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For anyone looking for the perfect Hong Kong apartment, boy have I got a deal for you...
Enjoy!!!
Literally not helpful
3 months ago
Showing posts with label filmmaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label filmmaking. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
WRITING STEP OUTLINE and Talking to Actors
I've started getting more inquiries about film collaboration in Hong Kong. Most are from actors/artists/performers. Some with experience. Others with just enthusiasm, which can make up for so much. But many who are contacting me are doing so from far away. It's difficult to collaborate w/ actors who don't share proximity. Exchanging e-mails is okay for a short while, but making films requires face-to-face interaction.
I've also gotten some inquiries from people telling me they are IT specialists, computer effects guys, or management consultants asking me if they can be of some help toward my "project."
I am grateful for this interest and support, but their particular skill set doesn't really fit my needs right now, so I tell them I'm looking for actors, people who want to act on camera, or people who can show up and hold the camera or microphone, so if they're willing to do something physical and concrete, then they're welcome.
I think this is a good way to separate people who are focused and really interested in making a film from those who just have a general vague interest and like the idea of being affiliated with something creative and would like to just be there to watch. That's fine and dandy, but a bare bones production like mine really can't afford to have the extra weight.
I remember back when I was shooting my first film, I always had 10-12 people just hanging around the set doing nothing. Thinking back, I think I invited and welcomed that as a kind of security blanket and chorus just so I'd feel more secure about making a movie.
Now, I know better. I'm looking for people who can get behind the camera and/or in front of the camera and so something real and physical. The truth is that most filmmakers can also act. Once you do a couple of these things, the whole process becomes demystified. Shooting, lighting, recording audio, acting, writing... all these things become activities that one can do, and not some complex thing that only experts can do.
A major lesson that I learned back in film school was from Lorenzo Semple Jr., who taught a screenwriting class. I'm not sure if he's still alive. He was quite old even back when I was taking his class. He wrote the screenplay for various classic movies from the 60s and 70s, including one of my all-time favorites, PAPILLON. He also wrote the scripts for the campy TV show BATMAN, for which he told us he got death threats from hardcore purist fans who didn't like how he'd camped up the superhero and sidekick.
One of the coolest things he did for us students besides being completely blunt about whether what we'd written was good or not was to let us vote on his behalf for the Academy Awards. He was an Academy member of long standing, but no longer thought much of the direction movies had gone with their increasing emphasis on special effects and decreasing emphasis on story. Whatever the reason, he let the class (there were about a half dozen of us) pick the selections on his ballot for that year and had us mail it in. It demystified the whole film industry machine for us. It also taught us that a certain amount of irreverence was healthy.
Back to my present struggle. So far, I've exchanged e-mails w/ a couple of interested actors and have run into the same familiar difficulties of scheduling meetings w/ interested people. In comparison to the response I would have gotten back in New York, the HK response is a mere trickle. The same amount of postings about an indie feature production in NYC would have gotten me 30-50 headshots easy.
Here, I've gotten only about a half dozen. Again, this is simply an observation and a factual accounting, not a gripe that HK is not NY. I'm so over that. I don't even get worked up now about crowds and people encroaching on my personal space. In fact, all the usual trivial gripes that nearly all foreigners have about HK no longer faze me at all. This is HK, and it needn't be a carbon copy of NY or London or what have you.
In the meantime, I've got an original story for the film and am writing a step outline, with specific situations and parameters from which actors can come up with their own dialog. Improvisation is difficult without goals and guidelines. It's like when people do "brainstorming" sessions without specific parameters and end up with nothing. Ditto for actors and improvisation. You have to have a start and a finish to a scene.
I'm now focused mainly on polishing the story and looking for actors that can fit the pieces of the puzzle together. I'm very excited that this is starting to come along.
More imporantly, I've had a breakthrough in the way I look at my situation. I guess it's somewhat perverse, but I'm actually very pleased that so few film productions (be they industry or independent) are going on in Hong Kong and so very few good films came out of Hong Kong in 2008.
Why?
Because all this will make our film stand out even more and provide even greater sense of accomplishment once it's all done. I'm feeling great about this film. I can't wait to start shooting.
I've also been getting renewed inspiration from Melvin Van Peebles, a Chicagoan whose first feature film LA PERMISSION (1968) was made in France, after years of not being able to make a film in the U.S.
The road I face is much less arduous than his. He had to write and make films in French. HK is much more English-friendly, though I definitely plan to work some Cantonese into the film. Thank you, Mr. Van Peebles!!! You are a true independent!
I've also gotten some inquiries from people telling me they are IT specialists, computer effects guys, or management consultants asking me if they can be of some help toward my "project."
I am grateful for this interest and support, but their particular skill set doesn't really fit my needs right now, so I tell them I'm looking for actors, people who want to act on camera, or people who can show up and hold the camera or microphone, so if they're willing to do something physical and concrete, then they're welcome.
I think this is a good way to separate people who are focused and really interested in making a film from those who just have a general vague interest and like the idea of being affiliated with something creative and would like to just be there to watch. That's fine and dandy, but a bare bones production like mine really can't afford to have the extra weight.
I remember back when I was shooting my first film, I always had 10-12 people just hanging around the set doing nothing. Thinking back, I think I invited and welcomed that as a kind of security blanket and chorus just so I'd feel more secure about making a movie.
Now, I know better. I'm looking for people who can get behind the camera and/or in front of the camera and so something real and physical. The truth is that most filmmakers can also act. Once you do a couple of these things, the whole process becomes demystified. Shooting, lighting, recording audio, acting, writing... all these things become activities that one can do, and not some complex thing that only experts can do.
A major lesson that I learned back in film school was from Lorenzo Semple Jr., who taught a screenwriting class. I'm not sure if he's still alive. He was quite old even back when I was taking his class. He wrote the screenplay for various classic movies from the 60s and 70s, including one of my all-time favorites, PAPILLON. He also wrote the scripts for the campy TV show BATMAN, for which he told us he got death threats from hardcore purist fans who didn't like how he'd camped up the superhero and sidekick.
One of the coolest things he did for us students besides being completely blunt about whether what we'd written was good or not was to let us vote on his behalf for the Academy Awards. He was an Academy member of long standing, but no longer thought much of the direction movies had gone with their increasing emphasis on special effects and decreasing emphasis on story. Whatever the reason, he let the class (there were about a half dozen of us) pick the selections on his ballot for that year and had us mail it in. It demystified the whole film industry machine for us. It also taught us that a certain amount of irreverence was healthy.
Back to my present struggle. So far, I've exchanged e-mails w/ a couple of interested actors and have run into the same familiar difficulties of scheduling meetings w/ interested people. In comparison to the response I would have gotten back in New York, the HK response is a mere trickle. The same amount of postings about an indie feature production in NYC would have gotten me 30-50 headshots easy.
Here, I've gotten only about a half dozen. Again, this is simply an observation and a factual accounting, not a gripe that HK is not NY. I'm so over that. I don't even get worked up now about crowds and people encroaching on my personal space. In fact, all the usual trivial gripes that nearly all foreigners have about HK no longer faze me at all. This is HK, and it needn't be a carbon copy of NY or London or what have you.
