Sick, but still in the fight

I've had a sinusy-cold-energy-sucking thing going down for about a week now but my head still feels pretty clear. We still haven't heard anything back from SXSW yet. I suspect we will hear from them by next Friday. I think this is a good sign.

Mona is busy in the other room editing some of the wedding video. It will be my turn later today. It looks like we are almost done.

Next week I am going to be doing more editing for a mixed martial arts program. Yes, there will be grounding and pounding. It's fun and I get to work with Paul who is a cool guy who listens to decent music. After that hopefully Mona and I will be able to work on our own stuff for awhile.

We saw Dance Party, USA last night at the Vancity Theatre. It is one of the more poetic and lyrical entries in the whole Mumblecore phenomenon. I really enjoyed it and found it to be a lot like the last couple of Gus Van Zant movies. It's basically about teenagers partying and drinking but without all the mainstream cliches plopped on top. There is a serious tone to it through the use of long lenses and very quiet moments. You can tell why Benten films chose to release it on DVD. All in all I would recommend it to people who like the same arthouse fare that Mona and I champion.

Well, it's back to editing.

LMBF trailer now on youtube

thought we'd put this everywhere. If you haven't seen it....

Top Movies of 2007

It was a great year for movies that's for sure. I still haven't seen all the movies I've wanted to because some of the supposed best of 007 are not yet playing in Vancouver.

Theatrical

No Country for Old Men
The Savages
Margot at the Wedding
King of Kong
The Host
Red Road
Day Night, Day Night
Paris J'Taime
Inland Empire


Film Fest Favs

Paranoid Park
Edge of Heaven
The Red Balloon

Movies I still need to see
2 Day in Paris
Youth Without Youth
4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days
Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
Romance and Cigarettes

and of course

There Will Be Blood

Video Discoveries

Cache
Great Happiness Space
The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Biggest Disappointments

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Eastern Promises
I'm Not There (although the soundtrack kicks ass)

Let Me Be Fictional website up and runnin'

Go to our shiny new website...

www.letmebefictional.com

It's pretty basic and may need some tweaking over the next months but it's up and the trailer's there.

In related news we've submitted to 8 film fests so we'll keep you posted over the next few weeks to our status (accepted or rejected).

The Savages

Mona, Ryan and I just saw The Savages today. This is the kind of movie that Mona and I would hope we could make one day. Everything about it plays into what we love about cinema.

The story is pretty simple, a brother and sister are forced to take care of their aging father after his girlfriend dies. This is the stuff of TV melodrama, sure but in the hands of the director/screenwriter Tamara Jenkins and two of my favourite actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney this material just soars above the competition.

The way the scenes unfold and linger is what all domestic dramas aspire to. Sure it's not a flawless film but it feels exactly the way it should: natural. There is absolutely not exposition, you are literally thrown into these peoples lives and little by little you learn about them, but not too much, just enough to want to know them more.

There are no great triumphs or wrap-ups in this movie. It's depressing as hell and makes you want to cry in more than a few scenes but in the end it inspired me to write the feature Mona and I want to make this year. Now if we can just hold onto this feeling we have right now until post production.