Everybody On Mars Is Dead

Hi, there.

2011-07-12T15:38:00.005-05:00

Interplanetary is now available on DVD from Shock-O-Rama Cinema! Order it from Amazon.com today!

I've retired the "Everybody on Mars is Dead" blog. If you'd like to read the latest Crewless Productions and Interplanetary news, please check out the "Tacos and Beer" blog.

The official Interplanetary website is at http://www.interplanetarymovie.com".

You should probably follow me on Twitter, too.

Moving out.

2011-01-20T06:00:00.008-06:00

Since Interplanetary is finally, you know, done, I think it's time to wrap up "Everybody on Mars is Dead" and start a new, less Mars-specific, blog.

So I hope you'll join me at my new WordPress site, "Tacos and Beer."

I'll continue to write about Interplanetary at "Tacos and Beer," of course. But I'll also be writing about other movies, like Trap's biker movie and the anthology. And I'll be covering non-movie projects (like my various bands) and gadgets and whatever else strikes my proverbial fancy.

(For up-to-the-minute Interplanetary and Crewless news, be sure to follow me on Twitter.)

It's really happening.

2011-01-18T06:00:00.007-06:00

As far as I'm concerned, a movie's not really done until it is available for pre-order on DVD at Amazon.com.

Well, my friends, Interplanetary is done.

That Amazon link is pretty bare at this point. There is significantly more info about Interplanetary at our distributor's website.

A few notes...

Looks like our flick is being released by Shock-O-Rama Cinema, not Camp Motion Pictures as I've written previously.
The commentary track also features producers Stacey Shirley and John White.
Aspect ratio is actually 1.85:1 (which is so close to 1.78:1, I don't know if anyone will notice the difference).
Region 0! Playable worldwide, baby!

Be the first kid on your block to own an official Interplanetary DVD... pre-order yours today!

Also...

If you'd rather not deal with Amazon.com or the distributor, Interplanetary is available for pre-order at Buy.com, CD Universe, and DVD Empire.

Fangoria has done a little online coverage of Interplanetary here and here.

And, lastly but not least-ly, here's a positive review from DVD Verdict!

...A Movie of Facebook?

2011-01-17T06:00:00.021-06:00

Watched on January 13...

The recently-released Social Network Blu-ray and DVD sets include the excellent feature-length making-of documentary, How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook? The only problem... from what I can tell, it isn't available for rental at Blockbuster, Redbox, or Netflix.

Still, it's well worth tracking down for students of filmmaking and David Fincher fans. I bought the Blu from Amazon just to watch the doc. After I lend it out to any interested parties, maybe I'll sell it on eBay.

Watched January 15...

Not as classy or in-depth, but worth a look for fans of 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, is the unfortunately-titled The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2. I just noticed this hour-long making-of doc was included on the X-Men 2 two-disc DVD set that I've had for years. There are several other behind-the-scenes featurettes on that set, including an enlightening "multi-angle study" of X2's Nightcrawler-Attacks-the-White-House opening scene.

Watched January 16...

There's not much left to say about the Harry Potter movies at this point. After seven of them, the mythology has gotten a little too convoluted for my taste. And I'm still annoyed they killed off Sirius Black in... whichever flick it was that happened.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is another solid entry in the series. Well, half an entry (Part 2 arrives later this year), but Part 1 ends on a decent enough cliffhanger (just don't go in expecting Han Solo frozen in carbonite or anything).

Also...

Get your week off to a great start with the trailer for a new John Carpenter movie!

How did I miss this? A new version of Handbrake (best free OS X video transcoder of all time!) was released earlier this month. And Firefox 4 Beta is now available.

This is one of the best Blu-ray covers/cases I've ever seen:

It's the Social Network Blu-ray case. Not sure if you can tell from this photo (taken with the iPhone in low light, sorry), but it's black with the movie's tagline embossed on it. It forgoes the usual floating heads... heck, it forgoes the title of the movie. Kind of reminds me of the old Beatles "White Album" LPs.

I want to try this out at some point: Recording a Skype Call for a Podcast for Free (Mac).

This looks simple enough: Escape from "web-safe" fonts using CSS.

The real problem with Google's Android phone OS. And the problem with Facebook.

Wow. If this is true, the screen resolution of the next iPad will be 2048x1536. That's a lot of pixels! (via Dwight Silverman's excellent TechBlog)

The Making of Star Wars.

2011-01-13T06:00:00.024-06:00

When I was a young science fiction fan, way back in the 1970s, I thought Star Wars was just about the coolest thing ever. But it lived mostly in my mind. Since this was a time before VCRs became ubiquitous (never mind DVD players), the only way to see any relatively current movie was to make a trek to an actual movie theater. Star Wars had a long first run and a few theatrical re-releases. But I grew up in a rural area an hour away from the nearest movie theater, so I "only" got to see Star Wars three or four times.

I had some of the Star Wars toys and a well-read Marvel comic book adaptation of the film, and I'd occasionally find some kind of Star Wars-related book or magazine at the grocery store. All that stuff was nice, but, again, it was leaving a lot to my imagination. So I was thrilled when I learned about a Making of Star Wars TV special that would air in late 1977 (I seem to remember it being on CBS, though Wikipedia says it was on ABC). I probably checked the TV Guide repeatedly to make sure I had the correct date and time, then I sat down in front of the television, hoped for good reception (we were so rural we didn't have cable), and watched the special live as it aired (no one in those days could have even dreamed about Tivo).

And I think that's the only time I ever saw The Making of Star Wars. I believe it was issued on VHS as some kind of giveaway in the mid-1990s, but I never got a copy. Even having only seen it once, I still remember a couple of things about that special: C-3PO and R2-D2 were the "hosts," and there was footage of an in-camera lightsaber effect--basically a stick covered with some kind of reflective material. And, of course, the special featured plenty of footage from the original movie, which I was more than happy to see in my own living room.

Now I have more Star Wars than I need. I have it on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD. Heck, I think there's a digital copy on my phone. And I still think Star Wars (the original version--don't get me started on the "special" edition) is a fantastic film. But it's not as special as it was back in the late 70s, when I couldn't watch it whenever I wanted to, when seeing Star Wars on a screen, be it big or small, was an event.

If you'd like to watch the Making Of special that initiated all of this nostalgia, check out this GeekTyrant.com post. Hopefully the powers-that-be won't file a copyright claim and have the video banned from the Internet. Better yet, maybe the whole thing will get remastered and show up on the inevitable Star Wars Blu-ray set.

Also...

Want even more behind-the-scenes Star Wars info? Check out this book: The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film.

Directors Joel and Ethan Coen discuss True Grit, one of the best movies of 2010, on NPR's Fresh Air.

The iPhone is finally going to be available on a network other than AT&T. After years of rumors, the official announcement earlier this week struck me as anti-climatic. Jon Stewart, however, seems pretty excited.

You can watch Quentin Tarantino's unfinished first film, My Best Friend's Birthday, on YouTube.

And you can turn your real electric guitar into a Rock Band MIDI controller. (via Paul in the UK)

Last Exit to Nowhere has a new Escape from New York shirt.

Looks like the web video format fight is heating up as Google drops H.264 support from its Chrome browser. I'm okay with any kind of web video as long as it ain't Windows Media Video.

Get website traffic info and more at Alexa.com.

Like Andrew says, "All that anyone cares about is how good the CGI is."

When Kinder Surprise eggs are outlawed, only outlaws will have Kinder Surprise eggs. (via Stacey)

Snow day.

2011-01-11T06:00:00.005-06:00

Alabama isn't really set up to deal with winter weather. So a couple of inches of ice and snow on the ground means Stacey and I have been trapped at home since sundown Sunday. Well, not literally trapped--we walked down to the Crestwood Tavern for a while last night. But the roads aren't suitable for driving.

The roads are suitable for sledding, though.

Also...

Great story over at BadassDigest.com about Hollywood's story problem--a story problem that seems to be getting worse.

If you're looking for some at-home entertainment on a snowy day, you can check out season 2 of the excellent Party Down on Netflix "Watch Instantly."

The need for speed.

2011-01-10T06:00:00.012-06:00

T-Mobile is promising 42 Mbps download speeds on its wireless network this year. According to my math, that means you could actually access their network at max speed for about 30 minutes before you hit their 5 GB data cap and your connection gets throttled.

With a top speed of 42 Mbps, maybe T-Mobile's throttled speed is something like 6 Mbps, which would be pretty awesome for a mobile device, as that's faster than my old DSL wired connection. Or maybe they're throttling the connection down to sub-Edge speeds, which is not too awesome at all.

I'm just asking... What's the point of souping up your wireless network if you aren't really going to let your subscribers take advantage of that speed? And with wireless speeds at 42 Mbps, why am I still paying the cable company $45/month for 7 Mbps?

Watched on January 5...

It's by no means innovative, but The Fighter is a damn effective family/boxing drama. Christian Bale is getting accolades for his portrayal of the troubled Dicky Eklund, but I think Amy Adams steals the show (as she usually does). I was going to give the movie bonus points for featuring Led Zeppelin and 'Til Tuesday on the soundtrack, but that goodness got cancelled out by a Red Hot Chili Peppers song.

Watched on January 9...

It's kind of cliche to call a Pixar movie "a masterpiece" at this point, and the same can be said for a Coen Brothers movie. But True Grit is another masterpiece from the the siblings that gave us Miller's Crossing, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men, so what ya gonna do? On top of the wonderfully verbose screenplay and rock-solid cast, frequent Coen cinematographer Roger Deakins delivers amazing images of the snowy frontier wilderness.

Rio Bravo is a classic Howard Hawks western that features Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson as formidable gunslingers. John Wayne is top-billed as Sheriff John T. Chance (I think this might be where my parents got the idea for my name), and the Technicolor cinematography really pops (even on the non-HD Netflix streaming version).

Also...

Alabama Ice-pocalypse 2011 got underway last night.

