Saturday, February 25, 2006

Ideas 2: The Process

Again.. ideas. They're all over the place, all the time.

Some "what if"s:
"What if my boss's wife asked me to artificially inseminate her?"
"What if I came into possession of information that could take down the president, and nobody knew I had it?"
"What if I discovered a line of covert code in Internet Explorer that severely violated privacy law."
"What if bought a used book at a flea market and found within the pages..." ... what? It could be anything, couldn't it? A forgotton handwritten Einstein theory. A Lennon song. A recipe for cooking human flesh that gets you little curious. There's three movies right there. Well, actually, three movie ideas. Now all we have to do is craft a story around said idea.

That's what I've been doing. Last Friday I charged myself with developing an idea into a workable story that will subsequently be written into a script.

I've made progress.

It all started with a heist. The idea. I wanted to write a heist movie. So did my filmmaking partner Warren, we both love the idea of, and the successful execution of, good heist movies.

So we each jotted down thoughts and ideas, character sketches and act breakdowns... and, as usual, we both came up with completely different approaches; completely different tones. That's OK. Luckily we both have relatively small egos (his almost non-existent), and we both just want a good story. (Of course I think mine is better than his and he thinks his is better than mine:)

Anyway.

This stage of the process is painful. I get hung up on details sometimes, unable to grasp the larger story. Tone is vital here. A comedy? A black comedy? A straight drama with comic undertones? Overtones? You also don't want "plot" to override the "premise". That is to say, what is the story "about"? Not what's going on in the plot, but rather, what is the story about. Why are you, the audience, being told this story? What is the story's intent?

So, I continue to work through the story. A heist movie. Easy, right? A bunch of guys with different skills get together and pull off an intricately planned robbery. Maybe they get away with it. Maybe they get caught. Maybe there's a double cross (well, there's usualy a double-cross, ). Or maybe there's not.

The problem that I often run into is that I want to re-invent the genre. There's so many heist movies out there and I'm afraid of just doing the same old thing. But it's all been done, right? I just have to figure out a way to do it better. Or at least... different.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

The Onion.




I love the Onion. The fake newspaper & on-line site with all those fake news stories and fake headlines? Brilliant.

They're political, they're irreverant. And their satirical line protects them from serious reprecussions from the far right, far left, religious groups, minorities...etc. They do that thing... that thing that is so hard to do. To be funnily offensive. To offend is easy... use the "N" word and see. Now try crafting a joke using the "N" word that all (or at least most) find funny... and now you're on to something. This past week's on-line ONION had some wonderful nuggest. Figured I'd share some:

"Kobe Bryant Named as 2008 Olympic Basketball Team"
"Latest Bin Laden Tape For Completists Only"
"Greztky: I did not bet on baseball"
"Voice Of The Red Sox Ends 86-Year Living Streak"

There's more. They update every Tuesday afternoon:" http://www.theonion.com/content/index





New Blog Name. New Blog Logo.


Nice.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Ideas

I like ideas. Love 'em, actually. And I get a lot of them. Some are OK; some pretty good; others suck, and some, in those rare instances, are really, really good.

My ideas are usually "movie ideas" -- ideas that I think could make a good film. "There was this guy..." or "imagine if [this] were to happen." But the problem with these ideas is that they're usually... well, they're usually pretty shallow. An idea is not a story. It's just an idea.

Developing the idea... that's the problem. Because that's where the work is.

Example:
I love heist movies and so does my filmmaking partner Warren. We both figured we should come up with an idea and make one (we're well on our way to wanting to experience our sophmore slump after our first feature, MAGDALENA'S BRAIN). A while ago I had come up with what i thought was an interesting idea for a heist film. And more recently Warren came up with another idea for a heist film. Both of them were, and are, perfectly acceptable ideas.

But now what? Well, we know exactly what. We have to develop these ideas. And that's the hard part.

For a while now, after the completion of MAGDALENA'S BRAIN, I haven't wanted to do any of the hard work. But that's got to change.

So my first idea, my heist idea. I'm going to start developing it. Work on a treatment. Get some beats down. And I'm going to have something to show you.

By Monday.

My promise to you.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Piracy. My Take.



I own lots of bootlegs. I buy them all the time. Once a year I head on down to the Chiller Show and pick up plenty of stuff that's clearly illegal. Crappy color copied artwork, discs inside with no printing. DVD dupes made from TV broadcasts, old out-of-print DVDs, sometimes even VHS. Bootlegs. Pirated material. No doubt about it.

And I have this little thing, this little mechanism... this little Jiminy Cricket in my head that tells me that what I'm doing is OK. Ethically, morally, I'm OK. Legally... no freaking way, but with those other two (which are more important to me anyway), I'm just fine.

Kind of.

So how do I do it? This rationalization? This self-delusion?

