My blog

Label... Category... Standard Entry Video Information Press Release Event News

• Summer Went By Too Fast!

  Friday, Aug 28, 2009 11:31PM / Standard Entry

  First of all it barely felt like summer. Temps here in Western NY barely got out of the 70s (20s C). I can't think of any day this summer where I wished for a pool or air conditioning.

  If your school days were like mine (a long time ago haha) you might have been asked on your first day back from summer vacation, to write about what you did that summer. So in that spirit, with my kids going back to school soon, here's "What I did on my Summer Vacation"

  First of all I couldn't wait for the school year to end so I could get done with my "day job" working as a bus monitor for the school district. Why? Because I had been asked in May to help a good friend of mine with a script and I was so wanting to get working on the re-write. But first I had to not only wait until the school year finished up, but I also had to finish my first book and send it to the editor/publisher (By the way, it's being released Aug 31 PLEASE buy a copy! or two! Chrismtmas is coming, ya know!- http://www.hongkong-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=15&products_id=5932&osCsid=d6145225f49eb429b5f0a534ab9fe31d)

  School ended June 23 and I managed to finish the book by the last day of June. I figured I'd have a couple of months to work on the script. I was nervous as well as excited. admittedly it was my first time working on a screen play and the project was described by my friend as being his "dream project", something he's been wanting to make happen for some time and one which he's already pitched to some producer friends who seem interested and are just waiting for the script.  Liking the story and characters he created made getting enthusiastic about it very easy. Being given free-rein to add scenes, cut scenes, change dialoge, etc was both liberating and a little scary too. I even asked him to tell me if there was anything about the original script that he wanted to keep as is, and he replied that I should just do what I feel is right, follow my judgement etc. It is wonderful to have someone feeling so confident about  your ability. He must like what he sees so far because he's even mentioned that he will give me more screenwriting work in the future!

  I've also done a little proof-reading for another script of his for a film that's in pre-production. I find it very ironic that I, the self proclaimed "Typo Queen" has been asked to proof read anything, but I guess that while I may mess up my own writing, I'm pretty good at recognising other people's spelling and grammer goofs....takes one to know one I guess!

  My family life has been fun, frustrating, crazy....typical, in other words! We took a drive down to Long Island since we didn't go in the spring as we usually do. And it worked out perfectly because in summer there's much more to do. We took the girls to the Riverside Aquarium where they got to pet and feed bat rays, sharks (small ones) Koi, and we got into a little wading area and picked up live sand crabs, horseshoe crabs and other critters. The next day we went to the beach where we swam and the girls got their first taste (literally!) of salt water. The water was pretty clear which was helful when dodging big sand crabs and hermit crabs too (the beach is called Crab Meadow for a reason!) The last place we took the girls to was a place I loved as a child, The Long Island Game Farm and Petting Zoo. This is a family run place that is mostly a petting zoo. The girls got to feed a zebra (they have a long PVC pipe set up and guests can feed them treats bought at a consession stand. We just pulled up some grass, rolled it into a ball and sent that down!) and they practically got run over by some eager lambs who, upon seeing they had a milk bottle, came running full speed! I think we've given them some memories that will last. It is very cool to see them doing the same things I did as a kid.

  I remember when Kim was about 4, before Jojo was born, I took Kim to California and we went to all the places I used to go as a little kid with my family. I have a picture of myself sitting on one of the cannons near Santa Monica Pier, so of course I posed her the same way.  We drove all theway down to San Diego to see Sea World, and did lots of things like that. If I had the money, I'd love to do that again with Kim and Jojo but spend a lot longer and see even more places I used to go like The San Diego Zoo, San Francisco...lots more! Plus I have not seen my sister who lives there, in about 8 years! Money's been tight, but we're working on saving some up, so maybe soon we can get out there. We may not be able to afford all the sights, but just getting out there to see her as well as the friend I'm writing for, would be fantastic.

