What’s it about?: Choking Man is a psychological drama about Jorge, a young Ecuadorian immigrant with extreme social anxiety who works as a dishwasher in a Greek diner in Jamaica, Queens, New York. The story basically follows Jorge and his interactions with his diner co-workers, including an overbearing extroverted cook and a pretty Chinese waitress. Continue reading
As someone trying to overcome social anxiety, I often seek out information to learn more about the disorder. I read websites, blogs, books, interviews, listen to podcasts, audio books, and watch Youtube videos and documentaries. And since movies have always been my first love, I’ve naturally searched for films about social anxiety, as well. Continue reading
Last week, trailers were released for both a new Jurassic Park movie and a new Star Wars movie, two of my favorite franchises of all time. It wasn’t always that way, however. A lot of writers and filmmakers cite seeing Star Wars as a kid as being the number-one inspiration for their work as an adult, but I didn’t become a Star Wars fan until later in life. The original trilogy was released before I was born, and I had a weird aversion to old movies, so I avoided watching Star Wars. There was something about those 1970s hairdos that turned me off. I remember renting Return of the Jedi on VHS from Blockbuster because it was the newest of the three Star Wars films, but for whatever reason, it didn’t really capture my imagination at the time. Continue reading
With the recent release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, I thought I’d look back at the filmmaker’s career— and mine. Ever since The Prestige, a new Nolan film is an event in my life. He is the single-most influential writer/director on my own writing, and the film of his that has had the greatest impact on me is Inception. Continue reading
T.Z. Barry 