The Collegiate Experience

Christina’s birthday party last night

Turkey and the trimmings

Thanksgiving at the Tellez residence

Fireworks on town lake?

Steak for man night

Cafe java

My dad went crazy

The story is found here: 

http://thefilmstage.com/2010/10/27/robert-rodriguez-not-directing-%E2%80%98deadpool%E2%80%99-newcomer-considered/

The article in question talks about how Robert is just too busy to focus on any other projects let alone a film about a character from the last X-Men film. With projects like Spy Kids 4 and a long awaited follow-up to Sin City he has promised, Mr. Rodriguez is too busy and so it is reported he has passed on directing. Instead it will be Swedish commercial director Adam Berg. I think it would be useful if Mr. Rodriguez produced the film much like he did with this year’s Predators reboot. He was asked to direct but let Nimrod Antal take the reins. If he served as a producer for the Deadpool film then we could still see some of this creative director’s vision.

http://hitrecord.org/records/67032

I put on my shirt today and it brought back fond memories of the past year.

     Someone’s got a case of the Mondays, what did I accomplish that day? Nothing. Class was fine as usual. For Entertainment Journalism we discussed our trend stories and went over them. Our group decided to discuss 3D technology and I was satisfied with how the story turned out, We were given very nice constructive criticism and I look forward to improving our story.

     Tuesday was the last day for homework for my legal environment of Business class and I finished it just in time to submit it to class. The rest of the day was cake and I decided to relax. I was taking a nap when I was awoken by a text. My sister reminded me that I had promised to take her and my nephew to see Megamind after I had promised them. So off to Round Rock I went and I was subjected to seeing Megamind another time. I came home later that evening full from Pizza Hut courtesy of my brother. What a better night and a cure for my case of the Mondays.

     Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 is coming out this week and like many other students my age, I have grown up alongside Harry and his friends. I came across the tale of the boy who lived as part of a reading assignment for my 3rd grade book club. I was 9 years old and at the time it was the largest book I had read at a whopping 309 pages. Now ten years have elapsed since then and the film adaptations are coming to a close with the final film bowing out in July 2011. It has been a remarkable journey for many fans because many feel as if a small segment of their childhood is disappearing. With the recent opening of a theme park in Orlando, there are many fans who believe that even after the final film releases, J.K Rowling’s magical stories will remain relevant.

     For those unfamiliar with the story of Harry Potter the story is about an orphaned boy who on his 11th birthday discovers he is a wizard. He is accepted to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and along the way meets many people. He also discovers that the wizard who killed his parents is after him and “neither can live while the other survives”. The stories explore many different themes including: loss, acceptance, friendship, and love. Many can identify with these themes and that is why the series has been popular for over a decade.

3D is alive and well for better or worse.  It seems like 3D has made a comeback and with the recent advent of 3D television it seems like more than just a passing fad but the next generation for the entertainment industry.

http://www.3dmovie.com/

The history of three dimensional imagery started way before the last few years. Stereoscopy as it is also know began in 1838 but would not be incorporated into film until the Lumiere Brothers of France utilized it in 1903. While 3D films were certainly around they were not made very often and the masses would not be keen on viewing them for nearly fifty years. About this time, the fifties were known as the “first golden age” of 3D films and films from the likes of John Wayne and Alfred Hitchcock would use the technology. The issue back then was that there were not enough theatres outfitted with the materials required for a 3D experience like Double Synchronized projectors. While there would be a small renaissance to use the technology again during the 70’s and 80’s (remember Jaws 3D?) it was not until roughly a decade again with the proliferation of digital technologies that 3D would come back to the forefront and be in demand once more.

In March of this year Nintendo announced that it was making its portable device the “DS” 3-D. This device according to the New York Times “will not require users to wear special glasses to view images in 3-D”. They will be using a special screen to allow the users to see without the classes.

Sony decided to make their Play station 3 video games in 3-D as well, which I tried out this past weekend. Many reviewers of 3-D technology said that this is a pro to the technology because it will allow gamers to fall even further into their games as it makes it become more of a reality.

Other technologies that are trying to be developed into 3-D are cell phones, laptops, or pictures.

Although the new 3D movie trend has done wonderful things for the movie theatre business and home television sets there are negative side effects for some movie lovers. I remember going to see Avatar in 3D for the first time. About 30 minutes into the movie I thought I was going to have to run to the bathroom and throw up.

