Tag: Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Why Anyone Would Care About ROKon Magazine At This Point Is A Deep Mystery

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

ROKon Magazine started in late summer 2006 when I met the now-late Annie Shapiro. The whole saga / drama lasted until about 2008, if I recall correctly. If you want to read the whole messy booze-fueled drama from my POV, here it is:

Somehow.docxDownload

The story is pretty damn interesting, if I do say so myself. But it was all a long, long time ago — nearly 20 years now, and there’s really no reason for anyone, even me, to be interested in it anymore.

I mean, I daydream about someone like Phoebe Waller-Bridge wanting to write a screenplay based on the story, but, lulz, that’s just a daydream. And I do draw upon what happened back then a GREAT DEAL for the novel I’m writing. But I just find it very curious that anyone — ANYONE — would be interested in ROKon Magazine.

And now that I’m on the cusp of querying, I wonder if white liberal women literary agents doing due diligence on me are going to be really into all my bad behavior back then. All I can say is — I’m sorry. It was a long time ago and I’ve grown so much as person relative to what happened back then that it’s like I’ve had a brain transplant.

Otherwise, you’ll just have to accept me for who I am.

Where Is Phoebe Waller-Bridge?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Last we heard of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, she was walking away from the Mr. & Mrs. Smith TV show that she was supposed to do with Donald Glover. She was also in the latest Indiana Jones movie (which I largely liked.) But other than that, she’s been pretty quiet.

She has such talent, it’s annoying that she’s decided to go radio silent for such an extended amount of time. The hope is, of course, that she’s hard at work at some really cool movie. I’d like to see her do an Annie Hall-like movie, but seen from a female POV. And have START in LA and END in NYC.

I think it would be amusing to have a Fleabag-like character chase after a guy she met in London. The culture shock of a Fleabag-like character living in LA then NYC would be a real hoot.

I still think she would be great to play Dr. Susan Calvin in an Amazon Prime limited series. She’s would be perfect for the role and the current mass popularity of AI would be a great hook for a bunch of stories about a “robot psychiatrist.”

Anyway. Only time will tell, I suppose.

The State Of The Novel As Of December 4th, 2023

Well, If You’re Interested in The Story Of ROKon Magazine, Here It is

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have noticed a bit of an uptick in interest in ROKon Magazine. What happened with the magazine changed my life. And I still think that there are only two people who could properly tell the story — other than me — Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Emerald Fennell.

If you want to know what happened with the magazine from my POV, here’s the below:

Somehow.docx-2Download

Video: A Hot Take On ‘Dial Of Destiny’ & Other Things

Could Phoebe Waller-Bridge Be The Next James Bond?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’ve heard some chatter here and about that Phoebe Waller-Bridge might be tapped to write and direct the next James Bond movie. She already did a touch up of the No Time To Die script and she apparently really impressed the James Bond family in the process.

Given the dynamics of Hollywood, it’s at least within the realm of possibility that Waller-Bridge might not only write and direct the next James Bond, but BE James Bond. How they would pull this particular hattrick off, I don’t know, but that’s why they pay them the big bucks.

They did kill James Bond off in the last movie, so anything is possible. Even though Waller-Bridge would do a great job as James Bond, if a woman was James Bond every “anti-woke” crusader worth their talking head status on Fox News would freak the fuck out in a very, very public manner.

And, remember, there were rumors that the producers of the next Indy movie wanted to use time-travel to reboot the franchise so Waller-Bridge would be the next Indy. Apparently, at least according to the dubious YouTube movie grapevine, that idea has been shelved.

Anyway, it will be interesting how things develop going forward. Waller-Bridge definitely is a very talented woman and of all the people I could think of who might bring back the good olde days of campy James Bond updated for modern sensibilities, Waller-Bridge is definitely at the top of the list.

The Chatter Surrounding Indy 5 Is Pretty Fucking Bonkers

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Where there’s smoke there’s fire and the chatter surrounding Indy 5 is pretty fucking bonkers. Now, I find all of it rather dubious because the more astonishing elements of the rumors surrounding the movie come from the usual suspects who think everything Kathleen Kennedy does is some sort of nefarious plot to turn everything into content for the “woke cancel culture mob.”

But here’s what I keep hearing: the time travel element of the movie was originally intended as a way to shoehorn Phoebe Waller-Bridge into the franchise to make her the new, female “Indy.” From a strictly business point of view, this would make a lot of sense: you recon the Indy canon so Waller-Bridge is a new, young, female Indy who can continue the franchise for 20-odd more years if this movie is a success.

