Category: Film Page 85 of 101

Writer’s Guild Strike Videos

It’s pretty hard to subscribe to as many film/television/media blogs as I do and not hear a LOT about the WGA strike. Which is fine; I really hope the writers get what they’re asking for. I can’t believe they only get 4 cents of a $20 DVD purchase. Anyway, here’s a good videos explaining the reasons for the strike.

And here’s some of the cast and crew of The Office, talking about all that “promotional” material they write, i.e., the shows.

It is sort of interesting to think about the term “promotional” in this situation. A lot of the fair use proponents/copyfighters have been using the term “promotional” for media provided on the internet for free to the consumer. That is, studios should see free music/file sharing/torrent downloading/streaming media for its promotional value in gaining new viewers. And I still think there’s truth to that. I’m watching a lot of shows and buying a lot of music that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t gotten it for free online first. However, now the studios are turning that around and trying to use the term “promotional” from the other side, as though because online media is a promotional tool, that means it’s free to produce. No, it’s free to consume. That’s what makes it promotional. Basically, a promo is an ad. So if you told an ad agency that they should provide you with an ad for free, because it’s a promo for your business and therefore should be free, they’d tell you exactly where to go. Seems like the same thing to me; or even worse, because the studio are selling ads around their “ads.” Plus, it’s pretty clear that online media isn’t going to be strictly for promotional purposes for very long. I already know people who watch a lot of their TV online rather than on broadcast. There’s a business model here that hasn’t quite been hammered out yet, but the WGA is doing the right thing by making sure they get a cut of the profits, however those profits happen to be made.

I’m bummed that the strike puts some of my favorite TV shows at risk, or at least delays them, but I’ll put up with it. Good chance for me and Netflix to catch up on all those HBO shows I’ve put off.

Touch of Evil Opening Shot

Anne Thompson highlights the justly famous opening tracking shot of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. And it’s worth reposting. When Touch of Evil was made in 1958, this was the longest tracking shot ever created, a record which stood for a long time; I believe Robert Altman’s The Player broke it, but Touch of Evil‘s is better for my money. And can I just say, in this current era when most movies have an average shot length of about two and a half seconds, how refreshing it is to watch a shot that lasts for three minutes and fifteen seconds?

September 2007 Reading/Watching Recap

And I have a new record for most movies seen in a month. Since I’ve been keeping track, that is. But no more, for school, television, and Xbox360 have stolen my movie-watching time, and October’s recap is going to be fairly thin. Which is good, because then I can get caught up on writing and posting them. After the jump, reactions to Death at a Funeral, Celine and Julie Go Boating, 3:10 to Yuma, Butterfield 8, Breakfast on Pluto, The Double Life of Veronique, Starter for 10, Alphaville, The Color Purple (book and film), The Brave One, Knocked Up, Talladega Nights, Eastern Promises, Two for the Road, A Mighty Wind, The Optimist’s Daughter, Atonement, and more.

Silent Movie Theatre in LA = CINEMA LUST!

The Silent Movie Theatre in LA has become a full-fledged revival house, a cinematheque almost, if you will. It’s not just showing silent films, either.

Here’s the full program for November and December (pdf). Starting with François Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel series, on to a couple of film noir specials, some world cinema and some silent cinema…plus lots of other stuff I don’t care about quite as much. But the best thing? $25 a month gets you UNLIMITED ADMISSIONS for yourself. Dude, I would be there ALL the time. For serious. One of my friends in Wales has a cinema that does this flat-fee-for-unlimited-admissions things, and I’ve always been so jealous. Now I can be jealous of LA people, too. Does anyone know if Film Forum does something like this in New York? Because that’s my other major cinema lust candidate.

Anyway. Yeah. Further solidifying my intent to some day live in a big city that has an equivalent of these rep houses.

Hat tip Karina on Spoutblog.

In unrelated news, my WordPress admin interface is frelled up. Not showing any graphics or anything. It’s like all the css is stripped off it. But the blog itself looks fine to me; does it look fine to y’all? And the admin dashboard looks fine on all the other WP sites I have hosted on the same server, so I have no clue what is causing this or how to fix it, but it’s mucho annoying.

August 2007 Reading/Watching Recap

Time off school in August meant non-required reading yay! For the record, a lawn chair by a lake in Minnesota is a good place to read in August. Especially after 100 degree heat in St. Louis and Texas. After the jump, reactions to The Shining, The African Queen, Hannah and Her Sisters, Becoming Jane, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Dancer in the Dark, Zodiac, INLAND EMPIRE, Stardust, Le petit soldat, The Thirteenth Tale, Thursday Next: First Among Sequels, and more.

Page 85 of 101

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén