Posts Tagged ‘Shopgirl’
4 items.
Oct21
THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS TRIVIA
October 21st, 2005 |
(7 votes, average: 6.71 out of 10)
I wanted to do something kind of romantic for today’s incentive sketch. It seemed like this would have been the natural conclusion of today’s strip if it were five panels instead of four…
The punchline for today’s comic was originally going to be something different. Something to the effect that Cami suggests Tom read more books and Tom storming off in a huff.
But after drawing the third panel and the pure look of glee on Tom’s face… I decided to go another way with it. I’m happy with the result. As fun as it is to wring humor out of the foibles of marriage, I also like to promote the fact that Tom and Cami have a very well adjusted relationship.
That goes for INSIDE the comic and OUTSIDE as well!
So, Shopgirl comes out today and it kind of snuck up on me. Back when I read Steve Martin’s original novella back in 2001 or 2002 (got it as a Christmas stocking gift, if I remember correctly) I thought about how great this would be if it were a movie. Martin writes in a very economical style. Things are very precisely described and there is never much superfluous conversation between the characters. It was ready-made for a port to the big screen. Four years later, here it is.
For those that haven’t read the book, it’s essentially about an older man (Martin) with great wealth and fine taste forging a relationship with a very disillusioned (and heavily medicated) young woman (Claire Danes) who sells gloves at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. In many ways, both people are looking to have aspects of their lives fulfilled by the other person. It’s kind of a right place, right time scenario. But as things evolve, the two uncover that they are not the perfect fit they built each other up to be in their heads.
On plot alone, Shopgirl is going to get a lot of comparisons to Lost in Translation. The situation likely amplified by Martin and Bill Murray’s Saturday Night Live connection. Still, I have high hopes that the movie will do a good job communicating Martin’s trademark dry wit sprinkled with a dash of melancholy. No one captures the prefabricated detachment born of the utter irreality of Los Angeles better than Martin.
With hope, Cami and I will see Shopgirl sometime this weekend. We both loved the book – one of the few we actually agree on!
Wait, that’s not right. It’s not so much that we don’t agree on literature as we don’t read the same kind of literature. Shopgirl was one of those rare books that had crossover appeal in our household. Ironically, Martin’s follow-up "The Pleasure of my Company" also earned a similar distinction.
Needless to say, we’re fans. Our radar is up for this one.
I’ll be back later with a familiar reminder. Or, you could cut right to the chase and order a t-shirt, hoodie or baby-doll tee before I close off that section of the store October 31. Your choice.
[ No Comments ]
Have you seen Claire Danes’ ass? Seriously, it’s fantastic.
It’s kind of difficult to do a joke like this and not come off as crass or objectifying women. So to any ladies upset by today’s comic, please know that it’s all in good fun. I think you’re all aware that there are just certain things – no matter the value of what surrounds it – that guys are just gonna focus on. It’s sad. We try to be good, but we can’t help ourselves.
It’s true that you get to see a bit of Danes’ goods in this movie. To me it came as a total shock. I wasn’t expecting it at all. Mostly because Danes’ doesn’t strike me as the kind of actress that might weild her sexuality in that way. She seems more sensitive. The scene isn’t exploitive at all. It’s brief and very tasteful. While exciting for the less sophisticated parts of my brain, my real higher-level opinion of Shopgirl is much closer to the thoughts expressed in the first panel than the fourth. Steve Martin has adapted his novella with a screenplay that takes the richest ideas and lets them breathe on the silver screen.
Being a big fan of the book, it was certainly through that prism by which I judged it. Did it feel true to the characters? We the actor’s interpretations accurate to what I had envisioned in my head?
Let’s put it this way: You know when you read a book and they make a movie of it, the movie never lives up to your imagination? Alternatively, when you see a movie based on a book that you haven’t read and then you go back and read it, the book doesn’t seem as vivid to what you saw on screen? Shopgirl is probably one of the few movies I’ve been to where I’ve read the source material first and preferred the filmed version. I don’t know what it is about it that I find so winning except that I just think it does a better job of capturing Martin’s overall idea of disconnect in a modern society and our larger search for finding someone to help us feel complete.
