Movie Serials Pixaresque

Artist Phil Postma has recreated visions of old movie serial hero lobby cards if Pixar were to do them. To be more specific, there is a distinct Brad Bird / Incredibles look to them. Maybe they should be called Pixaresque?

I love this. Absolutely amazing. These guys, Flash Gordon in particular, were a big deal to me as a kid. I knew who Buster Crabbe was when I was five years old in the 1970s when most other kids were more concerned about Kevin Keegan or Burt Reynolds and the old black and white serials, which used to be shown early on a Saturday morning (before Swap Shop, I think) absolutely held my attention.

And this looks to be a way to have The Phantom represented in a way were it doesn't matter if he essentially looks silly - he gets away with it Pixar style.

If only Pixar adapted one of these. How good would that be? Immensely, I say.

I urge you to check out the rest of Postma's stuff. It's superb. And if you do, be aware that Mr Postma's slightly colour blind, which explains why his Pixaresque version of Dick Tracy looks a little under the weather.

I originally caught this on IO9.

Another Eight Sequences - coming soon

Well, I'll surprised again that someone reads this blog. Not only that, but they chose to get in touch.

Last November I decided to take the Eight Sequence approach, developed by Frank Daniel and championed by Paul Gulino, and see if I could apply to a film I know and love well. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade popped out immediately as I feel it follows this structure well, even breaking it down into the locations that appear in the film, and it would make a good jumping off point in examining how useful this approach.

A reader (who I'll not name right now for the sake of courtesy) liked what I had written, it seems, and got in touch, asking me if I could try the same approach in an examination of Wanted, which said reader had been trying to break down, with little success. I've not watched Wanted yet but I'll certainly give it a go.

Sincerely flattered that someone read my blogs and got in touch.

What I find intriguing is that this might not work. Not every sits comfortably within any supposed structure. The danger is we get into a theory and try to apply it to everything, falling into that trap of mistaking screenwriting theories for story formulas, which is a fatal error.

I'll get into this after the Edinburgh International Film Festival as I'm swamped right now, but I find exercises like this always help the process and make me re-examine what I've written. Handy when I've got a second draft of a feature to be getting on with very soon. Mental exercises for screenwriters. Don't stick with one approach. Figure out as much as you can yourself. There are always patterns in stories but mixing them up and screwing with structure can really push drama and conflict.

Let's see what happens.

Sounds of Steel

Here's me going on about how giant Hollywood blockbusters are in trouble and then I remember how doo-lally I am waiting for Man of Steel this weekend.

When I was young, about five, my mum asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said Spider-Man. She said I couldn't be that. So I said Superman. As a million other kids in the late 70s most likely did. Before I apologised to Luke Skywalker, that is, and remembered that other film.



Can't stop listening to this tune. You can't compete with John Williams (which I'm listening to now as I type this - The Destruction of Krypton to be precise) and nor should you. Even though Bryan Singer had me hook, line and sinker when he used that theme for Superman Returns (which I still like, flaws and all, even if it seems a far smaller film in scope these days), this is different and, frankly, great stuff.

Hope the movie is up to it.

Beards on Hollywood Implosion

Interesting story doing the rounds right now about Steven Spielberg and George Lucas at E3 discussing how Hollywood continues to eat itself (link to Empire's coverage).

They talk about how the current trend of remakes, reboots and increasing budgets is essentially unsustainable and, while I still love me my summer movies (so long as they are GOOD), it's perfectly true.

Many of these big movies are not about directors, they're about Hollywood execs trying to prove to each other that their dick is the biggest by spending more money. There are even some, I hear, who will replace practical effects with unnecessary CG because they think it means something, that it shows that they;re not afraid to throw money around in the face of rivals, when it's entirely possible they have no real understanding of what makes a movie really work, which Mr Spielberg and Mr Lucas (accept it, yes the prequels were poor but he did a few things before them) plainly do. Summer blockbusters are now the domain of the suits. Star Wars, Jaws, ET, and Indiana Jones were all made with honest intentions and by guys who wanted to see those films themselves.

Something else which bugs me as well is the insistence on calling every big summer release a "blockbuster". Because they're not. A film used to only be a "blockbuster" if it did well, the phrase coming from how they broke records, crushed the competition and became cultural phenomena. Now, they're crafted by the suits to a formula and are called "blockbusters" regardless. A movie like Green Lantern or other John Carter (which I had a lot of time for) would not have been called a blockbuster back in the day. You didn't earn money, you were a bomb. Simple as. Based on the enormous profit it made, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a blockbuster - how many news outlets would consider that? Could Once, with it's huge profit margin, be classified as a blockbuster? Or are they not percussive enough for the quick pre-sell or quick cut, noisy TV feed amongst the empty celebs?

Hollywood and brainless, lazy entertainment "journalism"has lost sight of what that really means; but the entertainment journalism industry tends to rely on bigging up these things so people will continue to watch their own bilge. Because, just like the execs, they're afraid they won't be first past the post the minute the gates open. It's a playground mentality and it will be biting them on the ass pretty soon.

Hollywood execs know dick compared to these guys. Lucas and Spielberg didn't create blockbusters; anyone who continues to claim this needs to either get their head out of their ass or do some balanced research. What they actually did was make work that the public responded to overwhelmingly and the greedy money men saw their chance and have been at it ever since.

