As a casual movie fan, I get annoyed by film festivals because they are such teases, since best case scenario I get to see the movie in 6 months.
But Tribeca Film Festival is bringing the films to the average person by offering online streaming showings for select films. Basically you can reserve a free seat for a showing and then you get a 24 hour window during which you can stream the movie. They are several features and shorts available for streaming and it's pretty cool.
I streamed "Dungeon Master" a short produced by the production company Ryder Strong (Shawn Hunter) started with his brother. It's pretty funny, though it kind of stops right when it starts to get really interesting. You can still sign up for a showing, you just have to register with the site and you can immediately opt out of the newsletter if you're not interested.
Also showing at Tribeca is a documentary called "The Swell Season" about the band that the stars of "Once" formed after the worldwide success of the movie. The documentary is about the real life romance and it looks pretty sweet. Here's the trailer:
I'll wait six months for that one. But only because it wasn't made available to stream.
-av
April 24, 2011
March 27, 2011
Body Of Proof Premiere
This Tuesday, March 29, 2011, yourself, your friends, and everyone you know and their mothers, should be watching ABC at 10 p.m. Or you will surely miss out on the American premiere of what critics are saying will be the new Grey's Anatomy, "Body of Proof". The show is sort of a combination of Grey's Anatomy and House, with a police procedural background, and a great cast.
Not to mention I worked on it, and Episode 8 will be Mary Fegreus'(Mary Mary Mary) world television premiere. So now you all should be personally invested.
BE THERE!
Ignore the promo that says Fridays this fall. Don't forget, get those ratings up Tuesday, March 29th at 10 PM on ABC!
-AM
Not to mention I worked on it, and Episode 8 will be Mary Fegreus'(Mary Mary Mary) world television premiere. So now you all should be personally invested.
BE THERE!
Ignore the promo that says Fridays this fall. Don't forget, get those ratings up Tuesday, March 29th at 10 PM on ABC!
-AM
March 20, 2011
JGL in Batman 3
I was holding off to put this in here until it was 100 percent confirmed. It now is.
One of my favorite actors for awhile has been Joseph Gordon-Levitt. From his first real role in Angels in the Outfield, I thought he was awesome. 3rd Rock from the Sun was probably his big break, and a few years later, 10 Things I Hate About You (rip Heath) really brought him mainstream. Films like Brick, 500 Days of Summer, and Inception have made him bigger and bigger and he is finally becoming a very well known name.
His next role is going to be Huge. Capital H. He has just been confirmed to re-team with Christopher Nolan in Nolan's final chapter of his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. He will be playing Alberto Falcone, the son of mafia boss Carmine Falcone, who was played by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins.
Alberto Falcone, aka The Holiday Killer, is a serial killer who goes on a murderous rampage every holiday, earning him his name. JGL joins Anne Hathaway who will play Catwoman and Tom Hardy (who was the perfect comic relief in Inception) as Bane, who were all just recently cast in this epic finale.
July 20, 2012 is far too far away.
-AM
P.S. some minor rumors have placed Marion Cotillard in talks for a role as well. GOD DAMN!
One of my favorite actors for awhile has been Joseph Gordon-Levitt. From his first real role in Angels in the Outfield, I thought he was awesome. 3rd Rock from the Sun was probably his big break, and a few years later, 10 Things I Hate About You (rip Heath) really brought him mainstream. Films like Brick, 500 Days of Summer, and Inception have made him bigger and bigger and he is finally becoming a very well known name.
His next role is going to be Huge. Capital H. He has just been confirmed to re-team with Christopher Nolan in Nolan's final chapter of his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. He will be playing Alberto Falcone, the son of mafia boss Carmine Falcone, who was played by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins.
Alberto Falcone, aka The Holiday Killer, is a serial killer who goes on a murderous rampage every holiday, earning him his name. JGL joins Anne Hathaway who will play Catwoman and Tom Hardy (who was the perfect comic relief in Inception) as Bane, who were all just recently cast in this epic finale.
July 20, 2012 is far too far away.
