Pre-Production-Number-Two-Thoughts

So I've been gone forever. I know. And the chances of anyone reading this at all are close to non-existant, but I'll go ahead and say a few things anyways.
I long ago lost insterest and time to write on this blog, but somethingt that upsets me most is that I haven't been able to write in my other blog, Ticker Booth Tales. For those of you who don't know, I love movies. Like, a lot. TBT is a blog where I write movie reviews, but I haven't had the time to write there recently. For a long time I've been extremely dissiplined with posting there with some frequency, but two things have stopped me from doing so: a) school, b) i made a short film and now im making another one and this is crazy and alfdfkl;faksjdlfhdsfldsafljl;m.
You might say that its not too bad that I've progressed from talking about movies to making them, and in a sense that's true. But before I go on to talk about the ones I've made, I wanna take a second to talk about TBT. In reviewing all these movies, I've learned so many things and excercised a literary and analytic perspective that I cannot put a price on. I feel like being able to judge and critique other movies is important when you have to make one yourself - and as I came into the actual filmmaking world, I think that it actually helped me a lot.
Now, the actual movie. I won't get into the specifics of it, but I will say this - it wasn't what I hoped for, but it is more than I ever asked for. That sounds stupid and self-contradictory, I know, but it's true. In my mind, this movie was going to be something amazing. Something, that in retrospect, was probably something that could be made with the hands of an experienced director with a larger budget and better equipment.
But it turned out better than many expected. I made this movie with Flossing Sunshine, Red Sunshine, or whatever the hell her name is now xD We co-directed it, and made it with the help of our friends. And in making this movie, I now understand and am reassured of why I chose this career path in the first place.
Whenever I tell people I want to be a director, the look in their face or their responce is a euphanism for one of these phrases "Poor thing." "You are stupid." "You know you are gonna end up being a hobo, right?" "Are your parents okay with you doing this?" "Why are you not choosing a real job?"
Well, the truth is, I chose a long time ago that I want to do something that I love. I think that I have a creative quality that I need to make the most out of, and I think I have so many stories to tell and so many messages to give out to people that I want to express them and spread them to my fullest ability.
And even if I don't make it big - which is a big possibility, even if I end up filming commercials or made-for-television movies or television shows or music videos or whatever it may be, I can at least say I tried, and that I am doing something that I enjoy.
Well the point is, in making my first short film, I realized two things.
1) Its a lot of work. Well, I knew it from the start, but it was alot of &*(^@&#*%!^&#@%^#&* work.
2) As Meryl Streep put it best in her acceptance speech for her most deserved Oscar win and the most deserved Oscar of the night for Best Actress in The Iron Lady, "..and really this is such a great honor but the thing that counts the most with me is the friendships and the love and the sheer joy we have shared making movies together."

And with that, I'm leaving for the first day of shooting of my second short film.


~~world peace~~~

My Coverege of Yesterday's Drunk Celebrity Reunion

So Imma try to actually use this blog again.

Lets get over the fact that I haven't posted in months right now. Please.

So the MTV Video Music Awards were held yesterday, and they kinda weren't really that good at all. I guess I too high expectations, even though on the other hand I don't know if I even had expectations at all.

I remember that the only thing memorable from last' years VMAs was that Lady Gaga won basically everything, had a meat dress, and that Cher was there. Besides that I am pretty sure that everything else sucked, but whatever. I guess that because Lady Gaga won everything last year, and the fact that she had a really scandalous "yo i just hung myself and im all bloody now" performance in 2009, MTV decided to have her back and open the show. Her opening performance was You and I (which is the second to best single she has released from Born This Way) dressed as her alter ego, Joe Calderone, that to anyone who isn't completely obsessed with is just a Man Gaga. It was a neat performance, she sung well, but it was just kind of awkward. I mean she was like throwing bear around and smoking what I assume is a fake joint, and at one point she even fell off the piano (cue Adele's "did she just fall or is this part of these American's crazy s***?" face.) I'm not really sure that I was into her rock and roll version of the song either, but for what it was it was pretty neat. The fact that it was strangely creative and interesting and omg-no-ones-ever-done-this-before kind of compensated for its flaws, even though there was that "celebrities smile akwardly at each other while trying to make sence of wtf just happened" moment afterwards.

The show had no host either, and it consisted of celebrity appearances in which awkward jokes were made. Lady Gaga kept popping out from no where in her Man Gaga costume (still in character) which was got kind of annoying, because I think its safe to say that by the middle of the show people actually wanted to see Lady Gaga and not Joe Calderone, and actually see here wear some meat and what not. It was cute at first, but the cuteness wore off.

It got progressively clearer that Gaga, like pretty much everyone else in attendance, was drunk and or high. After the first forty five minutes the show wavered into being an unmemorable drunken mess, with celebrities going onstage and laughing at their own pathetic jokes and acting as if though they were in a bar.

