HAPPY NEW YEAR, beloved blog readers! So what do y’all thing of the official Deliberate Productions website? Not bad, huh? Yes, I will say so myself because all of the credit for it goes to the amazin’ Hazen – that’s Shawn Hazen, everyone: www.hazencreative.com. I am particularly warm and fuzzy over the company logo that he’s created. I gave Shawn a few vague directives (“Um, red is my favorite color”) and he gave me about twenty potential options to choose from – and they were all fantastic. A BIG THANKS to him and VP of Marketing Barbara for helping design and launch Deliberate’s on-ramp to the info superhighway.
I feel so official now!
Speaking of VP Babs, I’m pressuring her (as only a big sister can) to do a guest blog post before she heads back over the pond. Perhaps she’ll give her assessment of Paranormal Activity 2, which we took in the other night after the Packers sealed their presence in the playoffs. Or maybe she’ll discuss her marketing strategy for Deliberate Productions? And, if all else fails, she can always share the amazing insights we’ve been privy to courtesy of our nieces. They are wise and hilarious little girls, indeed. The youngest one just lost a front tooth, so her pronunciation of “shushi” when describing one of Aunt Dee Dee’s favorite foods has provided many a laugh.
I do have a correction to make regarding my review of The King’s Speech in my last post. My faithful, much-appreciated pet sitter and blog reader, Dianne, pointed out to me that Helena Bonham Carter plays the Queen Mother we knew and loved, not the current Queen Elizabeth, in the film. My good pal Kevin also caught this error. As I explained to Dianne, I blame this mental lapse on the brain cells lost to Sex and the City 2. Have I mentioned the depths of how soul-drenching that film-watching experience was?!? And I’m a huge fan of the series!!! Okay, I really must stop torturing myself with the memories of it.
You still are not forgiven, Ladies...
Luckily, I cleansed my palette by going to see The Fighter with my friend Shannon (who also suffered through Sex and the City 2 with me). Boy, just when I was about to hand over the Oscar to Colin Firth, Christian Bale swoops in and blows me away with his manic, jacked-up performance as the “I coulda been a contender,” crack-addict brother to Mark Wahlberg’s boxer-on-the-rise. Talk about great acting! But I have to give Wahlberg credit, too. He’s doing an effective job of shedding his Calvin Klein/Funky Bunch persona with choices like The Fighter. (That’s not to say I minded when he showed off his pecs during those boxing scenes, though. Oh la la.) Like Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech, Wahlberg has what could be seen as the less showy and demanding role, but it’s just as important to the chemistry of the story and the interplay between characters. Hats off to all of these actors for bringing us some explosive, inspiring performances this year. It gets me excited about casting Beneath the Surface when the time comes.
Shirtless scenes *do* serve a purpose!
NEXT UP: Producer Pow-Wow.