Four Stories

Memo to JJ Abrams

2009-09-24T08:29:00.000-04:00

To: JJ Abrams
From: Brian O'Rourke, A Moviegoer Of Little To No Importance
Date: 9/20/09
RE: Mission: Impossible IV
______________________________________________________________

There's been a lot of buzz recently about two sequels: Star Trek 2 and Mission: Impossible IV. Mr. Abrams, you are no doubt receiving more advice, ideas, and feedback than you know what to do with regarding Star Trek 2, so I won't burden you with more of the same. I was wondering, however, if you'd care to listen to some advice on how to make the next installment of the bumpy and uneven series that is Mission: Impossible into a really good movie.

To begin with, let's recap the series thus far. 1996's Mission: Impossible turned the concept of the TV series on its head. In the first twenty minutes of the movie, Ethan Hunt, our hero, watches helplessly as each member of his team dies pretty a horrific death while on a very important mission. To make matters worse, after Hunt has seen all this happen, the brass accuse him of the murders and of being a double agent, selling secrets on the side. I say this movie turned the series on its head because Mission: Impossible the TV series had always been more of a team show. The better episodes employed intricate plotting, where each character had an important role in the mission, and thus the stories had many moving parts. This really amped up the suspense and the fun of the show. By virtue of killing off Hunt's team in the beginning of the 1996 film, the movie necessarily became more of a one-man show. On the whole, the first film is well-shot (of course it is, because the underrated Brian DePalma directed it) and well-acted, and the opening thirty minutes of the movie create a real sense of paranoia in the spy world of smoke and mirrors. There is a great set piece in the middle of the film, too, where Hunt manages to break into the CIA, which has been parodied time and time again in the ensuing thirteen years. It's a decent film that comes off the rails toward the end because of hopelessly convoluted plotting and the ridiculous final action set piece.

Without exaggeration, MI: II is one of the worst movies I've ever seen in the theater. The sequel essentially turns Hunt into an American James Bond, a somewhat roguish agent who bickers with his handler, and who of course manages to find the time while on a mission to meet and fall in love with a beautiful woman. John Woo sticks to his own rule of having at least three chase scenes in every movie he makes, and really does little else. The mask trick is overused in this movie and that unfortunately carries through to the next film. And gone again is the team aspect that made the series so cool: Hunt, a larger-than-life super spy, braves it mostly alone throughout. and the usually cool Ving Rhames is along for the ride only to remind us of how dangerous and cool Hunt is.

MI: III is the best of the series. Its plot is more plausible than the first film; the action, while over-the-top, isn't overblown like in the second film; and Abrams allows most of his characters to develop into people with real interpersonal relationships. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laurence Fishburne make the most of relatively small parts, and the plot has some really good turns. Still, though, Cruise dominates the story, and much of the plot is devoted to Hunt balancing the demands of his career with a normal married existence. The film could have been called Family Life: Impossible, and the title would have been just as appropriate.

So, what do I have by way of advice for MI: IV? If you haven't already guessed it, here it is: go back to the concept of the TV show. Make the mission the most important thing going on in the plot and allow it to dominate the second act. Make this next film into more of a team effort, where every character has an important job to do, as opposed to just waiting around for Hunt to work his magic and scrambling to keep up with him while he's working. Put all of the characters in danger. Make us think the mission could go wrong at any juncture, not just when Hunt is involved. Make it so the mission really does seem impossible.

Each movie so far has shown Hunt at odds with his administration. Let's not go there again. Let the focus be on the enemies from without, as opposed to the enemies from within. A good old-fashioned good guys versus bad guys scenario will actually be a breath of fresh air in this series.

Finally, you transformed super spy Hunt into a seemingly real person in MI: III. Bravo, well done. That was a nice counterpoint to the cartoonery of MI: II. But we don't need any more of that. If you want to continue the spy managing a real home life thread, by all means do so, but don't make it the point of the movie. If you want, turn Hunt into the next Jim Phelps, a character the series has been sorely missing, a true leader, not a maverick agent who occasionally needs help from other spies.

Or, just go ahead and do what you want because you seem to know exactly what you're doing, if Star Trek's box office is any indication.

A Helpful Product

2009-08-13T13:41:00.002-04:00

I found this by clicking through a google ad. It seems like a useful product for anyone who has trouble with their sleep schedule. Sometimes it's hard to catch up on sleep when you have a busy life, or constant interruptions. I know if my windows are open, the buses or motorcycles will snap me out of my slumber and it's always hard to get back on track.

Four Stories is still here. Keep an eye on the blog for more updates in the next few days.

