I’m going through the AFI Top 100. Number 97 is Blade Runner.
TCM gives this synopsis:
An ex cop comes out of retirement in order to hunt down androids who are being reproduced for purpose of slavery.
For those of you who don’t know, Blade Runner is directed by Ridley Scott who had just finished Alien. Harrison Ford stars as the ex-cop, Deckard. He was fresh off Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I had seen the original Blade Runner back in film school and frankly, I wasn’t impressed. But so many people love the film and I was pretty excited to revisit the film. This time, I watched the Final Cut of the film found on the 5 disc Bluray release. There are several versions of the film and you can read about those over on Wikipedia.
My initial reaction to the film, this time without cheesy studio-imposed voice-over, was similar to my first viewing. The visuals were amazing but the story didn’t hold my attention very well. Upon further research, what most people find interesting about the story is it’s philosophical question of what it means to be human. Dan Mancini, a friend and movie reviewer, pointed out to me on Twitter, “It’s the Frankenstein myth dressed up in cyberpunk. What is “human”? What does it mean to be created in someone else’s image?”
So in that respect, the movie is interesting. But bringing up a philosophical question isn’t enough to grab me. On the other hand, the visuals and the immersion into the world do a lot to help. And this movie is oozing with mood and design. That’s what I take away from Blade Runner.
I hate to compare Blade Runner, which admittedly is a classic, to a films like Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3 but I’m going to do it anyway. I watch the Pirates “Trilogy” probably once every 6 months not because those films are great films (let’s face it – they aren’t) but because the world is so darn cool and a place I want to live for several hours.
Making your scripted world really cool and detailed might distract from any plot problems that the script may have. It sure helps with Blade Runner.
What did you think of Blade Runner?
This is the last full week of Turner Classic Movies’ annual 31 Days of Oscar. I feel like I should pick one of the many important Oscar winners airing this week. But since they’re airing Dick Tracy (1990) Saturday morning, I can’t resist making it my pick.
Filled with wonderful performances by Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and even Madonna, Dick Tracy isn’t one you’d typically think of when thinking of Oscar winners, but it did win three Oscars for Art Direction, Makeup, and Original Song. No other comic book movie has won that many. The Dark Knight is next in line with two. Disney had planned to make this a franchise, but although the film was received well critically, it was a box-office disappointment, and Disney scrapped their plans. I guess we’ll just have to live with one.
Dick Tracy (1990) – Saturday, February 27 at 8:45AM EST
The intrepid comic strip detective fights off a ruthless gangster and his seductive girlfriend.
Cast: Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman Dir: Warren Beatty C-105 mins, TV-14
Someone asked me this great question on Facebook the other day:
I am about 3 years married with a 9 year-old, a 16 month-old, and a 3 month-old, and I work full time during the day (besides being active in church). Sometimes I feel like the babies (so close… in age) are too young for me to pull away for hours at a time without helping out the wife. At the same time, I have such a burning desire to develop my craft.
I would love to dedicate a nice chunk of time to the craft. How do you do it?
Here is my response to him:
That’s a really good question. One I struggle with all the time. It’s good that you’re asking it. Your family comes first. So many people destroy their families in pursuit of their dreams. I’m not sure about your specific situation, but this is how I do it.
My son is only 15 months old and we’re still trying to figure this out. Thankfully my situation allows me to work in the mornings and write in the afternoon. Of course I have to get up at 4:30am to get enough work hours in before writing in the afternoon. I’m usually done by 5pm and able to spend the evening with my family. I help Becca with dinner and our son. After he goes to bed, we watch a little TV and then Becca goes to bed and I work a little more.
I’ve cut way back on my xbox and tv watching in order to pull off this schedule. I guess it’s all a matter of how bad you want it and what you’re willing to give up. Just make sure it’s not your family.
Hope this helps.
Any other creative ideas for making the time to create? Feel free to ask any other questions in the comments. We’d love to make reader questions a regular thing.
