Tuesday, March 31, 2009
What The F*ck?!
This just looks awful. Fresh Radio to Keep You Fresh. There goes the classic rock channel. I really enjoyed what the Globe was going for, ah well."Drag Me To Hell" Poster!
The sweet new poster for Sam Raimi's return to horror was just released and look at that, there it is! This movie has a lot going for it, except an R-rating but if the surgery scene in Spider-Man 2 showed us anything it's that Raimi can do PG-13 horror and get away with a lot!
Friday Night Lights Gets Two More Downs!
From IMDB:
The ratings-challenged but critically praised Friday Night Lights got another new lease on life Monday
as NBC and DirecTV confirmed that they would renew the series for two more
seasons, but with just 13 episodes in each season. As part of the deal, DirecTV
will air the episodes first, commercial free. NBC will then run the episodes
afterwards. David Nevins, president of Imagine TV, which produces the
series, told Daily Variety: "This show always seems to find new ground about
what's possible in television, both creatively and what we're can do on the
business end. ... It's really a symbol of the different ways that good
television can be made these days."
Virginia Rocket or Meteor? or UFO?
Space.com:
Virginia Fireball Now Said to Be Meteor, Not Rocket
By Andrea Thompson
Senior Writer
posted: 31 March 2009
10:10 am ET
A brilliant fireball in the Virginia sky on Sunday was likely a natural meteor event and not the remnants of a Russian rocket, scientists now say, a reversal from yesterday's initial analysis.
On Monday, Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory told SPACE.com that the loud boom and flash of light seen in the skies over Norfolk and Virginia Beach was likely the second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched Expedition 19 to the International Space Station last Thursday.
However, U.S. Strategic Command has since reported that the rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere near Taiwan, on the other side of the world, several hours after the reports of the fireball. So both its timing and entry location rule out the rocket as the explanation for the fireball.
"Well, we're all entitled to a 'mulligan' now and then, right," Chester wrote SPACE.com in an email, adding that he deferred Strategic Command. (A mulligan is a do-over in golf.)
"However, it is still a remarkable coincidence that a random rock would fall out of the sky along a path that is very similar to the ground-track of a decaying rocket body," Chester added. "But this is what makes science fun!"
The evidence now suggests, he said, that the loud boom and streak of light was created by a natural meteor, or bolide, burning up as it plummeted through Earth's atmosphere.
"I'm confident that this was a meteoric event," Bill Cooke of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama said this morning.
Sunday night light show
Residents of the areas around Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Va., began calling 911 Sunday night with reports of hearing a loud boom and seeing a streak of light that lit up the sky, according to news reports. Some said their houses shook.
The difficulty in distinguishing the cause of such a fireball lies in getting accurate reports with the right kinds of information.
"Most of the eyewitness accounts don't mention altitudes and azimuths. They just describe the light show," Chester explained.
Chester said he received "credible reports" from amateur astronomers that, when combined with the area from which reports of the fireball originated, "fit the ground-track of the rocket body with remarkable similarity."
"The only problem is that the time the rocket was predicted to pass over the area differs by some 10 minutes from the reported times that the fireball was seen," Chester said. The difference could be the result of an error in his prediction software or could be 'real,'" he said.
But, "based on the evidence I have at hand now, I have to lean more toward the 'natural' explanation," Chester said.
Space rocks the size of small cars plunge into Earth's atmosphere several times a year, typically burning up before reaching the ground. Most go unreported since they fall over uninhabited areas (our planet's surface is two-thirds ocean).
Investigation continues
Cooke agreed that tracing the fireball's source is tricky given the paucity of information available.
"It's very hard to do given only eyewitness accounts," Cooke said in a telephone interview. He plans to look at sound measurements (meteors make sounds below human hearing as they travel through the atmosphere) taken that could reveal the energy of the bolide and in turn give a rough estimate of its size.
Video of the object, if any surfaces, could also shed light on the trajectory of the fireball. Such video often comes from the dashboard cameras in police cars, Cooke said. "They're out that time of night, and the camera is always running."
But, he said, "It's going to be very hard to get more information" on the nature of the bolide.
Whether or not any fragments of the meteor might have made it to Earth's surface is uncertain. "Most bolides do not," Cooke said. "The atmosphere is very good at protecting us from falling rocks."
A few space rocks do occasionally make it to the surface though. In recent years, pieces of a bolide were found after a meteor event in western Canada, Chicago and Peekskill, NY, Cooke said. Fragments of a meteor that originated from an asteroid that blew up over the skies of Africa last October were also recovered in the Sudanese desert.
Virginia Fireball Now Said to Be Meteor, Not Rocket
By Andrea Thompson
Senior Writer
posted: 31 March 2009
10:10 am ET
A brilliant fireball in the Virginia sky on Sunday was likely a natural meteor event and not the remnants of a Russian rocket, scientists now say, a reversal from yesterday's initial analysis.
