Casting for 'Shades of Pride' and my thoughts on the Oscars

I've felt very run-down as of late. Maybe I'm always run-down and I'm just not wise enough to notice that... it does seem rather plausible. Even though I often feel lazy, I do have little birdies shouting in my ear that I work too hard/too much. Yet, nights when I'm slouched on the couch watching 'Justified' or staring at a blank screen or a sheet on untouched white paper, I feel lazy. I'm often doing something, but very little do I feel like I'm accomplishing something. I know I'll get shit for this later and be told many complimentary things from people who disagree. Either way, I feel tired, lazy and strangely unproductive.

A few weeks ago I've written my latest piece entitled 'Shades of Pride'. I feel it's one of the few good things I've done since the whole 'Two' fiasco, other than re-writes on my first feature. I've been describing it like this:

"The film is entitled "Shades of Pride" and it's a piece about an older Southern man named Charlie whose determined to chase a man off his father's land even though he no longer owns it. His stubbornness leads him to fight this battle even though he's long but lost the war."

It's based on an event that transpired with my grandfather where he chased a Government surveyor off his land with a loaded shotgun. The man who inhabited the story was not a nice man. He was a way different man than the person I knew growing up. It's funny how that happens. I knew him one way, my dad knew him another way. Something was lost in translation. I'm now learning what the man was really like. When I originally wrote the piece, I wrote it as I was told the story and he came off as a complete asshole. I changed a few details and added my own swing to the story and created, in my eyes, a two act structure and I somehow humanized this train wreck of a man.

For the last two weeks or so I've been in contact with actors. When I began the casting, I was mainly focused on the parts of Charlie Moss and Warren Bloom. Charlie is the clincher part. If he's cast wrong, the entire piece will fall the shambles. He has to be threatening, but not over the top. He also has to have a convincing accent. Bloom was hard too, because he had to be nervous and fearful, but not in a cartoony way. I was in talks with actors from all different spectrums. SAG actors to non-professional new-comers. All talented and brought different things to the role. I still have one or two more people I want to audition for Charlie, though. Bloom I may have found, but I need to review the footage a bit more and play it with the rest of the Charlie footage. The part of Charlie's wife I'm getting closer to finding, but I'm completely lost as far as his grandson. I'm kinda screwed at the moment. Hopefully good things will come and hopefully I'll find a farm too.

Now, onto the Oscars. I don't have much to say, but I'll say my peace and move on. First, I enjoyed the Independent Spirit Awards better, but I usually do. Next, I didn't mind James Franco as the host. I don't know what people are bitching about. Maybe it's because I think a stoned Franco is entertaining, but do people realize how hard it is to successfully host the Oscars? I'm shocked Hugh Jackman was as good as he was the year he did it. Next, ten Best Picture nominations is dumb. It is. Five more films that have no chance of winning. Also, I don't feel Toy Story 3 should be allowed to be in boy Best Animated Feature and Best Picture. If that's the case, why can't foreign films and documentaries be nominated for best picture? Why can't voice actors be nominated for Acting? Unfair guys.

I guess that's about it. I'm not really too upset with the results, except for Randy Nueman somehow winning. Although, Wolfman winning for Best Make-up was funny because every clip I've seen of that movie looks like CGI.

Reflections of a Blizzard

Lately I've been seeing the world in a weird narrative context. This past week we here in Wisconsin had a blizzard that rocked the foundation of what we thought was possible with the weather. Many joked, but you could see many were afraid. Cars were overturned and people were trapped. After all of this, we had to dig. Dig through mounds and mounds of snow to create remnants of the world we once knew. The funny thing, though, with snow is, no matter how much you clear away, we're trapped. It became that much more clear after all this blizzard.

I walked to the bus stop in the morning, following the sidewalks. These are paths made by man to guide us in a direction. This is true. But at one point we can choose to be masters of our own destinies and diverge from the path and cut through grass and streets. After this blizzard, you were lucky to find a small trace of a trail through the snow. Cavernous walls surround you and guide you forward. You could attempt to climb over, but very few, if any, seldom do. We're being led along these snow walls. Snow is like that, it's just taken me this long to notice. It's taken the extreme case of being trapped on both sides by snow to see it. Then, I'd come to a dead end and would have to make a decision. Try and climb over and see what the state is over yonder, or make a left or right. I felt like Sarah from Labyrinth. Even though I wasn't lost, I felt lost. Isn't it funny how sometimes the most complex things are the most simple? See what I mean? Narrative sense.

