Caution! Overheating brain

I have been taken hostage this past Friday. Taken hostage by 3 members of the fairer sex who forced me to watch Twilight on DVD this weekend. When I woke up (at the end of the film), I found myself in the middle of a discussion about the questionable (to say the least) quality of this film and many others that still earn millions of dollars anyway because apparently people don’t like to think too much when going to movies.

Having miserably lost our debate mainly because I lacked the courage to offend my enemies (what kind of man likes to be on a woman’s bad side?), I make myself feel better by giving you here my 7 reasons why entertainment ≠ total lack of intelligence and/or logic in film.

1. It may sound stupid, but when a friend tells you a story that’s completely uninteresting, devoid of any logic or sense, generally you do not like that. That guy just wasted 10 minutes of your time. Now imagine that your friend’s name is Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich, the story he tells you sometimes lasts up to 2 hours and 30 minutes, and in addition he makes you pay for "honor" to listen. I think you get my point.

2. Because studios know they make mediocre films but continue to do because people will see them anyway. As a film fan, I'd rather vote with my wallet in deciding not to help these films succeed. (For the clever guys thinking it's an encouragement to piracy, we'll have a talk next week).

3. Because although I’m not a Secretary of State or a President, I cannot afford to lose 2 precious hours of my life (we're all going to die at some point, I remind you) on the grounds that I don’t want to think too much. I can afford that even less since this.

4. Did your brain really overwork after Inglorious Basterds, Slumdog Millionaire or The Dark Knight ?

5. Did your brain feel that much better after What Happens in Vegas, 27 Dresses or The Proposal ?

6. If you think the only way to get your dose of special effects is to see Transformers 2, 2012 or Wolverine , watch District 9 . Seriously. Now. Go ahead, I'll wait.

7. Let me summarize. Between classes we skip (we all did), exams we study for on the day before, American Idol, The Messi/Ronaldo, Kobe/Lebron debates, Youtube clips of ninja cats or babies who say "Blood! Not funny! "And finally the parties on weekends, when do our brains actually get so overheated?

The beginning of the H7 Films era

I promised you a surprise a few days ago (for the 4 people following this blog). Well here it is.

I hope this is the beginning of a long adventure and there will be a lot of people to enjoy the ride with me.

If I were you I would invite some friends. Because we will have some fun.


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Press Release:

H7 Films builds its web

The new production aims to bring African cinema to the forefront

Yaoundé - Major change in the African cinematic landscape: the creation of H7 Films by Henri Melingui.

H7 Films will be an African film production company based in Yaoundé (Cameroon). In addition to financing and producing its own projects, it will also distribute them around the world.

"Our challenge is to offer original and innovative stories that hardcore moviegoers can embrace and that a wider audience can still relate to. ", said Henri Melingui.

The company will use the Internet as the focal point of its global strategy. It will make its movies available in Video on Demand simultaneously in all territories without any restrictions.

The African public without a broadband connection will also have access to these movies on DVD. The distributor will a tour of event screenings in every major African city.

"Through my blog Quartier Boz'art , I had the opportunity to talk about the disappearance of theaters, piracy, and limited financial resources in Africa. However, I believe that the current environment is still favorable to a rebirth of cinema on the continent. The key is to remain creative and flexible in front of the obstacles that arise, "added Melingui.

H7 Films already has several projects in advanced development.

The new structure will officially start its operations during the second half of 2010.

The Porn industry: the future of cinema

No, I'm not completely insane. The facts are there to prove what I’m saying.

Flashback to the 80s; a new technology now allows consumers to record content on a cassette. Two formats are competing, VHS and Betamax. JVC is OK with adult film producers using the VHS format to sell their movies when Sony and its Betamax refuse. Result: Although Betamax format was comparable in quality, VHS became the universal format for videocassettes. The Hollywood studios, initially reticent to this new technology (Universal and Disney took Sony's Betamax to court for copyright infringement) eventually follow the trend after witnessing the success of adult films in home video format the following years.

With the advent of the Internet in the mid 90's, the producers of adult films again showed to their more conventional counterparts how great a tool the web could be to promote films and reach audiences wherever they are in the world and at lower cost. The introduction of broadband has only confirmed the trend since the pornography industry has exploded with the emergence of countless sites allowing downloads and/or legal streaming on the web when, at the other end, conventional cinema is still in its infancy as far VOD goes.

