The Bonnie situation

From Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.

Golden Eye Opening

The moment I look forward to before any Bond movie...

Song by Tina Turner.

Episode 1: Start from the beginning

For those of you who don't have the internal memory of a goldfish and do make a short stop on the blog every Monday, you probably remember that I promised you some info about my next movie a few weeks ago. Well, there it is.

What I can tell you for the moment is that the story follows two recently single friends who decide to keep each other company on Valentine's Day. Then... I suppose you will have see the film to know what happens next.

The working title is Between Friends and will most likely change. But you know how it often is with working titles, they start working and you eventually keep them.

The goal is to begin filming late in the summer of 2010 (Screw westerners, I should actually say late in the rainy season). Why so far? Because if there's one thing I have learned in life, it's that you can only make a good first impression once. So it is better to allow for some time to make every little detail perfect and not go to war unprepared. Especially for a first film.

Apart from that, the blog will continue its course (with DVDs on Fridays), only now with the addition of updates regarding the film's progress.

All this just for you... can you believe that?

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?

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 ...