Part 2 of a MASSIVE Catch-Up Blog

December 28th, 2010

Back to the story of Two. I feel like this could have made an interesting documentary. “Two: The TV Show That Never Was”. Had I thought of it then. Damn. Moving on. We began filming again the next morning. Keith ran all over East-Jesus to find a damn fog machine. We found a K-Mart that sold them the previous night, but he went to Target, thus making it useless. Anyhow, we had one now. We could finally film the way Nuna wanted to, which makes me wonder why he made me director? When we got down to brass tax things began to feel more right. The fog machine was kicking in (slowly), but it was kinda doing it's job. I explained how I wanted the scene done. Nuna, with his facial tattoo completely covered, and in his spiffy digs got into character. All was going well.

The first scene we thought we should film would be the fight in the opening sequence. So, I set up the shot. I knew where I wanted Nuna to come in, I knew when Scott should come in. Nuna and Scott set up the fight. Scott was a bit worried about the giant knife. Etc. Whatever. In the end, Greg and I were both filming. Him with his camera and me with Nuna's, which I used, like, once. Riley also had to use audio equipment he wasn't used to.

In the end, we maybe got like 2 minutes of usable footage. I did get scolded for running the camera way too much. I thought it was the best thing to do. During Brutal Nuna CONSTANTLY had the camera running. I guess he changed his way. Also, the audio didn't come out and we didn't even get the shoot done. Joy. We had two weekends to finish and we couldn't film too late because Scott had to leave and Nuna was filming for Brutal 2. All in all, the shoot didn't go well at all. Torn up by this, Greg and I went to Graveyard Records then watched a few movies at my house. I believe we watched “Otis” and “Behind the Mask”.

A few days to a week after this headache of a shoot (if you want to call it that), we got word from Riley, who spoke with Nuna, about the show's future. Apparently the agent hated our idea and thought it to be one of the worst he ever read. He wanted us to go back to a previous idea Nuna had. At this point my heart wasn't in it, so I quit. I still plan to save the script for the future. I would have love to have kept working with him. Making Brutal with him was and will always be one of the best experiences of my life and he'll always be a good friend.

After the dust of “Two” had cleared Riley, Greg and I weren't sure what to do with our time. All of our free time at the time that wasn't dedicated to homework went towards “Two”. It became such an insane collaborative effort and we made a script all three of us were proud of. We still hang out and talk and try to collaborate on a piece again, but it's never been as fluid of organic as it was those few weeks. After that Riley went back to trying to get his art classes done, Greg went back to finishing some shorts he was working on and writing his first feature length screenplay. I also had to go back to the real world. Trying to pass Math and Bio plus finishing my shorts and so on. The dream ended. We were back in the world.

At this point I went back to editing my short film, “Coins”, that I filmed with my friend at the time. Coins was an interesting little film because it came out of nowhere. It wasn't planned so much as it was thought up on the spot and filmed in two days. I was sick at the time, but it was still a fun shoot. “Coins” is the story of a girl whose collecting flattened coins on the train tracks and she stumbled upon a dead body in the woods. Everything was fun until I had to sit down and edit. I had to do extensive work to the short. Audio was horrible because I could be heard breathing in the background because of being so congested, so I had to lower the audio levels lower than the standard level. I then also did a lot of color correction work, which I strangely enjoy. It gives your work a nice look and can make average looking work look a lot better. I did a lot to the color and always had mom coming in to my editing room and asking her “Which looks better? A slight blue tint or a slight purple tint” and then we'd talk about the content of the scene and what I'm trying to do and she'd tell me which she felt was better. She's great.

After I had a falling out with the actress it was hard to keep editing the short, but I power through and made three versions of the short. A class cut that's a bit shorter and has a slightly different color correction to it, a longer cut that has my favorite color correction and then a black and white cut of the extended version because while filming I kept picturing it as a black and white piece. No one at this point has seen the black and white version in it's entirety. Perhaps in the future.

