That's a Wrap!

It's always tough to wind down after a shoot, to re-train your brain to normality. That is how I feel after wrapping on my latest film, Heaven's Touch. The film's a fantasy romance steeped in the supernatural. I think the story is fantastic and we had a very solid cast, and ultimately they did a fantastic job.

There are a great many things I'm concerned about after filming, such as will the cinematography live up to my hopes and expectations, will the actor's performances come through in the film, and will our ambition to do a scene in front of a green screen pay off in the end. It's real tough.

Obviously I feel certain scenes went better than others. There were a few scenes that the shots just flowed from one to the other. There were scenes where the actors seemed to just knock it out of the park right out of the gate, and a few scenes where some work was needed to be done, but they eventually got there. Though the final scene we shot at about ten o'clock Sunday night was an exhausting exercise. The scene just never seemed to be working from the start, and I think it was partly cause we were all tired and wanting to get done, and I hope it worked out for the best.

Tomorrow we start editing and I can't be happier to now be piecing the thing together and see if we have a film and not just a cheesy youtube video. Time will tell.

Boycott 3-D Cinema!

Okay, this post is purely a rant about a news story I caught this morning on FOX6 news here in Birmingham, AL. It all started, talking about the 3-D obsession that seems to have swept the entertainment industry, from film to 3-D TVs. They were talking about how 3-D, and in particular Avatar, have forever changed how movies are made, and I just got filled with frustration. 3-D is only the wave of the future because the studios are doing everything to entice moviegoers that the only way to see a particular movie is in 3-D, and moviegoers, being ignorant to the fact that they're actually shelling out 5-7 more dollars for something that should only be at an amusement park, pay and it reinforces the studios marketing strategy. Which leads to the next point. The news went from that into a story talking about how this new wave of 3-D films has led movie theater chains, like Regal and AMC, to raise ticket prices, in particular the prices of 3-D movie tickets in some cases has raised as high as 5 bucks more! The studios win again.

All of this is purely a smoke screen for the studios to make more money and regain control over the film industry like they did back in the Golden Age of Hollywood. If you call yourself a film lover, I implore you not to help re-instate the studios in their attempts to crush the little guy. 3-D is an expensive medium to produce, and if the studios continue their act of conditioning moviegoers into thinking that 3-D is the only way to see a film, it will destroy the little guy, a.k.a. independent film. The studios despise indies, I truly believe so. Why? Cause they're movies that they can't control, the studios want control, that's what it all boils down to is power. If the studios have their way, and their plans to crush independent film succeed, then film will revert back to a rich boy's game and little guys like me will never have a chance to make it in the film industry unless one comes from money. I'm sorry for the rant, but the point of this, is boycott 3-D! If you love cinema, don't give your money to reinforce the machine.

Seven Evil Ex-Boyfriends, One Scott Pilgrim

Hollywood seems to be running low on originality recently, seeming as if every comic book ever made is being turned into a film. One of the latest is the comic, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, telling the story of a 22-year-old bass player who falls in love with the girl of his dreams to only learn that in order to win her heart he must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends. The trailer for the film has hit the net, and I've gotta say, it's a highly over-the-top premise and it looks visually intriguing, but I do have reservations about how well the film will play out when watching it. I mean, an idea like this, with so much visual panache will either be highly original or just extremely cheesy, but then again the story isn't Shakespeare-either, regardless, it could be a lot of fun. The film stars Michael Cera doing his usual shtick and is directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), so it might be a funny film. Regardless, check out the trailer:

Oscar Watch: Another Year

So with another Oscar season behind us, it's now time to take a break till late Summer, but do not fret, because before I shelve Oscar Watch for the next three months or so, I'm gonna make some predictions about next year's Academy Awards. The Academy has honored the best in film for 2009, and now that we're at least 1/4 of the way through 2010, the 2010 Oscars are starting to at least send some vague signals. But let's start with the obvious contenders at the moment.

Sundance 2010 back in January was the first good precursor to the Oscars for this year. Last year this was where two Best Picture nominees got their start, Precious and An Education, and I believe there are a few films that have a shot from the Sundance crowd for this next year's Academy Awards. One of the more obvious ones is the Grand Jury Prize winner, Winter's Bone, an indie-drama about a teenage girl searching for her drug-dealing father. I think this is a solid screenwriting contender, kind of like Frozen River two years back, but without a big name actor in the cast, it will be a hard sell for Best Picture, but if it continues to pick up steam it might be this year's Precious.

As for the rest of Sundance, one movie I think to look out for is Howl starring James Franco, but I really think that is just for Acting, the big one that I think will play heavily for Best Picture with a Little Miss Sunshine-esque feel is the comedy, The Kids Are All Right. The film tells the story of a lesbian couple's two children, made by artificial insemination, going on a search for their biological father. The film has recognizable stars, i.e. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as the lesbian couple, and Mia Wasikowska fresh off Alice in Wonderland as the oldest of their children. The film I'm hearing could be a big threat in the Actress categories and Screenplay, but I also believe it has a strong play at Best Picture.

