This weekend was broken down into two basic parts - Friday night, I slept.  Saturday, I hit the internets hard, looking to gainfully employ myself, and last night I went to see the Incredible Hulk, which was a good movie with good performances and some neat moments.  Actually, there were elements of the film that had some personal significance for me, but that's not what I'm writing about now.  If you're interested enough to wonder if the new Hulk movie is worth watching, go see it.

Today, I spent most of the day writing my character bios and doing my Act I breakdown for Heartsgaard, and then I treated myself to Pedro Almodovar's Bad Education.

Does nobody write happy movies about male gay love?  Pedro?  Anyone?

It got me thinking.

So far, both comedies I've written have been about poking fun at the place my mind wanders off to.  To me, that's a pretty safe place to go - my mind is a diverse place, and not everything in it makes sense or follows a rational pattern.  When I take these things seriously anyway, I wind up with some pretty good satire and some fantastic character moments.

My heart, on the other hand, is a place that hasn't received a lot of attention from the rest of me.  I've only been in love a few times, and I don't apologize for any of them, just as I don't apologize for having ideas.  My choices may have seem outlandish to those who follow my personal life, but they led me to beautiful places, with some very, very beautiful, treasured people.  If I hardly understand my heart, it's safe to say that the other people in my life know almost nothing about it.

I have plenty of satires inside me.  So far I really only have one love story, and I've decided to make it a comedy.  Is that cruel?  Is it cruel to take my heart seriously, with the specific intent of making myself look ridiculous?

Is that what comedy is?

This is going to be a very challenging script to write.

By way of review, Bad Education is not the tightest film Almodovar has directed or written, but it's sensationally bent and in love with the art of filmmaking.  I recommend it.

My hope is that I can do something similar with Heartsgaard, and share my love of acting the way Almodovar did.  Looking at it that way, love is what keeps the cruelty at bay.

It's also what separates the great romantic comedies from the ones you only watch once.  All of this is fantastic food for thought.  I'll start my first scene tomorrow.  Goodnight, one and all.

T