Podcast appearances and mentions of lester burnham

You're likely thinking of American Beauty, not American Pie. In American Beauty (1999), Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a disillusioned suburban father experiencing a midlife crisis. And yes, Lester is a strong example of involuntary psychological regression.Here's why:Involuntary Regression in Lester Burnham: • Reverting to an earlier identity: Lester tries to reclaim his youth by quitting his job, smoking weed, working out, and lusting after his teenage daughter's friend—behavior more typical of a reckless adolescent than a middle-aged man. • Coping with powerlessness: His regression is a reaction to feeling emasculated, bored, and trapped in a life devoid of meaning. Rather than confronting these feelings maturely, he slips into fantasy and impulsive behavior. • Midlife crisis as regression: His crisis is framed as a desperate escape into a glorified version of his past—when he felt freer, more desirable, and in control.So yes, Lester's arc is a textbook case of involuntary regression as a defense mechanism—attempting to avoid existential despair by fleeing into a younger, idealized version of himself.Would you like this broken down for podcast discussion or teaching notes?___________________________Regression and Mental HealthIn this episode, the hosts explore regression—psychological, social, and racial—and the importance of pivoting for personal growth.Topics Covered: • Psychological Regression: Understanding regression as a defense mechanism and the role of therapies like CBT in fostering positive change. • Personal Stories: Insights into self-sabotage, perfectionism, and strategies to overcome them. • Societal Regression: Discussion on racial regression in the U.S., including challenges to affirmative action and DEI initiatives. • Cultural Regression: Examination of individuals clinging to outdated roles, particularly in gang culture. • Popular Culture: Analysis of regression themes in films like American Beauty and commentary on celebrity cases. • Moving Forward: Emphasis on self-assessment, adaptability, and seeking support when needed.

