Sunday, September 07, 2008 Cruz Review: Twilight, true Love at 17? POST A COMMENT 'Doubtful Teen-lit author Meyer needs any help pushing her Twilight book series, but as promised here's my perspective: Book Genre: Teen Vamps -- 'Propelled by suspense and romance in equal parts,' offers Publishers Weekly. Story Blurb: A perfect male-model-type Vampire falls for your ordinary girl next door -- (or what coulda been subtitled, finding your soul mate at age 17...'subtracting of course anything to do with sex), so it's a big time fantasy. Page-turner meter, (or the can't-put-it-down factor): I gotta be honest, I was not hooked from page one, but I ending up reading the entire book in under four days...'in large part my I'm-not-buying-this meter got in the way of fully enjoying the suspense. Could also have something to do with the fact that I'm not the intended female teen audience; but, the good news is that regardless of your age (or gender), the story kicks into high gear after about page 90. So, on a scale of 1-10, it gets a shaky 8. What I really liked: I do get it; 'and especially understand why girls really love it. The protagonist, Bella, is your average teen girl and after spending so much time in her head we see a modern day Prince Charming story (or in this case, add a touch of the Prince of Darkness danger factor to the mix). What I least liked: I got it down to two things that really bite at me... (1) In Meyers world nobody has, or talks sex...'I'm sure, if memory serves correctly, that your average 16 or 17 year old might have at least thought about it once. One of the most seductive things in Vamp-lore is the erotic nature, so to cut that out completely feels very Sarah Palin-ish. (2) A few critics have accused Meyer of 'peddling saccharine melodrama,' I think that's in part to do with the dialogue. The characters in this book don't sound like your average teens...unless they all live on a Amish farm. 'That being said, there's a part of me (like any screeching teen girl) that also yearns for eternal love and finding my soul mate...'so, I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing the movie, and reading more from Meyer. Labels: Books, Cruz book reviews, Film, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight Saga, what I'm reading posted by Henry Cruz at 7:09 PM Saturday, September 06, 2008 Toronto just wants to have fun... POST A COMMENT "We could say we are living in quite difficult times with wars and economic problems, but I think filmmakers understand that audiences just need a break sometimes from that," said Toronto festival chief Cameron Bailey (via AP)... 'Bucking a trend that started way-back when American Beauty busted out of Toronto to win a (best picture) Oscar; followed closely by other high-brow flix like Crash, Capote, Sideways, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, to name a few... Toronto, quickly became known for its love affair with small artsy pix. Just last year they hosted -- 'the North American launches of several eventual Oscar winners -- Juno, No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton and Atonement..' This year got a bad-case of amnesia, asking 'Oscar-who?' 'Going instead with (I-kid-you-not) -- Rocknrolla type comedies -- '30 comedies in total, including Zack and Miri Make a Porno starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, Anne Fontaine's La fille de Monaco, and the Coen brothers' dark comedy Burn After Reading. 'Sometimes it is just about having a good time,' says the NY Times. 'That was the message here on Thursday night, as the Toronto International Film Festival got going with a face-smashing, belly-laughing gangster caper from a director best known as Madonna’s husband...' No, really, Madonna's husband is now a festival darling? -- Is that the best we can come up with? 'Politics is in surprisingly short supply here, given the imminence of a United States election and the festival’s past record.' In fact during a panel discussion, the moderator fished for a political thought in connection with one of the more commercial films. The filmmaker scoffed at the message-driven fare of the past, saying the film is just meant to be enjoyable. “Change happens,” he added, “in very personal, subtle, minor ways more than it does in a big landscape.” Source: NY Times Labels: Art versus Commerce, directing, Film, Film Festivals posted by Henry Cruz at 2:15 PM Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Editing Day One: 'Kitty Talk... POST A COMMENT A few months ago we shot the short film "After Party Babies," with a great INDIE crew, decent actors...but, this week is the first time we actually start cutting. On reflection, making a short movie is a semi-glamorous mix: really long hours, little sleep, and people yelling, that I can only now think of as lots of fun. It took 9 full days, consisting of 14 really long hour days of on-location prep and shoot time... Now, months later, it's finally time for editing...'all for what might end up being 15 minutes of film time. The story for After Party Babies showcases a day in the life of three New Yorkers that all end up at an after hours party. I'll be writing little blurbs here and there on the editing process and eventually (fingers crossed) the various submissions to the film festivals. Yesterday, on day one. We -- (meaning the editing crew that consists of myself, Valery and