The 84th Academy Awards

Okay I need to gush a bit about this years Oscars. First of all, Billy Crystal should get whatever amount of money he wants every year, because he is AMAZING. He's the Bob Hope / Johnny Carson of his generation. He's the complete package that you want in a host for this show. Billy was back and should never go away again.

The red carpet....I think a lot of people really knocked it out of the park. There were a lot of fashions and hair styles that harkened back to the golden age of cinematic glamour. And then there were a few that missed the mark. I think my fave of the night might have been...oh who am I kidding, I can't choose. I will say that, even Miss Piggy hit the fashion mark!

So, glad Meryl Streep won best actress. She is one of the finest in her generation, maybe ever??? She is a chameleon and whatever role she plays, she wears like a glove. And she's so humble. Go see, "Iron Lady"!

It was discretion being the better part of valor that the director didn't play off Christopher Plummer when his speech went too long. At 82 he is the oldest recipient of an Oscar. His speech was sincere, heartfelt and funny! “You’re only 2 years older than me, my darling. Where have you been all my life,” Plummer said to his Oscar.

Robert Downey Jr.'s schtick with Cameron Diaz was pretty funny. Sascha Baron Cohen's schtick on the red carpet, not so much!

Woody (remember Woody Allen) won best Original Screenplay but unfortunately was not there to accept it! Come on Woody, your steadfast fans, like myself, want to see you!

Random thought...Why is Marty Scorcese's hair so grey and his eyebrows sooooo BLACK??? Special EFX??? Maybe!

I am truly glad that "The Artist" won best picture. How incredible in this day and age of technology overload (yes I'm talking to you 3-D) that a silent, black and white movie won. It was a breathe of fresh air. FIrst silent, B/W film to win in 83 years. That's quite an accomplishment.

Lastly, while a lot of the winners were predictable thanks to the barrage of awards given out prior to the Oscars, I felt last nights show (even the bizarro Cirque performance) was a love letter to the movie industry that I have loved my whole life. Are the Oscars pretentious? Yes! Are the Oscars over the top? Yes! They are so out of place in this horrible economy and yet billions of us around the world still tuned in, and like watching a good movie, made us forget about our woes for at least a little while!

2012 Academy Award winners

• Best Picture: "The Artist"
• Best Actor: Jean Dujardin · "The Artist"
• Best Actress: Meryl Streep · "The Iron Lady"
• Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius · "The Artist"
• Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer · "Beginners"
• Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer · "The Help"

Film Crew Slang

Speed Rail- Grips fasten long pieces of 2" aluminum tubing together to place cameras on cars and other moving objects, build frames for lighting and to reinforce/secure scaffolding etc. With this simple item  they "MacGuyver" many useful items for a shoot.

Production Meeting Tips

Planning on shooting your own film or project? Here are some tips for Production Meetings courtesy of SPFX Artist Dan Ankoviak.

1. If you have nothing to SHOW, you have nothing to DISCUSS.

Why?  Conversation is vapor.  Images are negotiable currency.  The best verbal description you can give is still mostly hot air.  Always provide pictures.

2. Don’t NOT make storyboards.

Why not just say “make storyboards”?  That’s too easy to take for granted, like the boards themselves.  They are so basic, so elementary; they may seem like an unnecessary use of time.  Don’t fall into this trap!   Always make storyboards.

3. Discussions aren’t decisions.

Simply talking about issues doesn’t constructively address those issues.  In production meetings, assign specific tasks to specific people before moving on to other topics.  This way each person leaves the meeting with goals and a schedule, and hopefully begins the next with real solutions.  If you leave a meeting without new (or revised) goals, you’re already behind on the next task.

4. If it can’t be done well, don’t put it in.

Picture the last step of a process, whether it’s the scenic treatment of a set wall or the final composite of an FX shot.  If it’s not something you have experience with, start practicing right away.  It may sound easy to do, but is usually harder to do well than you think.

5. Seek approval.

If you feel you’ve reached a decision about something, communicate it to the next level up.  Proceeding without approval is sneaky (which isn’t always bad), but could derail the plans of other crews (which is always bad). 

6. Take notes.

Expect a lot from your brain, but take notes during meetings.  Ideas and plans are tossed around like laundry, and notes are your best tool for sorting out and regrouping.  Choosing to remember is choosing to forget.

7. Don’t take “yes” for an answer.

What?  If you ask broad questions, like “Do you have everything you need”, you may get a simple yes in response.  If you ask more pointed questions, you’re likely to discover there are “no’s” just under the surface.  Try something like “Do you have the gels you need for that shoot and what are they?”

8. Have a backup plan.

If you’ve made an educated decision about any procedure, then you have already considered other possibilities.  Keep the next best one in mind, or better yet, on paper.  Locations fall through at the last minute, actors get sick, and miniatures get run over.

9. Network.

Familiarize yourself with the local talent pool.  Your school or community very likely includes other individuals like yourself, who would show their talent if they only had a focus.  Your film projects can provide that and help establish long working relationships.

