Short Film - in progress

"A Basketball Jones"

Los Angeles - Outdoor Concerts

Fall is here, yet it’s still a great time for outdoor activities in Los Angeles.
For example, visit The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, located in Topanga, CA. This outdoor theater is not only great for enjoying plays, but also great for a relaxing or romantic picnic.
Other themed activities include, Family Fundays, this event includes a “kids koncert” and creative playground. Shows start at 11 am. Tickets $8. Children under 2 years of age are free.

This season shows include: The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cymbeline, Julius Caesar, and The Miser.
Location: 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA 90290
(310) 455-3723

For more event info: Event information

Hollywood Crew Blacklist

I came across this informational website, Hollywood Crew Blacklist not a bad site to visit before agreeing to work with anybody...another site for information.


Here are some sites with information so you can get started on your own shoot.

Actors

Locations

Equipment - union and student discounts

WGA

SAG - get actors contact info.

Story Analyst's Top Tips

Always looking for new resources or classes, I read a good article at the UCLA Extension Writer's website...also will be giving update on my experience shooting my short film... tips on what to do and who to avoid...

In the meantime see Story Analyst's Top Tips. See complete article here.


1. Is length appropriate for genre? (i.e. romantic comedy = 90-110 pp.; epic 120+)

2. Layout and pacing – Lean descriptions (doesn't describe every turn of the hand and movement of the head).

3. Dialogue – generally short lines, not speeches, unless the script is a showcase for dialogue (My Dinner with Andre, When Harry Met Sally, Pulp Fiction). If showcasing dialogue, it's usually a good idea to have it backed up with visuals.

4. Opening shots should ideally touch on theme (Lion King immediately sets up circle of life; Pulp Fiction shows young couple in diner spontaneously breaking into robbery, demonstrating criminal underworld closer to normal world than expected; random details of Paris in opening of Amelie show world as inherently chaotic, we have to create our own order).

5. Look for predominant tone established quickly and kept consistent, balanced. "Seeds" should be planted if it is going to change significantly. Too often, scripts either start as humorless and heavy handed, or too light and frivolous. Make sure author is clearly creating a specific, effective tone.

6. Does the screenplay grab you by bottom of the first page, ideally the first sentence? It doesn't have to be bomb going off, but some aspect of characterization or plot which foreshadows or puts into motion a larger hook to come.

7. Writing should make the most of a lead's entrance (Bugs Bunny leaning on Elmer Fudd's shotgun; back of Sean Connery's head in first James Bond film).

8. Do secondary characters and even minor ones speak with their own distinct voices? Not every extra or store clerk must have something witty or profound to offer, but whenever appropriate, supporting or minor characters with distinct points of view should be adding color to the mosaic (i.e. Oracle's musings in "The Matrix"; "plastics" touted by materialistic party guest in "The Graduate").

9. Title – look for one of several types:

a) Suspense (Kramer vs. Kramer; Mutiny on the Bounty; Strangers on a Train; Shakespeare in Love)

b) Mood (Basic Instinct; Unforgiven; Trainspotting; M, Spellbound, Waiting to Exhale, Speed)


10. Look for strong set ups, or what I call "planted seeds", and their payoffs. An additional tip here: the greater the irony in the payoff, the better. The warden in "Shawshank Redemption", a man who perverts use of religion, discovers Andy's Bible to contain a small pick ax, explaining how Andy escaped. Luke not believing in the Force at first, but using it at the climax to defeat the Death Star. Air tanks and their volatility are referred to several times throughout "Jaws", but it's the cop, the one man scared of the ocean, who resourcefully uses a tank to destroy the shark. Ruby slippers – cinema's greatest MacGuffin – are touted from the outset as possessing mysterious powers which endanger Dorothy, their magic revealed at the climax as they help bring her home. When a writer offers these types of setups and ironic payoffs, even if the structure of the material isn't perfect, he or she is more likely to improve it in development.