1999 was a golden year for movies.That year saw the release of The Matrix, American Beauty, and Fight Club - which remain some of my all time favourites.The latter two are particular compelling as I look through my present-day lens and what they had to say about men & masculinity at the end of the millennium.Both American Beauty & Fight Club depict similar themes of (white) men grappling with middle-class consumerism and a lack of potency, trapped in a meaningless existence.In American Beauty, Lester Burnham opens the film by detailing his boring life - from the teenager who hates him, to his wife who doesn't respect him, and his cubicle dwelling job sucking his soul. The high point of his day is “jerking off in the shower.”Tyler Durden, the rebellious bad boy in Fight Club, tells the Narrator (who lives a similar flat-line as Lester):"Men have become mortgages, marriages, car payments, and fucking cable bills. We are the middle children of history, no purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives.”We could label Lester & the Narrator as living the archetype of The Domestic Man.What's fascinating for me is to observe how each of these men respond to their intolerable condition, and how that relates to the theme of “finding the Wild Man” that Robert Bly speaks about in the fairy tale of Iron John.In one of the teaching sessions I attended with Stephen Jenkinson, he asked us once: what is the most dangerous kind of animal?Some ventured to say “a wild animal.”He made the case that was untrue. For while a wild animal may be hazardous to humans, it is living connected to its nature and the pulse of life. A more dangerous creature that is often unpredictable and malevolent in its behaviour?The name for that is “feral” he told us.This is a creature that has failed to be domesticated.I think of this in the arc of Tyler Durden and The Narrator in Flight Club. What begins as an underground men's group, committed to living raw and alive again, morphs into a revolutionary cell (Project Mayhem) that attacks the data centres of credit card companies, aimed at liberating a new society.It remains somewhat ambiguous whether this actually happens or if it's a fantasy of the Narrator's psychosis.Now, while you may agree that predatory debt needs to be unshackled from humanity (as I do) you may have issues with the tactics. And it's clear the tone of the revolutionary effort becomes poisoned with toxic ideology.You could call this response 'feral'.For Lester Burnham in American Beauty, his inner fire is reawakened by an encounter with his daughter's teenage friend, a nymph-like cheerleader that becomes an inspiration for his salvation. (You might say she has taken on his anima projection - the erotic feminine in him he has suppressed).Suddenly, he finds the courage to quit is job, start lifting weights, smoke pot, and tell off his wife. He's a middle-aged man regressing back to his teen years to remember what it was like to actually enjoy life.Lester is aided by the young Buddha-like neighbour Ricky Fitts, who operates within society from a place of conscious non-attachment, preferring to film every moment of beauty that he comes across - including the infamous plastic bag dancing in the wind.In the scene where Ricky is watching the footage with his girlfriend, he says:"There's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once. And it's beautiful. […] It's like God wants me to notice it. To recognize all this beauty. Maybe it's the secret that the whole universe is trying to tell us. Something, we all know deep down but we all kind of forgot. And I don't know if my heart is gonna explode or what. But I'm grateful. I am so grateful.”The moment itself is a portal into wonder, for the characters and for the millions of viewers who saw the film.It certainly was for me, watching the film at 18 years old.Near the end of the film, Lester Burham awakens from the spell he had cast upon his daughter's girlfriend. She was not the Goddess incarnate, just an insecure young girl who was terrified of rejection. His character softens to her and he becomes more like a supportive Father.Lester realizes he has no one else to blame for his life. He had abandoned himself, convinced that it was someone else's job to “save him.”Robert A. Johnson would call this finally slaying his inner Mother Complex.Robert Bly might say, he has freed the Wild Man from the cage.It is now his task to cultivate his own connection to the primal erotic foundation of life.Today, many men find themselves in a similar predicament.Buried under mortgages, parenting, the daily grind of a job, lacking a deeper sense of direction & purpose.These days, it's “easier” then ever to get lost in addictions, distractions, and despair.And yet, there are a growing number of men willing to “seek the golden ball” that they lost long ago, and step up to the Wild Man's cage.With this in mind, my collaborator Deus and I have crafted a 3 month online journey: The Deep Masculine.This immersion brings together over a decade of exploration into mythopoetic maps, somatic skills, ritual rhythm, and the power of brotherhood - for men to awaken their primal birthright.The doors re-open March 14th.Today more than ever, we need men ablaze with courage, fiercely in love with life, and willing to bow in service to beauty.Onwards,Ianp.s. For men able to join us on Vancouver Island, you are invited to our next Awakening the Wild Erotic (April 4-6, 2025). Get full access to The Mythic Masculine at themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back ladies and gents to another episode of Woody Adjacent!   Soo much is happening in the world of related entertainment and politics it seems we just had to address a portion of it as it relates to certain aspects of our podcast   So... starting with Alec Baldwins RUST court case which has now come to a sudden and eventful close. As Mr Baldwin is clearly one of Woody Allens biggest public supporters and listeners still want to hear our take on this eventful case closure   Moving on from there we pick up with our Ai Podcast assistant's movie choice of the month... that being 1999's American Beauty.   The starring lead in said movie, Kevin Spacey is yet another controversial figure we needed to further discuss, not only in relation to the chosen movie pick but also in terms of his ongoing blacklist backlash causing much discourse in the fiery court of public opinion    There is just soo much to discuss on this episode it surely now becomes one of our longest episodes in our catalogue   We hope you enjoy, please consider leaving a comment using our special link below as well as our other related links below!   In American Beauty (1999) Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a disillusioned middle-aged man who has a thankless job and beleives he is trapped in a loveless marriage with his materialistic wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening). As a midlife crisis unfolds, Lester becomes infatuated with their teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari), which further sparking a desire to reclaim his lost youth and inner happiness.  _________________________________   Please Find Links To The Other Sources / Audio Clips Mentioned in This Episode   Piers Morgain Kevin Spacey Interview: https://youtu.be/qktc4-9mXXc?si=bUJSqVCNgXM4mKog   Alec Baldwin Case Close Breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSEa0GiWXYA   Dr Grande On Alec Baldwin Case Close: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xeYO13p3HM   American Beauty: Meaning of Rose Essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTwjusPAlM   Kevin Spacey Court of Public Opinion - Piers Aftermath - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWe2PLhvnMU   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Beauty_(1999_film)   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_beauty   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

Ian chose the film that swept the 1999 Oscars. And try to take away your feelings about the lead actor. If you like this episode please leave a review.Support the show