10. You are PAYING to do this job.

Don’t worry about offending people on your crew, by making sure they do their jobs.  All students have invested in their film projects, and have a right to expect the crew to do their part.  One of your goals is to leave with a portfolio that shows your skill.  If that’s not what you leave the school with, see point number 1. 

Quotes

“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.”

Alfred Hitchcock

On a Roll

Going on a roll with documentaries this week. The history channel is programmed as a "favorite" on my t.v. remote. One of the reasons is "Rumrunners, Moonshiners & Bootleggers" (2002). I have seen it several times and can't seem to pass by whenever it's being shown. It details the history of booze in America. From colonial America where whiskey was as good as legal tender, through the supercharged bootleg drivers of the 50's, this history is fascinating. Using dramatizations and archival footage, writer/director David Padrush guides us on a tour of a uniquely American past. Another favorite from Padrush is "Last Stand of the 300"(2008), the battle of Thermopylae minus comic book goblins and bare chested actors. Imagine that.....

Pick of the Week

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)-  Academy award winning, renegade Documentarian Errol Morris profiles the lives of a retired lion tamer, a man obsessed with mole rats, an elderly topiary artist and a genius robotics designer. Morris displays his expert skill as a storyteller and purveyor of questions on the human condition. This film is not some egghead study of psychology and culture but rather a funny, intelligent and weird look at ourselves and what the future may hold. Though not generally recognized by the general public, Morris is a prolific filmmaker and a legend in the documentary community. If you liked this film I highly recommend his "Vernon, Florida" and "The Fog of War".

Film Crew Slang

Fire Watch – The job of watching sets and equipment while the cast and crew are on lunch break.This duty generally falls to a Production Assistant (P.A.). Usually lunch is either brought to them or the P.A.  purposely eats prior to the break.

Dialogue Greatness

Steve Martin as Navin R. Johnson in "The Jerk" (1979):

Navin Johnson: Well I'm gonna to go then! And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff, and I don't need you. I don't need anything. Except this.
(He picks up an ashtray) 
Navin Johnson: And that's the only thing I need is this. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray... And this paddle game. - The ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need... And this remote control. - The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need... And these matches. - The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control, and the paddle ball... And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one... I need this. The paddle game and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches for sure. Well what are you looking at? What do you think I'm some kind of a jerk or something! And this. That's all I need.
(walking away outside the house)
Navin Johnson: The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine, and the chair. 
Navin Johnson: And I don't need one other thing, except my dog.
(His dog growls)
Navin Johnson: I don't need my dog. 

Film Crew Slang

Lexan-An optically clear plastic sheet, available in varying thickness, used to protect camera crew from explosions or other destructive debris.

Pick of the Week

"The Movie Hero" (2003)- Jeremy Sisto stars as Blake, a guy who thinks that his life is a movie. Blake speaks in asides to an audience that only he can see (us) while winding  his way through life. Eventually he meets a woman he calls "Love Interest" and a mysterious person he calls "Suspicious Character". The Movie Hero is an oddball comedy perfect for any film afficionado. Peter Stormare, the kidnapper in "Fargo" (1996) who feeds his partner Steve Buscemi into a wood chipper, is hilarious as the "Suspicious Character".
Best Scene: Blake recites his version of a prayer.
See it!

Humor/Humility

Denied membership to an exclusive country club because he was an actor, Victor Mature supposedly said: "H... I'm no actor, and I've got thirty movies to prove it!"
Mature is best know for starring in historical & biblical epics like "Sampson & Delilah" (1949) and "The Robe" (1953).

Git Along Little Denobulan

I was excited, maybe overly excited to watch "Cowboys & Aliens". Having not seen it in the theatre, I strolled over to the local Red Box, bought the disc, popcorn and gummi bears, then happily strolled home. In preparation, I purposely had not asked friends about the film or read any reviews. Come on, it's produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Spielberg! Starring Indiana Jones and James Bond! This is a home run! Expecting "High Plains Drifter" with a creepy and possibly funny twist, I quickly pressed play. That was the last interesting thing that happened other than a rogue gummy bear finding it's way down my t-shirt.
The performances of Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig are good! Special kudo's to Paul Dano playing Harrison's son.(You might know him as the brother in "Little Miss Sunshine" or Klitz from "The Girl Next Door".) It appears that he may have had a bigger role that was perhaps left on the cutting room floor. With such a talented cast including lovely Olivia Wilde, what could go wrong?
The answer is as common as a summer block buster...the story and suspense are simply not there. No cohesive plot. Our aliens seem to be a low I.Q. mob of clawed meanies with cool toys that even they don't understand. Multi-million dollar action sequences don't even save this picture. Ah... perhaps a little Indiana Jones type humor to spice it up and keep us on the ride? Nope. A nefarious plan of domination that has been planned by the aliens and carried out by their henchmen human collaborators? Nope. The only explanation for the goblins being on earth is  "to experiment on us" and "they want gold". Those green, computer generated dogs with weird hands couldn't pass my high school biology class. 
I fully realize that my expectations were higher than Mt. Everest on a clear day, but you know what? As they say in the Editor’s bay "You can't polish a turd".