I write. I direct. I teach.
I knew I wanted to make movies ever since I was a kid. The first real drama I ever saw was Boyz ’n the Hood, a story inspired by real things and real people. Up until that point, I, along with so many other kids, simply knew things like Star Wars and Spiderman. Boyz was different, it changed me. It inspired me to become a filmmaker.
We make movies to find emotional truths. We tell stories to try to understand our lives. To explore what it means to be human.
I understand the lives and voices of many diverse types of people because I have lived all over.
I’m an orphan refugee from the Vietnam War.
It is a burden I’ve had to carry around with me for years, but I’ve come to accept it, because it’s who I am.
Although born in Saigon, I grew up in the US. I lived in Oregon, Washington, New York, Wisconsin, Florida, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and now California. And I lived abroad for about 8 years. I spent time in Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
I speak four languges. I taught myself, with lessons on the Internet, to speak Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. English is my native tongue since I grew up in the US.
Language is an invaluable skill. It reflects one’s ability to understand culture and communicate. I believe my skills in communication reflect my ability to understand people. In fact, the CIA was interested in me for their clandestine agent training, but that was after I was in the US Navy training to be a pilot. But I got hurt, and that ended my military service. I volunteered after the attacks of 9/11.
If it sounds like a movie, you’re right. In fact, I wrote a script about it called, Binh. It’s a good script and I hope it can get it greenlit someday.
But this isn’t my first rodeo. I wrote and directed a couple of 30 minute films in Korea. They were essentially no budget, made only for a few thousand dollars. But I’m quite proud of what we were able to achieve with no money, but a lot of heart. The first film, Deception, was small, we only had about 30 actors audition. But word got out that we had something good going. On the second film, Into Pieces, when we had about 300 actors audition. It was then I knew I had wrote a script that connected with people.
I was a professor of film and tv in Korea, and my last post was in the Graduate School of Film at Hongik University, the top art school in the country. My students were industry professionals, and I taught directing and storytelling. I graduated from Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, and truth be told, I believe my dream scenario is to teach one class a year and direct one major project a year. That way I can fulfill my desire to teach and my desire to create.
While in Seoul, I had the pleasure of being on set for the filming of Avengers 2: The Age of Ultron. It was the inspiration for returning to the USA.
I’ve been blessed to be part of the 2016-17 WGA Military Veterans writing program. I'm also currently a finalist for the 2017 sundance youtube new voices lab.... fingers crossed.
Thanks for stopping by.


(Opening Song: https://youtu.be/hcKa3EUrd8w)
“Kometto-san” started as a TV drama, whose original concept came from an American Classic “Mary Poppins <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)>,” in 1967 (79 episodes in total). Then, Yokoyama Mitsuteru (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuteru_Yokoyama) created and illustrated this cute drama in Bi-Weekly Margaret (girls’ magazine) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_(magazine)>. Kometto-san uses the baton when she uses her magic.
(Episode 1 – 19 were monochrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monochrome_painting)
Like Kommeto’s mascot puppet called “Betan (a picture above),” lots of puppetoon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppetoon) were used in this drama. A heroine, Kometto-san, sings throughout the drama and so do the parents, who hired Kometto-san as their nanny for their two boys! Technically speaking, “Kometto-san’ was a musical piece with a hint of comedy.
(Scripts and a real Betan)
This live-in nanny and domestic worker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_worker) called “Kometto-san,” who got kicked out of the planet named “Beta Planet” due to her mischief, cheerfully and happily works hard to solve people’s problems with her magic – sometimes her magic doesn’t work, which really made people in those days smile!
There is NO Magic
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Hot Dogs is an animation about eating hot dogs and discussing the after life.
Hot Dogs is based on a trilogy of interactive animations made in 2018 and 2019.
Part 2, "Trampoline", is excerpted in In Here | Out There issue 3.
Florida Animation Festival June 2020.
We Like 'Em Short Festival August 2020.
Supernova Digital Animation Festival September 2020.
Blacksphere Film Festival September 2020.
Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival October 2020.
Animation Chico Film Festival October 2020.


DOWNLOAD Kal Ho Na Ho Full Movie MP4 MP3
Below result for Kal Ho Na Ho Full Movie on 9jarocks.com.
Download mp3, torrent , HD, 720p, 1080p, Bluray, mkv, mp4 videos that you want and it's FREE forever!
Song :Har Ghadi Badal Rahi hai, Movie :Kal ho na ho
Kal Ho Na Ho full song (a try of me with mobile piano app)
Har Ghadi Badal Rahi Hain - Kal Ho Na Ho - Movie
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Posts From 9jarocks


I suppose that most of you have watched A beautiful mind. I did. And I loved the movie.
Well, it looks like the movie has been about real mathematician, who is named John Nash (like in the movie). He was great mathematician, invented the Nash game, wrote some game theories that changed the world of economics, had schizophrenia and … well the movie is pretty much close to the real life of John Nash.
Probably there is some information about this in the movie, but I missed it. In case you want to know more, check the PBS documentary film about John Nash: A brilliant madness.
Quote from PBS site from the interview with Nash:
To some extent, sanity is a form of conformity. And to some extent,
people who are insane are non-conformists and society and their family
wishes, like Alicia and I wish with Johnny, that they would live what
appear to be useful lives.
The consequence of rejecting the voices (in his head) is ultimately not hearing the
voices. You’re really talking to yourself is what the voices are, but
it’s also parallel to a dream. In a dream it’s typical not to be