I carry a piece of paper around with me in my wallet that I pull out and read from time to time. On this paper is a quote from the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
“He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”
I want to smile (and be smiled at) like this. How about you?
Time is flying by. Josh has been out here with me in LA for about four weeks. We’ve already had several lunch and coffee meetings with filmmakers and producers.
We’ve wasted no time – we know the key to this industry is networking. And remember, networking is simply building relationships. It helps to be fascinated by other people – I love hearing their stories.
In other news, I have a job working for a vfx company and I love it. (VFX = visual effects) I’m working on a big budget blockbuster that will be released in April. Sadly I can’t tell you what it is for a while. I had to sign a hefty non-disclosure agreement. If I told, I’d have to give up my first born child… and my Xbox. Gasp.
I’m working in the editorial department at the vfx house. The best part of my job is meeting all the artists who do the magic. I’ve met several guys who worked on a little art house film you may have heard of – Avatar!!!
Getting back to the networking thing, the cool part about my new job is that I got the job through my network. Last summer, a friend from film school got me on a reality show on E! On the show I met an editor who really liked my work ethic so when he got hired on at this vfx house, he immediately called and wanted me to work with him. There wasn’t anything sleazy about it. I wasn’t trying to use anyone.
And in no way am I taking credit for the job. It was a gift from God. I just did my part which is what God wants.
So, if you could work on a summer blockbuster this year, which one would it be?
Number 98 of the AFI Top 100 is a film I usually watch on the 4th of July, Yankee Doodle Dandy. This film is a classic in every sense of the word. Great music, great dancing, great acting, great dialogue, great direction, etc… And so much charm. James Cagney is infectious.
TCM gives this synopsis for Yankee Doodle Dandy:
A musical portrait of composer/singer/dancer George M. Cohan. From his early days as a child-star in his family’s vaudeville show up to the time of his comeback at which he received a medal from the president for his special contributions to the US, this is the life- story of George M. Cohan, who produced, directed, wrote and starred in his own musical shows for which he composed his famous songs.
The film was released in 1942, right at the start of WWII. The Warners were 100% behind the war effort. During a time when most other studios felt the general public had grown tired of war films, they continued to make them calling it their duty. As with Yankee Doodle Dandy, when they did make a light-hearted film, it had plenty of flag-waving. There were three premieres; one in London, one in New York, and one in Los Angeles. To attend, the cost of a ticket was a U.S. War Bond. That was a different era.
My favorite line in the movie comes during a scene in which Cohan and his producing partner are visiting a very famous actress to convince her to be in their next production. Her manager says, “Miss Templeton hasn’t seen your work.” To which George M. Cohan replies, “Oh? Been sick or in Europe?”
It’s a story of what being persistent and believing in yourself can do for you. We could learn a lot from George M. Cohan. Nobody will have confidence in you unless you first have confidence in yourself. And Cohan had that in spades.
Mr. Michael Curtiz of Casablanca fame directed this film, calling it the “pinochle of his career.” That is saying a lot. He’s got to be one of the most well-rounded directors ever. He could do it all. He’s made some of my favorite films of the classic era. This is a quote by Mr. Curtiz on his goal as a filmmaker:
To make the best pictures I can that will give audiences their money’s worth; to please myself as much as I can without forgetting that the pleasure of my audiences comes first. Thus only do I think I can make any substantial contribution to the art of motion pictures.
And if you like James Cagney in this, you should check out Footlight Parade. Also check out White Heat and Man of a Thousand Faces. Both very different performances that show you the kind of range he had.
Turner Classic Movies continues its annual 31 Days of Oscar. This week my pick is Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1976). Steven Spielberg’s alien encounter masterpiece garnered him his first Oscar nomination.
