First off, I COULD NOT HANDLE IT ANYMORE!!!
I was tired of lying around the house - I ALWAYS have to have something to do. I CAN NOT just sit around and do nothing. My attention span is SHORT to begin with, and after almost a week of lying around, I can only watch so much Poker, and so much ESPN. I HAD TO get out of the house. And with the foot healing up, I felt like I could drive to work.
I wanted to sit down with my new boss and talk to her about "the future". Sadly, we don't agree on some things. Granted, I'm often hard-headed, but after being in this business going on 8 years - I think I know some of what I'm talking about, and I feel that I've earned some of the things I'm asking for. Sadly, she doesn't see things the same way. So, we're trying to work on a compromise. I think things will eventually work out, I've just got to stick with it/her for a while. She just sees things differently, and... I don't know. It will all work out. I can already tell that things are going to be MUCH BETTER at work - to start with, I was completely prepared to pick up some shifts this weekend. But, NO. I was told to take this weekend off. Finish getting healed. And come back to work on Monday. Right on!
Now, I did get "suckered" into doing some work tonight - but I'm not going to complain. I sat around and built up a bunch of movies - because I'm trying to pull my weight (I just wish I would have remembered to bring my iPod!) and I was waiting around for my friends to arrive to watch "Feast"...
What can I say about "Feast"???
What can I say?
IT ROCKS! IF you go with a group of friends. IF you're all in the mood to have a good time. IF you enjoy CRAZY OVER-THE-TOP ZANY WACKED-OUT RIDICULOUS GORE. We laughed from the first minute to the last shot. This script was GREAT! It was such an amazing ride. Things popping out of everywhere. Violent gory deaths. It was SO MUCH FUN TO LAUGH AT. BUT - I (personally) needed to watch it with my friends, because if I didn't have someone to turn to, and laugh with, I don't think it would be as funny. This is something I REALLY want to watch with ALL of my friends at our Halloween Party. (And THANKFULLY it's being released on DVD on Oct. 17th!)
It's BONKERS.
I'm laughing right now, remembering the RIDICULOUS one-liners. The gags work. The suspension of disbelief is VERY HIGH! It was just fun. It's NOT an Oscar Worthy flick, by any means, but I really enjoyed it. Too funny. Too funny.
If you live in Indy. And you like HORROR flicks. And you like FUNNY HORROR FLICKS. And you like RIDICULOUS OVER-THE-TOP ZANY CRAZY FUNNY HORROR FLICKS - then you should hit Republic Theatres on FRIDAY or SATURDAY NIGHT ONLY!!! Grab some friends, and get ready to enjoy a good time. If you're not from Indy - then check out THIS LIST to see where its playing near you.
We got into a discussion about "The Last Kiss" tonight, and I've made up my mind that while ALL YOU AWESOME PEOPLE are going to see "Feast", I'm going to try to catch "The Last Kiss" again this weekend. I know a couple of people who have said they want to see it, so hopefully I can convince someone to tag along with me. I really wish I was working more recently... There's some cheap Colts tickets available for Sunday's game - but I really can't afford them right now. BUMMER. I guess I'll have to watch it on T.V. AGAIN this weekend.
It's late. I need sleep. PEACE WORLD!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
"Crossroads" Premiere
So, since I came back to Indy earlier than I planned - I was able to attend an event that I originally was really upset that I was going to miss. The premiere of Steve "Papaw" Pyatte's film "Crossroads".
Thankfully, my friend Annette was kind enough to be my driver, and accompany my gimpy self to the screening. Although, I think I would have traded the pain of driving myself, for all the "cripple" comments she made throughout the night... I'm just thankful she wanted to go, and kept me company.
She was also kind enough to play "photo girl" for us, and got recruited to snap a bunch of pictures on various cameras. Here's a pair from the evening:
Steve "Papaw" Pyatte and Myself.
Myself, "Papaw" and fellow filmmaker Chris Allen.
