Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

Exploring Rom-com Issues in the Movies Volume I: Not All Rom-coms are Weighted the Same

This is installment # 1 of an on-going series I hope to sporadically deliver to my readership concerning issues that E.C. Henry see in his favorite genre of them all; that being issues pertaining to movies in the romantic comedy genre.

Today, I'm going to go into the issue of "weighting."  For purpose of this discussion let me clarify what is meant by "weighting."  "Weighting" refers to the treatment of the male and female romantic paring that's implied in the movie.  "Weighting" is about how in depth the story goes into each individual in the romantic pairing, and how much screen time and attention is given to each member, individually, in this potential pairing.

Get where I'm going yet?  No?  Yes?  Maybe?  Well, it's my job to try to explain myself better.  What I'm getting at is the idea that not all romantic comedies give their leads equal screen time.  Not all romantic comedies develop their romantic pairing equally.  Some movies favor the women.  Some favor the man.  Most people associate romantic comedies as being movies made to woo the female sensibilities.  BUT, as of the past 13 years or so, I think a great effort has been made to expand the genre beyond its former boundaries and bias of JUST women's territory. 

Male weighted rom-coms.  Two examples leap right to mind:  "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "(500) Days of Summer".  Both have very different approaches at having the male be the center of attention in a romantic comedy vehicle.   "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" is all about Steve Carrell's "Andy" character's stumbling and bumbling foray into finding love, and getting laid successfully, durring his middle-aged years.  IF you contrast this against Catherine Keener's, "Trish,"  character, who is Andy's main love interest in the story, you'll easily find that Andy is given far more treatment and development than Trish.

Sure the film does give Trish a little time, but not nearly the time that it gives in its development and following of Andy.  Rather Trish is more of a stereotype that the audience is asked is buy into; Trish is a working mom, who has boyfriends who treated her poorly in the past, she is experienced in matters of love, and takes Andy on with idea of bringing him to maturity and grooming him into a man that can love her over the long-haul. 

Wow, based on that you'd think this was an equally weighted rom-com.  Buzzer!  Wrong.  Most of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin's" screen time is devoted to Andy and his friends.  Trish comes on late.  It's just the stereotype  is so strong that the audience can fill in the blanks with who Trish is, and how she works for Andy in a romantic pairing.   "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" IS the prototypical, goldenrod, poster child for the raunch-com: a raunchy romantic comedy.  The kind laden with adolescent gags slanted towards entertaining men -- not women!  That's right, you heard me, a romantic comedy built to entertain men.  

To entertain the guys in a romantic comedy setting you DON'T always hafta go raunchy.  Case and point: "(500) Days of Summer."  "(500) Days of Summer" follows the plight of main protagonist Tom (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) as he agonizes over went went wrong in his pursuit of Summer Finn (Zoey Descancel).  NOT a lot of time is spent in Summer Finn's camp getting to know the in's and outs of her.  RATHER the audience is left to experience Summer as seen though the eyes and feelings of Tom's character. 

Female weighted rom-coms.  Two of my all-time favorites come to mind: "13 Going on 30" and "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding".  Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is the focal point of "13 Going on 30".  The movie is all abut Jenna making it right with her former childhood sweetheart Matt Flemhalf(Mark Ruffalo).  Matt isn't given near the development or screen time that Jenna's character is.  "13 Going on 30" is Jenna's story, we're in Jenna's world looking at Matt from a new perspective.  We get just a couple sceenes with Matt, seeing where he is in his world.  Non-equal screen time.  Non-equal character development and arc.  The main appeal of "13 Going on 30" is a  girl realizing maturing vanities pose the risk of you never realizing the great love of your life. 

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding", though some may argue it is a family comedy, does have a rom-com at its center.  As we experience -- from Toula (Nia Vardalos' character) -- her trek to finding the man she will spend the rest of her life with; and that being Ian Miller (John Corbett).  Once again we see Toula, and her family, dominating the screen time and the laughs.  Ian Miller isn't given near the same treatment or developemnt.  RATHER, as is the case with the "The 40-Year-Old Virgin's" Trish, Ian is more of a stereotype: liberal, open-minded school teacher, who comes from a conservative, uptight family. 

