On the Beaten Path: A Genghis Girl

So you thought I was gonna talk about Oscars, huh? Bah, humbug. Too much awards stuff and I'm waaay too excited about my newly formed sketch group: Brides in the Alley. That's right, you saw it here first- an exclusive three-woman sketch group, no cat-fighting or hair tugging is gonna stop these bitches.

My lovely co-artists are Caitlin Thompson and Jessica Koucouthakis. We look different, we write different but God told us ALL we were funny (at least in my dream last night.) Meanwhile, I'm scuffling away at my pilot re-write about an agency division to resurrect one-hit wonders and acting my a#$ off....all WITHOUT steroids (cough, cough, A-Rod).

But talking about me, while very Hollywood, is very boring. If I'm going to attempt to be half- good at acting, I should at least pretend I don't enjoy discussing ME.

So what else is there to talk about? Hmmm...the smell of roses, warm sunshine, the pavement slabs of Hollywood Blvd. Wow, I really need to expand my horizons. I am suffocating in the bubble. Hey, I know, let's talk about Genghis Khan. "What?" I hear you say. Yes, Genghis is a good abstract person to discuss on this otherwise Hollywood-infused blog. (Okay, so it's called "Thesy Surface in Los Angeles, duh!?) but seriously people, can I at least be ADD enough to totally go off subject and possibly bore you to death with my recent positive findings on the famous Mongolian:

FACT # 1: Genghis Khan lived till 65. Yes, 65!! By the way, 65 in the 1200s was like 105 nowadays, bloody old. So all those ferocious and destructive conquests must have provided REALLY good exercise for his heart (an ironic word pun on my part.) 24 Hour Fitness, pah, rape & conquer NOW.

FACT #2: Genghis was tolerant of different religions. Do I hear modern-day Obama comparisons? No, but interesting that Mr.Savage was also Mr. Tolerant in other areas of government.

FACT #3: Wikipedia says: "Genghis Khan is credited with bringing the Silk Road under one cohesive political environment. This allowed increased communication and trade between the West, Middle East and Asia, thus expanding the horizons of all three cultural areas." Awww, he helped infrastructure and trade. Obama, again, anyone?

FACT #4: A movie based on Genghis' life had Vin Diesel attached and never got further than the development stage...DOH! SEE, IT'S UNAVOIDABLE, I'M BACK AT MOVIES AGAIN!!?? Gosh darnnit. Don't fight the dark side, Thesy, join it!

As indeed I have.

Happy Oscar Day everyone!

"The Reader" for those Reading

It might be pouring cats and dogs in Los Angeles but that's no excuse to not get out of the house, park six blocks away from the movie theater and run umbrella-less to the box office, to see ANOTHER NAZI MOVIE.

"The Reader" was a good Nazi movie (oxymoron, I know) and a personal tale based on a book I read when I was a teenager. The script adaptation did well to mobilize the action of the novel and, like "Valkyrie," it gave a complicated and almost sympathetic view of the German side of this piece of history. I found myself wondering if it was hard for the Weinsteins to produce this movie? Both in spirit and physically.

(Spoiler Alert!) A haunting scene is when young Michael, now studying law in 70s Germany, visits the deserted Auschwitz. He is in a sense, visiting the "sins" of his elders, sins he couldn't totally grasp in the courtroom OR during an innocent love affair with Hannah Schmidt. I was moved. Youth trying to understand history, especially its own country's, is not a theme that comes up often in Hollywood movies. I applaud "The Reader" for showing us that the young DO sometimes have an interest in that history and that is is part of forming our identity, whether it's the angelic or the horrific side.

Side note: As wonderful and compelling as Kate Winslet was as the illiterate, former-SS officer, one wonders if that role should really be "Supporting." It now seems unfair for K-Win to have been pegged against a bunch of actresses at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards who had WAY LESS screen time and precious moments to be three-dimensional. Of course she was going to win! Still, can't deny, Kate did well and so.....let's just blame politics.

Now I'll catch up on my other Oscar contenders.