On Monday, Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory told SPACE.com that the loud boom and flash of light seen in the skies over Norfolk and Virginia Beach was likely the second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched Expedition 19 to the International Space Station last Thursday.
However, U.S. Strategic Command has since reported that the rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere near Taiwan, on the other side of the world, several hours after the reports of the fireball. So both its timing and entry location rule out the rocket as the explanation for the fireball.
"Well, we're all entitled to a 'mulligan' now and then, right," Chester wrote SPACE.com in an email, adding that he deferred Strategic Command. (A mulligan is a do-over in golf.)
"However, it is still a remarkable coincidence that a random rock would fall out of the sky along a path that is very similar to the ground-track of a decaying rocket body," Chester added. "But this is what makes science fun!"
The evidence now suggests, he said, that the loud boom and streak of light was created by a natural meteor, or bolide, burning up as it plummeted through Earth's atmosphere.
"I'm confident that this was a meteoric event," Bill Cooke of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama said this morning.
Sunday night light show
Residents of the areas around Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Va., began calling 911 Sunday night with reports of hearing a loud boom and seeing a streak of light that lit up the sky, according to news reports. Some said their houses shook.
The difficulty in distinguishing the cause of such a fireball lies in getting accurate reports with the right kinds of information.
"Most of the eyewitness accounts don't mention altitudes and azimuths. They just describe the light show," Chester explained.
Chester said he received "credible reports" from amateur astronomers that, when combined with the area from which reports of the fireball originated, "fit the ground-track of the rocket body with remarkable similarity."
"The only problem is that the time the rocket was predicted to pass over the area differs by some 10 minutes from the reported times that the fireball was seen," Chester said. The difference could be the result of an error in his prediction software or could be 'real,'" he said.
But, "based on the evidence I have at hand now, I have to lean more toward the 'natural' explanation," Chester said.
Space rocks the size of small cars plunge into Earth's atmosphere several times a year, typically burning up before reaching the ground. Most go unreported since they fall over uninhabited areas (our planet's surface is two-thirds ocean).
Investigation continues
Cooke agreed that tracing the fireball's source is tricky given the paucity of information available.
"It's very hard to do given only eyewitness accounts," Cooke said in a telephone interview. He plans to look at sound measurements (meteors make sounds below human hearing as they travel through the atmosphere) taken that could reveal the energy of the bolide and in turn give a rough estimate of its size.
Video of the object, if any surfaces, could also shed light on the trajectory of the fireball. Such video often comes from the dashboard cameras in police cars, Cooke said. "They're out that time of night, and the camera is always running."
But, he said, "It's going to be very hard to get more information" on the nature of the bolide.
Whether or not any fragments of the meteor might have made it to Earth's surface is uncertain. "Most bolides do not," Cooke said. "The atmosphere is very good at protecting us from falling rocks."
A few space rocks do occasionally make it to the surface though. In recent years, pieces of a bolide were found after a meteor event in western Canada, Chicago and Peekskill, NY, Cooke said. Fragments of a meteor that originated from an asteroid that blew up over the skies of Africa last October were also recovered in the Sudanese desert.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
ShamWOW Guy Arrested For Beating Prostitute
Smoking Gun:Shlomi told cops he paid [Sasha] Harris about $1000 in cash after she "propositioned him for straight sex." Shlomi said that when he kissed Harris, she suddenly "bit his tongue and would not let go." Shlomi then punched Harris several times until she released his tongue. The affidavit...notes that during the 4 AM fight Harris sustained facial fractures and lacerations all over her face.... After freeing his tongue, a bleeding Shlomi ran to the [hotel] lobby, where security summoned cops. Harris refused to cooperate with officers, who recovered $930 from her purse.
Zodiac - Cops question Arthur Leigh Allen
Such a perfect movie. This may be one fo my favorites very soon.
Survive the Outbreak!!!!
SURVIVE THE OUTBREAK!
Such a good concept. Choose Your Own Adventure Zombie Survival Movie! Everyone just died from my one mistake. Christ.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Jeopardy! - Ken Jennings scores the highest ever in one show
Now the Matt Lauer has shown he his human Ken Jennings takes back the reign as Captain Badass
I'm an attention whore
This girl is awful. Listen to those lip smacks. I'm going to have nightmares.
Slumdog Millionaire Girl
Damn that poor girl from Slumdog Millionaire didn't get much of an Oscar boost. She has already gone the Hardee's Thickburger route. She still looks damn smokin though. I think I like in this more than in Slumdog now that I think about it. Go head girl! Upgrade!
Yahoo's 100 Movies to See Before You Die
YAWN! Yahoo's bland list of movies you need to see before you die. I'm going to create the Ultimate List. Just Wait.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Three Stooges Movie on the Way!