In the meantime, I've got an original story for the film and am writing a step outline, with specific situations and parameters from which actors can come up with their own dialog. Improvisation is difficult without goals and guidelines. It's like when people do "brainstorming" sessions without specific parameters and end up with nothing. Ditto for actors and improvisation. You have to have a start and a finish to a scene.
I'm now focused mainly on polishing the story and looking for actors that can fit the pieces of the puzzle together. I'm very excited that this is starting to come along.
More imporantly, I've had a breakthrough in the way I look at my situation. I guess it's somewhat perverse, but I'm actually very pleased that so few film productions (be they industry or independent) are going on in Hong Kong and so very few good films came out of Hong Kong in 2008.
Why?
Because all this will make our film stand out even more and provide even greater sense of accomplishment once it's all done. I'm feeling great about this film. I can't wait to start shooting.
I've also been getting renewed inspiration from Melvin Van Peebles, a Chicagoan whose first feature film LA PERMISSION (1968) was made in France, after years of not being able to make a film in the U.S.
The road I face is much less arduous than his. He had to write and make films in French. HK is much more English-friendly, though I definitely plan to work some Cantonese into the film. Thank you, Mr. Van Peebles!!! You are a true independent!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
125 Years Isn't That Old, Is It? (From Ibsen to BLIND SHAFT (2003))
I’m busy translating a bunch of business contracts. The work is tedious, but money’s money, even if it’s the Korean won, which has depreciated so much in recent months that I've actually started turning down some jobs after doing the money calculation. Still, it's a way to earn a little money that also allows me the flexible schedule and large blocks of free time needed to work on my novel and make films.
As for making the feature film, in search of ideas for a story, I’ve begun to do what I often do when I can’t come up with an original idea of my own for whatever reason. I’ve turned to works from the past that are in the public domain to see whether any of them can be updated to the contemporary Hong Kong setting. This is a very common practice. George Lucas’s STAR WARS series is basically a Japanese samurai film set in space. Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur’s I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) is a retelling of JANE EYRE.
Nearly all novels or plays that were published prior to 1923 is in the public domain. This doesn’t mean, however that filmmakers can have a field day. Many of these literary works that are in the public domain aren’t well-suited for modern audiences. And those that are (Jane Austen & some Shakespeare) have already been done over and over.
In addition, literary and dramatic conventions from the past are often very different from contemporary ones, which means they don’t always help the cause of providing fodder for a medium, narrative film, which requires accessible storytelling.
The last time I ventured into the fascinating world of the public domain, I ended up with a short film based on Sophocles’ ANTIGONE, which in its original is compelling even if its form is so unlike any that we modern audiences are used to. In my hands, it turned into a straightforward drama with added exposition scenes between Antigone and Creon. The outcome was disappointing at best and very much a strange baby that was neither here nor there.
That said, I’ve begun to seriously consider doing a contemporary version of Henrik Ibsen’s THE WILD DUCK set in Hong Kong as part of a series of feature films about Hong Kong. To do so requires some modification. As great a contribution to modern theater that Ibsen has made (which is absolutely in no doubt as any self-respecting Norwegian will happily tell you and many did during my two-day stint as a street book peddler near Columbia University before our move to HK (which is another story)), much of the original play, which was written in 1884 and is in five acts, now seems clunky and dull. A contemporary adaptation could benefit from slimming the story into 3 acts and losing many ancillary characters and some story elements.
I’ve begun doing a quick outline of this adaptation. It could serve as the basis of a somewhat talky but could-be-compelling-depending-on-execution film focused on two main characters : GREGERS and HJALMAR from the original. The story still has a lot to say about life everywhere, but could be tweaked to say volumes about life in Hong Kong.
It helps that the original play isn't that well known. Many people, even those who know who Ibsen is, aren't that familiar with this play. And for whatever reason, deserved or not, this play as well as many of Ibsens' other works, are now relegated to the category of literary and dramatic works that are thought to be amazing but read only because some teacher at school assigned it or as part of some acting class. I believe the same can be said of much of Chekhov. (This is just an observation. I don't have a strong opinion on whether this is good or bad.)
I'm mostly concerned with pragmatic aspects of doing such an adaptation. Another plus is that there haven't been many screen adaptations of this play. The most recent and famous one being by Henri Safran in 1983 starring Liv Ullmann and Jeremy Irons. (This is a good thing and a bad thing. The bad is that there are probably good reasons why there haven't been more screen adaptations of this play.)
On a different note, I've just seen BLIND SHAFT (2003) by Yang Li. I’d caught bits of this film earlier in NY, when it aired on a local public TV channel. I didn't know much about the film or the filmmaker then.
Having just seen this film in its entirety, I was startled that such a bleak and dark film about contemporary life made its way past the Chinese censors. In fact, I learned from a little research that the filmmaker is based in Germany and circumvented Chinese censors by making the film outside the established filmmaking procedures and conrols by registering it as a foreign production originating in Germany and Hong Kong.
It is, in fact, one of the best films to come out of China that I’ve ever seen. (*It's at least 20,000 times better than the tired loosely-historical epics with 20,000 PLA extras that have now become a major staple of Chinese cinema and which function as de facto propaganda for China's superpower greatness -- Yes, the same critique can be applied to vast spectacles from the U.S., only the U.S. government doesn't play such an overtly direct role in film production. But of course, those films suck just as much.)
Yang Li's ugly little lump of coal of a film is intense for its entire 85 minutes while delivering many little truths about the price of modern life.
My only quibble is that were I the producer, I would have strongly urged Yang Li to cut the first two minutes from the film so that the film would then start from a completely different place and deliver even more of a jolt than it already does. Once you see the film, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
As for making the feature film, in search of ideas for a story, I’ve begun to do what I often do when I can’t come up with an original idea of my own for whatever reason. I’ve turned to works from the past that are in the public domain to see whether any of them can be updated to the contemporary Hong Kong setting. This is a very common practice. George Lucas’s STAR WARS series is basically a Japanese samurai film set in space. Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur’s I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) is a retelling of JANE EYRE.
Nearly all novels or plays that were published prior to 1923 is in the public domain. This doesn’t mean, however that filmmakers can have a field day. Many of these literary works that are in the public domain aren’t well-suited for modern audiences. And those that are (Jane Austen & some Shakespeare) have already been done over and over.
In addition, literary and dramatic conventions from the past are often very different from contemporary ones, which means they don’t always help the cause of providing fodder for a medium, narrative film, which requires accessible storytelling.
The last time I ventured into the fascinating world of the public domain, I ended up with a short film based on Sophocles’ ANTIGONE, which in its original is compelling even if its form is so unlike any that we modern audiences are used to. In my hands, it turned into a straightforward drama with added exposition scenes between Antigone and Creon. The outcome was disappointing at best and very much a strange baby that was neither here nor there.
