$70 Zombie Feature?

A feature-length zombie movie that was made for $70 is apparently being shipped around festivals right now…I’m curious. People always lie about their budgets but if it was even in the ballpark of $70 its basically a no budget film, which is impressive. Apparently its a “zombie movie with a heart”, told from the perspective of a zombie, and its supposed to be an “intelligent” horror film. Allegedly the money was spent on a crowbar, tapes and coffee for the crew…that’s efficient! I don’t know if I buy it though…

I like the DIY approach to filmmaking, of course, but realistically I can’t see how its possible to shoot for this little money unless you spend all your time harassing people to do you favors. There are things you just HAVE to pay for, like film stock and location permits and festival application fees. I’d love to have the skinny on this project and see what really went into making it…and of course, if its a good movie! Also, is it dv?

In any case, congratulations to British director Marc Price for getting so far with a guerrilla film. Trailer here.

PS I know I’m late on reporting this one, ha.

New Blog

I started a fashion blog, here’s the link if you are interested. Drooling Isn’t Pretty!

Terminator Salivation

I forgot to post on Terminator Salvation, probably because the most exciting thing about seeing it in theaters was the Harry Potter trailer that preceded it. I really don’t have much to say about it, actually, except that Christian Bale plays a thoroughly unlikeable John Conner, Arnold isn’t really Arnold, and I’d LOVE to get my hands on the storyboards to count how many “tilt up from feet to stony face” shots there were. It would be nice to have a count slightly more accurate than “way to many, what the hell were they thinking”. Also, lava-terminators? REALLY?

So here’s where I stand in the giant CG robots war at this point:

Going back to the Harry Potter trailer…THEY GET ME EVERY TIME! I’ve seen ALL of the HP movies in theaters, and every time I go I swear I won’t waste another second of my time on the series. And now I’m totally stoked for the next one. Sigh.

Emmanent Updates for the Week

Its that chaotic point in the semester again, when finals are imminent and summer break is almost here. Or in my case, summer semester is almost here. I’m also between festivals, between apartments, and about to start a new job, so things are a little crazy.

Upcoming videos to expect from EE; Sneeze Attack with audio commentary is now posted here, and a DIY tattoo instructional will be up next Friday. All other projects are on hiatus until I pass my classes and find a place to live. 

Movies I  want to see that are currently in theaters; Battle for Terra, Monsters Vs. Aliens, X-Men Origins. Also, my roommate and I made a pact that we would see every Channing Tatum movie, so I guess I have to see Fighting. 

Sorry for the delay on the Moon review, I have to go through Duncan Jones’ interview to find useful quotes and I haven’t quite gotten around to it yet. In the meantime, go see Star Trek and let me know what you think of it (my review is here).

Upcoming Events; The “Another Hole in the Head” SF Horror/Sci-fi festival starts June 5th, check out their website at sfindie.com, I’m pretty stoked for Brain Dead Alive. Also, the Festival de Cannes starts tomorrow, with Pixar’s Up opening the festival, the first animated film granted this honor. The 49th annual SFSU Film Finals are screened this Friday, May 15th at the McKenna Theater.

As a final note, you can follow Emmanent Entertainment News on Twitter (twitter.com/emmanent) for more frequent updates and news on festivals and so on. Twitter updates can also be found right here on EE News in the “This Just In!” box on the right of the page.

“Sneeze Attack” with Commentary Coming Soon!

“sneeze attack” handheld arc shot

Originally uploaded by emmanent_entertainment

After the booming success of Emma Freed’s latest short, Sneeze Attack (it has like, 6 views on youtube), controversial actor Sean Kennedy is back on board for the director/actor commentary version of the video. The commentary will feature Kennedy and director Emma Freed, discussing the vignette and reminiscing about the very chaotic 4-day shoot and the deeper philosophical meanings behind this experimental short. Keep an eye out for it here on Emmanent Entertainment News.

Star Trek Review

Star Trek opened with a ten minute-long fancy CGI sequence, which was completely lost on those members in the audience who care about story rather than glittery effects, due to the fact that at this point, we are completely uninvested in the characters. Throwing in a pregnant woman in peril and a noble sacrifice didn’t help. Enter theme music and title. Applause. 