'Three Stooges' coming together at MGM
Sean Penn, Jim Carrey in the mix; Benicio del Toro eyed
March 25, 2009, 02:54 PM ET
 Sean Penn, left, Jim Carrey, Benicio del Toro (Getty Images) |
MGM and the Farrelly brothers are finally slapping together their high-profile cast for "The Three Stooges," a comedy project the filmmakers have been developing for years. Sean Penn is set to play Larry, and Jim Carrey is in negotiations to play Curly. Benicio del Toro is a rumored possibility for the brothers' taciturn leader, Moe.
The studio is looking to start production in the fall for a 2010 release slot.
The project was originally set up at Columbia, which produced the 1930s Stooges shorts. C3 Entertainment Inc., which holds the licensing rights to the Stooges brand, then sold the feature rights to Warner Bros. in 2001 for the Farrellys to write and produce the movie. Eventually, Warner Bros. let the rights lapse and MGM's Mary Parent scooped them up along with the Farrellys' continuing participation.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly wrote the script, which Bobby has referenced as "Dumb, Dumber & Dumbest," and will produce with Bradley Thomas and Charlie Wessler. Earl and Robert Benjamin of C3 will executive produce.
The film is not a biopic but a fictional treatment that maintains the Stooges' gleeful slap schtick updated for a modern milieu.
Originally constructed as four separate shorts, the feature screenplay has since been streamlined into a single narrative. Included in the story line is an opening that shows the Stooges as kids in an orphanage, a device that will require some "Benjamin Button"-style visual trickery to place the adult actors' heads on child actors' bodies.
The Stooges maintain remarkably global brand recognition, and their shorts, films and cartoons are still broadcast in 30 countries. The Farrelly brothers' latest comedy "The Heartbreak Kid" grossed $124 million worldwide.
Penn is repped by CAA, Carrey by CAA and the Miller Co.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sam and Bruce back for Evil Dead 4?
EXCLUSIVE: Sam Raimi Insists Bruce Campbell And He Will Be Back For A Fourth ‘Evil Dead’ Film
Source: MTV
For a few years now, there’s been ample talk of revising the Sami Raimi helmed “Evil Dead” franchise with star Bruce Campbell telling MTV last Spring that a 4th installment of the horror-comedy film would not feature a younger sidekick to give it more contemporary juice as many sit-coms in the past have done so to desperately revive their ailing product. Back then, only a year ago Campbell was raring to go.
However, Campbell himself recently shed a little doubt on the project himself when he told the A/V Club that he felt there should be no more stories involving the Ash Williams protagonist he plays in the “Evil Dead” trilogy. “I think there should be an end to everything,” he responded when asked whether the character of Ash is worthy of more movies. “I mean, did anyone really want ‘Indiana Jones 4′? The answer is no. I’ve taken a poll in about seven theaters now. Of 300 people, three hands go up. You are bound to disappoint.”
Sounds like Campbell might have had enough, no?
However, speaking to Sam Raimi at SXSW on the eve of the premiere of his new film, “Drag Me To Hell,” the director didn’t seem worried in the least and in fact laughed off Campbell’s remarks and insisted the actor would still be onboard whenever they can find time to revisit the beloved cult and campy horror classics.
“He can dream all he wants. He’s trying to get out of getting back in shape,” he smiled. “I’m going to kick his butt in shape. I’m gonna say ‘get back in the chainsaw!’”
So we asked: was this a strong hint towards the future of the “Evil Dead” series? Will we see Raimi return to that world once more?
“I hope to, yes,” Raimi admitted. “Every time I say I would like to [revisit the films], people say, ‘where the hell is it!?!’ But I’m just glad people are still interested. But yes, I would really like to do [another ‘Evil Dead’ film]. I’ve just got a commitment to make ‘Spider-Man 4’ right now though.”
Could Ash Williams just have been pulling the Onion publication’s chain or just been in a mood? Raimi, who’s palpably fond of Campbell, says the actor is gruff on the outside, but a sweetheart at the end of the day. “He’s a really nice, but he pretends that he’s a really rough bastard,” he laughed.
Source: MTV
For a few years now, there’s been ample talk of revising the Sami Raimi helmed “Evil Dead” franchise with star Bruce Campbell telling MTV last Spring that a 4th installment of the horror-comedy film would not feature a younger sidekick to give it more contemporary juice as many sit-coms in the past have done so to desperately revive their ailing product. Back then, only a year ago Campbell was raring to go.
However, Campbell himself recently shed a little doubt on the project himself when he told the A/V Club that he felt there should be no more stories involving the Ash Williams protagonist he plays in the “Evil Dead” trilogy. “I think there should be an end to everything,” he responded when asked whether the character of Ash is worthy of more movies. “I mean, did anyone really want ‘Indiana Jones 4′? The answer is no. I’ve taken a poll in about seven theaters now. Of 300 people, three hands go up. You are bound to disappoint.”
