Please click the link, check out the video and share!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/152013246/the-lord-of-catan
Catan poster
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Much Ado about the Lord of Catan
Last night, I saw Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing at the Aero. If you have seen it, you know it to be a charming romp of delight. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out immediately as a great example of how commercial frustration can create great art. It is the kind of movie that deserves to be supported.
As it happens, two of the main stars of Much Ado, Fran Kranz and Amy Acker, are also in The Lord of Catan, a short film I shot in early May. If you're already a fan of Kracker, you don't need to be told that they are awesome. It's tough to come upon sublime experiences in life and filmmaking, but I experienced one last night. It's pretty cool to watch two actors unleash thespian homicide on screen in a Joss Whedon movie, knowing that the next time they do so will be in your own film.
We are just over a week away from the release of The Lord of Catan's official teaser trailer and the start of our Kickstarter campaign. So watch this blog or @HamsterValhalla on Twitter for updates as the date nears. In the meantime, these behind-the-scenes photos of Amy and Fran rocking out most righteously are dedicated to Amelia, whose taste in shirts is most impeccable.
As it happens, two of the main stars of Much Ado, Fran Kranz and Amy Acker, are also in The Lord of Catan, a short film I shot in early May. If you're already a fan of Kracker, you don't need to be told that they are awesome. It's tough to come upon sublime experiences in life and filmmaking, but I experienced one last night. It's pretty cool to watch two actors unleash thespian homicide on screen in a Joss Whedon movie, knowing that the next time they do so will be in your own film.
We are just over a week away from the release of The Lord of Catan's official teaser trailer and the start of our Kickstarter campaign. So watch this blog or @HamsterValhalla on Twitter for updates as the date nears. In the meantime, these behind-the-scenes photos of Amy and Fran rocking out most righteously are dedicated to Amelia, whose taste in shirts is most impeccable.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Chambara style
 |
| Toei-style logo Pencils: Jules Abrera Colors: Martin Hernandez Tena Logo: Rachel Mitnik |
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Convergence on the 2012 Hit List
I was pleased to learn my parallel realities script, Convergence, was voted onto the Tracking Board's 2012 Hit List--a list of the best spec scripts of the year.
http://www.tracking-board.com/the-hit-list-2012-full-list/
Naturally, one must take all compliments from Hollywood with a grain of salt. If you're looking to the industry for critical recognition, you are looking in the wrong place.
Yet, we writers do love approval. Flattery works on us. It works very, very well.
However, one cannot speak of the Hit List without also speaking of its sluttier but more famous cousin, the Black List, which in the last few years, has become something akin to the Oscars for unproduced screenplays. Convergence's inclusion on the Hit List is particularly welcome, as I was just bemoaning how the Black List has gained this reputation as the be-all and end-all of amazing screenwriting. Producers and executives vote for their favorite scripts of the year. Yet I can't help but question the list's validity, especially now that the Black List has turned its admittedly aptly chosen name into a business, selling services to hungry screenwriters. The Black List is a barometer of many things, and the quality of the writing is not always one of them. If you read a handful of scripts from any given year, you will find works that cross the gamut--there are good scripts, quirky scripts, scripts with good characters, mediocre scripts with good hooks, unoriginal scripts with good structure, utter piles of crap and even a few truly brilliant pieces of work.
The Black List always opens by saying that it is not a best-of list, but a most-liked list. I would posit it is more accurate to say that it is a "most hyped" list. An executive cannot like a script if they have not read it. It is another example of commercial Hollywood appropriating art for its own ends, the primary ends in this case being bragging rights (you'll notice the first thing they put up is not the names of the scripts or writers, but the scorecard of agencies and managers who represent writers that made the cut).
I say all this prior to the announcement of the Black List's 2012 inductees tomorrow. Whether or not my script makes the cut is not the issue. I am here to celebrate the Hit List, because it seems to me that its focus, while similar to the Black List in terms of how the votes are tallied, is not on "unproduced" scripts (i.e. many of which have already been bought and are soon to be produced), but on all specs that went out in the year. And while the same caveats apply--heat begets heat, and the more people read a script, the more likely it will get voted for--the Tracking Board is a tool of the people in the trenches--those interns and development execs who read every script that goes out. It is, and this is only my perception, as I am no insider to the voting on these things--a slightly more democratic alternative to the Black List.
The Black List feels to me like a tool of the Hollywood aristocracy to maintain control over the artist by making us beg for their approval. The Hit List feels to me like a statement from the proletariat. And as a former intern who knows what it is to sit in a little room reading scripts and writing coverage in between calling the local yogurt shops to get their flavors of the day for the boss's wife, I feel a certain kinship with the lords of the Tracking Board, whoever they might be.