Hey everyone. It’s Tuesday and we all know what that means. It’s time for me to do a tag and today it’s the Book Adaptation Tag. I found this tag over on The Booknut Blog. I go to their archives a lot to find tags to do and they have some really great stuff there.
So, let’s get started with this tag.
1. What is the last book adaptation movie you saw?
Fallen and I didn’t like it. Our MC was made to look a little more “easy” than she actually was and the love interests just sort of cake out of nowhere. The relationships were more developed/explained much better in the books.
2. What book movie are you most excited for?
The Night Circus. It’s apparently happening and I’m so excited!
3. Which upcoming book movie will you definitely NOT see?
I don’t know of any coming out at this point in time.
4. Which book movie would you NEVER watch again?
The Maze Runner series. I hated the movies so much.
5. Is there a movie you saw that made you want to read the book, if you hadn’t yet?
House With A Clock In Its Walls. The movie was fantastic and I’m eagerly waiting to get the book in my hands.
6. Conversely, is there a movie that made you never want to read the book?
City of Bones. I hated the movie and it just made me not want to pick up the book.
7. Name an adaptation that has almost nothing to do with the book it’s supposedly based on.
Scorch Trials by James Dashner. It took out every plot point in the book and made it into something completely different.
8. Have you ever left the theater during a movie adaptation because it was so bad?
9. Do you prefer to watch the movie first or read the book first?
Really depends on the movie.
10. How do you feel about movie that age characters up? (ex. characters that are in middle-school, but in the movies they’re all 18)
Depends on the movie, sometimes it works. I think it worked in the Percy Jackson series, but it wouldn’t have worked in Harry Potter.
11. Do you get angry when the actors don’t look like you thought the characters looked?
Sometimes. If they made a COBAB movie, I’d be very mad if Zelie, Amarillo and all the other characters were white.
12. Is there a movie you liked better than its book?
13. Name a book that you would love to see as a movie.
Children of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
That’s it for this week’s tag. I hope you enjoyed.
Thank you for reading. Bye 👋.


Louka Hoogendijk (1993) is a Dutch filmmaker and art painter.
Her work is focussed on exploring the physical, non-verbal and verbal languages we use to define and imagine various realities through the medium of film. With this research, she creates cinematic poetry that gives an authentic access into the complex aspects of our mind.
After her studies at the Dutch Film Academy she worked in The Netherlands, New York and Los Angeles as a production designer and assistent director on multipal projects such as the documentary series 'Seeds of Deceit'. (premiered at Sundance 2021).
Louka's debut short fiction film 'Noor' had its premiere Alé Kino International Film Festival 2022 and Chicago International 2022 film festival and is selected for Short Cutz Amsterdam and the Dutch focus in Cinematheque Passion Macau. In 2022 she made Infinite Lines, a short poetic documentary selected for competition Cinehill-Motovun Film Festival 2023. She is currently working on a new short with production company Family Affair Films.