  Other miscellanous stuff, Jojo started learning to ride her bike this summer, Kim learned to make animations using a simple movie-maker program, she made it into the advanced math and English classes for this year. Sean's rotator cuff injury seems to start to heal when he is not working, but work he must. I do wish I could somehow earn enough money to let him stay at home. That sure can't happen with my day job. In fact my hours got cut almost in half. I stand to lose my insurance next year if my hours don't get increased. But hey, who knows what tomorrow will bring. I never worry. Sean does enough of that for both of us.  I tend to be happy-go-lucky and just deal with stuff as it happens. I'm covered health insurence wise until next summer (if what the union guy told me, is true) so when the school year ends, I'll have a look at the situation and find another job if I have to.

   

  
  

  1 comment–  Add a comment

• My First Book is Being Released!

  Monday, Jul 6, 2009 10:04PM / News

  Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce that my first book is being released at the end of the month by Screen Power Publishing Group. I hope you'll all pick up a copy if you can!
  
  Here's the description:

  
  
  Jackie Chan is known around the world for his amazing stunts, breathtaking choreography and sense of humour. But before he became famous, he made several films while under contract with Lo Wei, the director/producer who laid claim to discovering Bruce Lee.
  
  
  This new 150 paged book (Colour/Black & White) examines the films of this era in Jackie Chan’s life, paying close attention to the ways in which he fought to be allowed to create characters and choreography which he knew would make him a success. But Lo Wei was a stubborn man who was trying to mold Jackie into the image of the late Bruce Lee, not the king of Kung-fu comedy. The examination of each film from New Fist Of Fury to Fearless Hyena 2 follows Chan’s rise literally from brick layer to superstar.
  
  
  This book also features:
  
  
  A look at the cast and crew of these films and where they are now…
  
  The “Bruceploitation” films and their stars…
  
  The rise of the Hong Kong film industry…
  
  Lo Wei profiled with his filmography…
  
  The filmography of Jackie Chan…
  
  Jackie Chan’s Lo Wei bloopers…
  
  Plus: Much more and many rare and unseen photos…
  
  
  BOOK ORDERING DETAILS:
  
  No. of Pages: 150 pages (Colour with Black & White)
  
  ISBN: 978-0-9560786-4-3
  
  Price: £16.99
  
  Release Date: July 30th 2009
  
  Author: Lisa Clemens
  
  Pre-Order Copies Online at HongKong-store.com

  http://www.hongkong-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=5932&osCsid=78332d1ce8c92c22bb061d1e7b5adf0d

   

  
  

  1 comment–  Add a comment

• She Rocks!

  Friday, Jul 3, 2009 1:51AM / Standard Entry

  Yeah Kimberly! We got the letter in the mail, she's been accepted into both accelerated classes-Math and English! Her report card came too. Final grades:English 94, Math 93, science 93, Soc. stidy 91,chorus 99, art 99 phys ed. 87

   

  Now if we could just keep the bullies from bugging her...poor kid. Last day of school two girls tried to shove her down a flight of stone stairs...Her best friend was with her and caught her, thanks goodness! We're working with the staff to keep her away from these girls next year. I know she loves school but I'm worried she will be afraid to go if something isn't done. The principal has been helpful and even though she's moving to another job on campus she promised Kim that if anyone bothers her she can get in touch and she'll be there right away to do something about it.  Let's hope she means it
  
  

  1 comment–  Add a comment

• Paths

  Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:10AM / Standard Entry

  Time to get cerebral..

  I was recently given a wonderful opportunity to do something I've never done professionally- A  screenplay rewrite for a good friend who has worked on several well known films. Sure I've had fictional stories that friends thought would make great films, and so (just for laughs and to amuse myself) I got a PC program that helps you to format a screenplay, and I've started a few, but it's all been for my own enjoyment. (In the back of my mind I may have toyed with sending one in to someone, someday, but I know that without an agent....good luck!)

  After watching the interview of Kenneth Bi,( http://www.alivenotdead.com/kennethbi/Docs-on-Kenneth-Bi-profile-642921.html) where he talks about how you may think you are on one path, but end up on a different path, I started thinking about the path that lead me where I am. I also wonder if paths are predestined or if we choose the way to go.

  I think it was my second grade teacher who got me most interested in writing. In her class, everyone had a composition book and was encouraged to write stories and share them with the class. With her encouragement, I was hooked. More than just writing them I LOVED telling my stories and the reactions I got.

