New Project I’m Working On
Posted by Josh on April 28th, 2008 @ 02:50 PM | Comments (6)

I’m really excited about this new project I’m working on with my wife. Well, she’s actually doing most of the work, but I’m gonna take part of the credit. This project is so incredible. It is divinely inspired, and it’s going to change our lives forever. It’s going to bring us unspeakable joy and probably our fair share of tears. It’s going to require more hard work than we’ve ever put into a single project, but it’s also got the potential to impact the world more than any project we’ve ever worked on before.

What is this project? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Baby Bear…

At least, that’s what we’re calling him/her until we find out the sex. Yup. That’s right. I’m going to be a Dad! Skip ahead to 1:51 or so. That’s when it gets really good. As a director, I have to say, Baby Bear is really good in front of a camera.

New Video Page
Posted by Josh on April 25th, 2008 @ 11:56 AM | Comments (1)

Check out our new video page. It’s loaded with all your old favorites plus some never before seen work. Features support for Apple’s iPhone!

Leave us a comment and let us know what you think. What’s your favorite Daws Brothers film and why? Also be sure to check out our younger brother and sister’s films in the Other Stuff section.

Ben Stein’s documentary - Expelled
Posted by Jeremiah on April 24th, 2008 @ 02:13 PM | Comments (0)

On Sunday of this week, I went to see the Ben Stein documentary, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.”

According to Entertainment weekly, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a controversial 2008 film which claims that American educators and scientists are being persecuted for their belief that there might be evidence of intelligent design in nature. Hosted by Ben Stein, the film claims that what it calls “Big Science” suppresses dissent from the scientific theory of evolution, and portrays the theory as having contributed to the rise of the Nazi Holocaust, communism, atheism and Planned Parenthood. The film was released on April 18, 2008.”

I was curious about the film for two reasons. 1) I was wondering if the Republicans now had their own Michael Moore. 2) I believe in Intelligent Design and wanted to see what arguments the film made.

I can say that Ben Stein is not Michael Moore. I disagree politically with Michael Moore BUT I have to say, he makes really good documentaries. I enjoy them for their entertainment value. To be honest, Expelled was very slow. And hearing the “Bueller” voice for an hour and a half could really put you to sleep. (Though to be fair, Ben Stein did not direct the film, only co-wrote it and starred in it.)

The Discovery Institute defines intelligent design as the assertion that “certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection”.

The film revealed some extremely shocking facts about scientists and their regard for the Intelligent Design theory. Mr. Stein interviewed several scientists and professors who were fired or reprimanded for merely mentioning the Intelligent Design theory in classes or papers. The first scientist interviewed was at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. He was fired from the Smithsonian for simply printing a paper written by an Intelligent Design theorist.

Whatever your views on the issue, I think everyone can agree that there should be freedom to discuss theories without interference from “Big Science.” The documentary makes some interesting comparisons to Germany during the Nazi regime and the Cold War. Pretty scary stuff.

I could say more on this subject but this is a filmmaking blog. I urge you all to take a look at this documentary. I feel like it gives a pretty fair look at the issue. It does take a side but has a good and generally well thought out argument. Check it out when it comes out on DVD.

***We won’t be approving comments on this post. Sorry folks.

More Dance of the Dead
Posted by Josh on April 12th, 2008 @ 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

Whoops.  Forgot to mention that one of the stars of Dangerous Calling, Stephen Caudill, plays the school principal in Dance of the Dead.  He was also one of the producers.  Kudos to him and all of the people of Rome, GA (many of whom also helped out greatly on our film.)  Great job to all involved!

Dance of the Dead
Posted by Josh on April 12th, 2008 @ 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Last night Jeremiah and I went to the Atlanta premier of Dance of the Dead and boy did we have fun. DotD is the second film from Atlanta native, Gregg Bishop. Gregg has been really helpful to us during post production of Dangerous Calling. He’s a great guy and his new film is a ton of fun.

Here’s the story: zombies show up and ruin the prom. How cool is that? We were one of the lucky few to see an early rough cut of the film and were blown away by how much better it was than the version we saw. It’s a fast paced zombie comedy with some terrific action scenes and lots of laughs. Find out more on the official website: http://www.danceofthedeadmovie.com

If you missed last night’s screening, there are two more next Saturday, April 19 at 2:45pm and 5:00pm. Click here to get tickets. If you are a fan of zombie movies, I highly encourage you to try and make one of those screenings. You’ll be glad you did.

Side note: The composer for DotD, Kristopher Carter, is the same guy who is composing the music for Dangerous Calling. He’s brilliant. The music last night was fantastic. The DC composing process kicks into high gear starting tomorrow. We’ll blog about that as we have more to report.