© 2009 by Barney Lichtenstein

Entertainment 101: Where to see free entertainment

This month check out the Pasadena Film Festival. The Pasadena Film Festival is the largest free outdoor screening for films. The festival runs every Friday and Saturday, from July 10th to July 25th. This festival has a unique reputation as it hold it’s screening at various locations throughout the city, such as rooftops, alleys, and courtyards. This year the festival will showcase a restored version of the classic film “Daddy Long - Legs” accompanied by the live music of the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra.
If you like musicals, date films, silent films, and travel films, check out the schedule for the Pasadena Film Festivals.
FRIDAY, JULY 17
7:30pm - Travel Film: Shirley Valentine
Distant Lands, 54 S. Raymond Ave.
8:30pm - Musical: Singing in the Rain
Location: One Colorado Courtyard, 41 Hugus Alley
SATURDAY, JULY 18
8:30pm – Musical: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Location: One Colorado Courtyard, 41 Hugus Alley
9:00pm – 80’s Classic: Sixteen Candles
Location: Rooftop of the Schoolhouse Parking Garage, 33 E. Green Street.
FRIDAY, JULY 24
7:30pm – Travel Film: An American in Paris
Location: Distant Lands, 54 S. Raymond Ave.
8:30pm – Musical: GypsyLocation: One Colorado Courtyard, 41 Hugus Alley
SATURDAY, JULY 25
8:30pm – Musical: West Side Story
Location: One Colorado Courtyard, 41 Hugus Alley
9:00pm - Date Movie: Twilight
Location: Rooftop of Schoolhouse Parking Garage, 33 E. Green Street

For more info: Visit.

Free movies at Los Angeles film festival

The Los Angeles Film Festival runs from June 18th -28th, 2009.

Celebrating its fifteenth year, the festival will showcase various U.S. and foreign films, many are world premieres. Films range from upcoming releases like "Public Enemies", a Depression-era film starring Johnny Depp, as bank robber John Dillinger, to classic favorites like "Midnight Cowboy".

In addition, the festival is a great way to support upcoming talent in the independent film, and short film screenings, including high school students.

Ticket price: $5, $12, and $15 depending on the film.

However, the festival is showcasing films for free.
Amreeka, Which Way Home, Election, Ghostbusters, How I see It: Youth Filmmaking From Streets to Streams, The Muppet Movie, and The Cove.

In order to find what film to watch or the location, visit their website, and click view events section.

Purchase tickets or passes online, by phone 866.FILMFEST, or at the Festival Ticket Center on Friday, June 12.
Just like any other movie ticket, moviegoers are advised to buy tickets in advance.

For more information on: More free festival events, Parking, Awards, Venues, Brochure.

Los Angeles high school students Bandslam’s with Vannessa Hudgens

Want to inspire your kids’ career in music?


Go on an educational tour at the GRAMMY Museum, at the LA LIVE center, just as a group of Los Angeles County middle school students did.

Friday, Walden Media hosted Reel Thinking, an event that brought students together to learn about the process of the GRAMMY’S, and possible careers in music, while being treated to a Q &A with actors Vanessa Hudgens, Aly Michalka, and Gaelan Connell, regarding their upcoming teen movie Bandslam.
Bandslam, being released August 14th, 2009, is about Will (Gaelan Connell), a social outcast, and Charlotte (Aly Michalka), miss popular, who form a rock group and performs in the battle of the bands competition. Mitchell Lieb, (Hollywood Records), oversaw the soundtrack, and states “the soundtrack is musically diverse, and the movie shows what it takes to put a band together”.

As the 200 Los Angeles students were treated to scenes from Bandslam, they got to see the various components needed to make a band, including learning instruments, managing others, and using creativity to express their emotions. When asked, why is having music in school important Aly, stated “music opens up imagination”.

The schools in attendance included Jack F. Macy Intermediate School, Monterey Park, CA; Montebello Intermediate School, La Merced Intermediate, Montebello, CA; and Lincoln Middle School, Santa Monica, CA.

Want your school to go to the GRAMMY Museum? Visit the GRAMMY Museum’s website, and get information about public and educational tours.

To get more information on Reel Thinking events, or to request classroom materials, visit their site.