Southwestern U.S.A. IMAX Cinema Locations
Discover a list of IMAX Theaters in AZ, CO, NM, NV as well as UT
In the slide program over, you’re viewing
pictures of Southwestern U.S.A. places of IMAX Theaters. If you’re trying to find IMAX places in Arizona, Nevada & & Utah, just stay on this web page to see your listings. For IMAX locations in the Southern California area, please see the IMAX Theaters in Southern California web page.
Right here’s a checklist of
IMAX Movie Theater Locations in Arizona
There are presently 7 IMAX Theater areas in Arizona. Most are located within multiplex movie theaters … yet not all. The Arizona Scientific research Center additionally organizes an IMAX Movie theater– and also there’s one at the Grand Canyon, as well!
Below’s the listing of Arizona IMAX locations. Just one area is not in the Phoenix city area:
- Grand Canyon IMAX location: National Geographic Site Visitor Center IMAX Cinema, telephone number is 520-638-2203. The Grand Canyon IMAX location is simply south of the Grand Canyon in Tusayan, Arizona (straight on US 180/SR 64.) Here’s a Google map to the Grand Canyon IMAX Movie Theater at the National Geographic Site visitor’s Facility. Keep in mind: This location reveals a special expository program regarding the development of the Grand Canyon and its background in the lives of human beings. If you would prefer to examine the flick timetable online, here are the Grand Canyon IMAX outsets.
Here’s the checklist of city Phoenix az and Tucson IMAX areas:
- Glendale IMAX Movie theater location: Westgate 20 AMC Theaters; address at the Westgate Town Hall (near the University of Phoenix arena) is 9400 West Hanna Dr, Glendale, AZ 85305; phone numbers are 1-888-AMC 4FUN (recorded list of program schedules) and also (623) 772-1371 (to ask questions from Visitor Solutions.) To inspect the flick schedule online instead of by phone, below’s the Westgate AMC IMAX film times as noted on the AMC website. If the address appears strange, it’s actual location is simply off of Glendale Opportunity, which is the Loop 101 freeway exit that you need to take. Here’s a Google map to the Westgate Facility & & IMAX Theater in Glendale, Arizona.
- Mesa IMAX Theater place: Dickinson Portal 12 Theaters; address, 1935 S Signal Butte Rd, Mesa, AZ 85209; contact number is (480) 354-8030. Here are the Mesa IMAX movie times. And also, below’s a Google map to the Entrance 12 & & IMAX Theaters, which lie simply southern of the Superstition Highway on Signal Butte Road.
- Phoenix metro IMAX Theater place: Arizona Scientific research Facility; address 600 E Washington St, Phoenix Metro, AZ 85004; phone number (602) 716-2000. This location specializes in showing the IMAX company’s terrific science as well as nature flicks. Below’s a checklist of motion pictures presently playing & & the list of outsets. To assist you find your method to this preferred midtown Phoenix az science gallery, here’s a Google map to the Arizona Scientific Research Facility & & IMAX Movie theater in midtown Phoenix az, Arizona.
- Phoenix metro IMAX place: Deer Valley AMC Theaters; address 3033 West Agua Fria Highway Phoenix, AZ 85027; contact number are 1-888-AMC 4FUN (for tape-recorded flick information) and also (623) 434-0300 (for Visitor Help.) For those that prefer to inspect the schedule online, right here are the AMC Deer Valley IMAX show times. Here’s a Google map to the Deer Valley IMAX Cinema at the Deer Valley AMC place in north Phoenix az, Arizona.
- Phoenix metro IMAX location location: AMC Desert Ridge 18 Movie theaters; address, 21001 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix Az, AZ 85050. The Desert Ridge AMC telephone number are 1-888-AMC 4FUN (for existing film listings as well as outsets) and (480) 606-0806 (for Visitor Providers.) Or, to inspect online, right here are the AMC Desert Ridge IMAX reveal times. Right here’s a Google map to the IMAX Theater at the Desert Ridge shopping mall in northeast Phoenix az, AZ.
- . Tempe IMAX Movie theater place: Arizona Mills Harkins 25 Theaters; address, 5000 South Arizona Mills Circle Tempe, AZ 85282; contact number (480) 820-0387. Right here’s the listing of IMAX showtimes at the AZ Mills IMAX. Google map to Arizona Mills IMAX Theater in Tempe, AZ.
- . Tucson Imax Cinema Location: AMC Loews 15 Theaters; address is 7401 N La Cholla Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85741; phone number for recorded motion picture times is 1-888-AMC-4FUN, and also the guest services number is (520) 742-5050. Here is a checklist of AMC Loews film showtimes, including Imax outsets. Here is a web link to the Google map of the Foothills Mall where the AMC Loews is located.
Colorado IMAX Theater Locations
The state of Colorado uses a choice of IMAX cinema locations, however you’ll need to be living or seeing along the Front Array to enjoy them! Here are the present locations– Colorado
- Springs IMAX location: Cinemark Carefree Circle IMAX, address is 3305 Movie theater Point Colorado Springs, CO 80922 (Map to Cinemark/IMAX at Carefree Circle) To reach taped details, you may call the Fandango flick hotline at 1-800-FANDANGO (Exp Code 1104 #.) Or, for customer care, you might call the Colorado Springs IMAX office contact number, 719-596-2173. Both docudramas and function films are revealed at this place. Below is the list of movie rates and also outsets at the Colo Springs IMAX cinema.
- Denver IMAX area: UA Colorado Center Arena 9 & & IMAX Movie theater, address is 2000 S Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80222. This area is at the intersection of I-25 as well as South Colorado Blvd. (Google map to Colorado Center IMAX in Denver.) The Colorado Facility IMAX phone numbers are (303) 757-8665 and (303) 757-3700. Or, to view the IMAX schedule online, below is the list of Colorado Facility IMAX movie program times.
- Denver IMAX area: Denver Museum of Nature & & Scientific research, address is 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205 (in City Park.) Below’s a Google map to the Denver Gallery of Nature & & Science plus IMAX. The Denver Science Gallery IMAX phone numbers are (303) 370-6000, and also (303) 322-7009. Keep in mind: this area reveals IMAX documentaries just. To view a checklist of the IMAX movies presently playing at the gallery, right here’s is the IMAX motion picture checklist as well as reveal timetable at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
- Highlands Cattle ranch IMAX location: AMC Highlands Ranch 24 Cinemas, address is 103 W Centennial Blvd. Highlands Cattle Ranch, CO 80129. Right here’s a map to the Highlands Ranch IMAX Theater at the AMC 24 theaters. For tape-recorded IMAX movie information, right here’s the AMC film hotline telephone number: 1-888-AMC 4FUN. The AMC Highlands Cattle ranch telephone number for Guest Providers is (303) 471-6911. Or, to examine the movie listings online, below are the AMC Highlands Cattle ranch IMAX show times.
- Westminster IMAX location: AMC Orchard 12 Movie theaters, address is 14653 Orchard Parkway Westminster, CO 80023. Here’s a map to the Orchard AMC Theaters & & IMAX in Westminster, Colorado. Telephone number for tape-recorded outset schedule: 1-888-AMC 4FUN. AMC Orchard 12 Cinema phone number for Guest Solutions is (303) 920-1222. Or, you may inspect the list of showtimes for the IMAX and also other movies at this area on the Orchard AMC Theaters & & IMAX page of the AMC site.
- Westminster IMAX area: AMC Westminster Boardwalk 24 Theaters, address is 10655 Westminster Blvd. Westminster, CARBON MONOXIDE 80020. Right here’s a Google map to the Westminster Boardwalk AMC IMAX. To listen to a checklist of films & & reveal schedule, call 1-888-AMC 4FUN. Or, the Westminster Boardwalk AMC contact number for Visitor Solutions is (303) 439-7014. To check out flick times on-line, below is the AMC Westminster Promenade IMAX film timetable.
List of Nevada IMAX Movie Theater Locations
Currently, all NV Imax areas remain in the metro Las vega area
Below’s the listing of existing IMAX areas in Nevada. If you remember that there was when an IMAX Theater at the Luxor … you’re ideal! Nonetheless, the Luxor IMAX place has actually shut.
- Henderson IMAX Movie theater place: Regal Sundown Station Theaters; address is 1301 W Sunset Roadway, Henderson, NV 89014; telephone number (702) 454-1186. Here is the Sunset Terminal IMAX flick schedule. To aid you discover this place, right here’s a Google map to the Sunset Terminal IMAX Theater & & Online Casino in Henderson, Nevada.
- Las Vegas IMAX area: Brendan Theaters & & IMAX at The Palms, address is 4321 W Flamingo Roadway, Las Vega, NV 89103; contact number are (702) 507-4TIX (4849) to listen to taped motion picture outsets. Right here is the Palms IMAX motion picture schedule. This IMAX theater is close to the Las Vegas Strip, for site visitors wishing to catch an IMAX show at a practical location. Here’s a Google map to the IMAX Theater location at The Palms in Las Vegas.
- Las Vegas/Summerlin area IMAX area: Regal Red Rock Stadium 16 Theaters; address is 11011 West Charleston Blvd, Las Vega, NV 89135; telephone number (702) 233-6948. Below are the Red Rock IMAX cinema showtimes. Not all Las Vegas citizens as well as visitors have actually been to this lovely new westside movie theater yet. If you require aid finding it, here’s a Google map to the lovely Red Rock Casino & & IMAX Movie theater.
- North Las Vegas IMAX area: Regal Aliante 16 Theaters, address is7300 Aliante Parkway North Las Vega, NV 89084; telephone number is (702) 399-2575. Here are the Aliante IMAX film showtimes. Right here’s a Google map to the Aliante Gambling Enterprise & & IMAX Movie theater.
New Mexico IMAX Movie Theater Location
- Alamogordo IMAX Theater area: Tombaugh IMAX Dome at the New Mexico Museum of Room Background; address, 1402 Swirl Drive, Alamogordo, NM 88310; phone number is (505) 437-2840. Movie theater shows attribute IMAX scientific research films; planetarium programs are additionally offered. Below’s the current checklist of Alamagordo IMAX films & & their outsets. To assist you locate the museum, theater & & planetarium, here’s a Google map to the New Mexico Gallery of Area History & & IMAX Cinema.
Listing of IMAX Movie Theater Locations in Utah
Currently, the only Utah IMAX places are in metro Salt Lake City
The state of Utah currently has just 3 IMAX Movie theater locations. These are done in the better Salt Lake City location. They are– Salt Lake
- City IMAX Movie Theater: Clark Planetarium (at the Entrance Shopping center); address is 110 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101; Clark Planetarium IMAX telephone number is (801) 532-7827. This place focuses on IMAX’s top quality nature as well as scientific research discussions. Below’s a checklist of IMAX flicks currently dipping into the Clark Planetarium, together with their show times. Below’s a Google map to the Clark Planetarium IMAX at the Entrance Shopping Mall in Salt Lake City.
- Sandy IMAX Theater: Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons: address, 9400 South State St, Sandy, UT 84070; contact number for Guest Services, (801) 304-4563; flick showtimes, (801) 304-4636. Below is a Megaplex IMAX movie routine. Also, here’s a Google map to the Jordan Commons IMAX at the Megaplex Theaters.
- South Jordan IMAX Movie Theater: Megaplex 20 at The Area; address is 3761 West Parkway Plaza Dr, South Jordan, UT, contact number is (801) 304-4020. Here is a checklist of Megaplex 20 as well as IMAX film showtimes. Here is a Google map to the Megaplex 20 Movie Theaters in South Jordan.
Discover a various Southwest United States theater: AMC Theater Locations::Colorado Cinemas::Harkins Theaters


