Art at Sea

Summer Films.

2009-05-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

I have already seen 2 of the summer big films and looking to a few more.
Terminator:Salvation, Transformers 2, Public Enemies, and Harry Potter. Maybe GI Joe. Funny People might also being worth seeing in theaters.

I dont see many other great comedies or dramas worth seeing this summer. Last year we had Get Smart. I dont think any of these films will be a Dark Knight or if any will be best of their series. I have doubts about all of them. I know terminator will have a great action but it cant be 90 plus minutes of straight action so will rest of the movie be good enough. That what was so good abut Terminator Judgement Day it had a great story supported by good action. I just hope this is has great action supported by a good story.

Transformers 2 seems good on trailers but no mention of the fallen in the trailer. I have my doubts it will have its a funny moments that were such a wonderful joy in the first one. I dont know if this new harry potter film will have the same weight as the previous installmentt that showed this was more than a movie about teens or wizardry. I was bummed by the pg rating more so than I am by the pg13 on Terminator .

Public Enemies a movie about Dillinger, which I was working on a screenplay for before I found out this project could have gone in de velopment. It has Michael Mann directing again and it stars Depp and Christian Bale. Bale who had the biggest film last summer has 2 big films this summer (though I hear he is a jerk). This looks like a great film but looks too big for the Oscars. Havent seen any oscar movies yet this year. Though I hear the Solist is worth taking a look at. Enjoy the summer at the theaters. Dont bootleg them or watch cheap versions online.

Star Trek

2009-05-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

I am not a trekkie. I have seen a couple of Kirk movies so I least knew the characters. I've seen a few Generation episodes and enjoyed Star Trek: First Contact. I knew the hype going in and that many of my friends greatly enjoyed it as well as critics. Though some critics attacked the film for not giving us the deeper issues that were more common in star trek movies and compared this film to Star Wars instead. The farmboy, who is compelled by a friend of his father to come out into space, meets interesting characters, is set on the final path to reach his destiny on a snowy planet, defeats an enemy, saves a planet, and is given a hero's celebration. Oh and he doesnt get the girl. Yeah sounds like elements of star wars to me.

I was blown away by the opening scene, which may have been the best part of the movie. I am glad I saw it on IMAX. It was rich in detail, action, story, acting, and music. I had to buy that piece of score right away. It starts off as a future Romulan ship destroys the USS kelvin and killing Kirk Sr. in the process who was captain of the ship for 12 min but saved many lives. Romulans are after Spock. We next see the growing up of Kirk and Spock on their planets and how they enter Star Fleet Academy. Chris Pine was a great find as Kirk and I already was a fan of the Actor playing Spock who plays Sylar on Heroes (Zachary Quinto). The rest of the cast was pretty good as well. I couldnt even recognize Eric Bana as our Baddie Nero except sometimes in his voice. Karl Urban was surprisingly good as the Doctor "Bones".

Romulans after 25 years are back. Many ships are destroyed by their massive ship before the Enterprise and our heroes arrive. They are able to do some good but fail. Spock is the new captain and has a big fight with Kirk. Eventually Kirk becomes captain he is meant to be and with the help of his crew saves Earth and destroys the baddies. Romulans baddies were fine but forgetful. I wish I could say more but it would spoil the movie. Their are many great surprises. The action is great, the look of the film is great, SEE THIS IN IMAX, and characters were great. I loved Spock in this film for a couple of reasons (wink, wink). The only thing about this film was that it gave you no time to catch your breath. Live long and prosper.

Wolverine

2009-05-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Wolverine-

I have been a fan of xmen since the 92' cartoon, read some graphic novels, and enjoyed the previous movies. So I was really looking forward to seeing this film. One this is a great film about Wolverine. I gave it a 9/10 which was a little generous might go to 8 when I see it agian when on dvd. The acting of the 3 main characters was great (Wolverine, Victor-sabertooth, Col Stryker). The other characters seemed lacking in acting and were there only to support in some small manner wolverine which is fine. I loved the action of course especially the ending fight scene. The setting and action of it was breathtaking. They did take one huge creative blunderin of giving Deadpool one too many powers which bugged me. Some of the action had bad CGI which stood out for me and some action had too many hero shots. Like the long shot of Wolverine walking out of the flames.

