4. Thundernews (or Letterball)
David Bush – A Year of Living Emailously
For those of you new to my quarterly newsletter (the 4th now), forgive my non-consensual invasion of your inbox. And/or send a reply telling me to FO, and I will maturely and unbegrudgingly remove you from the list (of people permitted on the space-ark).
To those of you old to this one-year-oldsletter, you’ll note that I ditched my usual system of categorizing my updates and recommendations as ‘Awesome Things’, ‘Awesome People’ and ‘Humblebrags’ and glommed them all into one megalist. Why? Because there was just way too much overlap this trimester.
Then, because I was already being such a brave iconoclast, I also bucked the traditional Blackadder naming convention and thus saved your inboxes from the subject line ‘David Bush Goes Forth’. You’re Welcome!
Prior to listifying, I’ll confess that though the past three months of post-sequestration retirement have been filled with plenty of delightful events (see below), the actual writing that should now be my day job has been a frustrating struggle. Even spitting out this little word-blurt was a bit of a slog. And yet… here we are!
So now, adolessly, the Megalist of Recent Awesomeness:
1. The Austin Film Festival – the highlight of my last three months was attending AFF for the first time. Not because my play, Mature, got me second-rounder status. Not because of the free drinks (thanks Bogle wine). Maybe because of the excellent panels and roundtables featuring writers like Craig Mazin and Meg Lefauve (both of whom have great podcasts!). But definitely because of the incredible community of filmmakers and (primarily) writers who infested the city and were endlessly, delightfully open, accepting and conversational. Disclaimer: this fest is not for everyone, but if you’re a writer, it probably is for you. Cuz for me… it was heaven. I’ll be going every year until either it or I cease to exist.
2. Elegance Bratton and The Inspection – I missed seeing this film and its director at AFF but then caught it on opening night of NOFF and thank God I did. The autobiographical premise – a gay black man joins the Marines to escape homelessness – was obviously compelling, but I was utterly unprepared for how perfectly executed this film is. And positive! Upon inspection The Inspection is pro-tolerance, pro-acceptance and pro-empathy in EVERY direction. Also, it’s hilarious, getting one of the biggest laughs I’ve ever heard in a theater. AND THEN Elegance spoke about his film, and I can only assume that his middle name is ‘Craftsmanship’ because I have never heard any creator so clearly articulate the precision of the choices they made at every step of the creative process. I would un-retire from Script Supervising to learn from this man on set. (If you know him, pass that along). Oh, and obviously, go see the film!!!!
3. Oculus – I’m the least video-gamey person ever but playing Beatsaber once at a friend’s party (thanks John & Deshi) got me hooked on this VR gadget and now I basically live in it, like the antisocial mole person you already knew I am. App recommendations: for fitness, Supernatural. Because holy hell, boxing a barrage of floating targets while standing atop Mt. Everest is an incredible workout. And for productivity: Immersed. It’s a virtual office that integrates with your actual workspace and turns your life into Minority Report. But only in the good ways. I hope.
4. The Banshees of Inisherin – Not only does McDonagh, Gleason & Farrell’s post-In Bruges re-collab feature a couple of awesome sounds in its title, it also is one of the most explicit, transparent and for me deep-cutting metaphors for the challenge of being both an artist and a social (but mortal) human that I’ve ever seen. And the analogy goes much deeper than that. I want to talk about it. But first, you must see it!
5. Inner Child by Donyae Asante – The first play of New Orleans’ Actor’s Apothecary was a resounding success, due not only to the diligent work of the Apothecary’s owners, and to an incredible cast of local talent, but also to a wonderful script (and lead performance) by musician Donyae Asante, tackling the theme of intersectionality (with which I am obsessed) in a mature, complex and economical way. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
6. Poker Nights – Malcolm Jamal Warner and Casino Royale got me into Poker early, but I hadn’t played in ages until two months ago when I began hosting weekly Texas Hold’em on Monday nights. It’s been a blast losing money to an eclectic group of fine friends. If you live in New Orleans or are passing through and want to join the game, let me know, as there’s always an open seat (made available by the mysterious disappearance of whoever beat me the previous week).
7. Thinking Fast and Slow – This wonderfully well-researched and yet accessible book by Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman is one of the most fascinating dives into the human mind that I’ve ever read. I’d put it with The Selfish Gene for its capacity to change your (or at least my) view of the world. And I’m only half-way through! Why? Because, though it’s consistently riveting, it’s so rich that I need to digest it very very slowly. #WellTitled
8. Postmodernform Candles – I’m an unabashed (or only slightly abashed) candle enthusiast, so I have to shout out these beautifully designed, wonderfully scented, long-burning candles. The fact that their creator, Melissa, is an absolute superstar and former college classmate of yours truly… irrelevant. Her excellence aside, my candlebar is high, and these waxy beauties easily surpass it. Enjoy!
9. Run!!! – As an experiment I wrote an extremely contained (one actor, one room) thriller. And to make it even more bizarre, I wrote it in second person. Yes, the first line of the script is ‘You are a woman’. Pretty obviously unmarketable, right? And yet, this script has been getting more attention than most of my previous endeavors. So, Run, I can’t wait to see where you land and how you develop.
10. Tim Minchin’s 9 Life Lessons – I didn’t want to leave this list unrounded with just 9 items, and what better way to hit ten than with a commencement speech that doesn’t? Other qualms with Minchin’s occasional bullheadedness aside, this speech infected me with its brilliance three years ago and it still flares up every couple of months. Hopefully I’ve now contaged it along to you as well. So there!
Okie dokie, that’s the list, folks, and though I’m tempted to further put off any accidental creative output by diving into recommendations of John Oliver and The Rehearsal (shoutout former UCF classmate, and DP extraordinaire Marco Cordero) and House of the Dragon and not Rings of Power, instead I’m gonna bite the bullet and, after looking up where that phrase originated, try and rub a few words together in the hopes of breeding some dialogue, or some action, or some… you know, movie word stuff.
And you… you do the same. Even if you’re not a writer, stitch some words together and send them my way. Seriously, give a shout any time and let me know what you’ve been up to! And/or what I should be up to (cuz it’s not procrastination if someone recommended it).
Until then…
Cheers!
David
Oh, a final re-reminder: if you’d like me to unremember you (from this quarterly email) remember to remind me.