The Scoop | Blue Like Jazz The Movie

The Scoop

The Intervention’s Thrilling Conclusion

(March 4, 2010)

by admin

Let’s see… where did I leave off?

Oh yeah. I was crying like a little girl about having to blog more, and my business partners had just offered me a Kleenex.

ME: I can’t…(sob)…breathe…(sob)…in the blogosphere.

THEM: Here’s a tissue. Take the box. It’s a good thing you don’t act in your own movies, because you have zero believability.

This, frankly, hurt my feelings. I started rocking back and forth like Rainman in my Aeron chair, counting prime numbers with my fingers. This seemed to alarm them, as if maybe they’d pushed me too far. I could feel their resolve starting to crumble. Steve: 1 / Intervention: nil

Then one of them waved his Flip videocam in my face and threatened to post the footage he’d just secretly captured. Checkmate.

ME: So what do I blog about?

THEM: Blog about anything. Quantity is more important than quality.

ME: You mean, like mid-career Prince?

THEM: Huh?

ME: Give me examples.

THEM: Well… What would the Most Interesting Man In America blog about? Philosophy? Technology’s two-edged sword? The inner life of the aesthete? The age-old dialectic between art and commerce?

ME: No. No. What’s an aesthete? And no.

THEM: How about we post all those old music videos you directed and you can do a written director’s commentary? That way you can disguise your self-aggrandizement as an act of public service to your ever-shrinking fan base, all while reminding yourself of mistakes not to repeat when you finally make the movie?

ME: Hmm.

THEM (going for the kill): Blogging’s like a beauty contest. And the public is the panel of judges. You’re trying to convince the widest audience possible that you’re pretty.

ME (nodding solemnly): You’ve finally used a metaphor I can relate to.

So that’s the plan. I’m going to blog about stuff we can all relate to, like how I got those twins to cry in the “On The Fritz” video. And maybe I’ll blog about stuff that’s obscure, too. (I’ll shoot for one or two posts a week.) You’re going to tell people I’m pretty. And this will all make for a better movie.

The request lines are open.

THE INTERVENTION (Part 1)

(February 18, 2010)

by steve

10 Comments

I wish you could have been at my intervention yesterday.

I thought it was just going to be another weekly meeting with my business partners to update me on where they’re at raising funds for the “Blue Like Jazz” movie. Those meetings typically run something like this:

ME: So… where are we at? THEM: We’re really close.

But this meeting was different. There was something in the office air that day. It smelled like a trap.

ME: So… (sniffing the air, eyes darting around the » » Keep Reading

The Hypocrite’s Non-Endorsement

(February 5, 2010)

by steve

10 Comments

For simplicity’s sake, I don’t do endorsements.

Perhaps you’ve asked me for one in the past – your new album, your latest book, your game-changing product, etc. I’ve politely declined after explaining to you that I’ve maintained a non-endorsement policy for years just so I don’t have to pick and choose who to say yes to. My friends all say they understand. I’m pretty sure they don’t.

This non-endorsement policy of mine is, admittedly, hypocritical: 1) I’ve occasionally solicited endorsements in the past » » Keep Reading

And the winner is…

(October 15, 2009)

by steve

14 Comments

We Have A Winner!

Yes, I let this go on for an extra day or so, but I was having so much fun reading your guesses. The Winner of the One-Word Error Prize is Jackie R, who correctly guessed the shocking truth from page 228 of “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years.”

It wasn’t sweat. It was snot.

I tried so hard to hold it in, but gravity had the final say. And even though it’s been twenty-eight years since the actual occurrence, just writing this makes my » » Keep Reading

The One-Word Error Prize

(October 13, 2009)

by steve

24 Comments

Do you remember the last time someone posted or emailed you a group photo that you’re in? Did your eyes, like two heat-seeking missiles, immediately home in on your own face, checking yourself out to see if you looked presentable? Did you mentally Photoshop-out any unsightly blemishes and/or give yourself a virtual nose job?

Neither did I.

I did, however, just finish reading about myself in Donald Miller’s new book “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years.”

The experience is not » » Keep Reading

All Glowy

(August 4, 2009)

by steve

46 Comments

I don’t mean to gush, but I read every one of your hundred-plus comments from the “On Language” blog and it made me all glowy » » Keep Reading

On Language

(July 15, 2009)

by steve

Those who know me will testify that I rarely, if ever, use profanity in my day-to-day speech. (Okay, when I ran the record label there was that one staff meeting when I called that guy an *******, but at the time he really was acting like an ******* and I was merely articulating a consensus view for the purposes of team-building.) » » Keep Reading

Send Us Your Videos!

(June 18, 2009)

by admin

1 Comment

Attention rabid fans and technology buffs:

Are you just so excited about Blue Like Jazz the Movie that you want to shout it from the rooftops? While we can’t provide literal rooftops from which you can shout, we are accepting virtual outpourings of love from YOU, our favorite fans.

Here’s the deal: a lot of people are asking “Why are you making a Blue Like Jazz movie? How is that going to work?” We thought the best way to answer that question » » Keep Reading

Interpoll

(June 12, 2009)

by steve

3 Comments

I woke up in a cold sweat last night realizing that our newly redesigned website needed some sort of “online polling” mechanism. Hence, “The Interpoll.” My hope is that our culturally savvy readership will enjoy this hyphen-free combination of terms with its bonus evocation of international law enforcement and a certain Joy Division-inspired band, and that you’ll exercise your right to vote whenever duty calls. Why The Interpoll? First, it plugs an unsightly hole in the layout. Second, it reminds even the most » » Keep Reading

Some positive feedback on the screenplay

(March 26, 2009)

by erick

5 Comments

Erick here with some encouraging news.

As a part of our efforts to raise money for the film and ensure that we’re developing a screenplay that works for the multitude of constituencies that are required to make a film successful (e.g. fans of Blue Like Jazz and Don Miller, investors, grassroots organizations, studios, the prospective audience, etc.), we’ve asked a number of folks if they would read the screenplay and provide feedback. We know many of you care deeply about how » » Keep Reading