Balanced rom-coms.  In these rom-coms audience member get to experience both members of a potential romantic pairing on an equal playing field.  Two that jump right to my mind being:  "Sleepless in Seattle" and "How To Loose a Guy in 10 Days".  In "Sleepless in Seattle" you have Sam (Tom Hanks) now living in Seattle, and Annie (Meg Ryan) living in Baltimore with the cosmic, fated romance, what I would call a destiny-com, brewing between them -- enenthough they don't have real exchange between the two of them until the last scene of the movie. 

"How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days" has a MAGNIFICENT equal development of its two leads Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) and Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConahuey) in what I called in an earlier post, an ego-com.  They both have agendas they're trying to advance, but we also get some time with their friends, AND then the scene with Benjamin's family in Statin Island happens with Andie being the first girl Benjamin's brought to them to see.  So we're experiencing Ben's family with Andie.  Pretty cool.   Screentime doesn't favor either Andie or Benjamin's plight.  

Okay, so I've made my case; not all rom-coms are weighted the same.  If you have any thoughts to add, I'd love to hear them, as I'm ALWAYS tweaking my beliefs and ways of thinking about things.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA  

P.S. Did finish the 1st draft of my latest spec. script entitled, "A Heart Built on the Sand" a couple of days ago.  It came in weighing 160 pages.  Still working on the refining the "cool stuff."  Getting it down under 120 pages shouldn't be too hard; I've done that before.   Also doing a beat-outline off my 1st draft; should help me gain clarity, trim unnecessary dialog, and help to refine the structure.  I know, I'm such a writing nerd.

P.S.S. Think I found a new friend in Carson Reeves' "Scriptshaddow" blogspot.  This is a real good place to go to read good posts from a good guy, AND be in a community of like-minded pre-pro screenwriters.  Been looking for that for a very long time.  Hopefully now I can make some friends and share some common interests.  We'll see...

P.S.S.S Did see the romantic comedy release, "New Year's Eve"today.  Totally forgettable movie.  Sure it had some touching moments, a couple chuckles.  But the mishmash of too many characters with too thin of stories to tell really dooms this picture.  Too date theonly ensemble romantic comedy I really liked, that I thought worked was "Love Actually"  And "New Years Eve" is no "Love Actually."   Have to admit though the theatre was PACKED for "New Years Eve" and this is like a month after its release, and I actually heard a guy humming along with one of the actresses in the film as she sang "Auld Lang Syne."   It never fails to amaze me the diverse -- and odd things different people relate too...

E.C.'s Week Off Work

Soooo glad that the plant where the man behind this E.C. Henry character works is closed for a week.  Sure they TRIED to get the man behind this E.C. Henry character to work one day that week, but he valiantly said, no.  Why?  Because the man behind this E.C. Henry character NEEDS the full 9 days off work to recoup, and get more of chance to BE E.C. Henry.

You see this week off, really isn't going to be a week off at all.  E.C. Henry's going to be at his chair (hopefully) crafting his magic.  Is my writing magic?  Gosh, I hope so.  I TRY to make it pop.  Work my ass off to make it pop.  But to date, I'm still an undiscovered, pre-pro screenwriter, so scoreboard: I still feel like a failure. 

So what am I planning on doing durring this week off?  Hopefully finish my 1st draft of the new spec. I'm penning.  It's entittled, "A Heart Built on the Sand."  Currently I'm 135 pages in, and at the beginning of ACT III.  Too long?  Yeah, sure it is -- but I wouldn't want it any other way.  You see I ascribe to the mantra that my online mentor laid out in one of his posts on screenwriting; namely: have the courage to write beyond your draft. 

Writing the bare minimum is not acceptable to me.  Know what I'm saying; once you get to around 100 pages call it good, you've done you're job.  Buzzer!  Wrong.  Your job's not done, not even close.  I ALWAYS want to give the  audience more.  And I believe you do that by writing beyond your draft, THEN you edit down to an industry acceptable page count.

So sure I've got a lot of work to do on, "A Heart Built on the Sand."  But then again my first draft of one of the two installments of a biblical adaptation of the story of Saul and David, Israel's 1st two kings, was like 235 pages, and guess what folks, I edited that down to like 117 pages.  Editing down isn't that hard -- if you know what you're doing.

