May 2012
4 posts
COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS
I have two elaborate outlines from 2008 about TWO COMPANION FEATURE FILMS. Each film is about the death of a marriage (and a child). One from his perspective and one from hers. And now this… http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-mcavoy-jessica-chastain-elanor-rigby-327360 The collective unconscious…don’t wait around to make that great idea into a film (or two)! Somebody...
May 22nd
RICKY GERVAIS
Why don’t I believe in God? No, no no, why do YOU believe in God? Surely the burden of proof is on the believer. You started all this. If I came up to you and said, “Why don’t you believe I can fly?” You’d say, “Why would I?” I’d reply, “Because it’s a matter of faith.” If I then said, “Prove I can’t fly. Prove I can’t fly see, see, you can’t prove it can you?” You’d probably either walk away,...
May 21st
May 11th
May 3rd
February 2012
2 posts
1 tag
Feb 13th
1 tag
Feb 11th
November 2011
1 post
9 tags
NICKY KATT
I would love to work with Nicky Katt, for he is genius. NICKY KATT in Soderbergh’s FULL FRONTAL: In response to the quandary “we need to find a new Eva Braun” You know what? Fuck her. And here’s why. One, anyone who’s offended by drinking blood, obviously doesn’t drink blood. Two, anyone who drinks as much blood as I do knows it has no effect. Three, there...
Nov 22nd
3 notes
September 2011
3 posts
DAWN RIDER
Great scout at Bordertown today with Danny Virtue. Excited to be working with Danny on Dawn Rider. Looking forward to horses, guns, and dust (or, more likely, rain!). http://www.virtuestudioranch.com/locations/bordertown.php
Sep 29th
8 notes
Sep 10th
4 notes
Sep 4th
August 2011
3 posts
11 tags
VAMLET
After a few months in the post production oven…VAMLET is almost ready to be unleashed on the world… Look for VAMLET in FILM FESTIVALS in 2012!
Aug 30th
1 note
9 tags
THIS IS REAL
These headlines pulled from Yahoo this morning. Wow.
Aug 6th
3 notes
MORNING SPAM
Hello, My Name is Miss Nancy, I came across your profile today,and i was inspired to send you a mail,remember love is a bridge that cornet far distance to became near. As you know that having a prophesy of love over somebody there most be odds around the corner, but no matter the odds, love survive all odds.I am a girl who's love story is interesting.I am responsible,romantic and courageous. I...
Aug 4th
July 2011
4 posts
8 tags
DARWINNING?
ADVANCED ALIENS DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH EARTH CrazySmart Alien “what do you think?” SuperSmart Alien “Well…they still have religion.” CrazySmart Alien “Oh, cool! But wait…it’s in the fiction section, right?” SuperSmart Alien “Not really…” CrazySmart Alien “Seriously?” SuperSmart Alien...
Jul 25th
5 notes
CAREFUL!
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/photos/whale-shark-swim-1311371866-slideshow/
Jul 23rd
10 tags
GETTING THE MUSIC
Good luck over the weekend L.A. friends! The most depressing thing about making strictly low to no budget films is the inability to license music/songs. Everyday I wake up and think, I need to write something great, so somebody REALLY wants it, so they want it enough to let me have creative control, so I can actually use some fucking great songs. That’s the daily plan. Write pages. Try...
Jul 16th
2 notes
6 tags
WRITING FRENZY
2011 has been a pretty crazy year as far as my personal screenwriting output is concerned. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FEATURE FILM SCRIPTS since January of this year: A PAGE ONE rewrite. A HEIST film. A CRIME THRILLER. A WESTERN. Another ‘HIGH OCTANE’ CRIME THRILLER. A (Psychological) HORROR film (Co-written with my friend Paul). WHY THE SUDDEN FLURRY? I think the cost of setting...
Jul 14th
2 notes
May 2011
2 posts
11 tags
INFO, STUFF, THINGS
NEW MOVIES Trying to raise the money to make the next movie. Got the script. The cast is going to be no problem. Just need a bit of dough… RECOIL Just working on the Director’s cut. Will be ready very soon! A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS Working on getting it delivered to all the folks who are waiting for delivery. VAMLET Picture is damn near locked. Audio is pretty rough. Waiting...
May 30th
6 tags
HACKED!
All of my Wordpress websites were hacked. I’m deleting everything, including the Cinemanovel Site, sadly. It will take a bit, but I’ll have something up very soon.
May 30th
April 2011
2 posts
8 tags
CALM, STORM
Cast read through later today. Chicken-scratched homemade stick-people storyboards. A few roles still up in the air. Ready to get shooting on Monday!
Apr 16th
11 tags
RECOIL - PREP
Location Scout photo by genius FIRST AD Bryan Knight. Week three of PREP on RECOIL is in the books. We go to camera on the 18th. Wow. Working all weekend to get my preliminary shotlist looking more like a realistic shotlist. More meetings on Sunday. I’m excited to get shooting!
Apr 9th
February 2011
6 posts
8 tags
WHEN LIFE WAS GOOD
“WHEN LIFE WAS GOOD” is back for a few more days. http://www.superchannel.ca/movies/view/43772895/When-Life-was-Good See it again, for the first time.