Most people love the thrill of images popping out at you and the high definition images that look so close you can almost touch them, but there are those who suffer from 3D movie sickness as I like to call it.

“In 5 percent of the population, movies in 3D can actually induce motion sickness,” according to an article in FITSUGAR.

Although this is a low percentage nobody wants to go to the movie theatre and get sick. This becomes a problem when those 5 percent want to see a movie like “Despicable Me” or “Avatar” that is only playing in 3D. These unlucky people have to wait until the film comes out on DVD.

http://www.reelmovienews.com/gallery/avatar-movie-poster/

Another issue that should be considered when discussing 3D films is the strain on a movie goes wallet. 3D movies are automatically more expensive, probably due to the 3D glasses or the technology needed for 3D films. At the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, customers spend $9.50 per a ticket. However, to see a 3D film, add an additional 3 dollars to your already over inflated ticket price. In 2009, the average ticket price was set 7.35. Within a year, this national average jumped to 7.95 . With the recession and movie prices already on the rise, is 3D going to be as popular and relevant as it is right now?

       I recently attended the screening of Brother’s Justice at the Austin Film Festival and was fortunate to interview its stars Dax Shepard and Nate Tuck as well as the director, David Palmer. A transcript of our interview follows:

Orlando : How does it feel coming back to Austin  for your new film Brother’s Justice and can you each tell me in your own few words what the film is about:
Nate: I’m going to let Palmer take it off this time
Dax: Does that make you nervous?
David: No, it’s great to be back in Austin it’s my first time here and the film for me is about a really delusional comedian trying to you know destroy his career basically and he does a hell of a job at it , Nate?
Nate: I’ve been to Austin a few times I love it here I thought the Paramount Theatre was remarkable last night and Brother’s Justice is about one man’s journey, delusional and maniacal journey, to become a martial arts action star at any cost.
Dax: I’m Dax Shepard. I was introduced to Austin through shooting Idiocracy here in 2004 and it has been my favorite city ever since. I’ve been begging each production I’ve been involved with since to shoot here. I’ve wished they’d shoot Parenthood here, I just love it. Hamilton Pool, Barton Springs, I’ve even been tubing in San Marcos through that college campus. I eat at the Salt Lick every time I come here, It’s my favorite place in the country and to be able to show Brother’s Justice last night at the Paramount, it’s such a movie loving city and in the best way possible, it’s got all the love for film without any of the pretension  that other places have.
Nate: Does that go dead when it goes all black?
Orlando: No it doesn’t.
Dax: He just got nervous
Nate: I got nervous when you got nervous
Orlando: I know I just had to make sure it was working.
Dax: It’s working. Even when it’s not working, it’s working (laughter)
Nate: All these looped recordings.
Orlando: So what was it like for you guys to work with such talented people like Tom Arnold and are you guys actually friends with them or did you get them involved with the project through contacts?
Dax: Yeah, everyone that cameoed in the movie is a good friend of mine and or all three of ours. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to attract any talent we didn’t know with no pay and no trailers or food so we had to rely on friends to help us.
Orlando:  How did it feel for you guys to do what wasn’t considered a straight studio film, and how long did it take from becoming a simple pitch to a fully fledged movie, and for you guys did you really split it 50/50 for the production?