Another thing I enjoyed about the film which has always been true for Wolverine is the battle for stillness or animalistic brutality. Their were quiet moments spread out throughout the film between his gf (who has an interesting arc), to the old couple who brought him in (Hudson's which means no alpha flight story), and a couple of other key quiet moments. I enjoyed the movie but just didnt wow me over like I thought it would.

Films of 2009 so far

2009-05-06T03:42:00.001-07:00

What I have seen in theaters so far this year. Well i just saw Wolverine. They need to get rid of that X men origins part. More on this film later.

I saw Valkyrie to start off the year with a couple of friends back home in Indiana at the theater I used to work at. I remember the most about the film was afterwards was talking outside with my friends as our ears froze off. I do not miss that super cold weather here in Los Angeles. Valkyrie was a pretty good political triller with a great cast and with a plot where we already know the end. The characters were pretty good and depicted well about those german soldiers who didnt agree with Hitler and his evil ambitions. I think they did the best they could with the movie but were hurt by the pacing of the film and too much focus on Tom Cruise character. This filmed seem more about Tom Cruise character and the operation was only there to tell about Tom Cruise's character. It was a good film.

I saw Underworld: Rise of Lycans which was a better film that I thought it would be covering the relationship between a lycan and a vampire. The woman who fell in love with a slave which sparked a revolt leading to an endless war which concluded in the first two parts of the Underworld series. It was cool to see this film with a different kind of style without the urban setting and the guns that the made the first two films work. Action is great, classic story, and if you are a fan of the first two and missed this. RENT THIS. But if you dont like vampire, werewolves, or medieval violence this film wont change your mind.

Next was Curious Case of Benjamin Button which reminded me of Forest Gump as an unusual man makes his mark over the world over many decades of the early 20th century. I really thought that this would be an instant classic and couldnt wait to add it to my home dvd collection. For some reason this movie came up short for me though I enjoyed seeing it. It had heart, tragedy, great performances, and amazing settings it still failed to move me like Forest Gump. He was a young at heart old man and became a decrepited child. I did like how the other characters reacted to him- sailor who couldnt believe this old man was just starting to experience life and getting laid, his mother who loved him despite his oddity, and the girlfriend who found only a short time in the crossing of their years to make it work. Its a good film a little long and I enjoyed the first half of the film a lot better than the 2nd half.

Watchmen - the great graphic novel turned into a movie about the lives of superheroes in a dark realistic/ nihilistic world. After seeing 300 and reading the novel I thought this was going to be amazing or like so many films ruin the original material. It neither for me. Yes it stuck close to the book and I was amazed they kept in all of the self reflection that was in the novel, but it was missing the excitement of 300 that only films can bring. I felt like I watching the book and not seeing the movie. Yes I enjoyed the movie but there no was wow factor. No jaw dropping. I did appreciate the soundtrack to the movie. Looking forward to seeing it on DVD or blu-ray.

Finally back to the first film of the Movie Summer Schedule- WOLVERINE. which will be covered in my post later on this week and my films I cant wait to see the rest of the summer.

I'm back

2009-05-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

Going to try another crack at this. Became too reliant on facebook to get out information but facebook has no heart. Sorry facebook but your like most of our news today quick and efficient look into our friends lives.

Still doing the movie thing. Though the job market has been tough and still trying to really get out there to new places that has been discouraging at times. My only luck it seems is being brought on by projects with people i already have worked with. Which is good because that means I am doing something right. Though it is hard constantly applying on craigslist/mandy/entertainment jobs/below the line/ and now LA 411 and not getting jobs from it. I have built an ok resume on some interesting projects. Recently finished a indie feature about a girl has amnesia after a wreck killing her father starts getting paranoid the rest of her family is out to get her. It has been like most projects out here for me small crews bonding together to make a fun little film.