Hello and welcome to Your Favorite Movie. I'm your host Evan Kelly. I've always loved movies. I feel they have a unique power that isn't found in other types of media. So I've invited a few of my friends to come and talk about their favorite movies. My guest today is Pete Barlow, the creator of the popular web comic G. I. Low. Pete channels the humor of his military career into a series of lighthearted comics that have achieved great success within military and veteran communities and beyond. Pete has recently begun taking his act on the road by dipping his toes into the waters of standup comedy. In addition to his humorous endeavors, Pete has co-hosted The Dead Presidents Society podcast and is a frequent contributor to The Blanket Fortress of Solitude. Pete's favorite movie is American Beauty - sort of. Sam Mendes' 1999 suburban dramedy follows Lester Burnham. Lester is the typical American - he has a white collar job, a wife and daughter… and he couldn't be more miserable. The constraints of corporate America and domestic image maintenance have sapped Lester of all vigor. Until one day, a chance encounter sparks an awakening. Lester begins to take charge of his life, despite the ominous announcement from Lester himself that he is narrating his story from beyond the grave.

“My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead.”  These opening lines set the stage for American Beauty, a turn-of-the-20th-century picture about the beauty…and dysfunction…of suburban American life.  As Lester awakens to the changes he needs to make to his everyday life, his wife and daughter follow similar journeys, along with his mysterious next-door neighbor.  As Lester's death day looms, the culprits seem to multiply.  Part drama, part comedy, and all dysfunctional does American Beauty still deserve to be seen?  Find out today.Current Rankings:Lawerence of Arabia  The GodfatherAll About EveThe Godfather Part IISilence of the Lambs Gone With Wind It Happened One NightAmadeus The Deer HunterThe StingAll The King's MenThe Lost WeekendBridge on the River KwaiTitanicOne Flew Over The Cuckoos NestRain ManSchindler's ListThe French ConnectionOn The WaterfrontThe Sound Of MusicCasablancaAll Quiet on the Western FrontRebeccaIn The Heat of the NightThe Mutiny On The BountyYou Can't Take It With You MartyThe English PatientMrs. MiniverDances With Wolves My Fair LadyPattonGentleman's AgreementHamletCimarron Ben HurChariots of FireGandhiBraveheartUnforgivenAnnie HallShakespeare In LoveDriving Miss DaisyMidnight CowboyBest Years of Our LivesFrom Here to EternityOliver!Forest GumpAround the World in 80 DaysThe Apartment The Last EmperorThe Great ZiegfeldA Man Of All SeasonsThe West Side StoryWingsGrand HotelRockyOut of AfricaTom JonesKramer v KramerLife of Emil ZolaHow Green Was My ValleyPlatoonAn American in ParisGoing My WayGreatest Show On EarthOrdinary PeopleTerms of EndearmentBroadway Melody CavalcadeGigi

Our Thuds and Duds theme concludes with this week's episode and Dave's selection, 1999's American Beauty! Why were we supposed to like Lester Burnham? Why was this movie such a huge and celebrated phenomenon in a year of other fantastic films? Why were we supposed to like Lester Burnham? Does the film hold up today, or have shifting cultural attitudes and necessary social conversations aged it too much? And WHY...were we supposed to LIKE Lester Burnham? Seriously! Tune in as we "look closer"!

1 Film – 2 Generationen Laura (*1994) und Jürgen (*1971) haben sich für die Jubiläumsfolge eine Drama aus dem Jahre 1999 ausgesucht. Es handelt sich dabei um den Film AMERCIAN BEAUTY. Hierin begleiten wir Lester Burnham durch seine Midlife Crisis, die leider eher zu einem schlechten Ende führt. Eine sehr aufschlussreiche Folge, in der man nicht nur lernen kann, das der Filmtitel eine tiefere Bedeutung in sich trägt. Beim nächsten Mal widmen wir uns einem Werk aus dem Jahre 1996, in dem sich ein örtlich bekannter Staranwalt einem jungen, schüchternen Messdiener annimmt und ihn ordnungsgemäß zu verteidigen versucht... Folge direkt herunterladen