Dax: It was very liberating to answer to no one but ourselves we got to try anything we thought might be funny and we knew we could push as far as we wanted and that we could pull it back in editing. We were going to have control over what ultimately got on the screen and that freed us up to try tons of crazy  stuff that didn’t work, some of it did some of it didn’t and that was really fun and we didn’t have to  have a happy ending. We didn’t have to make the lead character likeable, we didn’t have to do anything, and all we had to do was make each other laugh every day of shooting. And it took about 2 months the first go around  and then we had a couple of years off  and then another month to shoot our third act, and the agreement is not 50/50  but it is a very lucrative agreement for everyone involved considering we made zero dollars and spent money. The only good news is that Nate didn’t have to pay for 25% of it.
Nate: I think I bought some make-up one day and some Starbucks.
Orlando: So any upcoming projects for you three guys after Brother’s Justice?
Dax:  We are aiming to make a car chase movie on my hiatus from Parenthood this year, that’s our goal.
Orlando: Great.
Dax: The Bottle Rocket version of the film.
Orlando: Bottle Rocket, great like Wes Anderson?
Dax: Although we are not as smart as him so it would be like a dumb downed less aesthetically pleasing version of Wes Anderson.
Orlando: How much of the stuff on your Imdb profile is true?
Dax: I think all of it? I don’t really know how imdb works but I assume it can’t be really manipulated, wait is there something on there that’ superfluous.
Orlando: No everything sounds good.
Dax: Look I’ve done a lot of shit to help friends so there’s some crap on there, no question about that.
Nate: There’s a comment on mine that is absolutely true it says Nate Tuck has sweet wood. (Laughter)
Dax: Did I write that?
Nate: yes you did when it first came out it’s still on there.
Dax: Oh really… forgot about that. Sweet wood.
Orlando: So this is a little technical question David, but as far as filming goes did you have any problems with cameras, what kind of cameras did you use?
David:  Yeah we shot it on the little camera that could the Panasonic HVX 200 and I think when we started though we only had the little 4 gig cards. So my biggest problem was these guys doing you know 40 minute scenes and me having ten minute cards. It was fine I had twenty minutes in when we started but then there was always that point when I would have to do a quick reload and a download.
Dax: But we did lose one whole scene.
David: We did have that card.
Nate: That’s right the transfer!
Dax: The whole scene, we discovered we lost it two weeks later.
Nate: yeah because he was dumping as he was doing it, he had two slots he was doing it all by himself.
Dax: Yeah Palmer was doing everything.
Nate: I certainly wasn’t helping I wish I could, but no it was all him.
Dax: We didn’t understand what the hell we were doing. Yeah he was pulling internal pieces of the camera and putting new ones in.
Nate: Yeah he introduced us to the HVX 200. Introduced us to these cameras that were small and consumer but looked fantastic. It was all new to me.
David: It was an exciting time it was new for everybody really,
Dax: Yeah had we actually started making it even four months before we couldn’t be using any of that, because back then it was the DVX right?
David: Yeah the DVX 100
Dax:  and we did shoot some of it on a DVX and we showed it the other day at a screening and it looked like shit.
Orlando: Is Brother’s Justice going to be playing at any other festivals? Are there any issues with distribution?
Dax: We will probably be making distribution type announcements later this week I would think. We do have a couple of things in the works that hopefully will go through without any hitches. You know, we don’t have any plans for going to other festivals, we were totally happy with this being our premiere kind of you know one stop. We have all been working on this for four years and we are ready to move on to the next thing.
Orlando: Lastly, for you two guys, I know you guys were both students at the Groundlings, any advice to any up and coming comics or actors?
Dax: I’ll tell you I auditioned for 8 years before ever getting a paying job and the only thing that got me through that was having a place to actually perform. So if you are a struggling actor and you are trying to get into it, I think you need to find an outlet no matter how shitty it is or under what your goals are. I think you need to find a place where you can perform cause you need to be reminded why you’re willing to suffer.
Nate: Put a period on that.
Dax: and stick it in your ass.
Orlando: Well thank you guys for letting me talk to you
Dax: Thanks man,

