Great Cinema

I've written here previously about "Kes," a 1969 film by director Ken Loach. Though it's widely considered by the English to be one of their finest films, it's virtually unknown here. For Americans, the heavily-accented working-class English is difficult to understand - in fact, it took me several viewings to understand what was going on. To summarize, "Kes" is the story of a fourteen year old boy living under difficult family and social circumstances in a contemporary (1960's era) mining town. He finds peace in training a Kestral (bird), but even that isn't immune from the harshness that surrounds him.

"Kes" is a beautiful work of cinema, produced at a small budget with a largely non-professional cast. As effective as the script and cinematography, there's a beautiful score, composed by John Cameron, and performed by his quartet. I'm not a musician by any means, but this is a masterpiece of simplicity. I've just ordered the soundtrack, which has only been available since 2002.

Unfortunately, unless you know me and can borrow a copy, Kes is generally unavailable in the United States. You can read about on IMDB here.

Literary Dynasty In The Making

We're a very literary family. My late father, in his younger days, was both a prolific reader, and a writer - mostly of short stories and letters. My mother is a prolific reader. We grew up in a house full of books, and my sisters and I became skilled writers, which has worked to our advantage through the years. Much of my career is built on my writing skills in one way or the other. One of my sisters has always been a prolific letter-writer, was involved in PR for a while, and has published numerous newsletters over the years. My niece is probably the most prolific writer, having written several novel-length works - and her first job out of college is at as a copy editor at a monthly magazine (not everyone gets a job in their chosen field right away!). I have no doubt she'll eventually sell her first novel. Now my nephew is finding some initial success. He's been working at screenwriting for several years (he's almost 20), and posted his latest feature-length comedy on a screenwriter's site, where writers evaluate and exchange comments on their current work. My nephew's script is currently one of the most read comedy scripts on the site. Also, a community group in a small town in Mississippi, with my nephew's permission, is actually producing a movie based on his script with local kids.

Dat ain't bad 4 book learnin'.

My Reel

Here's a quick sample of my work - this is designed as the teaser video introducing my DVD sample reel.

My Father's Retirement

Here's my father's speech as he retired as Vice President from 20th Century Fox in March, 1987, after a nearly 45 year career. That's my mother to his right.

Taylor the Killer!

For the first time anywhere! Rare Lost Footage from my unfinished masterpiece, "Taylor the Killer," written, directed and starring....well....ME. Oh yeah, and my sister on camera.(by the way...this was a silent movie - all audio is new)

A Sneak Preview!

I've transfered some of my earliest filmmaking footage to video - I'll be posting some clips over the next few days. In the meantime, here are a few fun shots - my first movie camera, directing "Killer From Space," and starring in my first movie, "Taylor the Killer." (okay, so I thought "killer" sounded dramatic!)

Hookman...and Friends

In the search for a subject for my first movie, I looked around my bedroom for inspiration, and came upon a plastic representation of a a pirate's hooked hand (as in Captain Hook). Knowing little about such things as a plot, I immediately jumped into production and shot a series of scenes involving the menacing hook "peeking" menacingly around corners and behind objects. It was a hook in search of a movie - but it soon had to give way to my next attempt: "Taylor the Killer," starring ME. It's an epic I just discovered in my film archives - and features my first cinematographer in the guise of my sister! This time, I actually advanced a bit and shot some scenes! Stay tuned for the long-delayed world premiere....right here!

Once Upon a Time...

I started making films when I was eleven years old, just after my family had moved to California. A couple of years previous to our move, my father had been given a gift of a FujiFilm Single-8mm camera. This was the short-lived Japanese answer to the super-8 movie format that was popular then. The camera was simple to use: a "point and shoot" camera without any extras. At 18 frames per second, the 50 foot roll of (silent) film ran for three minutes. FujiFilm had also given my father a box of film, developing included, so we were all set.

I used the camera a bit in New York before we moved, shooting some footage of my friends and my neighborhood, but hadn't yet begun to create movies with real stories. It wasn't until we arrived in Tarzana, California that I could begin my filmmaking advenure. Arriving at the beginning of July - I had a lot of time to burn - and a lot of opportunity to begin bonding with my first movie camera - and figure out just what moviemaking was all about...