Sounds like Campbell might have had enough, no?
However, speaking to Sam Raimi at SXSW on the eve of the premiere of his new film, “Drag Me To Hell,” the director didn’t seem worried in the least and in fact laughed off Campbell’s remarks and insisted the actor would still be onboard whenever they can find time to revisit the beloved cult and campy horror classics.
“He can dream all he wants. He’s trying to get out of getting back in shape,” he smiled. “I’m going to kick his butt in shape. I’m gonna say ‘get back in the chainsaw!’”
So we asked: was this a strong hint towards the future of the “Evil Dead” series? Will we see Raimi return to that world once more?
“I hope to, yes,” Raimi admitted. “Every time I say I would like to [revisit the films], people say, ‘where the hell is it!?!’ But I’m just glad people are still interested. But yes, I would really like to do [another ‘Evil Dead’ film]. I’ve just got a commitment to make ‘Spider-Man 4’ right now though.”
Could Ash Williams just have been pulling the Onion publication’s chain or just been in a mood? Raimi, who’s palpably fond of Campbell, says the actor is gruff on the outside, but a sweetheart at the end of the day. “He’s a really nice, but he pretends that he’s a really rough bastard,” he laughed.
First Image From New Madden!
That quaterback looks photo real. I don't even play Madden but that looks badass.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
After Oyster
Apparently Richard makes this face whenever a certain texture in his mouth makes him almost upchuck right then and there.
http://werehungryva.blogspot.com
SHUT UP!
I did not see this coming at all. It's about damn time Fincher got some Criterion Love. This will be the very definition of a perfect transfer, holy christ I'm excited!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Optimus Maximus Keyboard from ThinkGeek
THis keyboard is only cool because Oingo Boingo is playing on it.
Jennifer Love Hewitt-Heartbreakers Deleted Scene
I'm pretty sure this scene was not deleted. As some people have said they remember it well. That's gross. Not really though. I've watched this on repeat more than a few times. JLH's Peak?
The Naked Gun: Nordberg clips
Classic. Apparently a NEW Naked Gun is in the works! I'm all about that even Spy Hard was funny to 6th grade Gil.
Top 10 worst Movie Games Ever
Fairly Entertaining List of the Worst Movie Based Video Games. Miami Vice should've been included that game raped me six ways from Sunday.
Troll 2 Documentary Teaser - BEST WORST MOVIE
The great teaser for "Best Worst Movie"! BADASS! Should be out soon!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sorority Row Trailer
SORORITY ROW trailer in HD
It's I Still Know What You Did Last Summer meets I Know What You Did Last Summer meets That Asian Chick meets Valentine meets Animal House. I'm sold.
It's I Still Know What You Did Last Summer meets I Know What You Did Last Summer meets That Asian Chick meets Valentine meets Animal House. I'm sold.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
For the Love of Movies Trailer
First View!
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism is the first documentary to dramatize the rich saga of American movie reviewing. With commentary from Americas best-regarded reviewers, Roger Ebert (The Chicago Sun-Times), A.O. Scott (The New York Times), Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly), Kenneth Turan (The Los Angeles Times) as well as young, articulate, Internet voices, including Harry Knowles (aintitcoolnews.com) and Karina Longworth (spout.com). From the raw beginnings of criticism before The Birth of a Nation to the incendiary Pauline Kael-Andrew Sarris debates of the 1960s and 70s to the battle today between youthful on-liners and the print establishment, this documentary tells all. With narration by Patricia Clarkson.
Super Slo-Mo Spike Jonze Skate Video
I bet if I liked skateboarding this would be even sweeter. Pretty self indulgent stuff here. You have been warned.
EXCLUSIVE: Where The Wild Things Are Poster!
Ok well this poster is pretty awful but it still doesn't mean that this movie will be anything short of fantastic. I really hope Spike Jonze was right all along about this one, let's hope Warner Bros. let's him put the movie out the way it should be.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
500th Post! We Made It!
How do we celebrate?! By Showing you our movie!
First rule as a struggling Filmmaker:
Do not predominently feature a character you have no rights to be making a movie about. Only follow this rule if you are serious about busting your ass making a whopass movie.
7 Up - Up Yours
I just found my very own Make 7 Up Yours Shirt! This was Orlando Jones peak, no doubt.
