This morning, tragedy struck the Bay Ridge community. There was a big fire that killed two young girls, and destroyed their home. All of this a couple of blocks from where we call home.
As Jerry Springer would say, "Take care of yourself and each other".
The Big Game is hours away. The Times has a wonderful article on what happens to the losing team's merchandise whilst the winning team gets champagne sprayed over bright white t-shirts and caps.
It took months of embarrassment and months of trying, but I finally finished the game "Snowball Fight" game on my cell-phone.
I'm not going to lie and say that I'm a big football fan. In fact, the only football game I've ever been to was a Toronto Argonauts game many years ago. I just never really cared for the sport.
People know that I'm not really into pets. However, if given the opportunity, I prefer dogs. Cats are cute (and my sister's group of cats definitely are changing my perspective), but I just don't like their indifference.
I wouldn't go so far as to call them evil though. Friends, I couldn't make this junk up:
"The demeanor of a cat is seen by many honest-hearted observers as reflecting some supernatural, unnatural proclivity towards malice or evil. And, it is a well-known fact that cats are impossible to tame, teach or raise in the truth. The cat has a rebellious, independent spirit. While the animal itself may be unaware of this tragic condition, it serves only its true master - Satan, the Devil."
On a classmate's shoot a couple of months ago, I ended up driving the 15-passenger van from NYC to NJ daily. One terrible morning, we got lost, and I ended up getting a ticket for improper passing (it's a long story, and honestly, it's just a really dumb ticket). So I gave it to her producer to take care of, and thought nothing of it.
Professional sports is one arena where people are constantly performing rituals. Whether it's growing the 'playoff beard' or not stepping on the baseline, it's become part of the game. It's completely ridiculous though.
There is news out of Cambodia that a "'Half-animal' Woman" has been discovered in the wilds of the jungle. It reminds me of the premise of Michel Gondry & Charlie Kaufman's collaboration on Human Nature, their least successful venture.
Subatomic is back, baybee! We wrapped the final shoot yesterday so now I have more time for my leisurely activities. Get ready for more snob stuff, and more reports of post-production. You know you love it.
So my shoot came and went. I really wanted to keep blogging about it and keep everyone abreast of how it was going on. Unfortunately, it was too much. For the past two weeks I've been sleeping less than 4 hours a night.
It was a lot of stress, and a lot of headaches, but ultimately I'm happy. I liked my performances and I loved the way it looks.
So, now I'm back in Toronto for a week of R&R. Regular entries from now on.
This past week, a friend shot most of her film in East Orange, New Jersey. A few nights ago, we were shooting in a convenience store for the night when Treach from Naughty by Nature rolled up in his red Hummer....a friend of the producer.
Wednesday night, the grad film school had the pleasure of hosting Jodie Foster for it's weekly Chair's Workshop series.
The small room was packed, so we (myself & spy) had to view from the projection booth.
Ms. Foster talked mostly about directing actors, and her views on the various aspects of filmmaking. Purely fascinating, and so sure of herself, she came prepared with index cards and lecture outlines! Very impressive, she's a natural. It's clear that she really thought about what she wanted to say and made a succinct presentation.
What I found fascinating was her 'three levels' of a performance:
-the physical (the blocking, the movement, the appearance of the character)
-the feelings of the character
-the trajectory and ultimate destiny of the character throughout the piece.
She also showed clips from her favourite movies, and taught about the various directors she's worked with, and her directing foibles.
Most of the examples she gave came from The Silence of the Lambs, which I feel is a letdown compared to her work in Contact.
All in all, a thoroughly engaging, fun and educational experience from the awesome Jodie Foster.
The great thing about working on other people's movies is going to their locations.
I helped out a friend on her shoot in this great park about 50 miles north of NYC, in this place called Bear Mountain. It's a wonderful location, and it felt great to get out of the city even just for a day. Clean air, trees, lakes...it reminded me of Ontario.
The director's film is based on a greek tragedy and is set in ancient times. I must admit that the scenes that we shot hint at something great. She got some great performances from her actors.
All in all, a fun shoot, with a really great and tight crew.
I've been workin way too hard lately to blog. It's been a lot of fun, and I've helped make 3 movies so far. More to come. I've also learned a lot from watching my colleagues direct their films, and from sharing the war stories from people on other shoots.