Warum wir uns manchmal wünschen, mehr wie Lester Burnham zu sein, weshalb wir uns nie wünschen, Axl Rose zu heiraten und wieso zur Hölle Daniel nicht weiß, wer Willi Herren war. callspodcast@icloud.com

Warum wir uns manchmal wünschen, mehr wie Lester Burnham zu sein, weshalb wir uns nie wünschen, Axl Rose zu heiraten und wieso zur Hölle Daniel nicht weiß, wer Willi Herren war. callspodcast@icloud.com

On this episode, we discuss the seventy-second Best Picture Winner: “AMERICAN BEAUTY.”"American Beauty" is a dark satire of American middle-class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction. The film follows Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend.  As he experiences a new awakening of the senses, his wife and daughter also undergo changes that seriously affect their family. Directed by Sam Mendes, the film stars Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham, Annette Bening as Carolyn Burnham, Thora Birch as Jane Burnham, Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts, Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes, Peter Gallagher as Buddy Kane, Allison Janney as Barbara Fitts, Chris Cooper as Colonel Fitts and Scott Bakula as Jim Olmeyer.Here on The Envelope, we discuss & review every Best Picture Winner in the Academy Awards History. You can reach anyone here at TheEnvelopePodcast.com – Just go there to email us, check our bios, and keep up with the latest episode.

"I feel like I've been in a coma for the past twenty years. And I'm just now waking up." - Lester Burnham, American Beauty (1999) The fellas attempt to work through the awkwardness of visiting another 1999 classic, American Beauty. Discussion about cinematography, the use of makeup, storytelling issues, and the amazing year and legacy of 1999 movies. Join Austin, Tyler, Logan,  and Rubyen on this episode.   *American listeners: take care of each other, respect each other, and keep the faith.

Produced by Jake Pace. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria and Brandon discuss the 1999 film American Beauty, and they don't like Lester this time around. They discuss how the movie embodies the 1990s and a white male fantasy (what else is new). Maria also talks about her various hospitalizations due to mental health issues. It’s the episode where Brandon sums it up eloquently: Lester Burnham is the type of person who wouldn’t wear a mask during a pandemic.

American Beauty is one of those films every always agrees is “pretty damn good”. You’d be hard pushed to find someone who doesn’t like it, and isn’t wowed by the fact this DEBUT FILM won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. Imagine that? Well, if you’re Sam Mendes, you don’t have to. Released in 1999, American Beauty follows average middle aged guy Lester Burnham and his mid-life crisis, as it unravels to affect those around him. Not only is this film full of stand out performances, every single department is firing on all cylinders. From Conrad Halls cinematography (which it won an Oscar for) Thomas Newmans haunting score (which it won an Oscar for) and Alan Balls amazing script (which…you guessed it). It’s one of the most knockout debuts we’ve had the pleasure of exploring on YNFYF, and if you expected Louis to relax on taking apart movie titles with the word American in, you’d be wrong!We also cover all the Oscars chat and our predictions, as well as dropping a Kong Skull island reference for good measureTheres also no short of the week this week, as we had plenty to get through!As always, enjoy.

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Charlene Lydon, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT. This time, continuing our Summer of '99 season, Sam Mendes' American Beauty. 1999 was a great year for movies, with a host of massively successful (and cult) hits that would define cinema for a next generation: Being John Malkovich, Magnolia, Fight Club, The Green Mile, The Insider, Run, Lola, Run. The Summer of '99 season offers a trip through the year in film on the IMDb's 250. Trapped in a loveless marriage and father to a daughter who wants him dead, Lester Burnham finds himself going through a midlife crisis. In the year leading up to his death, Lester attempts to reconnect with his youth and rediscover the man that he once was before the embers die out for good. At time of recording, it was ranked 73rd on the Internet Movie Database's list of the best movies of all-time.

In this episode, we get down and dirty talking about that dirty Lester Burnham; then we get deep talking about how we are all impostors! And lastly, we get into sweet dirty deep action heroes! Find out who is the hero and who is the zero! Some come along with us as we learn a thing or two!

