Oh the weather outside is frightful, 
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!


It’s snowing hard in Belgium as I write this post; it has done so the past days and it brought me in a weird Christmas spirit instead of an Easter one.

It had me thinking (again) about TDAT. And you know what that means !!!

I don’t want to sound disrespectful but when I saw this publicity still with the flashlights pointing opposite directions, I could only think of the Rocky Horror song “Over at the Frankenstein place“.

It’s the belated Christmas spirit that got into me, I’m sorry about that

I was under the impression the interview, posted on my previous entry, was more widely spread.

For anyone who's interested, here's the other part of the interview, where Austin talks about his days as a waterskier, Pasadena and The Day after Tomorrow.

Enjoy



Water skiing's contribution to Hollywood - Friday, 28 May 2004

This Memorial Day weekend, The Day after Tomorrow opens to cinemas worldwide. Among the cast of the multi-million dollar blockbuster movie is Austin Nichols.
Austin Nichols – a name that conjures a few memories among those who skied with him in tournaments past and a name that will be up in lights in the very near future.
Since hanging up his tournament skis he has pursued a promising career in the T.V. and Movie industry and a successful one at that – he will be starring in two Hollywood blockbusters this coming summer, “The Day after Tomorrow” (opening today) and “Wimbledon” (opening Labor Day weekend).
The following interview can be also be seen in abreviated form in the latest June edition USA Waterski's The Waterskiier Magazine.

WSC: You are appearing in two major Hollywood movies this summer. You pretty excited about that?

AN: I am incredibly excited.  I am about to wet myself waiting for them. It seems like years since I finished them.  In the case of “The Day after Tomorrow” it has been a whole year.

WSC: For those who need a refresher as to who you are, tell us a little about your skiing background and what you had achieved in the sport.

AN: My Mom, Kay Nichols is a ten time National champion.  So I was sort of born into skiing, but I did not really get serious until I was 12 or 13.  I started improving rapidly and spending time at Jay Bennett's in Louisiana. 

I quickly made alliances with Ryan Fitts and we became inseparable.  We got into quite a bit of trouble too.  He was quite a hero and a competitor.  I was always gunning for him.  But I certainly have him to thank for my competitive fire.  It was an incredible way to grow up. I made the 1997 Junior US Team at the Team Trials at McCormick’s.  We all went to Edmonton, Canada and I won Slalom and Overall and the US prevailed.  I also reached the #3 spot on the world ranking list for Junior Men's Tricks behind Marco Riva and Jimmy Siemers.  Jimmy and I both trained at Aquaplex in Austin, Texas.  And I competed in Two Junior Masters at Calloway Gardens.  I love golf.

WSC: Most skiers that I know of at your level tend to go the NCWSA route and continue skiing through college. What prompted your decision to do otherwise?

AN: At the age of 15 or 16, acting was calling to me in the back of my mind. It was a little bit eclipsed by the call to be a professional water-skier, but acting slowly broke through.  I made a student film with a couple of graduate students at UT and I was in a bunch of acting classes.  Eventually, acting was shouting at me and skiing was just a whisper.  Maybe I just didn’t want to go to college in Louisiana!!!

WSC: Describe how you got your first break into the acting field back in 1995 - "The Great Work" episode in "Sliders".

AN: I got to Los Angeles and started school at USC in September.  I had my first job on SLIDERS in October.  It was wonderful because I got my SAG card immediately, so the union battle was quickly won. Sliders was also a very fitting role, because the character of Seth was a very 'green', wide-eyed kid, which described me perfectly as I was just entering that world.

WSC: Some shows, especially in this day in age, never really get to show their full potential before getting the axe from the network. One of those shows was "Pasadena", in which you appeared in 5 episodes and was cancelled by Fox before the end of that season. Tell us how you felt after learning of the show's demise.

AN: Tony, I am so glad you know about “Pasadena.”  It was a wonderful show with a stellar cast.  Dana Delaney, Martin Donovan, Philip Baker Hall, Balthazar Getty, Natasha Gregson-Wagner, and Alison Lohman.  The funny thing was, that '24' was just starting that season as well, and both shows were for Fox.  So Fox put all their money into marketing '24', their golden goose, and it took off.  Also, I think Pasadena was really ahead of its time.  It was incredibly dark and incredibly funny and I think people didn't really get it.  They thought it was really serious, and they didn't get the humor.  But I was definitely devastated because there was a chance that I might have become a series regular.  Also, Mike White was the writer/creator/showrunner and he is incredibly brilliant.  I am just dazzled that I got to work with such wonderful people.