It was a REALLY great time. I got to me Michael Garcia - who wrote the original screenplay. He came into town from Texas. We've talked numerous times via email, so it was nice to put a face to the name. I got to see regulars like Jim Dogherty, Don Becker, and Joe Martin. And I hung out most of the night with Chris Allen. I also got the chance to meet and talk to Daniel Risk - who basically took over what I started, and helped Papaw get this thing finished.
Onto the film: The film makes its point. And I have high respect for ANYONE who can complete a project. The film has a VERY straight forward message, and it hits it. It sometimes overkills it, however - at the screening, the played all of the "Bonus Features" from the DVD right after the film, and we had a HUGE into by Steve, so I might have just been overloaded with "the message" - perhaps in smaller doses, it wouln't feel the same.
The problem with me (one of MANY) is this: When I watch any film, for the first time, I critique it - for its technical aspects. That's just how my brain works. There's many films that when I see them in the theatre, I claim and swear that they are horrible - and once I watch it on DVD, I realize its not that bad. It's RARE that a film like "The Last Kiss" comes along, and I'm SO involved in the story (because of an amazing script) that I do not look at the technical aspects of the film.
Sadly, as with most indie flick, the dialogue just didn't get me hooked - so I started technically watching the flick. It probably did NOT help that I've read the script numerous times - and knew the story. For some reason, this just sadly happens with too many indie scripts - MINE INCLUDED - we are too focused on the words, and disregard the fact that this is a visual medium. It's something that I've attempted to work on, and it's tough. It's a tough thing to move past the words, and move into the fact that the visuals are more important to keeping people interested. It's a visual medium - with dialogue to accompany the visuals.
So, here's my semi-technical comments: The editing at the beginning and ending were very good. Lots of quick cuts, cut to music, it flowed, it didn't sit on one shot too long, it felt like a good edit. The middle was a little SLOW. They focused too much on the dialogue - and didn't allow their actors to move. They stood still - they didn't move. It kept cutting between the same two shots, except to give me a Close Up of the same angle. Visually, I was bored with what I was seeing. I understand that they were more concerned with getting their message, but I'm going to argue that more people than not, are going to be visually bored. And the problem is that when you visually bore the audience, they shut off their ears to hearing the dialogue, because their eyes have given up. It's very simple to create movement between people. Have them walk around. Have one of them go off and do something, and force the other one to follow. Something. Anything. Film is a visual medium, and if you're going to chose it to tell your story, then you need to make sure you're satisfying the audiences visual needs. If the story is the only important thing - then it should be a book.
The one thing that I CAN NOT say ANYTHING negative about was the music/score. It was GREAT. It was PERFECT. Watching the credits - it looked like it was all pre-recorded stuff, and they MADE IT WORK for the film. I thought the music was well cut to the scenes, and they worked as if it was perfectly written for the flick. It really set the mood and the tone for what was going at various points. It also worked REALLY well at various moments when "shock value" was being used. The music really added another depth to the flick.
The film is essentially a high-end PSA. It's anti-drinking and driving, and it does an EXCELLENT job of conveying its message. It shows you the remorse in the characters. You do feel their pain. It was ambitious. It was a big project. And for a first-time director like Steve, it was a HUGE step. I'll guarantee it was a massive step over what "Consternate" was. And if this is where Steve's learning curve is beginning - then he's got a HUGE potential to tell amazing stories and with the right work, homework, and research into the art of filmmaking - he's got a chance to go on to bigger and better things.
