Live High

We wrapped up Prenzie's Sixth Season last weekend with our final performances of Life's A Dream. Despite easily being the most controversial show in our history (let alone the Q.C. in quite some time) it was really well reviewed and I was surprised to hear some people state after the show that it was their favorite Prenzie show we've done. Personally, I'm excited to be doing a modern (not to mention a musical) script for my next show as well as working with a new theatre company. (Actually, there are a lot of Prenzie's working with all new theatre companies this summer so get out there and support them all!)

My best friend, his brother, and myself started a production company back in February with the intent of finally getting our ideas out there - be it through skits on YouTube, writing shows, or whatever medium we could use. On a whim, we wrote, produced, filmed, and edited a pilot called Reality Check & submitted it to the Chicago Comedy Pilot Competition. We found out last week that out of 3,000 submissions, we qualified in the top 10 and will have our pilot screened at a theater in Chicago along with 9 other finalists. Copies were also submitted to NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and other stations for voting. If you find yourself in the Chicago area, have $10 burning a hole in your pocket, and have nothing else to do, feel free to stop by the Music Box Theater on Friday, July 18, we'd love to see you there. More information can be found here. (if you're friends with me on Facebook, you can find the trailer over there) We're not expecting a miracle or anything, but are pretty pumped to have placed in the top 10.

And Jon Lester came back from cancer and threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox. So it's been a pretty good week.

In the wonderful world of film...

Steph & I saw Iron Man and, I know fans of Sam Raimi's Spider-man will hate me for saying this, but I think it's the best Marvel film released so far. I don't know if that has to do with the fact that this is the first film released under the Marvel Studios banner, but it just was a great example of things falling into place at the same time: Favereau as the director/screenwriter, Downey Jr. jumping through hoops to prove that he was the right man for the role, the effects team knocking many of those scenes out of the park - it was just a fun movie that will please the general popcorn crowd as well as the die-hard fans of the comic (plus, you need to sit through the credits for a pleasant surprise).

We also saw my most-anticipated movie of the summer, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on opening night. It was a great gracenote to a very popular franchise and the first 20 minutes do a wonderful job of getting you in a 1940's mindset - not to mention giving us some intense action moments right off the bat. It still maintains it's serial movie feel and there are enough subtle (and not so subtle) nods to the previous three films throughout to make even a casual fan of the series smile. Harrison Ford felt like he was actually getting younger as the film progressed and Kate Blanchett was a really good foil for him to play opposite of. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Jason Mraz's new album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things dropped last week and it's a nice return to form for him after taking a year off to tour abroad. He also released three EP's in the weeks leading up to the album coming out which have acoustic versions of the songs on the album. I honestly can't say which versions I like better... (my buddy B-Lo is in the same boat as he picked up the same set I did)

I also have another article up over at SSNN.com.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a challenge date with Mario Kart Wii that I have to cowboy up for and then get to The Travolta's show. Take care & I hope you all have an awesome Memorial Day weekend!