There was a time from the late 80's to the mid 90's when being into indie flick meant something. It was a renaissance with folks like Spike Lee, Quentin Tarrantino, Robert Rodriguez and Doug Liman did some great work out of the grasp of the studios reach. Camp-itilizing on this were a slew of indie rip-offs thattried (and sometimes succeeded) in getting good sized names to participate in their "gems" with the glory of a snow capped multi-million dollar deal twinkling in their eyes. These were mostly schlock in the exploitation genre of "erotic thriller," a dumbed down version of film noir. The king of the studio erotic thriller was probably the Sharon Stone thriller, "Sliver" one of her post "Basic Instinct" turns co-starring a then promising Billy Baldwin. That was a formula that duplicated countless times on late night Cinemax.

Year of the Groom is an ongoing series.

When it has come time to propose, every guy I know has had it screwed up. The reason was because there were elements (her) beyond their control.

Now it's my turn.

Greg Mills can also be read at the BASTARD OF ART AND COMMERCE

Offer me a job. At your work.

I will take it, by gum. I will bring my own lunch. I'll sit quietly, and cheerfully.

I could tidy, collate, bring in the elephants.

Got a waxing need? I'll wax it. Canvas need stretching? I'll get my gloves.

Cookie dough, as you may have gleaned, dear attentive reader, is my ambrosia and nectar, my soma and my score.

I have to play that song again.

After twenty years, it’s still hard to make the transition from Arena to small venue. We used to think of the small venues as the Fillmore and the Troubador. The Fillmore always smelt better. Both were good intimate shows.  Tonight I am playing Agoura Hills in a 500 seater off the 101 next to a Del Taco. They have mooseheads on the wall. This is too intimate.

So do you REALLY want to be a screenwriter?

"Tales From the Script" a new documentary by Peter Hanson gathers over two dozen screenwriters to explore the honored and abused craft.  A frank discussion of the ups and downs of the trade, the flick is a fascinating watch as it peers into the minds of the working screenwriter. You could take countless "How To Get Your Screenplay Sold" classes and never get the full picture of what a career looks like. Save your $300 on the seminar and see this flick first

Here's a bit I did for another site.

Some things sound really great on paper. Woody Harrelson plays a local simpleton who dresses up as the superhero, “Defendor” at night. Donning a duct tape logo, a mason jar of bees as his weapon and Christian Bale's “Dark Night” growl, he takes to the night in search of his archenemy, Captain Industry. The fact that he doesn't really know who Captain Industry is doesn't deter him. The film's uneven journey switches from a satire of vigilantism to a dark comedy to a tragedy. None of the genres are explored enough to make the flick work.

It is that time of year again when I help you dig out the those last winning points in your Oscar pool. The ever so tricky categories of Best Live Action and Animated Short can easily break any non-sanctioned company morale booster. In a quality statuette keno, these two categories should be weighted.

There is one thing I do have to admit. In the three years that I have been reviewing these, I have gone a humdrum 3 for 6 (but in baseball that is a .500 average).  In my own defense, I was tripped up by a Disney vs. Pixar face off last year. They split the vote and gave the Oscar to the Japanese flick, which I didn't care for so much. So, if I don't feel trustworthy to you , you should go check out the two programs at the Nuart or, if in Santa Ana, at the Southcoast Village 3.

For the first time in a while there is not a soley American film in any of the categories. However, subtitle haters take note, most of them are in English; even the ones from France.

So, here comes your quickie handicap.