Pundit George in and at the Movies!

Pundit George goes to the movies

Frank Darabont wrote the screenplay and directed THE MIST, based on Stephen King’s novella. Darabont brought many of his celebrated cast and crew from Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile to Shreveport, Louisiana last spring to film the horror tale. THE MIST opened nationally Thanksgiving week. I’ll comment on it. Since I was a part of it.

THE MIST is a “thinking person’s” blood and gore horror flick. It’s got the shock and jump out of your seat moments but mostly it’s a look at ordinary people thrust in a bizarre and dangerous situation. A curious mist engulfs a Maine town following a horrendous storm. Many locals, including artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and feuding neighbor Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) converge on a supermarket still operating without power to get what food, batteries and such they can. The mist swallows the store, trapping all inside. There are things in the mist. Nasty things. They eat people, such as bag boy Norm (Chris Owen.)

The hapless shoppers divide into three groups as a means of coping with the disaster - Norton’s group which denies anything is dangerous, Drayton’s group who realize there are deadly things outside, and Mrs. Carmody’s group (Marcia Gay Harden) which claims it's the vengeance of an angry Old Testament God. Don’t bet on which group “triumphs.”

This pundit was one of about sixty locals portraying the shoppers trapped in the store. That translates into three to four weeks of six twelve to fourteen hour days on set. And what a set! The former Exposition Hall in downtown Shreveport was converted into a production studio. A full replica of the supermarket was built, complete with parking lot. The pharmacy was on another stage, as was the loading dock. Since the supermarket was systematically destroyed as the story progressed, filming was largely sequential - a rarity. This was the main reason this former thespian took three weeks vacation to join the ranks of shoppers whose day began with an earthquake and ended…can’t divulge that.

The production was a great mix of low-tech, high tech, digital imagery, and superlative make-up for effects. The pretty cashier bitten by a “bug” (Alexa Davalos) has a gruesome death as her neck and face swell and contort. I was next to her (off camera) for her death scene and it was spooky how real was her make-up.

Oh, yeah, the bugs and the “birds” that eat them. Some were models on set - really creepy - but mostly computer generated. There’s a knack to performing against something that isn’t there, such as the bug that landed on Mrs. Carmody and pondered chewing into her. The shot (once again yours truly next to Marcia, but off camera) was made with a fan blowing on Marcia to simulate the wing flutter of the bug as she reacted to its crawl up her chest. Another spooky moment on the screen.

Chronically erie is the mist itself. It was a physical effect in the studio. What you see on screen is what the cast saw and experienced on set. The same play with light and the same depth. Those folks who walk into and disappear in the mist did just that - it was that dense. There are a number of scenes where yours truly is a part of the action, such as the photo above (humble pundit is far left) and fully in the excitement on screen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Louisiana Thinking

“But before we can change the direction of our state, we all have to change our current mindset. We have to defeat cynicism. We have to stop saying: "Oh, politics is always corrupt; there's nothing we can do to straighten out that mess in Baton Rouge." Sadly, those words roll right off the tongue. We've all become accustomed to thinking that we really can't do anything about the corruption and incompetence in state government. We just can't think that way anymore. I'm asking you to believe that we can turn our state around.” Bobby Jindal, October 20, 2007.

Governor-Elect Bobby Jindal spoke of ending incompetence and corruption in his victory speech. Changing the political landscape of Louisiana is a Herculean task that crushed previous reformers. I’m optimistic this time around. It’s all about the thinking, and the Governor-Elect zeroed in: We just can’t think that way anymore.

Though precedes everything. There’s no doubt that if folks in Louisiana think about an honest and effective state government it’ll show up. If most continue to expect corruption and incompetence, then that’ll continue. Many folks haven’t given much thought to their thinking. The Governor-Elect has already challenged them.

It’s self evident that people don’t always get what they want, but that they inevitably get what they expect. Come to think of it, not getting what is desired is because the expectation is the more powerful thought. Like attracts like.

In my last post I reviewed “The Astonishing Power of Emotions” by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The book is mostly case studies of how people can improve the way they feel by altering ever so slightly the way they think about themselves, others, and so forth. That change in thought, resulting in emotional relief, produces more of the same.

Louisiana can use some relief.

And that relief has nothing to do with Rita and Katrina. It has to do with a slight shift in thinking, such as “Wouldn’t it be nice to have an honest government.” “Wouldn’t it be nice to trust the legislature with my money.” “Wouldn’t it be nice if government stopped hassling me…”

Change the thought, feel the relief, create the better situation. Sounds like a plan to me.