That said, I’ve begun to seriously consider doing a contemporary version of Henrik Ibsen’s THE WILD DUCK set in Hong Kong as part of a series of feature films about Hong Kong. To do so requires some modification. As great a contribution to modern theater that Ibsen has made (which is absolutely in no doubt as any self-respecting Norwegian will happily tell you and many did during my two-day stint as a street book peddler near Columbia University before our move to HK (which is another story)), much of the original play, which was written in 1884 and is in five acts, now seems clunky and dull. A contemporary adaptation could benefit from slimming the story into 3 acts and losing many ancillary characters and some story elements.
I’ve begun doing a quick outline of this adaptation. It could serve as the basis of a somewhat talky but could-be-compelling-depending-on-execution film focused on two main characters : GREGERS and HJALMAR from the original. The story still has a lot to say about life everywhere, but could be tweaked to say volumes about life in Hong Kong.
It helps that the original play isn't that well known. Many people, even those who know who Ibsen is, aren't that familiar with this play. And for whatever reason, deserved or not, this play as well as many of Ibsens' other works, are now relegated to the category of literary and dramatic works that are thought to be amazing but read only because some teacher at school assigned it or as part of some acting class. I believe the same can be said of much of Chekhov. (This is just an observation. I don't have a strong opinion on whether this is good or bad.)
I'm mostly concerned with pragmatic aspects of doing such an adaptation. Another plus is that there haven't been many screen adaptations of this play. The most recent and famous one being by Henri Safran in 1983 starring Liv Ullmann and Jeremy Irons. (This is a good thing and a bad thing. The bad is that there are probably good reasons why there haven't been more screen adaptations of this play.)
On a different note, I've just seen BLIND SHAFT (2003) by Yang Li. I’d caught bits of this film earlier in NY, when it aired on a local public TV channel. I didn't know much about the film or the filmmaker then.
Having just seen this film in its entirety, I was startled that such a bleak and dark film about contemporary life made its way past the Chinese censors. In fact, I learned from a little research that the filmmaker is based in Germany and circumvented Chinese censors by making the film outside the established filmmaking procedures and conrols by registering it as a foreign production originating in Germany and Hong Kong.
It is, in fact, one of the best films to come out of China that I’ve ever seen. (*It's at least 20,000 times better than the tired loosely-historical epics with 20,000 PLA extras that have now become a major staple of Chinese cinema and which function as de facto propaganda for China's superpower greatness -- Yes, the same critique can be applied to vast spectacles from the U.S., only the U.S. government doesn't play such an overtly direct role in film production. But of course, those films suck just as much.)
Yang Li's ugly little lump of coal of a film is intense for its entire 85 minutes while delivering many little truths about the price of modern life.
My only quibble is that were I the producer, I would have strongly urged Yang Li to cut the first two minutes from the film so that the film would then start from a completely different place and deliver even more of a jolt than it already does. Once you see the film, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Lowlife Jerk and Top 10 Films of 2008
Another year is coming to a close, and I'm feeling a little down.
I've gotten a total of 4 responses from posting notices here and on various Hong Kong public forums seeking people interested in collaborating on films. And that's counting the one loser who actually took time out of his miserable life to e-mail me, a complete stranger, just to say he could tell from my ad that I was "a lowlife jerk."
It seems I've come quite a long way since being a promising young filmmaker generating real buzz. Four guys from my circle at NYU, have since directed commercial films that won theatrical releases. One guy, whom I'd pegged as being the least talented among us, has directed half a dozen commercial films, including one of the highest-grossing films in Korean film history.
In contrast, I'm here in Hong Kong without a single contact, posting lame on-line classified ads practically begging people to work with me. (I think Peter Kubelka, who made some wacky experimental films, including UNSERE AFRIKAREISE, also had to beg and rope people in to make films for practically all of his career.)
My rational side tells me I'm still young enough not to panic and need not get down on myself about this general sad state-of-being. This side also tells me to keep plugging away, stay upbeat, and focus on my successes: two published novels that won some critical acclaim, some plays that were produced, a screenplay that was sold, and a string of short films...
But there's another part of me that can't help but get a bit negative. I've wasted so many opportunities in the past for whatever reason, and now, this stint in Hong Kong feels like I'm serving time in filmmaking purgatory. I've become a fish-out-of-water struggling to make a film under the least favorable conditions.
It doesn't help that our life here brings us into contact for the most part with people who have absolutely no interest in films and novels. It doesn't startle me at all now to hear people say with all seriousness that the best movie they've ever seen in their life is HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 or THE MUMMY--which wasn't a bad film at all, but how could that be any grown-up's best film ever?
Anyway, that's enough whining. Sorry!
Here is my list of the TOP 10 FILMS OF 2008 with country of origin and brief category description.
A few titles were actually originally released in 2007, but are being included in the list because they played in many theaters in 2008. For the most part, except for the two South Korean films and TROPIC THUNDER, which I believe doesn't get the credit it deserves because it's so easy to dismiss, these films were included in the major big movie lists.
The glaring omission from my list is the Romanian film FOUR MONTHS, THREE WEEKS & TWO DAYS by Cristian Mungju, which has been heralded by nearly every major film critic in the West, but which didn't impress me at all. I thought the film, a slice-of-life that follows two young women on the day one helps the other get a back alley abortion in a repressive Romania of the 1980s, works only conceptually but not at all as a film.
The film makes its point, in a very dull and clumsy manner, that life was bad in Romania and back-alley abortions are gruesome. But is that really a point that's hard to make? Even as a staunch supporter of a woman's right to choose, I still found the film tedious at best.
No Hong Kong or Chinese films made my list this year. It was definitely not a good year for Hong Kong films. Rather sad.
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2008
1. THE CHASER by Na Hong-jin (South Korea) *Commercial thriller/Subverted policier*
2. THE DARK KNIGHT by Christopher Nolan (USA) *Commercial thriller*
3. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN by Fatih Akin (Germany) *Serious Drama/Social Commentary*
4. ROUGH CUT by Jang Hoon & written by Kim Ki-duk (South Korea) *Commercial thriller/Subverted Gangster Film*
5. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD by Sydney Lumet (USA) *Subverted Heist Film/Morality Tale/Modern Greek Tragedy*
6. THERE WILL BE BLOOD by Paul Thomas Anderson (USA) *Serious Drama/Social Expose*
7. CHOP SHOP by Ramin Bahrani (USA) *Social Commentary/Gritty Human Drama*
8. THE VISITOR by Thomas McCarthy (USA) *Social Commentary/Message Film about 9.11 and Its Impact on Immigrants*
9. IRON MAN by Jon Favreau (USA) *Fluff Fun*
10. TROPIC THUNDER by Ben Stiller (USA) *Fluff Fun*
HONORABLE MENTION: KUNGFU PANDA and WALL-E
**THE CHASER is the best film of the year by far. See it if you haven't done so. You're in for a treat.**
To put things in context, here are the films that are currently playing in nearly all theaters in Hong Kong (granted it's Christmas season):
TWILIGHT
TALES OF DESPEREAUX
MADAGASCAR 2
POKEMON MOVIE 10
BEDTIME STORIES
ONG BAK 2
IP MAN
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
FOUR CHRISTMASES
Palace IFC, in the fanciest mall in Hong Kong is also playing
AUSTRALIA
And the one "arthouse theater" in HK is playing the following films in addition to the above titles:
FOREVER ENTHRALLED (China)
IF YOU ARE THE ONE (China)
TOKYO!