Uh oh. If Roger Deakins (hey... didn't I just mention him?) is really saying "film is dead..." well, it might be time to start taking digital cinema cameras seriously. And I might never get to shoot that black and white sci-fi epic on 35mm with anamorphic lenses. As much as I respect Deakins (he's my favorite DP working these days), I'd like to check out the Arri Alexa for myself and see how it deals with quick motion and strobes/flashes.

Guitars 4 Troops is a charity that provides guitars for our military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. You can donate some cash to the cause or donate an old guitar.

DRM rears its ugly head again: How Hollywood strong-ARMed Intel and the CE biz.

Somebody is really making the iCade. Crap. Now I have to buy an iPad.

I found out about the iCade from Engadget's Twitter feed. I have a Twitter feed, too.

Tonight.

2011-01-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here's a photo Stacey took of Delicate Cutters, one of the bands I drum for...

The Cutters will be playing in Birmingham tonight, opening up for Crooked Fingers at Bottletree. Stop by if you're in the neighborhood--it should be a fun show.

Rock and roll.

2011-01-06T06:00:00.003-06:00

I really love the Rock Band video games. They give people a pretty good feel for what it's like to play in a band without those people having to spend hundreds of hours learning an instrument and searching for other musicians. Plus, as a drummer, I can tell you that playing Rock Band drums on the "expert" setting is very close to playing an actual drum kit.

So I wasn't too surprised when Trap, after getting a taste of Rock Band drums, asked if I'd loan him my backup kit (an old Slingerland kit, which still sounds pretty great). I took it over to his place Tuesday night and helped him get it set up.

Happy rockin', Trap!

Another cool thing about Rock Band... if you get the Beatles version, you can play Side Two of Abbey Road as one big song. It's epic.

Watched on January 4...

Salt is a very well-crafted action thriller, and I didn't believe a minute of it. I mean, I believed the action stuff--Salt features some of the most convincing stunt work I've seen in a while. But none of the characters behave in a way that makes any sense. Except for maybe "Peabody," played by the always excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor. But all the other characters... oh, the inanity.

Also...

A frightening article about Netflix (via Andrew).

Interplanetary producer John White updated his blog right before he headed off on an African adventure.

A SyFy reality/competition show that might actually be cool.

I don't have a lot of time, but I need to get some merch ready to sell in time for the Interplanetary DVD release. I at least want to sell coffee mugs (just like the ones used in the movie!) and print and Kindle versions of the screenplay. Plus, soundtrack CDs (if the composers approve!), probably some "corporate"-style golf shirts, and original limited edition silk-screened posters.

Speaking of merch, I sure wish I could get Last Exit to make an Interplanetary t-shirt.

Just showing up is half the job.

2011-01-04T18:00:00.006-06:00

Watched on January 3...

I'm Still Here: Joaquin Phoenix spent a year in character for this "documentary," playing what amounts to a really messed up version of himself. So it definitely gets an "A" for effort. But what was the point? Is the movie telling us all famous people are a-holes? Or is it a cautionary tale warning the audience, "don't quit your day job?"

(If you're unfamiliar with I'm Still Here, check out Roger Ebert's review and the follow-up he wrote after the movie was revealed to be a hoax.)

Also...

Cinemascope coming to your living room?

Use Firefox to convert your video to Ogg for HTML5 playback. Or brave the command line with ffmpeg2theora. (Note: regardless of settings, the former seems to create large files and the latter seems to create small ones. So I guess ffmpeg2theora is the better choice.)

Zombie or Supermodel? (via Andrew)

Since it is a new year, why not resolve to follow me on Twitter?

Back on the horse.

2011-01-03T18:00:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, everybody. And I hope you had a good Christmas/Chanukah/Saturnalia. I spent the last days of 2010 recovering from surgery (hernia repair). Then I got the flu. So, yeah, good times.

But it's the first Monday of 2011, so it's time to get back on the horse, ready or not. I am actually excited about 2011, as it is the year Interplanetary will finally hit DVD (and VOD). Also, one of my bands (Delicate Cutters) has a new album coming out (probably around the same time as the Interplanetary DVD). And I'm planning to shoot a feature with Trap, finish up that anthology thing from last year, and write a story for non-filmic media (though I'll probably turn that story into a screenplay at some point).

On top of all of that, I'm going to try to watch more movies and blog more. Or at least mention the movies I watch on this blog. In that spirit...

Watched on January 1...

Femme Fatale: mostly inconsequential/completely entertaining noir homage from Brian DePalma.

Passenger 57: both worse (some of the dialog) and better (some of the action set pieces) than I remembered. Also: always bet on black.

Wild Wild West: didn't finish this one. It's about as bad as everybody says, though even a bad Sonnenfield movie has some visual charms.

Watched on January 2...

Cyrus: I guess Greenberg and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World didn't kill mumblecore. Cyrus isn't terrible, but that "indie dramedy" aesthetic just irritates the hell out of me.

Stones in Exile: by the numbers examination of the making of an incredible album (the Stones' Exile on Main Street). The subject matter easily trumps the filmic shortcomings.

Poltergeist: hadn't seen this one in years. And the Netflix streaming version was cropped from 'scope to 1.78:1. Still, a fun 80s Spielberg (he produced, apparently in a very hands-on manner) flick. And I love the 80s cinematography and special effects.

If you're a Netflix fan (and you should be--at $8/month it's the best entertainment value out there), check out InstantWatcher.com. It's a great site for keeping track of what's available to "Watch Instantly."

Cover art.

2010-12-01T16:08:00.002-06:00

It's finally here! Your first look at the Interplanetary DVD cover art...

A few words from Cobra Commander.

2010-11-19T16:54:00.004-06:00

STFU, ZUCK.

By Cobra Commander

You've probably heard that Mark Zuckerberg, the multi-billionaire CEO of Facebook, is unhappy about the way he's portrayed in the hit film The Social Network. Well, Marky Zuck, if you're reading this, I have two words for you.

Tough.

Titty.

The Social Network was directed by David Fincher. DAVID FINCHER!!! The guy's a certified cinematic genius. I mean, have you SEEN Fight Club? And don't even get me started on Zodiac... that movie is so brilliant on so many levels.

"But Fincher got the facts wrong!" Z-man protests. "He made me out to be an asshole! And he made up a fictional girlfriend who broke up with me!"

Dude, you invented Facebook. Even if you are the nicest guy in the world, you're still an asshole because YOU INVENTED FACEBOOK.

And at least the movie Zuckerberg got to have a girlfriend for a few minutes.

For some real cinematic slander, I'd like to point out a little television mini-series from 1983 about yours truly titled (for some reason) G.I. Joe. It was directed by Dan Thompson. Yes, THE Dan Thompson, world-renowned auteur of several episodes of Nickelodeon's Rugrats. The mini was written by Ron Friedman, who is so much cooler than Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin. I mean how can Sorkin's work on The West Wing compare to Friedman's work on The Dukes of Hazzard or B.J. and the Bear?

(That whole last paragraph was dripping with sarcasm. I feel the need to point that out, as I have no idea if Mark Zuckerberg's generation can parse sarcasm if it is not indicated by a stupid emoticon or some such shit.)

In case you aren't familiar with my work, Z-money, all you really need to know is that I am a brilliant and dangerous terrorist with my sights set on world domination. But you probably couldn't figure that out from the Joe mini.

Fincher made you an asshole? Well Thompson made me incompetent. I have killed SO many of the "Joe" team of soldiers. Like it's in the hundreds, and there are only twenty or so left. But the worst damage the TV "Cobra Commander" does is damage an airplane to the point that the pilot ejects and parachutes safely to the ground.

And Thompson gave me a lisp! Like "SSSSS-seriously." Who talks that way? Not me, as I'm a homicidal badass with thousands of minions under my command. Could I instill fear in my men shouting orders with a lisp? Doubtful.

But the worst thing, I think, is the lack of evil babes on the Joe show. In the real world, I score so much tail, you wouldn't believe it. Or maybe you would. I mean, I'm rich and powerful and all that. But Friedman only wrote one Cobra chick--a kinky twist with glasses (!), a German accent (!!), and a thing for Destro (!!!).

Destro, I should explain, is one of my underlings. And he has a metal face. Not a mask, his actual FACE is METAL. The guy don't even get pity sex.

But he's the cock of the fricking walk according to the bard Ron Friedman. And I, Cobra Commander, greatest terrorist of the 20th Century, am either celibate or homosexual. Whatevs.

So shut up, Mark Zuckerberg. You don't know how good you got it.

(And Mr. Fincher, if you'd like to make a biopic about a subject who appreciates your talent, please get in touch.)

Beware the Ides of March!

2010-10-13T23:27:00.003-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a street date for the Interplanetary DVD: March 15, 2011.

March 15 is also known as the "Ides of March." Back in the olden times, the Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the war god Mars. Given the movie's subject matter, this release date is better than perfect.

I'm also hearing that our cover art will be ready in a few weeks. I'll post that as soon as I get it.

Hide and Creep news.

2010-08-01T23:45:00.004-05:00

You can now order a Hide and Creep DVD from Walmart.com.

And you can watch the whole movie for free (and legally) at YouTube.

I've updated the Hide and Creep home page with links to both sites.

Interplanetary: 1999.

2010-07-28T17:19:00.004-05:00

Here's a little homage to the groovy opening credits from the Space: 1999 television show (featuring footage from Interplanetary, coming soon to DVD!).

You can see the original Space: 1999 credits sequence here.

Since Andrew asked...

2010-07-15T08:58:00.005-05:00

That bit of key art in the previous post is based on this classic Star Wars poster...

More accurately, it's based on Chuck's and my memory of the poster. Looking at the original, we were off by a bit. Or maybe we were thinking of some other Star Wars artwork?

Interplanetary on DVD.

2010-07-15T00:11:00.004-05:00

It looks like Interplanetary is headed to DVD via Camp Motion Pictures. Hopefully before the end of 2010. The distribution contract is signed and the lab (VTA in Atlanta) delivered the master tapes to Camp earlier this week. And I've done a couple of "key art" photo shoots with the actors.

