. So let's cut to the chase, here they are (share these with your friends):<br />
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<b>Name a yellow fruit. </b>"Orange."<br />
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<b>Name a part of the telephone. </b>"The bottom part."<br />
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<b>Name something Russia is famous for. </b>"Russians."<br />
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<b>Name an animal with three letters in its name. </b>"Alligator."<br />
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<b>In what month of a woman's pregnancy does she begin to look pregnant? </b>"September."<br />
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<b>Name a type of bear. </b>"Papa."<br />
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<b>Real or fictional, name a famous Willy. </b>"Willy the Pooh."<br />
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<b>Name a part of your body that begins with the letter N. </b>"Name."<br />
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<b>Name something a doctor might pull out of a person during a surgical procedure. </b>"A gerbil."<br />
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<b>Name a word that rhymes with "dinky". </b>"Dwinky."<br />
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<b>Fill in the blank: Purple ______. </b>"Nurple."<br />
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<b>Fill in the blank: Pie in the ______. </b>"Horse."<br />
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<b>Name another way people say "mother". </b>"Grandpa."<br />
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<b>Name a man's name that begins with the letter H. </b>"Jose."<br />
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<b>Fill in the blank: Pork _______. </b>"Cupine."<br />
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<b>Name a man's name that begins with the letter K. </b>"Kentucky Fried Chicken."<br />
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<b>Name something you would find in a birdcage other than a bird. </b>"Hamster."<br />
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<b>Name something that comes with a summer storm. </b>"Snow."<br />
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<b>Aside from your house or your car, what's the most expensive thing you own? </b>"Car."<br />
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<b>Name a reason you might stay indoors on a sunny day. </b>"Because it's raining."<br />
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<b>Name something that comes in sevens. ''</b>Fingers''.<br />
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<b>Name a fruit that comes in more than one color. </b>"Jell-O."<br />
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<b>Name a popular Halloween costume. </b>"Santa Claus."<br />
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<b>Name a noisy bird. </b>"Chipmunk."<br />
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<b>Name a state that begins with the letter M. </b>"Mexico."<br />
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<b>Name a country in South America. </b>"Africa."<br />
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<b>Name a state with the word "New" in it. "</b>New Braska."<br />
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<b>Name an occupation in which helicopters are used. </b>"Tuna fishing."<br />
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<b>Give me another word for "zero". </b>"Infinity."<br />
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<b>Name a landmark in New York City. </b>"The Eiffel Tower."<br />
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<b>Name an occupation that begins with the letter J. </b>"Jackhammerer."<br />
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<b>Name a sport that isn't played with a ball. </b>"Bowling."<br />
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<b>Tell me one thing you know about Barack Obama. </b>"He's a Republican."<br />
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<b>Tell me a bird that begins with the letter P. </b>"Flamingo."<br />
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<b>Name a famous rabbit. </b>"Barney."<br />
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<b>Name something that inevitably has to happen but you don't want it to. </b>"The end of this post."<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-12355957586057098972018-03-24T21:52:00.000-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.111-04:00Meet My New Best Friends: Farah, Natalie, Hannah, and Katie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today I attended the #MarchForOurLives in Uptown Charlotte. It was so enjoyable to be around 10,000 people who all were marching for (about) the same reason - to enforce stricter gun laws and save lives in America (or in my case, to abolish guns and their use altogether.)<br />
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But perhaps most importantly, at the end, it was where I first felt connection outside my own inner circle. As the march dispersed, the 10,000 was reduced to 7 - me, my parents, and four girls.<br />
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These four girls are fighters like I have written about and heard about...but never really met. Their names are Farah, Natalie, Hannah, and Katie. They are leaders in our community. They are fighting the good fight. And now, I fight alongside them as a friend.<br />
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As the chants became quieter and the people all started to leave the city square, there I was, alone, a few yards away from Mom and Dad, alone, with four girls who said they were dance students. Unfortunately, they were not ballet students. Fortunately...they "got" me. They wouldn't have cared if I had 21 heads. They wanted to be my friends and thought I was "smart" and "funny". They were good people with good hearts.<br />
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Natalie was the leader of the group, and though she looked young, claimed she was dance teacher to Farah, Hannah, and Katie. All four were energetic, beautiful, caring, and though I disagreed with them on certain parts of the issue, I was able to show I was strong and unwilling to let differences of opinion go against friendship.<br />
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And they're probably reading my blog as I write it, as I whipped up a makeshift business card and handed it to them.<br />
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Farah, Natalie, Hannah, and Katie are proponents of peace, diversity, and inclusion. They wish life was like <a href="https://www.ispot.tv/ad/waZL/coca-cola-super-bowl-2018-the-wonder-of-us" target="_blank">a Coke commercial</a>. (Coke commercials are famous for their positive messages...think back to their iconic 1982 spot for Super Bowl XVI, "Buy the World a Coke".) A Coke commercial, minus all the drinking of unhealthy carbonated beverages.<br />
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Dear Farah, Natalie, Hannah, and Katie - if you're reading this...I'll be thinking of you when I go on my little excursion in Europe with my family in a few days. I'll be keeping you four posted, and the rest of my readers posted on my relationship with them.<br />
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P.S. I feel very confident about America's future leaders. (EMMA GONZALEZ 4 PRESIDENT!!!)<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-37632397449560670122018-03-19T16:54:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.188-04:00Leo Finelli's 10 Best Fictional Characters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In a little over a year, I have created a world of characters, from New York to Los Angeles, the cliffs of New England to the sports of San Antonio. So here, I am finally counting down the top 10 best characters I have created in 8 scripts. Not all of my scripts are represented, though. Here's the list.<br />
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<b>#10: Ari Bellum</b><br />
<b>"Fearless Girl" (2017)</b><br />
Ari is a supporting character, not in the sense that he's not a lead role, but in the sense that his main job in the story is to support and mentor other characters. He helps not one, but two girls (one made of bronze) achieve their dreams and goes from the butt of everyone's jokes and an ordinary New York kid to a boy everyone wants to be friends with and truly proud to be a (male) feminist.<br />
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<b>#9: Owen Saunders</b><br />
<b>"One Shining Moment" (2018)</b><br />
Although I have no idea what the real Owen Saunders is like, in my story he's a persistent little boy who loves to milk his musical talents. He also looks out for his friends, engaging in risky pursuits to help people understand what he does, and he can see beyond the surface of his autistic friend Diane, looking into her heart and seeing that she's no different than he is.<br />
