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Off-topic Rants
The last two weeks have been MASSIVE! After my last blog entry, we have had so many fantastic ups and so many depressing downs! It really has been an emotional roller-coaster of a couple of weeks! Now all I have to do now is try to remember everything that has happened…
OK… I’ll be honest. I haven’t absolutely no idea how anyone can maintain a daily blog – especially film makers. I just don’t understand how they can possibly find the time! We’ve been absolutely positively flat out since my last post – it’s really been a bit silly! Chris Jones I salute you! I have no idea how you not only find the time, but also write stuff that actually makes sense, and has good spelling and grammar! OK, so now I have to find back to what has actually happened over the last week…
A lot has happening this week – and boy, oh boy do I mean a lot! When you’re only getting around two hours sleep a night (maximum) you sure do get a lot done. But regardless of how much coffee you drink to keep you awake, you still seem to just run out of time. In film making, time is your number one enemy. It’s always against you, and it’s always looking for ways to make your life a living hell. But enough bitching about time…
Ok, so there may be a slight hint of sarcasm in the title for today. Unfortunately everything is not going exactly according to plan – but it’s not a complete disaster either! Yet – anyway! Nah, I’m kidding. We’re seriously heading in the right direction – a lot slower than we hoped, but on course none-the-less.
Not to be confused with Yang Chuan’s 1980 film, also set in Hong Kong and as of the same English translation, Kenneth Bi’s “Zhan. Gu (The Drummer)” is his third feature film (despite popular belief, as his first feature film, “A Small Miracle” only received a straight to video release). Nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, this film is the first from Hong Kong and Taiwan to be selected for competition in the festival, and is already gaining positives reviews all around the world, no doubt helped by Tony Leung Ka Fai receiving the “best supporting actor” award at Taiwan’s highly acclaimed Golden Horse Film Festival. However, the film is not without its critics – with many describing it as “ill-conceived” and “unconvincing”.
It’s extremely hard to believe it’s already been four days since I last updated this blog! Where the hell does time go? No really – I honestly want to know! So what’s been happening since my last message, well, quite a lot! Last Saturday we had more auditions – eighteen of them to be precise. Everything went smoothly, and there was some great talent in the mix! On Sunday we met up with Ben Hidalgo – our amazing DOP for the Sakooz project. We talked all things light, around a coffee table in Prahran, and started to put together a game plan for this epic adventure. Then on Monday is was back to uni, and a meeting with another Chris – an animatronics expert that studied at the VCA. After another discussion around the coffee table, and some more discussions and planning – we walked away a lot more confident than what we were on Friday. Everything seems to be heading in the right direction. Our DOP is the best (and I honestly mean it), so we have little to worry about in terms of that department. And now with another Chris on the team – we’ve got animatronics covered. So despite all odds – at the moment, we appear to be winning the war. Of course it’s still very early stages, and there are a lot more battles to go… Money is probably one of the biggest issues. Oh, if you’re rich, and have some cash to spare – then get in touch with us! Unfortunately, I’ve got to get back to work – but before I leave, here are some photos of our auditions:
Well, I’m very sorry to say that already we’re struggling finding the time to update this blog, and it hasn’t even been that long since we started it up! Thing is, we are absolutely flat out! And to make matters worse, our whole team seems to be getting ill in one way, shape or form! Isaac has bronchitis. David has tonsillitis. Caithlin is having surgery on her back. And Anli has been sick now with some kind of bug for the past couple of weeks. I just haven’t been sleeping… pretty much at all, so although I may not be ill, yet, I still look a little worse for wear!
So what exactly are we up to and the moment? What kind of crazy nut-case film are we trying to bring to life? Well, a quite a big one actually. At the end of last year we were worked on a documentary called “Superb Menura”. It was a major step up from our previous 16mm short, “Happy Sundaes”. And whilst we were busy filming doco footage, and getting surround sound recordings at absolutely crazy hours of the night, we were always plotting and planning for what we would do this year.
Aren’t there already enough blogs on the web? I’m mean seriously, if you type the word “blog” into Google, you get well over two BILLION results. Why on earth would we want to start another one? There’s already thousands of film making blogs scattered around the place… So what’s the deal?
Vittorio De Sica’s ninth film as director, Ladri di biciclette, has been widely cited as one of the finest films ever made and has helped cement the Italian-born actor/writer/director, as one of the world’s most influential and remarkable filmmakers of all time. Released in 1948, The Bicycle Thief, as it was titled in the US (or more accurately “Bicycle Thieves” if you go with the literal translation), is a seemingly simple film that has made and continues to achieve a massive impact on cinema viewers worldwide.