I don’t know who was in charge of the set and light direction in this movie, but hopefully they win an Oscar for their work. It’s subtle – almost subliminal – but the way they cast L.A. as a character from the gleaming channels of commerce to it’s dingy apartments makes you feel like the city these characters inhabit is alive. There is great use of light to reflect the mood and isolation these people feel over the course of the movie.
Performance-wise, I think all three leads hit the mark. As I mentioned before, Danes effortlessly exudes the quality of a very intelligent and sensitive person quietly dissatisfied with her surroundings. Martin’s character as the dry, sophisticated Ray Porter was tailor-made for him and it shows. You wonder how much of Martin’s own personality he wove into Ray. Jason Schwartzman totally walks away with the picture as it’s focal point for comedy relief as Jermey. Sweet-natured if maybe a little unorganized, he so perfectly symbolized the frantic wandering that are your twenties. I’m so glad Jimmy Fallon walked away from the role. No doubt his performance would have been too winking, coy and knowing. Not an honest expression of that fuzzy logic that motivates the male imperative at that age. All the dumb moves you’re making that you think are right. Trying your best, but not having the social where-with-all to communicate properly.
I can’t recommend Shopgirl highly enough. I’m already talking about going back to see it again. The movie has a very comfortable feeling that I enjoyed and is probably one of my top 10 this year.
Things have been pretty grim in movie theaters this year. Shopgirl gave me an injection of hope right when I needed it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to enjoy a mohito!
[ No Comments ]
Nov09
I think you’d hate to run into this version of Patti in a dark alley. She means business.
Kind of stretching my legs a little bit and doing a short storyline this week. I saw the opportunity after Monday’s comic, so I’m just going to see the arc through Friday. I love writing about how stupid men can be sometimes. If anyone needs proof of my own arrested development, they need look no further than this web site.
Good news for those of you that ordered shirts. I was able to send out a batch of orders from what was left in my standing inventory on Monday. Hopefully, you guys will be seeing your items by the end of this week or the beginning of the next. If there are any problems, be sure to let me know.
Unfortunately, those of you who have waited the longest – some of you placing orders shortly before my move in July! – probably won’t see your items for another few weeks. If you’ve been waiting a while, odds are strong that I was out of stock. Part of this last push with the store was to rack up enough orders on some designs to meet the printers minimum requirements. Now that the last push has concluded, I have sent the orders to the printer and should hopefully see them turned around in a week to two weeks. I already have everyone’s envelopes addressed. Now it’s just a matter of stuffing them and dropping them off at the post office.
I appreciate everyone’s patience in this regard. I learned a valuable lesson this year regarding merchandise and that is to not bite off more than you can chew. I thought it would be cool if I took some of my own money to invest in the t-shirt designs and try to build a standing inventory. The idea was to be able to turn around orders faster because I would be able to grab the item from the shelf and put it out the door the same day.
This worked okay for a little while, but what I quickly realized is that this kind of on-demand service is beyond my means. I would need a full warehouse or storage facility to meet the different demands.
Shirts like the "Spoiler" design were easy to keep stocked because there was only one color to print and it was a popular design. "Truman in a Purse," on the other hand, was difficult to keep stocked because it was printed with four colors and was less popular. In other words, if I ran out of medium-sized "Truman in a Purse" tees and had orders for 5 more, I would find myself up the creek because the minimum order amount was 30 for a four-color design versus 12 for a one-color design like "Spoiler." I ended up eating up a lot of the profit I made ordering a handful of shirts to fill orders and then being stuck with inventory I couldn’t move. Eventually, things came to the point where I needed to stop being so foolish with my money and force the situation where I could try and burn up the extra inventory I accumulated before discontinuing a few designs.
