Five Bullets 5.23.25
Screenplays, Sinners, Spies & more.
Good Morning and Happy Friday friends.
It’s a cool and cloudy morning here in New York City. There’s been a lot of military aircraft and ships in our skies and rivers over the last few days for Fleet Week occurring this Memorial Day weekend.
Next week is the three-year anniversary of Circles In Space. I’m excited to share the zine I’ve been working on for subscribers - I still have to finish it! I’ll also be publishing a corresponding blog post and a special Five Bullets.
Here’s five bullets capturing my attention this week:
Books: I finished The Spy Who Came In From The Cold this week, John Le Carré’s third novel and one of his most popular. It’s a tight and well-written classic East/West Germany spy drama: British spy Alec Leamas works on one last mission before he can retire for good. Le Carré (real name David John Moore Campbell) worked for British intelligence while writing the book and was able to leave his job following it’s success. Le Carré presents some interesting moral dilemmas for readers to consider. If you like slow-burning Cold War-era spy novels this one’s for you.
Movies: I had a chance to catch Sinners this week and loved it. Fun, exciting, great music, great acting and an incredibly creative and original story. If you told me it was just about vampires I wouldn’t be interested but vampires and blues musicians? I’m in. Especially considering the lore surrounding blues guitarist Robert Johnson who, legend has it, sold his soul to the devil for his guitar skills. Director Ryan Coogler said he started sketching the idea for the film while listening to Howlin Wolf’s Wang Dang Doodle and came up with a story about blues, race, religion, and Mississippi.
Music: I’m listening to a lot of blues after seeing Sinners. Miles Caton plays blues musician Sammie “Preacherboy” Moore who sounds a lot like Son House. Sinners blends the blues music of the Mississippi delta with a score that’s influenced by hip-hop, funk, rock, and jazz. There’s also a bluegrass-style cover of Geeshie Wiley’s Picked Poor Robin Clean and some Irish folk music. Blues legend Buddy Guy makes an appearance at the end of the film.
New York City: In 2010 during excavation for the new World Trade Center an Revolutionary War-era ship was unearthed 22 feet below the surface. The ship is a naval gunboat which was probably captured by the British and last saw water in 1790 but not much else is known. Researchers from Texas A&M are working to restore the ship and have relocated it to the New York State Museum in Albany where visitors can watch the restoration process in real time. Hopefully we’ll learn some more about the ship’s origins.
Podcasts: I’ve been listening to Beyond the Screenplay lately, a movie podcast by the team behind the popular Lessons from the Screenplay series. The team breaks down the technical details of filmmaking covering everything from Casablanca to Seven to Little Miss Sunshine. I’m learning a lot from their careful consideration of plot, character, screenwriting, directing and more, plus it’s fun to think about the elements of what makes a good (or bad) movie.
That’s all for this week! See you next week for a special anniversary post.
Have a great weekend.
-Keith