Starting from scratch...

... on Tuesday, October 27th, at some time around midnight, I was driving some friends home. I had made some detours, mostly because I was unfamiliar with the area I was driving in, but eventually found my way back to more familiar territory.

It was at this point that my memory becomes less clear... I remember lights in my eyes... a few loud shouts... a sudden loud bang, and my muscles tensing up. After awhile I probably got out of the car, though I don't remember how or when... the car was running after I got out, and I quickly (and repeatedly... very repeatedly) asked everyone if they were ok, rushing over to see the other car...

when I turned back to the place where it happened, there was nothing but car guts everywhere. There was a guy who looked as out of it as me, although if there is one thing I remember, it was that I probably set a new standard for freaking out.

It has been a few days since the accident. My memory is still not great... this is actually my first attempt at piecing everything together in detail, because for awhile, every time I made any attempt, all I could hear was the sound of metal and fiberglass crumpling against each other, all I could see were headlights in my face...

My car was totaled and though I am waiting for insurance to get back to me, it will most likely never drive again. I saw the car after the fact, but not since I have snapped out of the shock have I seen it. I'm not looking forward to seeing how close I came to being killed.

This whole experience has left me somewhat broken... which is ironic because I wanted to be scared for halloween-- I definitely got my wish. I never thought I could be so scared and confused.

I said, to a friend, that every time I am near a car of any sort, it feels like I am in a tiger's cage... away from them, I gain my composure, but when I drive in the passenger side, or when I walk near them, it is all I can see but imagining them crashing together, or slamming into me.

I feel like this whole experience has brought me back somehow, like... knocked me back to a younger age, because I do not feel like an adult at all, I feel like a scared teenager, still figuring everything out... that might not make a whole lot of sense, but for the moment, it does to me.

Maybe that's the nerves talking.

At any rate, I have a lot of work ahead of me to come back to where I was before the crash. A LOT. Financially speaking, but also... mentally speaking. And, to a lesser degree, physically speaking. Nobody was hurt, and I was the only person at the hospital... thank god. But, my muscles have become very sore, and I will be on painkillers for the next few days. I would have just not taken them, but the doctor said if I don't relax the muscles, I run a chance of developing pneumonia. I'm not sure exactly why that is... but... suffice to say that I don't want pneumonia.

This post has been the closest thing to normal thought I've expressed in public. I'm still on my way to being normal... I'm sure my demeanor in public freaks out people a little bit, since I walk very carefully, and sometimes just completely flashback, which leaves me staring off into space for a moment.

So, for those looking for news on the Monster Intern, I had to let the site go for now while I do updates... we're also working on a new production that should be interesting, but I cannot say more... except that even the marketing for it is fun and exciting, which is a far-cry from the "tedious and annoying" view I usually have on marketing.

Everything of course will be stalled while I recover from my accident. (For those who thought this post was a fictional story, I wish it was, but it is completely non-fiction). I have a lot of stuff to figure out, a lot of work to just make sure everything is settled in terms of paperwork-- I don't blame anyone for the crash, it was just a momentary mistake on everybody's part, but hey, you know, the bureaucrats need to put "at fault" in a little box in order to distribute funds, so... whatever). My mind is ironically not racing around all these things, but still left somewhere in the crash... so I'm waiting for that to come back to where it is supposed to be too.

To all those who have shown love and support, god bless you all. I have no idea how I made it out of there with only a sore rib and a twisted mind, but if all I have to do is take a few painkillers to avoid pneumonia, this whole experience could have been a different one altogether, so I'm happy to be alive, and happy that everyone else is alive.

For now, I'm just going to try to relax, celebrate halloween as best I can (especially considering the painkillers I will be on), and just... try to spread as much love and goodness as I can, and be very careful whenever I say that I "want" to be scared (I like fear when it is not directly related to anyone's actual harm, fictional fear... the safe stuff... give me that, thank you, not the real, dangerous, traumatic kind)...

As per our gracious fans... I love you all... but seriously... we won't be around for awhile. I'm going to rest. I'll let you know when it is cool to hunt us down looking for autographs again.


-- Shannon Stever

Zombieland Movie Review

The opening of Zombieland sets the tone nicely for the events to follow: a world of chaos, destruction, and... surprisingly... rules. We are introduced to this world in a desolated gas-stop, with our trusty narrator, "Columbus" (played by a delightfully dry and neurotic Jesse Eisenberg). This world, it seems, has certain rules of survival, and these rules play an integral role in the plot.

We see these rules play out in a variety of different scenarios. The attempts at integrating a non-fiction element into a fictional world has become surprisingly common in popular culture, probably due in part to the rise of cinema verite as a style (Cloverfield, Quarantine, Diary of the Dead, et alia). It is no small thanks to Max Brooks for paving the way here-- his Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z books certainly helped plow the marketing fields. How does Zombieland fare on its own, after having impeccable timing helped it take advantage of the current marketing trends?

Well, to be frankly honest, the movie fairs well. Surprisingly well, given that the film attempts to blend a lot of different tones into one package. The film is part buddy film-- at least once Columbus meets the delightfully disturbed Tallahassee (played by a vibrant and energetic Woody Harrelson); it is part romantic comedy, as the romance develops between Columbus and Wichita. The character of Wichita is played by an uneven Emma Stone. It is not that Miss Stone does not fit the role. It is perhaps that she fits it too superficially. The character of Wichita is a deceptive woman who plays on her appearance more than her actuality. The actress feels too much like she is playing this literally, and it makes for a performance that just feels a little too... well... performed.

However, Miss Stone is not without her strong moments. The chemistry between her and the protagonist (Jesse Eisenberg) is very powerful, and believable to say the least. Eisenberg does a wonderful job reacting to her deception with a believable and innocent naiveté. When she is reacting against this, Miss Stone's demeanor breaks in a believable fashion-- she stops "performing" and actually delivers at these times, and it is to the director's credit that this actually nullifies the previous complaint about her acting. She shines where it counts, and it comes just as you are starting to doubt whether she really can deliver.

And then... there is the last act. Where the previous acts were all about the performance and a little about the show, the last act really grabs you and does not let go. I read somewhere (the source escapes me) that the filmmakers wanted to make a roller coaster ride feel, with all the adrenaline and excitement, and the final act really delivers.

Of course, one might fault the film for being a bit too slow-paced. But considering how interesting the characters are, it is hard to fault the film for letting us spend so much time with them before the grand finale.

Is it a perfect film? No. Until the character arch changes, Emma Stone's performance, while suitably "bad-ass", feels flat sometimes, at least until the more chemical moments between her and the protagonist. Also, I felt that the film's major philosophy of "never take yourself seriously" shot itself in the foot, for the film seems to avoid having any substance. There is a very touching moment with the character Tallahassee, which the writer and director felt they could absolutely not linger on, which was a shame because Harrelson's performance was just... perfect for the moment. But then, the moment is cut short by an admittedly funny one-liner. Still, it would be interesting to see what would have happened if the filmmakers allowed more of a harmony between the sillier moments and the more emotional or thought-provoking.

All in all, though, the film is an exciting adventure, with believable romance, interesting and energetic (if not neurotic) characters, an unrelenting sense of humor.

Highly recommended, even with its flaws in mind.