The biggest film I have worked on is - Five Star Day starring Cam Gigadnet (Twilight), Jena Malone (Saved!, Ruins) and other great actors in an indie film about a college student looking into the lives of others born at the same hospital and same day as himself. It was the longest shoot I was on and the most tiring. We were at many locations and had a larger production team with a production trailer/actor trailer/few other key vehicles. I was the only PA to last for the entire project and had a couple of small blunders but I believe I rose to the occasion for a great experience.

I am looking forward to a couple of more projects this summer already booked and hope to add a couple of more. Turned down one project this month which would have conflicted with a future project but was only going to be shot on the weekends and I missed going to the Vine which has become my church. Search online for The Vine at Shepherd of the Hills and I hope you are blessed with some amazing sermons. Their also great pictures on our Facebook fan site. My friends at the Vine have become my rock out here and keep reminding me that my life with Christ is so much more than working on filmsets. So I try to enjoy each service the best I can because each project seems to be shot on Sunday.

I still havent seen one film that I have worked on out here yet. Even the short that was shown at the 168 hour film festival "Apples to Ashes". Need to get on that one.

Captian of Snapple Command 2

2008-09-02T00:36:00.000-07:00

Finished filming this project. It was a great learning experience of what I want to do with my life and how to do it better. we had a very small team so I covered several positions the best i could. I took some heat for not getting everything done, but I think overall the crew appreciated what I did. i got along with most of the crew and if i had troubles with someone it usually got worked out. i tried to share the gospel some . Many saw christianity as a problem in the world so unlike many who just see christianity as another belief, so that was different to deal with. I tried sharing that Christ came to preach Good news and tried to keep politics separate from my faith.

Looking forward to helping out on the next project a serial killer movie. I will just be a part time production asst. which is fine with me. I can enjoy working on set and spend more time keeping my eyes open to observe others in higher position and how they work. Also I will be able to work my part time job of recruiting people to movies.

Captian of Snapple Command

2008-08-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

I have been working hard as a line producer in prep work for this film. Things are turning out alright. Got to go to SAG office and drop off papers. Sidenote- saw an interesting report on LA's own cspan channel that covers LA council meetings. This meeting was about creating a task force to better deal with paparazzi. They had John Mayer (who is extremely well spoken, smart individual), Eric Roberts (julia roberts older brother who recenty was in Dark Knight), and Milo V. (from Gilmore Girls and Heroes fame who gave a great speech but was quiet afterwards) They want to start licensing paparazzi which will scare away alot of people who go out and buy camera and just initiate themselves into this free market enterprise with no control. Which sounds great. I have seen one instance of Paparazzi out here. A Mazerati which is quite common in WLA, BH area made a right hand turn in front of me while i was stopped at the red light. After the car pulls out 3 cars quickly follow (2 were black suvs), they surround the Mazerati as best they can and when i reach the stoppped light they are at. They were taking pictures of the the car. Dont who was in it. I found it quite fascinating but also extremely foolish.

We begin filming Snappple Command tomorrow for 10 days over the next 11 days. Wish me luck and send me prayers about being responsible on set and able to put out fire that might emerge.

earthquake

2008-08-01T00:34:00.000-07:00

I survived my first California earthquake. I was a good 30 miles or so from it but i still felt. For the damage it did and the earthquakes they've had in the past if you watched the news you would have thought it was much worse. Heres a clip from the news. We know of a couple of old pipes bursting causing small flooding on the street. Now to the streets. Well here at this store in Chino hills we see this drug store had 20 oz liter bottles fall over. Now to the valley. This little girl was on an escalator at the mall. Escalator shook and I was scared. Now back to more coverage of this earthquake. I got to watch some during my lunch time since I couldnt make calls for work.

Speaking of work I got a job as line producer for a ultra low budget film. The script is exciting and the crew is ready to roll. I have a lot of responsibility I never thought I would be working with in my first 2 months here. Sitting on my table is the SAG (screen actors guild) contracts for the film.