- Nick

Mystery Project

2009-06-02T15:54:00.003-04:00

Changes are coming soon for Four Stories. We'll have a big announcement at the end of the month about the future of Four Stories, Brian, and me. In the mean time, enjoy this blog entry I posted yesterday on the Sobriquets' blogger blog.

Does anyone else religiously follow box office returns for Hollywood films? I've been doing it since I was a kid (when we looked at the news on something called "paper"). As many of you know, I've been particularly interested in the performance of the new Star Trek movie, being a fan of the franchise and of JJ Abrams.

Star Trek has been faring well, posting the lowest declines from week to week of any film this year. While I would imagine the quality of the story, production values, and marketing probably influence a film's box office performance the most, some reviews have attributed Star Trek's success to another factor: optimism.

Star Trek as a franchise has always reflected a rosy view of the future, honoring the wishes of its creator, Gene Roddenberry. This did not change for the latest installment. However, the most successful "reboots" of franchises in the last few years were Casino Royale and Batman Begins, both dark and brooding films. So when I saw Terminator Salvation last week, I wondered why it was performing much worse than anticipated.

Both Terminator and Star Trek have questionable stories, well-known characters, lots of explosions, slick special effects, and young, talented casts. There are many differences, for sure. But the most obvious difference is the setting. Why do more people in 2009 prefer the utopian sheen of Star Trek over the post-apocalyptic gloom of Terminator? Where would you want to spend your two hours?

And hey, The Sobriquets are doing things again! We're playing shows, finalizing EP artwork, and practicing in our new space. We're all very happy about that.

- Nick

Brian's New Novel Now Available

2009-03-11T00:05:00.005-04:00

Brian's new paranormal thriller, The Unearthed, is now available from Lyrical Press. If you haven't bought it already, you can get it here. This is Nick saying that it's awesome.

And Four Stories? We're still here. We've been working on some exciting new projects that we'll be announcing later this year. Plus, we've solved our technical difficulties and will be releasing The Lost Episodes of Four Stories soon. And by "Lost", I don't mean LOST the TV show, I mean that the episodes were lost somewhere on my computer. LOST the TV show won't be mentioned in those episodes.

Or WILL it?

Four Stories. Coming to an internet near you in 2009.

Announcement: Authorial Intrusion

2008-11-22T08:39:00.006-05:00

I'm thrilled to say that we just recorded our very first author interview with local area novelist, Nate Green. The episode will number among our More Stories segments. I refer to it as our Authorial Intrusion episode, well, because I like really bad jokes.

In this upcoming podcast, we talk to Nate about his short story, "Prison Darkness," which you can purchase in electronic or print format here. Nate's story is part of an anthology published by Niteblade. In fact, we recommend you buy it because a) it's an awesome story and b) we speak about "Prison Darkness" fairly in-depth, so there will be spoilers abounding. It'd be better to read Nate's short story before you listen to the podcast.

We also talk to Nate about the literary concept of tragedy, the writing process in general, and his works-in-progress. It's a short, but thoughtful, discussion of writing, and Nick gets some great one-liners in during the interview.

This episode will be released shortly. Keep an eye out for it! In the meantime, go read Nate's story.

JJ Abrams and Co. Boldly Went...

2008-11-18T11:05:00.001-05:00

...for it and succeeded with the new Star Trek trailer. Check it out here. The film looks great. I was fortunate enough to see it in the theater so I also had the surprise factor working in my favor.

I've been worried about this movie since day one. Not because I doubted Abrams or his cadre of writers working on the picture, but because it has so many reasons to fail. Fans of the original series versus fans of the movies versus fans of Star Trek as a whole versus the general movie-going public. Everyone has an opinion on what Star Trek should be, so I was worried that it was doomed from the start because there'd be no way to reconcile the various concepts of Star Trek.

But the trailer's quieted some of those concerns for me. Could this film be what Star Wars in '77 was?

A (Short Review) of The Dogs of Babel, by Carolyn Parkhurst

2008-11-10T09:10:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone,

This is Brian. I'm going to be a little lazy and cut and paste a short review of The Dogs of Babel, which I wrote initially for my own Blog: www.brianorourke.blogspot.com. I figured it was pertinent to Four Stories. In fact, I should have written it for THIS Blog, then cut and paste it onto my Blog. Don't worry, this review is spoiler free!

***

Carolyn Parkhurst, author of The Dogs of Babel, knows her way with words and knows her way with emotions. But even more importantly, she's able to use her words to explore emotions in all their ugliness, beauty, and ultimately, their humanity.

The Dogs of Babel is a fascinatingly strange book. The hook of the story can be a bit misleading: a recently widowed man sets out to teach his dog to speak, so she can explain to him how his wife died. Picking it up, I thought I'd be reading more about a man's scientific adventure and an exploration into the nature of language and communication.