BESIDES reaching a stage one completion stage of that dark, urban drama.  I'm also hoping to start work on 2-4 other stories.  This will filling corkboards with index cards, opening up a character bio file, and opening up an master plot beat outline file.  I'm also planning on drawing up a cool picture for the CD soundtrack of "A Heart Built on the Sand."  YES, this spec. script has an accompanying music soundtrack, and a good one at that!

This week off I'm also going to do some other things: get a ding in my windshield filled, get my brakes checked, get my spark plugs replaced.  Maybe take Obo (my name for my 3-year-old nephew) to the Seattle Aquarium.  Go running with Micah our 12-year-old poodle -- who by the way didn't like "Sleepless in Seattle," as he jumped off my lap and went to bed after about 15 minutes of it. 

Hope y'all out there in cyberworld are having a blessed Christmas season and have a Happy New Year.  Will probably be doing more posts than normal until work resumes on Tuesday, January 3, 2011. 

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

The Destiny Rom-com: Seattle on Sleepless

A week ago I watched "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) for the 1st time in several years -- and was struck by how deep a movie this really is, and how much it has to teach us about finding one's, destined true love.

True, the first time I saw "Sleepless in Seattle" all I did was drool for two hours.  As it is impossible for this heterosexual, unattached male to watch a fine specimen of female species -- such as Meg is -- without salivating relentlessly, thus missing much of crux of the plot.  Meg Ryan isn't a  bad place to hang out for 2 hours.  

So, seeing as though I live in Seattle -- okay so it's 50 miles south of Seattle, close enough, Georgie -- I feel empowered to speak on behalf of the greater metropolitan Seattle in correctly reviewing, and distilling the treasure that "Sleepless in Seattle" is.

First off, in the tittle of this post, I classified "Sleepless in Seattle" as a destiny rom-com.  Let me explain.  The central idea that is played with in "Sleepless in Seattle" is the idea of the specialness of experiencing your fated, one, true love for yourself.  This is contrasted beautifully against a corollary love situation of settling for a parner based on the practicalities of real life.   "Sleepless in Seattle"'s main appeal is the fulfillment of destiny which culminates in one finding their true love that brings them ultimate peace and fulfilment in their lives. 

Destiny is a MAJOR theme in "Sleepless in Seattle."  And I'm afraid to say, if you feel otherwise, you're probably too stupid to continue reading this post.   Go back to the comics.   Back to scratch and sniffs.  Rob Reiner, Jeff Arch, and Nora Ephron did a MASTERFULL job of exploring this concept with its fantasy element and how it can ground into some form of reality in people's lives.  

For central character Sam (Tom Hanks) his character arch is one of destiny lost to reknewed hope of a fresh, one great love found.  The question he grapples with: can it happen to you twice in one lifetime?  Is their still a great love to be had once the one you loved dearly passes on. 

For heroine Anne (Meg Ryan) her character arch is one of BELIEVING that romantic destiny can be had, and that you don't have to settle for the wrong guy; a.k.a. Bellamy, Walter (Bill Pullman).  Anne struggles with the practicality of the one, great love.   All throughout the movie Anne grapples with the fact that she can coexist and function with Walter, but their is no "magic" in their relationship.  Rather, she's just going through the motions, unfulfilled; because Walter isn't her one, great love that she's supposed to be with.

One of the sleeper aspects of "Sleepless in Seattle" -- which most people miss -- is how Sam's son Jonah(Ross Mallinger) is used to bring this couple of destiny together.  Who would have taught that a son or daughter could be used to bring a romantic pairing together?  Normally sons or daughter of previous relationships are part of the hinderance/obstacle that a fresh romantic pairing must overcome.  But in "Sleepless in Seattle" it is Jonah who repeatedly takes action all with the goal of finding his dad a new wife, which will bring him out of his sadness and make him happy again.  How refreshing IS that concept: a sibling wanting their parent to be happy, and actually taking action to instigate them finding love for themselves.  I think it's brilliant. 

Of all the rom-coms I can think of, I believe there is more lessons that subtly preached in "Sleepless in Seattle" than any other rom-com that's ever been made.  I'll now expound on that statement.