Movies will change. They always do. Something similar happened in the late 60s when giant flops like Doctor Dolittle and Cleopatra almost wiped studios out. I'm not saying for one instant that we're about to watch the current system fail and usher in a new era reminiscent of the early to mid 70s, but something is definitely going to have to change. And for the better, I think.

While there is an art there, it's also a business. And if there's one thing business knows how to do, it's adopt, adapt and survive.

Finishing things and Finally Back to the EIFF.

Going good this week.

Finished a draft of my current project. More things to do with it. That feeling of calm I get when I finish a job. I tend to get to sleep a lot more easily - I wish I got it more often. And anticipation at the next step (but never taking for granted that I carry it forward when it's not my baby).

And I'm seriously chuffed to be attending this years Edinburgh International Film Festival as a delegate. I rarely get to the EIFF and when I do it's for maybe on film. Going the whole hog this year thanks to an awesome producer I'm working with. Looking forward to it immensely but there is also going to be a lot of work to do when I'm there. An dlots of films to watch. I've got a lot to catch up on.

I'll also be attending the premiere of I Am Breathing, the documentary charting the final few months of the life of my old friend Neil Platt. Not going to be easy but knowing Neil and the filmmakers Morag and Emma, I know there'll be some laughter as well.

Right, back to the prep.

The Desolation of Smaug Approacheth

 

I love this. Loved the first film. Loved what they added to it (I prefer Tolkien's addendums to the story in Unfinished Tales). Looking forward to December, once again.

Goodbye Iain Banks

  "I look down at Eric again, and smile, nod to myself in the breeze while the waves break and the wind moves spray and grass and a few birds call. I suppose I'll have to tell him what happened to me."

RIP.

Iain Banks

Message to cancer:

F&*K YOU CANCER.

Iain Banks has not got long, he announced today.

I read The Wasp Factory in my early 20s after it was recommended to me by a friend. I was sitting on the top deck of the bus on my way home from college one night and I reached a part of the story where I felt I actually had to put the book down, mouth open and eyes agog, so powerful and disturbing was one particular image within the text. I picked it up again the next day and finished it. Amazing book.

When I lived in central Edinburgh, I often used to Mr Banks out and about, usually in a music shop.

Another cruelty inflicted by a shit of a disease on a talented individual. I only hope he is able to do whatever he needs to in the time he has left.

Love/Hate

Love/Hate.

There's no other way to say it. My favourite band of all time (along with Slave to the Grind era Skid Row). And I managed to miss them when I was younger, so many, many times.

But then, last week...

Hee hee hee!!!!

I waited 20 years to finally see these fellas. And good god, it was worth it. Bannerman's is a small but important venue in Edinburgh for rock and metal music, especially these days. Sadly, circumstances meant that it wasn't the full original line up playing but lead singer Jizzy Pearl (I love how he's kept that name after all this time) along with a touring line up of Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper, Slash's Snakepit), Robbie Crane (RATT) and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley). And they were fantastic, all of them, really doing justice the originals. I missed a chance to speak to Jizzy (who brushed past me when he entered the pub itself), who was good enough to hang out with the fans for a bit (but we did bump fists during the gig, which made my day) but I did get to speak to Robbie Crane and Matt Starr several times, who were friendly, down to earth and approachable dudes.

Touring bassist Robbie Crane, formerly of RATT.

Love/Hate were one of those bands in the late 80s/early 90s who really weren't appreciated for who they were and what they did. A lot of folks didn't get into them for one reason or another but they completely spoke to me (how wanky, I know) when I was 19. Lumped in with the hair metal movement, they stood out from the rest of that lot for me and actually had something to say about the rock lifestyle of excess; I think a lot of their stuff still stands up and is remains relevant. They've more than their fair share of bad luck but keep at it. Real rock musicians who persevere through good and bad.

 Jizzy's voice is still amazing - after all those presumed years of rock n'roll excess, he looks after himself - and in all the entire band were amazing. I think they were a bit taken back at our response. Jizzy's said himself that the UK always seemed to love them more than anyone else.

And there was very little about the night that seemed nostalgic all that much nor did it seem like faded stars  trying to recapture previous glories. This was balls to the wall music. A bunch of guys still doing what they love and doing it amazingly and with a real passion.

I think Love/Hate's continued existence is an example of one of the beliefs I try to live by; if you love something, do it, no matter how old people say you are. The other way lies darkness, old age and the end.

An amazing and ferociously good night. Here's hoping it's not another 20 years before they come back to Edinburgh.

Working with Aberlour

Had a rather more productive few weeks than usual, with my first couple of bits of freelance filmmaking work.

Several weeks ago saw me shooting a promo for Aberlour Childcare Trust's Woof Walk, a part of annual charity The Kilt Walk. My shoulder rig came in handy for that and did a pretty good job for what it is.



And this morning I was working with Aberlour Childcare Trust again, filming Britain's Got Talent Winner Jai McDowall's good luck and thanks message to all those who will be embarking on the Woof Walk and Kilt Walk in a few weeks time at Hampden Stadium. Jai does a fair bit of promotion and work for Aberlour and it's good to meet someone from BGT who has their feet on the ground. Nice chap.

Hopefully some more work coming up soon as well as my current feature writing gig.

I'd better get on to the rushes, then...