"That Norman Something ..."

Do keep up ... funny  ^,,^

There are two facts established in my life: 1) I am a certifiable Crazy Cat Lady; and 2) Norman Reedus was, at a convention, nice to my kid.  He didn't have to be, he chose to be.  He took time to spend with her, knowing she was ill. Not hours or anything, but enough time to make a difference to her...and me. He stands as the wallpaper on my phone not because of a cute mole or gorgeous eyes, but because he is a constant reminder that there is good in the world when you don't expect it and people can be down right amazing.

He. Was. Nice to. My Kid. Need I say more?

With those two facts in mind, is it any wonder the photo above is my phone wallpaper?

With that prelude said...

In prep for the NaNoWriMo, a National Writing Program, I was waiting in line to get a script filled with my husband. I was reading a book on surviving an apocalyptic event, as one does while waiting in line.

My husband, having already found the wallpaper had been changed out the night before, not only accepted my explanation that "this man reminds me there is good in the world" but my husband was making faces, trying to mimic both Mr. Reedus and the cat in the photo.  My husband can be silly waiting in line.

We get to the register and are being checked out by this new guy who gets no prompt from me. I swear, he got no prompt from me ...

He sees my book.

"Oh cool," he says, "zombies."

"No," I tell him.  "My story is about creating a plague. No zombies involved."

"Oh, that's too bad," he says. "Have you seen that show Walking Dead?"

"Yeah," I said. "Saw it for the first time last week.  Pretty good."

Hubby's eyes close.  "Don't," he whispers.

Guy goes on (this is his exact dialogue)"Oh, you should watch it. They have this character on there. Man, he is bad ass. His name is Daryl. Have you heard of him?"

With pursed lips and half grin, I nod.  "Yeah.  Maybe. I might remember him."

I'm trying not to laugh. Hubby is shaking his head with a smirk.  His "Don't" get's louder.

Guy is still talking.  "He's played by the guy ... Norman something,  He's done some other things, too."

I hold up my phone to show my wallpaper.  Hubby kicks me in the foot under the counter.

"You mean him?" I ask.

"Oh," he moans. "Yeah, That's him. You've heard of him."

"Maybe some," I smile.

"Did you ever hear of this other movie he did? It's called 'Boondock Saints'.  Bad ass, film man. You have to see. You have to." (he liked the term bad ass).

"I'll look into that," I say. "Bookdock Saints?"

And this guy, on his first day of work behind the counter at the pharmacy where I am trying to pick up a scripts, pulls his shirt almost all the way off to show where he **used** to have that "poem thing they said in the film" tattooed, as one does on the first day of a new job.

"I was too drunk when I got it, though," he said. "Had to have it covered ... " ...by this really weird flower/ink spot thingie about a foot and a half wide.

John, the head guy here, he is actually a friend of mine watching the whole exchange.  He was ready to kill this kid before we got to the counter. By the time the kids shirt came off?  His first day looked to be last.

He was still talking about Daryl as we got what we came for and backed away, nodding politely as he recommended episodes to show Daryl off.

I have never seen such a huge Daryl fan and I have met some real Daryl fans.

We thanked him and headed out.

Let me summarize: I, at no time, brought up any of these subjects. I was reading a book on survival tactics for my new novella and had no way of knowing the new clerk was going to strip for the sake of Saints.

Sure was funny, though,

Wait for the Back-Up ...

It’s National Detective Day.  I was informed this by one of my favorite detectives and it made me realize that though I have taken Boondock Saints apart piece by piece, I never took a step back and addressed one of the best aspects of the whole movie: the back-up singers.  What is a band if you don’t have the harmony in the background to keep things on que?

There is never a time in a story when the anti-hero will take on the real bad guys, bring them down without a little smidgen of help from the three men in the back row who are in fact, primary to all the action going on on stage.

Detectives Duffy, Dolly and Greenly.

Who else would you ever want to have your back?

I love these guys. I always have. Even as the franchise first took off.

