Margaret's April Nearly Monthly News!
It's April and spring is springing here in Southern California! Probably because I've been juggling multiple deadlines this month, I've also been crafting.
First was a massive origami model, which thankfully is no longer taking up the dining table (aka, the kitchen table, aka, the auxiliary countertop).
Then, for reasons which do not bear close examination but basically boil down to, "I had a $10 gift coupon at Michael's," I decided to teach myself to knit.
Fortunately, my script has been turned in. I'm not sure how many more craft projects my apartment can bear.
On to the news!
From my Desk
More work on the TV show that I can't talk about yet! I can say that I'm having a lot of fun and I'm excited to see how these episodes turn out when they finally air two to three years from now.
Other than that, I am what is known in Hollywood as, "in development." Because no one in this town ever responds to, "So, what are you working on?" with: "Nothing," this phrase is often interpreted as a euphemism for unemployment.
“In development” is in fact a real thing. The term refers to the long process of making a film or television show, from staring at the walls trying to come up with an idea to waiting for a greenlight to go into production.
I think a lot of people in Hollywood assume that anyone who says they’re “in development” is closer to the former part of the process than the latter because if they were doing something more exciting than staring at the ceiling in the middle of the afternoon (the diet coke and Cheetos in this scenario are taken as writ), surely they would come up with a way to imply that.
But maybe that’s just because they’re frustrated and staring at walls themselves. Something to think about.
What I'm Reading and Watching
A friend of mine recently suggested I would enjoy Virginia Woolf's Orlando, and I decided I would be more likely to actually read it if I had a deadline, so I bamboozled my virtual book group into picking it for our next book. Friend was right; it's really good! And it turns out I appreciate a lot more of Woolf's humor now than I did when I read To the Lighthouse when I was seventeen.
My movie quest continues and this month's recommendation is Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley, directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Jonny Sweet. Based on a true story of a small English village terrorized by a series of anonymous poison pen letters, it's much funnier than you would expect for a film that at its core is about the grinding pressure exerted by the patriarchy on "good" and "bad" women alike.
From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia
This month, Lucy asks a question on many of our minds:
I don’t know about you, but if Lucy is panicking, I'm worried.
And That's the Nearly Monthly News!
Working on any interesting crafts? Got exciting plans for May? Drop me a line! Otherwise, I'll see you next month!