WSC: Describe your role in TDAT. What kind of character do you play in the movie?

AN: In The Day After Tomorrow, I play J.D., a wealthy high-school senior who lives on the upper east side of Manhattan.  J.D.'s school hosts an Academic decathlon and three kids come to town from Washington D.C.  (this group includes Jake Gyllenhaal, the lead)   All of a sudden, severe flooding begins and I give shelter to these kids because they cannot catch a flight out of the city because all flights have been cancelled.  There is a girl with them, Laura, played by Emmy Rossum, who I am immediately attracted to, but Jake's character, Sam, is in love with her too.  So, Sam and J.D. have that immediate competitive flare to win the girl right in the middle of a disaster, the end of the world.  The weather that ensues is triggered by global warming.  This warming melts large amounts of polar ice and the oceans heat up and cause the currents to change direction.  This major shift causes an imbalance in the atmosphere and giant super storms are generated.  They look like giant hurricanes over land.  There is also a giant tidal wave and tornadoes.   Everything you can think of happens.  So when all this happens, the four of us take shelter in a library and just try to survive.  There is an exciting occurrence with wolves, but I cannot say any more.

(Insert the part about Wimbledon)

WSC: Many will guess that Hollywood is a world away from the skiing scene, but how often do you keep in touch with what's going on with the sport? Do you ski yourself from time to time?

AN: Strangely, Tony, the water skiing world is incredibly similar to Hollywood.  Hollywood is just bigger and more famous, the egos are a little bigger and there is more money.  Skiing has its own celebrities and endorsement deals, contracts, photo shoots, awards ceremonies, outrageous parties. I have always thought that the water ski world was like a shrunken Hollywood.

I do keep up with things a little bit through my parents.  And I call Ryan Fitts and Dana Hinman from time to time and check in.  I really want to come back to the Masters and play a little golf, watch the tournament, and crash some golf carts.  Strangely, TDAT opens Memorial Day weekend, same as the Masters.

I really don’t do much skiing.  Recently I went out and ran 2 at 41'..........on my trick ski.

Surfing seems to keep me in the water and pretty happy

 Ahhh…. The Day After Tomorrow….

We tend to forget that The Day after Tomorrow is a disaster movie. Most of us are also oblivious of the fact that the scenes we like to watch represent maybe 1/10th or even less of the movie. If I would ask everybody who at one time used the fast forward when watching TDAT to raise their hands, how many hands do you think are raised?

What can I post that  has not already been posted before? That has not already been discussed or dissected? There’s enough material on the internet to post until the end of the year or maybe even longer.

Why not make an interactive post. Just let me know your favourite scene, your favourite picture. Anything you want to get out off you system about TDAT.

First its my turn: The Golden ratio or the Golden Cut

This is the most intriguing picture.

Click for larger

Why?
Everybody is watching the camera. Austin, with a pout, is looking at Jake.
Everybody is wearing a headdress, except for Jake and Austin.
Although Jake is on the foreground, the main focus of the picture is on Austin. The reason for that is the photographer used the Golden Ratio in his composition. Austin is on the intersection of both horizontal and vertical Golden Ratio lines.

Any idea why the photographer did that?
Feedback is very much appreciated!

My own little movie

Golden Ratio:  In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller. The golden ratio is approximately 1.6180339887.

Maybe I should not tell this, but the past few days I spend hours watching a handful of guys taking a test to get a raise. It’s a pretty boring pastime so yesterday I took my laptop and tried to put something together with Windows Movie Maker.

It’s my first attempt to create a ‘video’, please don’t be to harsh on me. I know it is not flawless.

Watching The Day After Tomorrow it always surprises me how brief the Austin & Jake scenes are.

A flash and they’re gone. In my mind they seem to last a lot longer; it’s like visiting the home you grew up to find out that the large rooms you remembered have shrunk to smaller places.

My clip only lasts four minutes, it’s full of inquisitive and loving glances; a lot of touching as well.

I hope you’ll like it.