Next: "Hookman"

Missing the Boat

I just caught up with last year's "Poseidon," a remake of the 1972 classic disaster movie, "The Poseidon Adventure." Now, the original wasn't the greatest motion picture of all time, by any measure, but it was a fun trip. The characters, though cardboardish and stereotypical in some ways, were at least distinct and fun to watch. This recent version takes itself way too seriously. The characters aren't fun at all - they're faceless clones of any number of more recent disaster / adventure films (ironically tracing their lineage back to the original Poseidon).

A year ago, I said the same thing here about The Bad News Bears - another case of a remake being a pale imitation of the original.

But the effects were cool.

One More Note on "The Secret"

One of the dramatized stories in "The Secret" tells of a boy who desperately wants a particular bike. Not just a bike - a specific brand. He cuts photographs out of magazines, watches jealously as other kids ride by on the same bike he wants. With the power of positive thinking, and apparently some meditation (he's seen looking at the cut-out advertisement in a park-like setting), the universe realigns. One day the bike he's so greedily been pursuing appears magically at his front door, delivered by a grandfatherly-looking man.

Greedy little boys will be rewarded if they just keep a postive attitude?

The Secret

I recently had the chance to view "The Secret," the DVD that's becoming a marketing phenomenon. It purports to reveal an ancient secret that has, until now, been shared with a select few - the wealthy and successful elite around the world. The video includes instruction and commentary from authors, "visonaries," professional philosophers and metaphysics experts...all presented with an air of mystery and intrigue, including brief re-enactments of ancient heroes rescuing "the secret" from oblivion (though we never actually are told what any of these historical re-enactments represent).

"The Secret," as it turns out, really much of a secret. It simply presents, in an entertaining format, some basic human truths that have been understood for eons - but for which most people lack the focus to follow effectively: "Do Unto Others as you would have them Do Unto You," "What comes around goes around," and so on. The program discusses having the right attitude (i.e. if you are negative, negative things will happen to you).

I've found that most popular self-help books are just creative reworkings of these same basic principles. Each book, or video in this case, packages the same message for varying audiences.

It all comes down to setting goals, focusing on your goals, and maintaining a positive attitude.

It's not a secret. It's a challenge.

Taj Mahal

I was trying to explain to someone today the experience of standing before the Taj Mahal during my visit to India this past summer. The Taj Mahal is such an icon of world history and simulataneously a symbol of a country, a belief, of architecture, of peace...of an almost endless array of interpretions that it almost seems unreal.

Standing there in the vast courtyard, facing the actual structures that comprise the Taj Mahal, after a exhaustive trip throuugh crowded roads, Indian countryside, and a throng of venders descending upon our little American group, it wasn't difficult to feel grateful for the experience. As I walked up to the complex, I placed a hand on the cold marble base upon with the Taj Mahal was built. As beautiful as it looks in the traditional photographs of which we're all familiar, the true beauty lies in the intricate detail - carvings and inlaid designs that are invisible from a distance, but are nevertheless the elements that in in total are the Taj Mahal.

The Me Syndrome

Quite a while back, I wrote here about a series of ads promoting the treatment of something called "Restless Leg Syndrome," or RLS - which also happens to be my initials. Recently, I happened to come across a couple of brochures on the disease, with tips and advice that make me feel just a bit uneasy. Here are a few examples:

"People with RLS describe their symptoms differently. For some it's a creepy-crawly, tugging, pulling, twitching, or itching sensation..."

....not the first time I've heard that.

"Primary RLS is characterized by unpleasant feelings in your legs."

Fine, I'll keep my hands to myself.

"Nearly half of RLS sufferers have a family history of the condtion."

If I make you so miserable, just tell me to leave!

"Only your doctor can diagnose RLS."

I prefer to use my own doctor, thank you.

Search Results Update

Yesterday, I looked at the stats for this page to see what search terms most commonly brought people here.

Currently, the lead search term is "Johnny Gosch," the missing child case from the early 80's that turned up in the news late last summer when photos turned up, purportedly of the boy tied and gagged shortly after the abduction. After several weeks, the photos were vaguely discredited (i.e. no solid evidence) and the story disappeared from the newspapers. I suspect it's turning up again after the Shawn Hornbeck case brought that unsettled case to mind.