Right after filming “Coins” I began on my short dedicated to my dad, entitled “Steve”. My original script for it was intended to be at least 10 to 15 minutes long and would mix in narrative elements, some experimental storytelling aspects and real footage of interviews I've conducted with my dad. It was am ambitious process. I even found an actor named Scott who was interested in playing the character of Steve. He told me he was really interested after reading the early draft of my script. I would go on to like Scott's work so much that I'd ask him to play the killer in “Two”. It's a shame it never continued.

Now I say Scott would be playing a character, even though my dad is a real person. Steve is a character, he's a representation of my dad. I described it as such in my script.

NARRATOR

(V.O.)

The man holding the picture is Scott. He's the person I've chosen to play "Steve". Now, let it be clear. My dad is Steve, but Steve isn't necessarily my dad. In this sense, Steve is the vehicle I use to tell the story. Is it my dad's story? Partially. Is it Steve's story? Completely.

See? The short would be almost like those Unsolved Mystery shows where it was part real interview and part dramatization. The short was originally about my dad's battle with smoking and him trying to quit. Scott would play Steve who is the embodiment of the everyman. The way Steve deals with smoking would be different than how my dad dealt with it, but, they're similar. It's sort of metaphysical.

Well, Greg and I went to Scott's apartment to film the opening scene where Steve has a battle with smoking and is haunted by a pack of cigarettes. Scott's process of getting into the character was truly amazing to watch. He really made me feel like a confident director because he was really getting into the character with me. It was great. He then taught Greg and I a bit about lighting. The man is a lighting wiz and helped me get an amazing tone with the piece and the lighting. I owe the man a lot and I always have his back.

Well after that initial shoot I went home that weekend and did an impromptu interview with my dad. It was very impromptu. I had no idea I was gonna do it. I didn't even set up lights or use DV cameras. I used a 720p camera that the CEO of Braeger bought for me set up on a tripod and used a lamp for lighting. The only real piece of equipment I used was a zoom recorder for the audio and then I synched them up later. It worked like a charm.

After editing the footage of Scott and doing color correction to make some Day for Night effects I got it looking really good. Hell, I impressed Scott who is a firm believer in doing those effects with lighting, not editing. The class all liked my cut, but the common consensus was that they wanted more of a my dad. It was an interesting process from this point on because the more that the need to see more of my dad rose the less and less I had of Scott. I eventually cut him out completely and was strictly using footage that, at very most, was going to be used as cutaways or throwaway. I shot it with a low quality camera in a very guerilla style. Emotional content was high but I felt less and less like a real filmmaker because I felt like I was working with found footage and wasn't using anything I set up myself. I had interviews with my dad and I, footage of his radiation treatment, a lot of shots of him interacting with people and stuff with doctors. It was a real headache trying to find a good way to put it all together. As this went on I showed my project and people began to like it more and more, but I felt more and more ashamed of my visuals. My audio work is good and I did a lot with the audio recorded with the in camera mics but there was little I could do with the visuals. I color corrected some and used filters, but I couldn't make them look “good”. I was nervous going into the portfolio review process. Luckily my amazing instructor Alex Torinus had my back going into portfolio and was going to explain my process of why and how I ended up with what I did. I appreciate that because I passed Portfolio review and I have her and my dad to thank for that.

As the semester winded down I began to freak out. My math grade was alright, but I was freaking out about not passing. Even more so with Bio because none of my tests in the main lecture where above 65%. I was kicking ass in the lab with an A, and the lab is 40% of my grade, so I had hope that that would propel me into passing range. It did. I passed Math with a C- and Bio with a C.

Winter break came up and it's much needed. I spent some quality time with two of my best friends visiting from out of town and I saw “Black Swan”, which I loved, and “Tron: Legacy”, which was OK. It was a lot of fun but lacked substance. It's 3D was pretty good, so that helped it. I've also gotten back into the grind of writing. I'm currently working on re-writes of my first feature, trying to get an outline done so I can finish my second and work on a few shorts. The only thing remotely close to filming and editing I'm doing over break is to film some test footage so I can teach myself how to use the program Color that came with my Final Cut Pro studio. I want a professional color grading program. I may do some editing for a fellow student on a short film he wants t make, but I haven't heard back on that yet. I have time to rest, and you're completely caught up for now. Thanks for reading.

