Trivia

I came across some fun trivia:

Actors who have been nominated for Best Director, Writing and Acting over their lifetime (not all at once)...

The answer is posted in the comments.

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Panic

Our lives are constantly confused by the media and its love of drama and exploitation. WMD's in Iraq, Swine Flu 'pandemic'. I don't know what to believe so I will follow Jim Henshaw...

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Francis Coppola's new film...

http://www.tetro.com/

As you might know I'm a big Coppola fan. I am eagerly awaiting a trailer for his new film 'Tetro'. He has teamed up with Walter Murch once again and it's his first original sceenplay since 'The Conversation'.

The prolific blogger Mark Mayerson sent a link to an article on filmmakers in their 'magic hour'. It's great to see these great artists come back with such fresh material.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/movies/19scot.html?_r=1&ref=movies

Part of my response to Mark:

Interesting to reflect on. I caught Billy Wilder's 'The Front Page' a few months ago and thought how out of place it seemed in 1974. It definitely felt like a throwback to a different time, out of step with the films of its day. I also watched 'A Passage to India' the other day and it too felt like it was of another time. I enjoyed the film more than 'The Front Page' but it does have a feeling of time warp in its style and approach especially when put up against contemporary films like 'Reds' and 'The Last Emperor".

Look at Welles reinventing himself with the unfinished 'Other Side of the Wind' and 'F for Fake' (which seemed to be about twenty years ahead of its time). Kurosawa is an interesting filmmaker as well. His films didn't veer in any modern direction (aside from Dreams) but seems to have been timeless all along.

Robert Altman took his leave with a wonderful picture, 'A Prairie Home Companion". I guess it's fitting that Altman left us with a picture about an old time radio show going extinct. Ironic.

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Nerds

For all you film nerds: apparently this video was shot with the new Canon 5d Mark II with a Panavision adapter and Panavision lenses. Hit the HD button to get a sharper version.

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Hal!

I wonder if Watson can do my taxes...

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The Web...

"Ah Spring!
The frozen shell hath given way to life.
Rejuvenation!
The water runs through the veins of the sleeping world
rising out of the crystal fog to breath again.
The sun warms the mind and frees the heart from a long deep dream."

I wonder if the Midge Fly that swarms around my house asks "what is the meaning of life"? Or "why am I here"? Does it think that "every thing happens for a reason"? I imagine it would be crushed to know that it is here to provide dinner for the waking spiders and nourish the suspended life, to toil and to reproduce so that other lives can thrive. I'm sounding like a capitalist...

Murder and mayhem outside my window.

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Othello

Orson Welles' film of Shakespeare's 'Othello' is one of my favourite of Welles films. He made three films based on Shakespeare's work, 'Othello', 'MacBeth' and 'Chimes at Midnight'. The latter is a film invented by Welles based on the grand character of Falstaff (a combination of Henry IV Part One and Two and the Merry Wives of Windsor). In all three films Welles successfully transforms the stage plays to cinema with 'Othello' and 'Chimes' being the greatest. Both films suffer terribly from poor sound but this becomes secondary to the incredible cinematography, editing, locations and visual design.

I've always heard about a little film called 'Filming Othello' but could never find it. As one would expect, it has made it's way to youtube.



Rob Mills mentioned 'Chimes at Midnight' the other day and posted the link:



It's a shame that these films get caught up in rights disputes. It would be great to be able to access them outside of these poor internet copies.

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