TRUE WOMEN FOR SALE (Hong Kong)
MIAO MIAO (Taiwan)
I've gotten a total of 4 responses from posting notices here and on various Hong Kong public forums seeking people interested in collaborating on films. And that's counting the one loser who actually took time out of his miserable life to e-mail me, a complete stranger, just to say he could tell from my ad that I was "a lowlife jerk."
It seems I've come quite a long way since being a promising young filmmaker generating real buzz. Four guys from my circle at NYU, have since directed commercial films that won theatrical releases. One guy, whom I'd pegged as being the least talented among us, has directed half a dozen commercial films, including one of the highest-grossing films in Korean film history.
In contrast, I'm here in Hong Kong without a single contact, posting lame on-line classified ads practically begging people to work with me. (I think Peter Kubelka, who made some wacky experimental films, including UNSERE AFRIKAREISE, also had to beg and rope people in to make films for practically all of his career.)
My rational side tells me I'm still young enough not to panic and need not get down on myself about this general sad state-of-being. This side also tells me to keep plugging away, stay upbeat, and focus on my successes: two published novels that won some critical acclaim, some plays that were produced, a screenplay that was sold, and a string of short films...
But there's another part of me that can't help but get a bit negative. I've wasted so many opportunities in the past for whatever reason, and now, this stint in Hong Kong feels like I'm serving time in filmmaking purgatory. I've become a fish-out-of-water struggling to make a film under the least favorable conditions.
It doesn't help that our life here brings us into contact for the most part with people who have absolutely no interest in films and novels. It doesn't startle me at all now to hear people say with all seriousness that the best movie they've ever seen in their life is HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 or THE MUMMY--which wasn't a bad film at all, but how could that be any grown-up's best film ever?
Anyway, that's enough whining. Sorry!
Here is my list of the TOP 10 FILMS OF 2008 with country of origin and brief category description.
A few titles were actually originally released in 2007, but are being included in the list because they played in many theaters in 2008. For the most part, except for the two South Korean films and TROPIC THUNDER, which I believe doesn't get the credit it deserves because it's so easy to dismiss, these films were included in the major big movie lists.
The glaring omission from my list is the Romanian film FOUR MONTHS, THREE WEEKS & TWO DAYS by Cristian Mungju, which has been heralded by nearly every major film critic in the West, but which didn't impress me at all. I thought the film, a slice-of-life that follows two young women on the day one helps the other get a back alley abortion in a repressive Romania of the 1980s, works only conceptually but not at all as a film.
The film makes its point, in a very dull and clumsy manner, that life was bad in Romania and back-alley abortions are gruesome. But is that really a point that's hard to make? Even as a staunch supporter of a woman's right to choose, I still found the film tedious at best.
No Hong Kong or Chinese films made my list this year. It was definitely not a good year for Hong Kong films. Rather sad.
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2008
1. THE CHASER by Na Hong-jin (South Korea) *Commercial thriller/Subverted policier*
2. THE DARK KNIGHT by Christopher Nolan (USA) *Commercial thriller*
3. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN by Fatih Akin (Germany) *Serious Drama/Social Commentary*
4. ROUGH CUT by Jang Hoon & written by Kim Ki-duk (South Korea) *Commercial thriller/Subverted Gangster Film*
5. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD by Sydney Lumet (USA) *Subverted Heist Film/Morality Tale/Modern Greek Tragedy*
6. THERE WILL BE BLOOD by Paul Thomas Anderson (USA) *Serious Drama/Social Expose*
7. CHOP SHOP by Ramin Bahrani (USA) *Social Commentary/Gritty Human Drama*
8. THE VISITOR by Thomas McCarthy (USA) *Social Commentary/Message Film about 9.11 and Its Impact on Immigrants*
9. IRON MAN by Jon Favreau (USA) *Fluff Fun*
10. TROPIC THUNDER by Ben Stiller (USA) *Fluff Fun*
HONORABLE MENTION: KUNGFU PANDA and WALL-E
**THE CHASER is the best film of the year by far. See it if you haven't done so. You're in for a treat.**
To put things in context, here are the films that are currently playing in nearly all theaters in Hong Kong (granted it's Christmas season):
TWILIGHT
TALES OF DESPEREAUX
MADAGASCAR 2
POKEMON MOVIE 10
BEDTIME STORIES
ONG BAK 2
IP MAN
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
FOUR CHRISTMASES
Palace IFC, in the fanciest mall in Hong Kong is also playing
AUSTRALIA
And the one "arthouse theater" in HK is playing the following films in addition to the above titles:
FOREVER ENTHRALLED (China)
IF YOU ARE THE ONE (China)
TOKYO!
TRUE WOMEN FOR SALE (Hong Kong)
MIAO MIAO (Taiwan)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Seeking Collaborators for Independent Film in Hong Kong
I posted an ad on Gumtree for actors and other people to collaborate on an independent film here in Hong Kong.
CLICK TO SEE GUMTREE AD
I'm looking for actors, writers, filmmakers, or creative people in general who are just interested in making an independent film and can invest their time and energy to collaborate on a film.
The key is to not try to follow the production model that is used by big-budget mainstream films. Trying to replicate a mainstream film on a miniscule budget leads only to disappointment as I've learned on numerous occasions in the past. Instead, make a film that mainstream film production can't make due to the fact that they are hindered by number one motive of recouping investments. This film will be like THE PUFFY CHAIR, MUTUAL APPRECIATION, KISSING ON THE MOUTH, QUIET CITY, etc. what film festival programmers and critics have labeled Mumblecore.
If any of you are or know actors or creative people who aren't shy but have a general open and brave persona and are willing to do new things, please let them know about me and my independent film.
Race, ethnicity, language ability, stupid things like this do not matter. What matters is energy and general openness and willingness to invest time and effort to collaborate on film as actor, writer, or cameraperson, or best, all of these things. Experience in traditional film production or acting doesn't matter. This is not a mainstream production. we're looking for interesting creative people who are up for something different and want to seize this opportunity to make a cool interesting film about life in Hong Kong.
The best thing about making independent films is the collaboration and the willingness to experiment and try something new. Again, this is a small no-budget film that's more like a theater workshop. We'll see who shows up, collaborate to finetune a story and script and go from there. This will be a very low-budget film, so don't think of a traditional studio set. This is guerilla filmmaking.
No guarantees of fame or wealth. But I can guarantee a feature film will be made, and it will be interesting. Something that has true passion and life. Something that you'll be proud of.
Please pass this along to those who might be interested.
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I'm looking for actors, writers, filmmakers, or creative people in general who are just interested in making an independent film and can invest their time and energy to collaborate on a film.
The key is to not try to follow the production model that is used by big-budget mainstream films. Trying to replicate a mainstream film on a miniscule budget leads only to disappointment as I've learned on numerous occasions in the past. Instead, make a film that mainstream film production can't make due to the fact that they are hindered by number one motive of recouping investments. This film will be like THE PUFFY CHAIR, MUTUAL APPRECIATION, KISSING ON THE MOUTH, QUIET CITY, etc. what film festival programmers and critics have labeled Mumblecore.