  By high school I was writing my first "book". It was a story about myself and three other friends who were very much into the play Amadeus and how we met at the theater, how the friendship evolved and eventually dissolved.  But due to the theater, I started taking voice lessons and auditioning for plays at community theater and even got involved in a few musicals and plays.

  Once I met my husband, I was too busy dating to have time for writing or theater and I sort of forgot about them.

  14 years later, after having my first child, I left my  retail job to be a full time mom. Not having our kids raised in daycare was important to my husband and I and, with no grandparents living, or aunties/uncles within a 300 mile radius, staying home was the only option for me. We were very lucky that Sean was earning just enough to allow it for 11 years and both girls spent their preschool days with me at home.

  Being a stay at home mom in a small farm town can be fairly boring, especially in the winter. And so, to stave off boredom (you can only take so much "Blue's Clues", Candyland, and Dr Seuss and stay sane) I started surfing on line. From there I learned more about Hong Kong films and met new friends on line who were also into the films and actors and some of them were into writing fiction. Having not writen anything in so long, I thought I'd get back into it and see if I could still tell a good story. A lot of my tales (now very much like action films thanks to months of watching way to many HK actioners) were well received and I wondered if I could ever get my own fiction published. I started writing more and more for different web groups and so far so good. The idea of trying to get published someday was getting more and more appealing.

  Besides writing, I also visited Hong Kong film message boards and news sites, posting news I found to fans of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, etc when I found something new. Little did I know it was the start of a new path.

  Someone who was once involved with Screen Power Magazine noticed I was finding all this news and contacted me, asking if I'd like to help them find news.  As a fan of Jackie Chan, I knew the magazine well and said yes right away. But since my foot was in the door anyway, I thought I'd push it open a little more and ask if I could not just help, but write my own articles. I was given the go ahead. I also wrote for the sister issue, Jade Screen which was (at the time) only about Hong Kong films but now is about Asian film in general.  I enjoyed non fiction writing very much but still wrote fiction when I had time, mostly for myself or friends.

  I started out doing news pieces, articles and reviews. But after about two years I was given my first interview. And man was I nervous and excited. My first interview was with Andy Cheng, whom I had noticed while watching some of Jackie Chan's films and reviewing the DVD extras. It was a new direction for the path I was on, and a new challenge. Many interviews followed, some by phone, some by e-mail.

  Thanks to writing for these magazines, I also got involved in filming an A&E Biography episode about Jet Li (mentioned in a past blog). This was something else  I never anticipated doing, but it came to me. Soon I'll have my own book published, so I'm getting my wish, even if it's non-fiction. And now, this screenplay.

  So many of the great opportunities I have had were not things I went in seek of, but rather, someone asked me to do...so, it begs the question, how much of our lives is fate and how much is choice? Sure I could have said no thanks to any of the above, but something, be it curiosity or boredom spurred me into giving them a try. In my life I have consciously tried to be different things... I gave up on some things I thought I wanted to be (singer, actress, zoologist) for practical reasons. Other things I thought I could not do, I fought hard for (fertility and having children)

  What if I had decided to go to college and persue the zoology road? What if I had given up on the writing and having kids and decided to be a career woman rather than focus on having kids? Would I still have gotten back on the path to writing? it makes you think...

  
  

  1 comment–  Add a comment

• New Sammo Hung Book

  Thursday, May 7, 2009 11:12PM / Standard Entry

  A while back I was asked to write a chapter of a book about Sammo Hung. I covered his work in the US on the TV series, "Martial Law". I have to say a big thanks to Andy Cheng, who was a stunt double and choreographer on the show. (He's also the nicest guy you'd ever want to talk to!) The chat I had with him about the show was so interesting that we made it into an additional chapter.
  
  Besides my chapters you'll also read several interviews with Sammo taken from over the years, his filmography, chapters on his life from childhood on up and his directing and choreography skills
  

  There are interviews with Martial Law Director Stanley Tong  and a great article about Sammo written by  Richard Norton who worked with Sammo on Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, Millionaires Express and Mr. Nice Guy.
  

  The book is out and I hope you'll check it out. I don't think there have been many books about this amazing and  talented man.

  http://www.hongkong-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=15&products_id=732&osCsid=20d556c72598d5a5557128dbaa2db591
  
  
  
  
  

  1 comment–  Add a comment

49

2/10

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

>