Friday, October 7, 2011

Update 10/7/2011

My new job is great. Just had to get that out there, All the people I work with are great and i'm having a fun time there. Plus i'm making alot of contacts that I'm extremely excited to work with.  We have a casting session tomorrow morning. Its going to be great. 

If you would please check out our kickstarter page, that would be awesome.  Thanks. More coming soon

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zackwindheim/webbed-a-new-media-short-film?ref=live

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Update + Warrior Review

Well, I have a couple of updates for everyone.

1) I had my bank account hacked.  They took all the money out of my account.  I'm in the process of getting it back, but its just a pain in the butt.

Done with the bad news, now with the good news.

2)  I am really loving my new job. Its a fun place and all the people there are really awesome.

3) I'm gonna be script supervisor on a short film.  This is a good opportunity for me to get some experience. I'm really excited.

Other then that there hasn't been too much going on.  I have somethings in the works that I have planned, I dont want to say what they  are just yet.

Review

"Warrior" Starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison

Warrior is an amazing movie.  Its about two brothers, Tom Hardy who is a Marine that goes awol and Joel Edgerton who is a teacher that is facing forclosure on his home, that start participating in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fights.  They both have had very different lives but have similar and noble reasons to fight.  The climax has them in the ring fighting a championship fight worth 5 million dollars.  The story was solid, and the acting was great.  The fight choreography was well done.  It shows that they new what they were doing.  Its a shame more people have not gone out to see this movie.  I highly suggest that you go see it.

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Importance of Movie Music

How can you describe the importance of the music in a film?  Its something that I have been thinking about today, and I wanted to tell you why.

Last night, I rewatched 1986'a Highlander with Christopher Lambert.  For all the young people out there who may not have seen it (granted I was one when it came out) Its about Immortals who live amongst us in secret who are fighting each other to become the last one and receive "The Prize."  If the winner of the prize is good, they will help lead mankind into a new era, but if the immortal is evil, the world will be plunge the world into darkness for all eternity.  (Side Note, The immortals dont age and live forever, the only way they can die is by having their head cut off)

Well the music for Highlander was written and performed by Queen (the main theme song is called "Princes Of The Universe.  Totally badass song, check it out)  The music they wrote for the film is great, and helped move along the film. 

If you look back at some of the greatest films ever made.  They all just have really amazing music to complement the film.  Movies like Jaws that can set the ominous tone of the entire movie, Indiana Jones series which just screams that the movie is going to be a great adventure, and Star Wars which can only be described as epic. Even my personal favorite, 1978's Superman, which gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it (It should be noted that John Williams is music God), you can litteraly hear the name Superman in the song.

Even the best movies that have come out in the past decade have had fantastice soundtracks that enhanced the movie.  Movies like Inception, The Batman Series (Christopher Nolan Version), The Harry Potter series, Tron: Legacy, Lord Of the Rings Trilogy, Black Swan. 

The music doesnt even have to be orchestral music.  Some films do great with songs done by popular musicians.  A perfect example of that is the scene in Reservoir Dogs when "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel (If you haven't seen this film, shame on you) or Rocky III when they play "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor (to be honest though, the orchestral in Rocky is just as important) just sets the tone and lets the audience know that there is no stopping Rocky.

On the flip side, putting the bad music in a movie can really take away from a film's viewing experience.  I can think of a lot of movies (specifically from the 80's and 90's...I'm you Vanilla Ice) that are good and/or decent and their soundtrack does nothing to enhance the movie and even makes the movie worse.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Two (I know its a guilty pleasure, but ninja rap is just bad) is a good example of a movie with bad music in it, and the Joel Schumacher Batman films were actually made worse by the music in the films.

My point is that the music of a movie is an important part of the film that can be easily overlooked.  Many movie goer's overlook just how important the soundtrack/score is to helping enrich a film.  They can even make a movie, dare i say it, Legen... wait...wait... dary.  Legendary (Thank you Barny Stinson)

and just so you know the song that started this whole entry. Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEJ8lpCQbyw&ob=av3n

Here are a list of some of my favorite film scores/soundtracks

Superman
Indiana Jones
Batman/Batman Returns/Batman Begins/The Dark Knight
Star Wars
Tron: Legacy
Rocky
The X-Men Series
The Spider-Man Series
The Sting
Highlander
The Departed
Gangs Of New York
Inception
Out Cold (the soundtrack was great and fit perfectly)
Halloween
The Matrix
Transformers
Almost Famous
Dazed And Confused
Spinal Tap
The list goes on, There are alot of great soundtracks/scores out there

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Quick update

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give you all a quick update.  I got a job!!! Its not in the film industry, but it is a good job and a great stepping stone to get into the film industry.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

WTF are some celebrities thinking??

I have been wondering this for awhile and after I just read an article about Lindsay Lohan suing Rapper Pitbull over a lyric in one of his songs  I have to ask;  WTF are some celebrities thinking???