Have you ever killed a movie?
Posted by Jeremiah on April 11th, 2008 @ 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

It takes a long time to resurrect them.

In 1995, the Mel Gibson film Braveheart was released. I don’t remember if my family went to see it in theaters. Possibly. But I know that we rented it and eventually bought it. At the time, we watched Braveheart several times and over the next few years, we’d watch it once a month. The Daws Family LOVED Braveheart.

And we killed it. I’ve probably seen Braveheart once since 1997. There are some movies that you enjoy so much that you want it to be played round the clock. And then one day, you wake up and someone suggests watching it and your reaction is, “Ick. I’ve seen it too much.” That’s what we did at the time - we’d watch films so much that we’d suck the very life out of them. It was the only way we knew how to view films. Over and over. (It really is the best way to appreciate a film and learn from it.)

Strangely enough, Dumb and Dumber was the other one we were killing around the same time. So whenever I think of Braveheart, I can’t help but think of Dumb and Dumber. Weird.

This week, Braveheart has been raised from the dead for me. I’ve been wanting to see it for a few months now and decided to borrow it from Josh. (I’m telling you, it was dead - I didn’t even buy it when it was released on DVD.)

I watched the film today and it was new again. What a fantastic film. It has so many great quotes. “I’m going to pick a fight.” “You may take our lands but you will never take our freedom.” And this time, I’m watching it as a serious filmmaker rather than a 15-year-old kid who likes to make stop motion films with his Star Wars action figures. And you know what? As soon as it finished, I wanted to start it again. Hurray!!!

So the cycle of life goes on even in the world of my DVD collection. I have killed and seen brought back to life such movies as The Abyss, Field of Dreams, The Truman Show, and many more.

You can see this phenomenon most when it comes to Christmas movies. My family and I have about 20 Christmas movies we watch during the months of November and December. By December 25th, I hate those movies. But by the following November, we can’t wait to pull them out again.

There are a few movies that I am killing or have killed recently. A few of them are:

The Aviator
Mission Impossible 3
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (its not dead but its dying)
The Last Samurai
Pirates of the Carribean
Walk the Line

So Braveheart gives me hope that even though I kill a film, its not really dead. It will come back and I’ll watch it again. And when the film does come back to life for me, I’ll appreciate it in a whole new light.

I just bought There Will Be Blood on DVD. That’ll be the next one I kill.

A Smattering Of Reviews
Posted by Josh on April 9th, 2008 @ 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

Here are several short reviews of movies/shows I’ve recently been watching:

There Will Be Blood - Best movie I’ve seen in years.  I saw this in the theaters just before the Oscars.  I can’t believe it didn’t win.  Years to come, film scholars will look back on this film as a classic.  If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and add it to your Netflix queue… or better yet your DVD collection.  One complaint: The single disc dvd case is just a cheap cardboard sleeve.  What’s up with that?

No Country For Old Men - What started as an engrossing crime drama turned into a “look at me.  I’m important” Oscar grab from the Coen Brothers.  Kudos to them.  It worked.  Just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The Red Shoes (1948) - A ballet movie based on a Hans Christian Anderson story.  I saw a preview for this on TCM and thought it looked interesting.  It was.  One of the most visually interesting movies I’ve ever seen.  Especially for the time.  It was a major inspiration for An American In Paris, but I thought it was much better.  Compelling story with stunning visuals.  I highly recommend.

Battlestar Gallactica - I’m late to the game on this one.  I just recently got into it.  I’m starting the third season.  Great show.  Second season dragged in the middle, but that last couple of episodes really shook things up.  I initially watched the mini-series when it first came on, but wasn’t impressed.  All the critical acclaim convinced me to give it another chance.  I’m glad I did.

30 Rock - What a wonderful show.  With the writer’s strike leaving prime time television a barren wasteland, I decided to go back and check out some shows that I had never gotten into.  30 Rock is the best of the bunch.  Tina Fey’s self deprecating humor works wonderfully with Alec Baldwin’s ego.  Throw in crazy Tracy Morgan and it’s a recipe for laughs.  If you don’t like this one, then you need to go see Dr. Spaceman.

Sweeney Todd - Oh my gosh.  How have I lived this long without knowing this musical.  It took Tim Burton and Johnny Depp to pull me into the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece.  I love musicals, but Sondheim has always been a bit of a mystery to me.  Someone once told me he was an acquired taste.  I think I’ve acquired it.  Thank you, Mr. Burton.  As for the film, it was Burton’s best in years.

I Am Legend - Great first half, but the last half ruined it.  So disappointing.  I love Will Smith though.