Corman gets an Oscar

Seems as though there was a bit of a dust up about Roger Corman getting his Oscar in the old blog-o-sphere.

Here's a link to the ceremony itself. Both Ron Howard, and Jonathan Demme salute Corman, and it's a nice touch.

The dust up happened at a web site called Cinematical. Neil Sarver over at Bleeding tree wrote a interesting piece about criticism, and Corman. In the piece there are links to other opinions. Head on over and take a look.

When I heard about Corman getting an Oscar I said "about time". Call Corman the devil or the angel of independent film you still have to give him his due. He's created some interesting films throughout the years.

I have an affection for the guy, and I did meet the man and he is a very courteous and soft spoken man. I have all the respect for Corman, and I like the tribute they gave him.

I had thought that they would give him his Oscar in March of next year during the academy's broadcast, but instead they give it to him now.

I'm a bit saddened to hear that. I would have loved to see what some editor would do with the many clips from Corman's movies.

I was ecstatic to hear that Gordon Willis also received a Oscar. He is another man who has been looked over by the academy. Again though why not just televise it during the ceremonies next year?

Maybe it's just me. Too much the cine-file to let it go. But just those two men alone deserve MORE recognition then what the academy gave them. Come on academy these are true artists. They deserve more.

And don't get me started on Laureen Bacall either. She was another person honored too.

Irene Glezos on Law & Order

TV ALERT everyone! Irene is on Law & Order this Friday (Nov. 13th). The show starts at 8PM, and Irene plays a wife of a murdered victim I believe. She says it was a great role. SO set your Tivo, VCR's & DVR's to NBC at 8PM to 9PM, and cheer Irene on. I think this is her third appearance in the L&O series, not including her appearance on the series "Conviction" which was a L&O spin-off that was cancelled mid-season.

Want MORE IRENE! I know I can't get enough so go on over to practice of artemisia.com. You can see her there too, along with a very talented bunch of other thespians.

Go Irene!

The Windmill Movie

I noticed that I had missed the premiere of Alexander Olch's documentary "The Windmill Movie". Lucky for me HBO has it on demand till the end of November. To say that I was captivated by this film is a pretty fair way of describing it. The film was made by combing through 200 hours worth of footage of Richard P. Rogers autobiography. Rogers died in 2001 and it was up to his protege Alexander Olch who was a student of Rogers to make any sense out of it.

What unfolds is a beautiful honest piece about a man who feels compelled to say something, but has no idea what to say. It is only after his death and combing through his diaries, and recordings that Olch's makes sense of it all.

The site to the movie is here. If you do get a chance do see the film. It has always been my belief that we all have a story to tell, and yet we don't know what that story really is. Here is an example of a filmmaker who pointed the camera at himself and revealed to us the depth of life, and what it means to be a creative soul.

Go to HBO on demand and order it. If you subscribe to HBO it's free. How movies slip threw the cracks always amazes me, and I'm just glad I got to see this. It is inspirational, and challenging.

Is this the Winter of our discontent?

With the weather changing here in the Northeast one wonders and ponders future events. I've been on Facebook a bit more then I'd like, but yet the site appeals to me because of its interaction with others. Social networking is something of a new thing. I mean it is to the vast majority of us. Of course back in the day there were bulletin boards and forums that one looked at for info and social networking of sorts. But now it's more mobile, and people are tweeting, and texting each other like it was going out of style.

So what has this got to do with film making? Well everything of course, because these tools now put the power in YOUR hands to start a sort of grass roots distribution effort for your film. Don't get me wrong it's difficult to do. Nothing worth while is easy and why should marketing your film through social networks be easy. It's time consuming and tedious at best. I'll say it right now. I'm not that good at it, but I do like connecting to like minded people. Creativity doesn't exist in a vacuum and using such tools as twitter and Facebook, and even Myspace you may be able to connect to an audience and or peers.

So why the title "the winter of our discontent"? Well it seems around this time there is more chatter out there and less content to be seen. C.C Chapman who lives in the Boston area said it in his blog today. There are more talkers out there then doers, and I so agree on that fact. But maybe that's just in general too. I've always been flustered by people who give no solutions to problems. These people expect someone else to FIX it. What usually does happen is that the problem is fixed but not before some stress and agita is given out to other people. In today's economy we're all working more with less, and this has become the norm.

I've REALLY been thinking about what I want to do. I have this production company and I so want to do another film, but I need to reach out to the creative community here and in the surrounding areas of where I live. Is it possible to come together and work on each others projects realizing that there are other priorities we may have in our life that may come up. I've always been a proponent of paying for someones service, but in today's economy who has the extra scratch to put up. I do like the idea of investing one self's skills into a project. In essence you become an investor in that project and all who work on that project give their time up for the project. I remember Rick Schmidt had that idea in his book "Feature Film making at Used Car Prices". I remember sitting with him and our group signing a contract together. It was a collaborative contract that stated that we all gave each other permission to work with the material we had shot, and that we would ALL profit from its success if that project became a success. It was a small video project way before the advent of DV, and it was to say the least very inspiring to work on.

I have been writing because after all ideas needs to be fleshed out, and written down. The screenplay is a blueprint of sorts. Only when your into production does that blueprint gets revised due to the realities of life. So I sit here pondering the possibilities. Which direction should I take?, what type of project should I commit to? What ever it is it needs to be something that I can live with for awhile because this isn't a short term project. I'm in for the long haul. So some serious thinking to do, and then a BIG leap needs to be made. Hopefully with a few other crazy creative types also, but none the less a leap needs to be made. Is this the winter of our discontent, or is it the beginning of something extra ordinary? We'll see what bubbles up!