How to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Like an Irishman
Just found the HowCast! Huzzah! Let's Celebrate Tonight!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Good News all around today!:
SWEET! This just Iron Man 2 just got way more interesting now.'Iron Man 2': Scarlett Johansson cast as Black Widow
Mar 12, 2009, 01:02 PM | by Jeremy Medina
Categories: Film
Scarlett Johansson has been cast to play the Russian femme fatale Black Widow in Iron Man 2, joining a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, and the just-announced Mickey Rourke, according to E! Online. EW.com first reported Johansson was approached for the role after Emily Blunt stepped aside because of her obligations to Gulliver's Travels, an adaptation of the classic tale toplined by Jack Black. Iron Man 2 is due in theaters May 7, 2010.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Raiders Story Meeting With Lucas, The Berg and Lawerence Kasdan
Story Meeting for Raiders
He's the guy who's been all around the world. He's a soldier of fortune. He is also... Well, this gets into that other side of his character, which is totally alien to that side we just talked about. Essentially, I think he is a, and this was the original character and it's an interesting juxtaposition. He is an archeologist and an anthropologist. A Ph.D. He's a doctor, he's a college professor. What happened is, he's also a sort of rough and tumble guy. But he got involved in going in and getting antiquities. Sort of searching out antiquities. And it became a very lucrative profession so he, rather than be an archeologist, he became sort of an outlaw archeologist. He really started being a grave robber, for hire, is what it really came down to. And the museums would hire him to steal things out of tombs and stuff. Or, locate them. In the archeology circles he knows everybody, so he's sort of like a private detective grave robber. A museum will give him an assignment... a bounty hunter.
Amazing transcript interview with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Lawerence Kasdan. Read as Lucas and Spielberg spitball ideas throughout the 121 pages it's really spectacular to see how these guys work.
Sita Sings The Blues (Full Movie)
I'm all about Full Movies on Google Video. What a great idea! Please enjoy this unique and gorgeous film.
VDOT: AWFUL SOUND! OUCH!
Watch our crazy highway interstate system grow over 8 years set to horrible helicopter sounds.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
The Simpsons - NEW Main Title
The New HD Title Sequence for The Simpsons. We're gonna be ok everyone new Simpsons are in HD! Thank god
The Simpsons - NEW Main Title
The New HD Title Sequence for The Simpsons. We're gonna be ok everyone new Simpsons are in HD! Thank god
What Would You Do - Girl gets squirted with cream
John reaction: MWHAA HA HA HA HA eat it bitch...MWHA MHA
What Would You Do
The opening of some episode of What WOuld YOu Do? Notice Marc Summers being lifted away by someone bigger than himself in consecutive clips.
The Saddest Kid in the World
Watch the right hook on this kid. Also the crazy climatic ending! I hope I never experience anything this soul crushing. What a loser.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
The Price is Right -- Cheaters Prosper
Just act like you have no idea how to play the games and Bob would've let you win.
Make Out With Violence Trailer
THis looks pretty damn interestin. Too bad it will probably never make it outside so SXSW but its always nice to dream.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Wanna Know What Rules Zach Snyder Follows While Making Movies?
1. There are No Rules. Every job, every story, every shot is different. And each time you do it, it’s like doing it for the first time
2. The Will to Suffer. This is a phrase I got from my friend Marc Twight. He used it in reference to mountain climbing, saying that the person who can endure the most pain will be the one who succeeds in the end. That applies to moviemaking as well.
3. Your Point of View. It’s the thing that is not right, not wrong. It’s the thing that can’t be put into a technical box. It’s the tone and texture of a story. It’s the individual way of looking at things that makes us different. It’s why we go to the movies.
4. Storyboard. Storyboards are not for everyone. As a matter of fact, I think some movies would be seriously damaged by the storyboarding process. But for me, it is how I make a movie; it is how I structure a scene. It’s not a shot list, it is an edited sequence. And although it can all change later, it is a good place to start.
5. Movies are Pictures. For me, visual style has the same importance as story, as character and as the environment. In the end, a movie is a series of pictures and I try to be aware of that at all times.
6. Respect. Respect the material, respect the process, respect the audience and, most of all, respect the countless incredible people who work their asses off helping you to bring your vision to the screen. Everyone has immeasurable value when it comes to making a movie, so never take it for granted.
7. Throw things. Not at people, just for fun. On the set this means: Football, tennis ball, rock, ball of tape—basically any object, it doesn’t matter. Then throw: To a person, at an orange cone, into a distant trash can… again, doesn’t matter. At least for me, any version of throwing shit makes even the shortest break relaxing.
8. I Still Shoot Film. I always shoot film, then move into the digital pipeline. I’ll be the first to admit that the future of moviemaking will be led by advances in digital technology. But the reality is there is just something about film that digital cameras still can’t replicate. Call me a purist, but it’s just how I feel.
9. Passion. It is almost impossible to duplicate your original passion for a project late in the process. But if you can recall the feeling of that original spark of excitement, you’ll be able to keep your creative ferocity throughout the long haul.
10. Shoot Every Shot. It goes back to what I was saying about point of view. This is not to say that a second unit director wouldn’t shoot it better, but doing it yourself keeps the tone consistent.
