I am prepping for a 35mm shoot for next month. One of the beautiful things about this gig is that everything I have asked for in my equipment package has gotten the ok. Bizarre and very new for me. I’m used to haggling with a producer or being told “you can only get the doorway dolly”. Whatever, I’ve done some incredible films with a Metrocard, Mag light and a note from my Mom. But also important for us Indie film folks is to know what to ask for when the money does show up. Otherwise we look like idiots.
Cybel gave me the scoop on this movie last week. Either Netflix it or Buy it. It shows you what you can do with a limited budget, few locations and compelling characters.
Not really but its definitely not the same as it used to be.
Technology is both the gift and the curse of Independent filmmaking. On the one hand its easier to make a movie than ever before. But on the other the market is flooded with product. Much of it amateur product by people who dont always speak cinematic language.
Not get all high brow. I like a good gross out comedy as much as the next guy. But bad movies can (not always) lessen the value of other films. Imagine living next door to a crackhouse. Might mess up the property value a bit.
This summer, I have spent plenty of time with all of my nieces and nephews, filling up our souls with countless hours of animated feature films. Pixar has truly raised the bar. Wall-E, Incredibles and Ratatouille. I’ve also watched all Shreks again, Madagascar, Happy Feet, Bee Movie…And it was the last film that reminded me of a very astute Op Ed piece I read in the New York Times, “The Real Life of Bees”. Besides all of the inaccuracies regarding bee/insect life as portrayed in animated films, I also wondered why do American animated films shy away from a female protagonist who is not a princess? (note: female love interests, even when all characters are animals, are usually the daughters of the king of the hive, tribe, flock etc thus making them the princess) Couldn’t Bee Movie be about the Queen Bee? What about Antz? What if the main toy in Toy Story was a girls favorite doll and her adventures? What if the mouse of Haute Cuisine was a female rat? It bugs me (pun not intended).
