The Sound Mixer

Bit of good news. I got back the sound mixer that did "Poolside."

Woo-hoo. Worth every penny, as far as I'm concerned (considering the rate that I can afford, it's a steal). Sound is tough. Cleaning up van noise and all sorts of other nonsense is tougher.

Sound design, for those starting out, is something that does take your movie from okay to professional level. I know we tend to overlook it, because it's visuals we often comment about, but this is great news because of working with someone I know can smooth over a lot of problem areas, but more importantly, know that he is an artist when it comes to sound. So he adds things to it as well.

This is most definitely a relief. Forward!

It Was Much More Fun Then...

“It was much more fun back then to make movies then it is now.”

I heard this during the Q&A portion of the screening of “Return Of The Living Dead.” It really solidified what a lot of us from that era may have theorized, that the system of making movies these days seems to be devalued.

The process of making movies now are the disposal of everyone who owns a phone with a camera. It’s not longer the craft of learning through a process, but getting to the position you want right away. This goes with our entitlement. In the old days, it use to be this system that was daunting to people who wanted to make movies. You apprenticed till you couldn’t stand it anymore to move up, then you begged your ass off to move just one step up. Somewhere. The walls were there for sure, but it seems a lot of people wanted those walls torn down. What they discovered were there were other walls. These are the more insidious ones that are more the ones in your head. So you thought fucking with the perceived studio system gave you the ability to make movies. Yes, it definitely does. But what does that mean? Means the studio won’t give you money to make your movie. Why? Because you’re back to where you were before. Asking SOMEONE for money to make your movie. So there are these crowdfunding things to supplement this. Guess what? You learn people really don’t believe in your movie (for the most part, I’m sure there are success stories, but the odds are just the same). Now on top of feeling empowered to make your own movie, with NO money, and that you have a story Hollywood is dying to see…you now make something…subpar. You overreach is what usually happens. You aren’t going to outdo Quentin Tarantino, Scorsese or Nolan. Where does that leave you? Now getting back to hustling the studios for money. Atop of having this nagging feeling that you aren’t as popular or creative as you think you are. This is hobbling. Even back in those days, a low-budget movie still meant someone was putting money into it to get a release. Obviously many were shutdown prior to completion, but the ones that actors and crew spent time on, was another one they could say got released…somewhere. Making movies now means it ends up in YouTube or Vimeo. What type of seriousness do you think people approach movies with now?

I got the sense, what the above quote meant (and they did elaborate) is we do need something in the middle ground. That is the Roger Cormans of the world. To be fair, there was only one of these types of people who gave young directors a chance and bet on their talent. No one wants to bet anymore. So you have a the massive studio pictures, and the scrape-by-with-however-low-tech movies you can muster. No one gets paid. And these movies don’t get made. Before you spout off about all the success stories out there. There’s a reason for that. The successful ones share their stories because they can. The cautionary ones aren’t the ones people want to hear. Especially starting out. And we’ve already established that you aren’t willing to climb the ladder from the bottom up.

When I started out, film school hot shots were seen as the new wave of movie makers. I’d consider Quentin Tarantino my contemporary, in terms of age and type of movies geared towards. He cut his teeth in screenwriting. The most miserable, quickest route to laziness possible. But he LOVED movies. His success story fools people into believing anyone can do it. But I’m sure if he told you the sacrifices he made to get his movies made, you’d be surprised. None of it is easy. I know the word “perseverance” is tossed around a lot. What people who hustle in the business seem to leave out is a sense of proof. The surest way to shut people up, is to make a movie where it’s financially and critically acclaimed. On your own with no belief that you’d ever recoup that loss. This is gambling on yourself. It’s a risk and scary, but this is the faith you have to put into your own talent. If you don’t, this business doesn’t want you. I’ve said it before, but there are streets full of miserable, homeless people who probably arrived with a screenplay and a dream. None of this is discouraging to people who are stubborn to tell stories. Because you’re fucking morons. It should scare you. I’ve seen a friend lose a house and a wife when he bet on himself. But you’ll ignore this, because that’s also the narcissist in us. That whatever befell Joe Blow won’t happen to me. Or people who warn you of these things are just angry bitter failures. All true actually. But people who are miserable failures in show business still have a really good insight onto the industry. My neighbor for instance was a failed assistant editor. I surmise he never had a greater dream, or went bigger to achieve it. I believe it to be because he did it at a time when you can get sucked into the business because they made a really great living then. People bought houses off of jobs like this (some still do). But he relates to me his failure in other ways. Which is to undermine what I attempt to do. I only mention it (not that I’d ever quit due to him) because he has a point. The rate of getting a steady gig doing this is pretty slim. I’ve navigated it fine enough. But don’t make the dollars that they use to make back in the day. A lot of movie makers today are probably perplexed as to (again) why their careers hadn’t taken off because of something they made. The harsh reality is…no one gives a fuck about you. Unfortunately you can’t have it both ways. You do need to play in their backyard with their rules. A person starting out doesn’t have the ability to change the game, despite what innovation they come up with. What made the movie business fun in the 80’s is that we aren’t judged by social media. People didn’t have access to see what was popular or not. And I think that plays into everyone’s subconscious. I could tell you I’d been doing this over 20 years. But it was 20 straight years.  The gaps that followed showed me the difference. People making movies in the no-budget world today are content to making half-assed garbage, to say they did anything. The attitude being “well, we sure knocked down that exclusive country club wall.” But the members that you fought so hard to be a part of just went and made a different club. They’re not concern you’re playing with a deflated ball.

