KGB Productions

M dot Strange: Berlin Talent Campus 08 from M dot Strange on Vimeo . Here is M dot Strange talking about his film. I got to give a lot of props to the guy. I like his philosphy, and his candid attitude towards fillmaking. I've seen part of his film, and I was impressed, but what I'm most impressed about is his audience. They found him, and they connected. Sometimes that's all what it takes.

Okay I've been interested in this film since it came out, but never got a chance to see it in the theaters. I've been a fan of the "vigilante" movie genre since I was a young teenager. I remember such films as " The Exterminator ", " Savage Streets ", " Death Wish ", and all their subsequent sequels. The one that stands above it is the original "Death Wish" with Charles Bronson . Death Wish which was made in 1974 depicted a New York City in decay, and one spiraling down into chaos. Having grown up in NY at that time I do remember the graffiti on the trains, the urine smelling subways, and the violence that seemed to happen everyday. " The Brave One " on the other hand takes place in modern day NYC. Hence the problem. Neil Jordon who is the director of "The Brave One" seems to harken back to those days, but keeps it in the present time. I'm not saying NYC is a big love fest now, but it isn't what it on...

I've been mulling ideas and writing things down in order to kick start the creative process within me. But the grind does happen and I think I've written about it here. Everyday life seems to grind those processes to nil. But that's an excuse. If you really want something bad enough you'll find the time, and do it. It just takes a bit longer. I've always approached an idea on what type of resources I have on hand. A particular location, an acquaintance of actors, or maybe just a prop. From that I usually start building something resembling a story. The old trick is to keep on writing. I sometimes come across a scene or act that I feel is above me. I write it as if I had no limitations, and only after scale it down if I decide to move on it. Not the best way to work, but we do what we need to do, and if this is how a film gets done then so be it. I've been a member of crews throughout the years that had very little money to work with. A lot of these...

I've been a fan of the series since it came out, and a bigger Spielberg & Lucas fan. It's good to see them invigorating the series. I know I'll be taking my boys.

So instead of another review I figured I write about me, and the film, and film production in general. My objective in this blog is to excite myself about film again. In my youth I was a fanatic, but middle age or is it experience has tempered it. I still love the cinema, but I'm not filled with the same vigor as I was. Maybe because priorities change. Yet there is still a part of me that wants to say something important. Maybe not for the general audience, but for the audience of the future who may or may not find some truth in the story I choose to tell. Some may complain about today's state of film production. How competitive it is, and how difficult it is to attract an audience in today’s market. To them I say it is what it is. You can take that attitude and just throw up your hands and say NEVER , or you could embrace the technology of today and run with it. True it is a young persons game, but that's because they grew up in such a rich media centric life. You just ne...

I'm astounded to find sometimes the number of films that just seemed to pass me by. One of these films was Notes on a Scandal starring Judi Dench & Cate Blanchett . The film is a wonderfully salacious and psychologically controlling character piece, which showcases two of the film industry's most gifted actresses. The film is about a veteran high school teacher (Dench) who befriends a younger art teacher (Blanchett), who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship. Notes of a Scandal is like watching a car wreck. You want to look away, but you become too embroiled into the characters to look away. Dench is at her best, and Blanchett actually makes you believe why a women can become obsessed with a boy. Another actor who should be mentioned also is Bill Nighy as Richard Hart Blanchett's husband. He gives a very subliminal performance in the film and in ...

The History Boys is a film based on the play by Alan Bennett of the same name. THE HISTORY BOYS tells the story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master ( Richard Griffiths ), a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores ( Stephen Campbell Moore ). The film is wordy, and I really don't think that many adolescent boys talk the way they do in the film, but setting that aside the film is a really interesting look at educators and our youth. Easily compared to the film Dead Poet's Society , the History Boys is unable to shake its stagy origins, with claustrophobic settings and contrived dialogue. Yet what saves this movie are its actors. All are exceptional. There is Posner who is played by Samuel Barnett . Jamie Parker as the cheerful Scripps, the intense Lockwood played by Andrew Knott , the heavy set jokester Timms played by James Corden , an...

I caught this film only recently, and what attracted me to it was that it was about a bunch of boys growing up in Queens during the 80's. I being from that part of the world wanted to see what the story was about. I had no pre-conceived idea about the plot or the film itself, and I was thoroughly blown away by this little film that I had heard nothing about. Dito Montiel directs this movie from his novel "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints ", and he does so with a very dramatic effect. Robert Downey Jr plays Dito in present time. His mother phones him from Astoria Queens to tell Dito that his father is sick, and he needs to get to a hospital. As Downey heads to his dad we are slowly shown Dito's past & how he got to where he is. Shia LaBeouf plays the young Dito as he grows up on the means streets of Astoria. LaBeouf does a great job at portraying an aimless youth trying to scrape by day to day in a neighborhood of tough guys and bullies. His friend and defende...

It's George Romero's birthday today, and to celebrate I figured I talk about one of his films. The film I choose is Knightriders starring Ed Harris . I do remember the film when it first came out in 1981. It was double billed with Romero's " Dawn of the Dead ". I remember an afternoon of fun that day when my friend and I went downtown to see both films. Knightriders isn't a perfect film, and many critics have pointed out at 145 minutes the film does drag, but it still remains one of my favorite Romero films. It's an amazing film and I'm always taken aback by the many different themes Romero tries to cover in the film. In ways the film is ahead of its time. It talks about corporate sponsorship, and being true to oneself. If you listen hard enough you can hear Romeros anthem of independence within the film. Ed Harris who gives a hell of performance in the film as Billy should be noted here that this is one of Harris' first performances on film. Bef...

Okay I'm a realist at heart. I wasn't that way earlier in my career, but I am now, and I think you have to be in this business if you ever want to do some serious work, and make some money at it. I read an interview with John Sayles the filmmaker. His film Honeydripper is out now, and he and his long time creative producer & partner Maggie Renzi are promoting it. Now I find Sayles to be an extraordinary filmmaker & writer, and I admire how he gets his films done. Honeydripper is his 16th film he's done, and the Sayles doesn't seem to be slowing down. In the article Sayles and Renzi discuss the difficulty of getting a film financed in today’s market. Both Honeydripper and Silver City were self-financed for a little over $5 million. I don't know where you come from, but $5 million is a lot of cash, and yet it still isn't enough. Factor in advertising & marketing expenses and your costs go up. Renzi mentions that it is easier for filmmakers now to fi...