It worked to a degree. There is still some stuff I’m sitting on. But I can take these things to conventions if I have to. Or maybe I can use them in conjunction with promotions on the site. I haven’t decided yet.
What I DO know is that next time I do shirts, I’m setting up a schedule and sticking to it. Two weeks for pre-orders, two weeks for printing and delivery. Wash, rinse, repeat. Because in addition to learning not to bite off more than I can chew, I’ve learned that if a reasonable timeline is established, you guys are much happier. I totally understand why. If I were in your shoes, I would get impatient waiting for my order, too. You guys have been more than understanding in this regard, but in terms of timeliness, I’ve failed you. Anyone who is cool enough to buy a shirt and show their support for the site deserves better than this. That is my goal for next time.
When will next time be? Can’t say at the moment. Right now I’m working on something behind-the-scenes for Theater Hopper’s 500th strip. Then after that I’m working on laying out a book and commentaries for the first year of Theater Hopper strips. After that I’ll come back to shirts with some new designs I know you guys are gonna love.
Thanks again for your support. It means everything.
[ No Comments ]
Punches to the head shouldn’t tickle and people shouldn’t expect them to. The juxtaposition is too jarring.
Today’s Web Comics List incentive sketch is actually a “two-fer” – as in, “two fer the price of one.” I drew one sketch and wasn’t really communicating what I wanted it to, so I drew a second one. Still, I thought the first one was a good drawing and thought it would be a treat to share both. So I did.
At any rate, so ends this weeks Shopgirl extravaganza. I hope you enjoyed it.
Can I be candid with you a minute? Right now I’m working on an archive application that will make using the site much easier for you in the future, but it requires me to go back and touch every page and look over every comic I have. It has put me in a very reflective mood.
Sometimes I think about how far I’ve come with the comic and I’m really amazed. Three years. MORE than three years of my life I’ve wrapped up into this. I can’t imagine a day where I don’t do it.
But sometimes after taking stock and looking back at these old comics, I think “Man, even though the art wasn’t any good, some of these jokes are much better than what I’m doing right now.”
I don’t know guys. I think I’m in a slump.
It’s been a long one, too. A few months at least. Used to be, I’d enter into a slump and rebound after a month or so. In my mind, at least. These days, I can’t seem to snap out of it.
I can make excuses for myself. Tell myself that it’s been a rough year. It has. Moving to a new house, losing a grandparent, general job and life stresses. It gets to you.
Sometimes I look at the competition and I’m really envious of the guys who gave something up to do this full time. The five days a week guys. That’s something to aspire to. I’m sure it’s hard work – and although their comics are supporting them – I’m sure it’s not much money for the effort. But I imagine them to be very happy people. They get to do this all the time. What an honor.
I’ve expressed this before, but I often wonder what would have become of Theater Hopper had I started it during college and not 3 years after graduation. Would I have gone for it? Hard to say.
I want to make this the best comic for you that I can. I want to make it so as many people as possible can see the work I’m doing and hopefully get a kick out of it and become fans.
Sometimes it seems no matter how much hustling you do, no matter how many connections you make – at some point, things have to level off. I’m worried that right now is one of those times.
I think I know the answer to this problem and most of it to keep your nose to the grindstone and keep putting out work. I think the other half of the problem is to do something new or stretch artistic muscles I haven’t used in a while.
I don’t want this interpreted the wrong way. Theater Hopper is a hobby for me. A successful one at that. I see the traffic that comes through my site and I’m stunned that so many people make this web site part of their daily routine. I think about all the cool people I’ve met and talked to. These are wonderful rewards. But I want to keep growing.
Things will be different after we celebrate our 500th strip on November 25. Maybe a larger storyline is in order. Maybe a crossover. But I’m on the hunt. I want that spark back. I want to light it up for you guys.
Sincere thanks for all your support. I appreciate it. Everyone have a great weekend.
[ No Comments ]