The following two hours consisted of more lengthy, dizzying CGI sequences (although I may just be bitter since I was in the FRONT ROW on the very edge, squinting up at a giant curved screen and hunting around for Excedrin in my purse every time a laser fired), tons of name dropping, conversations about destiny and literally FOUR SCENES in which Kirk was dangling of a ledge of some sort. Kirk was the most unlikeable main character I have scene in a while; daddy issues are no excuse to be cocky, obnoxious and power hungry. He had no transformation or inner conflict-if it were not for Spock’s wonderful performance, the film would be a completely empty action flick. 

Mr. Spock truly saved the movie in my opinion; the adorably troubled half-Vulcan-half-human struggled with the identity issues of being mixed race, balancing emotion and logic and coping with the destruction of his entire home planet. Sean Penn was an unexpectedly wonderful Scotty, good ol’ Leonard Nimoy got to play the older version of Spock, and there were some really great aliens along the way. I was a bit confused by certain casting choices, like Harold with no Kumar and Charlie Bartlett on the crew, but they sort of won me over in the end.

heart : )

Overall, it had a lot of elements of a very expensive yet meaningless action movie, with some charming moments mixed in. It did not channel the original TV show to me at all; I think the spirit was lost in trying to cater to a more youthful and “hip” audience (there was literally a completely gratuitous police/car chase scene with a young Kirk in a red convertible, blasting the Beastie Boys. What?)

What I loved about the original  show was this sort of quiet intense drama taking place aboard the Enterprise, and the fact that characters had layers and internal conflicts and romance and drama. The 2009 version was mostly a giant chase scene in space, with Spock responsible for what little heart the film had. My verdict is that its a fun movie to watch, especially in IMAX, but sort of a miss in terms of being an important story or a logical progression from the shows. It is worth seeing simply for a love of the characters and some fun fight scenes and aliens.

Points for it: The adorably logical Spock, the overwhelming IMAX-ness, the fact that half the audience was dressed up for the occasion, the beautiful set design (for the non-CGI sequences, especially the Vulcan Academy of Science), the fact that there was almost a black hole in California (SF or LA?).

Points against it: Kirk, the sort of sad attempts to cater towards a youth audience, the complete lack of internal conflict, basically all the CGI laser battles scenes, certain parts of the soundtrack, an epic fail in terms of any sort of romantic story line, Kirk’s daddy issues

 

 

P.S. Kirk totally wore eyeliner *giggle*

Transformers Two Trailer is Out, Kinda Rips off Chuck

Apparantly, Shia LaBeouf plays “The Intersect” in Michael Bay’s second Transformers movie. Lets hope he can compete with Chuck’s epic O-face;

Furthermore, I should be packing my bags to go the the Cannes Film Festival right now, but nooooooo, the French outreach thing in San Francisco wanted to pick a non-French citizen to go. I’m so bitter. One day, it will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.

52nd San Francisco International Film Festival

 

sffif52

Originally uploaded by emmanent_entertainment

Its the festival this week, which means everyone is thrown for a loop, scrambling to get to screenings and such. I’m a volunteer, which is both mind-numbingly boring and exciting at the same time. Elijah Wood was there on Saturday which is pretty cool, and Coppola will be there this week as well. I don’t think I’ll have any more time to volunteer, and I already got tickets to Moon so I feel that I have paid my dues to the film world for this week.
In other news, the deadline for the Trash Into Treasure art competition is this Friday, which means I have less than 48 hours to shoot and edit my entry. Alas!

Coppola Visits SFSU-Inspires Students

I Love WordPress

stats screen grab

When I have I ever mentioned nipple clamps? Oh of course. Jason Statham.

Top Ten Movies to Watch When You Are Sick

Since I’ve been sick for most of 2009, I decided to put together a top ten list of movies I like to watch when I’m sick. It could also be referred to as a list of movies to watch when you’re putting off work, or for when you refuse to leave bed for reasons health related or otherwise, or for when you’re too broke to pay your Netflix bill and therefore have to resort to your collection of $7 BestBuy DVD’s. Basically, any time you’ve let yourself get to a point where you have no shame and all you wanna do is curl up and watch something either highly un-cinematic or just plain ridiculous. Here goes;

10) Wizard of Oz I love this movie, but its been somewhat ruined for me by all the perma-fried Pink Floyd obsessed Berkeley hippies I’ve had to deal with in my life…so I save it for times when I’m bed ridden and on enough painkillers to sit through all the songs. 