-AM
P.S. some minor rumors have placed Marion Cotillard in talks for a role as well. GOD DAMN!
March 17, 2011
Sweet Poster.
This poster is just really sweet. Not to mention it has a banging cast.
Woody Allen has basically been traveling around the world making new movies after tiring of New York. He's done Match Point (SERIOUSLY good movie) in London, Vicki Cristina Barcelona (enough said) in Barcelona, this one is obvi in Paris and he just signed on to do his next one in Rome. Keep em comin!
Woody Allen has basically been traveling around the world making new movies after tiring of New York. He's done Match Point (SERIOUSLY good movie) in London, Vicki Cristina Barcelona (enough said) in Barcelona, this one is obvi in Paris and he just signed on to do his next one in Rome. Keep em comin!
No release date yet set, as the movie is going to be opening the Cannes Film Festival on May 11.
-AM
March 6, 2011
Shut Up, Crime!
Here's a new trailer from writer/director James Gunn, called Super. Speaking of Rainn Wilson, it stars him as a sort of loser who loses his girlfriend to a drug dealer jerk then decides to don a costume and fight crime.
Also stars, Ellen Page as his sidekick, Liv Tyler as his girlfriend, and Kevin Bacon as the drug dealer.
Comes out April 1st.
Also stars, Ellen Page as his sidekick, Liv Tyler as his girlfriend, and Kevin Bacon as the drug dealer.
Comes out April 1st.
Looks pretty good. It looks like a ridiculous, yet charming indie. I like the animations throughout as well. It's got a Scott Pilgrim vs. The World feel to that part.
-AM
They were once in... (#2)
So everyone knows Rainn Wilson who plays Dwight Schrute on The Office. So this one is gonna make a lot of sense.
Rainn is 45 now and pretty renown as Dwight, but his first screen role came in when he was 32 as an alien who translates languages in the first few scenes of one of my favorite alien films, Galaxy Quest.
Seriously, if you haven't, watch Galaxy Quest. It's hilarious.
Rainn is 45 now and pretty renown as Dwight, but his first screen role came in when he was 32 as an alien who translates languages in the first few scenes of one of my favorite alien films, Galaxy Quest.
Seriously, if you haven't, watch Galaxy Quest. It's hilarious.
-AM
March 5, 2011
In feature films, the director is God. In documentaries, God is the director.
Documentaries are a tricky thing with Americans. There are few "LOVED them"s and many, many "I watched like two minutes of that thing." I admit that I have fallen into both these categories before.
Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with documentaries. However, I do think that we were shown one to many lab safety instruction videos and health/science "films" as youngsters that it's tough to realize the difference between the contempt we all have for those educational "films" and a gripping, informative documentary. And all in all, they are sometimes not as entertaining to the eye as visually stunning blockbusters.
But Cate Hahneman, a blogger on one of the film sites I frequent wrote a great editorial about how documentaries can and should be cool. If you aren't really a fan of documentaries, check this out. It might just peak an interest.
As it's quite long, I'm going to put it in the comments section so this page isn't too cluttered.
Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with documentaries. However, I do think that we were shown one to many lab safety instruction videos and health/science "films" as youngsters that it's tough to realize the difference between the contempt we all have for those educational "films" and a gripping, informative documentary. And all in all, they are sometimes not as entertaining to the eye as visually stunning blockbusters.
But Cate Hahneman, a blogger on one of the film sites I frequent wrote a great editorial about how documentaries can and should be cool. If you aren't really a fan of documentaries, check this out. It might just peak an interest.
As it's quite long, I'm going to put it in the comments section so this page isn't too cluttered.
-AM
March 2, 2011
Nolan Snubbed
Most people would agree that the biggest snub of the Academy Awards was Tom Hooper winning best director for The King's Speech over David Fincher for The Social Network. Of the actually awards, I would agree.
BUT as for the entire nominations, I think the biggest snub of this awards season was Christopher Nolan not being nominated at all for Inception. Most people thought he would be nominated over the Coen brothers for True Grit, as I did.
