Friday the 13th IN 3D
To celebrate Friday the 13th and to profess my love of the new REAL D, digital 3-D theatres, here is a clip I found on YouTube from Friday the 13th, Part III in 3D. Here’s hoping Paramount Pictures goes buck wild one of these days and rereleases a digitally restored (or digitally revised as some people would say) version of the Friday the 13th, Part III in 3D. Heck I may even start an online petition. We know how well those work. [youtube...
Read MoreIn the Lyons Den: Mid-Filming Report
Part Six Director John C. Lyons called it a mini-meeting. It was a quick chance to show the crew members how far they had come. It was a chance to get them fired up. When Lyons showed the crew, on paper, just how far the production had come, the long weekends and weeknights were put into the proper perspective. They had made it past the halfway mark in filming the independent feature Schism. Being halfway done with filming is an accomplishment, though the production has faced problems. Some cast members were replaced. Likewise, a few people on the crew didn’t make it to this point of celebration. Lyons admits that January 2007 wasn’t as productive as he would have liked. The mini-meeting, however, got people on track and Lyons said February’s filming schedule is now set to be the...
Read MoreReview: ALPHA DOG
Alpha Dog–*1/2 Alpha Dog may be Nick Cassavetes worst film, but not because it isn’t a cinematic topic. Quite the opposite is true. The story of the 20-year-old California drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood had movie written all over it. His name is Hollywood, after all. Instead of letting that story be the guide, Cassavetes tries to get more creative than his limited talent can handle and cracks the solid foundation that was already laid. Jesse James Hollywood is renamed Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsh) in Cassavetes’ retelling. When Truelove and his associate Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) get into a fight over a debt, a war begins. Truelove gets Mazursky fired from his telemarketing job. Mazursky trashes Truelove’s house. When Truelove can’t find Mazursky, he and his crew stage an impromptu kidnapping of Mazursky’s half-brother Nick (Anton Yelchin). The kidnapping seemed...
Read MoreIn the Lyons Den: Photography
Part Five Schism director of photography Dorota Swies wants people to remember one word when it comes to director John C. Lyons’ first feature: serious. When you see the photography, know that the crew took a serious amount of time working on lighting and framing. When an actor is wearing the right costume at the right time, know that they seriously strived for continuity. Other than the director, Swies is the one individual who can tell you just how serious Schism is compared to Lyons’ previous films. Why is she an authority? Because she’s participated in all of his films. As an extra in Shakespeare’s Dilemma and a camera operator on BOGO, Swies has seen the other side of the Erie filmmaker’s productions. It does help that the two are married, but she’s not working on Schism as Lyons’...
Read MoreIn the Lyons Den: Lighting
A meticulous perfectionist. That’s how the people who know Michael Best describe him. Best and his company Widow Creek Films are on the Schism set every time production is scheduled. When he was sick in early December, production was temporarily halted because without Best there are no lights. Early on in the production director John C. Lyons said that he was going to put heavy focus on the lighting and photography. By the time Lyons said that, he had already met Best, a local filmmaker and lighting guru. With Best and his equipment, Lyons has a professional lighting setup unlike any locally-made film has ever scene. “I’m extremely anal. I just don’t want junk.”—Michael Best The shot was only seconds long. An elderly resident of Ball Pavilion is pretending to undergo physical therapy while her therapists are introduced to...
Read MoreIn the Lyons Den: The Actors
Part Three “Have you found a reservation sheet yet,” a Brevillier Village employee yells from behind the front desk. Filming at that same receptionist station ended only minutes before. Short of a few lights in the lobby the desk was functioning as normal. The offices, well, the offices weren’t normal. Not yet. A cast and crew of more than 25 people crowded into the conference room and spilled out the front doors of Brevillier’s Ball Pavilion. A trail of cables snaked around the corners of the office hallways, while the indoor carpet entrance mats were rolled up waiting to be placed again. People visiting the facility were greeted not only by a film crew, but also a large Widow Creek Films van and a stock of unused wheelchairs and walkers. No, this was not normal. An entirely normal Saturday...
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