Feb 23rd
9 tags
TUMBLE FOR YA
Lesli Brownlee is ALISON in VAMLET There are so many helpful blogs out there. I thought it might be nice to post a link to a good one every once in a while. So, instead of the usual rantings and updates (although they follow)… John August Great tips and inspiration for screenwriters (working and aspiring). WHAT IS NEW? Writing, spec script went out. Fingers crossed. Editing VAMLET,...
Feb 21st
6 tags
Um...hey, that's my show...
On December 13, 2007, I pitched CBC an original Action/Comedy television series called “InSecurity.” They politely declined to option or develop the concept. They felt it didn’t speak to their demographic. Yesterday, I saw posters on a wall near my home for a new CBC Action/Comedy called “InSecurity.” Wow. I suppose that’s just Jung’s “Collective...
Feb 9th
4 notes
13 tags
FULL ON VAMLET
CASEY, TIJANA, and DAN in “VAMLET” Thursday/Friday were spent polishing four scripts. NOW it’s full on editing VAMLET. I’d like to get a rough assembly finished by the end of the week. SO MUCH left to slog through. Back to it!
Feb 6th
6 tags
MIKE RULES
FOLLOW EVERY SINGLE ONE. http://www.moviemakerdigital.com/moviemaker/iss91_vol18?pg=90#pg90
Feb 3rd
7 tags
INVEST IN A MOVIE?
WHAT IS THE MODEL? I’ve written the best script I’ve ever written. It’s not an expensive film, logistically. It’s ready to go into production this afternoon, but, there are a lot of obstacles to production. A lot of funding bodies and companies are structured to include protracted development. Development can be extremely helpful for a work-in-progress or a very early...
Feb 3rd
December 2010
7 posts
10 tags
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2010
These are the undisputed best films of the year. 1. Dogtooth 2. Blue Valentine 3. Ondine 4. Black Swan 5. Fish Tank 6. The American 7. Solitary Man 8. The Father of my Children 9. I am Love 10. The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Of note: Easy A, Catfish, The Social Network, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Another Year, Animal Kingdom
Dec 30th
8 tags
PRESERVING THE SPARK
A little wisdom from Sandy Mackendrick For me, this issue is a central question. My writing and filmmaking life is this constant struggle to determine exactly the right time to move the idea from my head to the page or screen. If only there were an easy answer. Each time, by feel, one idea takes its place ahead of the others. The idea that demands more time, then demands that those characters...
Dec 28th
13 tags
REALLY INSPIRED
Yesterday I took a break from writing to grab lunch and I remembered an email somebody sent a while back. It pissed me off all over again. This person said they were inspired by the way I just went out and made WHEN LIFE WAS GOOD with myself as the only crew, how I just decided to make a film and then went out and made it. I replied to the message with a thank you and a brief “all you...
Dec 24th
7 tags
STANLEY USED A VERY SMALL CREW
Can you imagine yourself going down with just a cameraman and sound man and half a dozen people and shooting a film? Sure I can. In fact, any contemporary story is best done just that way. The only time you need vast amounts of money and a huge crew is when you require complex special effects, as in 2001, or big battle or crowd scenes, as in the Napoleon film. - STANLEY KUBRICK
Dec 22nd
11 tags
CHRISTMAS BLUES
Merry Christmas. Christmas is that time of the year when everything stops, which is actually okay this year, I think. Normally I hate it, like weekends, and other holidays when nobody is working. Now, with so much writing and editing to do, if Christmas has to happen (and it seems to happen every year around this time), I suppose it’s a good time for it. A good marketing slogan, I...
Dec 20th
10 tags
WHAT IS NEW-ISH
WRITING: Been doing a lot of it, A LOT. I finished the first draft of I THINK WE SHOULD SEE YOUNGER PEOPLE a week or so ago. I think it’s by far the best thing I’ve written, but I still need to take the requisite time away to reflect. I need to put it in the drawer for a month and then check back in with it. I’m also currently at work on two more commercial scripts, one very...
Dec 17th
12 tags
PTA and PDL
I was walking home from the store yesterday and got to thinking…if religious idiots (Christians/Muslims, et al) don’t destroy our species, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE is going to be remembered as such a great fucking movie. It seems to get better every year.
Dec 7th
November 2010
5 posts
8 tags
A few words from Irvin Kershner (RIP)
American film tends to be sentimental and rarely depicts the soul of its citizens. And if the film doesn’t have guns, it isn’t an action film. But for me, the real turnoff is in the final scenes. The experience is often wrapped up in a pretty consumer package guaranteed to show us that life is good and people finally see the light. Foreign films tend not to have this denouement....
Nov 29th
12 tags
WRITE STUFF
DAN and WES UPDATES ON THE FILMS: A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS Still waiting to hear about any sales. VAMLET I’ve taken a week off from editing. I was really burnt out and needed the break. I’m looking forward to getting back into it with a clear and inspired head. Hmmm the words inspired and insipid aren’t that far apart… UPDATES ON THE SCRIPTS: CINEMANOVEL Working...
