Film & TV

Breaking Stuff You Like

Todd — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:47:42 -0500

Gruber linked to an excellent post today written by John August on his blog (a ton of useful information about screenwriting), which was a response to a question asked of him by a reader of his site who is a working screenwriter who felt like he was running into a wall with his sense of story, and was worried about continuing to "get better" at his craft. I'm not keen on this post for the screenwriting related reason necessarily... I'm keen on it because of the answer that John gives him, and how the technique offered can apply to EVERY craft - especially in media and art, where there are thousands of other good examples out there of people doing stuff well, and stuff that we like (and don't like - just as valuable!). Break it down, take it apart, learn from what you see there.

AFTRA Deal Spurs SAG to Resume Negotiations

Jim — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:31:52 -0500

At 3:30 am on Wednesday morning, The American Federation of Television & Radio Arts finally sealed the deal in their negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Variety reports that the good news is this deal has now put pressure on the SAG to finalize a plan with the AMPTP. On the other hand, the deal has perhaps further soured the relationship between the SAG and AFTRA and SAG leaders have insisted that it's unlikely they will accept the terms AFTRA reached in regards to consent for the use of clips online.

China Doesn't Like Sharon Stone Anymore

Jim — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:34:04 -0500

On May 12th an earthquake struck China leaving over 70,000 people dead and over 5 million people homeless. During a red-carpet interview with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News, past-her-prime movie star Sharon Stone attributed it to bad karma. Her exact words were, according to the Associated Press, "'I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?'" China, 1 billion strong and understandably upset about some other stuff going on, responded by banning her movies nation-wide.

Final Cut Pro User Groups Around The World: District of Columbia (DC)

nam — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:45:55 -0500

This recurring series looks at the communities that have sprung up to support Final Cut users. Big and small, near and far, users groups are a thriving part of the creative ecosystem.

(from left: Rich Volin, T.L. Smoot, Rodney Mitchell)

· When did this user group start? The new and improved DCFCPUG kicked off in March, 2008.

Cutting Room: Week of May 27th, 2008

nam — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:14:10 -0500

A weekly roundup of buzzworthy tips, tricks, and topics from the Final Cut Studio community:

- The web's abuzz about Apple's new media asset management and workflow automation software, Final Cut Server. Creative Cow explains the ins-and-outs of the program and offers comments from various users here. They also feature a Final Cut Server Forum with questions and advice posted from new users.

Sydney Pollack Passes Away at 73

Jim — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:06:08 -0500

Around nine months ago, award-winning director, producer, and actor Sydney Pollack was diagnosed with cancer. On Monday afternoon, Pollack succumb to the illness at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles surrounded by his family. Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother, Bernie; and six grandchildren. He was 73.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Review + Background Buzz + Critical Clips)

Jim — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:30:56 -0500

Let me preface this review by saying that it's not written with Indiana Jones fanboys in mind. The die-hards, like fellow Zoom In blogger Todd Howard, are so ingrained in the Indiana Jones mythos that no review, positive or negative, would effect their decision to see the film in the slightest way. Whether lauded as a sure bet for the Oscars or panned as a sloppy canonical imitator, those fans' nostalgia will override any structural flaws in the film to find satisfaction. This review is written for the casual fan, the ones who weren't raised on Dr. Jones's adventures, those on the fence, or for the ones who (though hard to imagine) have not seen any entry into the original trilogy. Similar to the last two Matrix films or George Lucas's Star Wars prequels, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull futilely attempts to recapture the magic of its source material.

FCP Plugin: SupaWipe

nam — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:30:52 -0500

SupaWipe is an object transition tool at your fingertips. Complex and multi-object transition effects which would take time, keying, and multiple layers are done with the help of a few mouse clicks.

Do 'Variety' and 'The Hollywood Reporter' Give Credit Where Credit is Due?

Jim — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:28:33 -0500

Initially I was going to write a post about the Ed Wood of our generation, Uwe Boll, and an article from The Hollywood Reporter where he complains that political correctness has denied a wide release for his latest film, Postal. Instead, I want to draw attention to an issue more important to film bloggers and the internet community. Trade papers Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are both widely known for their comprehensive coverage of the most late breaking news in the entertainment industry. Or are they? Recently websites The Latino Review and The Collider, both of which also cover the biz, are calling for a boycott of the trades claiming that stories which initially break on the web are often republished by Variety or THR as brand new with no credit given to the sites.

Sony Wins Bidding War for 'Flash Gordon' Feature

Jim — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:58:49 -0500

More than seventy years after his creation, the iconic Flash Gordon is finally coming to the big screen. Well, again. What started as a comicstrip and movie serial in the 1930s was adapated into a TV series in the 1950s, a feature film in the 1980s, and most recently, another TV series in 2007 on the Sci-Fi Channel. Variety reports that the deal being negotiated by Sony Pictures Entertainment is for "high six figures against seven figures if the film gets made.