Still a few things to take care of (additional paperwork, re-scoring the teaser trailer), but, after a few years of off-and-on work, it looks like our Interplanetary adventure is finally coming to a close.

More details as they're available...

Experiment in terror... I mean Photoshop.

2010-06-13T23:23:00.004-05:00

Photoshop CS5 background removal test starring Ms. Mia Frost (AKA "Beth" in Interplanetary)...

Four days in...

2010-04-26T02:58:00.002-05:00

New movie.

2010-04-15T23:28:00.004-05:00

We started working on a new short last weekend, Overtime. It's going to be part of that anthology movie I mentioned a while back.

It's been interesting so far for many reasons. A couple of big ones: we're shooting on the relatively new Canon 7D, and we're working with cinematographer David Brower for the first time. David has forgotten more about filmmaking than I'll ever know, and watching him do his thing has been educational to say the least. Also, since he's taking care of the camera, I've actually been spending more time with the actors.

David even managed to find time to take some behind-the-scenes photos with his iPhone. Like this one...

Also, that Reel Blood I mentioned lives up to the hype. Looks great, cleans up easy. Woot.

Last-minute reminder.

2010-04-13T09:21:00.005-05:00

Interplanetary is screening in Birmingham tonight. Details here:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105121

I've heard seating is extremely limited, and ticket pre-sales end at 10 a.m. If you want tickets at the door, I would recommend arriving early.

I've also heard that short films by Chris Hilleke and Sam McDavid (both great guys and sharp directors) will play as well, so it should be a good night.

(Note: film projector is for illustrative purposes only; Interplanetary will be projected digitally as usual.)

There will be blood.

2010-04-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Another reason I'm excited about the shoot this weekend: the opportunity to try out some new blood.

A bottle of Reel Blood (not real blood) arrived today from Reel Creations. I hear it looks great and cleans up easy, which is really all you can ask of movie blood.

Due diligence.

2010-04-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

I actually have location audio recordists (thanks, Kenn and Sam!) lined up for the weekend's shooting. So Trap and I can worry with... other stuff. Who knows--maybe I'll even do a little directing.

If I only had an iCade from ThinkGeek, everything would be perfect.

Shot list.

2010-04-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

I wish I could draw.

Then I could make storyboards for this weekend's shoot. (Instead, I'm just making working on a shot list.)

Christmas lights.

2010-04-06T00:20:00.004-05:00

Is somebody in Birmingham remaking Eyes Wide Shut?

'Cause I can't find any damn colored Christmas lights anywhere.

Thankfully, I finally got smart and called my Mom, and she has the hook-up.

Early pimpin'.

2010-04-04T22:31:00.003-05:00

Got up at 6 in the a.m. to go down to Fox 6 and pimp the upcoming Interplanetary screening.

Thanks to Fox 6 and the Sidewalk guys for continuing to promote the flick!

Hat.

2010-04-02T07:33:00.004-05:00

I got a shoot coming up a week from tomorrow. I need a new hat.

The score on The Business.

2010-04-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

This episode of The Business features a good story about Michael Giacchino, one of my favorite film/TV composers, and his work on Lost.

(Giacchino also wrote the awesome score for The Incredibles, number 4 on my "best of the decade" list.)

Read-through.

2010-03-31T23:12:00.004-05:00

Had a read-through of my screenplay for the anthology movie tonight with the three lead actors (that'd be Mia Frost, Sanford Hardy, and Kyle Holman). I am now officially excited about the project. Well, I was already excited, but I'm more excited now. Even though this particular script doesn't have a lot of dialog, it's great to hear the actors put their spin on it. Aside from being good actors, Mia, San, and Kyle are good guys to hang out with. The read-through was fun and productive, and the actual shoot is looking to be even more fun.

That shoot starts up in a little more than a week, by the way.

Shootout.

2010-03-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Zacuto (maker of camera gear) has posted an interesting camera comparison video on their web site:

http://www.zacuto.com/shootout

It's the first of a three-part series comparing the new batch of video-enabled DSLR cameras with the big boys (i.e. 35mm motion picture cameras). A little long, but definitely worth a look for the camera nerds.

Spoiler: the DSLRs hold up surprisingly well.

What's on your Mac?

2010-03-25T06:00:00.003-05:00

A new Apple Mac computer is a beautiful thing, and it comes preloaded with lots of useful software (QuickTime, GarageBand, and TextEdit to name three). But I don't feel like a Mac is really ready to go until I install these (free!) apps...

VLC Media Player: a "highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ...) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols." And, though I haven't tested it extensively, VLC seems to be able to play DVDs from any region.
Handbrake: maybe my favorite freeware ever. Great for ripping your DVDs for playback on your iPod, PS3, or home theater computer. (Handbrake requires VLC to rip some commercially-produced DVDs.)
Perian: enables the awesome QuickTime player to read just about any video format (including the popular DivX and 3ivx formats).
Silverlight: why would you want to install a Microsoft (!) product on your Mac? Because you need Silverlight to take advantage of Netflix's groovy "Watch Instantly" video-streaming feature.
Flip 4 Mac: Speaking of Microsoft, if you come across any pesky Windows Media video files you need to watch with your QuickTime player, Flip 4 Mac makes it possible.
Firefox and FireFTP: Apple's Safari is a fine browser, but it's not as customizable as Firefox. And my favorite Firefox plug-in is FireFTP, a clean and simple FTP client.
Celtx: We no-budget filmmakers need to save money any way we can. Thank goodness for Celtx. It's a solid screenwriting app, and it's free. Which is to say, it's much more affordable than Final Draft.

If there are any cool free Mac apps I didn't mention, leave a comment and let me know about 'em.

One tech note: if you have a newer Mac and want to install the 64-bit version of Handbrake, you'll need a 64-bit version of VLC, available at: http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/1.0.2/macosx/vlc-1.0.2-intel64.dmg

A couple of stills from Sunday's shoot.

2010-03-23T06:00:00.003-05:00

Here are those stills I promised yesterday...

As you might guess, this thing is a period piece.

My only regret--we didn't have any blue gels to cool off our "moonlight." Still, I'm happy with the lighting. We managed to set it up so we could get wide shots and close-ups without moving any lights.

Also, I'm noticing that Apple changed their video gamma settings for Mac OS ver. 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). Arrgh.

Trying out the new gear.

2010-03-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Trap and I helped Chuck shoot a little trailer/commercial thing last night (starring Kyle Holman and Rod Robinson from Interplanetary and Hide and Creep). We got to put some new gear to work, including the soon-to-be-infamous Trapdolly, the Britek lights, and the Zoom H4n audio recorder.

I think everything worked pretty well. If Chuck doesn't mind, I'll post a still from the shoot later this week.

My mom is awesome.

2010-03-18T06:00:00.005-05:00

Regular readers of this blog know that my mom is awesome. She's always been supportive of my creative endeavors, recently sewing many of the space suits featured in Interplanetary. Now she's made some sandbags to help keep the Trapdolly tracks straight.

Stylish sandbags at that--dig those pinstripes. Thanks, Mom!

Four degrees.

2010-03-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

I was in Hide and Creep (uncredited cameo as a dead guy) with Kyle Holman. Kyle was in was in Alice's Misadventures in Wonderland with Kevin Wayne. Kevin was in Under Siege with Eddie Bo Smith, Jr. And Mr. Smith was in Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon.

I guess that means my Bacon number is 4.

1080p x 2.

2010-03-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

I now have two 1080p monitors in the living room: the Samsung LCD TV and the all-new iMac. And both are, to some degree, Mac-powered!

Yeah, I'll admit it's a bit decadent.

Pre-production.

2010-03-15T06:00:00.003-05:00

Man, I'm beat. It was a jam-packed weekend of pre-production for the anthology movie. Trap and I scouted a location Friday night, and Chuck and I (and Kelly Marshall and John) held auditions on Saturday.

On Sunday, Trap and I fine-tuned the awesome dolly he built. I also played a show with one band on Saturday night and had rehearsal with another on Sunday, but I guess that's neither here nor there.

Here's a little camera dolly test footage, via Vimeo. First shot features Trap as star and dolly grip, me riding the dolly and keeping an eye on the camera. Second shot features Trap as star, me as dolly grip, camera riding with no operator.

UPDATE: Embedded version of dolly test footage...

Lights! (Finally.)

2010-03-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

I somehow managed to produce two low-budget feature films without owning a proper light kit. For lights, I did a lot of the old "relying on the kindness of strangers." Friends, actually. You know what I mean.

Since I have a short movie coming up really soon (and maybe a feature shortly after that) I decided to break down and order some Britek lights from Rostronics. I have fired up the 200W, 300W, and 600W, and they're looking to be pretty awesome lights for the price (so far).

Recognize.

2010-03-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

The best trailer I've seen in a while.

Color me excited. Tron Legacy hits theaters in December.

Anthological.

2010-03-09T06:00:00.002-06:00

Did I mention I'm getting ready to direct another feature? Well, at least part of a feature.

My good pal Arik Sokol is putting together a horror/science fiction anthology movie. It will consist of five short films by five different directors, including Chuck Hartsell (co-director of Hide and Creep, star of Interplanetary), Robb Rugan (director of Alice's Misadventures in Wonderland, DP of Hide and Creep), and Mike Harring (director of The Mountain, the River, and the Road). And me.

After Interplanetary, I'm looking forward to tackling something a little more... well, simple. Not that a movie with five directors will be simple. But I'm hoping to have my piece of it shot by mid-April. (Yes, mid-April of 2010.)

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Mars...

2010-03-08T06:00:00.003-06:00

...Interplanetary is coming back to the big screen. The good folks at Sidewalk will be showing the movie on Tuesday April 13 at the Virginia Samford Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama.

That's all I know at the moment. More details when I get 'em.

Five-digit ISO.

2010-03-04T06:00:00.006-06:00

Quick primer for any readers who are not camera nerds: A particular filmstock's light sensitivity, or "speed," is referred to as "ISO." The more sensitive the stock, the higher the ISO number. The fastest motion picture filmstock available these days (last I checked, anyway) is ISO 500.