Well, here's how:

-I don't buy bootlegs of film available domestically
-I almost never buy bootlegs of films available internationally*
-If legit versions come out for films I own boots of, I usually buy them**
-I don't bootleg for profit

* I have a multi-region player, so I'm able to play PAL discs and DVD released in other regions. BUT, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've done this, I have bought a DVD-R of a film that was legitimately available in another country. Case in Point: NIGHT WATCH, a Russian film available in legit releases... a pricey 3-disc set if memory serves, and I knowingly bought a dupe for $5 at the last Chiller. Now, bear in mind that this film has NOT been released domestically in any way, shape or form, and I will purchase the Region 1 DVD when it is released. (However, if the movie sucked, I wouldn't)

**See * above. If the movie sucks, I won't re-buy.

In addition:

-I've never downloaded a song(s) & burned a CD. However, I have downloaded illegal music on my computer and listened to it. This was in the Napster heyday. But I've since deleted all of it (honestly); and most of it was stuff I already owned and liked.

Anyway, my point here is that each and every time I've engaged in shady behavior regarding illegal copies of movies, I've thoughtfully considered what it is I'm doing.

Another case in point: at the last Chiller show I had wanted to pick up a copy of a movie called MURDER SET-PIECES. I had read quite a bit about it, and even went so far as to include it on my little list (kept in rear left pocket). It is a little independent film, self-financed that has received a respectable little distribution deal. Well, it was ALL over the show -- legit release: $35-$40; bootleg release: $5-$15. I didn't buy it. If the legit release was $15, I would have bought it in a second. If the legit release was $20, I probably would have bought ite. But $35 was a little pricey for me. So, I passed.

I know piracy is wrong. I know to actively engage in supporting a pirate is wrong.

And I know that what I do is wrong, no matter what excuses I come up with.

I just try to be honest with myself in what I'm doing.

I try not to hurt the little guy.

But I do sometimes convince myself that it's OK to infinitesimley hurt the big guys.

And I guess I can sleep soundly knowing that.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Getting in touch with the past

My buddy Jim McCombe has started a forum for those of us that graduated from ELHS in '87. Good for him. I've only kept in touch with 3-4 people from the old school, but it's certainly interesting to see what others are up to.

Anyway, it's an active little board. Find it at; http://elhs87.com/index.php

Korean Film Crisis?

I'll admit to knowing very little about the Asian film production/distribution pipeline, but my knee-jerk reaction to the news item below is that it is a very bad thing. The main reason for my reaction is the reaction of other, much smarter in-the-know people. Like the very filmmakers that this issue is affecting.

It appears that Korea has a national edict in place, a quota, that demands Korean theaters show Korean films for 146 days of the year. That number now looks to be lowered by half. Not surprisingly, the push for the change is coming from the US, apparently so that we can saturate the Korean marketplace with more of our films.

I'd certain hate to see BILLY MADISON supplant OLD BOY. Very bad thing.

Korean Cinema at a Crossroads

South Korean government drops screentime quota for domestic films "Oldboy" director and star return Cultural Merit medals to Korean government in protest

LOS ANGELES — Feb. 1, 2006 — The Korean government is betting that homegrown cinema will continue to flourish without the safety of a screen quota system that has protected the Korean domestic film industry since 1966. Local actors, directors and moviegoers aren’t quite so optimistic and are protesting their displeasure with significant public gestures.Established to help the Korean film market grow from its humble beginnings into the worldwide cinematic hotbed it is today, the quota requires Korean cinemas to show Korean films for 146 days of the year. Starting July 1st, that number will be reduced to 73. The reduction had been demanded for years by the US government as a key condition for free trade negotiations, but its implementation has not been well received by many, including some of the biggest filmmaking names in Korean cinema.“The government's decision to cut the quotas is equivalent to giving up our culture,'' said Choi Min Sik, star of Crying Fist, Lady Vengeance and the immensely popular Korean film Oldboy.Choi recently returned his Cultural Merit medal, a prestigious award which honors Korean artists, to protest the quota system. “The medal was personally my pride and honor,'' Choi told reporters in Seoul. “Now it is a symbol of the government's betrayal. I don't need a medal from a country that chooses to stamp on our own cultural rights.''In addition to Choi, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance director Park Chanwook, currently preparing to promote his latest film Lady Vengeance at the Berlin Film Festival, also returned his medal and commented that he will voice his concerns further at the festival. Tae Guk Gi and The Coast Guard star Jang Dong-gun has also come forward to voice his opposition.Korean Filmmakers and artists are not the only ones expressing their displeasure. A group of South Korean lawmakers are currently seeking legislation to maintain the country's current quota for the screening of domestic movies, claiming the government's compromise deal with the United States is humiliating.Korean cinema has witnessed unheralded success the world over in recent years. A Tale of Two Sisters was one of the ten highest-grossing horror films worldwide in 2004. Oldboy received the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Korean cinema has made giant crossroads into America on the success of the Asian horror genre as well as the unique style of its filmmakers. "This is not a fight only for ourselves,” Choi told reporters. “We are fighting for living between the Korean and American movies and cultures. Oldboy would not have existed without the screening quota.”

Monday, February 13, 2006

Lazy.........

Damn... been almost two weeks since a post; unforgivable. Here I am creating a blog to write more, and I'm slacking off after only a month or so.

I'm going to post some quickie thoughts on several happenings to catch up with some business.