In today's society, ANYONE and EVERYONE believes that they can make films. Look at YouTube or MySpace or Google Video, they are overcrowded with lots and lots of bad products. And its because all of these people hear stories about filmmakers - one in a billion chances - and they think that they can do it too. They don't take the time to read the books, watching the bonus features on DVDs (Ten Minute Films School Segments 1, 2, 3 and 15-Minute Film School), read magazines (1, 2, 3, 4), do homework - and TRULY learn the mental reasoning behind filmmaking. Filmmaking is a mental work - because through millions of perfectly arranged pictures - you have to tell a story. Mise-en-Scene is a basic principle that I felt was lacking in "Crossroads" - it felt like the just had people stand "where they should be" - then worked their shots around the actors, instead of arranging their actors to make a more dynamic shot. I REALLY hope that Steve takes the time to look into a few books that go into the technical aspects of setting up four framing and shots, and then also looks into some of the books which deal in the psychology of framing a shot. How the audience interprets various set-ups. I think he's got MAJOR potential, and like I said, he's already WAY SURPASSED my first film. It's also wonderful to see someone who is so kind, so caring, and so giving with himself - that you can't but hope he makes it far. He's got a wonderful attitude, and deserves lots of respect and acknowledgement for his work on the project.
I also have to THANK Steve, he said A LOT of nice things about me in his introduction to the film, and again in closing. It was very nice for someone to acknowledge those who he's worked with. It was an amazing time, and I'm so glad to have been able to attend. And I'm glad to add "Crossroads" to my DVD collection.
Following the showing, Chris Allen asked if we wanted to catch a bite to eat, so we all hit the Steak-N-Shake, where we talked and TALKED film forever. We talked a lot about the curent state of the film community in Indy. We talked about his upcoming project. We talked about past projects. When Chris and I sit down, we TALK and TALK film. The last time we did lunch - it turned into a 4-hour meeting. He's an AWESOME guy, and someone that I really respect.
It was a good night for Indy Indie Film - and I hope more people get to see the film, as lots of hard work and time were put into it. I'm also looking forward to the IndianaActors.com Film Festival in March. I am looking forward to seeing a lot more indie films, and getting to spend more time with fellow filmmakers - talking film and enjoying each other's company.
Tonight was awesome - because it REALLY reminds me how much I love doing this. And hopefully it will help me carry on in developing the scripts I'm working on. Now, I'm looking forward to spending a day, or two, in Chicago to see some more cool flicks, and much like in Boston, get a feeling for how filmmakers from others parts of the country/world are doing.
Annette and I somehow got onto the topic of the film "Love Actually" on the drive home - so I HAD TO put it in and watch it. So, I'm going to do that - get my foot up - and try to get healed.
FOR HEIDI: Who asked me how involved I was in the project, HERE is a link where I go into details about how the project was born, and what I had to do with it. ENJOY!
Thankfully, my friend Annette was kind enough to be my driver, and accompany my gimpy self to the screening. Although, I think I would have traded the pain of driving myself, for all the "cripple" comments she made throughout the night... I'm just thankful she wanted to go, and kept me company.
She was also kind enough to play "photo girl" for us, and got recruited to snap a bunch of pictures on various cameras. Here's a pair from the evening:
Steve "Papaw" Pyatte and Myself.
Myself, "Papaw" and fellow filmmaker Chris Allen.It was a REALLY great time. I got to me Michael Garcia - who wrote the original screenplay. He came into town from Texas. We've talked numerous times via email, so it was nice to put a face to the name. I got to see regulars like Jim Dogherty, Don Becker, and Joe Martin. And I hung out most of the night with Chris Allen. I also got the chance to meet and talk to Daniel Risk - who basically took over what I started, and helped Papaw get this thing finished.
Onto the film: The film makes its point. And I have high respect for ANYONE who can complete a project. The film has a VERY straight forward message, and it hits it. It sometimes overkills it, however - at the screening, the played all of the "Bonus Features" from the DVD right after the film, and we had a HUGE into by Steve, so I might have just been overloaded with "the message" - perhaps in smaller doses, it wouln't feel the same.
