The Bad Version

Clive Barker's NIGHTBREED aired on HBO HD recently. And I had to watch it. It's a movie I had such fond memories of, as an adolescent. I saw it years later, with a far more discriminating eye, and appreciated how it fails. And now I've come full circle and forgive its flaws.

It really starts to fall apart in its final act, where this crazy war seems to play out in fast forward and there are weird jumps in logic. And some cringe-worthy comedy. Barker's been trying to restore a full 25 minutes of footage back into the film for many years now, and I'm assuming some of that would at least help fill in some logic gaps.

But what really struck me watching Nightbreed again is how queer-themed it is...

I don't think I found out that Barker was gay till years after he'd come out. And I think he came out sometime AFTER Nightbreed/Cabal. But it's obvious that the Nightbreed are a metaphor for being in the closet. Several of the monsters actually read gay. (Not so subtly.) Barker even manages to get in some jabs at Catholicism, with a wacko zealot priest character.

And then there's David Cronenberg's memorable turn as Decker, the creepy, effete scarecrow-mask killer. He's trying to wipe out "the breeders", yet acts as the most vicious monster of the lot. I'm shocked at how clearly NIGHTBREED was about homophobia. Which makes me more curious about where he wanted to take it in sequels. It does have a first-in-a-trilogy vibe. The whole "Matrix", chosen-one prophesied song-and-dance...

~+~

I'm turning in the FOURTH DRAFT of my screenplay today.

Thanks to experience at my old job at a Presentation Center, I'm accustomed to making last minute changes. Give them five days or five weeks, the higher-ups will always request changes down to the wire.

I've been fielding a lot of executive notes the past few weeks. One of the terms you start to hear a lot is "the bad version". It's used to assist you in making changes.

"We're missing a beat in here. We should slip in a scare. Something throwaway. The bad version is, a clown jumps out of the garbage can. That's the bad version, don't use that—but something LIKE that..."

It's funny. This odd sort of beating-around-the-bush. Like a veiled line-reading. "Say it sorta like this, but be creative and make it your own." I ain't proud. I've actually found it curiously helpful. It's better than taking shots in the dark. I'll take all the help I can get up in here.

"Let's get fucking wasted," proffered the Gay Horse. "It's fucking JUNE already!"

Deadline Shuffled 5:
1. "Amazon", M.I.A.
2. "On the Road to Find Out", Cat Stevens
3. "Lolo (Intro)", Dr. Dre
4. "Papercut", Linkin Park
5. "Homecoming", Green Day
Revision Bonus:
"Man Ray", The Futureheads

TGIF Laugh Corner:
This Fox News lady can't keep the cocks out of her mouth!
(That statement works on AT LEAST two levels.)

What's amazing is that the internet's got tons of humorous videos like this!