Love Lessons Present in "Sleepless in Seattle":

1. Everyone has a great love to be found, so one shouldn't just settle for what's available at the momment. Both Anne and Sam have Bellamys in their life.   For Anne it's the boring Walter.  For Sam it's Victoria, a woman he could easy connect with because they can co-exist and relate based on their career paths; Sam's an architect, Victoria's an interior designer.   Imagine what could have happened had not Anne and Sam been open to finding their one great love: they would have settled for Mr. and Mrs. 2nd best, and never been fully happy.

2. Magic and a sence of destiny are a key componet of romantic love that should not be over-looked.  Anne really grapples with this issue.  Her mother, played to perfection by actress: Le Clanché du Rand, set's the hook for her in ACT I, when their up in the attic and Anne's trying on her mother's wedding dress.  There her mother says a lot of good stuff that TEACHES us a lot about romantic love.  Most key is the magic of touch: that you can just KNOW that your romantic pairing is right by the feeling you get just by holding that special someone's hand.  Setut-up for payoff in final scene.  Brilliant plotting by story crafter, Jeff Arch, here.   Also Anne's mother talks about sex, how fulfilled she was sexually by her husband; something you can see on Anne's face that she doesn't share with Walter.  Then there's the familiarly/closeness bond, when Anne's mother brings up whether or not Walter has any nic-names -- which saddens Anne that he does not. 

3. Their are signs to be seen when your current romantic pairing is not right, and you'd be better of with someone else.  All throughout "Sleepless in Seattle" heroine Anne has moments with Walter.  Moments where she's waiting for him to prove to her that he's the one, good-fit, true love for her.  But time and time again, things are slightly off with Walter.  Even when he picks out the perfect ring, Anne has doubts.  Those are red flags that have a take-away message.  A warning for all who dabble in aspects of love.  Constant disappointment with your romatic pairing means you're ill matched, and would be better off waiting for your one, ture love.

For Sam, this sense of wrong is for the most part discard.  Why?  Because Sam's character, has for the most part, given up even to start the quest that he could convievably find someone as perfect as his beloved, deceased wife, Maggie.  He counts himself out of the game, and really just kind of feels lucky that he's got a romantic love at all in his life.  Sam is willing to settle for Victoria -- but his plucky son, Jonah won't let him!  You see Sam's warning sign is his son -- and Jonah wants him to pursue Anne from Baltimore.    What an interesting, takeaway message that can be for the rest of us: close members of our family can serve as romantic testers of sorts for us, when we can't see clearly.  Jonah points his father in the direction of his romantic destiny, Anne.  How cool is that? 

4. Don't stress over finding that one, special love; as their are factors above and beyond your control which will act on your behalf to bring you together.  Anne and Sam are on opposite coasts.  Seemingly fated to remain appart forever.  BUT then a radio broadcast, that Anne's in tune with, gets Anne to be aware of Sam initially.

Other people sense when you're looking, and will help you explore the possibility of your destiny.  Betsy (Rosie O'Donnel) empowers Anne to go to Seattle and check this out herself and provides moral support over the phone.  Sam has friends from Chicago (Rita Wilson's character) who listen to him, and help him find his footing.  Sam also has Rob Reiner's character who gives him some romantic pointers -- though they more serve as a true love thwart of sorts, as Rob Reiner's character empowers Sam to pursue Victoria, who is Sam's Bellamy. 

What a relief it should bring us all that it's not ALL on us to find our one, true love.  Their are other factors which can conceivably bring us together, if we're open to the signs and how they make us feel. 

The first time Sam sees Anne in the airport; sign: there's something special about this girl worth pursuing.  Anne can't get "Sleepless in Seattle" out of her head, despite the fact that she's engaged to another man; sign: something's wrong with her current romantic pairing, time to be open to something new.

5. Hardheadeness can leave one insensitive to the delicate nature of love, and can lead to one miss their own connection to their one, true love.  Sam's interest in Victoria grows despite Jonah's constant insistence that he pursue Anne from Baltimore.  Anne keeps giving Walter a chance to win her over, despite the constant disappointment that he brings into her life. 

Sam is dangerously close to totally missing Anne, more more close than Anne is of missing Sam, as you get the idea that Anne can't settle for Walter. 

