It’s been raining for so long.
However, it’s sunny today and shortly I shall avail myself of this computer and take a stroll to the beach, kicking pebbles, perhaps sighing deeply, looking for all intents and purposes like a wistful dreamer, thinking big thoughts. Or that’s the image I wouldn’t mind projecting.
So quickly on to an announcement.
This New Year I made a one minute movie with a friend. It’s nominally for a competition between Bafta and Orange (who love to promote themselves as film sponsors) and asked amateur film makers to submit a one minute piece on the theme “Unite”. Yes, an unpleasant brief, but one we tackled with agnosticism.
With about 2 weeks to write something, cast, shoot and edit it, especially over the Christmas and New Year period, we really surprised ourselves. A few story ideas came and went - mostly due to logistics and cost, and we fixed on a simple if slightly contrived story that we thought we could fit into a minute.
Shot in a day, and captured and edited in a day, we managed to get it onto the website with mere hours to spare. A great learning experience, there are a few things I would have done differently - but all in all for getting a story across in a minute, I’m pleased.
The film will be on the website until the end of January, please feel free to have a look and of course, give it 5 stars. No registration is necessary, and if you’re reading this I’m hoping you are utterly biased and happy to cast aside your honest critical judgment to make me look good.
It’s called Simply Delicious, watch it here.
The movies will be judged by the local film councils at the end of the month and a number of finalists (depending on quality and number of entrants) for each region will be put forward to a public vote. In the unlikely case our film survives the selection you can bet you’ll hear from me again. (Note 28th of January is the day the public voting officially opens, votes before that are purely for show).
Thanks to all the people we roped into helping us, “It was amazing to work with you guys. Such vision, dedication… " Apologies, we’ve slipped into my Bafta speech.
Oh and very very quickly (the sun sets at about 4 o’clock) some TV/DVD tips.
The Wire Season 1: Fantastic HBO series about Narcotics agents on a case in the Projects of Baltimore. I have been slow to chase this up, but it’s got some brilliant writing and characterisation and also great insights into drug culture, and police procedure in the US. More on this when I have finished the series.
Pushing Daisies Season 1: By Bryan Fuller of “Dead like me” a light comedy, drama about a man who can bring things back to life. Pure eye candy if you like the kitsch, re-invented 50’s styling, however not terribly funny or deep. Think Tim Burton (mostly Chocolate Factory/Edward Scissor Hands) in a Desperate Housewives, voiced over style. Doesn’t work quite, but a good effort.
5 Easy Pieces Loving my 70’s movies at the moment. Awesome performance by Jack Nicholson, and although it’s a long (2 hour) film, some scenes make it worth the effort. The angry woman who hitches a ride in particular, bedraggled dark hair, on her way to Alaska because it “looks so clean”. She complains incessantly of how “filthy” man is, followed repeatedly by “It makes me so angry, I just don’t want to talk about it”. Great stuff. Also Jack Nicholson’s character mocking the peculiar walk of his relative Carl (incidentally played by Ralph Waite who will forever be John Walton Sr of The Waltons) during a game of table tennis. It rings so true I wouldn’t be surprised if it was improvised. A word of advice, I enjoyed this as I hadn’t read a synopsis of any sort, and the film is one I believe is best enjoyed in ignorance.