If any of you are or know actors or creative people who aren't shy but have a general open and brave persona and are willing to do new things, please let them know about me and my independent film.
Race, ethnicity, language ability, stupid things like this do not matter. What matters is energy and general openness and willingness to invest time and effort to collaborate on film as actor, writer, or cameraperson, or best, all of these things. Experience in traditional film production or acting doesn't matter. This is not a mainstream production. we're looking for interesting creative people who are up for something different and want to seize this opportunity to make a cool interesting film about life in Hong Kong.
The best thing about making independent films is the collaboration and the willingness to experiment and try something new. Again, this is a small no-budget film that's more like a theater workshop. We'll see who shows up, collaborate to finetune a story and script and go from there. This will be a very low-budget film, so don't think of a traditional studio set. This is guerilla filmmaking.
No guarantees of fame or wealth. But I can guarantee a feature film will be made, and it will be interesting. Something that has true passion and life. Something that you'll be proud of.
Please pass this along to those who might be interested.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Beginnings of Pre-Production aka Thank You Val Lewton
So I'm really at the beginning of what I'm sure will be a long process to make an independent feature film in HK.
I've checked with film labs. I've gone over my equipment. I've compiled a small budget. I've even built a poor man's steadicam with plans found on the Internet from the famous Johnny Chung. By the way, he has become a youtube superstar lately with his 3-D subvert tutorial of the Nintendo wii.
I got the parts from a hardware store in Aberdeen and was able to put together the poor man's steadicam in a couple of hours. I can't believe how well the poor man's steadicam works. If only I'd had this when I was shooting FREE COUNTRY. Oh well.
Anyway, all I need now are actors. And more importantly, some idea, a story to hang scenes on.
I have really nothing as of yet, just a bunch of unrelated ideas and sketches and lots and lots of notes. So I spent part of the day looking for inspiration in the classics.
What do I mean by classics?
I read the screenplay for the Val Lewton-produced classic, THE SEVENTH VICTIM (1943). I've seen this film a few times, including once at a screening with live organ accompaniment at the classic restored movie house off of the Stanford campus in Palo Alto.
I'd forgotten a lot of details from that film. The only scene I remembered was the unforgettable famous scene with the gang of pacifist Satanists. (It's really in the film.)
I couldn't believe some of the things I was reading. It was one hell of a screenplay and gave me some good ideas.
I don't know much about Val Lewton except that he was from the Ukraine and was the apotheosis of the low-budget producer but with a knack for storytelling and mood setting. I remember being so impressed after seeing CAT PEOPLE (1942) and BEDLAM (1946), which was one of his bigger-budget pictures. You can't help but recognize the talent despite the unbelievably low production values in some of his films.
Anyway, this is a start. We'll see how it goes from here. I do miss NY though. That's a city that's filled with actors
I've checked with film labs. I've gone over my equipment. I've compiled a small budget. I've even built a poor man's steadicam with plans found on the Internet from the famous Johnny Chung. By the way, he has become a youtube superstar lately with his 3-D subvert tutorial of the Nintendo wii.
I got the parts from a hardware store in Aberdeen and was able to put together the poor man's steadicam in a couple of hours. I can't believe how well the poor man's steadicam works. If only I'd had this when I was shooting FREE COUNTRY. Oh well.
Anyway, all I need now are actors. And more importantly, some idea, a story to hang scenes on.
I have really nothing as of yet, just a bunch of unrelated ideas and sketches and lots and lots of notes. So I spent part of the day looking for inspiration in the classics.
What do I mean by classics?
I read the screenplay for the Val Lewton-produced classic, THE SEVENTH VICTIM (1943). I've seen this film a few times, including once at a screening with live organ accompaniment at the classic restored movie house off of the Stanford campus in Palo Alto.
I'd forgotten a lot of details from that film. The only scene I remembered was the unforgettable famous scene with the gang of pacifist Satanists. (It's really in the film.)
I couldn't believe some of the things I was reading. It was one hell of a screenplay and gave me some good ideas.
I don't know much about Val Lewton except that he was from the Ukraine and was the apotheosis of the low-budget producer but with a knack for storytelling and mood setting. I remember being so impressed after seeing CAT PEOPLE (1942) and BEDLAM (1946), which was one of his bigger-budget pictures. You can't help but recognize the talent despite the unbelievably low production values in some of his films.
Anyway, this is a start. We'll see how it goes from here. I do miss NY though. That's a city that's filled with actors
Monday, December 15, 2008
Shooting Film in Hong Kong a.k.a. My Run-In with Run Run
I'm preparing to shoot an independent feature film here in Hong Kong.
As part of this process, I call a bunch of film labs to find out where I can get 16mm film processed in Hong Kong. I'm calling to find out what film stocks can be processed and what the rates are. The person who answers the phone at Mandarin Labs in Kwun Tong connects me to a different person, who passes me on to someone else. Eventually, I get the ear of a film technician named Paul Wong.
I tell him I am an independent filmmaker. He gets me right away and gives me the scoop and a rate. He tells me that Mandarin is the only lab in Hong Kong that handles 16mm. He also tells me there is no film lab in Shenzhen but there is one in Guangzhou. He adds that they probably don't do 16mm. As for reversal film, this cannot be processed in Hong Kong any more and suggests I look at labs in Australia or the U.S.
Overall, the guy is informative and down-to-earth. I'm talking to a human being and not a robot or a recording. The experience is the same as if I'd called up a small mom-and-pop film lab in the States. (These are mostly dying out, by the way...)
Then, I call a bunch of other labs to see whether Paul Wong is on the level about his lab's being the only lab that does 16mm processing. Some other lab tells me to try Shaw Brothers Lab in Sai Kung.
So I do, only to find that the receptionist who fields the call is completely confused by my inquiry. She keeps asking me what company I'm calling from and I keep repeating that I am an independent filmmaker, which just confuses her more. I tell her that I produce and shoot my own films. This baffles her. It's not the English that confuses her, but the concept, as the woman's English is quite good.
I ask her over and over if Shaw Brothers Labs processes 16mm film. Instead of giving me an answer, she asks what country I'm from. I ask, why does that matter? She says it doesn't, but keeps asking what country?
Finally, after talking in circles for too long, she gives me another number to call. I do and get a person who tells me she is "the one who can handle (my)inquiry." I ask her whether her lab does 16mm negative processing, and if so, how much it costs per foot. Most film labs in the U.S. have that info on their web site. And if they don't, that's what the phone is there for.
The Shaw Brothers Lab woman says she cannot tell me this information over the phone and tells me I must first make a formal written inquiry.
I can't help but shiver. It's as if she's used some special kind of Sai Kung feng shui to read my mind and knows that I'm about to make an epic film, my magnum opus celebrating the life and times of his true majesty, the one and only Dalai Lama. --- (For those without a sense of humor and the 30,000+ Chinese censors trolling the Internet at this very moment for objectionable content, that was a joke. I am not making such a film.)