 

When it's all been said and done, I think "Sleepless in Seattle" is a fine, romantic comedy.  When I first watched it, I didn't find it overly funny, BUT I did find it very romantic.  Watching it again last night, I really savored the comedic lines strewn in throughout; a definite attempt was made to make this movie funny and easier for people with more uptight dispositon to enjoy.  

I think this movie has more appeal to women's romantic fantasy fulfillment then men's.  Sure rom-roms are sometimes dubbed as "chick flicks."  But I would counter with the argument that SOME rom-coms actually have more appeal to men than women.  Case-and-point:"(500) Days of Summer"where you really get a slanted view of romantic love from Gordon Levitt Hewitt's character, and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" which is descidedly slanted towards Steve Carell's romantic dilemma.   

The only real plot/logic flaw I found with "Sleepless in Seattle" comes in Act II.  When Annie follows Sam and Jonah's boat ride from their houseboat on Lake Union to Alki Beach, there is NO WAY she could do this.  To get from the site of Sam's floating house on Lake Union to get to Alki beach you have to go through the Ballard locks then cut across Elliot Bay to the Alki beachfront.  It's a long way, and there in NO WAY someone could follow a boat by car using waterfront roads.  But since Jeff Arch isn't even a native of the land, I think he's from the East Coast, and probably 99.99% of the people who have ever watched this film are unaware of this flub, I just kinda sweep under the carpet too.  No biggie.

One cool visual in Sleepless in Seattle was the use of maps.  The opening credits play over the sun rinsing over a gradually illuminating map of the U.S. over the Jimmy Durante song, "As Time Goes By."  I really liked that.  Also like the use of maps by Sam to illustrate to his Jonah how impracticable it is for he and anyone from other states to connect romantically based on the distance between them.  Then maps are used again when Anne travels back to Baltimore, and then when Jonah then Sam fly to New York.  Then finally in the end credits the entire U.S. map goes up in stars, then several shoot up into the sky; an illustration of hopeful romantics all throughough the U.S. who are hopeful that their own romantic dreams can be answered by destiny.  

Does this post have an E.C. tie-in to scripts he's written?  Damn-straight, Skippy.  Y' see the 1st pure rom-com I wrote, which is intitled Cupid's Helpers" has a decided Seattle bend to it.  So much so in fact that it even has a pivotal scene up in a Seattle landmark, the Space Needle restaurant. 

Well-p, this post has rambled on long enough.  Still have more to say about "Sleepless in Seattle" BUT I think I'll save that for another day.  "Sleepless in Seattle" is a destiny rom-com, and it defiantly deserves to be in ANYONE'S list of all-time, rom-com greats; it definitely makes my top ten, and I would argue that "Sleepless in Seattle" has one of the best take-home-and-discuss messages of ANY romantic comedy that's EVER been filmed.   Their is so much to like about "Sleepless in Seattle," I only hope I did this fine film its due homage in this post. 

Till we meet again,

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

 

Christmas Magic

Is this Christmas Magic?

Just wonderin'.   You see EVERY year my mom gets to fixin' up our house after Thanksgiving.  Making it well...  more Christmasie.  Been the creative that I am, you know I have to coin a phrase for this kind of activity and I call it, creating Christmas magic.

I the case of the opening picture I had to offer.  That's PART of the snowman collection my mom and aunt have gathered thus far.  Here's part two -- in the same room, the kitchen -- no less:

Featured is my mom and aunt's 2nd homage to snowman nation -- this time on a roll-around island in our kitchen.  In the background is my mom's personal mural of pictures, magnets and nic-nacks.  It's all her back there.

But is snowman nation part II, Christmas magic?  Maybe a little accent, but certainly isn't the main course. 

Okay how bout picture # 3:

No, this is what I call: Christmas spillover.  Christmas spillover is where a corner of your house gets decorated and takes on a mini-vibe of its own.  Here "the mom" has so chosen to decorate typically where we "dump" unsorted mail.  Is unsorted mail part of Christmas magic?  Most certainly not, but the mom is determined to transform the ordinary and give it a holiday feel to it.

Is picture #4 Christmas magic?

No, rather, this is part of Christmas mess.  These are decorations still to be put up.  Boxes, tubs, with various items spilling out into the neighboring floor and alleyways all giving our 10-month-old golden lab plenty of temptation to be in the Christmas dog-house of the fore-mentioned, mom.