This production period has been especially gruelling: AT LEAST 12 hour days, minimal sleep, no days off between shoots, some bad meals on set, some lazy classmates.
I've pretty much worked in all 5 Boroughs, and quite a few days in New Jersey.
Go over to my flickr page and see more pics from the various journey's taken.
I promise to keep up with the bloggin' more. I know you've missed me. Don't lie, you have.
Not to my surprise, Borat cleaned up at the Box Office. Now it turns out that the real "Borat" wants his residuals. 
The Five-Oh in New Mexico recently busted a meth dealer. Normal COPS-TV fare. After searching duder's place, they found a few USB-drives filled with classified files from LANL. 
After the hectic day that was yesterday (see earlier posting), we made time to check out the annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. It's basically a free-for-all of wacky people, young kids, perverts and regular New Yorkers.
Every year, thousands of people line up on 6th Ave and watch this parade that is distinctly New York.
Good times were had by all. Even got to see KISS, which was pretty cool.
The popular costume this year was Borat. There was a Borat float with a huge amount of people dressed as him. I have a feeling that the movie (opening on Friday) is going to be a huge success. That's what marketing will do for you. Not that I'm complaining, because I'll probably go and see it.
Speaking of Borat, here's an interesting article about Borat and the people of Kazakhstan. The writer concludes that Kazakhs are more complex and strange than any comedian could ever think of.
Yesterday, we officially started production period. I'm helping to produce a classmate's film, so yesterday was devoted to that. I moved all over town. First, had to get up to the Mayor's Office and pick up the Permits. This office just happens to be in the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where they tape Letterman.
From there, I made it back down to 38th Street to pick up the video stock that she wants to shoot, and then hopped over a couple of blocks to pick up the Cargo Van. Got slightly lost in the West Village and made it back to NYU for them to start loading in the equipment.
Dropped off some equipment at a place near Flatbush in Brooklyn, and then went back to Manhattan to get some expendables like gaffer's tape, gels (those pieces of plastic that change the colour of lights) and other production essentials. Battled rush hour traffic to cross over into Williamsburg to drop it all off.
It was busy but fun. We're makin' a movie, folks.
I went down to Rockefeller Center today to check out the final day of Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror project.
My loyal fans will know him as the duder that came up with Cloudscape (a.k.a. The Bean) in Chicago's Millennium Park.
Although there are the obvious similarities in terms of the medium of the two pieces (both are mirror projects), there is a lack of permanence to this one.
Perhaps the best part of his work is that it excites the public, and gets people to see their city (or a city they are visiting) from a completely different perspective.
I took a few pictures with my extra-wide angle lens, so pop over to the flickr page for more....
Now that I've got your attention....
Although it broke over at Yin Yang, I got the new Weird Al Yankovic album, and it's AMAZING. 
Yesterday I had my final reading in class for my script. Our classes end this week, and then we have one week off for pre-production, and then we start our production period. I don't shoot until mid december, so I still have a lot of time.
As some of you may know, I just don't have the time to be on top of the music scene these days. I check out Pitchfork once in a while to check out what's going on, but I don't listen to much of anything new, or go to shows that much anymore.
With that being said, I did go to a show last night. I got to see the toast of the NYC Indie scene this year: TV On the Radio. My loyal readers know that I love their new album, so it was exciting to see 'em live.
What they performed, was a very tight performance with a much more guitar-driven rendition of the album. Somehow it works though. A great show, played with enthusiasm and confidence.
It's a beautiful thing to see a group of people on top of their game. Perhaps at the apex of their creativity, knowing that they know it, and they know that you know too.
The past week has just been an absolute blur. Last weekend, I spent it in Pennsylvania which was a lot of fun. Ended up helping someone move, but I thought it was the easiest move I've ever helped on.
I also got to see a ton of fall folliage, and millions of stars at night!! Sometimes it's great to get out of the city.
While in the PA, we carved some pumpkins! What fun!
I also found my new mecca of clothes. As most people know, I can't say that I shop a lot, but after a few hours in Gabriel Brothers I left with over a $100 worth of goods, which I don't think that I've ever done. Great clothes, at a fraction of retail.