Laundrea Thomas

I just found out that Ms Laudrea Thomas died on August 9th of this year in Los Angeles California. It seems that she took her own life. She was 32 and she was way too young to leave this earth. I'm not going to say that I knew Ms Thomas very well. She was in my movie "Deadly Obsessions", and she was a pleasure to work with. I had hoped some how that someday we would work together again because it's so hard to find real good talent who have a passion for what they do.

To say that I was taken a back by this news of Laundrea's death is an understatement. I can still remember Laundrea's first day of shooting Of "Deadly Obsessions" it seems that she had car problems and her car broke down on the PA Turnpike on the day she was suppose to check in to shoot her scenes. Her father managed to rescue her, and drive her to the hotel where I had some of the cast & crew staying. Laundrea still made it on time and even brought some props that she thought we could use, which we did. She was a happy and determined young lady who gave 110%. I will always remember her that way and her laugh.

There is not much else I can say. The world is a little darker, and less friendly knowing that such a lovely women is nolonger with us. A link to her obituary is here & here.

Memorial contributions in Laundrea's memory may be made to Domestic Violence Services, PO Box 359, Lancaster, PA 17608.

Content & Communications World Expo

I happen to be lucky enough to be invited to the Content & communications World Expo here in NYC, and take in a few presentations about digital media. First off it was very interesting to meet and see the men & women who work in the digital realm. Coming from an educational background I don't get to see, or play with the newest pieces of technology due to budgetary constraints. Where I work we do keep up with technology, but technology is a strange mistress. As soon as you get to know her she changes, and what you've learned about her becomes obsolete fast. I was hoping to see more technology for the class room, but here at the CCW expo it was more and more about monetizing the digital arena.

Since the technology is so quick to change there are companies trying to figure out how one can use digital technology and turn a profit doing it. I have no problem with this idea. Like all new techno logic breakthroughs there has always been people who want to profit from it, and make it more accessible to the consumer. Since the expo is called content & communications I met the people who provide the content to many different companies. From Television, to cable and even the Internet there are many people who contribute to this content. Yest as a society we seem to consume more content then we can produce. Also our content has become more and more specialized, or should I say more and more segmented.

In today's world its all about the here and now. I want what I want now, and if I can't have it instantly I go somewhere else. That's why there is a shift happening in media. Where Television, newspapers and magazines dominated in the past it is now all about on-demand satisfaction. This is in part because digital media is breaking out of it's box. No longer is digital media relegated to the computer, but it is now in our hands via cell phones and blackberry's. It is what we even watch. Eighty-five percent of us get our news via cable. The days of rabbit ears on the television are gone. Yet terrestrial TV is not dead. It has only changed, and is working hand in hand with digital networks. Through meta-data, SMS, and RSS we are connecting more and more with what we want to see. If your interest is in cooking you can find things about cooking a lot easier now, and so can marketers & advertisers. That's what I mean about segmented. These content providers need to get their content seen and they need to find an audience. Through digital technology this is happening more and more.

I can go on, and on about this and perhaps will since there is so much to digest, but what does this mean for me you are saying? Simple. To get or attract an audience you need to get it in front of eyes that want to see it. There is a number of various ways to do this, but I think you'll agree that the movies or serials you produce need to find their audience. Cutting through the clutter is a subject I've touched on previously here in this blog.

You can look at it in two ways. One, there is so much clutter that it's hard to stand out from the rest, or two you can do your own marketing and target the exact people who would be interested in your content.

I said it before and I'll say it again. There is a lot to say about all this, and a lot more to write about. I'll try and go through my notes and dissect them, and try to filter the most useful information out of them. I was very surprised that I came away from the expo a lot more optimistic, and hopeful then I thought I might. Maybe I can explain why here.

A New Beginning!

It's been a while, and yet here I am. It's been a strange month, and now that were going into October that extra chill in the air kind of gives me a new spring in my step. Life has a way of running on by, and if you don't stop to look you just might miss it. So what's with the new Aggy philosophy? Since when is this a blog about feelings? Isn't it about film making?

Yes. Yes it is, and it time this fellow got back up, and start doing what he likes doing. Fuck fame & fortune. I'm not here to be the next Rodriguez, or Tarintino I'm here for me. Now don't get me wrong it would be really cool to get the recognition for ones films, and even make a living doing it. But the real question is why do I like film making.



Easy. Self expression. Before DV, and before the Internet I was just a dude with a camera who liked putting on shows, and telling stories. A lot of those stories were based on things I was watching, both on TV and at the movies. It was in college that I began to see film making as more then just storytelling, but as an art form. Unfortunately it is also commerce, and a lot of movies these days are just that commerce. Nothing bad about that, but I like a little meat on my bones. In essence more substance is what I'm after.

I've been looking at road blocks and been distracted from my goals. If there is something worth saying somehow you find a way to say it. That's not to say I've gotten all serious and high falutin about it all. Oh! not at all. I was more productive, and having MORE fun when I was doing my own little low budget horror, sci-fi epics then I was doing it professionally.

There are people out there who are doing there own thing, and having a good time doing it. I want to be one of those people again. Life is way too short for excuses. I need to produce, and in today's technology that is easier then it ever was. I mean do you know how hard it is or was to splice spaghetti (super-8) together? It's a lot easier now, and there is a lot of technology that can help.

So is this a new chapter? Maybe. I just need to break out of my own insecurities, and get that child like wonder back.

Anyone else feel that way?