Summer in another city

In some ways this Summer is just like all of the others. First and foremost, it has taken me a bit of time to get back into a movie theater, post Oscars, as per usual. Until last week I had only seen “Evil Dead” (pretty good acting in a disappointing film), and “The Great Gatsby,” (so much better than people give it credit for...especially if you remember that it is a movie interpretation of a book, not the book on screen.)

It often takes a double feature day of films I should have already seen to spark my fire. “(500) Days of Summer” followed by “The Hurt Locker.” was the duo back in 2009. After seeing both of those movies back to back I was incredibly inspired to get back to the cinema. Last year it was “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”

But this summer I haven't had quite the same opportunities that I had for 12 years in NYC. And that's what makes this Summer a little different than the others. In April of this year I moved out of New York City and drove down South to visit my family and friends for a month. I would be dropping off my beloved cat Ellen Ripley while I headed out West to get a job and a pet friendly apartment. But...one month turned into two. And wouldn't you know...two became three. I took a bartending job, got a temporary apartment in Starkville, MS, and braced myself for the long haul. But then something miraculous happened. The universe took the reigns from me and pointed me west. Full force. Had you asked me a few weeks ago if I would be traveling to Los Angeles today, I never would've believed you. But I am. As soon as I get finished with this piece I will start packing the car and begin my journey.

Although I have done all sorts of fun (and in some cases untypable) things in these three months I still hadn't found the time to make it to the movies.

That changed when last week I discovered a Malco near Memphis, TN that showed smaller and independent features. Sadly, it was still cheaper to drive to Memphis and back and see a double feature than it would be to drive to pay LA ticket prices. Having already rewatched “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” I was thrilled to discover the third film in the (current) trilogy, “Before Midnight” was showing there, along with Sofia Coppola's “The Bling Ring.”

“Before Midnight” was everything I had hoped it would be, yet nothing I exactly expected. I don't want to say much about the film because everyone should experience it with little knowledge of where Celine and Jesse are in their lives. I can say that, as of now, “Midnight” is far and away the best film I have seen this year.

After I watched “The Bling Ring” I mentioned on Facebook that no one directs a film like Sofia Coppola. And they don't. Reading some of the response to the Bling Ring I am further convinced that some “critics” simply don't get her. For some reason “Lost in Translation” worked for them, but using the same technique in “Somewhere” they began to abandon her. I read “Coppola neither makes a case for her characters nor places them inside of some kind of moral or critical framework; they simply pass through the frame....” DUH. Since when did a director have to make a judgement and tell us what to think? Can't we, the audience, use a critical eye and determine something on our own. Apparently not. The moral and critical framework of “The Bling Ring” is the current state our culture is in.

I have debated taking on other journalists and critics for some time now. Behind the curtain of anonymity the shy can become daring, the wimpy can become bullying. I can't tell you how many times I have written and deleted my opinion of opinion. What has held me back is my firm belief that everyone is entitled to their opinion. There is a new age in criticism...that of the everyman. I am a product of this. I didn't study film criticism. Nor did I plan to become a journalist. I am an actor and filmmaker who happens to love the Oscars, searching for an outlet to feed my hungers...an appetizer...waiting to get back to the main course. But I'm beginning to see a fork in the already slippery road. Beware of any journalist who states their opinions as fact. This disregard of others says more about the critic than the item they are scrutinizing.

My internal debate concerning other journalists might have been triggered by the fact that my life focus began to shift at the beginning of 2013. Which made me question exactly what I wanted to do once the Oscars were over. I started “Brian's Blog” as a way to get things off of my chest. Then I decided to streamline those thoughts and changed it to “Awards Wiz.” A bit of a nod to both Awards Daily (the Oscar blogging mother ship) and my last name. I got the nerve to ask Sasha Stone, the editor of AD if I could contribute to her site after I had a confidence boost thanks to a twitter conversation with the NYTimes Carbetbagger. I had written about my shifting opinion from indifference to disdain for “Avatar,” and thought Sasha might appreciate it. Writing for AD I thought...now I can save some money getting into film festivals and press screenings. A few years later as I became an actual player in the Oscar blogosphere I started feeling the pressure to see more films, do more interviews. Produce more work.

I occasionally continued to act myself. A short film here. A theatre fest there. But as this year's Oscar season approached I began to realize that my resistance to committing full time to both writing about film and to expanding this site was due to my desire to create as both an actor and a director. And then there was the LA thing. Back in 6th grade I took one of those career placement quizzes...you know the ones, right? They tell you what you should study and which college to attend...Well...wouldn't you know...it told me I should move to Los Angeles, California. THad you asked me a few weeks ago if I would be traveling to Los Angeles today, I never would've believed you. Later...in 2005 when I was standing on the balcony of a friend's apartment in San Diego I received the call that I had been cast in my first feature film. I knew then that I belonged in California. But, alas, I waited.

As the 2013 Oscars approached I knew it was time to break up with NYC. Once I left I immediately started to feel a weight being lifted. Thanks to my dear friends Tara and Carra and Ben, my parents, my sister and nephews, my cousin Monica, new friend Joy and old friends Leland and Kelley, Corinth Theatre-Arts, Scott and Daxden, and the Mississippi back roads, I have truly found my roots and securely replanted them.

I've always been known for grand gestures and dramatic announcements, so of course I was tempted to title this piece “Epilogue” and announce my blogger retirement. But I'm not quite ready to give up this outlet. But as my life is refocusing, so will Awards Wiz. I'm just not sure to what extent. I'm sure in the future I will want to write a review of a movie I love...and I will still want to let the world know what I consider the best offerings of the year. But I plan to dive deeply into Los Angeles and my Career. As hard as it is to admit, I haven't ever given 100% to this business called show. Luckily I finally understand why. Because the time to do that is now. With all of my life experience, good and bad, I am here. Exactly where I was intended to be.