I think most people can relate to Christmas mess.  Putting up lights, the tree --

 

And all that jazz, can really crimp the holiday spirit.  Or are you like that glass half full fuck who actually GETS INTO the holiday spirit when you're doing all that work?

Am I a cynic of Christmas?  Of course not.  I love Christmas, but what gets me in the holiday spirit IS NOT the decorations.  Rather, it's the music.  I love the music that honors the Lord.  Numerous artists perform versions of "O Holy Night" that really move my heart.  I mean its a deep thing, a love for Jesus thing.  Because He is the reason for the season.  Forget the presents.  Forget Santa Clause.  Jesus is Christmas.  Lose sight of that, you loose sight of everything. 

Now I know scholars will debate that in all actuality Jesus was probably born in the springtime.  BUT we now celebrate it in the dead of winter.  Why?  To counteract pagans who celebrate the winter solstice.  Think about Santa Claus, Satan's clause; a deceivers way of trying to seal the spotlight away from where the real emphasis should be. 

I am wholehearted convinced that we can NEVER honor Jesus enough for what He did for for us.  I mean can you believe He left Heaven for Earth, to show us the way, for the cross the grave, our debt to pay.  Lord we should all lift Your name on high.  Sure I just made my argument using lyrics from another popular, worship song, which is sung in many churches around the world: "Lord We Lift Your Name on High".

To me Christmas is a time to worship, worship a God who stepped out of His comfort zone to really do something extraordinary; namely, live among us mortals.  Christmas is not a time of family -- though those who would like your to take your eyes off the manger would like you to do.  Don't get me wrong, I like family.  I have a good one see --

 Brenda (my brother's wife), Derek (my brother), my dad (I'd say his name but that would compromise my true identity so in classic Bruce Wayne form we'll just leave it at that -- dad), my mom, Brycen (my brother's son), E.C. Henry, and my aunt, Denny: who at one was a stone's throw away from becoming a bonefide  nun in the Catholic Church. 

Though I love my family; Christmas is NOT FAMILY.  It's meaning is deeper.  It's meaning is the revealing of Jesus. 

"Hark, the herald angel's sing, glory to the newborn king."

Christmas is a time when Heaven literally touches Earth.  Angels visit and tell sheppards about Jesus' birth.  And why was that?  I think it's because God is the ultimate writer of them all; He told sheppard's about the True Shepard who was coming to guard His flock and protect them eternally.  You see we in modern society don't give God nearly the credit He deserves.   Christmas was God's idea, and we should be celebrating that.  I mean how many people out there want to hear more from God?  Well, if that's the case, shouldn't we honor what He's already done in our midst? 

Christmas is Jesus.  Wanna find TRUE Christmas magic.  Gotta look to the manger to see that; Emmanuel: God with us!  Amazing.

Sexy Writers

Who is that sexy beast?  He is sexy right...  Don't say no, and thus shoot down my confidence.

Because dat sexy beast, be yours truly.  Albeit 23 years ago...   My-my, how time flies.  Seams like only yesterday that my mom was photographing me in my skivvies. 

Can your mom be your erotic camera person?  Not sure if that's morally on the up-and-up, or not; but she was on that day.

"Of course it's not on the up-and-up, you pampered moma's boy.  No sex symbol gets photographed by their mother, and can reasonably expect a rational adult to to view those pictures as being sexy."

Ah, beg to differ, Miss Ryan.  'Cuz, what if you didn't know that it was mother behind the camera when those pictures were being taken?  What if I wasn't so up front and open with you -- and the readers of this blog -- about that fact.   The issue at hand remains, was E.C. Henry at age 19 -- what girls would call "sexy".  Now put that in there, 'cuz if you're some fag or some Sandusky-ites who ventured on this blog, shut it down homes this conversation isn't for you.  E.C. Henry likes the ladies.  And he's trying to make a point...

Holy Shit, there he is again.  Look at dat!  And those legs.  O how I hope the ladies like the legs (I've been told I have nice legs) 

I'm noticing something else in my retro beefcase showcase; whole latta white goin' on.  And since these pictures my boobs have gotten better -- through weight lifting.     