I explain again to the lab person that all I need is a YES or NO and a figure per foot as I'm trying to estimate a budget for a small film shoot.
She says, "I understand. But it's better you make an official request in writing."
Finally, I give up and ask if it's okay to e-mail such a request. She says fine and gives me her e-mail.
I e-mail a request because frankly, what choice do I have?
I find the whole experience a bit strange. Granted there probably aren't that many people calling about 16mm processing, but a film lab is a film lab. And this is Hong Kong, an alledged world city with a proud filmmaking tradition.
All I can say is, Sir Run Run or whoever is running the empire over at Shaw Brothers has created quite a bizarre institution.
Of course, having sent out a formal request in writing as instructed, a part of me already knows what will inevitably happen next.
In a day or two, I'll get an e-mail in official-sounding yet slightly-botched and stilted Queen's English from some stiff at Shaw Brothers Labs "regretfully" informing me that they "no longer process 16mm film, especially for any production that portrays the Dalai Lama in a positive light."--( Note to censors: That was another bad joke.)
Anyway, if anyone else out there is thinking of shooting 16mm in Hong Kong, this is the low-down on available labs. One lab. One system.
POSTSCRIPT: I called back a few times the next day, and again talked to the same person, who this time told me she had received my e-mail request but "couldn't respond because I hadn't included my phone number."
She then asked that I submit dates when I wanted the processing done because "the price depends on the schedule."
After getting off the phone with this ridiculous person, I got fed up and called back on a different extension and finally got someone on the phone who instantly gave me the info I needed.
$1.20 HKD/ ft. She then explained she'd been out of the office and someone else had been getting her calls for her.
Basically, the joker who I'd talked to initially had had me jump through hoops instead of simply saying, "I don't know. The person who knows is out of the office. Please call back."
Is it that hard to say, "I don't know"? I say this all the time. Geez!
As part of this process, I call a bunch of film labs to find out where I can get 16mm film processed in Hong Kong. I'm calling to find out what film stocks can be processed and what the rates are. The person who answers the phone at Mandarin Labs in Kwun Tong connects me to a different person, who passes me on to someone else. Eventually, I get the ear of a film technician named Paul Wong.
I tell him I am an independent filmmaker. He gets me right away and gives me the scoop and a rate. He tells me that Mandarin is the only lab in Hong Kong that handles 16mm. He also tells me there is no film lab in Shenzhen but there is one in Guangzhou. He adds that they probably don't do 16mm. As for reversal film, this cannot be processed in Hong Kong any more and suggests I look at labs in Australia or the U.S.
Overall, the guy is informative and down-to-earth. I'm talking to a human being and not a robot or a recording. The experience is the same as if I'd called up a small mom-and-pop film lab in the States. (These are mostly dying out, by the way...)
Then, I call a bunch of other labs to see whether Paul Wong is on the level about his lab's being the only lab that does 16mm processing. Some other lab tells me to try Shaw Brothers Lab in Sai Kung.
So I do, only to find that the receptionist who fields the call is completely confused by my inquiry. She keeps asking me what company I'm calling from and I keep repeating that I am an independent filmmaker, which just confuses her more. I tell her that I produce and shoot my own films. This baffles her. It's not the English that confuses her, but the concept, as the woman's English is quite good.
I ask her over and over if Shaw Brothers Labs processes 16mm film. Instead of giving me an answer, she asks what country I'm from. I ask, why does that matter? She says it doesn't, but keeps asking what country?
Finally, after talking in circles for too long, she gives me another number to call. I do and get a person who tells me she is "the one who can handle (my)inquiry." I ask her whether her lab does 16mm negative processing, and if so, how much it costs per foot. Most film labs in the U.S. have that info on their web site. And if they don't, that's what the phone is there for.
The Shaw Brothers Lab woman says she cannot tell me this information over the phone and tells me I must first make a formal written inquiry.
I can't help but shiver. It's as if she's used some special kind of Sai Kung feng shui to read my mind and knows that I'm about to make an epic film, my magnum opus celebrating the life and times of his true majesty, the one and only Dalai Lama. --- (For those without a sense of humor and the 30,000+ Chinese censors trolling the Internet at this very moment for objectionable content, that was a joke. I am not making such a film.)
I explain again to the lab person that all I need is a YES or NO and a figure per foot as I'm trying to estimate a budget for a small film shoot.
She says, "I understand. But it's better you make an official request in writing."
Finally, I give up and ask if it's okay to e-mail such a request. She says fine and gives me her e-mail.
I e-mail a request because frankly, what choice do I have?
I find the whole experience a bit strange. Granted there probably aren't that many people calling about 16mm processing, but a film lab is a film lab. And this is Hong Kong, an alledged world city with a proud filmmaking tradition.
All I can say is, Sir Run Run or whoever is running the empire over at Shaw Brothers has created quite a bizarre institution.
Of course, having sent out a formal request in writing as instructed, a part of me already knows what will inevitably happen next.
In a day or two, I'll get an e-mail in official-sounding yet slightly-botched and stilted Queen's English from some stiff at Shaw Brothers Labs "regretfully" informing me that they "no longer process 16mm film, especially for any production that portrays the Dalai Lama in a positive light."--( Note to censors: That was another bad joke.)
Anyway, if anyone else out there is thinking of shooting 16mm in Hong Kong, this is the low-down on available labs. One lab. One system.
POSTSCRIPT: I called back a few times the next day, and again talked to the same person, who this time told me she had received my e-mail request but "couldn't respond because I hadn't included my phone number."
She then asked that I submit dates when I wanted the processing done because "the price depends on the schedule."
After getting off the phone with this ridiculous person, I got fed up and called back on a different extension and finally got someone on the phone who instantly gave me the info I needed.
$1.20 HKD/ ft. She then explained she'd been out of the office and someone else had been getting her calls for her.
Basically, the joker who I'd talked to initially had had me jump through hoops instead of simply saying, "I don't know. The person who knows is out of the office. Please call back."
Is it that hard to say, "I don't know"? I say this all the time. Geez!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Which is harder, writing a novel or making a film?
My friend Philippe, who is a huge Satyajit Ray fan and is one of seven people who has actually seen the Calcutta trilogy in addition to the Apu trilogy, is in town with his wife Amanda. I met up with him yesterday and had a long talk about various things while walking around Tsim Sha Tsoy and Jordan.
At one point, he asked me, Which was harder, writing a novel or making a film?
It got me thinking...
Here is a long-winded response.
As a novelist, I guess I would be called a mid-career writer on grant applications and such due to my age, the fact that I have accomplished a few things despite how shabby these things all look to me when I get down on myself every now and then. Still, whatever the case, no matter how obscure and seemingly insignificant, the fact is I am the author of two serious novels that have won me a modicum of recognition, no matter how brief and fleeting. And as comical as my royalty checks are at times, I know that there are lots of would-be aspiring novelists out there working away on their babies who would die to get their first book published.
As a filmmaker, I have far fewer credentials. Sure I made an indie 16mm feature film back in the 1990s straight out of NYU, but that feature went nowhere and was lackluster on many fronts. Since then, I've made a couple of short films that are about 20min. long. I've written a couple of screenplays, managed to sell one for a little bit of money (it never got produced). Now, I'm in Hong Kong and I've begun making very short art films (1 min. long), which I post on this blog and on youtube.
