Thursday, July 16, 2009

My Disastrous Movie Set


Over a week ago, I've reported that the current film I'm working on was delayed due to a freak tornado and hail storm that touched down on the filming location. Here's are some pictures I took a few days afterwards when we returned to work. It felt like we walked onto a set of another movie.

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Poor Catering Truck.... a tree branch went through its roof.

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Yes, this was one of the camera vans. Luckily, they brought the Panavision camera in the night before.

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The sound guy pulled his hair out because of all the chainsaws cutting down trees.

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I guess God decided we were making 'Twister 2'.

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Lamp post on the ground- it's sorta normal.

Oh, that's why I haven't been posting much as of late. Production is now set to wrap August 5th, so no life for me until afterwards.

My Barely Positive Harry Potter Review


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While the familiar story of Harry Potter versus Voldemort continues to play in this stalling chapter of the ever-popular series, the latest film entry couldn't shake off the same problem its source material encountered- feeling like an incomplete prelude to a perfect final storm. On one hand, returning screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates managed to hit the plot points to set up the said final chapter due out in the next two years, they've seem to forget the sixth installment is a film on its own.

But where the two most important ingredient lacked in focus, literally everyone else on the cast and crew noticeably picked it up a notch. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel's gorgeous and poetic vision is nothing short of breathtaking, so often in the lengthy film I found myself wowed and awestruck by just how a frame can be translated into an art piece hung up in a museum (Translation: 2009 Peterio Award nomination). The art direction also continued to dazzle with the addition of a few Hogwarts locations beautifully depicted while not compromising the original geography of the wizardry world.

Which leads me to the cast. With much to bore me with the content of the film, the ever increasingly talented cast led by Daniel Radcliffe pulled in some solid performances. It's hard not to grow on your character after six attempts and it's very evident that the cast is very comfortable in the shoes they stepped in over 8 years ago- most noticeably Tom Felton as the emotionally tortured Draco Malfoy and MVP Alan Rickman who continues to soar as Severus Snape.

Yes, the film was disappointing but it has definitely succeeded in tying me over to the action packed final chapters by other unexpected means.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

My Cemetery Junction



Even more British movie news, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the geniuses behind 'The Office' and 'Extras' has a new film coming out starring Academy Award winner nominee Ralph Fiennes and here's the hilarious teaser trailer with Gervais doing what he does best- awkward moments. My 2009 anticipated films haven't even been released yet and I'm already getting greedy thinking forward to next year....

My Emma Watson Interview



More than holding her own against Dave Letterman, Emma Watson more than charmed the late night host and audiences with her wit and elegance. What a refreshing take of a young starlet who's been in the spotlight for a decade.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

My Snowstorm in July


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A new sign of the end of times. So a hail storm that dumped over 3 inches of snow was what caused my shoot to be cancelled today. I'd love to see some snow right about now with all the hot weather we've been having. (NYP)

Thursday, July 2, 2009

My Absurd Quote


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“It’s finally happened. America, I’ve been warning you for years that gay marriage would destroy the American family and look … there they are, a husband, wife, and four children -- destroyed. When is this going to stop, America? When will the liberals be satisfied? When all the marriages break up? This wasn’t Mark Sanford’s fault, this was Ted Kennedy’s fault. Sanford didn’t cheapen the value of marriage, he was victimized by the cheapening of marriage.” -- Rush Limbaugh

I'm not sure if I should be feeling sorry for or be laughing at the people who actually buys this crap for breakfast. Yes, it's the gays' fault Sanford's penis decided to poke younger greener pastures. If I roll my eyes any harder, they'll end up doing an 180 degree turn to the back of my head.

My Karl Malden Reflection


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The last of the principle cast of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' has passed away. Karl Malden, who also gave me Father Barry ('On The Waterfront'), struck a cord with me as the everyman pressured by society as soon as he went onscreen in 'Streetcar'. Often shadowed by his brighter co-stars (often Marlon Brando), Malden shined in his own right and for that, I'll always appreciate his contribution to my love for films.

My Emmy Screeners


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Thanks to a buddy who's a voter for Daytime Emmys and understands my obsession with award shows, I was given screener discs of the shows nominated this year for Best Daytime Drama Series, more commonly known as soap operas, and told cast his vote for him in this category. Though my foray with soaps are limited to an on-and-off stint with 'Days of Our Lives' a decade ago, the feel the dying medium is a precious part of American television history.

So here I am, sitting with the discs for an episode of 'All My Children', 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and 'Days of Our Lives', ready to see how far this genre has changed since I last encountered them. To my surprise, I'm also kind of excited to see if I recognize any of the characters (Austin, Carrie & Sami) that invaded my television during the summer of 1998.