Yes, I used to be a movie actress, but the truth is, it feels like it happened to someone other than me. Like a dream world that hovers just around the bend. Sometimes I'll be on my way somewhere and I'll drive by, walk by a movie set. See the trailers. The makeup trailers, the honeywagons, the prop truck, and I recognize them. Know which one is the grip truck, which one is craft services, wardrobe. And yet, there's a distance too, a haziness, like I'm seeing it through fog. Can't believe that used to be me. My life.
Do I regret quitting? Absolutely not. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I had the privilege of watching my children grow up. I was there for the joys and the sorrows, the challenging heartbreaking times as well as the giddy, exuberant triumphs. I would not have traded those years for anything in the world.
Of all the movie sets I was on, there were only a few that touched my heart deeply. They were, Agnes of God, Big Chill, The Girl in a Swing (Although the finished version sucked. I loved the director's cut. The long version. Unfortunately, the version the public saw, the producer's cut was a disaster. An embarrassment. But the reason I include this movie, is that I learned so much from Karin, the character that I played. Her way of being, changed me profoundly, changed my life.) Amadeus, (I tore my ligaments while in Prague, the day before I was to start shooting, and they had to recast my part. But working with Milos Forman for the six months it took to be cast and then for the seven weeks of rehearsals were a great gift. I learned so much about working with him. So much. Such a talented director.) Valmont, and The Two Jakes, (the movie was not successful, but working, acting with Jack Nicholson was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. A total rush. Stepping into a scene with him was like clasping hands, and leaping off a enormous cliff, whooping and hollering, such an adrenaline high, such purity in the moment, that you couldn't be anywhere else. You were just there, in the moment, and maybe the parachute would open and maybe it wouldn't and if it didn't? You didn't even care, because being that truly and totally present was so much fun!)
Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from my movie days. For the most part, I didn't take pictures or keep the ones that were given to me. However here are the few that I have.
I would like to dedicate this page to Peggy Fuery, my acting teacher, who taught me so much about acting, the world, myself. She passed away in 1986, and I still miss her.