Last friday I was able to go to Comic Con in San Diego. I got to see updates on the marvel world. I was able to give my business card to the rep from Marvel Studios. Though he gots lots of cards and he was the only person I was able to give my card to. I missed the panel for Watchmen so went into the panel for the cartoon for spider man spectacular. Robert Englund famous for Freddy Cougar movies is part of the cast and afterwards he did a line as Freddy for me. I got to go to the panels of Wolfman starring Benecio Del Toro and Spirit with Frank miller, jamie king and the bassest mofo Samuel L. Jackson making apppearances. I was in the middle of a room in a giant room. That night i got into Spaced showing. Introduced by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Jessica Haynes the creator of the show and behind Shaun of Dead and Hot fuzz. Before they showed the film they got in a shootout with many people there who had seen the show. Talked to some interesting people there but i say over half the people had costumes ranging from a tshirt to full out costumes.

Dark Knight

2008-07-19T04:05:00.000-07:00

This along with Iron Man have been by far by favorite summer films. So I encourage you to all to go out and see it. But be warned it is a dark and tragic film. The joker is a menace and truly scary to watch. What happens to other key characters is sometimes hard to watch as many come across difficult trials during this dark time. If you wish to know nothing else stop reading. I will try to touch on some main points of films without spoiling it.

Batman is aware of what he is and is hoping that his work will attract the right people to carry on his work in a more realistic and less dramatic approach so he can put the tragedy that has rules his life behind him. Joker who was mentioned at the end of the last film has been sort of hanging around for awhile before really pushing chaos to an extreme as he wishes to destroy the rejuvenated Gotham. Crime Lords are sub characters in this film who are trying to keep their empire going and it seems (?) if they are just as afraid of the joker as everyone else. Then their are the people of Gotham who seem to love batman secretly but never really understand him. Then when times get tough will they give up their protector for a little relief from fear.

Then there is Harvey Dent, who wishes to do the right thing but has a slight dark undertone deep within that comes out a couple to times. Will Harvey Dent, the White Knight, succumb to chaos and evil and become evil himself? Which is what the films asks of all its characters will they succumb to working for the mob, killing others to save themself, or killing others out of revenge? What will Batman do to keep Gotham safe? What will he become in face of all this evil and what happens to the other characters around him?

The Dark Knight

I hope I can endure through dark times to myself and to the world to live up to my title as a Christian for Christ's Kingdom

Early July Update

2008-07-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

Havent gotten on any films since Margarita. Turned one down a few days after I thought this would be my next project b/c of subject material. Looks like I'll be working on a cool project done by the guy who do the thevacationeers films on youtube.

I've had other cool opportunities such as working as an audience member for Deal or No Deal, I got to see Guirremo Del Toro talk about the upcoming Hellboy 2 film and the Hobbit. I also got a part time job finally and I think it is one that will really work with my schedule. I am a movie recruiter, which means I try to get people to come to free press screenings or research screenings.

I'm still going to LA RP church in the mornings and I'm attending the Shepherd of Hills Vine Service for a younger audience on Sunday Evenings. Where I'm starting to make friends and attending a Life Group. Life as the house is pretty good. A new housemate moved in who is originally from FT Wayne but who came from Nashville TN.

Keep me updated on how things are going back home.

Welcome

2008-06-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to my learning to be a filmmaker/producer. With a goal of starting my own film company Art at Sea Films. Art is the last 3 letters of my name and Sea is the first 3 letters. I love art and I love the sea. I finished my first film opportunity as production coordinator. I got invited on it about a week before filming to meet the director and start to set up a production workbook.

I also got to cast extras during pre production. During shooting, I helped out on set some but spent most of my time in the production office with the 2nd AD (assnt director) casting extras, making call sheets, getting contracts/forms out to crew/cast and making sure they gave them back to me. I also got to do some pickups and dropoffs. So I got to go to some prophouses, dolly rental shop, expendables store, and lighting rental place.

The directors office was Right on Hollywood Blvd and Vine St. Just South of Capitol Records. One day went I out from lunch at the office there was someone getting a star on the sidewalk. Never found out who it was. But I guess got to hear Jamie Lee Curtis share some on her friend. It was a good first project. Some of the crew treated me like a rookie but most were real nice and treated me like a production coordinator/pa another man on the crew getting the job done. Filming took forever as most days went longer than expected and not all shots got done. Here's to the next project.