True Grit was a solid movie and a very good example of how to make a classic western, and proved the academies obsession with the Coen brothers. I love the Coen brothers for sure, but Nolan not being nominated shows the academies continual problem with categorizing Nolan movies into the action genre which is a GROSS understatement. Since 2000's Memento, Nolan has revolutionized the thriller category, knows how to navigate the audience through (what seems like) complicated and contrived plots, and has directed some of the most visually stunning and beautiful films of this millennium.
I give alot of credit to Wally Pfister, Nolan's cinematographer in all but one movie, who just won for Inception (over Roger Deakins, a 9 time nominee, mainstay of Coen brothers movies, and the Steven Spielberg of cinematographers).
Yet still, Nolan deserves more recognition then he has gotten for the 6 films he has done, making him the most successful British filmmaker, besides David Yates, who has directed the last three Harry Potters (Nolan has written all but one of his films). Rarely, is the most profitable movie the best one, but Nolan has constantly proved to be the exception to the rule.
-AM
BUT as for the entire nominations, I think the biggest snub of this awards season was Christopher Nolan not being nominated at all for Inception. Most people thought he would be nominated over the Coen brothers for True Grit, as I did.
True Grit was a solid movie and a very good example of how to make a classic western, and proved the academies obsession with the Coen brothers. I love the Coen brothers for sure, but Nolan not being nominated shows the academies continual problem with categorizing Nolan movies into the action genre which is a GROSS understatement. Since 2000's Memento, Nolan has revolutionized the thriller category, knows how to navigate the audience through (what seems like) complicated and contrived plots, and has directed some of the most visually stunning and beautiful films of this millennium.
I give alot of credit to Wally Pfister, Nolan's cinematographer in all but one movie, who just won for Inception (over Roger Deakins, a 9 time nominee, mainstay of Coen brothers movies, and the Steven Spielberg of cinematographers).
Yet still, Nolan deserves more recognition then he has gotten for the 6 films he has done, making him the most successful British filmmaker, besides David Yates, who has directed the last three Harry Potters (Nolan has written all but one of his films). Rarely, is the most profitable movie the best one, but Nolan has constantly proved to be the exception to the rule.
-AM
February 27, 2011
Big, BIG Day (Part 2)
And now, (drumroll) these are my predictions as to who I think will take home the golden statues tonight.
Again, these are who I think WILL win. In several cases, they will not be who I think SHOULD win. That is another multi-hour conversation I'm totally down to have with anyone. Just gimme a call.
*=These are the categories that I still think are the closest races.
Again, these are who I think WILL win. In several cases, they will not be who I think SHOULD win. That is another multi-hour conversation I'm totally down to have with anyone. Just gimme a call.
* BEST PICTURE: The King’s Speech
Dark Horse: The Social Network
Lead Actor: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
Dark Horse: NONE
Lead Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Dark Horse: Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Dark Horse: NONE
* Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Dark Horse: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Dark Horse: NONE
* Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
Dark Horse: The King’s Speech
Cinematography: Roger Deakins (True Grit)
Dark Horse: Wally Pfister (Inception)
* Costume Design: Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland)
Dark Horse: Jenny Beaven (The King’s Speech)
Directing: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Dark Horse: Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
Documentary Feature: Inside Job
Dark Horse: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Documentary Short: Strangers No More
Dark Horse: Killing In The Name
Film Editing: The Social Network
Dark Horse: The King’s Speech
Foreign Language Film: In A Better World (Denmark)
Dark Horse: Biutiful (Mexico)
Make Up: Rick Baker (The Wolfman)
Dark Horse: Peter Weir (The Way Back)
* Music (Score): The King’s Speech
Dark Horse: The Social Network
Music (Song): “If I Rise” (127 Hours)
Dark Horse: “We Belong Together” –Toy Story 3
Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Dark Horse: NONE
Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech
Dark Horse: Inception
Short (Live Action): Na Wewe
Dark Horse: Wish 143
Short (Animated): Day & Night
Dark Horse: The Gruffalo
Sound Editing: Inception
Dark Horse: The Social Network
Sound Mixing: Inception
Dark Horse: True Grit
Visual Effects: Inception
Dark Horse: NONE
And NONE under Dark Horse means that I think those are pretty much a lock. Besides Colin Firth as Best Actor. That just IS a lock. He was so good.