The Canon 7D's CMOS chip (which takes the place of film in this particular camera) has a user-adjustable ISO. It goes from 100 (fairly slow, requires a good bit of light) to 12,800 (ridiculously fast).

This increased light sensitivity comes at a price. In the film world, an image captured on a faster stock is grainier than one captured on a slower stock. In the digital world, faster chip settings lead to noisier images. So, to capture the cleanest image, more light is usually better. I say "usually" because there is such a thing as too much light. But that's a different discussion.

I mention all this because I shot a little bit of ISO 12,800 footage for Monster Hunt. It's noisy as hell, but still more detailed than what I was seeing with my naked eye. Here's a grab:

I'd say all that chroma noise makes this shot pretty much unusable. However, if you were shooting some low-light stuff with the intent on finishing in black and white...

...that might be kind of cool. It's cool enough that I'm interested in doing some more ISO 12,800 experiments at some point.

If you want to see video of the above examples, check it out on Vimeo.

And speaking of low-light shooting, I hope Noktor comes out with a Canon mount version of their f/0.95 50mm lens. That's some awesome glass for 750 bucks.

Operator error.

2010-03-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

Looking through some of my 7D footage, I started to notice missing detail in the shadows in Final Cut Pro (my editing software of choice). However, Apple's Color software seemed to have no problem with that detail. Here are a couple of examples, with the black levels boosted to make the point more obvious.

Final Cut Pro...

Color...

Yeah, it's subtle. (Depending on your computer and monitor, it might be imperceptible.) But I shot several Monster Hunt bits in very low light, knowing I'd have to push the footage in post. So I need all the shadow detail I can get.

I did some research and finally found some info regarding my issue at DVInfo.net. David Newman explains...

"Canon selected to place black and white [at] YUV Luma level 0 and 255, rather than the far more common 16 and 235. Many NLEs handle the extended range poorly and clip off the supers, so much so, originally the Canon cameras where thought to be very contrasty (there were many reports of this.) Later there was a patch to Quicktime that addressed this..."

(You can read the whole thread here.)

A patch to QuickTime, huh? Yeah, I guess I haven't ran any software updates since... aw, heck, since I don't know when.

Short story long, I updated QuickTime, the "Pro" apps (including Final Cut), and anything else that looked like it might affect video playback on the MacBook Pro. And now my 7D footage has a lot more latitude than it did yesterday.

Viva la Revolución?

2010-03-02T06:00:00.003-06:00

I've been hearing about the "digital revolution," the idea that digital technology makes it cheaper and easier to create good-looking movies, for years. And for years, I've been a skeptic. Some high-def video cameras that produce a very film-like image have made it to market, but they ain't cheap. According to my calculations, I was getting more bang for the buck shooting my "serious" projects on 16mm film, so I stayed that course.

Late last year, I started reading about the Canon 7D, a digital SLR camera with video capability. Then I watched some footage shot with the 7D. It looked pretty damn good. Good enough that I threw my skepticism to the wind and bought a 7D for myself.

I've been impressed so far. I don't love the 7D like I love my Aaton LTR-54 16mm camera. But I do love the fact that I can shoot for hours with the 7D without spending a dime. It records video to reusable compact flash cards. When you fill up a card, you just copy the footage to your computer, wipe the card, and get back to shooting. With 16mm film, I'm probably dropping 400 or 500 bucks for every ten minutes of footage I shoot.

The 7D is far from a perfect camera. The ergonomics suck. It eats through batteries. Its images suffer from aliasing and rolling shutter issues. But there are workarounds for these problems.

And I can live with workarounds for a camera that set me back less than $2,000.

The low cost-of-use is encouraging me to do less planning and more shooting. Since buying the camera, I've shot a short snow documentary, a web ad for a local restaurant, three commercials for an upcoming television show, and that Monster Hunt thing I keep mentioning but never quite explaining. And I'm hoping to shoot a more ambitious short film with the camera later this month. And I'm really looking forward to shooting an inexpensive (but good-looking) feature with the 7D, possibly as soon as this summer. Exciting (and busy) times.

As happy as I am with the 7D, Canon's new Rebel T2i might be even cooler. From what I've seen, it creates 7D-quality video at half the price. You can read more about the Rebel and see a sample video at Stu Maschwitz's excellent ProLost blog.

Shorts.

2010-03-01T06:00:00.001-06:00

We wrapped Monster Hunt with James and Kevin on Saturday.* Here's a frame grab...

Worked late last night finishing up the second draft of the screenplay for another short movie. More on that later this week.

*Except for the inevitable pickup shots, of course.

Cutting again.

2010-02-26T06:00:00.002-06:00

I've edited about three minutes of a new Crewless short movie. Stacey and I are swapping roles for this one--she's directing and I'm producing. Here's a still...

The title? Monster Hunt with James and Kevin.

Look for it this autumn at finer film festivals everywhere. I mean, assuming any of them choose to show it. And it doesn't take three years to finish.

Also, this is cool. Turn your iPhone into a wireless touchpad. For free. Handy as a remote for a Mac Mini-powered home theater system.

So long, satellite (Phase 2).

2010-02-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

Last night I got my new Mac Mini (sloppily) hooked up to the TV in the living room.

Hulu on the big screen!

Stock footage.

2010-02-23T06:00:00.003-06:00

I'm going to need some footage from horror movies for a montage that will be part of that new short flick I mentioned yesterday. Since I can't afford licensing fees, I specifically need footage from public domain horror movies. Kind of the no-budget version of "stock footage."

I think this site might provide 80% or 90% of the footage I need. The internets are awfully useful. Sometimes.

Busy weekend.

2010-02-22T06:00:00.002-06:00

Played a show with the Exhibit(s) on Friday, then spent most of the weekend shooting a movie. Then I wrote almost seven pages of a screenplay for another movie on Sunday night. So I'm feeling a little tired at this point.

But the gig and shooting seemed to go well. And the script is for a short, so it's close to halfway done.

Here are a few photos from the movie shoot. More details later this week.

(Regular readers of this blog will recognize the photo subjects as Kevin, James, and Trap, of course.)

Free TV.

2010-02-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Stacey and I have been talking about getting rid of our Dish Network system and getting all our television from the Internet (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) and over-the-air (ABC, NBC, etc.). I took the first step in that direction last night when I connected an antenna to our big TV.

You can't really tell it from this photo, but the picture quality is very nice.

Seven channels down and... several to go.

I also bought a USB TV tuner thing (Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950Q) only to find out it is not-at-all compatible with the Mac. Maybe the whole "WinTV" thing should have tipped me off.

It was three years ago today...

2010-02-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

Well, yesterday actually. We started filming Interplanetary on February 17, 2007. Sometimes it seems like it hasn't been that long. And sometimes it feels like I've been working on Interplanetary my whole life.

Here's a blast from the past... Chuck on set, Day One of Production.

The movie is, as they say, "out to distributors" right now. Let's hope it doesn't take another three years for Interplanetary to get a proper DVD release. While we're hoping, let's hope for a Blu-ray edition, too!

So much stuff I want to write about...

2010-02-16T06:00:00.002-06:00

...but I don't know if I should. I have a couple of pretty big movie-type projects coming up that aren't totally mine, and I'm not sure if I should be the guy to spill the beans. Maybe I can write about one of 'em next week.

It's too cold to write anyway. It snowed here in Birmingham, Alabama, again last night. If you've spent any time in the 'ham, you know that's downright bizarre.

If you want to brave the cold tonight, my band (one of 'em, at least) the Exhibit(s) will be playing at Stillwater tonight.

And James Brown, who I play Rock Band with (current band count: three actual, one virtual), made this avatar of me...

Since I have upcoming movie shoots--and since my avatar is wearing one--I guess it's time to get a new cowboy hat.

Snowpocalypse Now.

2010-02-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

We had a rare snowstorm here in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday. I took out my new camera (and my old tripod) and did my best to capture the event on video. In HD. And slow-mo.

For the full HD experience, watch the video at YouTube and choose the 720p option.

A little info about the video: shot with the Canon 7D at 720p/60 fps, slowed down to 24 fps using Apple's Cinema Tools. Lens was a 28mm Nikon mount, attached to the Canon using a cheap adapter. Edited with Final Cut Pro, of course. The song is "22 Ghosts III" by Nine Inch Nails, used with the permission implied by Creative Commons. Big thanks to NIN for making so much music available for not-for-profit videos like this one.

New Wallace and Gromit!

2010-02-11T06:00:00.002-06:00

I mentioned claymation superstars Wallace and Gromit a few days ago. Looks like you can now watch their Oscar-nominated short online, courtesy of Vanity Fair.

FCP.

2010-02-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

This'll be another short post, as I was up late editing those TV spots I shot last weekend.

Working on these spots is reminding me how much I love Final Cut Pro. It's turned into so much more than "just editing" software. I'm able to do color correction, color keying, titling, and audio mixing without leaving Final Cut. And I haven't even upgraded to the latest version.

Many thanks, Apple!

King Andrew.

2010-02-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

Apparently, Andrew Bellware is King of the Mechs.

Brrr.

2010-02-08T06:00:00.002-06:00

I shot a TV spot for some friends last night. The weather was so much colder than I expected. Thank goodness Trap was with me, or it would have taken three times as long, and I would have probably gotten frostbite.

It was good to find out that my new camera could run for two hours in the cold with no problems. Did I tell you I got a new camera? I should probably blog about that at some point.

More good movies.

2010-02-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

Members of the Academy have picked their favorite movies of 2009. And I recently spent a few days writing about my favorite movies of the decade (starting here).

So what do you think of the Acadamy's choices? And mine, for that matter? Leave a comment and let me know.

While we're talking movies, here are a few more of my favorites from the 2000s (in no particular order)...

High Fidelity: John Cusack plays a guy in his 30s who manages to finally grow up, despite his obsession with rock and roll music. Featuring an awesome cameo by The Boss. Remember, it's not so important what people are like as it is what they like.

