Another Movie Needs to Step Up Like 28 Days Later in the Worst Way

And I mean Zombie movie.  Even though it wasn’t technically a zombie movie I suppose, but what is a zombie movie just where humanity turns on the killing switch and starts the apocalypse by consuming themselves.  Boyle flipped every Zombie convention on it’s head with that movie, and it made one of the most refreshing movie experiences of the last 15 years if you were a fan of the genre, or if you are just a fan of solid movies.  You just have so many films over the last few years using the same devices, the same plots, same stories, same twists, cliché after cliché.  Oh my daughter was bitten but I won’t kill her to put her out of her misery, wah wah wah. I thought Zombieland would be this, but it dissappointed.  Way to throw in that Woody Harrelson's kid died, that's what I want to see in a comedy, we already liked him, you didn't need this, but oh yeah now we know he's fighting for something, thanks. 

This goes back to the old movie vs new movie debate mentioned in dirty harry.  There are hardly any refreshing movies nowadays, which is what has made Danny Boyle a force, every movie that guy has done has been completely different from the one before.  Being refreshing is really the key to making a great movie, or doing anything whether it be making a mint julep, or cooking general tso chicken, don't have to be so new that no one really cares anyway to "understand" you.  Take established themes and give us a story we've never experienced before, use cinnamon. The Matrix was somewhat new in regards to storyline, but it was just shown in a completely unique way at that time.  Does it have to be perfect, no, just enough to be compelling, memorable, and different from the status quo.  You can't have a dr. seus machine spewing scripts from the same type set over and over again, unless your adam sandler.

Zodiac: Our Justice System Can't Prosecute Evil Genius'

The main theme running through this whole thing is who is the zodiac, where is he going to strike next, who is going to solve it.   Meanwhile all they do is collect evidence upon evidence for 20 years or something.  They question all these different people, worst of the worst suspects, the few dirty.  They pretty much nail them on multiple accounts of damn good similarities, and they find out that these are some pretty evil people in some way.  But there is just all this stupid bureaucracy with it that makes you sick.  Fincher seemed to want to stress this.  You have regular good people who want to make society better and they are trapped like Frodo in that Spider cave. 

Isn't that why gangsters/gangstas hardly ever went to jail.  They always have other people vouching for their whereabouts, and because we just have to take into account that they are telling the truth.  But that's the fucked up thing, then once you do something to make it tougher on gang members, that effects the rest of the society and it limits our freedoms.  The relationship between security and crime is inverse to the nth degree.  A lot of our taxes are going to crime prevention, is that preventing crime or creating more type deal. Not only that but the aforementioned gangs have the resources to find loop holes and the such meaning actual innocent people are in prison while the real trouble makers still roam the streets.  The soldiers are always the ones to go down first.  

They also throw out a lot of evidence based on seemingly inconsequential things.  The hand writing is different?  they spend a little more than needed amount of time on this matter.  And that handwritten expert?  Great life man.  He slips in that little nugget oh handwriting doesn't really change.  If you train yourself, enough pressure and time you can do anything.  Are you trying to tell me that Hannibal Lector couldn't change his handwriting?  Either that's who the Zodiac was, or there were just a bunch of copycats and you just arrest every suspicious mother fucker.  Didn't that one bald guy expose himself to kid?  Just lock him up agian for that sake.  On the account of him being just weird.

We Bought A Zoo (Recut)

It's Called Production Value For a Reason

Those who are interested in getting into filmmaking I'm sure at some time in their lives scoured the craigslist/wanted ads for upcoming productions to work with.  No pay of course, but legitimately serious claims to a good amount of "experience".  Most common is IMDB Credit! Copy of final, food.  However you realize that half those things don't come about as a result of this mindset of cutting so many corners and not putting the time and money into something like this if you want it to be good.

I just don't get this investment strategy.  Now if you are just jag bagging with your buddies, making stupid skits, be as cheap as you want.  But if you set out to make a feature length movie and have it legitimately be respected be prepared to spend at least $100,000.  I'm not saying you need to, just be prepared to. Now the physical movie itself could easily be done for $30,000.  But what are you going to live on while do the full time job of editing and producing for the next two years.   There will be always be movies made for much less than that in the future though, but those are few and far between as they seem to just strike lightning in a bottle.  For every paranormal activity, you have 2000 movies made for $5000 that never get picked up at a film festival because nothing about it seems professional.  Do an experiment, post an ad for a movie and see the difference in what you get in a responses in a credit only vs $2000 for a weeks worth of work for an actor.  You don't have to pay that amount, you just advertise it that way.  Maybe you say oh you would be perfect for this one other part, it pays $100, for 2 days.  You still get that talent in to audition and even the hopes of a paying gig for a couple days.  