And, yet.

Doing such a thing would also cause the Indy fanbase to fucking go bonkers for various reasons. Having a “female Indy” would make the most vocal of Indy fans apoplectic because it would seem like yet another woke movie from the evil mind of Kathleen Kennedy. (I honestly don’t know how much of the fanboy complaints about Kennedy are real and how much is just misogyny combined with them wanting to be young again.)

Anyway, the rumor mill is that the “erase Harrison Ford’s Indy and replace him in the canon with Waller-Bridge’s Indy” has been shelved and that the movie is now $150 million over budget. The whole thing is apparently one huge clusterfuck at this point.

Again, I think on paper, it would make a lot of sense to replace Ford with Waller-Bridge, I’m just not so sure timetravel would be the best way to do it. Waller-Bridge would be a great addition to the franchise and I think if you could somehow have her pick up Indy’s mantel in a smoother manner that people would really get into it.

In fact, it would make a lot more sense to get over the pretense of it all and do a hard reboot of the franchise by setting it in the present day with Waller-Bridge being Indy’s granddaughter or something. But, even then, you would still get complaints from the male-dominated fanbase about the “woke cancel culture mob” ruining yet another LucasFilm property.

A New Emphasis On Developing Characters Because of Fleabag As I Write The Second Draft Of My First Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I find myself a bit startled by how good Fleabag is now that I’m watching all the way through instead of just watching clips on YouTube. The specific issue is I realize I really need to make my characters more real and sharp as I work on the second draft of the novel.

Fleabag is helping me write better characters.

Remember, I’m doing all of this in a fucking vacuum. I have nearly no one to talk to as I do all of this, so I have to stumble into new ways of looking at things on my way. And that’s exactly what has happened because of Fleabag. The first draft of the novel had an excess of plot while the characters were more just placeholders or moods that were made up of a collection of different traits that I liked or needed.

Now, however, with the second draft — because of Fleabag — I’m really giving my characters some thought. And that, in turn, is really changing the flow of the plot. I have long known, in general terms, the nature of the story, but the specifics have been changing and developing for years now.

And lot of what’s going on is I’m thinking a lot more about not only cause and effect, but also really giving a lot more thought about every possible twist or turn I can squeeze out of each character in a way that helps fuse the plot with character.

Anyway, it’s one of those things where I just won’t really know how successful I’m being until Beta Readers take a gander at it.

Finally Finished The First Season Of Fleabag

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Believe the hype about Fleabag is all I gotta say. It really is as good as you’re led to believe. I’ve seen a lot of clips on YouTube, but only by watching the show all the way through do you get some sense of its pathos.

Phoebe “Fleabag” Waller-Bridge

Not since Mare of Easttown have of I watched a TV show that made me realize I need to really work hard as possible to make the character in my first novel as interesting as possible. If the audience has been exposed to Fleabag, then I really need to do my best to make my novel’s characters — especially the female characters — as thought provoking as possible.

I totally get how some people watch the first season of Fleabag and are totally destroyed by it. The only reason why I didn’t burst into tears after watching the first season of Fleabag is I’m an Old and I’m so jaded that I am able to distance myself from the whole thing.

The only thing I can compare Fleabag to is The Wolf of Wall Street. The two have a very similar vibe to them — they challenge the audience in various ways. They’re both very thought provoking in their own way.

Now, I have to start watching season two of Fleabag.

Finally Actually Watching Fleabag Instead of Just YouTube Clips

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Because of some dubious business practices by Amazon, I find myself with an Amazon Prime subscription AGAIN and, as such, I’m finally actually watching Fleabag instead of just YouTube clips.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Fleabag”

Even from just watching clips, I’ve long loved the show and to actually watch it end to end proves that it really does live up its reputation. It’s really, really good. It’s probably in my top 5 TV shows of the last 20 or so years. And this is coming from someone who hates most TV with a passion.

I have repeatedly noted how interesting is to me that the British press focused on how feminist the show is, while the American press just sees it for what it is — a great TV show.

In the back of my mind, I find myself thinking about how I might crib from Fleabag as I continue to develop the female characters of my first novel. The thing about Fleabag is how thought-provoking and honest it is — sometimes to a fault.

The appear of Fleabag is a lot of people — both men and women — see themselves as a Fleabag character, even when we aren’t. It’s too bad there won’t be a third season of it.

It would be interesting to see the character in NYC or LA.