"I feel like I've been in a coma for 20 years... and I'm just now waking up." That's what Lester Burnham tells us in AMERICAN BEAUTY, and may also describe some people's reaction to this Best Picture winner from 1999, which is a mite more controversial in the wake of the #MeToo movement — and allegations of sexual misconduct by its Oscar-winning lead. When We Were Young invites you to "look closer" at the stunning cinematography, the innovative editing, the memorably melancholy score, and, of course, Alan Ball's sharp-tongued screenplay, which follows a doofy dad through a particularly fatal midlife crisis and satirizes upper middle class suburbia. There's plenty to cherish here, from the darkly comedic performances of Annette Bening, Mena Suvari, and, yes, even Kevin Spacey — but what about its approach to gender and sexuality in the 90s? Is this a cautionary tale about the dangers of chasing youth in your middle age, or is watching Spacey lust after a teenager in 2019 just too... icky? Does American Beauty hold up like a plastic bag on a blustery day? Or is the bloom off the rose? Find out in our newest episode! When We Were Young is a podcast devoted to the most beloved pop culture of our formative years (roughly 1980-2000). Join us for a look back to the past with a critical eye on how these movies, songs, TV shows and more hold up now. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email your episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on iTunes so more folks check out the show! Help us defray the costs of creating this show, which includes purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California, by donating to our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung.

"I feel like I've been in a coma for 20 years... and I'm just now waking up." That's what Lester Burnham tells us in AMERICAN BEAUTY, and may also describe some people's reaction to this Best Picture winner from 1999, which is a mite more controversial in the wake of the #MeToo movement — and allegations of sexual misconduct by its Oscar-winning lead. When We Were Young invites you to "look closer" at the stunning cinematography, the innovative editing, the memorably melancholy score, and, of course, Alan Ball's sharp-tongued screenplay, which follows a doofy dad through a particularly fatal midlife crisis and satirizes upper middle class suburbia. There's plenty to cherish here, from the darkly comedic performances of Annette Bening, Mena Suvari, and, yes, even Kevin Spacey — but what about its approach to gender and sexuality in the 90s? Is this a cautionary tale about the dangers of chasing youth in your middle age, or is watching Spacey lust after a teenager in 2019 just too... icky? Does American Beauty hold up like a plastic bag on a blustery day? Or is the bloom off the rose? Find out in our newest episode! When We Were Young is a podcast devoted to the most beloved pop culture of our formative years (roughly 1980-2000). Join us for a look back to the past with a critical eye on how these movies, songs, TV shows and more hold up now. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email your episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on iTunes so more folks check out the show! Help us defray the costs of creating this show, which includes purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California, by donating to our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung.