Now I don't claim to be a fashion model.  But this picture does prove that I was peacocking laa-ong before it cam in vogue in the 2000's.  Yeah, my forward sexy was a little ahead of it's original 1989 airing, but then again a lot of great writers are ahead of their times.

Whoa, did I mention writers and sexy in the same sentence!  Hup, better put a lid on that one, Ernie!  Yes, actually I did, because I'm trying to subtly infuse a point in the mind of the my female viewers; namely, writers can be sexy beasts.

Personally, I think EVERYONE has an erotic side to them.  Their are many differerent sides to people; there's the mechanical side: how good you are at fixing things and engineering things.  Their is the book-smart side: how much fact one can recite when that's called upon.  Their is the social side: how well you do in social situations (a.k.a. how good of a b.s.er you are.   And there is the sexy side.  Which after these two pictures I have displayed I have.  Now lets move on...

Holy shit -- their's another one!  And just look at that gent this time.  All sitting on his cute tushie.  (Please tell me I have a cute tushie, I don't think I could go on if you didn't reaffirm my bottoms-up side) 

The crux of this picture is: I'm ready to get to know you, girl.  So get in your skivvies too, and lets have a heart-to-heart -- without my mother in the room!!

 

"Well, I like the fact you call it, pea cocking.  Based on what I'm seeing in this pictures, I'd hafta say  -- at least you got that right."

Thanks, Meg.  BUT if me dancing and prancing about in my skivvies, and being the butt of your jokes makes you happy, then I'm happy.  Why?  Because I'm a writer.  Not just a beefcake sex symbol, immortalized forever my mother, the one-day male-lingerie photographer extraordinaire.  AND as a romatic comedy writer one of my biggest obligations is to make the girl happy.  Do whatever it takes to set them at ease and know that the story I've written was written to bring some joy into their life.   My beefcake pictures are merely eye candy for your viewing pleasure.  I figure, tit for tat.  I like looking at beautiful girls.  And turnabout is fair play.  Now I would NEVER publicize on my blog risque photographs of you, Meg Ryan, or any other actress I would like to work with.   The fact of the matter is, I respect women.  I like women.  I TRY to view women as princesses.  And of all the princesses out there, Meg, you'd defiantly be in my top 10 of damsels in distress that I would like to rescue up in the castle.

"O E.C. how you do TRY to say the right thing to a girl.   But please don't handle your pen too much when you're out pea cocking about in your short shorts -- with your mother watching!"

Ouch, now you're being hurtful, Meg.   Even sexy people can have their feeling hurt.   Just try to remember, I can do cool -- and sexy -- at the same time.

"O yeah.  I'd like to see that."

Fine, Meg.  Here's my forth and final beefcake picture.  Something for your noodle to consider...

E.C. Henry: writer/sex symbol.  Cool and  sophisticated -- Tom Cruise doesn't have jack shit on me!  "Risky Business" indeed! 

I hope you've enjoyed this post.  I got the idea for it, when my mom was going through photographs to mail out to our extended family and friends for this years Christmas gift packages -- and NO these beefcake photographs aren't part of those packages.  My mom just reminded me that we still had this pictures, and I, then with my overly creative mind, decided to use them as the crux of a blog post. 

Have I changed THAT much in 23 years?  No, not really.  I'm still pretty much the same man I was then, it's just now I've done away with the curly hair in the back, and I now have a mustache. 

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Sorry for not posting on a more regular basis.  I've been working a lot lately, AND my shoulders are still on-and-off again sore.  Am probably going to see a doctor about that this week. 

What's up next for yours truly?  Well-p, still working on that pesky dark, urban drama.  Can't wait to be rid of that story.  Too dark a place for me.  Don't want to stay there.  Though getting into my characters is ALWAYS a joy.  Even if they take you to a dark place.  It's getting to know someone who is genuinely different then yourself.  And my female lead protagonist is a sexually charged women... So MAYBE this post was a variant of her.  I can only hope...

Got LOTS of other stories I'm dying to start writing.  Happier stories.  Not the pro-Christian stories that my mom and aunt would like me to write.  BUT a teen comedy with a space bend to it, and a teen coming-of-age robbers flick set just east of the Cascades are a long time coming.  Can't wait to get to them.  Lots to do gang.  I am a writer with MUCH, MUCH more to stay.  Keep tuning in...