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<b>#8: Brooklyn Silverman</b><br />
<b>"The Sun Shines in Heaven" (2017)</b><br />
This little California girl is all about this quote: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That's what she teaches to her friends, and as a bonus, she also has a great singing voice that she uses to remedy hearts rocked by tragedy. I'll bet she is now one of the leaders in the Students' March movement.<br />
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<b>#7: Hannah</b><br />
<b>"The Wish Writer" (2016)</b><br />
She may not have a last name, but this is an all-around good kid that knows what to do when she encounters a magical pencil that can grant any wish: do good deeds for others. She's also filled with wonder and seems poised to never let her childhood die. She's also not afraid to give up her pencil, which she does to her little brother, who learns kindness from her. She is the sibling role model I strive to be.<br />
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<b>#6: The Fearless Girl Statue ("Shea")</b><br />
<b>"Fearless Girl" (2017)</b><br />
What would you want if for nearly two months you'd been standing on Wall Street facing a colossal bull that looked like it was going to trample you (but you didn't care) and hearing opening and closing bells at the Stock Exchange? Probably to get up and walk, which is the dream our little statue seizes and throttles. Shea is resilient in the pursuit of her dream, and can tolerate getting help from very unexpected sources.<br />
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<b>#5: Arianna Aspire</b><br />
<b>"Girl On Fire" (2018)</b><br />
Arianna: the ULTIMATE best friend. She senses her best friend's pain when her friend's parents die, she tags along to help another person achieve their dream, she is supportive all around......and as a bonus, she winds up being quite the star pilot! Any child - or adult - should want a best friend like Arianna.<br />
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<b>#4: Sheryl Strongheart</b><br />
<b>"Girl On Fire" (2018)</b><br />
Here we have a little girl, only eight years old, who takes matters into her own hands and goes, knowing her life is in danger, to fight for a cause she believes in. She knows right from wrong, and longs for freedom in her world, and when she gets it, she modestly avoids giving herself the same amount of power she toppled...all with the help of good friends.<br />
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<b>#3: Max</b><br />
<b>"Someone to Bring Me Home" (2017)</b><br />
"I'm standing here...watching your light, hoping that things are all right." Max is me in the sense that his desires to make contact with whatever is out there - and he knows there is someone out there - are unbelievably strong, as well as his belief that he belongs both with his family and "out there", which he finds a way to balance.<br />
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<b>#2: Patrick Chalmers</b><br />
<b>"The Sun Shines in Heaven" (2017)</b><br />
He may think he is tolerant and accepting, but he is initially neither to those who are not as tolerant and accepting as he is. Patrick grows from a man who crudely insults Republicans/Christians as "monkeys" to a man who, if he were president, would put them in his cabinet. He also relates to me in that he's lonely and misunderstood, and grows to learn that he needs someone younger to see the best in him.<br />
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<b>#1: Renegade "Rennie" Rochester</b><br />
<b>"One Shining Moment" (2018)</b><br />
Rennie has everything in her head that I have in my head. She is a dreamer who dreams of meeting fascinating people, making famous friends (although that's not exactly me, my siblings beg to differ). She is a strong feminist. She also has that desire to make contact that is ever-present in all my characters, and a supportive family. And most of all...she is an expert tactician that can create a master plan to help display her message (well, her take on someone else's message).<br />
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The end. And if you don't understand anything I just wrote, why don't you mosey on over to the Scripts page? It's a few degrees warmer there.</div>
Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-51194200419522086382017-12-23T17:11:00.002-05:002020-05-15T20:55:38.267-04:00My Top 12 Songs of Christmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Christmas music is beloved by many and is a library of festive songs. So, with two days left until Christmas, I'm ranking my top 12 favorites.<br />
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(Note: after due consideration, I have decided not to include any numbers from <i>The Nutcracker </i>on the list. These songs are purely instrumental, and are heard often during the month of December, but aren't really Christmas songs.)<br />
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(I have also decided not to include Christmas songs of my own composition, such as "Someone to Bring Me Home", which I wrote for my 2017 holiday screenplay of the same title.)<br />
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(I have also decided not to include songs that aren't about Christmas but that I associate with Christmas for various reasons, such as "Together We Can Change The World", which I first heard at a school performance at Christmastime, or "Everlasting Light", which was used in a 2017 Macy's commercial.)<br />
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So here's the list, and sorry if I made you wait.<br />
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<b>12. "We Three Kings" (????)</b><br />
This ballad of the Magi is such an old song that no one really knows when it was written. It actually has about seven verses, but even so, I haven't tracked them all down. I have also heard the Spanish version of the song, which is confusing, but the minor-key tune, my favorite element of the song, remains.<br />
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<b>11. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1949)</b><br />
The song for me is just as good as the special, but like the special, there are other songs that rank above it. I relate to the character of Rudolph, only most of the ridicule I have taken in life comes from within. I could really write a whole post about how much mockery and scorn I have gotten from my own self.<br />
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<b>10. "Mele Kalikimaka" (1952)</b><br />
Written before Hawaii even became a state, this song is popularly known as simply "that Hawaiian Christmas song" is simple and catchy. And it manages to use more than just twelve letters. (The Hawaiian language's alphabet has only 12 letters: A E H I K L M N O P U W.)<br />
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<b>9. "Here Comes Santa Claus" (1972)</b><br />
The repetitive verses of this song make it a perennial favorite, but it's the triumphant performance at the end of its original source, the 1972 Rankin-Bass/ABC television classic <i>The Year Without a Santa Claus </i>that really makes it feel...<i>emotional. </i>In the special, Santa is offered a day off by the world, but is much too generous to accept the offer. His generosity is actually somewhat moving in the end.<br />
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<b>8. "All I Want for Christmas is You" (2003)</b><br />
Although this song is popularly attributed to Mariah Carey, her recording is in fact a cover - it was written for the 2003 romantic comedy <i>Love Actually </i>and performed by Olivia Olson there. Carey popularized the song and it is now an animated Amazon Prime original movie about a young Mariah Carey (<i>The Haunted Hathaways' </i>Breanna Yde).<br />
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<b>7. "Believe" (2002)</b><br />
Josh Groban originally recorded this song for the 2002 movie <i>The Polar Express, </i>and it launched his career, although he still sticks mostly to Broadway. The iconic first four notes of the song are suspiciously similar to a musical piece from <i>Elf, </i>and I don't like to think about the same song showing up in the same movie genre within three years, so that's why it's not higher on the list.<br />
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<b>6. "Where Are You, Christmas" (2005)</b><br />
Faith Hill recorded this in 2005. She had done a lot of work for and with Warner Bros., and three Warner Bros. Christmas movies - the live-action <i>Grinch </i>remake with Jim Carrey in 2000, <i>The Polar Express </i>in 2002, and <i>Elf </i>in 2004 - were sold the song for use in their movie, but none of the producers on any of those movies thought it fit with their film. So she just recorded it solo in 2005.<br />