Iron Man: An almost-perfect superhero movie, full of great characters (especially Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey, Jr.).

X-Men 2: Another almost-perfect superhero movie. Great bad guy (Brian Cox!) and a fantastic opening scene (Nightcrawler invades the White House).

Pan's Labyrinth: Excellent fantasy/adventure flick. The kind of movie Spielberg used to make (that's a good thing).

Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: Endlessly charming stop-motion animated movie from England.

Little Children: The suburban ennui movie that American Beauty should have been. Features a brutal, heartbreaking performance by Jackie Earle Haley. Plus the always-dependable Kate Winslet.

Slither: My kind of horror movie--gross and funny. So, of course, it tanked at the box office.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: Sci-fi with brains and heart. And some Kate Winslet for good measure.

Looking like a busy year. (Maybe.)

2010-02-04T06:00:00.002-06:00

So a couple of my filmmaking pals stopped by the house last night, and we started planning a secret movie project that will be completed sooner rather than later. Hopefully. Plus I'm talking to some other folks about another feature film, two short films, and a music video (not necessarily in that order). Plus I need to start sending Interplanetary out to distributors.

Oh, and I'm already thinking about my next feature-length screenplay. Which I would like to turn into a feature-length movie at some point.

If even half this stuff comes to pass, it'll be a productive year. Of course, there is always the possibility that none of it will come to pass. Such is life in the no budget filmmaking lane.

If you're interested in this glamourous profession, my pal Andrew has the only filmmaking advice you need.

In case you somehow haven't heard...

2010-02-02T06:00:00.003-06:00

Lost returns tonight.

(Also, I'm a sucker for "Last Supper" recreations.)

Winter vacation.

2010-02-01T06:00:00.005-06:00

Spent the last few days in Orlando, FL, visiting the Universal and Disney theme parks.

Late January is a pretty good time for a trip like this. The Orlando weather is nice (though it was chilly yesterday), and the crowds aren't too bad (only had to wait 30 minutes for the Spider-Man ride!).

Especially enjoyed the retro-future vibe at Epcot and Tomorrowland. Viva Space Mountain!

Rosemary Stretch.

2010-01-28T06:00:00.002-06:00

For any of you Baltimore readers out there...

John Walker of Hide and Creep fame (he played "Agent F") will be performing with his band, Rosemary Stretch, at Dangerously Delicious Pies tomorrow night.

I haven't had the opportunity to see Rosemary Stretch live, but I dig the heck out of their recorded stuff. Break a leg, John!

Big bag of Hurt.

2010-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting around to watching The Hurt Locker. It's great, but I'm having trouble imagining what the screenplay must have looked like. I mean, this thing is all about the acting and the editing. And the directing, of course. It reminds me of one of my favorite John Carpenter quotes: "If the writer thinks he's an auteur, then let him thread up his screenplay in a projector and we'll take a look at it."

I used to complain that Hurt director Kathryn Bigelow was overrated. I mean, Point Break? Whatevs.

I hope that Ms. Bigelow will accept my apology for ever doubting her. She's the real deal.

Blood and sand.

2010-01-26T06:00:00.001-06:00

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is looking to be Gladiator via 300, with a little Deadwood pay-cable profanity thrown in for good measure. The show recently premiered on Starz, and the first episode is already available to watch instantly on Netflix. Netflix, starting at only $8.99 per month, is one of the best entertainment deals out there. (Plus, they stream Hide and Creep!)

When you add Netflix to all the free programming available online these days (like Hulu and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim), I'm wondering if I should drop DishNetwork and just watch all my TV via the interwebs.

* * *

Speaking of watching TV via the interwebs: XBMC.

Andrew and I briefly discuss (one of) the Asylum's problems.

Also... tambourine sticks!

The Ole Tavern.

2010-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

Delicate Cutters, one of the bands I drum for, had a road gig on Saturday, traveling to Jackson, Mississippi, to play the Ole Tavern on George Street. As far as indie rock clubs go, I gotta say the Tavern is top-notch. On arriving, we were treated to a fantastic dinner (I had an excellent burger on sourdough toast, and bandleader Janet raved about the fried green tomatoes). The staff was friendly and professional, the stage sound was suitably rockin', and the audience was enthusiastic.

Many thanks to the Tavern for having us and to headliners Wooden Finger for sharing the stage with us. Check out the Tavern's Facebook page, and drop in for some eats and a beer the next time you're in Jackson.

Speaking of music, LoudQuietLoud is a very good documentary about the Pixies, a very awesome band. And you can watch it on Hulu right now for free.

Lost found.

2010-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Netflix and Roku, I'm almost caught up on Lost.

The Decade in Review (#1).

2010-01-20T06:00:00.005-06:00

Two years after the Academy gave a Best Picture Oscar to one of my least favorite films of the 2000s (Crash, the Paul ~~Hack~~ Haggis one, not the David Cronenberg one), they sort of redeemed themselves by giving the Best Picture Oscar to 2007's No Country for Old Men, an honest-to-goodness great movie. It's actually my favorite movie of that year, even better than Pixar's excellent Ratatouille, and my pick for Motion Picture of the Decade.

No Country is one of the Coen Brothers' best films. Considering they're the guys responsible for Miller's Crossing and The Big Lebowski, that's saying something. I remember first hearing about No Country, and that it didn't feature the wicked humor of other Coen flicks. On watching the movie for myself, I was relieved to find that this was not the case.

Don't get me wrong. No Country is a bleak, bleak movie. It is also often funny as hell. Disclaimer: I do have a pretty black sense of humor.

As with most Coen Brothers movies, No Country is almost impossibly well staged and edited. Roger Deakins, frequent Coen cinematographer, turns in some beautiful work here--2007 was a heck of a year for Deakins, as he also shot The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The plot, about an unstoppable hit man on a mission to recover a big pile of stolen drug money, is lean and tense. At the same time, it utilizes an unusual structure, a fact you probably won't realize until the movie is almost over (hint: that guy you think is the main character might not be the main character).

I opined a few days ago that last decade was a pretty rough time for most folks. Though it's set in 1980, No Country gets across the mood of the 2000s better than any other movie I know of. Just watch the movie's last scene with Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), where he tells his wife about a dream he had. I don't want to spoil the scene by quoting all of Bell's lines. But, damn, I sure know how he feels.

Honorable Mention: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Another Oscar gripe: The Academy gave the 2003 Best Picture award to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Sure, King is pretty good. But did anybody see Master and Commander from that year? A ripping yarn about an 1800s naval captain (Russell Crowe) and his crew, Master and Commander should have been a blockbuster and started a franchise. Unfortunately for fans of epic cinema, it didn't work out that way. Thank goodness for DVD.

The Decade in Review (#2).

2010-01-19T06:00:00.008-06:00

Films about filmmaking get a bad rap. Maybe it's because the people making these movies are often beginners. They don't have a lot of life experience, so they figure they'll do a film about filmmaking. Unfortunately, they don't really have any filmmaking experience, either.

David Mamet has filmmaking experience to spare. He'd been working in Hollywood nearly twenty years by the time he wrote and directed his film about filmmaking, State and Main (2000). And, if the characters and situations in State and Main are any indication, Mamet's days in the business have been interesting, to say the least.

The plot is simple enough. A big Hollywood production company comes to a small town to make a movie. Also, since its Mamet, you can count on a con or two. Though the motivation for the biggest con is a lot more good-natured than in most of Mamet's work.

But the real joy of State and Main is the dialog. Mamet's dialog is always excellent, and he outdoes himself here. Line for line, this may be his best screenplay. And that screenplay is served by one of Mamet's best casts, an ensemble led by William H. Macy (as the experienced director), Philip Seymour Hoffman (as the first-time screenwriter), and Alec Baldwin (as the horn-dog superstar actor).

I am tempted to start quoting my favorite lines from the movie, but, if you've already seen State and Main, you undoubtedly already have favorites of your own. If you haven't seen it... well, I wouldn't want to spoil any of it.

Honorable Mention: The Way of the Gun

Another movie about filmmaking from 2000. But The Way of the Gun is a lot more metaphorical. In fact, I didn't realize the filmmaking subtext until I listened to the DVD commentary track from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (who also wrote The Usual Suspects). Gun is also pretty quotable, and its plot is twisty as hell. Mamet would be proud.

Tomorrow: "Call it, friend-o."

The Decade in Review (#3).

2010-01-14T06:00:00.007-06:00

As I've said before, Wes Anderson sort of keeps making the same movie over and over. Lucky for me, it is a movie I like. My favorite of the Anderson variations, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, hit theaters Christmas 2004.

Aquatic is about a past-his-prime sea life documentary filmmaker (the titular Zissou, played by Bill Murray) trying to make one more great film while he hunts the shark that killed his best friend. Along for the ride is Zissou's adult son (Owen Wilson), who he has just met for the first time. He's also dealing with investors (represented by a bond company stooge), his estranged wife, some unpaid interns, a rival (and more successful) documentarian, and pirates. All that in 119 minutes. When Zissou says, "This is an adventure," he ain't kidding.

Anderson is usually a very meticulous director, but Aquatic is a little sloppy in places. I didn't know what to make of that the first time I saw the film. Then my good pal Eric McGinty pointed out that movie is edited like one of Zissou's documentaries. Sloppiness with purpose--I can totally get behind that.

This is one of my "watch anytime" movies. Heck, I keep a copy of it on my iPhone. Murray is great (as usual) as Zissou, as is the rest of the cast--especially Cate Blanchett (playing a feisty and very pregnant reporter) and Willem Dafoe. The production design is funky and detailed, right down to the fantastical sea life (created by stop-motion-animation genius Henry Selick, who also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas).

I'm particularly fond of the several filmmaking in-jokes. Zissou's scrappy crew isn't that different from the gang I make movies with. Team Zissou even uses the same 16mm camera as I do (Aaton represent!).

(I recently realized that Aquatic has basically the same plot as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. With a little of Trek III thrown in there, too. Bonus. Then again, maybe it's just that both movies are paying homage to Moby Dick.)

