Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Film Opportunities
(I have a longer essay i'm working on about how i'm becoming receptive to new paradigms, but in true blog style here’s just a tell-tale blurt that needing blurting)
Ok, this is weird, I'm getting big film related opportunities out of left-field in the past few weeks, check this out:
1) My bank account filled up with money from a major film producer. It took me a while to even think of it this way. The way it happened is that this woman bought my childhood house, which was the last thing my sister and I had to sell since our mom passed. I discovered that this woman produced Babel and Frida, worked with people like Jim Jarmusch and John Waters and Hal Hartley, and is working next with Michel Gondry. And for some reason she really wanted to live in my house!? Wow that's great, because you know the market is slow and it makes for a great story about life's unconscious connections. Sometimes I theorize that 90% of what people do for each other is actually not seen or understood, it just happens vis a vis commerce and dreams and other so-called chance events.
2) A psychic comedian friend called to ask if I'd make a film of his funny song to submit to David Letterman,
3) Right before my annual review at my software job I got a random call from a screenwriter just to say that he thought my online FAQs were so well written that he just wanted to talk to me, and
4) The next day my boss wants me to learn how to make a short promotional video because the PR company found a place to use one.
I don't even know how to make films! I just collect and review films, and I bought a good camera and software a couple years ago that I haven't really explored. I mainly used the camera to document the art shows I produced in Cambridge. There are precedents for me to just up and make something though. I made a music video in college in homage to german expressionism, and shortly afterward produced an LP (remember those?) that was praised by an obscure art reviewer (kinda like me I guess) in Option magazine (if anyone remembers it). Currently I have a lot of old soundtrack material and new short stories I've been working on, some with plans for filming.
So what is this now, the year that I'm supposed to become a filmmaker? Strangely encouraged, I'm thinking more seriously about producing my weird therapy session short story now. I just need to cast two really good actors. Any suggestions on how to do casting in the Boston area? Also location, somebody got access to a dignified interesting looking therapist’s office? Oh hey, some crew too. Anyone recommend a good book on filmmaking? Hey, gotta start somewhere, better late than never, the glass is half empty or half full, if you think the horse will throw you off then you need to think that you'll get back up again, etc.
Oh and I just want to say that I have seen a run of great movies lately, including:
1) Renegade, aka Blueberry, about a western hero who does peyote ceremonies to become a shaman marshall. The director is French and started out just doing the western but got into shamanism himself so he made this weird hybrid film with intense psychadelic graphics. Imagine 3d animations of Alex Grey, if you can (it's actually been a year since a friend of Alex recommended the film to me, that's how long my to-watch list is).
2) Survive Style 5+ is from Japan's biggest cutting edge advertising team. 5 stories intersect with magical realism, martial arts, mtv, and art film weirdness. In the end, it is incredibly moving and I'm not even sure why. Something about how the guy whose wife kept resurrecting misses her and jumps off the building to be caught by the business man who was hypnotized to think he was a bird and became determined to learn to fly. Perfect soundtrack and images helps too.
3) The Celestine Prophecy is awesome, way better than I expected. I couldn't get through the book, it came off as too pulpy to me, but darned if they didn't make a great thoughtful serious film with transcendent special effects!
4) Lady in the Water, which I really enjoyed even after I read online more about the director's ego
5) Passing Clouds, which is better than passing gas (read about this old spiritualist movie and Lady in the Water on my MysticalMovieGuide website)
and 6) The Secret. On New Year's eve I watched this new age infomercial that starts out trashy and ends up touching on all kinds of great issues and concepts with great sincerity and some visual mania to boot. See thesecret.org for details - I was inspired and clarified and wrote some great lines the next morning (writers do lines, wouldn't that make a great t-shirt?)
Anyone got some good synonyms for great?
Happy New Year!
Carl
Ok, this is weird, I'm getting big film related opportunities out of left-field in the past few weeks, check this out:
1) My bank account filled up with money from a major film producer. It took me a while to even think of it this way. The way it happened is that this woman bought my childhood house, which was the last thing my sister and I had to sell since our mom passed. I discovered that this woman produced Babel and Frida, worked with people like Jim Jarmusch and John Waters and Hal Hartley, and is working next with Michel Gondry. And for some reason she really wanted to live in my house!? Wow that's great, because you know the market is slow and it makes for a great story about life's unconscious connections. Sometimes I theorize that 90% of what people do for each other is actually not seen or understood, it just happens vis a vis commerce and dreams and other so-called chance events.
2) A psychic comedian friend called to ask if I'd make a film of his funny song to submit to David Letterman,
3) Right before my annual review at my software job I got a random call from a screenwriter just to say that he thought my online FAQs were so well written that he just wanted to talk to me, and
4) The next day my boss wants me to learn how to make a short promotional video because the PR company found a place to use one.
I don't even know how to make films! I just collect and review films, and I bought a good camera and software a couple years ago that I haven't really explored. I mainly used the camera to document the art shows I produced in Cambridge. There are precedents for me to just up and make something though. I made a music video in college in homage to german expressionism, and shortly afterward produced an LP (remember those?) that was praised by an obscure art reviewer (kinda like me I guess) in Option magazine (if anyone remembers it). Currently I have a lot of old soundtrack material and new short stories I've been working on, some with plans for filming.
So what is this now, the year that I'm supposed to become a filmmaker? Strangely encouraged, I'm thinking more seriously about producing my weird therapy session short story now. I just need to cast two really good actors. Any suggestions on how to do casting in the Boston area? Also location, somebody got access to a dignified interesting looking therapist’s office? Oh hey, some crew too. Anyone recommend a good book on filmmaking? Hey, gotta start somewhere, better late than never, the glass is half empty or half full, if you think the horse will throw you off then you need to think that you'll get back up again, etc.
Oh and I just want to say that I have seen a run of great movies lately, including:
1) Renegade, aka Blueberry, about a western hero who does peyote ceremonies to become a shaman marshall. The director is French and started out just doing the western but got into shamanism himself so he made this weird hybrid film with intense psychadelic graphics. Imagine 3d animations of Alex Grey, if you can (it's actually been a year since a friend of Alex recommended the film to me, that's how long my to-watch list is).
2) Survive Style 5+ is from Japan's biggest cutting edge advertising team. 5 stories intersect with magical realism, martial arts, mtv, and art film weirdness. In the end, it is incredibly moving and I'm not even sure why. Something about how the guy whose wife kept resurrecting misses her and jumps off the building to be caught by the business man who was hypnotized to think he was a bird and became determined to learn to fly. Perfect soundtrack and images helps too.
3) The Celestine Prophecy is awesome, way better than I expected. I couldn't get through the book, it came off as too pulpy to me, but darned if they didn't make a great thoughtful serious film with transcendent special effects!
4) Lady in the Water, which I really enjoyed even after I read online more about the director's ego
5) Passing Clouds, which is better than passing gas (read about this old spiritualist movie and Lady in the Water on my MysticalMovieGuide website)
and 6) The Secret. On New Year's eve I watched this new age infomercial that starts out trashy and ends up touching on all kinds of great issues and concepts with great sincerity and some visual mania to boot. See thesecret.org for details - I was inspired and clarified and wrote some great lines the next morning (writers do lines, wouldn't that make a great t-shirt?)
Anyone got some good synonyms for great?
Happy New Year!
Carl
