I don’t care what anyone says- THIS is how you spend a vacation away from work.
Two filming days in less than a month- it must be my birthday. Not quite- just fortunate planning. After our first day of filming over at the Caudle’s house in Canton at the end of January (they’re Mike’s parents BTW), I had the idea of a full day of filming and Oscars for this past Sunday. You see, the past couple of years we’ve been going up there to watch the Oscars in their downstairs rec room. That’s how I got the idea of filming the 2nd half of “Unwinnable Hand” there. The location is ideally suited for filming, and in our first opportunity shooting there on the inside of the house- you’ll recall our last day of shooting was exterior- provided a lot of intriguing possibilities.
First things first, a big shout-out to fellow Regalite Mathew Timms, who joined us onscreen for the first time today. A fellow short film maker himself- as well as cinematic enthusiast in general- he was the one I eventually tapped to play the main “heavy” of the film. And on our first day with him- shooting a scene he and Mike share- he didn’t disappoint. His duds are a bit nicer than what the rest of us have been wearing, but it works for the character, and his approach to the character was just right. And Mike held his own with him, in my humble estimation. MC might disagree, but the scene was working from every angle Ron and I shot it at, even as the dialogue went through many transformations in the process. I don’t care what Mike says, between this scene and the scene he and I shot together back in 2007, he’s really delivering the goods in this performance.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get many of the other pickups and extra shots, as Dave had prior obligations during the day, only able to meet up with us for the Oscars (which I discuss below). And with his moving in less than a month, unfortunately there aren’t many more opportunities for us to film with him, meaning much of his performance is not likely to be finished prior to his move, meaning it’s unlikely the film will be completed in 2009, unless something can be worked out later. That said, I’ve very excited to begin working on editing what we’ve shot this year together, and piecing this film together bit by bit. I did some more editing on Sunday before filming, and it’s really coming together well.
(Update- This past week, in addition to editing together the scene with Ron and Dave, I’ve also taken the time to edit together what I have so far of Sunday’s filmed scene as well as the driving material from a couple of weeks ago. A couple of reshoots/pickups will be necessary for both (the latter because the stationary shots just won’t jibe with the moving shots, the former because two actors weren’t there on Sunday), but the pacing is there for both, and the performances work very well. I look forward to more updates for you in the future.)
Now that that’s finished for now, onto the Oscars. I didn’t really have as much to say about it this year, so my brief thoughts- and rundown of the winners- are below. Enjoy!
2008 Oscar Wrap-Up
Admittedly, this year I’m not really interested in doing my usual Oscar Wrap-Up. Everything that won last night was more than deserving of the recognition, I loved the new format of the show that kept the awards coming fast and furious (even the way they presented the acting awards- the past paying tribute to the present), and Hugh Jackman was the man as a host (that opening number- genius). I loved Penelope’s excitement, Kate’s exasperation (and Kate in general), Heath’s family onstage, “Milk” winners Penn and Black’s social relevance, every shot of Mickey Rourke, Ben Stiller’s slam at Joaquin Phoenix’s nuttiness, Steve Martin and Tina Fey onstage together (they need to write more…now), Anne Hathaway, Aniston and Black onstage together, and much, much more. What I didn’t like hurt (no “Dark Knight” for Cinematography, no “Wall-E” for Sound Editing), but it’s Oscar’s stupidity, not mine. The montages were unnecessary (except the annual In Memorium one), but otherwise this was the most fun ceremony overall in years. Good stuff Oscar. Here are the winners:
2008 Oscar Winners
Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Best Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best Original Screenplay: “Milk” (Dustin Lance Black)
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Simon Beaufoy)
Best Original Score: “Slumdog Millionaire” (A.R. Rahman)
Best Original Song: “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (A.R. Rahman, Gulzar)
Best Animated Feature: “Wall-E”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Departures” (Japan)
Best Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire”
Best Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Sound: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight”
Best Cinematography: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Art Direction: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Costume Design: “The Duchess”
Best Short Film- Live Action: “Spielzeugland (Toyland)”
Best Short Film- Animated: “La Maison de Petits Cubesâ€
Best Documentary Short Subject: “Smile Pinki”
Honorary Oscar: Jerry Lewis (Comedian/Actor, “The Nutty Professor,” “The King of Comedy”)
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
www.myspace.com/brianskutle
www.myspace.com/cinemanouveau– Featuring deleted scenes, trailers, and more from “Unwinnable Handâ€
Click here to read my eleventh “Unwinnable Hand” Production Diary.
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Click here to read “Red Cup Mafia,” another short script I wrote in November 2006- inspired by some recent happenings at work- that I hope to film in the future through Cinema Nouveau Productions.