Nov 26th
16 tags
GOOD MORNING
“Jesus Christ, Alison, he doesn’t look remotely Swedish!” FIRST RESHOOT required. A little out of focus action means a quick reshoot. Should only take an hour or two, only one main character involved. If you have to do a reshoot, this is the type you want. EDITING Editing is getting tough. No end to the chaos. No end to the footage. I have SO MUCH writing I need to do, and...
Nov 11th
14 tags
MORE EDITING MADNESS
Kathleen and Pyper at the premiere of A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS at TIFF 2010. The seemingly endless VAMLET edit continues. It was so great to have two cameras and have Gaelle working the second camera. She did a great job, and I am using second camera footage…however… I’m not sure about two cameras for the future. It’s A LOT of footage to slog through, and a lot to keep...
Nov 8th
11 tags
ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER SCENE
JESSE and ROB C. “Mist!” Almost finished the rough edit of the GYM and the SAUNA. Then it’s THE DRESS SHOP. I had hoped to work quicker than one scene a day, but one scene a day seems to be the max. It’s been interesting following Ed burns and his approach with Nice Guy Johnny. I think there may be hope for day and date VOD. I plan on targeting this type of approach...
Nov 3rd
October 2010
7 posts
13 tags
WRAPPED UP?
RENEE ST CYR is THE CATERPILLAR in VAMLET This picture we’re currently calling VAMLET is wrapped as far as principal photography goes. It’s so funny to use terms like “principal photography” to describe what just happened, but technically, that is what it was. When you run and gun and make films for no money, it’s kind of funny to discuss those films in traditional...
Oct 22nd
Oct 21st
15 tags
DAY LAST
IT’S OUR LAST SCHEDULED DAY OF SHOOTING ON “VAMLET” Whew. It’s been a long time since we hopped into Katie’s car and shot that first day. We’ve seen Dan, we’ve been to TIFF, CIFF, VIFF, and I’ve been sitting in front of this screen editing as much as possible. I’ve made it through 27 minutes up to this point. Normally I would have cut the...
Oct 20th
10 tags
THANKSGIVING
LINDSAY is played by LYNDSAY. Shooting tonight. Editing today. Editing tomorrow. Editing all the time. It’s all about performance, for me, and this means that it’s not quite as simple as wide shot, medium shot, close up, insert, repeat. I don’t regularly shoot in those terms when I do anything (especially a guided improvisational film like this one), but even if I did, all of...
Oct 10th
14 tags
ALMOST THERE...
CASEY and BROOKLYN (Casey Manderson & Kristine Cofsky) A couple more shooting days left on the film. Whew. As soon as it stops raining I can get out and hunt for a well lit baseball diamond, soccer field or running track (for night shoot). Looking forward to shooting that scene! Also looking forward to getting into some serious writing (of course there’s the matter of editing this...
Oct 10th
14 tags
LET'S CALL IT DAY THIRTY-ONE
It’s taken me three days to go through two camera’s worth of footage and select the usable clips for ONE scene. One two minute (at the most) scene. I still haven’t made a single edit, just taking the usable parts and putting them onto a timeline. It’s 47minutes long (but this is double because most of the shots are TWO cameras) and now I need to cut those 47 (94) minutes...
Oct 4th
1 note
13 tags
DAY THIRTY-ISH
Another couple of shooting days in the books. Spent the night shooting, logging, and editing instead of attending red carpet events and parties for VIFF. I’m hoping to get out a bit tomorrow! We’ve been shooting a lot of “Pathos” lately, having tackled most of the overtly funny stuff early on, however, even within the dramatic part of the story, I’m trying to...
Oct 2nd
September 2010
7 posts
14 tags
BACK
Back home in Vancouver. It’s nice to be back home with Kelly and the doggies. It will also be nice to get the new film in the can! Finally! Wow. It feels like it’s been a long shoot. Shooting out of sequence has been really tough, but with no money (and so many characters) there’s no other way. VANCOUVER FILM FESTIVAL - Premiere A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS premieres this...
Sep 28th
DAY TWENTY-FIVE-ISH
Back to work on the film. Can’t really call it “Life is Still Good” but “Vamlet” might not hit all the bases either? The film is a comedy, but there’s pathos and some complex romantic entanglements in there as well…it’s tough to mix comedy and pathos, I think, but that’s what I tried to do with WHEN LIFE WAS GOOD and that’s what...
Sep 21st
HOME
The inimitable JOHN PYPER FERGUSON and the stunning KATHLEEN ROBERTSON outside the A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS World Premiere on Sept 10th, 2010. BACK AT HOME This is the first day I’ve felt like a human in nine days. TIFF just about killed me. Even with the Ativan (for flying!) still in my system, I’m starting to feel like myself. Laundry is in the machine. Groceries are in the...
Sep 17th
TIFF - DAY NINE
TIFF DAY NINE Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired. These nine days have taken their toll. Had a great dinner at LUMA with the Festival Co-Directors and a whole bunch of Directors. I really wish I wasn’t so tired and could have enjoyed the great food and company a little more. More sleep. Less wine. More exercise. Less time between meals. There is an answer in there...
Sep 16th