I got some good rugged/warm clothes for film shoots. I also got this awesome coat. Don't hate.
During some auditions this week, the movie Porky's somehow came up. Don't ask. Ever since I watched it with my sister back in the 80's, before I could even get most of the jokes, I loved it. I saw it again a couple of years ago, and it still stood up, now that I could get most of the jokes.
How do you make really good looking movies without spending a bundle on film? I've gotten to the point where I can tell the difference between film and video, and wow 35mm and 16mm film just has such a feeling to it. I've got no money to make my film, and shooting on film is a dream. What to do?
Last night at school, there was a screening of World Trade Center, and alumnus Oliver Stone did a Q&A afterwards. It was the 2nd time I saw this film (my original review), and I must say it doesn't stand up to repeated viewings. If anything, I found it dull. Maybe it's just that United 93 is just so much better. 
Last night I workshopped the latest version of my script, and surprisingly in went over quite well. A lot of people reacted well to the changes that I've made, and responded to the subtle humour in it, which I was kind of worried about. There are still a few things that I need to play with and fix, and the comments of my classmates and prof are always amazing. 
I walked out of my apartment yesterday, to go to the Post Office, and literally, out front my door was Helen Hunt and Matthew Broderick shooting a 'walk & talk'.
I did a quick double take, and tried to be all cool and pretend that Ferris Buehler was not in front of me.
They shot for most of the day on my street Then She Found Me, and Ms. Hunt is writing, Directing and acting in this one. My producing prof got wind that they are shooting like 4+ pages of script a day, which is incredible since most features shoot about 2.5/day.
At any rate, it was really cool to see such a big production and all the gear that goes with it.
I also ran into a dude that I worked on that shoot in Boston with. He was the Best Boy on this set, so he's movin' on up.
Somehow, I came across the site of The Conduction Band, which as my most savvy readers will guess, a band of physicists out of my alma mater's (older and prettier) sister school, UIUC.You can tell by the way I brush my hair.
I'm a physics grad. I just don't care.
Rolling out of bed, I throw on my clothes.
I don't bother to wash. I just hold my nose.
It's all right. It's okay. We all smell here anyway.
Please don't try to understand. We take data all we can.
Whether you're a theorist or whether you'll be jobless
You'll be stayin' alive, stayin' alive
See the first years bailing, everybody emailing
Yeah, we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
A few nights ago, NYU hosted a screening of On the Waterfront, the landmark film from the 50's with Marlon Brando. It pretty much swept the Oscars, and changed the face of American cinema.
So, it was a real treat to see the screenwriter, Budd Schulberg there too.
He told some awesome stories about Brando, Kazan and the production, that they said would never amount to anything.
It was also very inspiring to see this 93 year old man, still going strong, and still writing.
On a more personal note, when I first started to get into movies back in high school, I kept on telling my dad to see a whole bunch of films. Most of which, he didn't like. One day he said, "why don't you bring home On the Waterfront", now that's a real movie".
I said "PSHT!" in my mind, I mean, how great could a black and white movie from the 50's be. Of course, I was wrong. It ushered in a new scope in my personal voyage through the cinema. Thanks Dad!
Forgive me for all the Michel Gondry love as of late, but I went to his show "The Science of Sleep" at the Deitch Gallery in SoHo during my lunch break today.
It pretty much consisted of props and production design from his new film, which I haven't seen. I can't say that it added up to much, except to build hype for the movie.
The place opened at noon, and by 12:30pm, it was overrun by hipsters.
The film that I've anticipated most this year is about to open on Friday...The Science of Sleep. Yesterday at school, the main poster-boy himself, Spike Lee had his regular class, and then dropped off a big cheque for $325K to the school.
I think that was pretty cool, as the interest from the cash goes towards two $10K production funds, which are sorely needed.
A few dignitaries showed up, but by and large it was just film folks. Perhaps the best part, was the nice spread after the presentation. Can't go wrong with free food.
I don't pretend to know architecture, but as the saying goes, I know what I like. And what I don't like is the complete boringness of the World Trade Center redevelopment site.
Casting call for the UK production of the Tdot failed Lord of the Rings show. I think this is the part I was born to play:
I'm all up for alternative, hardcore politics. However, even I feel these people should be put away.