The problem with me (one of MANY) is this: When I watch any film, for the first time, I critique it - for its technical aspects. That's just how my brain works. There's many films that when I see them in the theatre, I claim and swear that they are horrible - and once I watch it on DVD, I realize its not that bad. It's RARE that a film like "The Last Kiss" comes along, and I'm SO involved in the story (because of an amazing script) that I do not look at the technical aspects of the film.
Sadly, as with most indie flick, the dialogue just didn't get me hooked - so I started technically watching the flick. It probably did NOT help that I've read the script numerous times - and knew the story. For some reason, this just sadly happens with too many indie scripts - MINE INCLUDED - we are too focused on the words, and disregard the fact that this is a visual medium. It's something that I've attempted to work on, and it's tough. It's a tough thing to move past the words, and move into the fact that the visuals are more important to keeping people interested. It's a visual medium - with dialogue to accompany the visuals.
So, here's my semi-technical comments: The editing at the beginning and ending were very good. Lots of quick cuts, cut to music, it flowed, it didn't sit on one shot too long, it felt like a good edit. The middle was a little SLOW. They focused too much on the dialogue - and didn't allow their actors to move. They stood still - they didn't move. It kept cutting between the same two shots, except to give me a Close Up of the same angle. Visually, I was bored with what I was seeing. I understand that they were more concerned with getting their message, but I'm going to argue that more people than not, are going to be visually bored. And the problem is that when you visually bore the audience, they shut off their ears to hearing the dialogue, because their eyes have given up. It's very simple to create movement between people. Have them walk around. Have one of them go off and do something, and force the other one to follow. Something. Anything. Film is a visual medium, and if you're going to chose it to tell your story, then you need to make sure you're satisfying the audiences visual needs. If the story is the only important thing - then it should be a book.
The one thing that I CAN NOT say ANYTHING negative about was the music/score. It was GREAT. It was PERFECT. Watching the credits - it looked like it was all pre-recorded stuff, and they MADE IT WORK for the film. I thought the music was well cut to the scenes, and they worked as if it was perfectly written for the flick. It really set the mood and the tone for what was going at various points. It also worked REALLY well at various moments when "shock value" was being used. The music really added another depth to the flick.
The film is essentially a high-end PSA. It's anti-drinking and driving, and it does an EXCELLENT job of conveying its message. It shows you the remorse in the characters. You do feel their pain. It was ambitious. It was a big project. And for a first-time director like Steve, it was a HUGE step. I'll guarantee it was a massive step over what "Consternate" was. And if this is where Steve's learning curve is beginning - then he's got a HUGE potential to tell amazing stories and with the right work, homework, and research into the art of filmmaking - he's got a chance to go on to bigger and better things.
In today's society, ANYONE and EVERYONE believes that they can make films. Look at YouTube or MySpace or Google Video, they are overcrowded with lots and lots of bad products. And its because all of these people hear stories about filmmakers - one in a billion chances - and they think that they can do it too. They don't take the time to read the books, watching the bonus features on DVDs (Ten Minute Films School Segments 1, 2, 3 and 15-Minute Film School), read magazines (1, 2, 3, 4), do homework - and TRULY learn the mental reasoning behind filmmaking. Filmmaking is a mental work - because through millions of perfectly arranged pictures - you have to tell a story. Mise-en-Scene is a basic principle that I felt was lacking in "Crossroads" - it felt like the just had people stand "where they should be" - then worked their shots around the actors, instead of arranging their actors to make a more dynamic shot. I REALLY hope that Steve takes the time to look into a few books that go into the technical aspects of setting up four framing and shots, and then also looks into some of the books which deal in the psychology of framing a shot. How the audience interprets various set-ups. I think he's got MAJOR potential, and like I said, he's already WAY SURPASSED my first film. It's also wonderful to see someone who is so kind, so caring, and so giving with himself - that you can't but hope he makes it far. He's got a wonderful attitude, and deserves lots of respect and acknowledgement for his work on the project.