I guess I should also mention my Winter playlist of movies. I will list it below. Suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Clerks

Clerks II

Natural Born Killers

Grindhouse (Planet Terror/Death Proof)

The Quick and the Dead

Re-Animator

Saw

Shaun of the Dead (w/ director commentary)

Vulgar

Young Guns

Neil Gaiman's NeverWhere

Inglourious Basterds

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

A Clockwork Orange

Almost Famous

American Splendor

The Anarchist Cookbook

SLC Punk

The Aviator

The Backyard

Bringing Out the Dead

Coffee & Cigarettes

The Crow

The Dark Crystal

Dead-Alive

El Mariachi

From Dusk till Dawn

Hard Candy

Hostel

Hostel Part 2

Hot Fuzz

Raising Arizona

Jimmy and Judy

I've finished some, but still got a lot more. On a final note I feel I should express my excitement for Kevin Smith's new flick "Red State". He's almost completely reinvented himself and I'm excited. Check out the teaser below.

And, finally, for those interested in "Two", if you ask nicely I'll talk with you about it and explain my plans for it, but, if you want an idea of how Riley and I wanted it tone wise, watch the Exorcism scene from "the Unborn" (yes, I'm aware it's not a good film) while listening to Ennio Morricone's song "Ecstasy of Gold" from "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly" and you'll get an idea. Seriously, do it. It works very well.

PART 1 of a MASSIVE Catch-Up Blog

November 30^th, 2010

It appears I've completely lost touch with this blog. As I sit in the terrace in the Union at UWM, I've tried thinking the last time I've sat down to write about what's current in my life. It's been far too long. A lot has happened. I wrote a rejected TV show, made two shorts, lost people in my life, saw some fun movie, did some art, and am producing a series of short films. So much I could be writing about, but, yet it goes unwritten. I wonder why I've gotten so lazy.

So, I guess I should just go back to what I would consider the beginning. Let's talk about that TV show I mentioned. Since it's no longer being picked up for the Fall season, I feel I can freely talk about it. I won't give away many plot points or anything, because I plan to hold onto the pilot and try to sell it later.

It began around the end of September, beginning of October. This time was busy enough. I was then working at both Halloween Express and Humboldt Park Elementary plus I was going to school full-time and trying to be in an artistic field. Needless to say, I was very busy. How I took on another task is beyond me. Anyways, my old friend Nuna (director of indie-horror film “Brutal”) contacted me about a potential TV deal he had in the works with a former NBC agent out in Hollywood. At the time he didn't give me much except a very general premise and the notion of me joining as the show's head writer. I was stoked, to say the least.

I was nervous at first. I never wrote a pilot for a TV show. To have a cut off point would be hard. The closest I've done to a TV script was a web show a friend of mine and I were (and still are) working on. But, those are only 12 to 15 pages each. This has to be an hour. So, that's like, 45 to 50 pages. I was also worried, because I'm not as harsh on TV as I am on film. I find myself taking more chances with TV shows (thank you DVR). Hell, I've even caught myself watching a poor show simply because “it's nothing special, but it's entertaining”. Nuna, on the other hand, is a harsh judge of TV. He doesn't watch it much and he doesn't like most of it. The two other people I would later bring on are about the same, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I was also worried because up until this point I've written for myself. My way of doing things is I finish a draft, then move on to a new project. The chance of me sending something out and selling it as this point is slim, so re-writes aren't essential. The base is there for when I need it and that way I can update it when needed. Also, if the script is for something I'm making, I can make changes on the spot. I have a very impromptu way of shooting that, isn't the “right way”, but works for me.

The problems began when Nuna presented me the idea. We would later find out it's not the idea he pitched to the agent, but whatever. I liked Nuna's idea a lot, but I did have a few concerns. He told me I had the ability to run with it and do my own thing. I got even more excited. Finally, an outlet. The idea he gave me went something like this:

(note, I can't remember word for word, so I apologize)

'It's about two guys. Let's name them Nuna and Keith for now. Nuna is a former priest turned tattoo artist whose looking for the man who killed his sister who was Keith's fiance. It's based on Revelations 11 and the killer may be the anti-christ. I want it to play out like 'Lost' where everything happens from the beginning but with a 'Supernatural' feel.'