While The Dogs of Babel is about that, it's really about something more: how each one of us grieves in our own stupid, humorous, and touching ways when dealing with something terrible.

Parkhurst does a great job at balancing the seemingly disparate elements of her story. It is part mystery, part memoir/love story, part dog tale, and even part suspense thriller. Sounds like a strange brew, and I'll admit it is, but the narrative works, and the oddity of the mixture makes the story all the more unique.

The Dogs of Babel is an easy read because of Parkhurst's command of language; but it is also a very difficult read, because Parkhurst's prose takes us to dark and sad places. And though it would have been easy, not once does her story become a sentimental journey. It's an unflincing portrait of a grieving man, deceptively simple in its execution, profound in its message.

If you're tired of reading the same old thing, I'd highly recommend picking up this book.

Where ARE you, Four Stories?

2008-10-09T13:16:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! Well, since Brian decided to let everyone in on what he's been working on, I (Nick) feel it's only fair to let you know what I've been doing as well. Obviously, we've been busy with a lot of other things, and it's my fault especially (aside from some technical difficulties) that we haven't released a podcast in a while.

My main project over the summer was a website that I'm working on for a former professor and good friend, Dennis Will. Please take a look at it here - his pieces use a sophisticated level of color balance and composition that, to me, is somehow peaceful and energetic at the same time. I think it's amazing work and I think you will too. Dennis is a great storyteller in his own right, and I'm proud to be associated with him and his art.

I've also joined a new band, and I'll be updating you more on that as time goes on. I'm sure we'll be talking about their songs here, as the main writer, James, has quite a few interesting stories to tell. For now you can check us out at our myspace, or the official site.

So as Brian said, in addition to our analysis of others' work, we're doing our best to create something worthwhile in those worlds. But we'll be back sooner than you think, and we thank you so much for listening. Please let us know how you feel about the podcast and if you do want to keep hearing about our other projects.

Talk to you soon!

The Unearthed, by Brian O'Rourke

2008-07-29T09:50:00.002-04:00

Dear Listener,

We're pretty good about not doing this usually, but it's time for us to give in and perform some shameless self-promotion. Alright, it's just me (Brian O'Rourke) doing this; Nick is not responsible in any way.

I've written a story. Well, three of them actually. The first one is terrible. The second has its moments. The third story, The Unearthed, is a paranormal thriller, with elements of mystery and horror. I've inundated agents and publishers with queries over the last five months, trying to get it picked up.

The story is starting to generate some interest: several agents are looking at "partials" and one e-publisher has offered me a contract for it. So needless to say, I'm very excited.

Of course, I'm here to plug my story, but I'm also telling you this for another very important reason. Nick and I (I can speak for Nick here) never wanted to be seen as just "two guys talking about other artists' works. " We're also both creators; in fact, we think of ourselves as creators first.

Here's a teaser for The Unearthed:

The Rosselli family has fallen victim to some bizarre, unsettling occurrences in their home. A stain that looks like blood continues to reappear on the carpet in the dining room. Talia Rosselli, wife and mother, has seen what she thinks is a ghost and has grown too scared to be in the house alone. Her husband, Jackie, has heard strange noises. And their son, Billy, is talking to an "someone," who has urged Billy to do violent things.

Tim and Eddie McCloskey are paranormal investigators. When Jackie Rosselli calls Tim for help, Tim jumps at the offer to ghost hunt. Because Tim knows about the history of the Rosselli house, and this could be his biggest case to date. For, three years ago, three members of the Moriarty family murdered each other in that house.

Eamon Moriarty is the boy that survived the “Moriarty Massacre.” He now lives with his aunt and uncle a town away. He is trying to get on with his life, but strange dreams keep waking him. He is unable to recall most of what happened on the night of the massacre. And for some reason, he feels compelled to draw pictures of his old house continuously. He fears there is something terribly wrong with him, but he does not know what it is.

This will prove to be no ordinary investigation for Tim and Eddie, as they soon discover they face the most terrifying foe of all: the unknown. They must figure out what type of haunting they are dealing with—residual, intelligent, poltergeist, or something else entirely—before it is too late. Because as the investigation moves forward, Tim and Eddie discover some shocking similarities between the Moriarties and the Rossellis. And Tim begins to wonder if the Moriarty Massacre is destined to repeat itself, and if he has the power to keep that from happening.

If you are interested in reading the first few chapters of The Unearthed, send me an email at montecristo42@hotmail.com. I would offer to post the story electronically or put up excerpts, but in light of potential contractual obligations, I don't want to set myself up for any future legal entanglements.

