Thoughts on The Reader

My screenwriting class has allowed me to see all the Academy Awards screeners which is great. Tonight we saw The Reader. I must admit that I wasn't terribly excited to see in fact I didn't really care to see it and I had only seen the trailer one time and don't remeber much of it.

So after I rushed to Panda to get my dinner and I walk into class after the break I noticed we are watching The Reader. I was excited because I find that not knowing much about a film before seeing it usually ends up with you liking it more because you don't have any expecations. For this film, Oh my god was it depressing. The second film I have seen with Kate Winslet that tackles a serious issue and ends with you saying "Why the fuck did I watch this movie?" Well I had no choice for The Reader because I love the breakdown of the script afterwards that the teacher goes through.

The film is about a 16 year old boy who has an affair during his summer vacation with Kate Winslet's character Hanna in a post WWII Germany. He continues to go to her apartment to read books to her and she literally teaches him how to seduce a woman. At first I thought it was a love story but then the first act ends and we get into the second act.

The second act starts getting into that darker area of the film and you find out that Kate Winslets Character Hanna ends up joining the SS and being put on trail. Then Michael the boy she had an affair with is in Law School and he is in a special class that allows him to go to the trail of SS women who let 300 Jewish women burn in a church.

You can see why this film is intense and flat out morbid. It deals with the holocaust. It's a very serious gritty film that does indeed make you think about things. It really does, it makes you think about life and how some people become a prison to themselves because they don't speak up and say something. Ralph Fiennes character deals with guilt because he know's something that could have changed the outcome of Hannas story but doesn't do anything about it. He is a hollow man and becomes a prisoner to himself which in this case is a worse prison to be in then an actual prison that someone can be sent off to.

It is a solid film, great acting, directing, editing, music. Everything is of the utmost quality. My only real issue with it is that it is another depressing flick to be up for a few Academy Awards. Out of the films this year that are up for the Academy Awards a lot of them are morbid and dark toned films.

Slumdog Millionaire is hands down the most upbeat film of the bunch and I hope it wins Best Picture and Best Director. Not to discredit the other films because damn is Hollywood on a roll with their films but please future filmmakers reading this. Hope and Optimism should be more controlling ideas. Things should be looking better so lets get some hope driven films in the market place. More film reviews up later. I have ton's of films to talk about. Good Night.

Im Still Alive...

So Ive been absent from my blog for almost a month. Really because I haven't been doing much but watching tons of movies and working. While on the subject of movies I have yet to see a bad film this year that could potentially be up for an Oscar. Frost/Nixon, Milk, Gran Torino, Slum Dog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road are all the films I have seen with a few left and they are all SOLID films. Some better than others but overall I think movies are at a really solid place fight now especially since people don't have much money to do anything else. So get yourself to a theater and watch the films I mentioned they are all great films.

Currently I am in Pre-Production on my first short film Limbo and things are progressing rather slowly. Finding the two lead actors is a pretty tough thing to do when you can't pay. Hopefully I can find them in time to shoot by Feb at some point. I have a DP locked down, and 2 out of the 4 roles so I got to keep trucking ahead looking for my 2 male actors. My DP doesn't get to Los Angeles until next week so I can't meet with him just yet. I also got my new Mac for editing and haven't had the time to transfer and get things set up. I hope that all turns out well and I can get the film shot before I start my next 16 week semester when time will be limited. So my next post will hopefully be more of a production update. Till next time.

So Many Movies To See...

I'll be getting out of school this week and with that I will be working and enjoying the holidays. In addition to that I just realized how many damn movies I want to see. Lets start it off with the serious potential Oscar worthy ones in no particular order.

1. Gran Torino- Lets face Clint Eastwood looks likes a complete bad ass in this film. He also rarely disappoint's lately which is why he's had solid films consecutively.

2. Frost/Nixon- Ron Howard is an amazing director who I think will nail the issue of Watergate and hopefully younger folk like me go to see the film so they can get up to date on their history in a more entertaining way. It looks like a very solid film and I expect it will be a solid film. Also the writer of The Queen wrote this as well and he has an Academy Award Nomination under his belt so you can bet it will be of the utmost quality.

3. Revolutionary Road- Leo and Kate together make a pretty lethal combo. The film has a very solid cast and crew. 2 Oscar caliber actors, and an Oscar Winning Director. I love stories that deal with people trying to break out of their lives that have become a routine. It's also set in 1955 which is at the Height of the white picket fence suburban American Dream lifestyle that so many people wanted.