 … first time I “saw” Boondock Saints was 2006. We were in Germany and I was face down on the couch with severe jet lag when my kids were playing it in the other room.  First line I ever heard was “This here is McCoy. We get a Spock and we have ourselves an away team …” and my head actually came up and I remember thinking in my exhaustion: “That. Was. F******. Funny."  (Face back to couch)

Greenly with his humor even when he hung his head and had to get an espresso, twist of lemon...and I think I will be wanting a bagel with that …”

Dolly, with his awared cluelessness, where “Five sevenish isn’t uncommonly short …”

Duffy … okay I can play a favorite and he always was mine.  The raise of the hands in defeat when Greenly muttered “I’m not getting him a f***** bagel …”; the smile when Dolly proclaimed the height thing.

              

The three of them playing off each other in perfect harmony: 
(Greenly singing at a crime scene)

Dolly and Duffy watching in bewilderment.  “What the …” Dolly mutters.  “I have no idea,” Duffy says, shaking his head.

These three detectives put their careers and their morals aside to help in an unusual situation they never saw coming.  They would lay down their lives, not only for The Boys, but for each other and even as the story progresses into the sequel, they are not merely trying to cover their own asses when Bloom arrives, but still protect their charges, too.

Loyalty. Guts.  And loss, as one does go down for the cause to great mourning of the community.   

            

Boondock Saints is not a favorite because of the over abundance of hot guys --which I confess it has--but it is a masterpiece of storytelling from Troy Duffy. From plot to sequence of events, to the characterizations that steals every scene.  The dialogue is amazing, conveying emotion and impact … no character stands alone and each one is there for the other.

The poor cat, but who didn’t laugh?

Have you ever really listened to Greenly explain the “crusher man” theory?

I have heard rumor that one of the three has asked to be killed off in the next installment because he feels his character would eventually feel too much guilt over the events. I won’t say where I heard it. I just don't like it.

David: If the glass had been broken from the inside ...

Dolly: Blood splatter indicates ...

Duffy: There is no #3. He only f***** up twice.

I love it.  I love these guys.

If you happen to be in Boston and need a detective?  Don’t look too far. There are a couple hanging out who will help you, even if they have to take walk on the wrong side of the law. And they will never say a word to give you up.  Not even to save themselves.  Bravo detectives.

Leo is long over due and I rewatched Catch Me If You Can can and everything.  But with the move in place (between houses and at a hotel with three cats and a husband) it's hard to focus on that movie.

Blood Diamond came on in the hotel the first night, but the opening scenes scared me too much to go further.  I like hands.

But Catch Me If You Can, that was a really, really a great movie that showed and amazing range of a terrific actor. Starting when he was only sixteen years old in character, the twenty-eight year old Leo managed to pull it off without a hitch and a totally believable fashion. By the end of the movie, he had aged in appearance and in person and he knows more than the people tracking him. Long hair with that wicked cough and he was still out of that airplane and running for his life.

Only there was no home.  Not in the past.  His future lay ahead of him in this fairly accurate true to life story of a man who did something no one else had accomplished.  He found a way to live the life he wanted, learned to run and stay ahead and then accepted what he had to face... only to be offered a new chance and new life, becoming friends with the very man who brought him down.

This was a great story, portrayed excellent by two excellent actors Leonardo DiCapro and Tom Hanks.  It's one of those movies where you look at it and think "Could they have pulled Hanks out and added Pitt and still made it work?

I don't think so. I think this movie needed the chemistry between these two stars to make it work.

“There appears to be some as-yet unknown underlying system that perfectly balances these various facets in such a way that makes it impossible to take one’s eyes off him from the second he comes into frame, even when he shares the screen with other handsome heartthrobs.”

Somebody gets me!!

Catch Me If You Can Trivia

I am amazingly behind in my Leo posts, due very much in part to being very much behind on a book deadline.  So I went over to IMDB and found these interesting trivia facts about the film CATCH ME IF YOU CAN to keep you amused until I can switch gears.

I set my favorite apart from the rest.

According to the real Frank Abagnale Jr. approximately 80 percent of the movie is true.

The film shows Frank Abagnale Jr. on the FBI's Most Wanted list. In real life, however, he never made the list - it's reserved for violent criminals.