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<b>5. "Somewhere In My Memory" (1989)</b><br />
This is good with words and as an instrumental - John Williams wrote it for <i>Home Alone. </i>It can be played in any way that shows what Kevin is feeling at any point during the movie - it's a very adaptable song that doesn't really have a mood. The scene in the movie gives the tune its mood.<br />
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<b>4. "When Christmas Comes to Town" (2002)</b><br />
Famously sung by an unnamed girl and a lonely boy on the back of a train headed to the North Pole, this is the REAL best holiday duet (sorry, Baby It's Cold Outside) because the kids have excellent vocals on the original recording from <i>Polar Express</i> and the tune is even a bit hallucinating. Megan Moore and Matthew Hall, the original singers, have recorded an instant classic song, but both, strangely, faded into obscurity soon after the release of the movie.<br />
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<b>3. "Last Christmas" (1984)</b><br />
George Michael and Wham! sealed their places as a holiday staple group with this 1984 single, on which Michael played all the instruments (rather well, in fact). An interesting fact about this song that I like to tell people is that immediately after Michael finished filming the music video, he went to help record...<br />
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<b>2. "Do They Know It's Christmas"/Band Aid (1984)</b><br />
Despite dated ethnocentric lyrics - yes, let's all thank God that we're not poor and hungry but these other people are - this song communicates a powerful message, and though the effect is muddled, I still think this song is the ideal way to remind people to think of those less fortunate than them at Christmas. The release of this even predates the more well known "We Are the World", and thus pioneered the idea of getting a bunch of musicians to record a song together.<br />
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<b>1. "My Grown Up Christmas List" (1990)</b><br />
I think I picked this one #1 because it's the Christmas song I relate to the most, being a teenager. Whenever I hear it, I am reminded of Christmas Eve 2014 - the first year I had trouble thinking of Christmas gifts to ask for because I observed I wanted abstract things and/or things that weren't for myself for the first time that year. Though Natalie Cole was the original artist, Kelly Clarkson made the most famous recording of this song. Its one flaw is a bit of a cluttered tune that's hard to remember.<br />
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/tctpqzkiqosd31nocjw93snwi/playlist/7JSLR93BAmOaLReyocg84s" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/tctpqzkiqosd31nocjw93snwi/playlist/7JSLR93BAmOaLReyocg84s" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Spotify Playlist of these songs</span></a><br />
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Finally, a note on Christmas songs <i>I</i> have written - a hoard more are coming in as I resurrect my 2011 original Christmas movie story treatment that you've never seen, "Miracle on Tryon Street" (with a new title, of course - the original title could mislead audiences into thinking it was a parody or whole-plot reference), with original songs. Expect the finished screenplay, which may even surpass the normal hour-long length of most of my scripts, around January 10.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-5237626608146740232017-12-08T16:26:00.000-05:002020-05-15T20:55:38.345-04:00The LeoFinelli.com Most Influential Person of 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SHE ARRIVED ON A STRANGELY warm March evening in New York earlier this year. She was loaded off her truck and fixed opposite a thirty-year-old statue of a charging bull. She was the brainchild of advertising agency McCann and State Street Global Advisors. She was five feet tall, and she had the same proactive attitude as every other girl in New York. She had hair blowing in the wind, she wore a T-shirt and a skirt, she wore sneakers. She was just like every other girl in New York.<br />
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Except she could not move.<br />
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The "Fearless Girl", a statue aimed at promoting the power of women in leadership, sculpted by Kristen Visbal, was unveiled the following morning, and the news media poured down on her. She got crowned with anti-Trump pink hats. She was the #1 trending topic on all social media. Many people knew and heard her message. She was initially only meant to stay for a week. But a week became a month, and a month became a year. Nira Desai even started a Change.org petition to make her permanent.<br />
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New York's innocent, imaginative children welcomed the new girl on Wall Street, and started the trend of the "right" way to get your picture made with her - linking arms with the statue, whose hands were permanently bound to her hips.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjYF1wUGpSallSQ-_GpmqGyLUQlSyChFIW65Jc_gTO0vy8TVqLHgXs7h3zPYIop3rBEZWjgULoafxTSyVNb51ucWGARUQuJuHeUgpIFoTr0wM4jxiuoG4yiDurbz1EaFWGOa0esQkQIk/s1600/fearless-girl-at-bill-2017-03-09-pic5DEPRINT_WEBWEB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjYF1wUGpSallSQ-_GpmqGyLUQlSyChFIW65Jc_gTO0vy8TVqLHgXs7h3zPYIop3rBEZWjgULoafxTSyVNb51ucWGARUQuJuHeUgpIFoTr0wM4jxiuoG4yiDurbz1EaFWGOa0esQkQIk/s640/fearless-girl-at-bill-2017-03-09-pic5DEPRINT_WEBWEB.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<i>(Above: kids mimic the "Fearless Girl"'s gesture in March 2017.)</i><br />
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Fearless Girl became the symbol of the resistance to the anti-female sentiment President Donald Trump was promoting. She became the most popular girl in New York. Everyone knew her, everyone stopped to talk, but she didn't talk back.<br />
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Though some of the children of New York still say she could talk back, but she didn't want to.<br />
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"Kids and their imaginations", thought many New Yorkers, until one day, May 6, as the bell rang at the New York Stock Exchange just down the street, a crowd gathered again where the statue stood, a crowd whose likes had not been seen since the statue was erected. People of all ages and all occupations crept in for a look.<br />
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But there was nothing to see. Fearless Girl had vanished.<br />
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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio soon heard about the goings-on and arrived in his limo to check up on things. Murmurs of "Where's Fearless Girl?" persisted as he drove up. De Blasio left his car and approached the crowd. "Does anyone know anything about this?" De Blasio inquired to the gathered masses, upon seeing with his own eyes the absence of the statue.<br />
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"I do," said a 13-year-old girl, with radiant fire-colored hair, quickly running down Broadway and into the crowd. Mayor de Blasio called the girl to his side. "Please tell me what you did with the statue," he insisted.<br />
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"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken," said the girl. "I <i>am</i> the statue."<br />
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Most adults present laughed. Yet most children, especially the smallest ones, listened to the girl, who identified herself as Shea Mentzer, tell her story, as did a curious Mayor de Blasio. According to Mentzer, she had stood for nearly two months on Wall Street opposite the charging bull, calling out to young girls on the street. "Why?" asked an inquisitive young child. "I needed to empower a young girl and win my humanity," Mentzer explained. Mentzer related that about two weeks ago, she'd called out to yet another young girl, but unintentionally attracted the attention of a 13-year-old boy.<br />
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Mentzer told that this 13-year-old boy had listened to her desires and her explanation that she needed to be an inspiration for a young girl's confidence, and if she did, she would become a human girl. "Ari (the boy) pried me up and he took me to his apartment on 4th and Avenue of the Americas," Mentzer explained, "and he took me to school the next day, being sure to keep me out of sight. That's when Ari met his teammate on the school quiz bowl team, a little girl named Dakota Severn."<br />
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Mentzer continued her story, saying that she and the boy realized Severn, who described herself as "timid, weak, and unmotivated", was the girl she needed to empower in order to gain her humanity. "I spent a few days in Ari's apartment, listening in on Ari and Dakota studying, but one night Ari told me he didn't see the confidence in Dakota that I needed for my humanity. He put me back on Wall Street the next morning."<br />