9) Notting Hill. OK this is a weird one. Not only do I DESPISE romantic comedies with every soul of my being, but also Hugh Grant really needs to grow some balls and stop looking alarmingly similar to my mother. The only reason this movie is vaguely acceptable in times of weakness is because my siblings and I have watched it SO many times, and made hysterical fun of it, therefore I still enjoy it. It also reminds me of that slightly painful yet refreshing switch from VHS to DVD back in the day…I was a traditionalist little kid and although it pained me to toss our rewinder machine, my eyes were opened to the world of DVD Bonus Features and since then, I have never looked back. I think this was one of our first DVDs.

8.) Robin Hood: Men in Tights This is one of those rare movies that everyone in my family loves, and that we all watched together for everyone’s first viewing. I basically hate most of my family’s tastes in movies, (although not as much as they hate mine) so when there’s overlap, its worth celebrating.

7) Suburbia. Note: For this one, please substitute the word “sick” in this post’s title for the phrase “drunk and 15″

6) Step Up 2: The Streets. Totally better than the first one, to begin with. Also, my roommate and I have started a pact that we have to see every Channing Tatum movie, no matter how horrendous it looks or how puny a role he has. Plus, my love for cheesy sports movies, especially dance related ones, matches the warmth of a thousand suns, and will never falter. 

5) Remember the Titans. See previous. Also, Marvin Gaye. 

4) BBC’s The Blue Planet-Seasonal Seas. OK I have the Blue Planet box set, and the seasonal seas one is the only one that isn’t scratched, and I’m not gonna lie, I like to do the voices for the animals. Weird animals+David Attenborough+Cold Medication=Endless fun

3) Dazed and Confused I have no idea why this movie makes me so happy, it has NO PLOT WHATSOEVER. However, perhaps watching Ben Affleck and Mathew McConaughey live their-woah, sorry, I need to interrupt that thought…imdb.com has just made me aware of the fact that Ben Affleck was born in Berkeley, my hometown…WEIRD. Anyway he’s still an unbelievable cock in this movie. 

2) Snakes on a Plane. This movie can single-handedly put me in a good mood, any day, any situation. It has yet to fail me. I save this treasure for only the most desperate of circumstances, just to make sure it always stays this dear to me. 

1) Firefly (The TV show, the WHOLE season) Honestly, I’ve watched the whole thing in one go so many times but I am still SO DOWN with the browncoats, you have no idea. Toni can pry the DVDs from my cold dead hands (: P) And yes, the episode Out Of Gas still makes me cry.

There ya have it then! Stay healthy and please comment your favorite movies to watch in desperate times.

TV Makes Me Hurt Inside

Why is TV so. Incredibly. Bad?  

For example. Let us look at The Hills. I’ve watched one episode and sort of felt like I’d lost my grip on reality for a minute. It’s like…where are all the, you know, narrative elements? The story? Where’s the conflict? I mean I understand that ‘blonde chick number one’ is really really upset, I get it, I see the mascara tears, but WHY? ITS A SHOW ABOUT PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT NOTHING. And its edited in a way that makes me feel like I’m INSANE, or like I keep BLACKING OUT every few seconds, because their conversations are all disjointed and illogical and pointless. Also, HOLD THE MOTHER F%#$ING CAMERA STILL. Just because everything’s all badly lit and jiggly doesn’t mean I’m convinced its all “real and unscripted”, it just makes me feel nauseous (although that could also be due to that hideous blonde ape ‘blonde chick number two’ is dating).

Another example is the CW show Stylista. Basically, a bunch of really boring yuppies fight for a job at Elle magazine. The challenges are usually something along the lines of, “staple these 5 million information pamphlets using only a stiletto and a seaweed shake, and do it in half an hour without crumpling any pages”. Then, to add some drama in the show, they force the yuppies to live together and talk shit on each other’s clothes. Yawn.