BLIZZARD


I'd say about 15-18 inches fell throughout the day yesterday, and it was a ball. Stayed in all day (except for a middle-of-the-blizzrd McDonalds run for lunch) -- read a little, watched some Olympics, played with the kids. All in all a great day.

NIGHTWATCH



I finally caught up with the fabulous Russian fantasy, NIGHTWATCH (Russian title, NOCHNOY DOZOR), directed by Timur Bekmambetov. I watched a bootleg DVD purchased at the Chiller Show a couple of weeks ago (I know, I know... I have a very strict moral code concerning "pirated" material. It's something I'll write up at some point.), planning on just sampling the quality of the print, but after mere seconds I was hooked, pausing only once for some orange Hi-C.

The film deals with the forces of Light and Dark; warring factions that centuries ago had established a truce. These two sets of "Others" exist in our world -- one set, the Dark, are referred to as "vampires"; the other, The Light, are apparently a policing force of some kind, keeping these vampires in check. Because of some vague events concerning the coming of age of a 12 year old boy and some "curse" a woman has let loose in the world, the truce starts to break down and the war begins anew.

Narratively, the movie is an interesting mess, made more problematic by the langauge and cultural barrier. Specifically, the movie looks so beautiful that I often found myself admiring the imagery while giving short shrift to the subs. The disc may have had a dubbing option (the menus are in indecipherable Russian), but that probably would have distracted me even more.

The photo above is from a wonderful sequence where the protagonist is struggling to find a vampire's reflection while stumbling around an old (beautifully set decorated) warehouse.


It's possible that I would have a lesser opinion if NIGHT WATCH were a domestic film, but for $4 million and its Russian origins, it's a serious piece of work deserving of a world wide audience.


THE WESTERN MASS HORROR SHOW

So, I helped out on some short films. It's something I do a lot of, probably too much. But about a year ago I realized that I had access to lots of gear and resources, and I had a handful of friends who had always wanted to make some horror shorts. There was a Fangoria Blood Drive film contest coming up, so I had my buds write some scripts and gave them an opportunity to direct a short film. The result was three pretty good little flicks. None of which were chosen for the contest, but we do own them and would like them to find an audience. So, I thought I'd play around with Photoshop and design a sleeve, and play around with DVD Studio Pro and author a DVD, and just kind of put it out there; maybe up on the Glowing Screen website or Jeff's Undertaker's Lounge site. See what happens.

I also decided to include a short film another one of my filmmaking buddies had created, as well as a horror short I shot in college that has a certain shlocky charm. I'll try to find an evening in the next weekor so to author the DVD. Should be fun. The films are:

COVERED IN BLOOD by karl Konopka
RAW MATERIAL by Mike Weaver
NOW SHOWING by Jeff Allard
WAXING SOULS by Brian Jackson & Scott Kittredge
THE HIDDEN ALIEN BLOB THING by Marty Langford

They probably won't ever be at a store near you, but they'll be out there somewhere... and when they are I'll let you know about them here.

WALLACE AND GROMIT in THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

Wonderful viewing, especially with the kids. A superlative family film made by fine artists and craftsmen working at the top of their game. A precision of execution is easily matched by the perfection of performance, set design, score and direction. I can't say enough about how much I, and my family, enjoyed this film.


Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Chillin'

I love a good passion. I happen to have, maybe... three. Actually, maybe just two. Regardless, I know I have them. They are things I fixate over. Things that obsess me. Things I anticipate doing, then do, then bask in having done them. One of these things (though actually, to the letter of the law here, this thing itself is not so much a passion, simply a vessel through which my passion manifests itself)... one of these things is the horror movie convention. Be it the Chiller Show or the Fangoria Show (the only East Coast shows I frequent, though the October Rock-n-Shock show in Worcester is one to keep an eye on), I love a good horror convention.

I've been going to either New York or New Jersey now for 18 years. Most years I only hit the January show, though I've been known to double dip. For the first, oh... 15-16 years, I was, unabashedly, a fanboy and a fanboy only. These last couple of years, though... these last couple of years, I'm a filmmaker. Having written, produced, and/or directed approximately 10 short films and 2 feature films (2 and a half, actually), I'm legit. And with this newfound cache, the convention circuit has been a whole new game. I feel like a valid equal with the likes of the magazine publishers, distributors, filmmakers, and such... even the actors, be them -C, -B... haven't met an -A, yet.

This past show featured conversations with the likes of Fangoria's Michael Gingold, Pro-wrestling's Captain Lou Albano, Porn's own Marilyn Chambers, and TV actor (most recently of LOST), Danny Roebuck (you'd know him if you saw him). My favorite new friend, though, would be fellow Heretic filmmaker, Alan Rowe Kelly, a nearly 6 foot tall, red wig wearing, cross dressing charmer of a dude. From New Jersey, Alan had lots to say about our film's new distributor, the local Northeast film scene, and lots more.

I feel bad for people with no passions. There's a wonderful line in Charlie Kaufman's ADAPTATION script, spoken by Meryl Streep's Susan Orlean: "I suppose I do have one unembarrassed passion. I want to know how it feel to care about something passionately." People, sure... we are all passionate about our husbands, our wives, our lovers and our friends. But someTHING? I'm glad I am.
eXTReMe Tracker