I had some issues, mainly the Supernatural influence and the religious undertones. It's about the mythology rather than the ideology, which can be just as hard to deal with because to consider it to be “mythology” can be frowned upon. But, I liked the idea and was given control.

I began to freak out though. How the hell do I begin this? The agent wanted us to write and direct a rough pilot to send to him that he can send out and try to sell during the Fall season. We had until Thanksgiving. That's not a lot of time.

I think I like making things hard on myself because the first person I chose to approach was my good friend, Riley. The issue with this is, as productive as we can be, we argue... a lot. We don't always see eye to eye and we've had some pretty large arguments over some very stupid things (some are still going on today). Luckily, we saw eye-to-eye on this, and Riley has a lot of knowledge about religious mythology, philosophy and what not. I have a huge interest in it and such, so it worked.

We began devising a draft that, to me, felt like Supernatural (reluctantly) meets Twin Peaks with the visual style of No Country For Old Men with some Neil Gaiman flare (a big influence on me).

Before I continue, I feel I should mention why I'm so against Supernatural. Nothing against the show. I'm not a huge fan, but per Nuna's request I checked out a few episodes. My problem is, I felt he was TOO influenced by this show. I was way more intrigued in his Carnivale influence, but I digress. The issue with Supernatural being his influence is, if we aren't careful we could become a clone. No one wants that. I don't want people to go: “Oh! I dig how this is like Supernatural.” Luckily, Riley used to watch the show, but wasn't as invested as Nuna and Greg, who we brought on, but sadly didn't use to his ability besides plot outlining and a well written synopsis, never saw it. So, that way, if something became too much like Supernatural, we can't be blamed because we never watched much of it. For Riley and I, Doctor Who was our Supernatural. So, our views clashed, but it could be fun. It was fun... in a way.

So, pretty much Greg, Riley and I finally got a first draft done. Needless to say... it was short. I'd like to think I was under compensating for something, but whatever. It was only like 25-30 pages, when I need like, 45 to 50. But, it was a good start. I showed it to Nuna and he liked it. Keith, the other dude involved (I guess) liked it. We were set. At this point, since almost every night Nuna was calling me and we were talking about the show and was giving me assignments. Being head writer, I thought I'd be ballsy and ask for an executive producer title to go with my head writer title. I didn't think that was asking too much because, 1) head writer normally is an executive producer anyway, and 2) it's really more of a name than anything else. Now, let me say this now. Had I known how much I would be doing for this damn show, I was have asked for a straight-up producer title right off the back, because, essentially, Riley and I were producers. I started by doing everything and being Nuna's voice. I was Moses and Nuna was the burning bush up on the tippity top of the mountain. Then, I had a slight nervous breakdown and wasn't sleeping, so Riley took over and quickly realized why I had the breakdown. Learning is fun, isn't it?

Throughout the process of writing we were given more and more work. Every time I'd finish a draft there would need to be changes. Usually big changes too that would be cause enough to do a complete re-write. I didn't mind because the story got better and better as it went on and more and more people liked it. We felt it had potential. That, coupled with the pretty intense storyline we were working on, we felt we could have a truly great project.

We were also given the tasks of not only finding an actor to play a silent killer (but we ignored an important character with dialogue), but finding locations to shoot in but a special effects guy. This is where Nuna and I butt heads a lot. He wanted special effects and some crazy insight dreams. I didn't mind that, but I didn't want it in the pilot. I wanted it to be shootable ASAP because our deadline was fast approaching. I didn't want to worry about effects. Plus, I go to an art school where experimental and avant garde rules the program. Finding an FX guy would have been hard. But he was dead set on it, so I did my best. Nuna is a good friend so I thought I should try. Riley found two guys, but we never once saw a piece of work from them, and as far as I'm concerned, they suck. If I could remember their names I'd trash them. But I can't, so I won't.

It was pretty cool that half-way through everything Nuna gave me the title of co-creator. That really made me excited.