Then there was the complete and utter fail that was the Britney Spears tribute. Any other decent awards show, which might make other famous singers and or the singer themselves perform their songs, or at least clips of celebrities speaking of the person in question. But this was something else. It began with drunken Man Gaga making a really awkward speech involving Britney spears posters (still in her now obnoxious man character.) She then introduced Britney, who barely made a speech at all and was constantly interupted by Gaga. Then there was the fail performance by these little girls who were made to dress up like Britney and dance to one of her songs - which in my opinion was the creepiest way to pay homage to an artist that anyone could have come up with.

Other not-so-highlights were Justin Bieber thanking "not only God but also Jesus" (I don't think I even need to comment,) Tyler the Creator embarking in a full throttle cursing shoutout after winning Best New Artist, Jonah Hill making an awfully unfunny series of jokes about how some people thought that he would no longer be funny now that he lost weight, and Katy Perry accepting the Video of the Year with a stupid looking giant yellow cube above her head for a video in which she danced around in place while fireworks shooted out of her chest.

The whole thing was a fail.

Oscar night has arrived. You better be excited.

If you know me well, you know that I watch movies religiously, and for anyone (well most) who do so, the Academy Awards are one hell of a big deal. It's like our Superbowl, our Hanukkah (gosh I hope I spelled that right,) our Thanksgiving. It is like the Santa Claus that exists, except he is a little golden man who is handed out to actors/filmakers, and there's 24 of him.

So Anne Hathaway and James Franco are hosting it. Do I want them to be good? Yes. Do I think they wil be good? No. I know, I know, you are probably %$#&^*ing at me right now, but before you do, I think I should say that I love both Anne Hathaway and James Franco; I just don't think that they are right to host the Oscars, let alone together. Maybe the fact that they are collaborating will make it easier for them to play off each other, or maybe it will make it worst in the case that they have no chemistry whatsoever.

This year, like last year, there are ten nominees for Best Picture, unlike the usual five. I myself prefer five, but whatever. There are only five films that would deserve to be in the Best Picture category if there were only five nominees, and these are also the ones that have, if any, chance of winning. These are Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The King's Speech, and The Social Network. Usually, these would go hand and hand with the Best Director nominees, except instead of Christopher Nolan being nominated for his absolutely phenomenal work in Inception,  the Coen brothers were given their THIRD nomination for True Grit. Thats not to say that True Grit wasn't a good film, but its just that Inception was so much better, and Christopher Nolan completely deserved being nominated, if not winning, this category.

My favorite film of the 2010 was Black Swan, but it has barely any chance of winning Best Picture. The only two real contendors here are The King's Speech  and The Social Network. Since the nominations were announced, and ever since the award season began, I was absoutely sure that it was The Social Network that was going to win Best Picure. It is a perfect period piece of our generation, is new, and takes a completely difficult subject into something incredible innovating. This is just what the Academy needs, I thought, to try to win a new, younger audience. On the other hand, The King's Speech is the typical Oscar favorite. A period piece, a historical film, and a story about royalty and a complex character overcomming a complex problem. However, I thought that The King's Speech' was too much like the usual Oscar winner, and this was precisely the reason why the Academy would vote against it; to try to be different, fresh, and new.

But now my opinion has changed.

This is a head to head battle much like last year's between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. A new film with new technology, which made more money than any other film in history versus a film anout the war in Iraq. I wanted The Hurt Locker to win, but I was almost absolutly sure that it was Avatar that would be taking the prize. I was glad when this wasn't the case.

This was something that got me thinking. Maybe the Academy will vote for The King's Speech. If I had it my way, I would choose it too. But there is one significant difference between this year's battle and last years; Avatar was not a good film. Well that is in my opinion. But it was almost universal that Avatar's script was cliched, and a story that we have all seen before at least a dozen times. Both The Social Network and The King's Speech are both ten times better than Avatar. Perhaps The Social Network is a more technically better film, but I was one of the individuals who prefered The King's Speech. This year, I will go with my instincts and say that The King's Speech will win by only a couple of votes.

Best Director is a category that usually matches the win for Best Picture, but I am certain that this year that won't be the same. I liked The King's Speech better than The Social Network, but I completely agree that David Fincher's work on The Social Network was much more challenging, and that he definetly deserves the award. The best screenplay awards will go to those two films as well.

As for the acting categories, all but one are givens. Natalie Portman will, should, and completely and utterly deserves to win for Best Actress; the same for Colin Firth for Best Actor. If they don't, I will start a protest in front of the Kodak theatre. For Best Supporting Actor, I believe Christian Bale will win over Geoffrey Rush, even though it might go the other way.

Best Supporting Actress is a category I am not fully sure about. Hailee Steinfeld was absolutely amazing in True Grit, and her performance was most definetly a lead performance, not a supportig performance. She is young and new, and for all these reasons she might win. But I think that it will be Melissa Leo that will take home the prize for The Fighter. She has won most of the awards for this category, she is much older, and her performance was incredible. The Academy might gives this away as a "this is her time" award.