     Now that the festival has come and gone I feel saddened that I no longer have movie premieres, cool celebrities, and long hours stuffing envelopes to look forward to. The Austin Film Festival will eventually reach the prestige of festivals like Sundance and Toronto if it keeps its formula of laid back attitude that is working so successfully.
     The festival for me did not begin on October 20th but nearly a month before the arrival of visiting film buffs. I started logging my volunteer hours by traveling by bus to a little unassuming house on Chicon st. The head volunteer coordinator for the event was a rail-thin nerdy twenty something named Scott Bagan who told me that he only started working for the festival roughly two months before I did. It was he who served as my makeshift mentor and boss throughout my weeks serving during the festival. My first shifts were me walking door to door and leaving fliers on door knobs. While others might view this as a simply outdated method of getting the word out, I would politely disagree and say that not everyone is heavily involved with social media. After mastering the art of distributing fliers I was promoted to doing office work during my shifts. I would usually be the one to organize files of registrants and to sort everything in correct order. It was fairly easy work but thankless and tedious and this is where I earned the bulk of my 50 hours plus volunteering.
     Finally the day arrived when the festival opened up with a screening of”Exporting Raymond” with director and “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator, Phillip Rosenthal. Opening night saw me do school work instead and also attending a concert that evening. It would not be until the next day that I would attend my first screening of the festival.
     Alas, here I was sitting in the audience of the Paramount Theatre. The theatre was incredibly ornate and opulent and in my mind very similar to the Driskill Hotel where registration was held. It seemed like the very same theatre where you could see Abraham Lincoln watching a play. I sat near the entrance of the venue not because I was late but because it would be the quickest way to leave before others so I could reserve a place in line for the nest screening. First off, was “Peep World” starring Michael C. Hall and Rainn Wilson. It was humorous in a black comedy sort of way where the climax of the film was the hospitalization of the patriarch of the family. It garnered huge laughs but I don’t see it having a healthy shelf life in theaters but probably will get some nice TV airtime on Comedy Central. I immediately ran out as soon as the credits ended and was rewarded with a nice place in line for the film “Blue Valentine”. I had heard about the controversy about the film during its showings at Sundance and Toronto and looked really forward to the NC-17 rated film. I was slightly disappointed because other than one small gratuitous sex scene it seemed fine and an award caliber film. It was emotionally painful to watch to see a couple fall in and out of love. There is no doubt that both Gosling and Williams will garner nominations for their roles.
     The third day of the festival was incredibly identical to the previous day where I did several hours of volunteer work before waiting in line at the Paramount. I thought I would receive my badge but was disappointed and one small gripe is that all badges for the festival were of equal level but different prices. I think for next year’s festival I will forgo the hours of volunteer in lieu of simply shelling out the money for a simple badge. So I had to wait with my film pass in line for nearly two hours before being admitted into “The Company Men” starring Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones. To put it mildly, the film was a great two hour nap. It dealt with the issue of the global economic crisis and subsequent recession and focused on three men who work for a company that lose their jobs. It had none of the charm and charisma of similarly themed fare last year like “Up in the Air”. It was meant to give hope and be uplifting to those who are out of work but those people should save their already depleting money and skip the film.
     I had planned on interviewing Dax Shepard for my entertainment journalism course and for preparation I saw his film that evening called “Brother’s Justice”. The film was preceded by a short neo-western that was similar in theme. I and everyone in the audience were laughing so hard during “Brother’s Justice” that I’m surprised the Paramount didn’t cave in. It told the fictional account of how its star Dax Shepard pursued a martial arts career in preparation for a film he would write and produce with his friend Nate Tuck. The Q&A that followed was a laugh riot and I looked forward to our interview in the morning. I woke up the next morning fully prepared to give my first interview ever to a major star. We met up and conducted the interview along with his friend Nate Tuck and director David Palmer. They were pleasant and the interview helped add more to my overall experience during the festival.
     Later during the day, I saw the only film of that Sunday called “Welcome to the Rileys.” The film was very much a more heavily budgeted Lifetime movie and I left the cinema very disappointed. The acting was fine but I think the screenwriter was probably a newcomer and the editing and pacing felt all wrong. The big part of the festival was over but now I had essentially one film a night for the rest of the week to look forward to.
     I was fortunate to receive my badge on Sunday and I put it to use on Tuesday and gave my film pass to my sister Monica and she attended the premieres of “127 Hrs” and “Fair Game” with me. Both films were absolutely my two favorites of the festival and both actually based on true stories of real people. James Franco I am glad to say is getting better as an actor and not merely the good looking and charismatic actor of his generation very much like Sean Penn was nearly two decades before. Wednesday brought the thriller “Black Swan” to the Paramount and it was easily the most attended screening of the festival and I would not be in shock if the 1100 seats of the Paramount where all filled brimming to the top with people. It certainly was a nail biter and I will say right now that if Natalie Portman does not win the Oscar than I will protest. The last film for the festival I was able to see was a last minute addition. I saw “Rabbit  Hole” with Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman and their film was a nice contrast to “Blue Valentine”. The couple in marriage crisis here is reeling over the death of their four year old son and this contributes to the decline of their marriage. The difference here is the performance is much more subtle and nuanced as opposed to shouting and crying in “Blue Valentine.”
     So the festival was finally over. Sadly, there were no fireworks or shouts of joy or even a ringing bell to signify the end but there it was. Overall, the festival went off without a hitch and the seamless work of volunteers made it happen. I believe it would be a benefit to the festival if it were moved to an earlier date closer to Sundance so as to capitalize on newer films instead of simply getting the leftover premieres from the festival circuit. It was a better line-up than SXSW and hopefully the two festivals will learn from their mistakes and make Austin a permanent fixture in the film festival circuit.