For me, I couldn’t help comparing this to ‘A Walk to Remember’ by Nicolas Sparks or to ‘A Fault in our Stars’ by John Green. The characters are similar to that of A Walk to Remember where you have quiet shy girl who is sick and the bad boy who wants to be with her. Then you also have the similar family dynamics as A Fault in Our Stars, where the family is very close and she doesn’t want them to be hurt etc. This though didn’t work for me. I do admit that I did feel emotional reading towards the end, and depressing as it may be, the end was my favourite part. I didn’t beloved Damien’s character so much and I don’t understand how suddenly he nearly overdoses on heroin. It seemed quite random and didn’t fit into the story. Yes, he drank a lot but he suddenly does heroin but kicks it straight away.
I think if you have read anything similar then it would be a tear jerker. It annoyed me when she gave up and she didn’t take the chance on the trial. But not my place to judge. She even doubted herself so many times.
And Damien, I really couldn’t stand him sometimes. He says he loves Kate but he will sleep with someone literally after she was buried. Instead of changing for the better, not just for him but for her. Then there were times when he was adoring to her and was literally with her till the end.
I am aware of a sequel told from Damien’s point of view 4 years later. I may give it ago some other time.
Warning if you don’t want to experience anything about cancer or dying then maybe skip it for now.


The one sign that convinced me that Pink Piggy was full steam ahead was the production meeting where they talked about the police escort they’d have for the car scenes. There’s a good 10 pages of car scenes, they had gotten the permits, the tow rig, and a police escort to make sure nobody would bother them. And I’m thinking police escort?
Back in film school, my thesis film was a road movie (sure glad I got that out of my system before coming out to Los Angeles) and all we did was tow a blue Mustang convertible up and down Florida’s back highways. I think there may have been a courtesy call to the police department to tell them it was happening, but nobody came out to escort us anywhere. So I thought they’d do the same thing here, maybe drive out to San Dimas or someplace where nobody cares about filmmaking and steals the scenes that way.
Nope, they had arranged for a police escort, and they were gonna film smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles, too.
The other thing I wasn’t aware of that Pink Piggy’s production included was a behind the scenes camera crew that documented every bit of the production process. Since I have an aversion to still photographs, I was not a happy camper that they wanted to interview me ON camera. Twice. Because they didn’t get it the first time? Who knows.
It was the second day of shooting. The awesome producers had secured my neighborhood bar, the actual bar where I got the inspiration to write Pink Piggy in the first place back in 2002. I put the bar in the script never expecting we’d GET the actual location. I never though this movie would ever get made. (Striped Tiger has a few scenes set at the Santa Monica Pier, so saddle that one up for next year boys, heh heh.)
We had to wait until they closed at 1am, so we didn’t get the first shot off until 2:00am or so. And the behind the scenes camera crew is pointing their Camera O Death at me. “How does it feel to see your words being said by actors right in front of you?”
I know what they want me to say, “It’s magical, it’s joyous, it’s beyond my wildest dreams.” But I’m Amy The Writer, and I’m tragically honest, so I say, “Honestly, it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve written and produced plays here in Los Angeles, I’ve seen actors say my lines before. I wrote and directed a thesis film before, I’ve seen them say it on film before.” Don’t be a brat. Give them a sound bite. Give them something they can use, “But I had no idea when I was writing this script in 2002 at 2am in the morning that we would be here six years later, in the very bar where it all started, making a movie out of it.” There ya go, Insta-Sound Bite!
Is it really no big deal to see this stuff being filmed? See, I’m not one of those writers that writes autobiographically. Out of 105 pages of Pink Piggy only 1/2 of a page was taken from real life, and even then it had a completely different outcome. I knocked at a guy’s door, he opened it, we said a few words, and he let me in. That’s not a movie, there’s no conflict.
So watching my adorable actors in character discuss the Really Bad Idea that kicks off the movie, I don’t feel the zing of relation, I’m thinking that it feels way too dark in here, but I’m trusting the two DPs working with the big ass cameras and no tripods, and I’m trusting that no tripods is a good idea as well.
Trust. Trust. Trust.
My second time on set is at the coffeehouse location I secured. One of the stipulations from the owner was if there were going to be any actors behind the counter, she wanted it to be me, since she trusted me not to mess with any of the equipment. Figuring that I’d be far enough in the background to where nobody would recognize me, I stepped into the background role of Coffee Barista. This was my view. (I wanted to post the picture of how all the signs behind the counter were written in Korean, which made trying to figure out what the password was to the Wi Fi network hysterically impossible, but for all I know, the signs are probably saying “The combination to the safe is…” so I shall not post it.)
For six to seven hours, I stood behind that counter and pretended to work without turning on any of the equipment. Which meant I counted coffee sleeves. Over and over again. There were 108 sleeves from a local bank advertising 4% financing for something in Korean, and 83 sleeves advertising the second seasons of The Tudors on Showtime. Heh. I wrote in my journal, I caught up on my magazine reading. The still photographer has a picture of me sitting on the counter reading the Entertainment Weekly cover story on Juno, but since I wasn’t looking at the camera, I’m slightly okay with it. Except because I’m wearing my black heavy coat because it was cold in there, I look fat. Heh.
So I’m counting my coffee sleeves over and over again and I can’t really watch the scene without looking at the camera, so I’m listening to the words, yes, it sounds like they hit that beat, yes, they nailed that joke, it sounds funny, I hope it looks funny, funny in a good way.
And two characters are discussing how the main character is not feeling the proper response from a line she has asked another character to say (Yeah, I know it’s vague. Imagine if you told someone to tell you something you’ve always wanted to hear, like “Your movie’s getting made.” You’d expect to feel happy, right? And our main character is not. Sorta. Kinda. I think I’m actually confusing it more.)
So her best buddy says “Maybe it’s what you’re supposed to learn. You’re not getting the response because you’ve grown past the response.” And our main chickie says, “But what I’m learning can’t be told to me, it has to be something I feel myself.”
And it hits me, my hands full of Korean bank coffee sleeves. That’s my whole struggle with Christianity right there. Not that I don’t believe Jesus is the son of God, because obviously I do. But my main struggle is that I can’t feel God, any progress I make is from an academic standpoint, which seems to be…not right.
But what I’m learning can’t be told to me, it has to be something I feel myself.
My spiritual struggle was nowhere around when I wrote that line back in 2002. What those characters are discussing has nothing to do with God. And yet it fits perfectly just the same.
The last question the behind the scenes camera crew asked me was “Any advice for any would-be writers?” my first response was, “Like I know what I’m doing!?” give them something they can use, give them something they can use, give them something they can use, “Um….nobody ever got anywhere by giving up.”
That probably works for God too.