You should be able to spend as much as possible, obviously not more than you have in your life.  The reason is if you are making a feature length movie, you are serious about it in your life.  You realize the time commiment, this is going to be your baby.  Your passion project.  If you really care about it you should be out their soliciting for funds.  This is what all real movies have to do.  Sure you won't have access to their resources, but that doesn't mean you don't hit up relatives, friends, co-workers, etc.  Have fundraisers, sell producers credits, do that thing, jumpstarter or whatever.

The perfect dedication example is Mark Borchardt of American Movie.  He knew what amount he needed to finish it.  What he had to do, and he set out to get that money to make it for real.  Using film, doing marketing, getting a theater, etc.  Now you may say that Mark Borchardt was this type of person I'm talking about. The lets round up a bunch of people who are willing to work for free, and see how that goes. Which is true, and which is why it took years to make. We see people leaving him hanging all the time. We think oh those must be mean friends, but in reality they were probably there every weekend for a few weeks, but you can't show all that in 90 minutes. He had the dedication, he just didn't have the funds. He said it himself, he was going in and out of credit card debt, child support payments, etc. Working 4-5 jobs. He needed Bill's money so that he could take time off from those and finish it. Save up a good war armament before you head out into the Atlantic, you know. Borchardt is one of those cock-sure Admirals that you never heard from again. There's been a movie in development for quite some time on his resume. Come on Mark step it up.

If you want it done right you just need a little investment in the crew and talent.  Even though it's nice to get people that have the passion to do it and to work for free, people will want to work harder if they are getting paid.  If they are getting nothing how often will they go above and beyond for something, put in that extra hour, get that extra couple takes.  After awhile people just need to live on an amount, or you will need to pay people that do it professionally. 

Without a little bump in the budget, here is the experience you will get, a bunch of people who don't know what they are doing, by the end there will only be 5% of you remaining by the end.  Things will come up miraculously last minute of why people won't show up.  Meaning it production will drag, or at least it will cost you about 8 weeks of your life for a feature, probably 3 for a short.  The movie, if it gets finished at all, will sit in limbo for almost 2 years after it is done filming and that weekend, week, month whatever, all in all time, now wasted besides this "experience".  It is like a dream only you have knowledge of this occurring.  The only thing a film really needs to actually exist and so many of these no compensation cases it ends up like that.  .

They try to be the next Robert Rodriquez, and make something on this shoe string budgets.  Forget that his situation is a one in a million that it works with marketing and it getting out, but yet these type of productions nowadays don't even want to invest $5000, whereas Rodriguez spent a few thousand in early 90's money.  Not to mention it was made in a perfect storm of independent cinema.  You can't really make cheap movies that look like that anymore.  Think of it as starting your business.  You need to build up your war chest. 

You never hear of someone making a feature length movie for $200 plus food is what I'm saying. Or at least, just call it an internship.

Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg Do Not Exist

These guys who made all the 'movie' movies.  You know those twisted sisters who gave us Spy Hard, since that is the epitome of comedic mindfucks (See Dead Alive).  Everyone hates them, yet they still make $40 million each movie.  They always get top notch comedic talent, that asian guy from hangover, Kevin McDonald, that dwarf from Bad Santa.  Not to say they aren't probably sweating for a paycheck these days, but you'd think they have some standards.  Above is one of only like 2 pictures that are out there for these turds, other than that they hardly ever do publicity for the their movies, or are even using any kind of social media.  Wouldn't these types of people of the "they'd probably walk around with a 2 foot tampon crammed up their ass at a pool party to get attention"-persuasion want to be in public eye 24.7, or at least have a tad more publicity than the waiter/barrista/actor on imdb.  Isn't that an amalgamation of personalities, you can't have idiocy without being ostentatious.  Conclusion, they are the Alan Smithee's of the modern era, they are a joke on the American movie public propagated by Hollywood's top talent.  They make such crap that they know it will be hated and talked about by legitimate people who want to see decent spoofs, and they make such crap that they know the other half will think it is hilarious and line up every time.  That's the key to what they do.  You make a shit movie, epic movie, you don't try, you don't care, buy a pound of weed, make it in that week, you just market it the next week, release it 2 days after that, then you make boatloads of money.

Ahhhhhhhh

Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights helped make me the man I am today.