Stephanie) -- screened a few minutes of foreign film clips to talk with the editors on style and rhythm. I told them "I'm really attracted to the european style of editing. That doesn't always tell you everything thats going on." We then logged footage and set up a blueprint for our editing sessions to come. The big talk on day-1 was our pets, Valery and Stephanie have a six month old Kitty (that sat in the editing studio with us), I myself have a much fatter and older 20 pound-porker. Workwise, it felt good to see, and hear the potential of film on the editing bay. The big line of advice given to me -- (and recited yesterday by me to Stephanie and Valery): "The script is written twice, on the page, and rewritten in the editing room." Labels: After Party Babies, Cruz Editing Diaries, Film, Film Festivals, indie film, screenwriting, Short Film posted by Henry Cruz at 11:36 AM Thursday, August 21, 2008 Dark-Who...'make it more Kid Friendly! POST A COMMENT There's a major power struggle on the set of Wolverine between the director Gavin Hood and the studio heads...'And, I can't understand why this isn't front page news all over the place, but, maybe I nerdgress. Tom Rothman, (a picture of evil?), 20th Century Fox CEO... Study that face! 'cause this Rothman guy is the douche ruining our X-Men movies!! -- by taking the Dark out, and wanting to make it more Kid-friendly. "If there's one important lesson that can be drawn from the blockbuster performance of Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight, it's that audiences aren't afraid of a comic-book movie that takes a walk on the dark, grim side," offers Defamer.com. "However, the same can't necessarily be said for Fox topper Tom Rothman..." -- who's widely known for being a very willful and meticulous micro-manager. "Despite the fact that the gritty, Hugh Jackman-topped film was met with a giddy response at this year's Comic-Con, Jeff Wells says that Rothman is pressuring director Gavin Hood to make the movie more kid-friendly..." "Perhaps Rothman has taken his fan letter from Steven Spielberg too much to heart, but a child-friendly Wolverine feels less "X" and more "Y?" Does this mean his bristly greeting of "Bub" will be redubbed "Buddy," or his iconic cigar will be replaced with a pixie stick? C'mon, Tom: Wolvie isn't meant for buoyant musical numbers..." WTF? 'Cue the broadway tunes...or pink outfits?'I have to say (and I know I'm showing my Geeky side), if there's anytime true comic book fans should use the power of the internet for the forces of good...'here it is! Pass this story around...let them know we can do dark just fine. Please, please, please, save Wolverine from being turned into another Disneyfied-toe-tapper. Source: Defamer.com Labels: Comic Books, Film, trailers, unjustified verdict, Wolverine posted by Henry Cruz at 1:34 PM Wednesday, August 20, 2008 We take the junky moments out... POST A COMMENT I jump back into the editing suite next week, for my tiny short film "After Party Babies," and I'm actually excited because I'll have on my editors hat (and a fresh perspective on the footage we shot). In his new interview, Woody Allen (72), talks about how "unpleasant" the experience of cutting a movie together can be: Woody Allen: 'When you come in here, as I just did that with this movie I shot with Larry David—the first time you put all the stuff together and you show it on the screen, you’re hoping that you’re going to get a feeling of, “God, this is much better than I thought!” And invariably, it’s not that feeling. Invariably, it’s, “Oh, God, what did I do? I’ve disappointed everybody. I’ve made a fool of myself. It’s awful.” Sometimes you’re right—it never gets any better. But sometimes you’re wrong—we take the junky moments out, and the good moments happen much faster. We take a little scene from here and put it over there, and suddenly it shifts the whole feeling of the film. Very often, we come back in here the second time and it looks much better, and then by the third or fourth time, it starts to really take shape. With this Spanish movie, it looked fairly good the first time I saw it. That was true of Match Point as well. 'There’s a definite difference between the person who makes the film and the people who see it, in terms of perception. What appears to me sometimes to be tedious, slow and not worth anything, for some inexplicable reason will delight an audience. Conversely, sometimes I sit in here and think, “This is brilliant, this is so funny, these scenes are so great,” and then I show it to audiences and they don’t get anything out of it. They disagree with me completely. And over the passage of time, one of us turns out to be right. I will say that, usually, the audience is right. Once in a while, you get a film that the audience is wrong about, but that’s a rarity.'(Village Voice) Thanks Woody. 'Very honest perception of the film making process. At the end of the day, no matter how much blood, sweat and tears (and money) -- goes into making a film... 'The behind the scenes drama quickly fades into the background when you put it together; The audience will be watching and experiencing it in a whole new way, and you can only hope connecting with it in the way you intended...'and in editing you need to be that fresh pair of eyes, to get a good grip on what plays, and take out the parts that just don't work. Source: Village Voice Labels: After Party Babies, Editing, Film, Woody Allen posted by Henry Cruz at 12:32 PM Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Bootleg: caring means not sharing POST A COMMENT New York's got a new bill the table that would inflict stiffer "penalties" on "cammers", (those trench-coat bitches recording movies in theaters illegally and then distributing them for money): "This is modern-day organized crime," said legislators. "The wide distribution of pirated films originating from New York costs our state vital economic resources, including thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue." As a content provider, I get how piracy effect the little guy (in this case "me")...I know I was on here recently talking about "giving it away" -(but, that's a marketing tool to stake-out your claim on that idea)...'still need ways to put food on the table. It's def' a bigger issue for INDIE filmmakers (with no back-end plan) - all around the world who want to make more films...Not convinced? Here's a funny video to school you on how it effects the little guy: Source: Metro NY Labels: bootlegging, dvd sales, Film, new york city, piracy posted by Henry Cruz at 2:14 PM Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Another forgettable 100-list POST A COMMENT I'm a pseudo-film-buff, but never had a favorite film...I am a student of film - (even went to film school)...I watch a film a day (some days two)...'And as a general rule - (with few exceptions) - I'll never watch the same film twice (once is more than enough, thank you)... so, I'm simply amazed at people who make lists of the top 100 (gotta have a-lot-ta free time on your hands for such non-sense): 1- Casablanca: please, number one? Barely remember what it was about... 2- There will be Blood: haven't seen it yet. 3- ET: The Extra Terrestrial: nice effects, but glad his ass finally went home... 4- Chinatown: Jack was okay, story was full of drama queens... 5- The Shinning: Jack was great...slow pacing, borderline-pretentious most flew right over my head. 6- Vertigo: Okay, this was a popcorn flick... 7- KES: wha...? Never heard of it. 8- Sunset BLVD: never saw it. 9- ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: It was okay, but very forgettable. 10- THE GODFATHER: Barely remember it...Brando was good in it. Don't get me wrong, I love the act of watching new movies; eat 'em up...good, bad...and especially ugly messes...but, it's mainly a throwaway, none stick to me....Guess, my list...if I wasted time making one...would be what I saw that week - (and didn't fall asleep). Resource: Times UK Labels: Film posted by Henry Cruz at 4:13 PM Monday, May 12, 2008 Saving-what-that-movie-will-do POST A COMMENT As heads-roll, over at the "Speed Racer" camp...The need-to-know-it-all-now-dorks - ('spoiler sites like: aintitcool - that feed off film titles, script-deals, and such...'before one frame is shot, also telling you everything that's in the film) -- saving us all the time of actually ever having to leave the house...gee, thanks. well, those same sites are offering "mixed reviews" to the yet-to-be-released INDY 3 - and Studio Exec's -- have their panties-in-a-bunch; wanting to avoid the "crash and burn" box office of that racer-clunker: "young males who love their action heroes almost as much as their personal computers." I wrote earlier on "How to Direct a blockbuster film" (read it here)...'old-school-ers like Speilberg need-to-remember that old adage: "Keep you enemies close." More than ever before, Consumers (and geeks-alike) now control the Buzz-machines...and in turn have become the gate keepers of the what's the next big thing. Take "Speed Racer," for example...to see where it all went all-wrong; Instead of attracting that R-rated Matrix audience, explains Cinemablend. They should have gone after 12-year-olds boyz. Exec's - "forgot to tell parents that this was a kids’ movie." - Basic marketing-101 in this new era... is to narrow the message to the target viewers...and let them build-up the buzz for you. In this youtube world, viewers not only will make content...they will voice their three cents..the biggest change in the new Hollywood — is the auteur. And mobilizing those people to tell your message to others. In todays world...everyone, and Anyone, can write, direct, produce and market videos without ever having to shake the hand of a Hollywood executive. The next generation of filmmakers, won't need any help from Hollywood. They can, and will, set the tone for what's-next! - and will be the first to tell others what they should do with their time. Check out this cool video primer on Emerging WEB Trends: Labels: Film, News Trends, web trends posted by Henry Cruz at 3:47 AM Sunday, September 09, 2007 Foster's...'Guilty Pleasure POST A COMMENT "Jodie, Jodie, Jodie." I heard Bogart mumble that, at least in my head; 'no worries, this flick's this weekends guilty pleasure; watching Foster be that bad-ass mamma...or as the Post called it: "twisted pleasure in seeing a wronged woman exact revenge." -- Clint Eastwood style...bang, bang. 'be there with a big bag of popcorn....going yum, yum, yummy. Labels: Film posted by Henry Cruz at 7:56 PM     ARCHIVES October 2005 . November 2005 . December 2005 . August 2007 . September 2007 . October 2007 . November 2007 . December 2007 . March 2008 . April 2008 . May 2008 . June 2008 . July 2008 . August 2008 . September 2008 .