To get her to achieve the way he wanted her to sloppily kiss Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg asked Amy Adams to pretend she was starving to death and eating a cheeseburger.

In a deleted scene, Frank dresses as a security guard and stands outside a bank's night deposit box, so people will give money to him instead of putting it in the box. During filming, despite the cameras, real people came up to Leonardo DiCaprio and tried to give him their money.

The story of Frank Abagnale Jr.'s exploits had one of the longest and most difficult journeys from its first pitch to its eventual production. In 1981 it was originally announced that his story would be filmed and that Frank would be played by Dustin Hoffman.

All road and concrete surfaces are wet in every shot, even though all scenes take place in sunny weather. Many cinematographers simply prefer the look of wet roads.

The production made use of around 157 locations throughout North America.

When Frank begins recruiting decoy flight attendants; when announcing the girls picked he announces the actresses by real name.

The FBI officer who was chasing Frank, and was the main inspiration for "Carl Hanratty," was really Joe Shea. Frank Abagnale Jr. used the pseudonym "Sean O'Reilly" in his book because Joe Shea was still in the F. B. I. He has since passed away.

Until he saw the results of Leonardo DiCaprio's work, the real Frank Abagnale Jr. didn't think DiCaprio was "suave" enough to play him.

Gore Verbinski pushed production back a few months because Leonardo DiCaprio had to re-

The blackboard that Carl Hanratty is writing on toward the end of the movie contains a small note at the bottom that says, "Steven and Tom's 4th project". Steven Spielbergand Tom Hanks, had previously collaborated on Band of Brothers (2001) , Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Joe Versus the Volcano (1990).

According to costume designer Mary Zophres, there were about 130 'day-players' (bit part actors) and 3,000-4,000 background extras employed, and Leonardo DiCaprio had 100 costume changes, through the film.

Filmed in 52 days.

Steven Spielberg's original choice for the role of Frank Abagnale Jr. was Johnny Depp.

The names on the forged diploma from Harvard Medical School actually contains the signatures of the then (2002) deans of both Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

The first cut of the film was about 80% authentic, as quoted at the epilogue of Abagnale's book. Some scenes were corrected, added and change as per request of the real Frank Abagnale Jr. to ensure total authenticity.

17-year-old Frank tells Brenda he's 28 years old, which was Leonardo DiCaprio's true age when Catch Me If You Can premiered in 2002.

Mrs. Abagnale's house after she remarried was the same house used for Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride Part II (1995).

When Abagnale gets his suit tailored to resemble James Bond, he signs himself as Mr. Fleming. Ian Fleming was the original author of James Bond.

Which one did you like best?

Tea at Leo's House ... =D

When the Australians came to town, it was time to have some fun and LA at the end of summer in a van touring the Hollywood Hills is a defiantly the way to go.  We saw one of Marilyn’s houses, we saw where Billy Bob’s plays basket ball and for a brief few minutes, we were parked in front of Leonardo DiCaprio's house.

As the guard came close—and Leo really does have guards.  We were parked, waiting for the opportunity to turn around and I’m in the front seat of the van kidding about going to the front door to knock.  Now I have always enjoyed DiCarprio’s movies, but it wasn’t until I was sitting beside his fifteen foot wall with the guard on us, his finger to his ear as he spoke to higher forces, that I started to put it together.  DiCaprio was right there, in that house.  And my heart pounded just a little harder, my breath became short and it dawned on me … I’m a Leonardo DiCaprio fan and knocking on that door actually sounded pretty damn good.

The funny thing… I found out later, Keanu Reeves, who doesn't live all that far away from Leo, in this same month found a woman in his living room, sitting in a chair in the middle of the night.  He called the police and she was arrested.  A few days later he found a naked woman swimming in his pool. And at this point, I’m thinking just maybe Keanu might want to talk to Leonardo about increasing his security, because Leo has it down pat.  That guy coming toward the van was friggin' scary and he was getting close fast.

Leonardo's house is to the left behind that huge wall.  

Time to reboot.  Guess we're going with Leo.