Women Making Waves in 2019
As part of our two-part blog series, we made our predictions on the women who are going to take the film and TV industry by storm this year.
- Olivia Coleman
Coleman first caught our attention for her comedic stylings in Green Wing and Peep Show, which was at the time when she won the BAFTA for ‘Best Female Comedy Performance’.
She then had us gripped as DS Miller in Broadchurch, which led on to her Emmy for ‘Best Actress’. Next, she bagged the Golden Globe for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ with The Night Manager and She’s currently nominated for ‘Best Actress’ at next month’s Oscars for her role in the period drama, The Favourite.
We’re looking forward to her next performance in the upcoming adaptation of Les Misérables and of course her return as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown.
- Lady Gaga
With her outlandish outfit choices that she’s been known for in the past, it can be easy to forget or overlook how talented Lady Gaga is. But, in last year’s ‘A Star is Born’ we got to witness her acting and singing talents at their rawest form as she played the role of Ally alongside co-star and director Bradley Cooper.
The world watched in awe as the couple not only pulled at, but ripped out heart strings in their incredibly moving performance.
The film has been nominated for seven Oscars next month and we think this could be the beginning of a very exciting acting career for Lady Gaga.
- Letitia Wright
The Guyanese-born British actress was just one of the many, many reasons why we loved last year’s megahit, Black Panther. Her charmingly intelligent role as Wakanda warrior Shuri brought a new dimension to the typical princess role we’ve seen in the past, and earnt her multiple award-nominations as best newcomer.
Wright also starred in Avengers: Infinity War, The Commuter and Ready Player One, which made her 2018’s highest box-office earning actor of 2018.
She is a force to be reckoned with and we’re looking forward to seeing her return in this year’s Avengers: End Game.
- Brie Larson
She’s already received an Academy Award, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, but Brie Larson is now taking on the hugely anticipated role of Captain Marvel in the upcoming MCU blockbuster.
Larson has the tough challenge of living up to the very high standard of Gal Gadot’s performance in Wonder Woman (the DC superhero counterpart) and we are rooting for her to bring the natural charm and wit that she has to the role. She’ll be introducing the much-needed lead female presence to the MCU superhero squad.
- Emilia Clarke
We’ll soon be seeing the return of one of our favourite fictional characters, Daenerys Targaryen, as Clarke reprises the role for the final time in the return of Game of Thrones this April.
The role has already gained critical acclaim and earnt Clarke several awards for best actress and best breakout performance.
We cannot wait what the final season has in store for the heroine.
Read our previous blog on the women to watch in 2019.


Sensual Tamil Aunty Seductive Encounter with Newlywed Couple is a steamy tale of desire and temptation. The story follows a schoolgirl who becomes infatuated with a newlywed couple, especially the alluring Tamil aunty. As she watches them from afar, she can't help but imagine herself in their passionate embrace. But when the opportunity presents itself, she can't resist the temptation to join in on their sensual encounter. The black girls in the story add an extra layer of excitement, with their bold and confident nature. They are not afraid to explore their desires and indulge in their fantasies. And when they team up with the seductive Tamil aunty, things heat up even more. But the real star of the show is Alyx Star, the stunning beauty who plays the role of the Tamil aunty. Her saxy video hd performance is captivating, leaving the schoolgirl and the newlywed couple mesmerized by her every move. As the story unfolds, the schoolgirl is drawn deeper into the passionate encounter, experiencing pleasure like never before. And with the addition of desi mms, the intensity of the moment reaches new heights. In the end, the schoolgirl realizes that she has been a part of something truly special and unforgettable. And as she reflects on the experience, she can't help but crave for more of the sensual Tamil aunty's seductive encounters.