Seriously, first she sues E-Trade over a commercial that wasnt even talking about her (the one with the milkaholic baby named lindsay).  How in the hell can she claim she has first name recognition like Madonna; Cher or Oprah??  I check a couple of name popularity websites and here is what I found:  Madonna is the name of one of the most famous singers of the past three decades, and she has a popular name.  The only thing is that her name was popular from the early 1900s to the late 1960's.  Madonna was born in 1958 so this makes perfect sense since she, but not many people have used the name for their children since the late 60's.  Cher was popular for a couple of years in the 70's thanks to Cher's success (Her birth name is Cherilyn for the record, she shortened it herself, most likely causing the name fad in the 70's.)  Every site i check didnt have any records of the name Oprah.  All three of these women have worked their asses off to make a name for themselves and that have earned their first name recognition (For the record, I am not a fan of these women, but there is no denying that they have worked for what they have and have earned it)  

Now we come to Lindsay Lohan, who's first name is the most popular out of the 4 women ive mentioned, and guess what. its not because of her at all.  Between the mid 1970's to this year, there have been over 100,000 women born with the first name lindsay, with its biggest rise in population in the Early 80's before she was born. 

My point is that she has an extremely popular first name, so first name recognition is just upsurd.  Before reading this article, if you were to think of the name Lindsay, chances are she wouldnt be the first name to pop in your head.  Ive never met anyone who had the name Cher (not short for Cheryl,) Oprah, or Madonna but i have met probably 100 different lindsays. Hell, I graduated with at least 4.  She isnt even the first name that pops up when you search the name Lindsay on IMDB

Now she is suing rapper Pitbull for a lyric he wrote in one of his songs, stating that "By virtue of its wide appeal, condemnation, excoriation, disparaging or defamatory statements by the deffendants about the plaintiff are destined to do irreparable harm to the plaintiff."  Everyone knows that she went to jail, rehab and went on house arrest.  There are more people that know that then who have probably heard that song.  I'm not saying pitbull isn't famous, but the trials of lindsay lohan were covered by every news network (I dont believe this gives her first name recognition for the record.)

All the line is "Hustlers move aside, so I'm tiptoein', to keep flowin' I got it lucked up locked up like Lindsay Lohan." Seriously, thats what she is suing over.  This is like a statement of fact then defamatory.  She feels like this is ruining her career, when she is doing that herself.  She did the drugs and lost control which sent her career in a downward spiral.  Her last real movie that made money was Machete, a movie that would have been just the same if her character wasnt even in it.  I really dont think it would have made much difference. Her last movie that actually made a good bit of money (didnt flop) where she was the lead was Herbie: Fully Loaded  in 2005 which was a pretty blah movie, and her last good role was Mean Girls (which had alot to do with Tina Fey's well wrtten screenplay).  

Don't get me wrong, I don't wish her any ill will at all.  If she can get her career back on track I wish her all the best, but the fact of matter is, she is the cause of all her personal problems.  People are not out to get her.  If she believes that, she must be big believer in conspiracy theories like that 9/11 was planned by the U.S. government and that the Apollo moon landing was a hoax.

Now the next part of this blog, which I promise wont be as long, but at least should be covered. 

Kim Kardishian, one of the most famous women in the world for doing nothing.  Her wedding is reportedly costing $20 million.  ARE YOU F[RI]CKING KIDDING ME!?!?!?  I understand that you want a big wedding.  Thats cool, I totally understand that, but $20 million? Come on, do you really need that kind of wedding?  That money could go to such better use then her wedding.  It pisses me off that she can just blow money when there so many people that money could be helping.  She must live by Gordon Gekko's saying "Greed is good"

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

What happened to quality TV???

Why is it that great shows get cancelled so that crappy shows can go on??? I say this because I'm half way thru watching the series "The Black Donnellys" and i'm wondering why on earth it got cancelled. 

For those of you that do not know, The Black Donnellys is a tv show that had one season in 1997.  Its about four irish brothers living in New York City that get involved with the Irish and Italian Criminal underground.  It had a great cast that included Olivia Wilde (who is everywhere these days) Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield) and Jonathan Tucker (the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Hostage, The Ruins).

Here is the IMDB description:
"Four very different Irish-American brothers - Kevin, Jimmy, Tommy and Sean - have sworn to live by the code of "family first." But as they become increasingly involved in the ruthless world of New York organized crime, their loyalties to their friends, to their loved ones, and especially to each other will be put to the ultimate test"

I'm on about episode 6 of the series(half way thru) and so far its a really great drama.  The characters are interesting and how the narrative is being told thru the words of Joey Ice Cream.

I dont know why this was ever cancelled.  How great shows like this gets cancelled and shows like Jersey Shore/John & Kate plus 8/Housewives of whatever the hell city they are from now stay on the air.  It truely boggles my mind.

Now most people that know me know that I hate (and i dont use hate often for anything) 95% of reality TV, and I have legitimate reasons why I do.

1) They are not as real as most people think.  The shows edit through over 1000 hours of video and edit it together to paint the cast in a certain light.  They actually have writers on the show even though its billed as unscripted. Check out this article if you do not believe me http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html  Also, members of the production crew will tell random pedestrians that if they go up to one of the cast members, they cannot talk about certain things like the show.  This takes away from the so-called realism of the show.