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"Tears," Mentzer said, "ran down my bronze body all day. But that night, I was still crying a little when I felt this strange tingling sensation. My bronze began to chip and tear, and triumphantly, I put my best foot forward, and it moved. I don't know how I knew where the TV studio they were doing the quiz bowl at was, but I just bolted where my feet took me. As I stepped inside, I heard Dakota giving a rousing speech. She was vowing that she wouldn't let her confidence plummet during the trying teenage years. Then the audience got angry and started to yell at her. I opened the door to the studio, and urged everyone to listen to Dakota. She answered the last question correctly, like the unstoppable girl that she is, and won her team the quiz bowl. Soon, she and Ari found me a young couple to be my mom and dad."<br />
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Here Mentzer concluded her story, and she turned to the mayor, saying, "It's true. I am the Fearless Girl."<br />
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The general consensus among the adults of New York City is that the disappearance of the Fearless Girl will never be explained, but to the children of the city, Shea Mentzer spoke the truth. Every child in New York now recognizes her as their former statue. And it's not just the kids. Many women, especially feminists, revere Mentzer, saying that the world is brighter with their feminist symbol as a truly human, and truly fearless, girl.<br />
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Mentzer's closest friends, the aforementioned Ari Bellum and Dakota Severn, are supportive, and, being first hand witnesses to the Fearless Girl's unbelievable evolution into a human girl, confirm her story and persuade doubters to believe her.<br />
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And with this said, I am proud to present the LeoFinelli.com Most Influential Person of 2017 to the girl who, it is said, was no more than a slab of metal in January, but is a happy 13 year old in December. Congratulations to Shea Mentzer - your influence this year, and the tale among those who support you, is truly beyond belief. Shea Mentzer, you were the most influential person of 2017, from idea, to feminist symbol, to fire-haired 13 year old.<br />
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And what does Mentzer say to this honor, looking into 2018?<br />
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"Whatever comes, I'm not afraid," she says when asked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAXGwPsn9xN_veYG8cJq8tc3rcwzxkG6fHz1SMGJeP__pg0eWsaftFfyCfBzlPq7rGUj97hoe6TNormFP09d7vTfvrp0r6d0v14AnM-5No8lFTmRQwbFiGqj3UrYErjlwhJHVwvOJ1y4/s1600/MV5BMjE0MzEyMjQzMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTcxNTM2NjE%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C799%252C1000_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="799" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAXGwPsn9xN_veYG8cJq8tc3rcwzxkG6fHz1SMGJeP__pg0eWsaftFfyCfBzlPq7rGUj97hoe6TNormFP09d7vTfvrp0r6d0v14AnM-5No8lFTmRQwbFiGqj3UrYErjlwhJHVwvOJ1y4/s400/MV5BMjE0MzEyMjQzMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTcxNTM2NjE%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C799%252C1000_AL_.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>SHEA MENTZER</b></span><br />
<i>The most influential person of 2017</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Note: This image is actually Shea McHugh, an actress who I'm sure would be honored to be "enacting" Shea Mentzer on my blog.</span></div>
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-91126823709384808502017-11-28T11:05:00.001-05:002020-05-15T20:55:38.423-04:00In My Opinion: The 12 Greatest Christmas Specials of All Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In addition to the wide-eyed wonder of children and the good music, one of my favorite things about this time of year is watching the Christmas TV specials and movies. I ranked my top 12 essentials, not counting my own scripts. Why top 12? Well, 12 days of Christmas...so here goes, with types (see my July post on types of Christmas specials) enclosed.<br />
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<b>12. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1965 TV Special, Type 4)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>The fight against prejudice wasn't a common topic in family shows in 1965 and it's one of the reasons this special has stood the test of time. This classic shows that prejudice doesn't have to be based on gender or race - it can be as simple as choice of career. The message resonates well with me, because I have faced prejudice (mostly from myself, though) my entire life.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>The songs can be <i>too</i> catchy at times, and it utilizes the old cancel/save Christmas trope too clearly. Santa (Paul Frees) is grumpy and not at all what a good Santa should be. He's more like a Macy's Santa who's underpaid. The stop-motion Rankin/Bass animation is not their best and looks artificial. Sometimes it looks as if it were just too obviously made in 1965 (which it was).<br />
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<b>11. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (1967 TV Special, Type 2)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>The Grinch is a character a 16-year-old who feels alone can relate to well. The animation is well done and there are some funny moments. A cartoon allows for Dr. Seuss's original book to be truly extravagant on TV, and this one is certainly a faithful adaptation.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>The story is a little too hard on consumerism, and I am a little shaken by how much it strikes back against commercial retailers that are pushing people to buy, buy, and buy some more Thanksgiving weekend, mostly because the ways they push people to buy are what I adapt some of my scripts from.<br />
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<b>10. "The Year Without a Santa Claus" (1972 TV Special, Type 3)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>The hilarious Miser Brothers are definitely a highlight, but I'll leave the rest of the upside to Rick Goldschmidt, Rankin/Bass historian: "The story of <i>The Year Without a Santa Claus </i>basically says that you are never too old to believe. It emphasizes the fact that in today's world, the spirit of Christmas seems to be lost. Santa is given the luxury of a personal day off by the children of the world, but is much too kind to accept."<br />
<i>Downside: </i>Like <i>Rudolph</i>, it utilizes the cancel/save Christmas trope. Santa and Mrs. Claus (Mickey Rooney and Shirley Booth) give excellent performances but they're too often glanced over, because all people remember is the Misers.<br />
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<b>9. "Elf" (2004 Theatrical Feature, Type ?)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>Will Ferrell, Will Ferrell, and Will Ferrell. He is one hilarious man. His Buddy the Elf isn't as good as his Alex Trebek, but it's still good. The supporting cast is top notch, but for me, Charlotte (the news reporter who "wants her boyfriend to stop butting his nose into her business") steals the show. That performance is underrated but strong.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>It's very conspicuous that Jon Favreau is trying to make a fantasy, but it isn't working. The story just feels too real and too heavy-duty for Christmas. It's a little dark at times, and I don't like the way they make the Central Park Rangers, in real life trustworthy guardians of New York's public playground, look genuinely evil.<br />
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<b>8. "Frosty the Snowman" (1967 TV Special, Type ?)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>Jackie Vernon is a wonderful Frosty. The story has fantasy that's rooted in reality, which I always like. Jimmy Durante nails the narration. There are lines you love to repeat in your room at night.<br />
The animation is classic and everything feels like a good cartoon should.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>Parts of it seem dated, the cartoon medium exaggerates even the reality, and if ever a sequel cheapened the original, <i>Frosty Returns </i>did. Really, John Goodman as Frosty?<br />