I grew up adoring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. It started off with loving Full House at a young age and then watching every single show and movie of theirs from then on. Now their younger sister Elizabeth has been popping up everywhere for the past few months and it's fair to say I'm loving her just as much. We'll be seeing plenty of her this year with two main movie roles coming out.
I think she looks amazing in these magazine spreads. I look forward to seeing more from her this year. You can see some of her looks from 2011 here on the Marie Claire website.
Elizabeth is on the cover of the March issue of Asos magazine. You can find the whole magazine here and also a behind the scenes video with Elizabeth.
The Vanity Fair cover for March 2012 - the Hollywood issue. Elizabeth Olsen is on the extended cover for the fresh young stars of 2012.


May 12, 2014
Found in the Archives: John Vaccaro and Play-House of the Ridiculous
I really loved interviewing John Vaccaro for my Jackie Curtis documentary “Superstar in a Housedress”. He founded the groundbreaking avante garde theater company "Play-House of the Ridiculous" in 1965. Jackie Curtis performed in many works directed by Vaccaro including "Cockstrong" and "The Life of Lady Godiva". Vaccaro's experimental theater troupe performed several of Jackie Curtis' plays including "Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit" which played at La Mama in 1970 and toured internationally for two years.
Jack Mitchell photographed John Vaccaro at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in New York, April 8, 1972 while he was directing rehearsals of his Play-House of the Ridiculous play "Persia, a Desert Cheapie".
This is Play-House of the Ridiculous’s rock group “Darkages” performing "Persia, a Desert Cheapie" at La Mama in New York, April 8, 1972. The play was scripted by John Vaccaro and Bernard Roth and was billed as “Environmental Theater with audience involvement (as if they were the extras in the making of a movie of the Arabian Nights)!
Note the heavy use of glitter in the makeup, which was due to Jackie Curtis' influence!