4. Seven Pounds- Besides being a Will Smith fan I want to see this film mainly because I love it when Will Smith takes on a more serious role. I love his versatility as an actor. From summer blockbusters to more character driven awards driven films.

5. Valkyrie- For all the negative buzz this film has been getting I think its going to be proven wrong. Yes Tom Cruise comes off as a nut job when he talks about Scientology but lets be honest the guy can act. Also Bryan Singer is the Director someone who really knows how to tell a story. I loved Super-Man Returns. Fuck anyone who says he didn't throw a punch or not enough action. It clearly wasn't aimed at the MTV ADHD kids. Valkyrie looks like it will be a solid thriller about a very fascinating group of people during World War 2. I think it will under perform at the box office because of Tom Cruise. He hasn't had a hit since War of the Worlds.

6.The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- I really don't know much about this one except for the fact that David Fincher directed it and I loved Zodiac and the idea of someone aging backwards is a pretty fascinating concept. Lets see what David Fincher does with it.

Those are pretty much my top 6 films that I am really wanting to see. A few others that are not on the list that I might see but don't have to watch them. I just hope I can watch them all seeing as I haven't been getting to the theater as often as I would like. I also have 80 movies in my Netflix waiting to be rented so it will be a very movie driven Christmas. Like always.

I Need To Make This Film

In May of 2007 I came home from watching a midnight showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. The scene I kept thinking about was after the crew had picked of Jack Sparrow and they where making their way back and they came across Elizabeth's dad on a boat traveling the opposite way. Come to find out that he was dead. It was that scene that sparked my idea for Limbo. I have know idea on how that one scene could spark such an idea but it did. That night I had a full outline of what I wanted in my short film. The visual imagery of that scene, blackness, water, and dead people in boats is what stuck out in my mind.

After I wrote the outline I then collaborated with Alex Whitmer on the script. After a few weeks of working on the script it was done. I attempted to shoot it in the Summer of 2007 but it just fell apart. My lack of experience and other things that happened that summer really made me leave the project alone for a while but with the full intention of actually making it someday.

Since I left the project I have sent the script for feedback to various people and not one single person has said anything negative about the script. The overall consensus is that I have a well written script with some minor issues that can be worked out. So with that I have been motivated to start pre-production on the film and get it shot in January when I have 8 weeks or so before I start my Spring 2009 semester. In addition I will be taking a screen writing class during the Winter intersession and will seek the feedback of my teacher who is a writing consultant working with major film studios. I will of course begin to use this as a production blog in between my posts of photography and other rants if they happen to occur. Good Day.

The Disneyland Project

After visiting the self proclaimed "Happiest Place On Earth" I realized that I simply can't have every image I want after one visit. Nor can I have every image I want after 2 or 3 visits. Its an on going project. That is where the Disneyland Project was born.

I was raised on many things Disney. It is a part of childhood and it still is apart of me today. I love Disneyland and most things dealing with Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company. The Disneyland Project is something I have wanted to start for a while. Every visit I make will consist of me taking my DSLR. I wan't to capture as many images of Disneyland as possible. As Disneyland changes so will my Photography.

Part of the reason for this project is because I will always be looking to buy new gear. With that new gear comes a different way of seeing things. It really makes you think about the small details that lie within the entire park. Friday was my experimentation phase. I already have TONS of ideas of what I would do differently and how different lenses will give me what I want. So please without further ado Here are a few images from my first set in my Disneyland Project. Enjoy.







Also I will be blogging multiple post's on my experience of shooting at Disneyland and the do's and don'ts and what I will do differently. Lastly, I still have many more pictures to go through so more is coming. Good Day.

Welcome

As the image says. Welcome, or to quote the great Walt Disney "To all that come to this happy place: Welcome." I will be heading out to Disneyland this coming Friday and hopefully I can manage to get some great shots. It's a place that I have always wanted to shoot at and hopefully will be able to get some nice night photo's since that is what I am looking forward to shooting the most. If I can't get some good night photos then most likely I will have some day shot's and later on in the future I will get some night ones once I learn the ins and outs of night photography. For now I say welcome and wish me luck on my night photography.

Christmas Is On Its Way

Thanksgiving is done and now Christmas is coming followed by New Years. Join me as I take loads of pictures from this Holiday Season and into the New Year. Please check back often as I will be updating often. For now heres a picture of a Snowman Decoration that we have up. Check out the rest of my Flickr pictures here.



Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and now its time to have a Merry Christmas.