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".

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.