Now I’m not even gonna comment on this trend of finding a mate through a reality show, because shows like Tila Tequila: A Shot at Love make me want to burn my American passport, grow a mustache and hide under a rock until the apocalypse rolls around.

SIGH. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. My friends and I have been “house shopping” so we can move off campus as soon as the semester is over…I can’t wait to move out. I just want a job and a house and time to goof off. I need to get some “real work” done so I can feel useful. And, you know, get paid.  

Yesterday I tattooed the phrase “finish your breakfast” on this guy’s arm. He said it meant “do what you gotta do, man up” to him. So I guess this semester is sort of about “finishing my breakfast” and trying to have some fun in the meantime. 

Cheers to that?

Sneeze Attack

Here it is guys, in all its youtube-compressed, stretched and grainy glory. I loved this project and Sean, Cody and Toni were troupers : ) And Kiefer of course! He gets a cameo in the car scene. Give it a look-see and please let me know what you think of it. 

(By the way, the assignment was to make a 3 minute video vignette with no sound or lyrics and that demonstrates an understanding of continuity and basic camera angles.)

To Those of You Who Give Me S**t For Tattooing…

 

MVI_2037

Originally uploaded by emmanent_entertainment

My friend Cody spent the whole night writing the score for Sneeze Attack, and said he was happy to do it because he owed me for the free tattoo I gave him. Take that! I’m really happy with how the music turned out, it sort of reminds me of Dead Man, which is one of my favorite movies and is scored entirely by Neil Young. Check out my super professional recording studio.

Check back later today to watch Sneeze Attack!

“Sneeze Attack” Behind the Scenes Pictures/Happy Late St. P’s

Atchooo!

Hope everyone had a good St.Patrick’s Day…I didn’t realize I was supposed to be celebrating until rather late in the day, but I ended up going to an awesome house show in Oakland with banjos and irish dancing. It put me a bit behind in the Sneeze Attack shoot…so I have to make up for it today…I need it done tonight, music and everything. *Cross fingers*

San Francisco Bay-gulls

I realize the title is really stupid and not punny at all but I’m tired and I felt clever for a second there. Toni and I went to Costco today, grabbed two giant loaves of bread and headed to the beach. We created a seagull riot! And a CROW VS. SEAGULL standoff! It was very theraputic actually. A three bucks well spent.

White Sock Balance

white balance (white sock balance)

Originally uploaded by emmanent_entertainment

Are we…setting the white balance on Sean’s sock? Or shooting a yoga video in Golden Gate Park? You decide.

Sneeze Attack-Third Day of Shooting

7am call time….woke up bright and cheery, ready to shoot yet slightly delusional about how tired I really was. Now I’m crashing…check Flickr for more pictures from the shoot!

"now put some feeling into that sneeze! gimme more emotion!"

Koi Story Screening

So we did not win the “Remake a Film” competition. Its ok, obviously our morbid and fishy version of Toy Story was too groundbreaking for such a simple audience…we’ll see who’s laughing when we take Koi Story into the festival circuit.

Zoolander ended up winning…I have no opinion on this matter because I haven’t seen the original due to the facts that a) Ben Stiller makes me lose brain cells (as much as I love Tropic Thunder, I’m sorry man, you say some stupid shit) b) I was like 11 when it came out, and extremely prejudiced against Will Ferrel, mostly because of how tiny his eyes are. They frightened me, those tiny eyes, and c) It still looks stupid. I like to think I have a sense of humor slightly more sophisticated than your average stoned 13 year old. Also, on imdb, the film’s genre tags include “reference to JC Penney”, “absurdism” “butt slap”  and “mermaid”. As a result, I am more curious to see what movies come up when I click on the butt slap tag than motivated to watch the movie. 

But I digress. My point is, Koi Story lost, but I’m not bitter. Nothing can put me in a bad mood right now, because I just found out that Christian Siriano is doing an affordable egyptian/fetish inspired shoe collection for Payless for Fall 09. Fierce!!! I loved this guy on Project Runway and share his love of spikes and all that is ferocious.

I will post Koi Story soon!

Saw Watchmen Last Night!

Or should I say, early this morning at the 4am IMAX screening. Review to be posted soon.