Below is my full list of predictions. The nominees are numbered in the order I think their chances are for winning. Many of them could go either way for the first two listed (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Documentary, Best Original Score,) many I am more unsure of (Best Editing, Visual Effects, Costume Design, Make Up, Art Direction, Cinematography,) and others I outright guessed at (Animated Short, Film Live Action Short Film, Foreign Language Film.)

But on the most part I am pretty confident about these. I hope you watch the Oscars tonight as I and many others will, and I hope that even if you aren't as into movies as I am that perhaps you will get a little bit more into them, and perhaps even make a list of predictions yourself. Either way, I hope you enjoy Oscar night, because then again, it won't come again until next year.

Best Picture	Best Director
1.                  The King’s Speech 2.                  The Social Network 3.                  Inception 4.                  The Fighter 5.                  Black Swan 6.                  True Grit 7.                  127 Hours 8.                  Winter’s Bone 9.                  The Kids Are All Right 10.              Toy Story 3	1.      David Fincher- The Social Network 2.      Tom Hooper- The King’s Speech 3.      Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan 4.       Joel & Ethan Coen- True Grit 5.      David O. Russell- The Fighter
Best Actor	Best Actress
1.      Colin Firth- The King’s Speech 2.      James Franco- 127 Hours 3.      Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network 4.      Jeff Bridges- True Grit 5.      Javier Bardem- Biutiful	1.      Natalie Portman- Black Swan 2.      Annette Bening- The Kids Are All Right 3.      Jennifer Lawrence- Winter’s Bone 4.      Nicole Kidman- Rabbit Hole 5.      Michelle Williams- Blue Valentine
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
1.      Christian Bale- The Fighter 2.      Geoffrey Rush- The King’s Speech 3.      Jeremy Renner- The Town 4.      John Hawkes- Winter’s Bone 5.      Mark Ruffalo- The Kids Are All Right	1.      Melissa Leo- The Fighter 2.      Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit 3.      Helena Bonham Carter- The King’s Speech 4.      Amy Adams- The Fighter 5.      Jackie Weaver- Animal Kingdom
Best Writing – Original Screenplay	Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay
1.      The King’s Speech- David Seidler 2.      Inception- Christopher Nolan 3.      Another Year- Mike Leigh 4.      The Fighter- Scott Silver 5.      The Kids Are All Right- Lisa Cholodenko	1.      The Social Network-  Aaron Sorkin 2.      127 Hours- Danny Boyle 3.      True Grit- Joel & Ethan Coen 4.      Winter’s Bone- Debra Granik 5.      Toy Story 3- Michael Ardnt
Best Animated Feature	Best Foreign Language Film
1.      Toy Story 3 2.      How to Train Your Dragon 3.      The Illusionist	1.      In a Better World 2.      Biutiful 3.      Dog Tooth 4.      Incendies 5.      Outside the Law
Best Documentary – Feature	Best Documentary – Short Subject
1.      Exit Through the Gift Shop 2.      Inside Job 3.      Restrepo 4.      Gasland 5.      Waste Land	1.      Poster Girl 2.      Strangers No More 3.      The Warriors of Qiugang 4.      Killing in the Name 5.      Sun Come Up
Best Live Action Short Film	Best Animated Short Film
1.      Wish 143 2.      God of Love 3.      The Crush 4.      The Confession 5.      Na Wewe	1.      The Gruffalo 2.      The Lost Thing 3.      Let’s Pollute 4.      Day & Night 5.      Madagascar, a Journey Diary
Best Original Score	Best Original Song
1.      The Social Network 2.      Inception 3.      The King’s Speech 4.      127 Hours 5.      How to Train Your Dragon	1.      Toy Story 3- We Belong Together 2.      I See the Light- Tangled 3.      If I Rise- 127 Hours 4.      Coming Home- Country Strong
Best Sound Editing	Best Sound Mixing
1.      Inception 2.      Tron: Legacy 3.      True Grit 4.      Unstoppable 5.      Toy Story 3	1.      Inception 2.      True Grit 3.      The Social Network 4.      The King’s Speech 5.      Salt
Best Art Direction	Best Cinematography
1.      Inception 2.      Alice in Wonderland 3.      The King’s Speech 4.      True Grit 5.      Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1	1.      True Grit 2.      Inception 3.      Black Swan 4.      The Social Network 5.      The King’s Speech
Best Makeup	Best Costume Design
1.      The Wolfman 2.      Barney’s Version 3.      The Way Back	1.      The King’s Speech 2.      Alice in Wonderland 3.      True Grit 4.      I Am Love 5.      The Tempest
Best Film Editing	Best Visual Effects
1.      The Social Network 2.      The King’s Speech 3.      Black Swan 4.      The Fighter 5.      127 Hours	1.      Inception 2.      Alice in Wonderland 3.      Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 4.      Iron Man 2 5.      Hereafter