#5 Shang Chi, David Sedaris, and the Ten Rings
After a long entertainment draught, last Saturday was an explosion of sights, sounds, effects, and pulling of heartstrings on the big screen (and little stage) for my son and me.
Over the years we have been to a number of these big DC and Marvel popcorn movies, some of which have been truly awful (yes, Suicide Squad, I’m talking about you.) So my expectations were low.
But since the pandemic set in, we hadn’t been to a movie together on the big screen for what felt like ages, and I was giddy to be out of the house. Saturday morning, we got our tickets online for a matinee of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at the Santa Monica Promenade pretty close to the screen but sort of off on our own at the end of the row.
Pretty much all I knew going in is that this was a Marvel movie my son was very excited to see, and I was happy that the teen wanted to hang out with me. So, armed with Twizzlers and snacks from home (to his horror) we reclined way back in our cushy chairs and waited for the show to start. And after ten or twelve previews, it finally did.
A good movie usually reveals itself in style and tone right out of the gate, and when Shang Chi started my low expectations were already kinda blown out of the water in the opening scene.
What is this film about, you may be wondering?
I’ll go with the New York Times slug line: A millennial slacker reckons with his past — and his family of warriors.
“Home is where the heart is. Unless you’re Shang-Chi. Then home is where your mother’s mystical secret village — and its dragon guardian — is. That’s the case in Marvel’s unsteady “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton with an obliging eye toward kung fu cinema, but not much else.”
For my money ($13.69 x 2), this movie is a crazy fun ride. It’s driven by story and character. Yes, the effects of the fight scenes and dragons, and Wenwu’s (the always amazing Tony Leung) 10 magical arm rings are dazzling, but they’re not just special effects for the sake of special effects. They work because they drive the story forward and draw you in.
I especially loved Sir Ben Kingsley’s role as Trevor Slattery, a character we have seen before in the Marvel Comics Universe. We re-meet the actor when Shang-Chi along with his sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) and best friend Katy (Akwafina) stumble across him in Wenwu's compound. Trevor is living in a prison/dressing room and explains that he's basically existing as Wenwu's jester, performing Shakespeare on a weekly basis for him and his cronies.
Equally as awesome is Trevor’s sidekick Morris, “the six-legged, four-winged, faceless sidekick currently charming Marvel fans the Cinematic Universe over.” According to Mashable, “That innate cuddliness, paired with our faceless friend’s lovable demeanor, has created a demand for not just Morris merch or Morris toys, but simply more Morris.” With more Marvel pics just around the corner, plenty of movie-goers are jonesin for another glimpse of his not face soon.
Sitting there staring at the screen, I loved the intermingling of the live-action actors and the otherworldly animatronic creatures. I remembered the feeling I had back in 1977 when I saw Star Wars for the first time, and no, I am not ever going to refer to it as Episode IV – A New Hope. Because it’s Star Wars. I remembered staring wide-eyed at that crazy intergalactic bar scene and just digging the f. out of the whole concept of an outer space speakeasy filled with Wookies and other Tatooine patrons.
And now, sitting in the theater watching Shang-Chi, I had a similar thrill. What was this world Cretton was taking us into? I had never seen anything like it before.
Enough said. Go see it on the big screen. Book a seat off on your own, maybe closer to the front or a little further back. This movie is an experience and I’m kind of excited for you if you get to go see it for yourself.
As it turns out, I had bought tickets weeks earlier to see The Book of Liz, a play written by David and Amy Sedaris, which was happening that same night at a tiny theater on Melrose in East Hollywood (the equivalent of off-Broadway). I had no connection with the production other than adoring both of the writers, and the tickets were $10, so I was way in.
Getting out of the mall, home, dressed, and over to East Hollywood was kind of a comedy of errors. My gas tank was completely empty, so was my windshield wiper fluid, so my windows were a mess. I was running on empty and totally late. Waze sent me on thirteen left turns into six lanes of traffic and then finally my boot buckle fell apart as I was running from my car to the theater. Mini fiasco.
It was such a small, intimate troop that my boyfriend told me if I could get there within a few minutes they would hold off starting for me. Wow, I was touched, but I told him to tell them to start anyway. I couldn’t handle that kind of pressure.
I slid into my seat, sweating. As the bar music from next door settled down and this funny, whimsical, and ultimately charming show got underway, I found myself amazed that not only had I broken my pandemic cherry by going to the movies, but going to the theater on the same day (although a crazy and impractical idea) was so much fun. I realized how much I liked being part of the world of the arts and how badly I need this stuff in my life.
Before the show, my boyfriend, Neil, had met the director, also an actor in the troupe, who mentioned at the end that they are always looking for good material to perform. Neil introduced me to him and I told him I am a screenwriter and I chatted him up, wondering if I should adapt one of my screenplays to a play format and talk to him about producing it.
So, that’s a slice of my day—the day the arts exploded back into my life—may the Force be with you.
It’s about time for an SEO tip. This is a good one that I lean on often from Brian Dean, Backlinko creator and SEO guru.
Add “Bucket Brigades” To Your Content
When someone lands on your site from a search engine, two things can happen:
1. They leave right away.
2. They stick around and keep reading.
And when people stick on your page like superglue, Google thinks:
“This is a great page. Let’s give it a rankings boost.”
But when people leave your site like a sinking ship? Google will drop you like a stone.
All you need to do is find a spot in your content where someone might hit their browser’s “back” button.
Then, add a Bucket Brigade.
Here’s an example:
Click here for the motherload of SEO writing advice from Backlinko.
On to our Medium tip:
If you hate your Medium feed and you’ve had an assful of self-help articles and How to Succeed on Medium tutorials, well, don’t be part of the problem, become part of the solution!
If you’re into writing about these topics, take a break and sprinkle in a thought piece, a political story, a humor piece—something to remind us that we’re also here to be intrigued and entertained—we’re not just here for yet another article about the Pomodoro Method or the Seven Key Productivity Habits of the Tesla Set.
You’ll be giving your followers something to expand their horizon, and at the same time you’ll be showing them another side of you, increasing your readership and creating a more fleshed-out & versatile personal brand for yourself. A win-win.
And last but not least, since we’re on the subject of David Sedaris, I was gifted a free week of Masterclass and was able to soak in some nuggets from the master of personal essay writing himself. So here is one of David’s nuggets:
Be an observer (and a liver) of life
If you want to be a better writer and you profess to talk to people about the craft of writing, be interesting. Be open to experiencing those little moments that, if you’re not paying attention, go unnoticed.
David observed, “If you’re tuned in, life feels like a story.”
Every now and then, your subject comes right to you and sits in your lap. And if you’re aware you think, there it is, right there, the thing to write about. He talks about how important it is to be in the world, be part of things. If you’re online all day and then you leave your house and you’re texting, and you go to the market and you’re still texting, you’re not being open, engaged, or aware.
That’s it. Until next time,
Write on, write on, write on!
~ Rebecca
P.S. If you’re interested in coaching with me for screenwriting or Medium writing, email me here anytime.
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