Yeah I had a birthday last weekend. It was sublime. Skyping with loved ones, Hamlet performed by the Independent Shakespeare Company (I'm going again on the 17th, for the 3rd time on their final performance - yes, I'm a groupie). I also drank a lot of free wine, hung out with the actors afterward, got to do some silly improv that involved a four-legged stool and a giant, imaginary Ouija board, and then had really good Mexican food with sangria. My roommate treated me for the evening. All I had to pay for was bus fare.
Speaking of which, I'm going car shopping this Saturday. Say a prayer, make a wish and send me some good vibes that I find exactly what I'm looking for in my price range, and that I don't have to deal with a skanke salesman. I've gotten so used to not having a car, it's going to be weird. Not to mention expensive - insurance and gas.
Holy crapola gas prices out here are $4.50. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat the f************ck???
This week has been interesting. I'm thiiisss close to finishing "Arapatan" (current shitty-ass title of my sci fi script because I suck at titles). But once that's done, I'm sending it to my reader (a former student of mine from I.C. who now works at Nickelodeon in legal). He will also send me something, hopefully, so we can get this writing group going at least as 2 people to start with.
It being Lent, and me being a Christian Buddhist (or Buddhist Christian?) I've also found myself, as I often do, craving repeated viewings of Jesus Christ Superstar. And you know what? I really dig Jesus. I think Jesus was pretty much exactly like Ted Neeley, insane high notes and all.
In all honesty, I get the chills every time I watch this, and the other day, I bawled my head off. I then launched into an online obsession with Ted Neeley, in which I found out the dude is closer to God than the average rock-n-roll drummer. He describes how his life was changed by playing that role, and how he loves spending hours with fans after his shows (his most recent stage performance of JCS was last December in Utah, of all places, and he's done other plays, and sings with his Little Big Band). He gets how important the representation of Jesus as a real person is to many people, and he seems, from all accounts, to be generous and patient as, well, as a saint.
In truth, Ted Neeley was pretty hott. Isn't that weird? Cause he's, like, playing God, and stuff. He's human and vulnerable and in pain, and (most) women can't resist a vulnerable, sensitive guy with such an impeccable moral compass. Which is probably why there are so many Ted Heads (as the fans call themselves) because he seems to embody this sensitivity in his real life.
On the DVD commentary with Neeley and the director, Norman Jewison, he's in tears numerous times, saying over and over again "I miss you, Carl," referring to Carl Anderson, who played Judas and who had just died only months before the DVD commentary was recorded in 2004. Apparently, Neeley and Anderson had talked for hours outside shooting - Jewison had separated the cast according to groups in the film, and they were isolated, filming in the middle of the desert in Israel - about the relationship between Jesus and Judas. And it shows. Check out the intense chemistry between Anderson and Neeley in this scene, when Jesus and Judas realize they're on opposite sides of destiny, and then Jesus' devastated look at the end:
So my friends, even if you're not Christian, it doesn't matter. If you haven't seen Jesus Christ Superstar, watch it. The Andrew Lloyd Webber songs are rock n roll heaven, not Phantom of the Opera. The intensity of every performance, and the bookends that place the story outside film will not disappoint. And something to remember, if you see the film: at the very end, with the cross silhouetted by the sunset, you'll see a shepherd and his flock crossing left to right. This was NOT planned in any way. This shepherd and his flock literally appeared as they were filming this closing shot, moving the director and crew to tears. How incredibly perfect.