For all intensive purposes, my claim to the title filmmaker seems tenuous at best. Still, as annoying and insignificant as making little films and posting them on youtube may seem, I do it because: a) it keeps me in practice (framing shots, shooting, editing etc.); b) These little films do get seen by a handful of people; c) It's immediate. I can shoot, edit, and post the films without having to first gain the permission of some board of self-important censors to give me their approval.
Writing is different. Unless you're writing in a journal for your eyes only (which this blog sort of is), writing entails jumping through a lot of hoops. There was a time when I was a lot more eager about accepting how things were done to make it as a writer. I was more in love with the idea of writing and being a writer in general back then. So I wrote short stories, submitted them to numerous literary journals, wrote to agents, and amassed a pile of rejection letters before a confluence of little miracles got my first novel BOY GENIUS published by an edgy small press in NY.
But boy did I get sick of all those little hoops you had to jump through. Waiting for someone else's permission gets real old real quick.
And sure, with feature films, you have to go through similar things with finding distributors and 'winning their permission', but it's different with a film.
Even the worst film ever made that doesn't win distribution and simply peters out, offers pleasant things: camaraderie with cast and crew, funny anecdotes, and some cool memories.
A failed novel is a totally different animal.
There's nothing as shabby and unpleasant as a failed novel, aka, an unpublished manuscript. All you have is a bunch of pages that's not a real book and the only memories from it is of a schmuck and a typewriter.
Just ask anyone who's tried to write a novel and is now stuck with an unpublished manuscript. It's ugly.
Anyway, that's my three cents. Writing vs. Filmmaking.
The winner is Mothra.
At one point, he asked me, Which was harder, writing a novel or making a film?
It got me thinking...
Here is a long-winded response.
As a novelist, I guess I would be called a mid-career writer on grant applications and such due to my age, the fact that I have accomplished a few things despite how shabby these things all look to me when I get down on myself every now and then. Still, whatever the case, no matter how obscure and seemingly insignificant, the fact is I am the author of two serious novels that have won me a modicum of recognition, no matter how brief and fleeting. And as comical as my royalty checks are at times, I know that there are lots of would-be aspiring novelists out there working away on their babies who would die to get their first book published.
As a filmmaker, I have far fewer credentials. Sure I made an indie 16mm feature film back in the 1990s straight out of NYU, but that feature went nowhere and was lackluster on many fronts. Since then, I've made a couple of short films that are about 20min. long. I've written a couple of screenplays, managed to sell one for a little bit of money (it never got produced). Now, I'm in Hong Kong and I've begun making very short art films (1 min. long), which I post on this blog and on youtube.
For all intensive purposes, my claim to the title filmmaker seems tenuous at best. Still, as annoying and insignificant as making little films and posting them on youtube may seem, I do it because: a) it keeps me in practice (framing shots, shooting, editing etc.); b) These little films do get seen by a handful of people; c) It's immediate. I can shoot, edit, and post the films without having to first gain the permission of some board of self-important censors to give me their approval.
Writing is different. Unless you're writing in a journal for your eyes only (which this blog sort of is), writing entails jumping through a lot of hoops. There was a time when I was a lot more eager about accepting how things were done to make it as a writer. I was more in love with the idea of writing and being a writer in general back then. So I wrote short stories, submitted them to numerous literary journals, wrote to agents, and amassed a pile of rejection letters before a confluence of little miracles got my first novel BOY GENIUS published by an edgy small press in NY.
But boy did I get sick of all those little hoops you had to jump through. Waiting for someone else's permission gets real old real quick.
And sure, with feature films, you have to go through similar things with finding distributors and 'winning their permission', but it's different with a film.
Even the worst film ever made that doesn't win distribution and simply peters out, offers pleasant things: camaraderie with cast and crew, funny anecdotes, and some cool memories.
A failed novel is a totally different animal.
There's nothing as shabby and unpleasant as a failed novel, aka, an unpublished manuscript. All you have is a bunch of pages that's not a real book and the only memories from it is of a schmuck and a typewriter.
Just ask anyone who's tried to write a novel and is now stuck with an unpublished manuscript. It's ugly.
Anyway, that's my three cents. Writing vs. Filmmaking.
The winner is Mothra.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Not Applepicking in Hong Kong
Sorry about the "Not... in Hong Kong" title.
I just couldn't resist.
Anyway, here is a short film that I edited over the weekend using footage I shot of my parents some years ago. I had the footage on Hi8, paid to have it transferred to a DVD that my computer, it turns out couldn't read. Had to search the web for a program to convert that DVD to a format that my computer could read (hence the strange white line across the screen.)
I shot it originally on a PXL-2000, aka Pixelvision, which is a toy video camera that Fisher Price made back in the 1980s. I think the original retail price in the U.S. was $99 and it used audio cassettes to record video and audio.
That camera has since spurred its own filmmaking aesthetic, in which filmmakers use it to make an anti-slick, anti-corporate statement. I think a guy even shot a feature on it, but I'm not sure about the distribution.
Filmmakers have described shooting in Pixelvision as akin to sketching while shooting with film or higher resolution video as drawing or painting.
I wasn't really making a statement or sketching. I was just curious about what Pixelvision was all about and managed to borrow the camera for a weekend from Doug Ing, an indie filmmaker who was doing a MFA at the time at City College.
It does produce an image (b&w and very low resolution) that's like nothing else.
Anyway, October makes me think more and more about my parents, as we did go applepicking with them every October. I'm not even a big fan of apples, but the apples sure were good right off the tree.
Picking apples also reminds me of the Andrei Tarkovsky film IVAN'S CHILDHOOD, in which there's a haunting scene involving apples.
Anyway, enjoy and please leave comments if you have any. I enjoy reading them.
I just couldn't resist.
Anyway, here is a short film that I edited over the weekend using footage I shot of my parents some years ago. I had the footage on Hi8, paid to have it transferred to a DVD that my computer, it turns out couldn't read. Had to search the web for a program to convert that DVD to a format that my computer could read (hence the strange white line across the screen.)
I shot it originally on a PXL-2000, aka Pixelvision, which is a toy video camera that Fisher Price made back in the 1980s. I think the original retail price in the U.S. was $99 and it used audio cassettes to record video and audio.
That camera has since spurred its own filmmaking aesthetic, in which filmmakers use it to make an anti-slick, anti-corporate statement. I think a guy even shot a feature on it, but I'm not sure about the distribution.
Filmmakers have described shooting in Pixelvision as akin to sketching while shooting with film or higher resolution video as drawing or painting.
I wasn't really making a statement or sketching. I was just curious about what Pixelvision was all about and managed to borrow the camera for a weekend from Doug Ing, an indie filmmaker who was doing a MFA at the time at City College.
It does produce an image (b&w and very low resolution) that's like nothing else.
Anyway, October makes me think more and more about my parents, as we did go applepicking with them every October. I'm not even a big fan of apples, but the apples sure were good right off the tree.