Honorable mention: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

After making a name for himself with live action movies, Anderson tried his hand at animation with The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). He chose to go totally retro with stop motion (no computers), and the results are spectacular--Fox is a beautiful film.

That said, the story is fun, too. It's kind of an Ocean's 11 thing, recast with animals. Appropriate, as George Clooney voices Mr. Fox.

Tuesday: "Well, first you've got to change the title."

The Decade in Review (#4).

2010-01-13T06:00:00.006-06:00

I don't know if you noticed, but Hollywood released a whole mess of comic book superhero movies in the 2000s. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man came out in 2002 and made piles and piles of money. Spidey wasn't the first profitable superhero movie--Superman was a hit in the 70s, and Batman was big in the 80s. But for some reason, Spidey's success was the one that greenlit a thousand comic book projects. Well, maybe not quite a thousand.

Like any genre, the quality of comic book superhero projects is all over the place. X-Men 2 is great, Spidey 2 is pretty solid, Watchmen is ambitious (if flawed), and X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a cold turd served on a paper plate.

But the decade's very best superhero movie, Brad Bird's The Incredibles (2004), isn't based on a comic book. Not officially, at least. Bird's movie owes a sizable debt to the Fantastic Four comic books--and, I suppose, a small debt to the original Watchmen books.

The Incredibles, animated by the geniuses at Pixar Studios, has an advantage over all of the decade's live action superhero films. Though modern special effects lets filmmakers put almost anything on the screen, the visuals in a fully animated movie like The Incredibles are truly limited only by the filmmakers' imaginations. That advantage is especially important in the superhero genre, where the characters are often engaged in... well, incredible feats.

Even without cutting-edge computer animation, The Incredibles would still be tough to beat, though. The screenplay, voice performances, editing, and score are all just about perfect. Bird's second film (his first is The Iron Giant, also animated, also excellent) set a high standard for superhero flicks, one that has yet to be bested (and, yes, I am counting The Dark Knight). It's a particular shame that the "official" movies based on The Fantastic Four comic books are so mediocre. Maybe one day some filmmaker inspired by The Incredibles will give audiences the great Four movie they deserve.

Honorable mention: the decade's other Pixar films

The worst thing I've ever said about a Pixar film (Cars) is, "It's pretty good." As much as I hate to throw around the "M" word, most of Pixar's releases are masterpieces. The Pixar gang doesn't make dumbed-down "kids" movies, they make family movies, movies that adults can enjoy just as much as the young 'uns.

If someone made a decade's top six list that contained only Pixar films--Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Up--I wouldn't argue.

Tomorrow: "Son of a bitch, I'm sick of these dolphins."

The Decade in Review (#5).

2010-01-12T06:00:00.001-06:00

Before he was Tony Stark in Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes in... well, Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey, Jr., was Harry Lockhart in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). After a long career of respected work that didn't quite set the box office on fire, Downey proved himself as an A-list superstar in Iron Man (kind of like Johnny Depp did in Pirates of the Caribbean). But, especially in hindsight, Downey's work in Kiss Kiss feels like a warning shot. His Harry character is funny and loose, charming as hell, and all but announces, "Hello, motion picture audiences, I have arrived."

As great as Downey is, Kiss Kiss writer/director Shane Black deserves a lot of credit for giving him plenty of good dialog to work with. And a great, twisty plot to untangle. Kiss Kiss is a neo-noir detective story, and Black is obviously a noir expert, embracing some tropes of the genre while destroying some others.

The Kiss Kiss story is set in Los Angeles, and there are a few gags about how tough it is to make it in the movie business. Those gags are especially relevant coming from Black, who knows of which he speaks. After being one of the highest-paid screenwriters of the 1990s (he wrote the Lethal Weapon movies), Black disappeared for a few years. Not only did he make it back to write maybe his best script ever, he got to direct for the first time. And, what do you know, Black's as good a director as he is a writer.

Tribute must also be paid to Val Kilmer--the Iceman himself. He's been in some less-than-stellar stuff lately, but his Kiss Kiss work as "Gay Perry" (and, yes, that's gay as in homosexual) is a reminder that Kilmer is a fantastic actor when given a good character to chew on.

Honorable mention: Spartan

Speaking of Val Kilmer, he had another great role last decade in writer/director David Mamet's Spartan (2004). If you know Mamet, you know he loves the con, so I won't even try to explain the story. It's kind of a kidnapping story, but... no, I'm not going to even try. It's fantastic, though, shot in beautiful anamorphic widescreen. And, since it's Mamet, it's worth watching twice just to make sure you catch all the awesome dialog.

Tomorrow: "No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again."

Menace.

2010-01-11T23:48:00.003-06:00

A few days ago, "Gesvol" commented about an epic seven-part Phantom Menace video review over on YouTube (you can watch the first part here). The review is funny as heck and explains in great detail exactly why The Phantom Menace is a terrible movie.

The Decade in Review (#6).

2010-01-11T06:00:00.002-06:00

Last decade, spoofs were all the rage. Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie... the list goes on (and on). Sadly, we got a lot of quantity and not much quality where these spoofs were concerned.

One big exception: 2007's Hot Fuzz, directed by Edgar Wright. Hot Fuzz is a spoof of big action movies like Point Break, Bad Boys II, and The Last Boy Scout. Unlike those very American movies, Fuzz is a British film with a decidedly British tone--you know, polite accents and bone dry humor.

But that's one of the many great things about Fuzz. Where most modern spoofs are content to mindlessly recycle scenes from other movies, Fuzz tells an original story. That story, at the start, doesn't promise a lot of action. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Wright), a big city police officer who is more interested in paperwork than gunplay, is reassigned to Sandford, a small town that happens to have the lowest crime rate in England.

Boring cop in a boring town, and this is supposed to be some kind of shoot 'em up flick? Well, yeah, it just takes a little time to get there. And when the action finally does start up, we find out that Angel is actually pretty handy with a gun. Or two guns.

Fuzz is more than a good spoof. It's a good movie. In fact, it's actually a lot better than most of the movies it pays homage to. Wright stages several elaborate and intense action scenes, but he never loses sight of Angel and the rest of the well-written characters. And he never stops delivering laughs.

Honorable mention: Shaun of the Dead

There were also lots of zombie movies released last decade. Heck, even I made one. For my money, Shaun of the Dead (2004) is the best of the bunch. Big on character, laughs, and gore, Shaun is about a slacker (Simon Pegg again) who finally gets motivated when he has to fight to protect himself and his friends from flesh-hungry zombies. Shaun is Edgar Wright's first feature film, and his directing here is almost as inspired as it is on Hot Fuzz.

Tomorrow: "This is every shade of wrong."

The Decade in Review (#7).

2010-01-07T06:00:00.010-06:00

Sofia Coppola won an Oscar for her Lost in Translation screenplay, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Translation is a terrific movie, but that terrific-ness seems to have little to do with the script.

That script is by no means bad, but Translation, released in 2003, is all about the mood. And Coppola, who also directed Translation, definitely deserves credit for getting the mood just right.

The movie's two main characters, Bob and Charlotte (played by Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson, respectively), are Americans visiting Japan. Bob is traveling alone, and Charlotte might as well be, as her flighty husband is busy with celebrity photography gigs. Bob and Charlotte strike up a conversation in a hotel bar and spend the next few days exploring Tokyo together and getting to know each other.

Coppola really captures that feeling of being out of your element, a stranger in a strange land. The fact that both Bob and Charlotte are outsiders in Tokyo gives their relationship (which is platonic) an intensity it probably wouldn't have had if they'd met at another place and time. They're alone together, as it were.

Murray delivers a top-notch performance, as usual. He's funny in that smart, sardonic Bill Murray way, but he's never bigger than the movie. In one of my favorite scenes, Murray sings a karaoke (it's a Japan movie--gotta have some karaoke!) version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" and manages to be silly and heartbreaking at the same time. Johansson, who I generally find to be hit-or-miss, is perfect as the quiet, thoughtful Charlotte.

Also quiet and thoughtful: Lance Acord's cinematography. His Tokyo is strange and beautiful, and his work makes the city the film's third lead character.

Honorable mention: Ghost World

I'm short on time, so I'll just say that Ghost World (from 2001), another movie about outsiders, features another very good Johansson performance. And Steve Buscemi!

~~Tomorrow:~~ Monday: "Have you ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air?"

The Decade in Review (#8).

2010-01-06T06:00:00.004-06:00

Christopher Guest knows about "mockumentary" films. I mean, come on, he was Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap! So I guess it wasn't a big shock when he directed his own faux documentary in 1996, Waiting for Guffman. He (along with much of the Guffman cast) followed that up in 2000 with Best in Show.

Guest has said he doesn't like the term "mockumentary," because he doesn't mock the characters in his movies. He has a point. Even when his characters might be deserving of mocking (Best is about people who take dog shows a little too seriously), he manages to find some humanity in each of them. I'd guess he also probably understands that everyone has an obsession or two that others find odd (or flat-out silly).

Best was filmed without a traditional script. Guest relied on his talented cast to improvise all the movie's dialog, and each actor comes through brilliantly. In fact, the Best DVD contains more than an hour of improv material that didn't make the final cut, and these guys' "B" material is better than most actors' grade-A stuff.

Honorable Mention: A Mighty Wind

In A Mighty Wind, his 2003 follow-up to Best, Guest spends as much time developing interesting characters as he does developing jokes. But the movie still has plenty of moments of comedic genius. And plenty of great songs. Wind is about the folk music scene, and the original songs written for the film manage to both pay tribute to and poke gentle fun at the great folk music of the past.

Tomorrow: "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time."

The Decade in Review (#9).

2010-01-05T06:00:00.006-06:00

By 2009, the real world seemed... well, screwed. The last ten years weren't too kind to anyone (except maybe terrorists and investment bankers). Then, when all hope seemed lost, our old pal Quentin Tarantino dropped in and saved the day.