To everyone who actually read Convergence through to the end and to all who voted for it, I give my thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You are the people who can make a difference.
I implore all those in Hollywood to choose originality over the familiar. Intelligence over mediocrity. Scripts that challenge over scripts that check off all the boxes. Make commerce bow before art, not the other way around. And pass my script up to your boss.
http://www.tracking-board.com/the-hit-list-2012-full-list/
Naturally, one must take all compliments from Hollywood with a grain of salt. If you're looking to the industry for critical recognition, you are looking in the wrong place.
Yet, we writers do love approval. Flattery works on us. It works very, very well.
However, one cannot speak of the Hit List without also speaking of its sluttier but more famous cousin, the Black List, which in the last few years, has become something akin to the Oscars for unproduced screenplays. Convergence's inclusion on the Hit List is particularly welcome, as I was just bemoaning how the Black List has gained this reputation as the be-all and end-all of amazing screenwriting. Producers and executives vote for their favorite scripts of the year. Yet I can't help but question the list's validity, especially now that the Black List has turned its admittedly aptly chosen name into a business, selling services to hungry screenwriters. The Black List is a barometer of many things, and the quality of the writing is not always one of them. If you read a handful of scripts from any given year, you will find works that cross the gamut--there are good scripts, quirky scripts, scripts with good characters, mediocre scripts with good hooks, unoriginal scripts with good structure, utter piles of crap and even a few truly brilliant pieces of work.
The Black List always opens by saying that it is not a best-of list, but a most-liked list. I would posit it is more accurate to say that it is a "most hyped" list. An executive cannot like a script if they have not read it. It is another example of commercial Hollywood appropriating art for its own ends, the primary ends in this case being bragging rights (you'll notice the first thing they put up is not the names of the scripts or writers, but the scorecard of agencies and managers who represent writers that made the cut).
I say all this prior to the announcement of the Black List's 2012 inductees tomorrow. Whether or not my script makes the cut is not the issue. I am here to celebrate the Hit List, because it seems to me that its focus, while similar to the Black List in terms of how the votes are tallied, is not on "unproduced" scripts (i.e. many of which have already been bought and are soon to be produced), but on all specs that went out in the year. And while the same caveats apply--heat begets heat, and the more people read a script, the more likely it will get voted for--the Tracking Board is a tool of the people in the trenches--those interns and development execs who read every script that goes out. It is, and this is only my perception, as I am no insider to the voting on these things--a slightly more democratic alternative to the Black List.
The Black List feels to me like a tool of the Hollywood aristocracy to maintain control over the artist by making us beg for their approval. The Hit List feels to me like a statement from the proletariat. And as a former intern who knows what it is to sit in a little room reading scripts and writing coverage in between calling the local yogurt shops to get their flavors of the day for the boss's wife, I feel a certain kinship with the lords of the Tracking Board, whoever they might be.
To everyone who actually read Convergence through to the end and to all who voted for it, I give my thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You are the people who can make a difference.
I implore all those in Hollywood to choose originality over the familiar. Intelligence over mediocrity. Scripts that challenge over scripts that check off all the boxes. Make commerce bow before art, not the other way around. And pass my script up to your boss.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Digital vs. 35mm - Round 1
On Monday, my DP and I shot some test footage for a short film I wrote and am directing. The contenders are the Arri Alexa vs. Red Epic vs. 35mm Kodak on an Arricam LT.
Will modern digital win for its instant gratification or film for its tried-and-true dependability and organic resolution?
Let the multi-format mud wrestling begin!
Will modern digital win for its instant gratification or film for its tried-and-true dependability and organic resolution?
Let the multi-format mud wrestling begin!
 |
| This 35mm Motion Picture Film was unearthed along with assortment of Arignacian stone tools at an archeological dig outside Lascaux. |
 |
| "Why nobody come play with me anymore?" |
 |
| You want resolution? You can't handle this resolution! 5K GO SMASH NOW! |
 |
| Arricam's younger, sluttier sister. Looks sexy, but secretly wrestles with a weight problem. Also kind of racist. |
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Kurosawa + It + Man in Frog Costume = Awesomeness
I am pleased to introduce Jules Abrera, who is taking over pencils from Harvey Tolibao. Here's a little taste of what's in store for the Bushido .44 one-shot. You did not know that your life was missing the explosive combination of samurai, clowns and screaming children, but not to worry--the void in your existence will soon be filled...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)