Dialogue Greatness....

"Sunnyside is a place of ruin and despair, ruled by an evil bear who smells of strawberries!"
Toy Story 3 (2010)

A Guy Walks Onto A Movie Set....

The Devil tells a Hollywood Agent, "I can make you richer, more famous, and more successful than any agent alive. In fact, I can make you the greatest agent that ever lived."
"Ok" says the agent, "what do I have to do in return?"
The Devil smiles, "Well... of course you have to give me your soul," he says, "but you also have to give me the souls of your children, the souls of your children's children and, as a matter of fact, you must give me the souls of all your descendants through eternity."
"Hold on," the agent says cautiously, "What's the catch?"

Film Crew Slang

"M.O.W."- Acronym for Movie Of the Week. A television movie  or made-for-TV movie, is a film that is produced for and originally distributed by a television network. These are produced as usually a 90 or 120 minute television slot including commercials. The ABC Movie of the Week was a famous, long running example. M.O.W.'s are a good source for frequent work and meeting pros in the industry.

Quotes

But at a certain point, and I don't really know... people have asked me this. I don't know exactly what it was that pushed me towards directing, but I think it was a naive notion that if I directed I would be able to play all the roles. A kind of greed. -----Peter Bogdanavitch

A Few Crew Pix from "Hubble 3-D" (2010) Imax film

Atlantis STS-125 on the pad

Helicopter with IMAX camera rigged and ready 

Asst. Cameraman Mark B. & D.P. James N.

Your's truly

Pick of the Week

It's great to find that which we do not know. "The Outrage"(1964) is new to me. Shame, shame. In defense, I was busy being born in 1964. Director Martin Ritt is most famous for "The Spy Who Came In from the Cold"(1965) but "The Outrage" is a fascinating American western version of yet another Akira Kurosawa film ..."Rashoman"(1950). I must admit that I did not know until now. I had never seen "The Outrage" but became immediately intrigued. Fortunately, it is a very good picture. As in "Rashoman", several different stories of the same sordid event are told by the surviving players. A story of morality (or lack of it), jealousy, honor, "proper" society & regret. Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson and William Shatner in truly solid performances. It premiered not long before Shatner became the famous Captain Kirk. My award goes to Claire Bloom, playing the soiled wife. Fantastic performance and incredible career that continues today in her 80's. For film history fans, Claire was also the romantic lead in Charley Chaplin's last American film "Limelight"(1952). "Limelight" was an Oscar nominated picture.

Film Crew Slang

"Forced Call"- When cast or crew are required to be on set without the minimum amount of time off (turnaround time). For example: If after wrap, your next day's call time is in less than 12 hours it is considered a forced call. This does not include general prep or last minute things you choose to do in order to prepare for the next day.

Quotes

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

Groucho Marx

Film Crew Slang

Deal Memo- A one page agreement between the production company and a crew member spelling out pay rate and conditions of employment. It may also contain provisions for kit rentals and professional behavior.

Kit Rental- Equipment personally owned by crew that is rented to the production. A nice way to make extra money.

A guy walks onto a film set...

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me?   I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be a Production Manager," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost.  Frankly, you've not been much help so far."

The woman below responded, "You must be a Producer."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air.  You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

"The Artist"

There are not too many times in my life I find myself speechless, but the movie, "The Artist", did that to me.

Where do I begin. It's silent and B/W and it's packing houses. I think anyone and everyone who is in the business of visual storytelling should be required to see this movie.

Then there's all the homages to past films, "Citizen Kane", "A Star is Born" any Fred & Ginger movie. It even pays homage to the Garbo/Gilbert on/off screen romance.

This is a film that truly has learned from and to respect those film that came before and as a film history teacher, it warmed my heart.

If this doesn't win best picture Oscar, the Academy has lost their minds.

It will probably get a wider release when nominated for an Oscar but for now try and see it where ever you can. It's worth it!

Pick of the Week

"Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" (1982)- Director Carl Reiner uses footage from classic's like "The Maltese Falcon" inter-cut with footage of Steve Martin as a private eye in this spoof of the Hollywood film noir genre. Not only is it a treasure trove of film history but it's also a great tool for any filmmaker trying to understand how to "cheat" shots.

Film Crew Slang

Eye light- A small, white light source placed in front of the actor just above the camera lens. The light is reflected back from the actor's eyes creating a nice effect.

Quotes

"Some people say that I must be a horrible person, but that's not true. I have the heart of a young boy -- in a jar on my desk."

Stephen King

Film Crew Slang

"Smart Side" (of the camera)-  If you are looking in the same direction as the lens, the smart side is the left side of the camera body where a majority of it's bells and whistles are located.

Pick of the Week

"Restoration" (1995) -  A picture of a man in transition. (Robert Downey, Jr.) Taking place during the Restoration in 1600's England, it follows a medical doctor who makes his way from obscurity to brilliance who is then corrupted by his base desires and ego. Hitting rock bottom during a time of plague, he seeks personal restoration.

Film Crew Slang

Room Tone- The "sound or noise" of a room, location or set where dialog is recorded during production. When the Assistant Director calls for Room Tone everyone settles down quietly, no speaking or movement until the Sound Crew calls cut after about 30 seconds of recording. Editors use it as as a "bed" to form continuous tone through a particular scene. Room Tone is sometimes confused with ambience, which might be sound effects or reverberation added when mixing dialogue.

Quotes

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."

Mel Brooks- Producer/Director/Actor

Rum

My good friend Dave gifted a copy of Hunter S. Thompson's  "The Rum Diary" to me. I have not yet seen the Johnny Depp film. I greatly hope that it reflects the book as well as "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" reflected it's original material. Although, even "Fear & Loathing" held back quite a bit from the true savagery of Raoul Duke and his attorney twisting their way through Sin City. "The Rum Diary" director Bruce Robinson has some really interesting and strange films under his belt. "How to Get Ahead in Advertising"(1989)  & "Withnail & I"(1987) are worth mentioning in future blogs. Please let us know what you thought of "The Rum Diary" if you get a chance.

2012

Welcome to 2012. We have taken a little break but now ready to roll.