Well, he didn't really save the day. But he released Inglourious Basterds, a movie about some World War II guys who save the day. And, in times like these, it's nice to live in a world (if only for a couple of hours) where the brave and just triumph over the stupid and evil. As I wrote a few months ago, Basterds takes a simple story--good guys try to kill Hitler and end WWII--and tells it expertly. The cinematography and sound design are breathtaking. And Basterds is old-school--no CG (that I noticed, at least), no 3-D. Even watching at home on Blu-ray, the movie is visceral--it grabs you early and doesn't let go until the end credits roll.

Also, for what it's worth, Basterds is the best movie of 2009. From what I've seen so far. And don't forget about all the great characters--well-written and near-perfectly cast.

Honorable Mentions: Kill Bill, Death Proof

It used to bug me that Tarantino split Kill Bill into two movies (the first released in 2003, the second in 2004). But, as Bill is an over-the-top homage to kung fu flicks and spaghetti westerns, why not go over-the-top with the running time, too? And Death Proof (2007) might be flawed, but it features a brilliant Kurt Russell performance and a climatic car chase that must be seen to be believed.

Tomorrow: "This is a fish! You know what? Just shut up."

The Decade in Review.

2010-01-04T23:39:00.006-06:00

I didn't see nearly as many movies in the first decade of the 21st Century (anybody decide on a name for that decade yet?) as I should have. But that's not going to stop me from jumping on the bandwagon (admittedly, I'm a little late to the party) and doing a best-movies-of-the-decade list. Today's entry, at number 10...

A History of Violence

David Cronenberg, director of wacked-out (in a good way) flicks like The Brood and the remake of The Fly, went straight in 2005 with A History Of Violence, a tight little suspense movie. Except, when you think about it, Violence ain't that straight. The movie features a couple of raw sex scenes and several flashes of gooey gore.

But what really makes Violence great is the craft. Working with an intelligent screenplay and a talented cast (including Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt), Cronenberg and crew assembled a near-perfect movie. Every shot is beautifully composed, and no shot goes on for a frame longer than necessary.

Honorable Mention: Eastern Promises

Cronenberg teamed with Mortensen again for his Violence follow-up, Eastern Promises (released in 2007). This is another relatively "straight" Cronenberg movie. Well, except for that scene with the corpse. And the naked bathhouse fight. But it's good pulpy fun.

Tomorrow: "You probably heard, we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business..."

About Avatar.

2009-12-22T08:21:00.005-06:00

I'm not that crazy about Avatar. And I feel kind of bad about it. I mean, it's a big ambitious sci-fi adventure movie. I should love it. And I might love it if I was still a 14-year-old. Still, it's a movie worth discussing.

The Story

You've probably heard somebody describe Avatar as "groundbreaking," but the movie's plot is anything but. It's Dances With (Alien) Wolves. Actually, the plot was old when Kevin Costner made Wolves. It's the old "civilized dude meets good-hearted primitives, goes native, saves primitives from less-enlightened civilized dudes" story.

There's nothing wrong with retelling an old story. People have been doing that since Homer (the Greek, not the Simpson). But, other than the science, I didn't feel Avatar director James Cameron brought anything to the story to make his version worth telling. I was especially annoyed with the dialog, which mostly consisted of interchangeable "clever" insults--seriously, you could switch up much of the dialog of the main scientist character, the main military character, and the main alien character, and end up with the same movie, and that's a problem because each of those three characters should be very unlike the others--and clunky exposition.

The Science

Avatar takes place on a lush moon (Pandora) that orbits a massive Jupiter-like planet in a solar system with three suns. Now that is interesting. To me at least. It's certainly a new setting for the old "going native" plot. And a lot of thought went into the science of Pandora. Like what the "people" look like and the kinds of plants and animals that populate the moon and how those animals and plants behave and interact (yes, even the plants "behave" on Pandora).

But, with all of that expository dialog, some of the more interesting science ideas are left unexplained. Humans can't breathe the Pandoran air. Okay--what's in that air? Is there no oxygen and carbon dioxide? If not, are the Pandoran plants and animals not carbon-based, like all of us Earth critters? And what about the floating mountains? I mean, floating mountains are such a fun cinematic idea, and they even serve the movie's plot on a couple of occasions. But what makes them float? The vaguely-alluded-to "vortex?"

If somebody writes a good "science of Avatar" book, there's a strong possibility that book would be more entertaining than the actual Avatar movie. For science nerds (like me), at least.

The Technology

Avatar is supposed to be a "game changer." I mean, one of our most technically-savvy directors spent ten years and hundreds of millions of dollars making Avatar and created some new filmmaking technology (including 3-D cameras and motion capture devices) while he was at it. And you can see that money on the screen. I'd estimate that 70% of the movie is totally computer animated. And it looks like really good computer animation.

But Pixar has been doing really good computer animation for years. I'd say Pixar's animation actually works better, because Pixar movies are "cartoons." Maybe it's just me. But I love animation (whether computer, stop-motion, or hand-drawn), and when I sit down to watch a "cartoon," it takes me about three seconds to adjust to the particular style of animation being employed, and then I'm in till the end credits roll. However, when a movie promises "photo-real" CG animation, then smashes that animation up against real actors on real sets, I just can't quite get into it.

And I don't think I ever will. Honestly, no matter how good computer technology gets, will it ever generate an image that looks real (I mean really real, not "good enough" real)? And is that a goal that filmmakers should be concerned with? I think computer animation has been good enough for "cartoons" for some time now (check out Pixar's last three features for examples). And talented production designers, set builders, model builders, and makeup artists have been creating convincing sci-fi and fantasy imagery for years. Check out the sets and model work in Stanley Kubrick's 2001, a movie that was made more than 40 years ago. Or the opening shot from the 1977 Star Wars, with the big ship chasing the small ship toward the planet--I think that shot looks more "real" than most any of the CG stuff I saw in Avatar.

There's nothing wrong with modern filmmaking technology. If you can imagine it, and if you have a sufficient budget (high-end CG doesn't seem to be making filmmaking any cheaper, by the way), somebody can put it on the screen for you. So, James Cameron (and any other directors who command budgets in excess of 100 million dollars), you don't have to worry about the technology anymore. All you have to worry about is telling good stories.

Oh, yeah, and the 3-D

The 3-D in Avatar is pretty solid. Then again, the 3-D is also pretty solid in Up and Coraline, both of which came out earlier this year. It seems like 3-D that adds "depth" to the image works a lot better than 3-D that goes for the "coming at ya" effect. Except for titles, which look admittedly cool hovering a few inches in front of the screen. But maybe I'm the only one with an aversion to the "coming at ya" stuff, or maybe it's because I don't sit close enough to the screen at 3-D movies.

I'm not sure the "language" of 3-D cinema has really been worked out yet. I mean, are we audience members looking out a window into a 3-D world, or are we supposed to be in that 3-D world? It seems most 3-D movies these days are going back and forth between those two approaches, and that back-and-forth doesn't really work for me.

It could be worse

It looks like I'm in the minority. Avatar is making money and getting generally good reviews. So, if you like sci-fi adventure, don't worry about my opinions--see the movie and judge for yourself.

At least it's not as bad as The Phantom Menace.

Ignore me.

2009-11-04T12:17:00.004-06:00

Since I'm usually way too disorganized, I think I'm going to start using my blog to keep random notes (like my pal Andrew). So feel free to ignore. Or not, if it happens to be a note you are interested in.

Analog-to-Firewire video converter (I need to get one of these so I can give John's back to him)

Make your own iPhone games (looks pretty buggy so far)

Hollywood.

2009-10-23T16:02:00.001-05:00

INTERPLANETARY screens at the Hollywood ArcLight in 7 hours...

New Hide page.

2009-10-06T01:19:00.003-05:00

In honor of the new Hide and Creep Special Edition DVD (in stores now!), I put together a new home page for the Hide website.

Thanks to Kevin Powell for hooking me up with the fonts and awesome background texture.

Award!

2009-09-29T00:20:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Interplanetary won the audience choice award for best Alabama film at Sidewalk 2009! And Chris Hilleke (one of the cinematographers on Interplanetary) won the audience choice award for best short film! Here's a photo of our actual award, which is a big honkin' metal statue...

As you might guess based on the award, the Sidewalk Interplanetary screening went really well. We had big, receptive audience and a lively Q & A post-screening.

Thanks to the audience, the Sidewalk staff, and, especially, all the folks who worked together to make Interplanetary.

More interview action.

2009-09-25T10:03:00.001-05:00

Excellent interview with me just posted over at ARKirby.com:

http://www.arkirby.com/Home/RandomThoughts/tabid/280/www.arkirby.com/Home/RandomThoughts/ChanceShirley/tabid/461/Default.aspx

Thanks, Richard!

Weekly coverage.

2009-09-25T00:12:00.004-05:00

My old pal Kenn McCracken interviewed me for the Birmingham Weekly newspaper.

You can read the online version of the interview here.

The most wonderful time of the year.

2009-09-24T02:19:00.007-05:00

I've been busy this week, trying to get ready for this weekend's Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. The upcoming fest is Sidewalk's 11th. At this point, it's my second favorite annual event (as a child at heart, Christmas is still #1). Sidewalk brings films, filmmakers, and fans together to watch movies, talk movies, and drink beer. And it brings them together in Northside Birmingham, a cool part of the city that is, sadly, under-utilized for much of the year.

Sidewalk #11 is extra special for me, as I'll have a film (Interplanetary, which you might be familiar with) in the fest for the first time in five years. It's been too long!

I hope you'll check out the festival, and I especially hope you'll attend the Interplanetary screening on Sunday, 4:15 p.m. at the Carver Theatre. You can get ticket information here.

A few links to hopefully get you in the mood for Sidewalk...

Sidewalk's Interplanetary page

Interplanetary Facebook page - Be a fan!

Interview with me on Fox 6. (Warning: I am a pretty awful TV interviewee.)

Interview with Lisa Mason at Birmingham's Eagle. (Down at the bottom, in the "Lisa's Links" section.)

Interview and review at Examiner.com.