Filling out the bill so far this year for Oscar hopefuls is really only two films, Shutter Island and The Ghost Writer, but neither of those films will work it out to get nominated in the end, though a surprise directing nomination for Scorsese or Polanski is possible. Maybe The Runaways or the quirky black comedy, Greenberg, will find their way into talk, but it's a true longshot. One strong contender, mainly in Actress, is Chloe, a film about a prostitute played by Amanda Seyfried, it's the kind of daring performance the Academy loves from its younger stars, and with support from the likes of Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, the film itself could get in.

That leads us to Summer, where the Cannes Film Festival in France should clue us in a bit more on Oscar hopefuls, maybe a few indie films will come out of the woodwork there, but in recent years it's kind of been a death nail for an Oscar hopeful to do well at Cannes. Though, with the Best Picture race now expanded to 10, it's safe to start playing the Summer movie game card as well when speaking of Oscars.

To me, the only Summer movies that even have a potential shot to wow with the Academy is Kick-Ass (and that's a big but), Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, and the one I think that has the best shot of a Best Picture nomination out of all the big blockbusters this Summer, Inception. After being passed over for The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan might be getting a ton of sympathy from fellow Academy members, and not to mention Inception looks awesome and is a definite Screenplay contender. With Leo DiCaprio in the lead, this film is perfect blockbuster-styled Oscar bait, it might surprise come next March. Maybe a dark horse in our midsts? Some are saying Robin Hood and Angelina Jolie's Salt have similar cases, but I'm not buying it.

This now pits us into fall, where there will surely be many films that rise-and-fall at the Toronto Film Festival, the best precursor there is for the Academy Awards, and since it is not uncommon for a film to rise from nowhere in this competition and take the top prize at the Oscars, it's safe to say at least one film will wind up inconention, but which one? This now leads us to the Oscar bait season of Fall and Winter.

Clint Eastwood is back in full force with his supernatural thriller, Hereafter. This is the most intriguing Eastwood project I've heard of in years, so perhaps that might translate to an Academy-friendly affair, after being shut out for Invictus and Gran Torino. As well, director David Fincher returns with The Social Network, a film about the founder of facebook, but I seriously don't see this one being an award's film. Other than that there is Darren Aronofsky's new film, Black Swan, and Danny Boyle's mountain climbing epic, 127 Hours. Both of these sound too steeped in genre to win with the Academy, and this being Boyle's first film since Slumdog, it is dicey business, he'll either get tons more love, or will be seen as a disappointment.

One sure bet is director Terrence Mallick's return with his newest drama, The Tree of Life. With Mallick being a legacy of sorts, no way the film wont get in. Another fairly solid contender is director Edward Zwick's film, Love and Other Drugs. Zwick has gotten overlooked in the past for stuff like Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai, and this could be his big return to the Oscars after he wowed with Glory in the '80s. The one film to really keep your eye on though is the Coen Brother's remake of the John Wayne classic, True Grit. Respectable directors? Check. Respectable actor, Jeff Bridges? Check. Oscar bait in an almost forgotten genre? You bet ya. One final note, I'm getting a good vibe from Zack Snyder's animated film about Owl warriors, The Legend of the Guardians, so I'm throwing that into the talk.

So time to construct my 10 for next year's Oscars:

Hereafter

True Grit

The Kids Are All Right

Winter's Bone

Inception

The Ghost Writer

The Legend of the Guardians

127 Hours

The Tree of Life

Love and Other Drugs

That does it for Oscar Watch here. It's been a fun ride, but it's now time to take a break from Oscar-gazing and relax. I'll be back with periodic Oscar updates about once a month till about November of this year, and that's when Oscar Watch will pick back up steam and be a weekly column again. Till then!

It's Official, Chris Evans is Captain America!

Rumors were rampant over the weekend that actor Chris Evans (the Human Torch from the much misunderstood Fantastic Four films) had been cast to portray Captain America in the Joe Johnston-directed film, The First Avenger: Captain America. Well, confirmation has now come, and Chris Evans will be the Captain. Over the weekend I had been hearing he had been offered the role, but I did not want to say anything till it was official. Well, he accepted it, so it's pretty much a done deal, with Evans expected to do at least three Captain America films and also portray the character in The Avengers film bringing him together with the likes of Robert Downey, Jr. and Edward Norton.

While Evans does not have the right build for Captain America, I actually like him as an actor. I thought he shined in Fantastic Four and I loved him in the thriller Cellular. I have no doubt he'll be able to infuse the role with charm, and he'll play the part well, being a good All-American boy, but I'm mainly worried about his physique. Captain America is a buff hero; I always kind of imagined Brad Pitt in the suit, that is the kind of body build, especially Fight Club Brad Pitt, but Evans might bulk up and surprise all.

Right now I'm trying to remain optimistic, but it's hard knowing that they nearly cast someone like Chaning Tatum or John Krasinski in the part, but Evans, out of the shortlist was the best choice, and in terms of his face, he has the chiseled chin to look good in the mask, which is really important for a masked hero. He might just pull it out, so I'm gonna be behind this for the moment, plus with Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix) playing the baddie, Red Skull, how can ya not wanna see this?