I also have to THANK Steve, he said A LOT of nice things about me in his introduction to the film, and again in closing. It was very nice for someone to acknowledge those who he's worked with. It was an amazing time, and I'm so glad to have been able to attend. And I'm glad to add "Crossroads" to my DVD collection.
Following the showing, Chris Allen asked if we wanted to catch a bite to eat, so we all hit the Steak-N-Shake, where we talked and TALKED film forever. We talked a lot about the curent state of the film community in Indy. We talked about his upcoming project. We talked about past projects. When Chris and I sit down, we TALK and TALK film. The last time we did lunch - it turned into a 4-hour meeting. He's an AWESOME guy, and someone that I really respect.
It was a good night for Indy Indie Film - and I hope more people get to see the film, as lots of hard work and time were put into it. I'm also looking forward to the IndianaActors.com Film Festival in March. I am looking forward to seeing a lot more indie films, and getting to spend more time with fellow filmmakers - talking film and enjoying each other's company.
Tonight was awesome - because it REALLY reminds me how much I love doing this. And hopefully it will help me carry on in developing the scripts I'm working on. Now, I'm looking forward to spending a day, or two, in Chicago to see some more cool flicks, and much like in Boston, get a feeling for how filmmakers from others parts of the country/world are doing.
Annette and I somehow got onto the topic of the film "Love Actually" on the drive home - so I HAD TO put it in and watch it. So, I'm going to do that - get my foot up - and try to get healed.
FOR HEIDI: Who asked me how involved I was in the project, HERE is a link where I go into details about how the project was born, and what I had to do with it. ENJOY!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Two More Flicks
I rolled into work with Jason today. When we first got here this morning, he threaded up "The Black Dahlia" for me to watch. I'm a really big James Ellroy fan, and a huge "L.A. Confidential" fan, so I was really looking forward to this movie - add in a cast that I really like, and you've got my expectations up. Sadly, it wasn't as wonderful as "L.A. Confidential", but it holds its own. It deviates from the facts that I know about the Elizabeth Short murder, but after all - it is a work of fiction. It's worth watching.
Following that flick, I killed a couple of hours at the Galleria Mall, before heading back to Kendall Square to watch "Edmond". David Mamet is so hit or miss with me. When he adapts his own plays into movies, I don't tend to like them. But stuff like "Spartan" or "State and Main" - I really enjoy. I don't know. I guess I do like "Glengarry Glenross"... I just didn't really care for "Edmond", it was too much exposition, and I didn't feel any kind of connection to William H. Macy's character.
Yesterday was a creatively productive day. I stayed "home" all day and worked on the plotline for the new flick. I'm trying to map out all the events and place them in chronological order, and find some fillers for certain places. I've also began using the working title: "Wake Up in the Breakdown". I have a feeling that once I get the timeline done, I'm going to be making some more serious changes... We'll see, when the time comes.
I'm also toying with the notion of taking Jason and I's original concept for "Consternate" and re-doing it as a comedy. I think there's a lot of thing we could incorporate into the idea, and not make it a cheesey "spoof" movie, but instead an original comedy, with outlandish murders, based on the original storyline we had for the film. There's a couple of people in Indy that I would like their creative input - to see if we can make a script... It's an idea I'm going to toy with for a while. Lots of over-the-top blood and gore sounds like a lot of fun to play with!
It looks like I'm going to be heading back to Indy in about a week. I've done a lot out here - had an amazing time, seen some amazing things, and been able to do some soul-searching. But, it's time to get back to my life - and time to work on my future. Hopefully, with ay luck, I'll be working on two scripts by the end of the year, and going into production on one of them early next year. I hope...
Following that flick, I killed a couple of hours at the Galleria Mall, before heading back to Kendall Square to watch "Edmond". David Mamet is so hit or miss with me. When he adapts his own plays into movies, I don't tend to like them. But stuff like "Spartan" or "State and Main" - I really enjoy. I don't know. I guess I do like "Glengarry Glenross"... I just didn't really care for "Edmond", it was too much exposition, and I didn't feel any kind of connection to William H. Macy's character.