I also have heard that there might be some Interplanetary coverage in this week's Birmingham Weekly newspaper, so keep an eye out for that.

And here's a picture of Kyle "Jackson" Holman from Interplanetary...

Examined some more.

2009-09-23T17:51:00.003-05:00

Angela followed up her recent Examiner Interplanetary interview with a review of our little opus.

Dig it.

A very kind review at that. Thanks to Angela for all the press this week!

Examined.

2009-09-22T01:01:00.004-05:00

Angela over at Examiner.com just published a nice pre-Sidewalk interview with me.

Check it out.

I'll also be doing an interview on Fox 6 tomorrow sometime around noon...

PPV, baby!

2009-09-18T00:26:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of Mr. Eric McGinty, proof that Hide and Creep is, indeed, available on Charter pay-per-view:

Rawk!

Pavo.

2009-09-16T00:18:00.003-05:00

Janet Simpson, one of my good friends and bandleaders (she's in charge of Delicate Cutters), just started up an online magazine about Birmingham called Pavo. Aside from all kinds of writing goodness, the site also features some of my videography in the "Trib Trek" feature.

In case you were wondering...

2009-09-10T00:21:00.006-05:00

...The Beatles: Rock Band is teh awesome. The three-part harmonies are insane. And I made it through "Revolution" playing guitar and singing lead at the same time. Also insane, even on difficulty level "medium."

Also, I hear that Hide and Creep is now watchable on ~~Comcast~~ Charter pay-per-view.

EDIT: That's Charter pay-per-view, not Comcast.

Breaking news.

2009-09-10T00:17:00.002-05:00

Interplanetary is playing at the Hollywood Film Festival in October. Details as they become available...

Catching up with Lisa.

2009-09-09T00:03:00.005-05:00

My latest interview with the rockin' Lisa Mason is now available on her radio station's website.

The link to the interview is near the bottom of Lisa's bio page in the "Lisa's Links" section.

Thanks again to Lisa and the Eagle for the interview!

Three photos. From Europe.

2009-09-05T20:50:00.004-05:00

Wilco in Dublin...

Radiohead at the Reading Festival...

A lion in London...

Three concerts in four days. In Europe.

2009-09-01T17:37:00.005-05:00

Stacey and I hit the British Isles to see a couple of our favorite bands, Wilco and Radiohead, play live. Actually, the plan was originally to see Radiohead at the Reading Festival on Sunday, but then Wilco booked a couple of shows in Dublin, and Stacey adjusted our travel schedule so we could see them, too.

I'm glad she did. The Reading Festival was pretty overwhelming. I enjoyed Radiohead's set, but the whole thing was insane. I haven't been able to find actual attendance numbers, but it seemed like there were a million people there. I'm probably just getting too old for the festival scene. The Wilco shows, on the other hand, were at a small venue known as ~~St. Vicar's~~ Vicar Street. We were up front (in "the pit," as it were) for the Thursday night show, but we found some awesome seats for Wilco's Friday night set and had an even better time that night. It didn't hurt that Wilco ended that show with "Monday" and "Outtasite (Outta Mind)." I thought for a minute they might play all of disc one of Being There, which would have been fine with me. Also, Jeff Tweedy poked a little fun at Bono's Jesus complex. That didn't play well with the locals, but Stacey and I found it hi-larious.

I really love London and Dublin. Maybe it is just the accents, but most people here seem so nice (don't worry, fellow Americans, they have douchebags here just like in the States--I think the whole "ugly Americans" thing is bullshit). The weather is dreary, which suits my pasty complexion (though gray skies still make me long for Norway). And we got to catch up with our favorite American expatriates, Paul and Angie.

The only downsides to the trip--mayonnaise, spotty wi-fi, and missing our kitty-cat. We'll start heading back to America in about five hours, so I guess I should try to get some sleep...

EDIT: The theater in Dublin was "Vicar Street," not "St. Vicar's." Guess my memory was a little dyslexic on that one.

Au revoir, Shosanna.

2009-08-24T22:47:00.008-05:00

Quentin Tarantino makes movies about movies. He's really outdone himself with his latest, Inglourious Basterds. Basterds has a plot, a shaggy-dog story about a scheme to assassinate Hitler. But it's really Tarantino's love letter to film.

That said, it's an awfully funny, tense, violent love letter. As you've probably seen in the movie's trailers, the Basterds are a group of Nazi-killers (their leader points out they're not in the prisoner-taking business). And Tarantino isn't afraid to show them do their thing in graphic detail. And as you probably learned in history class, the Nazis were pretty rough customers themselves.

This isn't a History Channel production, though. Like Hendrix covering Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," Tarantino takes World War II events and spins them into something all his own, a movie full of larger-than-life heroes and villains. I mean, when we're first introduced to Tarantino's Hitler, he's wearing a cape.

A cape. Like Darth Vader. Or Doctor Doom.

Getting back to the real subject of the film, a French movie theater is a major character. Tarantino throws in nods to noir movies, Hitchcock, and probably a hundred other cinematic particulars I wasn't hip enough to catch, at least on first viewing. I especially love how one character, even after meeting an untimely demise, gets the last laugh thanks to a movie projector.

As is the case with most of Tarantino's flicks, the cinematography, editing, and sound work are top-notch. And the music is great, of course. I especially love a totally period-incorrect David Bowie song that shouldn't work but does. Totally. In fact, it might be my favorite ever use of a pop tune in a Tarantino movie.

I don't feel like my rambling about Basterds is really doing the movie justice, so I'll just add that it is currently my pick for best movie of 2009. And it's a movie you should see. In a proper movie theater.

I've had a good run at the theater lately, having also seen District 9 and Moon. Both are worth your time, and both feature excellent effects--D9 on the CG side (seriously, and I don't even usually like CG), and Moon on the practical side (seriously, and I love practical effects). And speaking of effects, the makeup and pyro in Basterds are just about perfect.

Sidewalk screening day and time...

2009-08-24T22:44:00.001-05:00

...announced.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the dual-layer.

2009-08-20T20:39:00.005-05:00

I am relieved to be watching the new Hide and Creep "special edition" DVD. It doesn't "street" till October 6 (pre-order it from Amazon!), but I paid the replicator to run me a few advance copies, which arrived Wednesday.

I say "relieved" because this Hide and Creep disc is the most complex I've ever authored (multiple video files, audio tracks, ROM content), and it's my first attempt at dual-layer authoring, so I really couldn't be 100% sure the DVD worked properly until I tested one of the 1,000 copies the replicator made. If I had screwed up badly, that would be a lot of coasters.

I won't go into a lot of detail on the whole dual-layer thing at the moment. The short version: while the extra layer almost doubles the amount of content you can fit on a DVD, it throws a few kinks into the authoring process. Luckily, I found a few online articles about the process (particularly in regards to Apple's DVD Studio Pro software) that pointed me in the right direction. When I get some time (ha), I hope to do a detailed post about dual-layer authoring, just in case my limited experience might be of use to another DVD author out there.

Only other news at the moment is the impending Interplanetary screening at Sidewalk, but I still don't have a specific date/time/venue for that yet. And the super-awesome Lisa Mason interviewed me Tuesday for the 106.9 FM "The Eagle" website -- I'll let you know when that interview is available for listening.

Price gouging.

2009-08-10T23:17:00.005-05:00

WTF.

Nine copies of the Asylum Hide and Creep DVD are for sale at Amazon.com for more than $100 each.

This means either...

Hide and Creep is a true cult classic and has a bigger following than I realize; or
Some greedy seller arbitrarily decided to mark up his copy of Hide to an absurd price, and some other greedy sellers followed suit.

I'm thinking "2" is the correct answer.

Standing in the shadow of Darth Vader.

2009-08-10T00:18:00.002-05:00

(My summer blockbuster review project has obviously gone to heck. I didn't even see Transformers 2! That said, I did manage to catch a flick yesterday...)

I like to complain about what George Lucas has done with the Star Wars franchise as much as the next guy. Maybe more. But it's hard to deny the influence of the series (especially the 1977 original) on other movies.

Case in point, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. (Hey, is anybody else tired of the word "rise" used in movie titles? For some reason, that always rubs me the wrong way. And why does a movie that is not a sequel need a subtitle anyway?) Though I assume the movie is based on the Hasbro toy line and the television shows and comic books it inspired, several of the flick's plot points are straight out of Star Wars.

For example, there's a climatic battle where the good guys attack the bad guys' battle fortress. In Joe, the fortress is underwater instead of in outer space, but all of the submarines and whatnot behave more like X-wing fighters than actual aquatic vehicles--not sure if that was dictated by the screenplay or the director or the special effects house. Inside that base, a good guy with a badass sword goes off alone to disable some problematic piece of equipment (Snake Eyes vs. a plasma cannon in Joe. In Star Wars, it was Obi-Wan vs. the tractor beam).

When one of the characters kisses another "for luck," I leaned over and whispered to Stacey that we'll discover these characters are brother and sister in the inevitable sequel.

Debts to Star Wars aside, the G.I. Joe plot is pretty decent for an action flick. The only real motivation for the main bad guys (Destro and Cobra Commander) seems to be revenge, but at least they're motivated. Not sure what's in it for all those henchmen though. It would be interesting to see what Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer (creators of The Venture Bros.) have to say about that.

As you might guess, there is a ton of action. Some of it cool (ninja fights!), some of it average. The CG effects are all over the place, usually not particularly good. I wonder if I should just quit complaining about sloppy CG. But G.I. Joe actually has lots of solid practical effects and sets and costumes. If the same effort went into the computer effects, it would have really improved the overall viewing experience.

The cast is full of good actors who do what they can with the action movie dialog--except Dennis Quaid, who seems hell-bent on chewing every piece of scenery in sight. After the early negative buzz around the flick, followed by a little last-minute positivity from guys like Devin Faraci over at Chud.com, I wasn't sure what to expect. I suppose I landed in the middle. I found G.I. Joe a pleasant enough time-waster, but I don't expect I'll be re-watching it anytime soon.

It's definitely no Team America: World Police. But, then again, what is?