Picking apples also reminds me of the Andrei Tarkovsky film IVAN'S CHILDHOOD, in which there's a haunting scene involving apples.
Anyway, enjoy and please leave comments if you have any. I enjoy reading them.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Hong Kong Laundry (**Short Film**)
I've made it four for four this week by posting a youtube movie for four consecutive days.
Granted only two were films shot here in Hong Kong, but still, I feel very good about myself.
Here is the latest film called HONG KONG LAUNDRY. It is a 1-minute haiku about... Hong Kong laundry.
Enjoy!
As for the Kim Ki Duk film, I'll write more about it tomorrow.
Granted only two were films shot here in Hong Kong, but still, I feel very good about myself.
Here is the latest film called HONG KONG LAUNDRY. It is a 1-minute haiku about... Hong Kong laundry.
Enjoy!
As for the Kim Ki Duk film, I'll write more about it tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
ANTIGONE 5000 Clip
I'm not trying to flood this blog with short movies, but since I have been motivated lately to go through my old films, I used a 2-minute clip from ANTIGONE 5000 to make this short film.
I still can't quite get over just how terrific an actor Nelsan Ellis is. I so wish I'd written something for him back then.
Anyway, he's now in L.A. getting regular work on TV. He also did a movie called WARM SPRINGS about FDR's futile attempt to try to cure his polio.
Nelsan was amazing. I really should have done a better job with this film, but what's the use of Monday morning quarterbacking, right?
Anyway, here it is:
The film was shot in the woods in New Jersey. So Jene was so supportive of me. But, ultimately, I let her and everyone on the cast down by not being more thorough with the production. Still, it was a return to filmmaking after about 6 years of not touching a camera.
I still can't quite get over just how terrific an actor Nelsan Ellis is. I so wish I'd written something for him back then.
Anyway, he's now in L.A. getting regular work on TV. He also did a movie called WARM SPRINGS about FDR's futile attempt to try to cure his polio.
Nelsan was amazing. I really should have done a better job with this film, but what's the use of Monday morning quarterbacking, right?
Anyway, here it is:
The film was shot in the woods in New Jersey. So Jene was so supportive of me. But, ultimately, I let her and everyone on the cast down by not being more thorough with the production. Still, it was a return to filmmaking after about 6 years of not touching a camera.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
First Short Film in Hong Kong
I went out with my miniDV camera this afternoon and took a walk through Wah Fu Estate.
There, I shot about 9 minutes of footage, which became this 40-second film koan.
Here is the world premiere of WAH FU ESTATE
I can't believe I was ablt to shoot and edit the whole thing in an afternoon.
On top of which, I got to practice a little Cantonese with a couple of the old guys who were out swimming.
Then, I went to the wet market at Wah Fu Estate and bought Korean lettuce and a bag of oranges. It seems I'm a regular there now and the merchants know me as "the Korean."
Of course, every time a HK person asks me in Cantonese, "what nation person are you?"
I answer "Korean person."
It's just easier to do that. There's less to explain.
Of course, when I do answer that, 9 times out of 10, the next thing they say is:
"Daaih Jang Gam!"
The guy who cuts up roasted duck at the Wah Fu restaurant even started humming the Daaih Jang Gam theme song for me.
I know they say that in Japan, WINTER BALLAD is the premier Korean soap opera, and in fact, when So Jene and I went there a few months ago, we did see many stores selling fans with photos of Yonsama aka Bae Yong Joon on them.
But, here in HK, the premiere Korean TV drama is DAAIH JANG GAM!!
Anyway, enjoy.
There, I shot about 9 minutes of footage, which became this 40-second film koan.
Here is the world premiere of WAH FU ESTATE
I can't believe I was ablt to shoot and edit the whole thing in an afternoon.
On top of which, I got to practice a little Cantonese with a couple of the old guys who were out swimming.
Then, I went to the wet market at Wah Fu Estate and bought Korean lettuce and a bag of oranges. It seems I'm a regular there now and the merchants know me as "the Korean."
Of course, every time a HK person asks me in Cantonese, "what nation person are you?"
I answer "Korean person."
It's just easier to do that. There's less to explain.
Of course, when I do answer that, 9 times out of 10, the next thing they say is:
"Daaih Jang Gam!"
The guy who cuts up roasted duck at the Wah Fu restaurant even started humming the Daaih Jang Gam theme song for me.
I know they say that in Japan, WINTER BALLAD is the premier Korean soap opera, and in fact, when So Jene and I went there a few months ago, we did see many stores selling fans with photos of Yonsama aka Bae Yong Joon on them.
But, here in HK, the premiere Korean TV drama is DAAIH JANG GAM!!
Anyway, enjoy.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Death of a Luddite
Thanks to repeated urging from my friend Jonny Stranger, a prolific indie filmmaker based in Austin, TX, with whom I had the good fortune of attending a MFA program at NYU way back, I've finally gotten my act together, joined the 21st century and uploaded my first videos to youtube.
Here is a link to Jonny's youtube channel that contains a ton of cool short films he's made over the years, including some very fascinating animation pieces.
http://uk.youtube.com/jonnystranger
It was much more easy than I'd thought it'd be. The tough part was exporting from the Adobe Premiere that I used to edit the short film. It's amazing what these relatively cheap video editing programs on computers can do, considering that I actually learned how to edit by working a Steenbeck.
Before my wife and I moved to HK, several old film archive companies in NYC were paying people $50 to take these old Steenbeck dinosaurs away. Of course, back when I was at NYU, you had to pay about $600 to rent them per month so that you could edit a 16mm workprint.
Anyway, that's enough of my rambling about how we did things back in the day. The bottom line is I have posted two short films on youtube.
Here are the links:
Innocence of Youth (1 minute+)
Somebody's Old Cheese (8 min+) (this film features Jonny Stranger, who by the way is the writer/director of YORICK, an indie feature film that is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet and the upcoming indie feature film MOJO TANGO.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl2cTEwih1k
Anyway, I don't know who will ever get to read these entries, but I hope whoever you are will enjoy these.
Here is a link to Jonny's youtube channel that contains a ton of cool short films he's made over the years, including some very fascinating animation pieces.
http://uk.youtube.com/jonnystranger
It was much more easy than I'd thought it'd be. The tough part was exporting from the Adobe Premiere that I used to edit the short film. It's amazing what these relatively cheap video editing programs on computers can do, considering that I actually learned how to edit by working a Steenbeck.
Before my wife and I moved to HK, several old film archive companies in NYC were paying people $50 to take these old Steenbeck dinosaurs away. Of course, back when I was at NYU, you had to pay about $600 to rent them per month so that you could edit a 16mm workprint.
Anyway, that's enough of my rambling about how we did things back in the day. The bottom line is I have posted two short films on youtube.
Here are the links:
Innocence of Youth (1 minute+)
Somebody's Old Cheese (8 min+) (this film features Jonny Stranger, who by the way is the writer/director of YORICK, an indie feature film that is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet and the upcoming indie feature film MOJO TANGO.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl2cTEwih1k
Anyway, I don't know who will ever get to read these entries, but I hope whoever you are will enjoy these.
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