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<b>7. "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946 Theatrical Feature, Type 2)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>Great performances by the whole cast, black-and-white, old movie charm, and an inspirational message. Even facial expressions, such as that when George sees that he has no house if he were never born, are well done.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>It lacks one good thing every Christmas show needs: music. <i>It's a Wonderful Life </i>would be better as a musical. Of that I am sure. Also, many people, myself included, have wondered what the story would be like if, rather than wishing he never had a life, George wishes he had a different life.<br />
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<b>6. Toss-up between two stories with many, many adaptations: "A Christmas Carol" (Type 2) and "The Nutcracker" (Type 5)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>Both stories have a certain charm to them that always makes you feel warm inside. <i>Christmas Carol </i>is a heartwarming story about one man's change of heart in one night, and how he left his penny-pinching ways. <i>The Nutcracker </i>is a different thing in each incarnation, but its popularity in America scores it major points.<br />
<i>Downside: A Christmas Carol </i>is too widely interpreted when one interpretation was clearly intended, and <i>The Nutcracker </i>is too filled with the past and generalizations. I think we should look more to the future for our holiday staple shows, because in my opinion, you're nothing without hope of a brighter future.<br />
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<b>5. "A Christmas Story" (1983 Theatrical Feature, Type 5)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>There are hilarious moments, such as the tongue scene and the decoder ring scene, and the running gag involving Ralphie being told he'll "shoot his eye out" if he receives the Red Ryder BB gun is hilarious every time. I've only seen it once, and it was a heartwarming tale about family - as I experienced it initially.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>Dated gender and racial stereotypes, in addition to some other dated stuff and some scenes where it's hard to distinguish between imagination and reality. The lamp that the father puts up in the window and the mother subsequently breaks is a little raunchy. If this movie were set in the 2010s rather than the 1940s, which would mean fewer gender or racial stereotypes and no dated feeling, and if Ralphie's ideal gift was something other than a gun, it might be my #1.<br />
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<b>4. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1968 TV Special, Type 1)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>This special is the only one on this list in which Jesus is mentioned. It communicates its message well and has its share of hilarious moments, and as many heartwarming moments to balance them out. Charlie Brown's devotion to his friends through emotional upheaval is inspiring, and that last shot will stay with you.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>Again, striking back against commercialism when commercials are such an inspiration to me can be unsettling at times, similar to the downside of the Grinch special. The piano music is well done but can be annoying and/or make you skittish when it's not there to underscore a good scene.<br />
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<b>3. "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (1970 TV Special, Type 2)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>Of the Christmas specials with a "better to give than to receive" sentiment, this one does it best, through truly magical stop-motion animation, the best song-and-dance numbers of any show on this list, Paul Frees as ten different characters, and, of course, the classic title song. Fred Astaire's original rendition is a fitting end to this 48 minutes of bliss.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>"One Foot in Front of the Other" is either a really good song or a really obnoxious one, and the mythology surrounding how Santa came to be can cause debate. Otherwise, this is Rankin/Bass's best work.<br />
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<b>2. "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947 Theatrical Feature, Type 3)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>The classic actors showcased in this 1947 black-and-white film are a spectacle, and Edmund Gwenn won an Oscar for his portrayal of Santa. The "believe" message sent Macy's on its way to become the department store most frequently associated with Christmas, and I think it's safe to say I'd have a much smaller portfolio if this film was never made.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>Some things, though, are never quite explained, and the story is taken mostly at face value. Also, it takes some understanding to "get" the climactic scene in the courtroom, but other than that, it's a fantastic film.<br />
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<b>1. "Home Alone" (1989 Theatrical Feature, Type 5)</b><br />
<i>Upside: </i>Burglars. Booby traps. An escapade of a hilarious family that forgot its most hilarious member. And, of course, the magnificent music of John Williams. Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is a memorable character that stays with you, and he's the closest thing to a real kid in anything on this list. I also especially like how loving and careful his mother (Catherine O'Hara) is, and their reunion is, in its own way, as good a scene as any slapstick this movie deals you.<br />
<i>Downside: </i>There is none. Nothing wrong with this film at all when it comes to being a good Christmas show. It nails the concept. Unlike the fantasy installments you see on the list, this one is real and comedic at the same time and doesn't have any downsides to how real or fantastic it is.<br />
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So closes my list, and if this were a video, cue me falling over after getting hit in the head with a can of paint.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-17339764583182548372017-11-22T17:45:00.001-05:002020-05-18T15:44:12.075-04:00My Top 10 Favorite Television Commercials<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since most of my screenplays are based on TV commercials, I figured I'd rank my top ten favorite TV commercials I've ever seen. Many, if not most of these, have made me cry, but very few seem to have the magic touch that results in a screenplay.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XnzfRqkRxU" target="_blank">10. "The Camp Gyno", Hello Flo</a><br />
This ad for women's hygiene products may be a little disgusting because it uses words like "vagina", "menstruation", and "period", but its unrepentant usage of those terms isn't what I like about it. It's the unstoppable girl characteristics and assertiveness the girl (Macy McGrail) shows in her leadership role. That enough sealed the deal.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toH4GcPQXpc" target="_blank">9. "This Girl Can", Sport England</a><br />
This ad is aimed at getting girls to exercise and, to an extent, avoid the false perceptions that come with their body's shape and size. Yet another emotional "femvertisement" that really made me emotional, yet I did not cry.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk" target="_blank">8. "Real Beauty Sketches", Dove</a><br />
This ad was meant to show that a person sees themselves negatively and focuses on their flaws, while others are capable of seeing the good in them. It went viral in 2014 and is considered the first of the recent trend in "femvertisements".<br />
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<a href="https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AIqw/barbie-imagine-the-possibilities" target="_blank">7. "Imagine the Possibilities", Barbie</a><br />
This ad asks "What would happen if a girl could be whatever she imagines?" and shows girls fantasizing about doing stereotypically male jobs. You're noticing a trend here, I'm guessing. It's hard to believe even Barbie, long considered an ambassador of negative female stereotypes, is getting in on femvertising.<br />
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6<a href="https://www.ispot.tv/ad/A30Z/audi-s5-super-bowl-2017-daughter" target="_blank">. "Daughter", Audi</a><br />
This Audi 2017 Super Bowl commercial tells the story of a father who is worried that the skills of his daughter will be valued less simply because she is female, but sees his doubts erased when she takes the checkered flag in a go-kart race. There's a pretty big gap between those who liked and disliked this commercial, and I definitely liked it.<br />
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5.<a href="https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7jNT/under-armour-i-will-what-i-want-featuring-misty-copeland" target="_blank"> "I Will What I Want", Under Armour</a><br />
Here, a young girl (Raiya Goodman) reads a rejection letter Misty Copeland, the world's most celebrated ballerina, got at age 13, while Copeland dances for the camera. The effect is astounding, and even boosted Under Armour's sales to women over tenfold.<br />
