Just a little Sunday reading (because football is stupid and dumb and not any fun):
- Technically last night's reading, but I've still been thinking today about The Name of the Rose, where Jorge was warning of the imminent Apocalypse:
It has been said that when the moment is near, a foreign king will rise in the West, lord of immense deceits, atheist, killer of men, fraudulent, thirsting for gold, skilled in tricks, wicked, enemy and persecutor of the faithful, and in his time he will not hold silver dear but will esteem only gold!
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It has been written that many will be the agitations among those of rank, and among the peoples, the churches; that wicked shepherds will rise up, perverse, disdainful, greedy, pleasure-seeking, lovers of gain, enjoyers of idle speech, boastful, proud, avid, arrogant, plunged in lewdness, seekers of vainglory, enemies of the Gospel, ready to repudiate the strait gate, to despise the true word; and they will hate every path of piety, they will not repent their sins, and therefore will spread among all peoples disbelief, fraternal hatred, wickedness, hardness of heart, envy, indifference, robbery, drunkenness, intemperance, lasciviousness, carnal pleasure, fornication, and all the other vices.
- From Fast Company - Amazon workers warn ‘warp-speed’ AI push threatens democracy and the planet:
A growing number of Amazon employees have signed onto an open letter issuing some dire warnings about the company’s sprint toward AI.
The letter, signed by more than 1,000 workers and published this week, calls out Amazon for pushing its AI investments at the expense of the climate and its human workforce. The letter’s supporters come from a wide array of roles at the company, including many software engineers, and even employees focused on building AI systems.
“We believe that the all-costs-justified, warp-speed approach to AI development will do staggering damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth,” the letter’s authors wrote. “We’re the workers who develop, train, and use AI, so we have a responsibility to intervene.”
In the letter obtained by The Guardian, the Amazon employees argue that their employer is throwing out its climate promises in the scramble to win the AI race.
- Thanks to Zack Stentz, I thorougly enjoyed A Comparative Analysis of Two Drafts of INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE:
My intention is to illustrate screenwriting lessons, not dissect who conceived of which ideas. The Boam draft inherited much from a preceding draft by Menno Meyjes, as well as ideas from Lucas, Spielberg, Sean Connery, and even elements from the original story conference for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The undated "Amblin" revision undoubtedly contained alterations by Spielberg and Lucas. Key changes were made during production and post, such as the expansion of the tank battle (by Spielberg and storyboard artists), the addition of the motorcycle chase, and various cuts. For convenience, however, I will refer to the drafts as "Boam" and "Stoppard".
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Before we get to the spreadsheet that dissects 90 notable differences between the scripts, here is an overview for those who don't share my fascination with the minutiae of screenplay revisions.
Vast enhancements were made to every element of the story - character, plot, pace, humor, action, tone, clarity, dialogue. The result is a markedly more coherent, charming, and enduring script that truly belongs in a museum. I suspect that, absent the final revisions, this film would have been regarded by audiences as inferior to its antecedent sequel THE TEMPLE OF DOOM in tone, wit, and entertainment value.
I never realized how much Sir Tom Stoppard really was responsible for my favorite scenes and dialogue ("I should've mailed it to the Marx Brothers!"). Guess I should watch Last Crusade tonight with the spreadsheet open in his honor.
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