Zack Snyder started his career directing TV commercials for such car companies as Audi, BMW and Nissan. He launched into features with the gloriously gory remake of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. His ambitious follow-up, 300, an adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, had critics hailing him as a technical genius. Snyder’s latest movie, Watchmen, which is based on Alan Moore’s Hugo Award-winning graphic novel, hits theaters March 6, 2009.
2. The Will to Suffer. This is a phrase I got from my friend Marc Twight. He used it in reference to mountain climbing, saying that the person who can endure the most pain will be the one who succeeds in the end. That applies to moviemaking as well.
3. Your Point of View. It’s the thing that is not right, not wrong. It’s the thing that can’t be put into a technical box. It’s the tone and texture of a story. It’s the individual way of looking at things that makes us different. It’s why we go to the movies.
4. Storyboard. Storyboards are not for everyone. As a matter of fact, I think some movies would be seriously damaged by the storyboarding process. But for me, it is how I make a movie; it is how I structure a scene. It’s not a shot list, it is an edited sequence. And although it can all change later, it is a good place to start.
5. Movies are Pictures. For me, visual style has the same importance as story, as character and as the environment. In the end, a movie is a series of pictures and I try to be aware of that at all times.
6. Respect. Respect the material, respect the process, respect the audience and, most of all, respect the countless incredible people who work their asses off helping you to bring your vision to the screen. Everyone has immeasurable value when it comes to making a movie, so never take it for granted.
7. Throw things. Not at people, just for fun. On the set this means: Football, tennis ball, rock, ball of tape—basically any object, it doesn’t matter. Then throw: To a person, at an orange cone, into a distant trash can… again, doesn’t matter. At least for me, any version of throwing shit makes even the shortest break relaxing.
8. I Still Shoot Film. I always shoot film, then move into the digital pipeline. I’ll be the first to admit that the future of moviemaking will be led by advances in digital technology. But the reality is there is just something about film that digital cameras still can’t replicate. Call me a purist, but it’s just how I feel.
9. Passion. It is almost impossible to duplicate your original passion for a project late in the process. But if you can recall the feeling of that original spark of excitement, you’ll be able to keep your creative ferocity throughout the long haul.
10. Shoot Every Shot. It goes back to what I was saying about point of view. This is not to say that a second unit director wouldn’t shoot it better, but doing it yourself keeps the tone consistent.
Zack Snyder started his career directing TV commercials for such car companies as Audi, BMW and Nissan. He launched into features with the gloriously gory remake of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. His ambitious follow-up, 300, an adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, had critics hailing him as a technical genius. Snyder’s latest movie, Watchmen, which is based on Alan Moore’s Hugo Award-winning graphic novel, hits theaters March 6, 2009.
Ebert Review Watchmen
WATCHMENby Roger Ebert
After the revelation of “The Dark Knight,” here is “Watchmen,” another bold exercise in the liberation of the superhero movie. It’s a compelling visceral film — sound, images and characters combined into a decidedly odd visual experience that evokes the feel of a graphic novel. It seems charged from within by its power as a fable; we sense it’s not interested in a plot so much as with the dilemma of functioning in a world losing hope.
That world is America in 1985, with Richard Nixon in the White House and many other strange details, although this America occupies a parallel universe in which superheroes and masked warriors operate. The film confronts a paradox that was always there in comic books: The heroes are only human. They can be in only one place at a time (with a possible exception to be noted later). Although a superhero is able to handle one dangerous situation, the world has countless dangerous situations, and the super resources are stretched too thin. Faced with law enforcement anarchy, Nixon has outlawed superhero activity, quite possibly a reasonable action. Now the murder of the enigmatic vigilante the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has brought the Watchmen together again. Who might be the next to die?
Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the only one with superpowers in the literal sense, lives outside ordinary time and space, the forces of the universe seeming to coil beneath his skin. Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) is the world’s smartest man. The Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) is a man isolated from life by his mastery of technology. Rorshach (Jackie Earl Haley) is a man who finds meaning in patterns that may only exist in his mind. And Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) lives with one of the most familiar human challenges, living up to her parents, in this case the original Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino). Dr. Manhattan is both her lover and a distant father figure living in a world of his own.These characters are garbed in traditional comic book wardrobes — capes, boots, gloves, belts, masks, props, anything to make them one of a kind. Rorshach’s cloth mask, with its endlessly shifting inkblots, is one of the most intriguing superhero masks ever, always in constant motion, like a mood ring of the id. Dr. Manhattan is contained in a towering, muscular, naked blue body; he was affected by one of those obligatory secret experiments gone wild. Never mind the details; what matters is that he possibly exists at a quantum level, at which particles seem exempt from the usual limitations of space and time. If it seems unlikely that quantum materials could assemble into a tangible physical body, not to worry. Everything is made of quantum particles, after all. There’s a lot we don’t know about them, including how they constitute Dr. Manhattan, so the movie is vague about his precise reality. I was going to say Silk Spectre II has no complaints, but actually she does.The mystery of the Comedian’s death seems associated with a plot to destroy the world. The first step in the plot may be to annihilate the Watchmen, who are All That Stand Between, etc. It is hard to see how anyone would benefit from the utter destruction of the planet, but remember that in 1985 there was a nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union that threatened exactly that. Remember “Better Dead Than Red”? There were indeed cold warriors who preferred to be dead rather than red, reminding me of David Merrick’s statement, “It’s not enough for me to win. My enemies must lose.”In a cosmic sense it doesn’t really matter who pushed the Comedian through the window. In a cosmic sense, nothing really matters, but best not meditate on that too much. The Watchmen and their special gifts are all the better able to see how powerless they really are, and although all but Dr. Manhattan are human and back the home team, their powers are not limitless. Dr. Manhattan, existing outside time and space, is understandably remote from the fate of our tiny planet, although perhaps he still harbors some old emotions.Those kinds of quandaries engage all the Watchmen, and are presented in a film experience of often fearsome beauty. It might seem improbable to take seriously a naked blue man, complete with discreet genitalia, but Billy Crudup brings a solemn detachment to Dr. Manhattan that is curiously affecting. Does he remember how it felt to be human? No, but hum a few bars. ... Crudup does the voice and the body language, which is transformed by software into a figure of considerable presence.“Watchmen” focuses on the contradiction shared by most superheroes: They cannot live ordinary lives but are fated to help mankind. That they do this with trademarked names and appliances goes back to their origins in Greece, where Zeus had his thunderbolts, Hades his three-headed dog, and Hermes his winged feet. Could Zeus run fast? Did Hermes have a dog? No.That level of symbolism is coiling away beneath all superheroes. What appeals with Batman is his humanity; despite his skills, he is not supernormal. “Watchmen” brings surprising conviction to these characters as flawed and minor gods, with Dr. Manhattan possessing access to godhead on a plane that detaches him from our daily concerns — indeed, from days themselves. In the film’s most spectacular scene, he is exiled to Mars, and in utter isolation reimagines himself as a human, and conjures (or discovers? I’m not sure) an incredible city seemingly made of crystal and mathematical concepts. This is his equivalent to 40 days in the desert, and he returns as a savior.The film is rich enough to be seen more than once. I plan to see it again, this time on IMAX, and will have more to say about it. I’m not sure I understood all the nuances and implications, but I am sure I had a powerful experience. It’s not as entertaining as “The Dark Knight,” but like the “Matrix” films, LOTR and “The Dark Knight,” it’s going to inspire fevered analysis. I don’t want to see it twice for that reason, however, but mostly just to have the experience again.
That world is America in 1985, with Richard Nixon in the White House and many other strange details, although this America occupies a parallel universe in which superheroes and masked warriors operate. The film confronts a paradox that was always there in comic books: The heroes are only human. They can be in only one place at a time (with a possible exception to be noted later). Although a superhero is able to handle one dangerous situation, the world has countless dangerous situations, and the super resources are stretched too thin. Faced with law enforcement anarchy, Nixon has outlawed superhero activity, quite possibly a reasonable action. Now the murder of the enigmatic vigilante the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has brought the Watchmen together again. Who might be the next to die?
Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the only one with superpowers in the literal sense, lives outside ordinary time and space, the forces of the universe seeming to coil beneath his skin. Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) is the world’s smartest man. The Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) is a man isolated from life by his mastery of technology. Rorshach (Jackie Earl Haley) is a man who finds meaning in patterns that may only exist in his mind. And Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) lives with one of the most familiar human challenges, living up to her parents, in this case the original Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino). Dr. Manhattan is both her lover and a distant father figure living in a world of his own.These characters are garbed in traditional comic book wardrobes — capes, boots, gloves, belts, masks, props, anything to make them one of a kind. Rorshach’s cloth mask, with its endlessly shifting inkblots, is one of the most intriguing superhero masks ever, always in constant motion, like a mood ring of the id. Dr. Manhattan is contained in a towering, muscular, naked blue body; he was affected by one of those obligatory secret experiments gone wild. Never mind the details; what matters is that he possibly exists at a quantum level, at which particles seem exempt from the usual limitations of space and time. If it seems unlikely that quantum materials could assemble into a tangible physical body, not to worry. Everything is made of quantum particles, after all. There’s a lot we don’t know about them, including how they constitute Dr. Manhattan, so the movie is vague about his precise reality. I was going to say Silk Spectre II has no complaints, but actually she does.The mystery of the Comedian’s death seems associated with a plot to destroy the world. The first step in the plot may be to annihilate the Watchmen, who are All That Stand Between, etc. It is hard to see how anyone would benefit from the utter destruction of the planet, but remember that in 1985 there was a nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union that threatened exactly that. Remember “Better Dead Than Red”? There were indeed cold warriors who preferred to be dead rather than red, reminding me of David Merrick’s statement, “It’s not enough for me to win. My enemies must lose.”In a cosmic sense it doesn’t really matter who pushed the Comedian through the window. In a cosmic sense, nothing really matters, but best not meditate on that too much. The Watchmen and their special gifts are all the better able to see how powerless they really are, and although all but Dr. Manhattan are human and back the home team, their powers are not limitless. Dr. Manhattan, existing outside time and space, is understandably remote from the fate of our tiny planet, although perhaps he still harbors some old emotions.Those kinds of quandaries engage all the Watchmen, and are presented in a film experience of often fearsome beauty. It might seem improbable to take seriously a naked blue man, complete with discreet genitalia, but Billy Crudup brings a solemn detachment to Dr. Manhattan that is curiously affecting. Does he remember how it felt to be human? No, but hum a few bars. ... Crudup does the voice and the body language, which is transformed by software into a figure of considerable presence.“Watchmen” focuses on the contradiction shared by most superheroes: They cannot live ordinary lives but are fated to help mankind. That they do this with trademarked names and appliances goes back to their origins in Greece, where Zeus had his thunderbolts, Hades his three-headed dog, and Hermes his winged feet. Could Zeus run fast? Did Hermes have a dog? No.That level of symbolism is coiling away beneath all superheroes. What appeals with Batman is his humanity; despite his skills, he is not supernormal. “Watchmen” brings surprising conviction to these characters as flawed and minor gods, with Dr. Manhattan possessing access to godhead on a plane that detaches him from our daily concerns — indeed, from days themselves. In the film’s most spectacular scene, he is exiled to Mars, and in utter isolation reimagines himself as a human, and conjures (or discovers? I’m not sure) an incredible city seemingly made of crystal and mathematical concepts. This is his equivalent to 40 days in the desert, and he returns as a savior.The film is rich enough to be seen more than once. I plan to see it again, this time on IMAX, and will have more to say about it. I’m not sure I understood all the nuances and implications, but I am sure I had a powerful experience. It’s not as entertaining as “The Dark Knight,” but like the “Matrix” films, LOTR and “The Dark Knight,” it’s going to inspire fevered analysis. I don’t want to see it twice for that reason, however, but mostly just to have the experience again.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
The Money Train
This might be my favorite movie for tone and aesthetically pleasingness. Just the vibe of the whole film is spot on. I hope our second movie comes even close to being this amazing.
Public Enemies Trailer
The stills weren't doing it for me, some reviews were so so, but this trailer makes Public Enemies look like a masterpiece in waiting. Not sure how the Viper Cam does in this era but count me in!
Leelee Sobieski On Al Pacino
Damn Leelee Sobieski is damn fine. I'm not exactly sure who she is even talking about. Keep it up though Leelee your comeback is just around the corner.
Scarlett Johansson Worries Over Gladiatrix Role. Why?
Scarlett Johansson wants to play a "gladiatrix". The 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' star has been tipped to take the lead role in 'The Amazon Warrior' and believes the action-packed part would be "fun". She said: "I think I'm supposed to be a gladiatrix. These film guys are crazy about gladiatrixes. "But do I fit the Amazon mould? I'm a Danish/Jewish girl from New York. "I've never done a full-on action role. I guess I'm still waiting for me 'Cirque du Soleil' moment.
It would be fun." Despite her concerns about her looks for the role, Scarlett has an abundance of unusual skills she thinks would be right for the film. The 24-year-old actress added: "I've done weapons training. I've fired all kinds of guns - 9mm semi-automatic, machine guns, shotguns. I've jumped off a 60ft building. I learnt to ride for 'The Horse Whisperer'."
I personally think the world and mankind itself will be irrevocably changed for the worse if Scarlett does not muster up the courage to do this movie. I'm making a petition to encourage Scarlett to go with it, I know she has it in her, let's see her chopping heads and taking names! This will get us through the economic crisis, Obama should set aside some extra money to make sure this gets made. This of the box office from this movie! I'll let you know when the petition is online!
9 Minutes of Watchmen
Nice enough glimpse at what we'll be seeing come midnight tonight. Let's hope this doesn't suck.
Guest, McKean, Shearer!
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
A must see show for every one in the world. The Mighty Wind Live experience is something I'll never forget. I'm buying out the front row no matter what!
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/404998/
A must see show for every one in the world. The Mighty Wind Live experience is something I'll never forget. I'm buying out the front row no matter what!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
False Positive Drug Tests Exposed
The Marijuana Policy Project and the Mintwood Media Collective present the findings of a new study, False Positives Equal False Justice. Video exposes how field drug tests used by police and other government agencies give false positives.
Look how much cocaine is in that Chocolate!
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Are Humanzees Possible?
More discussion on the possibility of the Humanzee. Which we already know exists!
Day of the Dead Make Up Test
Some gruesome zombie make up tests from George Romero's "Day of the Dead"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)