Category Archives: Rom’s Blog

All Plays Should Look Exactly the Same

Posted on November 25, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. November 9, 2013 Today I attended the Dramatists Guild’s Los Angeles event entitled New Ideas for the Modern Playwright. What I took away from the event was that some of the playwrights in the Guild are … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged Bill of Rights, Final Draft, Industry standards, New Ideas for the Modern Playwright, playwrighting templates, playwrights, playwriting template, software program, The Dramatists Guild, Zach Gutin | 8 Comments

Deciphering an Old Joke

Posted on October 26, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. September 29, 2013 There’s a lesson to be found in almost everything, if you look for it. Even an old joke. When I was a child, my mother told me about a prank phone call that … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged eldest son of Queen Victoria, king Edward VII, old joke, prank phone call, Prince Albert in the can, tobacco | Comments Off

Thelma and Eva and Vincent

Posted on September 23, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. February 19, 2012 Few things are sadder than squandered potential. Whitney Houston is a recent example. While channel surfing, I went to CNN and they were broadcasting her funeral. I immediately changed the channel, as I … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged Best Female R& B Vocal Performance, Chuck Brown, Don’t Leave Me This Way, Eva Cassidy, Grammy, Live at Blues Alley, Saving All My Love For You, Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, Thelma Houston, Vincent Van Gogh, Whitney Houston | Leave a comment

The Legend of Luck

Posted on August 25, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. July 7, 2013 Chinese, Hindu and Native American mythology all share a legend in which the world was created on the back of a giant sea turtle. We now know this not to be the case. … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged acceptance, consciousness, daily affirmation, Deidre Cole, demonstration of the principle, Dennis Osgood, Drag Bingo, George Ruffin, Hamburger Mary’s, It is done unto you as you believe, Legendary Bingo, luck, Ozzy Foundation, positive affirmations, responsibility, the world was created on the back of a giant sea turtle | 4 Comments

The Quest for Equanimity

Posted on July 21, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. June 5, 2013 Life is a balancing act. Several balancing acts in fact, occurring simultaneously. For those old enough to remember The Ed Sullivan Show, or young enough to have seen the clips on YouTube, think … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged actors, Aram Khachaturian, athletes, balance, equanimity, equilibrium, Erich Brenn, performance-enhancing drugs, poise, Sabre Dance, testosterone, The Ed Sullivan Show, war | 6 Comments

Movies in 35 Minutes or Less

Posted on June 16, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. April 19, 2013 If you work a full time job, by the time you get home and eat dinner it’s often too late to watch a movie. However, there are quite a number of full-length … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged 9 (2005), A Close Shave, Airplane, Batchelor Mother, Bride of Frankenstein, Chicken Run, Christmas in July, City Lights, Duck Amuck, Dumbo, Election Day, Films less than thirty-five minutes in length, High Noon, James and the Giant Peach, Lady from Shanghai, Laura, Logorama, Michael Spielberg, Miracle Fish, Mouse Wreckers, movies, Our Time is Up, Paths of Glory, Portrait of Jennie, Rabbit of Seville, short films, Sleeper, Special Delivery, Stand By Me, The Absent-Minded Waiter, The Band Concert, The Bank Dick, The Big Snit, The Chubb-Chubbs, The Confession, The Dot and the Line, The Dove (De Duva), The Face of Lincoln, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The General, The Iron Giant, The Kid Brother, The Lady and the Reaper, The Magnificent Ambersons, The New Tenants, The Palm Beach Story, The Purple Rose of Cairo, The Red Balloon, The Wrong Trousers, What’s Opera Doc? | 3 Comments

I Am My Own Cinematographer

Posted on May 17, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson circa February 24, 2013 I blame Woody Allen. The problem started with his film Husbands and Wives. As I watched it I was horrified to discover it had been filmed (by Carlo Di Palma) using handheld cinematography, … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged 30 Rock, Best Picture Oscar, Betsy Sharkey, Breaking the Waves, Carlo Di Palma, Cleveland, Critic's Pick, Friday Night Lights, handheld cinematography, Husbands and Wives, Los Angeles Times, movies, Precious, Saving Private Ryan, Shakespeare in Love, State of Play, The Blair Witch Project, The Bourne Supremacy, The Hurt Locker, Traffic, Woody Allen | Leave a comment

Orchids

Posted on April 19, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. February 22, 2013 Orchids bloom in my care. It’s not something I’m going to put on my resume, but I do find it interesting because I have never in my life had any aptitude for taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged bloom, blossom, flower, Orchid, plant | 3 Comments

Review: Les Miserables

Posted on March 31, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. March 29, 2013 Musicals are by nature a stylized form of entertainment, and film musicals that embrace stylization in their presentation tend to succeed more often than those that choose the path of realism. Jacques Demy … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged Aaron Tveit, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Cameron Mackintosh, Cosette, Eddie Redmayne, Enjolras, Eponine, Fantine, Helena Bonham-Carter, Hugh Jackman, Jacques Demy, Javert, Les Miserables, Marius, musicals, Oscar, raw and real, Russell Crowe, Sacha Baron-Cohen, Samantha Banks, sung-through, Sweeney Todd, The Dark Knight Rises, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Thenardier, Tom Hooper, Valjean, Victor Hugo, Yentl | 2 Comments

I am a Camera Obscura

Posted on March 20, 2013 by admin

By Rom Watson c. January 20, 2013 People want to be part of a story. Why did children dress up as characters from Harry Potter to attend the release of the latest volume at their local bookstore? Those children loved … Continue reading →

Posted in Rom's Blog | Tagged 17th century paintings, camera obscura, Comic-Con, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling, midnight screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show, my silvering process, story, The Mirror of Erised | Leave a comment