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4<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQXZ_g2d5ao" target="_blank">. "Inspire Her Mind", Verizon</a><br />
Actress Reshma Saujani narrates this ad as a mother who wants her daughter to grow up to be "pretty". The girl is drawn away from a STEM career because of her mother's urging. This ad communicates a message of a field that needs more girls, and furthers the "future is female" mantra.<br />
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3. <u>Any Target Christmas commercial from the past three years.</u><br />
These commercials feature kids, talking Target toy aisle staples, and Twizzler octopi (occasionally), and I like them because the acting performances by the kids (Shiloh Nelson, Olivia Trujillo, and Bobby Sloan starred in the 2015 "Holiday Odyssey" campaign; Kylie Cantrall starred alongside John Legend, Isabella Russo, and Chrissy Teigen in the 2016 "Toycracker" campaign) are top notch - almost as good as the performances of the kids in "E.T." These kid actors are the kind you'd want in front of a crowd to deliver the right message, even if the message isn't "buy this at Target".<br />
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<a href="https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7xY4/always-super-bowl-2015-like-a-girl" target="_blank">2. "Like a Girl", Always</a><br />
Directed and voiced by my idol Lauren Greenfield of Chelsea Pictures L.A., this ad asks, "What does it mean to do something 'like a girl'?" To young girls, it means to do their best. To everyone else, it means to do poorly. You just have to experience it, the way I did on Super Bowl Sunday 2015 - and I ran into another room bawling and watched no more of the big game that year. This commercial also partially inspired my screenplay "Fearless Girl".<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-PgSkzao_U" target="_blank">1. "The Wish Writer", Macy's</a><br />
The ad that I adapted into a screenplay last year at Christmas. The ad that started my career as a screenwriter. The ad that tells the instantly classic story of a girl who acquires a magic pencil, uses it to do good deeds for others, and finds her good heart rewarded when her brother uses it to get her a gift she'll never forget. This ad stands out among other Christmas stories because it blends reality and fantasy perfectly and shows kids at Christmastime as they really are.<br />
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And it was an ad I'll never forget. This list may change, for as Master Yoda says, "Difficult to see....always in motion is the future."<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-70374106420781585762017-11-14T15:23:00.001-05:002020-05-15T20:55:38.580-04:00The Complete Guide to The Family Programming Month (And My November 1 Post Wasn't That Already)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A couple weeks back I posted some of the biggest telecasts of the Family Programming Month (what they are, mostly). Now, I am posting a complete guide to ALL network television family and big-time programming during the month, an unabridged list of where and when you can catch these telecasts. All times Eastern.<br />
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First up, the lineup on...<br />
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<li><b>4:30 PM, Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23): NFL Football: L.A. Chargers at Dallas Cowboys. </b>Thanksgiving Day football game number two. Keep an eye on Dak Prescott. </li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): Frosty the Snowman. </b>A lovable snowman comes to life but will melt away unless a little girl with a big heart can protect him and his magical hat. 51st straight year on CBS. </li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): Frosty Returns. </b>A sequel to Frosty the Snowman that pales in comparison and cheapens the original. I advise you not to watch it. </li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Saturday, November 25: Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire. </b>Whatever<b> </b>that<b> </b>is. </li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Saturday, November 25: Robbie the Reindeer: Legends of the Lost Tribe. </b>I presume this is the sequel to <i>Hooves of Fire. </i></li>
<li><b>9:00 PM, Saturday, November 25: The Story of Santa Claus. </b>A 1994 attempt to compete with the classic <i>Santa Claus is Coming to Town </i>for the prize of most accepted Santa backstory.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Tuesday, November 28: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. </b>The Rankin-Bass classic returns to network TV for a 53rd straight year. Burl Ives tells the story and you've been living under a rock if you need more information about this one. </li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Saturday, December 9: Encore presentation of <i>Rudolph.</i></b></li>
<li><b>9:00 PM, Saturday, December 9: Encore presentation of <i>Frosty.</i></b></li>
<li><b>9:30 PM, Saturday, December 9: Encore presentation of <i>Frosty Returns.</i></b></li>
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Next up:</div>
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<li><b>8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 22: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. </b>Charlie Brown finds himself roped into throwing a Thanksgiving feast for the neighborhood children. Hilarity ensues. Don't miss.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): Santa Claus is Coming to Town. </b>A mailman answers children's questions about why Santa Claus does what he does and how he came to be. Stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, and Keenan Wynn.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Monday, November 27: CMA Country Christmas. </b>I presume this is just country singers singing Christmas songs.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Thursday, November 30: A Charlie Brown Christmas. </b>The Peanuts gang celebrates the season. But something is missing, and only Linus knows what. </li>
<li><b>9:00 PM, Thursday, November 30: The Wonderful World of Disney Magical Holiday Celebration. </b>I've never watched this, so I'm assuming it's like a variety show.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Thursday, December 7: Shrek the Halls. </b>A Christmas special featuring Shrek. I don't like the look of this.</li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Thursday, December 7: Toy Story That Time Forgot. </b>Something involving Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and time travel. I've never watched it.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Sunday, December 10: Frozen. </b>I actually have an easier time with <i>The Sound of Music </i>being telecast at Christmas than I do <i>Frozen, </i>even though the latter's ice/snow themes make it more of a Christmas movie than the former. </li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Thursday, December 14: Prep & Landing. </b>Bizarre names for elves. Yes, Prep and Landing are elves.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Saturday, December 16: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. </b>The other, lesser known Peanuts Christmas special, with all the commercialism the first one dissed.</li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Tuesday, December 19: Prep and Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice. </b>The sequel to Prep and Landing - that's all I know.</li>
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<li><b>9:00 AM, Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23): The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. </b>Celebrities, marching bands from around the country, and other acts gather in New York for a ceremonial parade. The biggest attraction, however, is always the Macy's commercials that air during the parade. (For me, at least.)</li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23): NFL Football: New York Giants at Washington Redskins. </b>The Thanksgiving night football game. </li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): How the Grinch Stole Christmas. </b>For the 51st straight year on NBC, Chuck Jones' classic cartoon will delight us and make our hearts grow three sizes. Or thirty, if you read my Christianized version.</li>
<li><b>8:30 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): The Trolls Christmas Special. </b>A world premiere of a new special based on last year's movie. Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick return to the lead roles.</li>