Moving on to, I want to say, 3 or 4 weeks before the deadline. We haven't begun shooting. We haven't even decided on the script! Nuna had issues with it. He said he lost his connection with the characters and I had too many locations and blah, blah, blah. Had we had more time, I wouldn't have minded going back and re-working it. I'm he first to admit the script wasn't perfect, but with the little time we had a rough draft had to be a shooting script. At this point Nuna was talking less about Supernatural and more about Carnival and the X-Files. At this point, we shouldn't have been worrying about that. We needed to film something. Get SOMETHING to the agent.

Well, it got down to the point where we had to film. Recruited a friend and fellow film student named Scott to play the killer. He was perfect. Very professional. We had planned to film most of the first big fight scene on that friday. I got to set, and I got excited. Nuna was getting his infamous Joker face tattoo covered with make-up, which, was so odd to see his natural face again. He took a lot of time with his character's look (I described it as being a punk rock Peter Cushing). Keith was just, Keith. No thought into what he was wearing. But whatever. Nuna's house wasn't perfect for what I had written, but it was doable. We'd just go off book and do what had to be done. I got nervous though, when 15-minutes before we start rolling, I asked Nuna how he wanted to direct this scene and he said “Oh, I thought you were directing”.

Needless to say, I freaked. To direct a director and to use equipment you're not familiar with is scary. Even more scary because their's a chance this could be on TV. I kept worrying that if I didn't do the show Nuna's way things would go bad. I eventually got more into the mindset I had to do it my way, but my way of filming is different than Nuna's, which is weird, because I developed my style in part by watching him while working on Brutal. I looked up to him. But, now I felt like we were on different plains and thinking as far as how a scene should be put together. I'm still very guerrilla and he's trying to do things more professional with monitors and multiple camera set-ups.

After the shock of directing wore off, I took a few deep breaths and face my fear. Like my hero, Hunter S. Thompson, once said: “Never turn your back on fear. It should always be in front of you, like a thing that might have to be killed.” I was so ready to do the scene... until our entire shoot was halted... because of a smoke machine...

Yes, I said it. One smoke machine ruined a shoot. Now, this next part is up to some debate. But first, a lesson:

In a film, smoke machines are used to create atmosphere and mood. Plus, it creates rays of light and depth of field. It can be a cool effect.

Now, that being said. Here is where the debate begins. Nuna claims this is used in every movie. I'm not sure if he means every MOVIE or every SCENE within said movie. I'm sure most movies have used this trick at least in one shot. But I refuse to believe it's used in every scene. I'm sure I can go through my 200+ DVD/Blu-ray collection and find at least 10 movies that don't use it. So, to throw an entire day of shooting out the window because of fog really sucks. They only positive thing about this is by shooting Saturday morning, we can set the scene in the time of day I wrote. Early morning.

TO BE CONTINUED... (promise)

Wow, Talk About Neglect...

Yeah, time for one of my awesome bi-monthly updates.

If you know me in person this'll be a recap, but whatever. I've been busy. Not even an excuse but a legitimate term. I work two jobs, go to school, do the filmmaking game on the side (which ends up being most of what I do) and I'm writing a television pilot. With that last responsibility comes the titles "Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Head Writer" and it's killing me. Only a few weeks left, though. Once Halloween Express closes for the season not only will my sleep cycle be back to normal, but I can finally rest and take my time. Hell, I can even do homework and play my oh-so neglected guitar on a regular basis.

Plus, I've been writing a journal. Now, that being said, don't get jealous my devoted readers (all three of you), I don't really write it like I write this. That's more observations and drawings. Started as something for a class but I ended up liking it, so I shall continue it. I'll go more into detail when I have time to do more of these. Trust me, I'll get back into the habit of doing these.

P.S. What's the correct form? Film making or filmmaking. I SHOULD know this... but I don't...

Headache

I guess the point of this post is to update everyone. Currently, I'm working two jobs, going to school and trying to do the whole filmmaker thing on the side.

Let's start with the jobs. The first is the job I've been doing for the last three years; working at Halloween Express. I love this job. I do. It just takes up a lot of my free time. I then work on Friday's with kids at after school activities. So much of my free time goes to these that when I do have free time, I'm doing homework. Goody.