This movie is particularly relevant to me right now because it’s about pursuing your dreams. Richard Dreyfuss plays a man who has an encounter and then becomes obsessed with getting to Devils Tower, Wyoming. If you’ve ever had a dream you’ll relate to his character as you feel his aching to achieve his goal. He pursues it at all costs resulting in the destruction and abandonment of his family. Spielberg has said he would have ended it differently if he had made it later in life. Close Encounters almost plays as a warning not to pursue your dreams at all costs. If you achieve them but have alienated everyone around you, what’s the point?
As you watch, pay attention to all of the Pinocchio references throughout the film. When You Wish Upon A Star even shows up in the score at one point.
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) – Saturday, February 20 at 8:00pm EST
A blue-collar worker’s encounter with a UFO leaves him a changed man.
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Terry Garr, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon Dir: Steven Spielberg C-137 mins, TV-MA
The list of things we learned during the making and distribution of Dangerous Calling could fill a few books. Here are 10 random things that I learned.
- It’s not a good idea for your set and your cast & crew lodging to be the same place. Trust me on this one. At the end of the day, you want to leave work.
- I learned what an Assistant Cameraman does. They are essential!
- 16 hour work days are about 3 or 4 hours too many. Especially when your crew isn’t being paid.
- Never underestimate the difference a good meal makes on set. Especially when your crew isn’t being paid.
- You always need more time and money than you think you do. Always. Plan for it. It still won’t be enough.
- Make sure your extras know what they’ve signed up for. It’s no fun when the crowd for your crowd shots keeps shrinking.
- In the age of digital filmmaking, BACKUP YOUR DATA.
- Be thinking about how you’re going to market the film before you start production.
- Three locations in one day in three different towns is just plain stupid.
- Directing a feature film is grueling work, but it’s also incredibly fun and rewarding.
Dangerous calling is now available on DVD. Go out and buy a copy and don’t forget to call your local Family Christian Store and ask them to carry it.
We’re celebrating the DVD release of Dangerous Calling this week. With that in mind, here are my top 5 experiences working on Dangerous Calling that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
- Working with a Rattle Snake. I hate snakes but I’m glad I did it. And even more glad we had a video assist so I didn’t have to be in the room with it.
- Shooting underwater scenes. I can hardly believe we were able to pull this off but the footage looks great and it adds so much value to the film. Tip for filmmakers: do whatever you can to ratchet up the onscreen value. Cut corners where you can but try and make sure as much of the money that you spend ends up on screen.
- Directing a scene on the square in beautiful Covington, Georgia. Not only is it the town my parents grew up in but it’s also where multiple films and TV shows have been shot. Some projects include Dukes of Hazzard, In the Heat of the Night, Remember the Titans, and most recently The Vampire Diaries. It had long been a dream of ours to shoot something on that square and it finally came true.
- Working with my brother. Josh is my best friend and the only person I want to do this with. We were designed to do this together. No doubt about it.
- Premiering the film before an audience of 500 people. This is why we do what we do. It’s for all of you. We want to make you laugh, cry, scream, and believe.
Three years ago this month, we had an idea for a movie. I don’t think either one of us realized how that one little idea would change our lives forever. With a lot of hard work, money, and sacrifice that idea became our first feature film, Dangerous Calling.
Today, Dangerous Calling is being released on DVD in major retailers and online nationwide. We couldn’t be more excited. It’s the most significant milestone on what has been a long three year journey. Thanks to all who had a hand in taking Dangerous Calling from script to DVD and to the rest of you for going on this journey with us.
Now we just need sell a ton of DVDs so we can get everyone paid and make another movie! You can buy Dangerous Calling online at the following websites:
If you’d prefer to buy from a retail store, you might have to call around and see if you can find it. It will be in all Lifeway Christian stores starting sometime in the next couple of weeks. Family Christian has not yet decided to carry it in their stores. Please stop by or call your local Family Christian Store and tell them you’d love to buy Dangerous Calling from them. If they see it selling a lot of copies at Lifeway, they’ll be more likely to carry it.
What are you waiting for? Go out and buy several copies!