Loglines   What is a longline? “A one or two sentence encapsulation of your story. It highlights character conflict and those aspects of your piece that make it unique.”   I was so thrown by this concept when I started! How the hell was I supposed to funnel my 120 page screenplay into two sentences? And it’s something I still struggle with today.   Loglines have to answer certain questions “What’s the hook?” “Does it have audience appeal?”   Remember;  Concept is your greatest ally.   Some other things to ask yourself as you are writing the logline: What is the crux of your film? Is the concept clear and easily understood? Does it suggest the largest conflict in the film? Does it suggest your cast of characters? What’s unique? What may be familiar to your audience? What is easily marketable about your film? What is the dynamic action of your film?   Sometimes it helps to think of it as a one line premise.    What has worked with me now is trying to write the logllne first and it’s a very, very short outline. Your main character is there, the conflict and what makes it unique.   Some Logline examples: And I just stole these online. But it’s important to show how easy it can be sometimes. Once we hear these loglines, it’s like, why the hell didn’t I think of that. It is also something that can help producers sell your movie. Get that elevator pitch down. How will you sell your script without pulling out your 2 page synopsis? Create an amazing longline!    Good ones:   "A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.” SILENCE OF THE LAMBS   "Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.” THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION   "Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after becoming infatuated with his daughter's attractive friend.” AMERICAN BEAUTY (This one adds the actual name. This is a personal preference. But it does take up space in those two sentences. It is just as impactful to start right off with “A Depressed suburban father…”)   "An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soapmaker form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.” FIGHT CLUB   "A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family's future.” BREAKING BAD   Now some example of bad ones:   GRADUATE  - A college graduate, home for the summer, has an affair with the wife of his father’s business partner, then falls in love with her daughter.    DENNIS THE MENACE  – Comic strip moppet plays pranks on Mr. Wilson.   EDWARD SCISSORHANDS  – A suburban mother brings home a freaky young man who has scissors instead of hands.   I think it’s so important to practice this, so every screenplay that is entered into the Monthly Writing Madness will require a logline right on the title page.    I’ve added a great exercise in this weeks freebie into the show notes. There are great questions to ask of your script. Not only will it help create a logline but it will also help your script as a whole. Because if you can not answer these questions for your logline then how is your full script fairing? So use this exercise for your logline and a quick examination of your script as a whole.   If you are just starting out and this concept intimidates you, there is a great formula that I was taught when I got my Masters.   Write down the protagonist, setting, problem, antagonist, conflict and goal. Then put it down into the the logline as such:   (Protagonist) in (setting) has/did/was (problem) caused by (antagonist) and (conflict) as they/he/she can (goal).    Work on this simple technique until you become confident with your own logline ability. I still use this to get the first logline out and then tweek it to fit what I was really wanting to say. I’ll be adding this technique into the freebie that you can find in the show notes and also at www.ink2screen.net/page2.      Now the 4 things to avoid doing when writing your logline. A logline is not a tagline. The tagline like In space no one can hear you scream!” This does not a logline make. Follow the steps above to create the best logline for your movie. Avoid the cliche as much as possible. Cliches are vague and do not provide the unique quality that only your script has. Questions. Do not ask questions in your logline. The logline can keep the reader guessing but don’t ask them the question. Let them wonder and want to read more. Keep it simple, stupid! Some writers go on and on. One to two sentences is all but that does not mean to create an eight line run on sentence. Strip it down and throw it out into the world.   Avoid these 5 things and you will be ahead of the game.    That is the crash course on loglines. If you want practice, take the Logline action guide from the show notes and practice writing a logline for your favorite films. How can you get it down to the bare bones.   Next week we will be in the middle of the first Monthly Writing Madness competition and it will be a great time to talk more about character development.   If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to subscribe to it no matter where you are listening from. And you can also find us on facebook under Ink 2 Screen.    Well, time to go. Hope to hear the furious scratch on the paper or the gentle tapping of a keyboard. Until next time.

American Beauty - (1999) Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation for his daughter's attractive friend.

American Beauty - (1999) Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation for his daughter's attractive friend.