2)  The productions are a mess.  I know and have talked to people who have worked on reality tv shows and they tell me that half of them are nightmares to work on.  Especially shows like Jersey shore (it should be noted that I do not know anyone personally that has worked on Jersey Shore, but I have friends that do)  The cast has some sense of false entitlement and feel everything should be given to them on a silver platter, so they treat everyone like total crap.  I understand that self-confidence is important, but being confident does not give you the right to be a total douchbag to anyone.

3)They send more negative messages then any violent video game.  Some of the messages they show are, but not exclusive too, showing that if you become a pregnant teen, you can get on tv and make lots of cash(teen mom); All that is important in life is getting wasted, screwing around (spreding herpes no less), and being a total douch/bitch with a false sense of entitlement (Jersey Shore);  talking bad behind someones back and being a back stabber for no reasons(real housewives).  Guess what kids, if you do all these things you can be a star too.  Never mind being a good person, dumbasses unite!!!

4)Its the same thing EVERY WEEK!!!  It doesnt change. Sure you can say that "Oh but you never know what they are gonna say and or do," but if you pay attention you can predict the entire series by watching 1 episode. Take Jersey Shore (which is epitome of bad TV) for example.  They drink at their house, they go to the club and drink and pick up men/women, someone tries to start problems within the group for no other reason then to have something to move the episode along, and thats it.  There is no growth or enlightenment of any cast member.  Sure they can try and say things like its from the heart, but it really means diddly squat when u do the same thing the very next week.


Now i'm not saying all reality TV is bad.  Some shows can be very interesting.  Its the shows that can teach you something that you might not have known that are good.  Shows like; How Its Made, Dirty Jobs, Brew Masters(I'm an amateur brewer and love this show) Cake Boss (although its repetitive after a couple of episodes, but i do love watching the different kinds of cakes they make),  Pawn Stars, American Pickers.  Game shows and Contest shows can also be really good (I personally dont consider these last two reality TV, but on wikipedia so I must follow their unmistakable logic. lol

Its just hard to believe that quality shows like The Black Donnellys, Heroes (it was great the first season and should have been given another chance) Firefly(although it did get a movie made from it) Freaks and Geeks(had a great cast and a handful of them went on to big hollywood careers); Arrested Development.

I really hope that we get out of this crappy reality tv phase so we can get back to good quality tv.  I am looking forward to the promising new shows (Terra Nova, American Horror Story, Grimm, Hell On Wheels, Once Upon A Time) and the return of actual quality shows (The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries, Two And A Half Men0 that will hopefully save the quality of TV.

The Apes are Rising

Well, I got to see Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes today.  It was a great movie, it was extremely well done.

So this installment of the Planet Of The Apes franchise is a loose reimagining of Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes.  It shows how man lost dominance of the planet.  With out giving anything away, the movie was really good.  It was well written, the acting is good, and the CGI apes were very well done.  They looked much more natural and had a much more fluidly.  I highly recommend seeing this movie. 

My "looking forward to them" list of upcoming movie releases are as followed with reasons why I want to see it

Conan The Barbarian - I have no idea how good this movie will be, I want to see it to compare it to the original from the 80's

30 Minutes Or Less - Its from the creators of Zombieland,  which is a hilarious movie (fresh take on the zombie flick) and it just looks hilarious.

The Help -  Emma Stone is in it so it automatically has my attention, and the story looks interesting.

Our Idiot Brother - Good cast with Elizabeth Banks and Paul Rudd, also looks like it could be a good movie

Warrior - I love MMA and boxing, and the story of two brothers who have to fight each other sounds interesting. Plus Tom Hardy is in it and he is one of my favorite parts of Inception.

50/50 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen is an interesting combination.  I want to see how their on screen chemistry is.

Real Steele - Hugh Jackman is one of my favorite actors and he is impressive in every movie he does even if the movie is horrible *Cough* X-men: The Last Stand *Cough* So i'll be definately be seeing this.  Plus its like live action Rock'em Sock'em Robots. Whats not to like?

The Thing - Love the first one, now I want to see how this does

The Three Musketeers - just out of curiosity how they are going to retell this story

Paranomal Activity 3 -  I'm not sure how most people feel about this series but I like it.  It stays with you after you leave the theatre and I love movies that can show how to make a movie with a much smaller budget while still make something that is good.

In Time - I love Sci-fi, always have, and with the premise of this movie being that when you hit the age of 25 you stop aging and you can actually buy years of life. So basically you can live foreever if your rich.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows - I thought the first one with Robert Downey Jr was fantastic, and I hope this one is as well.  The only thing i'm skeptic about is the choice of the female lead, Noomi Rapace.  Now i'm not saying she cannot act, I have not seen anything with her in it, so I cant judge how good of an actress she is. I feel she has a lot to live up to because Rachel McAdams was fantastic in the last one.  She can act and she is beautiful.  Now Im hoping that Noomi Rapace knocks the performance out of the park, but since i havent seen anything with her in it i'm still skeptical.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal - I love this series, and with Jeremy Renner added to the mix, this should make for a very exciting movie.

Well i'm sure i've missed a few, but there are always way to many movies to list at any given time.

Hope everyone has a great day