-AM
Big, BIG Day (Part 1)
Big night tonight. Oscar Night is here, so I figured a quick discussion of predictions is relevant, eh?
I think it's fair to say there are some basic discrepancies to what some of the criteria is for specific Academy awards. Let me first point out the categories.
I think it's fair to say there are some basic discrepancies to what some of the criteria is for specific Academy awards. Let me first point out the categories.
Best Picture
Lead Actor
Lead Actress
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actress
Animated Film
Art Direction
Cinematography:
Costume Design
Directing
Documentary Feature
Documentary Short
Film Editing
Foreign Language Film
Make Up
Music (Score)
Music (Song)
Adapted Screenplay
Original Screenplay
Short (Live Action)
Short (Animated)
Sound Editing
Sound Mixing
Visual Effects
Some can be a bit confusing as to what they actually mean.
The Art Direction award is basically a category involving everything you can see on a set. The art director acts as an in-between for several different departments, including Special FX, wardrobe, property (props) and construction. They are in charge of most of the visual aspects of the film and nowadays are more commonly referred to as the Production Designer.
The Cinematography award is given to the best director of photography. On a set, the DP works hand in hand with the director to set up a certain shot and angle. He is the head of the lighting and camera departments and delegates to the heads of those departments (the gaffer and the key grip, respectively) after he decides how a certain shot the director wants will be actually accomplished. Choosing lights, choosing lens width and camera settings are all the DP's job and in most films you can fully see the DP's stamp and feel to them.
And, believe it or not, there IS a difference between Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.
Sound Editing comes first. Sound editing is the process of making sound effects for the film. On any filming day, there is usually as little sound recorded (besides for dialouge, of course) as possible, as setting up sound equipment can take time and cost money. If there is just random city sounds for a certain shot, there are folley artists that make sound effects after the shoot is over and record them all onto the film. All the little sound effects you hear in a film are usually always done in post-production, including the music for the film.
Sound Mixing is the process of taking every sound in a scene, and making sure they are at the perfect levels as to not drown out the background music or dialogue in a scene. Mixing every little sound can be quite an art form to itself and is extremely tedious at times.
Most of the other categories are pretty self explanatory, but feel free to ask anything in comments.
-AM
February 22, 2011
They were once in...
Interesting tidbit of "before they were famous" proportions, I just realized.
This was one of my favs as a youngun. She was about 20 and played the older sister of the main girl, and he was about 27 and played the mentor to the main guy (who later played Kevin in the first three American Pie films).
Daniel Craig:
and Kate Winslet:
His hair was just swell back then.
-AM
February 20, 2011
Indie Day
So during Sundance last month, IFC Films took advantage of the indie atmosphere and released this trailer. It's a movie called "Peep World" and it boasts a ridiculously stacked cast. Michael C. Hall, who is phenomenal on Dexter as Dexter, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) and Judy Greer (Arrested Development) all take top billing with a bunch of other actors who are just swell.
The writer is pretty green, but the story still looks good, and the director has worked on SNL in the '80s and wrote the Nutty Professor films.
P.S. That's Lewis Black doing the narrating on the trailer. Not sure if he's actually in the movie, but if he is doing the narrating for the whole movie (in an Arrested Development kinda way), I'd see it just for that.
-AM
The writer is pretty green, but the story still looks good, and the director has worked on SNL in the '80s and wrote the Nutty Professor films.
P.S. That's Lewis Black doing the narrating on the trailer. Not sure if he's actually in the movie, but if he is doing the narrating for the whole movie (in an Arrested Development kinda way), I'd see it just for that.
-AM
February 19, 2011
Actioning Up
OK, so thought I'd throw up some actions film trailers, because they both have come out recently.
X-Men: First Class. This revamp looks great. Directed by Matthew Vaughn who basically gave Daniel Craig his role as James Bond in '04's Layer Cake. If you haven't seen Layer Cake, you're missing out. Starring James Mcavoy and Michael Fassbender (who was siiiiick in 300 and Inglorious Basterds).