"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" Butt Cheek Mystery

I’m more than over-thinking this, but it may have some merit.

When I saw the trailer for “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” there is a scene with Rebecca Ferguson stepping out from a swimming pool and it’s a shot of her in a bathing suit with her toned butt cheeks right in camera. It’s sexy. Boner-ville at 1:37 Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Trailer Click!

It’s not in the movie.

Yes, I looked and was waiting for it. Then it occurred to me. When I saw the trailer on YouTube, there was a TON of ass jokes commented about it. They were unnecessarily cruel. Ferguson’s ass is nice. Nicer than anything any of those virgins commenting about it could get; this I am certain. I wonder…

…if they took that shot from the final edit due to…social media comments. Like if her agent, manager or publicist pressured them to cut it out because they read the comments. Or if the studio pre-emptively did it so it wouldn’t be some media topic.

If it existed in YouTube, I wonder on what other site this may’ve drawn ridicule. If it were, this concept of movie-making now has extended to the peanut gallery. Though I am certain this shot did nothing to further the plot of the story, but could only be viewed as eye candy, it seems the masses felt this is more chewed bubblegum than say…a snare drum. I am ashamed if this is the case. Mostly, because our business is about perception. We are okay with Kim Kardashians thick oiled trunk on the cover of a magazine, but a white girl getting essentially torn apart for having a normal behind…I just have no idea.

I really hope this isn’t the case. But it seems online asswipes have once again ruin things for everyone. I mean, everyone who wanted to see Rebecca Ferguson from behind.

God I hate the internet asswipes.

The Scam

Do you remember that Asian dude who was next to his plane or boat or vacation homes surrounded by hot models screaming how rich he was? His name was Tom Vu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnda41lj6go

That dude was awesome. I sorta’ found it funny that he held seminars to tell you how you can be just as rich as he was. Too bad the whole thing was a scam. Even more odd, how he wasn’t slapped with massive t.v. violations. In our day and age of outrage, it was bizarre how this guy slipped under the radar. Why? Because I think we felt if we’re dumb enough to fall for his schemes, we deserved it. Nowadays, the dumb are more protected by society than anyone. Dumb people shoot through doors when their hot girlfriend is in the house, due to paranoia brought on by…um…have two metal legs? Dumb is two bothers who murder their parents with shotguns and they still get married in prison. That’s a double dumb, since the person who marries a homicidal maniac shouldn’t be functioning in society. Yeah, dumb prison system.

What I mean is…when people are scammed for not thinking…our reaction isn’t “oh well, that’ll learn ya’” instead, we’re “let’s tie that scamming motherfucker up and burn him at the stake.” Which also works, but we forget to first blame ourselves for being so naïve. Yes, scammers chose it as an occupation to be scumbags. They’ve spent countless hours perfecting scumbaggery. But, there is also common sense. For instance…who the fuck is this Asian guy who can barely speak English on a yacht with big tittied women? Your first, reaction is…this has got to be bullshit. Your second should be…”let’s get this fucker, string him up and burn him at the stake.” Instead, it’s “if a guy who barely speaks English can be in a mansion with big tittied women…so can I!” Uh…right, dude.

I’m just saying, sometimes it’s not a bad thing to tell the scammed to learn from something like this and move on. Be smarter in life. And if hindsight is 20/20, watch those ads again with modern eyes and see how we could be so dumb.

Incidentally, the boat, cars, house and…women were all rented (for you bozos who can’t overlook the scam).

"Return Of The Living Dead" (1985)

I am so grateful I got to see this on film with fans of the film. I recall seeing the VHS box when I was a kid and thinking it was a direct sequel to "Night Of The Living Dead." I was confused as to why it was in color. They do make references to George Romero's movie (but I've heard he's unhappy with that piggyback without paying residuals. Or should I say James Russo (writer/producer) has made off handed comments about the ripoff.

And what punks were doing in it. 80's punks are funny. Also, the mix bag of a gang were even funnier. Did they have to explain it back then? You only have to see "Tuff Turf" or "Class of 1984" to realize the ridiculous nature of movies back then.