My next big thing is school. I love it, but the homework kills me. If I could just stick with the film work I'd be golden. It's the math and science shit that kills me. It sucks. Especially now when I have film projects coming up I need to do. Even more annoying is the Film Equipment Room changed it's hours which really do not work for my schedule. I'll have to come to campus on my days off now. Joy.

Finally, the whole filmmaker thing. I love it, but it's stressful. As of right now I have one full length film that's 3/4 of the way done and I can't seem to finish. I have the ending, just can't get it there. Then, I have three shorts that have consumed my brain. One is a fantasy film, the other a comedy and the other a drama. I'll give more details at a later time. The big thing is, I want to use one of these for my final project but it'll be hard. The fantasy is out. Too much to do for that one. The comedy may be doable, but I'll need to get creative and the drama, which is the most doable, has no real ending.

On top of that, I was asked to write the pilot for a TV show for a friend. I'd love to do it, but I have such a tight deadline and have NO details that I'm starting to freak out. I need this job, but, at the same time, will it be the final nail in the coffin? Stay tuned to find out!

The Citizen Kane of Bad Cinema?

I've been trying to fit as much as I possibly can into my last week or two of summer before I go back to the grind of school. Everything from staying out late to midnight showings of movies I love.

Okay, I exaggerate, it's only been one midnight showing, but it was a movie I love. I saw a midnight showing of The Evil Dead at the Oriental Theater. It was a really neat exploitation/grindhouse theater experience. It showed schlocky trailers for cult classic films that feature outrageous stories and even more outrageous gore. I love it. I love cult cinema and have a very open mind for it. The film and all of it's trailers were presented in 35mm film. I got to see one of my favorite movies on film in an amazing theatre filled with people.

This being said, there are some films that confuse me. I don't get why they're so popular. The other day my friends Greg and Vanessa invited me to a little double feature of bad films that they were holding. The first film was Trey Parker's musical story about Alfred Packer, "Cannibal! The Musical" and Tommy Wiseau's psuedo-drama "The Room". It was the first time I have seen them. I didn't know anything about "Cannibal" but I've heard so much about "The Room". It has a wicked big fan base and is considered "the Citizen Kane of bad cinema". With this much of a build-up, I was expecting something amazingly bad but amazingly fun. I was wrong. I really don't get the big deal about "The Room".

Now, I know some people are going to say "Oh, you don't get this kind of cinema" or "you haven't seen it in a theatre with all the games and what not". Well, first, I do get this kind of cinema. Second, I don't feel one needs to play "games" while watching a movie to enjoy it and third, we did play all of these games while watching. It's bad, yes. But it's not all that funny. It was like a porno with more story. There is nothing in this movie that makes me want to come back to it like, say, The Evil Dead, Plan 9 From Outer Space or Class of Nuke 'Em High has. Am I happy I saw it? Yes. Was it fun to see with friends? Yes. Is it as great as everyone makes it out to be? No. Well, not to me atleast.

There are two types of bad movies. Bad movies which were made truely believing they were good and there are movies that were made to be bad on purpose. For me, The Room doesn't know what it wants to be. I've heard some say Wiseau made it intentionally to be funny, when I've heard from others that that wasn't the case. I'm leaning towards the later. Seriously, a guy that doesn't know the difference between High Def and Standard I don't think gets how to be intentionally bad. I think he realized his masterpiece was really bad and just milked it.

I do, on the other hand, have to give him credit. Somehow this man raised something like 3 million dollars by himself to fund this movie. He then had it released and created a fan base. That's impressive no matter how you spin in and I have to respect that. Even with that, though, I can't seem to be able to get behind this film. To me, there's a big difference between say, Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Tommy Wiseau. The difference, for me, is: Ed got filmmaking. He truely did. He understood what made it good, what made it bad and what he had to do. He just sucked at it, but he made the best damn movies he could! You can feel it! Tommy Wiseau, on the other hand, doesn't get it. You'd think a movie that had 3 million shilled into it would be a bit more fun.

I hope all of the fans of The Room and Tommy Wiseau (that includes the Tim and Eric fans, because I've heard he was on the show) don't completely hate me. No offense was intended, just ranting in one of the few forums I know someone may actually see it.