And this is Cowboys and Aliens. Directed by Jon Favreau (of the Iron Man fame) and starring Daniel Craig and Mr. Indiana Jones himself, this can not be anything less than SUPREMELY entertaining.They showed a 30 second TV spot during the Super Bowl, but this is the actual trailer.
X-Men: First Class. This revamp looks great. Directed by Matthew Vaughn who basically gave Daniel Craig his role as James Bond in '04's Layer Cake. If you haven't seen Layer Cake, you're missing out. Starring James Mcavoy and Michael Fassbender (who was siiiiick in 300 and Inglorious Basterds).
And this is Cowboys and Aliens. Directed by Jon Favreau (of the Iron Man fame) and starring Daniel Craig and Mr. Indiana Jones himself, this can not be anything less than SUPREMELY entertaining.They showed a 30 second TV spot during the Super Bowl, but this is the actual trailer.
-AM
Password
So a few people weren't sure, so I'll just post it here. The login email is friarfilm @gmail.com and the password to this blog is "plastics" just in case anyone wants to post things. plastics is the one word quote from The Graduate, which is one of the most important ages in modern film, ushering in the New Hollywood era.
Here's the famous line from the famous scene:
-AM
Here's the famous line from the famous scene:
-AM
February 17, 2011
The Source of Your Highness is the Tree of Life
Here's three really good trailers that have come out in the last few months.
"Source Code" looks pretty interesting. I'm a big Jeffrey Wright fan, and he seems to be a pivotal role. Probably some Bad Ass special effects in this one.
And then "Tree of Life" just looks downright eye opening. It's only the second film Terrence Malick's made in the last 13 years or so. Warning: The trailer is intense. And of course, its' Malick, so no one has any idea what its supposed to be about.
-AM
"Source Code" looks pretty interesting. I'm a big Jeffrey Wright fan, and he seems to be a pivotal role. Probably some Bad Ass special effects in this one.
"Your Highness" looks like it's just gonna be right up there with some of the funnier films of the last few years. James Franco and Danny McBride are the lead guys. And Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel are the lead girls. DONE.
And then "Tree of Life" just looks downright eye opening. It's only the second film Terrence Malick's made in the last 13 years or so. Warning: The trailer is intense. And of course, its' Malick, so no one has any idea what its supposed to be about.
-AM
Super 8 looks Super Great
J.J. Abrams is a Sci-fi Mastermind. For TV, he has created Alias, Lost, Fringe and is soon to start a new TV show with Christopher Nolan's bro, Jonathan (who wrote Memento, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight) called Persons of Interest. He has directed Mission Impossible 3 as well as Star Trek. All winners, really.
For the last year and half, there has been a project kept very under wraps in Hollywoodland. A film called "Super 8", directed by Abrams, and produced by Speilberg. The first mysterious trailer came out last year with Iron Man 2, and during the Super Bowl there was a 30 second spot.
Here they both are:
It basically looks like a combination of "E.T." and "Stand by Me", and guarantees to delve back into the old Speilbergian mindset of childhood fascination. Plus Abrams wrote it.
It's gonna be a redonk Summer blockbuster.
-AM
For the last year and half, there has been a project kept very under wraps in Hollywoodland. A film called "Super 8", directed by Abrams, and produced by Speilberg. The first mysterious trailer came out last year with Iron Man 2, and during the Super Bowl there was a 30 second spot.
Here they both are:
It basically looks like a combination of "E.T." and "Stand by Me", and guarantees to delve back into the old Speilbergian mindset of childhood fascination. Plus Abrams wrote it.
It's gonna be a redonk Summer blockbuster.
-AM
Movie Blog
Everyone likes movies and TV and entertainment mediums. Ed Zachary is a gateway to all things interesting. But here's where we can talk specifically about movies that are coming out, post trailers or new casting tidbits, or even discuss new TV shows.
I'm just gonna throw this out there to kick it off. It's called "40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes"
-AM
I'm just gonna throw this out there to kick it off. It's called "40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes"
-AM
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