The movie isn't good. It's campy good. If that's good to you, that's good then. But if I'd watched it alone I'd want to poke out my eyes. But with this dedicated crowd, I was enamored by their appreciation. Ordinarily, a cult status movie is made so by its dedicated fans. It seems they all seemed to respond to similar things. By looking at the audience, it was somewhat of a mixed bag. This is really fascinating, since I feel loving the same silliness in a movie is just as valid as enjoying expertly done movies. And we're not talking about schlubs though. Dan O'Bannon is a solid writer. He also has that similar love of EC Comic oddity that that era of writers/directors loved. Campy. And he knew it. As did his fellow filmmakers of that era and genre. The appreciation is for the over-the-top acting...which is done in "Tales From The Crypt" as well. I love these types of early comic movies because they had a moral backbone to them. Karma and shit.

This movie has none of that, but does relish in stage lighting, snap zooms, the compressed spaced zoom in dolly out. That is tongue firmly in cheek. You may never get a chance, but watch it with a bunch of people. It is that type of movie.

Roddy Piper R.I.P.

I subscribed to his iTunes podcast a few months back called "Piper's Pit." He had great stories. You can sense a sadness to him unless he talked about his cause of stomping out bullying in school. It's here where I learned 22 kid kill themselves over real bullying every day. That's an eye-opener. To Roddy, this touched deep as he was bullied at a young age. He is dead now at 61 and it's so odd to me someone who brought so much fun to people could be gone.

I recall him being in a "Goonies" music video with some of his other WWF wrestling buddies. It amused me as a kid since it was really surreal. There were sushi chefs, and gas stations and...well, Cyndi Lauper. To which he's mentioned on several occasions did more for the WWF than is recognized. Listening to a podcast was cathartic for me, as an alcoholic.  He had no more barrier to overcome. No one to judge him. But there was always a shadow of pain that you could hear in his voice. He never talked poorly about people unless they were who they were. I believe everything he says, because he had nothing to gain or lose because of it. He seemed to have a weight removed from him when he spoke openly. But, his voice...you can hear a man who's been through substance abuse talk. He's not specifically direct, but sometimes...abusers have the tendency to not be so self-conscious anymore. Why bother?

The voice behind that podcast is gone now. And sometimes I just feel responsible. Sounds odd, but Roddy was a hero and as I grew up heard less and less of him. Responsible in that as a fan, I didn't reach out in some way to remind him what it meant to a lot of kids in that era. That we didn't put more sheckles in the kilt.

I won't go as far as to say he was a hero of mine, but I will say...his WWF contribution goes further than I think he realized.

"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation"

Let’s be clear…Tom Cruise is a badass. And the only reason we don’t recognize this fact, is because we’ve fallen for the dumb stuff about his Scientology beliefs. But make no mistake, that’s him hanging on the side of a cargo plane. Are you friggin’ serious?! The physics of the move itself is immortalized. Also keep in mind, through the decades, we’ve had John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. If you went pound for pound what he’s been able to do physically at their age versus Cruise at the same age…I’m not sure how to word this: This motherfucker takes the crown.

And it’s not just this one stunt. He gives you this for free. The rest of the movie has him in peril throughout. Because they do this awesome thing, where they switch the terms. He is no longer the hunter, but the hunted. And they saddle him with people we like. But are they good or bad? Are they will the IMF or against them. As fictional as it may seem, these special task force of spies are believable.

They are fun, they are precise, and just having Rebecca Ferguson (who plays Ilsa) added to the mix makes for the next installments interesting. They make no mention of Michelle Monaghan  who married Ethan Hunt in previous installments. Will she make a return? Who knows? We do know Ilsa could be an older sister to her, looks wise. Ilsa is a great character. She is beautiful and lethal. The big talk about Michelle Yeoh going head to head in “Tomorrow Never Dies” is pale in comparison to when Ilsa does go hand to hand against a male henchman. She physically looks like she can do it.

What makes this also such a great time is…Cruise is often dumbfounded by how he’s able to survive when odd things happen. It could be a nod to even the cheekiest of Roger Moore’s Bond. Straighten your tie after throwing someone off a roof-type stuff. But that’s the joy of it. It actually doesn’t get tiring. For example a scene where (and I’m not ruining it since it’s in the trailer) he just came back from the dead…and he and Benji have to go on a high speed chase. It’s absolutely ridiculous to have Cruise drive in his condition. They address it. But they use it for great laughs. Reactions to just…bizarre moments. Even Renner and Rhames gets in on the fun. Particularly watching Pegg and Cruise flip a BMW end over end in what can end in permanent injury, they banter about the incident like a great Preston Sturges gab fest.

This movie is what espionage movies were about. Brisk and expertly made. It moves from location to location and doesn’t seem forced. This is by far the best action movie this summer. Why? Because even though the techno gibberish is goofy, THEY make it work. Through self-referential humor. Or just addressing the nonsense of spy-dom, this is the fun we may not see in the new James Bond. So lap it up while you can.