Yesterday was a creatively productive day. I stayed "home" all day and worked on the plotline for the new flick. I'm trying to map out all the events and place them in chronological order, and find some fillers for certain places. I've also began using the working title: "Wake Up in the Breakdown". I have a feeling that once I get the timeline done, I'm going to be making some more serious changes... We'll see, when the time comes.
I'm also toying with the notion of taking Jason and I's original concept for "Consternate" and re-doing it as a comedy. I think there's a lot of thing we could incorporate into the idea, and not make it a cheesey "spoof" movie, but instead an original comedy, with outlandish murders, based on the original storyline we had for the film. There's a couple of people in Indy that I would like their creative input - to see if we can make a script... It's an idea I'm going to toy with for a while. Lots of over-the-top blood and gore sounds like a lot of fun to play with!
It looks like I'm going to be heading back to Indy in about a week. I've done a lot out here - had an amazing time, seen some amazing things, and been able to do some soul-searching. But, it's time to get back to my life - and time to work on my future. Hopefully, with ay luck, I'll be working on two scripts by the end of the year, and going into production on one of them early next year. I hope...
Monday, September 11, 2006
Walden Pond
Some people have emotional experiences when they visit such landmarks as the Vientam War Memorial or the World War II Memorial. Today, I had one at Walden Pond.
This blog is being written as I sit in the Replica Thoreau House. It's an exact recreation using Thoreau's vivid descriptions from Walden. I started at the Replica House. Before walking down to the beach and the trails. I then started the 1.7 mile journey around Walden Pond, which took close to 45 minutes - including several stops at various lookout points to snap some pictures, and an extended stay at the site of the original Thoreau House, where the foundation for the original fireplace still stands.
I also left my mark on the Original Thoreau house. There is a pile of rocks, which members of the Thoreau Historical Society place rocks upon. I added my own rock, with my name and today's date on it. I walked extensively around the area of the original house, touching trees that Thoreau most likely touched back in his day. I had to take it all in. It was amazing.
I walked 1.7 miles around the pond, and ended up back at the main beach, where I sat down and relaxed for a while. I took in the beauty of the water, the sun shining down on me, and the cool breeze blowing between the trees.
This is something I've dreamed of doing for the past 11 years, since I was a freshman in high school and was in the play "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail". It was Paris M. Goodrum who introduced me to Thoreau, and now after all these years - I've finally fulfilled the dream of coming to the place where he lived and worked on his amaIng book. Today, I feel like I've accomplished something.
"The mass of men, lead lives of quiet desperation."
-From "Walden".
This blog is being written as I sit in the Replica Thoreau House. It's an exact recreation using Thoreau's vivid descriptions from Walden. I started at the Replica House. Before walking down to the beach and the trails. I then started the 1.7 mile journey around Walden Pond, which took close to 45 minutes - including several stops at various lookout points to snap some pictures, and an extended stay at the site of the original Thoreau House, where the foundation for the original fireplace still stands.
I also left my mark on the Original Thoreau house. There is a pile of rocks, which members of the Thoreau Historical Society place rocks upon. I added my own rock, with my name and today's date on it. I walked extensively around the area of the original house, touching trees that Thoreau most likely touched back in his day. I had to take it all in. It was amazing.
I walked 1.7 miles around the pond, and ended up back at the main beach, where I sat down and relaxed for a while. I took in the beauty of the water, the sun shining down on me, and the cool breeze blowing between the trees.
This is something I've dreamed of doing for the past 11 years, since I was a freshman in high school and was in the play "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail". It was Paris M. Goodrum who introduced me to Thoreau, and now after all these years - I've finally fulfilled the dream of coming to the place where he lived and worked on his amaIng book. Today, I feel like I've accomplished something.
"The mass of men, lead lives of quiet desperation."
-From "Walden".
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