However, the fate of the more recent war between new DVD formats (Blu-Ray and HDDVD) has not been decided by the adult industry as producers didn’t care much, having already understood that the future was mainly in the digital. Conversely, American and even French studios persist in their efforts to convert us to Blu-Ray, while DVD sales have collapsed over the past two years.

In short, all I was trying to say is that if you're an aspiring filmmaker/producer, you have much more in common than you think with your “adult” colleagues. Few people are willing to go into theaters to see your work and you cannot afford to spend millions on marketing or even in production. However you can find viewers around the world who are still interested in the message you want to convey through your films (“love each other” for porn and whatever you think you have to tell).

Well, now you know where to look next time you want to see where the cinema industry is heading.
And you also have a ready-made excuse if your boss catches you on questionable websites in the middle of the afternoon.

Don’t thank me. You’re welcome.

What's your favorite movie?

I hate this question. Actually I hate those who ask this question. Because they don’t want to know what movies you like in general. They want to know what is the movie you like the most in the entire universe (including Pandora). They don’t accept no for an answer. They absolutely need an answer and only one.
"I know there may be several, but if someone woke you up in the middle of the night and put a gun to your head, which movie would you choose? "(A very likely situation, knowing that most burglars are moviegoers. It’s common knowledge.)

Normally, I try to avoid having to answer such questions, but when you take film classes there will always be someone to ask, usually with two or three people around who are willing to conduct an endless debate about the quality of your choice.
Or maybe you're talking to this girl with unbelievable cleavage and mini-shorts -which is not difficult to find in LA, and it'd be silly to break the rhythm of your conversation before it takes you... I digress. In short, sooner or later you will have to answer. So I think. And I think Pulp Fiction .
No, it can’t be that. The movie is brilliant ("some serious gourmet shit"), but there are at least 30 minutes that could have been cut. And Tarantino borrows from a lot people. I see the long debate coming from a mile away and I have no time for that. Before Sunset then. No, I'll look like one of those pretentious people who like films that nobody watches where two characters talk to each other for 90 minutes. I keep thinking.

I start to curse myself for having this discussion with this classmate or having told that girl with unbelievable cleavage I studied cinema, until the light started flashing. Truman Show . It's perfect. Everyone has seen it, I see nothing to edit out, I do not get to look pretentious. It's intelligent without being too complex. And as a bonus, it turns out that I actually like it. Voilà. Now my classmates will have nothing to say about my choice and I can finally go home, or the girl with unbelievable cleavage will say she loved the film as well and now we have something in common. The conversation continues on another subject, and then another, eventually leading to... I digress again.

Now a question for you; what's your favorite movie? I mean if someone woke you up in the middle of the night with a gun to you head ...

Movie theatres in Africa

The film industry in Africa is at a standstill and the problem is very simple: NO THEATERS => NO FILMS.

Thus the question: how do we prevent the closure of theaters in every city of Africa? First of all, why are these theaters closing? Don’t African people like movies? Everyone does, right?
Some say Africans are poor, $1 or $2 for a ticket is too much to ask for people who barely have enough to eat.
Also, new foreign films arrive late (when they arrive). DVDs (pirated or not) are available long before their release in Africa.
Theaters are in poor condition. Some mention the bad smell, others the ripped seats when it is not simply a film different from the one announced that finds itself projected on the screen.

So inevitably, people got organized. Filmmakers, journalists, alerted the authorities and called on African governments to fund and maintain historical theaters that would be managed by the state, allowing cinema to survive and retain its function as a vehicle for African culture.
Personally, I hope all these efforts fail.
I'm not saying this out of hatred or meanness. Simply, the solution is not to fully nationalize an industry that requires an great amount of both creativity and diversity like the film sector does.

This is not the solution because the real answer to our initial question is this: There is no money to be made in Africa with film.
That's what everybody says. So naturally, it must be true. All this movie crap is nice and all, but it brings nothing. End of discussion.
Yet there are many beautiful cars parked in front of the DVDs stalls disseminated around our street corners.
Yet alcohol flows freely in the nightclubs of our main cities.
Yet there are very large houses (mansions even) that one can see in the upscale neighborhoods of these cities.

There is an opportunity to capitalize on this minority of privileged people by opening small theaters and allow ourselves to grow as all the film industries in the West have before us. Entrepreneurs with a long term vision could establish a network of small venues across Africa, which would be a better generator of profits that these large theaters (with only historical value) of almost 1500 people that are dying before our eyes.

Sure, that requires brainpower, some collaboration with film producers and some time to implement, but is definitely feasible.
Or maybe, Africans do not like the movies.
Perhaps that’s the real answer