When I was watching the Star Wars bonus features, I noticed that the actors are very careful to refer to their characters as separate people. If they character makes a choice, the actor doesn't say "I made that choice."
Except for Princess Leia. She talks in the first person when she's talking about Leia. And when she was referring to Padme, she said, "my mother."
I wonder how many actors use the first person when speaking about characters they play.
Every now and then, someone will ask an author what actors they would choose to play their characters.
And I honestly have no idea.
It varies so much! What if an actor was perfect for a character when they were much younger? Or if they look like the character, but I prefer when they do a different sort of role? For example, if an actor plays both villains and heroes, but I prefer their hero roles.
A lot of the actors I know are the wrong race. Actually, at one point I was really trying to figure out which character Hugh Jackman might play in one particular story. And the only character that I could picture him performing was the wrong race.
And then what if my characters were in an animated movie? Then it wouldn't matter what they look like, or even how old they might be. (One of the characters in Evva's story was based off of a character in Atlantis. And least as far as appearance goes).
So, yeah. I have no idea who I would picture as playing any of my characters.
In general, I tend to love animated movies more than live action ones. But live actions seem a lot more fun to make. At least some types, like when people get swung around in harnesses, or do sword fights and horseback riding and stuff.
For animation, a lot of it is sitting and drawing (well, sitting at the computer now). And the voice actors often don't even get to act with each other.
My pile of first drafts is steadily growing. I keep writing things, and then not touching them again (for years, in some cases). I have two novel-length stories, and several short stories. Nothing new has passed into the realm of second drafts.
Maybe it's because I've been editing Evva's story so much that I don't want to edit anything else. Except my Pokémon fanfiction.
But also, the two novel-length stories are a tangled mess. I haven't been brave enough to touch them yet.
Plus first drafts are more interesting, and feel lower-pressure. When you start editing. it's about perfecting.
So I keep writing new short stories and not editing them. I will some day. The short stories will be easier, because they're a lot less messy.
Grave of the Fireflies came through theaters for a couple days. After some debate, I decided to go.
I had seen this Ghibli Movie only once, I think in high school. And I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into, so I was completely blindsided. And rather outraged, in that way teenagers have. I thought if I was going to see it again, it might as well be on a big screen. And at least this time I was prepared for what was to come.
I biked to the theater, just to avoid the parking mess. My brakes have been getting a bit questionable, but I've been putting off getting them fixed. But one of the trailers in the theater was for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It's another special release of an older film. It's good too - you should watch it. If you don't know, one of the central events in the movie is when the girl's bike brakes fail, and she goes hurtling down the hill, out of control toward an oncoming train. So, after seeing the trailer which featured that scene, I decided that I wouldn't ride my bike anymore until I got the brakes fixed. I live near a lot of steep hills after all.
There was also a trailer for Ponyo, which will be re-released in theaters soon. And it was the most disjointed trailer I could imagine. Unless you'd seen Ponyo, you'd have no idea what it was about.
Then Grave of the Fireflies started. And of course, I cried during it a couple times. I've been reading Barefoot Gen (just finished it, actually) so I had that running through my head too. And I definitely appreciated Grave of the Fireflies more this time.
If you haven't seen it, you should. It's a very important movie, and mostly a true story. But be prepared. It's not like the other Ghibli movies (though Ghibli movies can be anything). It's very, very heavy. And that's putting it mildly.
After the film, they had an interview with the directer, Takahata. He had lived through WWII. And just like the children in the film, he experienced a fire bombing. He said that it felt so unreal. It didn't seem like the falling flames would devour the whole city. They were like torches scattered around. He used his experiences in the film.
I didn't think I'd care for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. It's a rare LA-remake that I have enjoyed. But it was good! They didn't butcher it, like they did with the new Lilo and Stitch. This HTTYD was very true to the original. And many of the dragons actually looked cooler. Hookfang looked amazing - definitely my favorite after Toothless (I wouldn't have said that in the animated version).
As I was watching the movie, Stoick sounded familiar. And his name looked familiar in the credits. I was suspicious, and my theory was confirmed. They got the same guy back to do Stoick! That's awesome. I don't know of any other actors who have come back to do a live-action version of a character they voiced (For example, they got Mufasa's original voice-actor back, but it was still voice acting).
And before the movie started, there was a trailer for Wicked part 2. Which meant that I was crying before the movie even started.
Considering how attached I get to Fern's friends, I find it very strange that I laugh so much when some of them get their butt kicked. Like when Scarlemagne is a prisoner, and Kipo puts him in his place.
Or like Dr. Octavius, who gets clobbered by an old lady (though poor MJ can't get a single hit on him). And in No Way Home, Peter takes control of his mechanical arms and is dragging him around. Doc is so pissed, and I can't stop laughing. At one point, Peter literally grabs him by the hair to hold him still.
I mean, at the time, they totally deserve it.
Whenever I try to talk to someone about my character Fern, they look at me like I'm crazy. My friends know she exists, but I never try to explain her stories. I've kinda tried three times. To be fair, the first person was a bad choice. The second person, I tried to explain it jokingly but they seemed to think it was pretty weird. The third one politely listened, and I barely touched on any of it. I chickened out - it's not like it's an important conversation topic anyway.
Which is why I end up writing about Fern here.
I mean, it's just Fanfiction. It's cathartic. I can give characters happier endings. And it kinda feels like characters are keeping me company while I'm thinking of story ideas. Does that make them imaginary friends? O__O