Episode 46Stand By Me, Contact, American BeautyHi, welcome to episode 46 of Jay Wont darts podcast. My intro was from episode 132 of No Agenda.This episode, I'll talk about three of my favourite movies. Stand by Me, a coming of age flick, Contact, starring Jodie Foster and centred around aliens, and American Beauty, which is like a grown up Ferris Buellers Day Off. First, Stand By Me.Heres the trailer,Stand By Me is a movie a lot of people will have seen before, and forgotten about. Its truly a classic. The movie, based on a Steven King book, came out in 1986. It has a lot of fairly well known scenes, the young boys walking along train tracks for most of the movie is quite memorable.I'll read from the Wikipedia summary.The film is narrated by an adult Gordie LaChance, known as "The Writer" (Richard Dreyfuss), writing the memoir about his youth. Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon, over Labor Day weekend in September 1959, Gordie (Wil Wheaton), and his friends Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) learn from their friend Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell) that the dead body of a boy named Ray Brower, who was struck by a train while picking blueberries in the woods, has not been found. While under his porch looking for his buried jar of pennies, Vern overheard his older brother talking about finding the body while in the woods with a friend. The boys then embark upon a two-day journey across the woodlands near Castle Rock to see and find the body in hopes that the discovery will make them all famous.Each boy has a physical and/or emotional burden. Gordie is a quiet, bookish boy with a penchant for telling stories and writing, rejected by his father following the death of his football-star older brother Denny (John Cusack) in a Jeep accident. Chris is from a family of criminals and alcoholics and, despite his intelligence and desire to break the generational curse, he is usually stereotyped accordingly. Teddy is an eccentric and physically deformed after his mentally-unstable father (whom Teddy sees as a war hero who "stormed the beach at Normandy") held his ear to a stove and nearly burned it off, thus forcing him to wear a hearing aid. Vern, overweight and timid, is easily scared, and thus often picked on.Through the boys' misadventures and conversations, the viewer learns about each character's personality. Each of the boys, for varying reasons, lives in the shadow of their fathers and older brothers. Gordie's talent for storytelling pegs him as the most likely of the four to have a promising future.Heres a clip of Gordie telling a story.Stand By Me is a great movie, its been mentioned in pop culture a few times, such as the scenes of the adult writer reminiscing about his childhood friends. By the end of the movie, we hear him mention how he moved away from his friends, and the terrible fates that awaited each of them. Its terribly sad, to hear how they all end up.The next movie is Contact, about finding a radio signal from outer space. Contact came out in 1997. Jodie Foster's character has been into radio all her life, and now she works with radio telescopes listening to signals from space. Eventually, she and her team manage to decode one such signal, and find out it has information inside, instructing them to build a machine.Here is the trailer for contact.I forget the total cost of the machines, but its actually quite low by todays standards, less than the US auto bail outs for example. A machine, or two, to teleport us through space, to meet aliens, and they cost less than keeping American cars around.This is unrelated to the cost of the machine, but here is a clip of Jodie Foster asking for more funding.Contact has a really interesting character, a ultra rich man near the end of his life, he shows up in a lot of interesting scenes, such as one as he floats inside a space station to prolong his life. Near the very end of the movie, as a question about him is brought up, we see his fellow space station friends put him in a body bag.An interesting thing about Contact, the signal, and aliens, are from Vega, a star. When you mention this star , people from Vega are called "vay-guns". So, in the movie there are some GREAT clips to be made, as it sounds like they are saying Vegans! Observe.Arnt they great?The last movie is American Beauty. I love this movie, it features Kevin Spacey as the main character. American Beauty came out in 1999.Reading from Wikipedia,Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis after becoming infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend.After watching a high school basketball game at which Jane is a cheerleader, Lester develops an infatuation with Jane's sexually precocious friend and classmate, Angela . His fantasies entail a sexually aggressive Angela among red rose petals. Lester is informed he is to be laid off, but blackmails his boss, quits his job and takes up low-pressure employment at a fast food chain. He buys his dream car, starts lifting weights and begins running to "look good naked"—to impress Angela, whom he overheard telling Jane that she would find him sexually attractive if he had muscle. He also takes up smoking cannabis, which he buys from Ricky. Lester continues to fantasize about Angela and flirts with her whenever she visits Jane. The pair's friendship wanes and Jane becomes romantically involved with Ricky; the lovers bond over Ricky's camcorder footage of what he considers the most beautiful imagery he has filmed: a plastic bag blowing in the windIts a very odd movie, but definitely one of my favourite movies of all time. Heres the trailer for American Beauty. here are some other clips, the main character Lester explaining his job That job scene actually is reminding me of Fight Club, American Beauty is like Ferris Beuller meets Fight Club, but without the violence. Its emotional, but not a chick flick.a tense dinner sceneand the most beautiful thing Ricky has ever filmed, a plastic bagI highly recommend all three of these movies, Stand By Me, Contact, and American Beauty.Thank you for listening. My outro is the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, on the Letterman show.You can find the script for this episode, as well as downloads for every episode of Jay Wont darts podcast at jaywontdart.blogspot.comIf you want to contact me, even just to say you listened, send an email to jaywontdart@gmail.com, j a y w o n t d a r t @ gmail.com, I'd appreciate it.Have a super happy day, bye.sources=======stand by me lardass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG2gjL-KUqwcontacttrailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF3IZzXZ6Igfunding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sds7hTlaNaMamerican beauty most beautiful thinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yk7b2uo0u8my jobhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqJ8zxV7Cjwdinner scenehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRfZQN9cMfo