Downtime and MMA

Since finishing my final (we hope) edit of "What Love Remains", finishing my job as DP on a Thesis film, and completing the first draft of my script for this semester, I've had a couple hours of downtime. WHEE!!!! First thing I did was rent a couple movies, discovering in the process that "BRICK" is a frikken AMAZING movie that I will cherish for a long long time. After that was over, I decided to pull out some UFC dvd's and just enjoy some vicarious violence.

Those of you who know me (and you are few), know that I'm a HUGE fan of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Quite frankly it's the only sport I can stand to watch... and I'm an addict. It is the only THING on this earth that can get me into a bar (because I can't afford pay per view) and I can't wait to go back to the dingy, smelly Hammer Jack's on March 3rd to watch my boys beat the heck out of/submit each other.

For those of you who don't know, MMA is a hybrid form of martial arts that combines Greco-Roman Wrestling, Kickboxing, Ju-Jitsu, and various other forms of martial arts. It came about (popularly) in about 1993 when the first Ultimate Fighting Championship was held. Basically it was a competition to figure out that old question "Which Form of Fighting is the Best?". What quickly became apparent is what Bruce Lee had been telling us all along: ONE style of fighting won't cut it, you have to be able to move between them. There are several ways to win; Knock Out (that thing where someone hits/kicks you and the birdies sing), Submission (that thing where someone twists your arm and makes you say UNCLE... or in this case makes you tap out), Points (that thing where nobody wins so they send it to the judges), and Ref Stoppage/TKO (that thing where the ref rushes in to protect you from further punches to the face).

Since 1993 MMA has gone through allot of changes and is one of the most respected and successful sports on the map, making millions in pay per views and having a legion of fans at their heels. All that aside, the wife and I are just huge, salivating, rabid fans. :)

Anyways, back to that whole SCHOOL thing. Since last semester's project was so ambitious, I'm cutting back this semester's. I'm doing a short film that's really only one scene. I wanted to spend more time rehearsing and working specifically on performance, thus avoiding some of the headaches of producing. I just want to focus on directing a little more, allow myself to have a DP again (though that's always the most difficult thing for me), and just work with my actors. We'll see. I'll keep y'all posted.

Ah... those couple hours off were nice.