Another search term that still turns up on a regular basis is "Wickshire School," the long-closed elementary school I attended in New York. Somebody out there keeps searching for information on that school, and returns to my page. As yet, I haven't seen any comments from fellow classmates...

There's also quite a few searches for "rich boy" or "rich boy's real name," which I am guessing relates to some pop-culture reference I'm not familiar with. Anyone know what it means? [Edit: he's a rap/hip hop artist]

Shawn Hornbeck

Whenever I hear about cases like the Shawn Hornbeck case (that's the boy who was kidnapped four years ago and just recently was returned to his family along with a recently abducted 13 year old), I can't help but wonder about other missing kids like him who are still out there, somewhere, surviving as the world moves on around them, unaware of their situation.

It's almost as if we should have another flag next to those "MIA" flags created to keep alive the memory of soldiers missing in action. Maybe, for missing kids, Shawn Hornbeck is that flag.

MMPG, Part 2

I continue to play the "massive multi-player game" World of Warcraft , which now has over eight million players, wandering through vast worlds of fantastic creatures, heroic quests, magical powers and epic battles. In short, these games are the gaming equivelant of the epic movie - an incredible visual experience in which one is involved and impacts the action, as opposed to simply watching immobile and apart from the action. In "WoW," we're not watching characters interact on screen with other characters - we're the characters, interacting with other people's characters. As the technology continues to advance, and possible character interactions become more complex, the similarities to the cinimatic world will expand.

Gaming is already a huge industry, bringing in more revenue than motion pictures. Games like this are just early examples of the future of entertainment - fully immersive, fantastic environments - experiences unlike anything that currently exists. This won't replace filmed entertainment - no more than televsion or motion pictures destroyed reading - this will eventually become another vast form of entertainment.

If you think people live their lives precariously through their favorite televsion show, just wait until they can live in that program, as well.

Massive Multi-Player Gaming - Part One

About a month ago, I decided to experiment a bit with massive multi-player gaming. For quite a while, I've been fascinated with this online phenomenan, which enables people around the world to interact in rich virtual worlds. Some games, like Worlds of Warcraft, consist of millions of gamers, and have spawned entire independent industries created to serve them. These industries will buy and sell the virtual items used in these games (i.e. online 'currency,' weaponry, armor) for real-world money. For example, an online player will pay $20 to recieve, within the game 500 gold coins...which he can use to advance more quickly within the game. The companies who offer these items sometimes have legions of low paid offshore (for example, Chinese) workers who spend their work hours trolling the games and accumulating items for sale to the highest bidder. Some call it cheating; others call it entreprenuership. Either way, it's people spending real money on something that doesn't actually exist for the benefit of dominating a non-exist world with imaginary characters that in turn represent real people you may never meet. This begins to sound like contemplating the origins of the universe...

My Space Personalities

One of the annoying aspects if MySpace is the tendency for a large number of people to create alternative personalities that have no relationship whatsoever to their real-life personalities. Language and attitude are transformed into something wholly artificial - and obviously so...it's an extension of kids immitating gangsta style - with LA origins in weapons, gangs and drug abuse - suburban kids imitating ignorance and a heightened form of arrogance - pretending to flip off the very lifestyle from which they will continue to benefit.

Return of my Blog

Here we go again...

Under intense pressure from my reading public (translation: under a suggestion from my nephew), I have decided to resume writing my blog.

Stay tuned....

End of the Line?

The Johnny Gosch case is in the news again, with news that the three kids featured in the photographs that turned up on the doorstep of the long-missing boy's mother have been tracked down. They're all now in their early 40's, and police have said that the man they spoke with claimed that they had been given firecrackers to pose bound for a man when they were 12 in the late 70's. Since Gosch went missing in 1982, that would seem to indicate that these photographs had nothing to do with the case in question.

Johnny Gosch's mother still claims that one particular photo, showing just one boy, is absolutely her son, and asks why the "proof" that the photos are fake hasn't been revealed to the public. At this point, I would hope that the men who posed for these photos as kids would step forward to put the matter to rest for the sake of Johnny Gosch's mother. If not, the secrecy will add yet another layer of speculation to this tragic story. If they don't step forward, even if privately to the Goschs mother, then she and the world must ask, "Why?"