Thanks for all your continued support of Four Stories!

Brian, The Guy With the Jersey Accent on Four Stories

Important Announcement

2008-07-10T17:11:00.003-04:00

Now that I've grabbed you with the title of this Blog post, let's get some administrative things out of the way:

First, we wanted to say thanks for all your support. Because of some wickedly cool (and wickedly scary) Big Brother-like software, we can track the number of downloads, per day, of our Podcasts. And that number has grown steadily and increased greatly over these few months. So thank you for that.

Second, we're working hard on the editing of Episode Four. We ran into some technical issues, the details of which I won't bore you with, but we're fighting our way through them and plan to release the next episode shortly. We're NOT going anywhere. We promise not to be like some other Podcasters, who quit after airing three or four episodes, just when you've gotten hooked on their show.

Third, Episode Five is in pre-production right now...and we're excited to say that we've got a very special guest appearing. Perhaps we'll lay bare one of our several inside jokes for you.

So, as always, we encourage you to keep writing us. Do you have a story (or Four Stories) you'd like to hear us talk about? Send them our way.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

We would like to thank all of you that voted for Nate Green's short story, "Prison Darkness," at www.niteblade.com. As it turns out, Nate received the most votes, and his story will be published in a print journal. This is very exciting for us (and for Nate, obviously) because Nate is a good friend to us and the show, and he is a very gifted writer. Thanks for your support!

One Story Needs Your Vote!

2008-06-19T19:17:00.003-04:00

Episode 4 of Four Stories (about Prison) will be up soon, but in the mean time, we'd like to mention a related item. Our friend (and loyal podcast listener) Nate Green has a short story called Prison Darkness published in the online version of Niteblade magazine. They're looking to put it in the print version, but to do so, he needs your help. So please drop by Niteblade's site, read Nate's story, and vote for it if you like it! We think you will. Nate is a talented up-and-coming author, and you'll be hearing his name very soon.

Thanks!

Episode 3 - Time Travel

2008-05-22T13:26:00.004-04:00

This time, we mix it up a bit and take a journey in our "way back" machine. ALL the way back to 1899, then to 1960, to 2002, and finally to 2001, to pick up a slice with some friends before we return to the present. During our trip, we'll offer our thoughts on storytelling issues such as narrative vs. plot, isolation, family, suspension of disbelief, and social commentary. We also wonder how special some effects really are, and ask the question, "What IS a story?"

So before you leave, don't forget to say hi at fourstoriespodcast at gmail dot com or share your comments and/or suggestions below or on iTunes.

Subscribe on iTunes

Thanks!

Episode 3 Coming Soon!

2008-05-16T01:29:00.004-04:00

It's taking some time, but we think it's worth it. We wouldn't mind having a machine that could send us back a few days to finish this quicker for you. But in the meantime, we hope you enjoyed this great Thursday night by watching Cole Hamels' shutout and/or Part 1 of LOST's season finale. If you like blogs, here are two that are worth looking at:

Beerleaguer

The Transmission

We'll see you soon. Or later?

Episode 2 - The Apocalypse

2008-05-02T23:32:00.003-04:00

You know it. It's the end of the world. You've seen a lot of apocalyptic visions out there. We've found four of them to share with you. This episode, we wonder what it must be like to have our lives get flip turned upside-down by some crazy catastrophe. We'll also find out who's making trouble in someone's Kansas neighborhood, and where the last man on Earth has been spending most of his days. So just take a minute (or 50) and sit right there, and we'll tell you how it all comes around.

Also, a reminder that we will be talking about the end of all these stories, so if you don't want to be spoiled, skip to the next story, or check them out before you listen.

Thanks to everyone who listened to, downloaded, and commented on Episode 1 - we've been surprised by and impressed with the response!

Episode 2 On Its Way!

2008-04-26T13:05:00.004-04:00

Fear not, loyal fans. Episode 2 has been recorded and will be posted next week. We're (read, Nick) in the process of editing it now. Here's an Episode 2 teaser for you: tune in to hear some very interesting listener feedback regarding Episode 1. Also, Nick and I get into a huge a discussion about the end of the world. That's coming next week on Four Stories with Nick (and Brian).

Episode 1 - Group Conflict

2008-04-21T19:30:00.000-04:00

In this episode, we'll compare four stories using conflicts between groups of differing ideologies, and decide how well each example uses the genres of mystery, action, and drama to tell its story to the audience.

Coming Soon!

2008-03-08T14:45:00.002-05:00

We're working hard on our first podcast and we will bring it to you very soon. We'll be discussing four stories from four different areas of the entertainment industry each week, and we promise to find some interesting ways to connect them. Stay tuned!