<li><b>10:00 PM, Monday, November 27: A Very Pentatonix Christmas. </b>Pentatonix sings Christmas songs.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 29: Christmas in Rockefeller Center. </b>Live from New York, a Christmas variety show featuring oodles of celebrities.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 6: Encore presentation of <i>A Very Pentatonix Christmas.</i></b></li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Saturday, December 9: It's a Wonderful Life. </b>The classic 1946 movie about a man who sees what life would be like if he were never born. Never watched, but will possibly do so this year.</li>
<li><b>8:00 PM, Christmas Eve (Sunday, December 24): Encore presentation of <i>It's a Wonderful Life.</i></b></li>
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So there you have it - every single family telecast in the Family Programming Month. Only problem is...it's impossible to catch them all <i>on television. </i></div>
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But isn't that why we have Netflix and Amazon Prime?</div>
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Let's just hope Netflix doesn't kill TV. </div>
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-1768694174933972772017-11-01T19:18:00.000-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.657-04:00Update"Isabella vs. the Womp Womp" is cancelled. Upon watching the Old Navy music video that inspired the idea, I've decided I need to tell a story with similar themes that's not necessarily based on that ad.<br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-5529851928577417812017-11-01T15:59:00.001-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.734-04:00November 1: The Countdown Begins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's officially on. Slowly approaching is The Family Programming Month - the stretch from Thanksgiving to Christmas when network TV - CBS, ABC, and NBC - airs programs that can attract the entire family. Not all of these telecasts are Christmas or Thanksgiving related, but most of them are, and no telecasts during The Family Programming Month are bigger than the Big Eight.<br />
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What are the Big Eight? They are the telecasts that advertisers rush to get their commercials played during (though nowhere near as big as that football game in February). They are the eight most watched television events during The Family Programming Month. They are:<br />
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<li>The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade</li>
<li><i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i></li>
<li><i>Frosty the Snowman</i></li>
<li><i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas </i>(the 30-minute cartoon, not the feature film with Jim Carrey)</li>
<li><i>A Charlie Brown Christmas</i></li>
<li><i>A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving</i></li>
<li><i>Santa Claus is Coming to Town</i></li>
<li><i>It's a Wonderful Life</i></li>
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Here's a brief (just kidding, it's in-depth) history of these seven telecasts.</div>
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<b>THE MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE </b>is an annual event held in New York City since 1926. The parade ends at Herald Square outside the giant Macy's store in New York and often features celebrities and/or singers, giant balloons, and marching bands. Since the mid-1950s, NBC has televised it every year. This year, it will air <b>Thursday, November 23 at 9:00 AM EST on NBC. </b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>Macy's is close to bankruptcy. </div>
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<b>RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER </b>is a 1965 hour-long stop-motion puppet fantasy that was made by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, the celebrated team behind many holiday classics. The special is based on Gene Autry's 1949 song and stars Burl Ives, Billie Richards, and Paul Soles. <i>Rudolph </i>premiered Sunday, December 12, 1965 on NBC as an episode of "The General Electric Fantasy Hour" from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. NBC played it for 45 years until 2011, when it moved to its current home on CBS. This year, it will air twice: <b>Tuesday, November 28 at 8:00 PM EST on CBS </b>and <b>Saturday, December 9 at 8:00 PM EST on CBS.</b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>The original Rudolph stop-motion figure still exists and is in a private collection. </div>
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<b>FROSTY THE SNOWMAN</b> premiered Sunday, December 3, 1967 on CBS from 7:30 to 8:00 PM. The special is based on Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins' 1951 song and stars Jackie Vernon, Jimmy Durante, and Billy DeWolfe. CBS has aired the 30-minute cartoon every year since its premiere. This year, it will air twice: <b>Friday, November 24 at 8:00 PM EST on CBS</b> and <b>Saturday, December 9 at 9:00 PM EST on CBS. </b>Both telecasts will be directly followed by 1993's <i>Frosty Returns, </i>which I encourage you to avoid at all costs.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>If you watch and listen closely, "Christopher Columbus" is among rejected names for Frosty.</div>
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<b>HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS </b>is a 1967 30-minute animated special based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book of the same name. This animated adaptation gave the Grinch his iconic green color and the unforgettable performances of Thurl Ravenscroft as the narrator and Boris Karloff as the Grinch. The special premiered Sunday, December 10, 1967 on NBC from 6:30 to 7:00 PM and has been aired by NBC every year since its premiere. This year, it will air <b>Friday, November 24 at 8:00 PM EST on NBC. </b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>The Grinch is green because he represents the corporate greed for money.</div>
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<b>A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS </b>is a 1968 30-minute animated special based on Charles M. Schultz's <i>Peanuts </i>comic strip. It premiered Friday, December 6, 1968 on CBS from 8:00 to 8:30 PM. CBS played it for 36 years until 2002, when it moved to its current home on ABC. This year, it will air <b>Thursday, November 30 at 8:00 PM EST on ABC. </b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>Despite its negative portrayal of commercialism, it was commissioned by Coca-Cola. </div>
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<b>A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING </b>is a 1972 30-minute animated special also based on the <i>Peanuts </i>strip. It premiered on Thanksgiving Day 1972 from 7:30 to 8:00 PM on ABC. This year, it will air <b>Wednesday, November 22 at 8:00 PM EST on ABC. </b> </div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>My grandmother also lives in a condominium.</div>
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<b>SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN </b>is a 1970 hour-long stop-motion puppet fantasy that provides an origin story for Santa Claus, as well as being the origin of the classic song. The special premiered Friday, December 4, 1970 on ABC from 7:30 to 8:30 PM and stars Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, and Keenan Wynn. It is currently a staple of Freeform, an ABC cable affiliate, and doesn't air on ABC / network television every year, but typically gets the highest ratings for Freeform of the year. This year, however, it will air <b>Friday, November 24 at 8:00 PM EST on ABC. </b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>It's not broadcast in its full format anymore. ABC cuts two songs, trims two other songs in half, and abridges the opening nowadays.</div>
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<b>IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE </b>is a classic 1946 movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. The movie flopped during its original 1946 theatrical run, but in the 1960s, when it started being a TV staple, it evolved into a classic. Although the story and movie are in the public domain, it is almost always aired on NBC, and this year will air twice: <b>Saturday, December 9 at 8:00 PM EST on NBC </b>and <b>Sunday, December 24 at 8:00 PM EST on NBC.</b><br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">A factoid about this telecast: </i>It's a bit disgusting how they did some of the special effects in this movie. Some of them involved coffee stains.<br />
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<b> SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALICHRISTMAS</b><br />
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But these aren't the only family movies that air at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is a long history of movies that have NOTHING to do with either of those holidays airing at that time because of how ripe it is for family-oriented programming. This is why I call it "The Family Programming Month" and not "The Christmas TV Month." Here are five movies that have a history of being broadcast at Christmas and Thanksgiving but have nothing to do with those holidays.<br />
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<b>"The Sound of Music"</b>: This might be the best-known example of a non-Christmas-related movie becoming a Christmas staple. This is part of the reason <i>My Favorite Things </i>is often on musicians' Christmas albums, the other being the fact that the song contains many instances of winter-related imagery. (And no, it's not because the song sounds like a wish list. Who's ever found raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens in their stockings?) For more information on <i>The Sound of Music </i>becoming a Christmas tradition, click <a href="http://housewifeplus.bangordailynews.com/2016/12/19/blog/how-did-the-sound-of-music-become-a-christmas-movie/">here</a>.<br />
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<b>"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory": </b>This 1971 movie musical was frequently aired by CBS at Christmastime, though never for more than five years consecutive. Unlike the songs from <i>The Sound of Music, </i>I've never heard "Pure Imagination'' or "Oompa Loompa" on a Christmas album or on K104.7 radio.<br />
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<b>"Mary Poppins": </b>You might be noticing that movie musicals have a trend of being telecast at Christmas. From 1966 to 1999, ABC aired <i>Mary Poppins </i>annually at Christmastime. I have heard some of the songs from that movie on Christmas albums, though not as much as the <i>Sound of Music </i>soundtrack.<br />
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<b>"The Wizard of Oz": </b>Ah, the granddaddy of all the movie musicals. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 all the way to 2000, NBC aired <i>The Wizard of Oz </i>during The Family Programming Month. I have no record of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on Christmas albums, but that may be because <i>Wizard of Oz </i>usually aired on Thanksgiving Day, directly after the parade.<br />
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<b>"Star Wars": </b>Sometimes just the original film, and sometimes the whole original trilogy, but, yes, <i>Star Wars </i>was a Christmas staple (and still is - The Last Jedi comes out December 14.) In 1982 and 1984, CBS aired the original <i>Star Wars </i>movie at Christmastime. From 1985 to 1989, NBC aired the entire original trilogy all Christmas Day. There is no need for Star Wars scores played by Kenny G, because I already associate "Rey's Theme" and such with December.<br />
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<b>STILL THE ONLY TIME FOR FAMILY PROGRAMMING?</b><br />
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Well, I'm pushing to change that. On the other side of my big break, back to school may become a big family programming time - my screenplay <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pD1KQoWzxxpAm7ARqC7fdmAsMgHDSUuEiH3Px-4A3lY/preview">"Surviving Middle School"</a> and my idea-in-the-works <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RybcC2ef2zg">"Isabella vs. the Womp Womp"</a> (click to see Old Navy ad that is my inspiration) could shape it into such.<br />
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But for now, there's not really such thing as a television special that's not a Christmas television special. Could my plans to publish a book entitled "The Illustrated Screenplays of Leo Finelli" change that? Could that be my big break?<br />
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You tell me, loyal readers.<br />
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Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350327209270547782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-22440521394793821242017-10-19T11:43:00.000-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.838-04:00My Second 'SNL' Celebrity Jeopardy Sketch<br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989759380718462612.post-10711065237297480652017-09-28T14:39:00.000-04:002020-05-15T20:55:38.914-04:00Banned Books Week 2017: ThursdayWelcome to another post on banned books - and thanks for your comments, Walt.<br />
First, sorry for not doing a post yesterday. I was too distracted by an incident involving the Oogieloves (don't ask) but here's my post for today, on books<i> in our house</i> that I haven't mentioned have been challenged and/or banned.<br />
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<b>"Frog and Toad are Friends"</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Because of the use of "shut up".<br />
Yes, you read that correctly. A coalition of concerned parents in Pennsylvania asked that this book be removed because it used "a rude phrase that was never properly explained as being rude". Even more surprisingly, it was banned in that PA school district.<br />
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<b>"Charlotte's Web"</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Talking animals.<br />
Yes, you also read that correctly. An evangelical parent in the 1980s believed that depicting animals communicating on the same level as humans was "an insult to God's handiwork." But why this book and not the millions of other books about talking animals?<br />
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<b><i>The Chronicles of Narnia </i>series</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Racism.<br />
Yes, these books have been accused of being racist. There's a race of people in the books called the Calormenes, who ride camels, have lots of facial hair, and live in the desert. And for the most part, they are also antagonists. These books have also been banned because they are "too religious" for a public school.<br />
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<b>The <i>Little House </i>series</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Racism.<br />
However, the racism in these books was representative of their time to use terms like "Indian" and "darkie" to refer to these ethnic groups. Other classics use this type of language as well.<br />
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<b>"The Giving Tree"</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>A widespread theory that the boy and the tree are male and female stereotypes.<br />
...and also because of the same issue that got <i>The Lorax </i>in trouble - "criminalizing logging".<br />
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<b>"James and the Giant Peach"</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>A variety of reasons.<br />
These include: "criminalizing the act of authority figures giving children work to do", "using offensive language", and being "anti-family". I cannot understand the meaning of "anti-family", but this book definitely isn't anti-family. <i>James and the Giant Peach </i>is in fact one of the most frequently banned (if not the most frequently banned) children's books of all time.<br />
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<b>The dictionary</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Contained a definition for "****".<br />
And "****", and "****", and "****". But isn't defining words the dictionary's job, even if they're offensive?<br />
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<b>What Would Jesus Do? for Kids</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Again, a variety of reasons.<br />
Of course it was banned for being "too religious", but also for containing "violent words such as 'fight' and 'kill'," and for "strong and/or offensive language." Some of these challenges were even in Christian schools.<br /><br />
<b>"A Wrinkle in Time"</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>Too supernatural.<br />
Those evangelical Christian parents never get tired of complaining about witchcraft and magic, do they?<br />
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<b>"The Wizard of Oz"</b><br />
<b>Why: </b>This is the most ridiculous thing ever.<br />
Are you ready for it?<br />
Okay, here it is.<br />
It was challenged because....Dorothy's slippers weren't the same color they are in the movie. (The slippers are silver in the book but red in the movie, you may not have known that.)<br />
Apparently, a parent whose child had seen the movie but not read the book feared that he would be "baffled" by the differences.<br />
Makes no sense, but from reading these posts, you probably have learned that most reasons for challenging are ridiculous.<br />
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Tomorrow: the 10 most banned titles of all time. Some I have already mentioned, some I haven't.<br />
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Please don't stop reading my blog when I go over the reasons "The Grinch" has been banned - for the third time. All I'm doing is reporting the facts.<br />
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