After so many years of waiting the world finally got to see Batman v Superman recently and it’s safe to say the movie is, uh, divisive. I’ve basically been a bit obsessed with it ever since the first trailer and the noire vibes it seemed to be going for. And even though the vibes seemed to change with every trailer, from noire to epic to what we eventually got, dark fantasy, the final product was every bit as great as I could have hoped for a dark fantasy film, although a movie with the those first two vibes would still be really cool. It was even still enjoyable after the admittedly incredibly overboard marketing near release, although that was understandable since WB seriously needed this to be a hit. This movie was basically the gateway to the rest of the universe and eleven other movies they’ve already invested in with preproduction. Now that it’s a huge success those movies are definitely getting the go-ahead, which is pretty neat.
The movie itself was a near perfect follow-up to Man of Steel, which was a pretty perfect Superman movie itself in my mind. Before I saw that I really couldn’t have cared less about Superman to be totally honest, but after seeing that I really felt like I got the point of him a lot more. He’s not so much the “undefeatable person so why care at all” figure like I’d thought, but rather he’s more about trying to fit in and the moral dilemma of if you had superpowers like he does, are you under any obligation to be a hero and save people? It’s actually really interesting, and Zack Snyder has done a really good job expressing that across both movies so far.
Batman v Superman builds on this by introducing Batman to the universe, and frankly it’s the best Batman we’ve seen yet. Ben Affleck kills it and his two big action scenes, the Knightmare and the Martha rescue sequences, were my favorite parts of the movie. It very clearly sets up his motivations for disliking Superman early on, and from there we get it. A lot of people say that Superman’s motivations aren’t set up, but his are clearly there too. The thing is that he’s not trying to get involved with fighting Batman like Batman is to him. If he wanted to he could beat Batman with no issues, and he even mentions that. Clark’s just trying to go his own path and live his life, yet because of the powers he has people like Zod, Lex, and Batman keep trying to bring him down and hurt his family, and he’s getting really tired of it. That’s pretty clearly established and very understandable.
Even Lex Luthor I thought had pretty understandable motives for his actions in the movie. They might not be normal or sane motives but that’s pretty clearly because he’s not a normal, sane person. He was just obsessed with power and since after he’s already proved he’s more powerful than all the businessmen and governments, the “meta-humans” would be his next logical targets. Once he took them down, Superman especially because of his significance, he’d essentially be a god himself in his eyes since he’d have effectively taken down a god. And even though the interpretation of the character might not have been what everyone knows, Jesse did a fine job with it and it worked for what it was.
The rest of the movie goes down pretty much how you’d expect from the trailers, the first act is introduction, the second is the titular Bats v Supes fight, and finally they all team up against Doomsday. The only things I didn’t see coming were the destruction of the Capitol, which although cool to see didn’t really affect the movie too much, and the death of Superman which I really should have seen coming because that’s the only comic I’ve actually read. I didn’t think they’d actually go that route since he’s obviously coming back for Justice League, but after listening to Zack Snyder talk about the decision and how he wanted Bruce to be the one to assemble the team in Justice League, it makes a lot of sense and I agree it was the right call.
Zack Snyder really is the perfect choice to direct these movies. I’ve always been a big fan of his and he just knows how movies should look. He and the general philosophy of Warner Brothers behind these upcoming movies are some of the major reasons I’m excited about the future. So far Zack Snyder’s, David Ayer’s, and Patty Jenkins’s movies all have different looks to them so it’s really cool that these directors are actually allowed to express themselves in that way. Really one of the major reasons I’ve started caring less about Marvel movies recently is because they just all look the same now and the directors can’t express themselves as freely, and the fact that Joss Whedon, Ava DuVernay, and Edgar Wright all left their projects shows that the studio involvement is increasingly hampering people’s visions. Fair play to them though, it was new and exciting back in 2008 when Iron Man came out and we’d never had a cinematic universe like that, but now we’re eight years in and coming up on the 13th movie in the series that all have the same look and it’s really easy to start getting fatigued. Especially after Avengers 2, which was technically a solid movie on paper but so full of action and mind-numbing explosions it made a borderline-scarring experience.
One of my favorite things about superheroes is that you can have so many different artistic interpretations and aesthetics of the same idea, and Bats v Supes really continues this. Everyone wondered how they could possibly do Batman in a post-Nolan world, where Nolan perfected the gritty, realistic look for the character, and Snyder’s dark fantasy world Batman is a perfect follow-up to that because it’s awesome in its own, different way. It’s something we’ve never seen before, and that’s really what fans want I believe. See, the thing about hero movies isn’t so much about being faithful to the comics but rather being faithful to the spirit behind the comics. Superheroes are essentially the modern-day equivalent of things like the Greek gods, where it’s more about the meaning behind what happens than the events that actually happen. And the best superhero stories are the ones that perfect both these things. That’s the reason I think DC fans really love this movie and the upcoming movies is because they get that. They’re okay with Batman killing people, Lex being a little goofy, the Wayne manor inexplicably being burned down, and Batman and Superman’s roles effectively switched from Dark Knight Returns because they get it, and it’s a new interpretation of a familiar idea. One of the weirdest complaints is that they showed Batman’s parents getting killed again but didn’t explain who the Flash or Darkseid was when they popped up. Like !!! you can’t have it both ways! The scene with Batman’s parents actually tied into the plot too. They didn’t treat the audience like idiots who didn’t know what things were, unlike Avengers 2 which had a five-minute intermission scene to explain Infinity Gems in a totally unrelated story about Tony Stark’s hubris.
Finally, I really like how we finally got to see the infamous Batman v Superman fight in an actual live-action movie, with Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill no less. I really love Batman for a number of reasons, obviously because he’s so cool and edgy but also that he represents being able to overcome any problems you face, in my mind at least. He’s faced tons of obstacles over the years and always manages to overcome them using only his wit and skills and by generally just being awesome. And squaring off against Superman is the ultimate version of this; it basically represents solving the impossible problem. Would Batman really be able to take down Superman in real life? Of course not, but in the end he always comes out on top and that’s just really cool and inspirational. The flipside to this, and this goes for the superhero genre too, is why bother watching if you know they’re going to win in the end? The answer is it’s more about how they go about solving problems, what things represent, and the relationships between people. Batman and Superman relationship is one that’s really grown on me once I started appreciating Superman more. Batman’s basically the world’s greatest leader and Superman’s the world’s greatest force, so together they make a pretty perfect team built on respect. Superheroes are just really cool and fascinating in general, and I’m really glad we keep getting new interpretations and that Batman v Superman turned out really great.


7 Famous Actors Who Died While Filming Their Movies
Actors are artists who put their heart and soul into their work. They spend months or years filming one movie, so it can be very hard to cope with the loss of an actor during the process.
Some notable actors have passed away while filming movies, making it all the more tragic.
These 7 famous actors who died while filming their movies are known for giving unforgettable performances that should never be forgotten.
The Death of Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger was known for his role in “The Dark Knight”, which was released in 2008. His performance as the Joker won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
However, less than a year after the release of the movie, his life came to an end. According to some sources, it is believed that he died from an accidental overdose of medication. Ledger was only 28 years old.
What Killed Peter Finch
Actor Peter Finch passed away on November 4th, 1976, just three days after his 39th birthday. His tragic death was most likely related to AIDS since the actor was a notorious gay icon during the era.
“Network” was a critical and commercial success. In the movie, Finch played Walter, a news anchor whose wife has been kidnapped. The movie helped pave the way for further films with gay themes, especially ones with complex characters.
Finch died from pneumonia due to AIDS complications. The movie industry has come a long way since then, and has been honouring the actors who have passed away in recent years.
The Death of Paul Walker
Paul Walker, the action star and prolific actor, died in 2013 while on the set of the Fast & Furious franchise. He was the passenger in a Porsche that crashed while filming a high-speed stunt sequence.
Paul Walker was an inspiring personality you can check out his quotes here. He was 40 years old. He and his passenger, Roger Rodas, were killed when the Porsche he was driving smashed into a concrete lamp post and tree at high speeds before catching fire. The actor died as a result of a combination of trauma and burns, leaving his family and co-stars devastated.
The accident occurred on November 30, 2013. He had no narcotics or alcohol in his system when he died, according to a post-mortem. He had shattered bones in his mouth, arm, ribs, and pelvis, among other places.
The Death of Brandon Lee
This is an all-time tragic story that every movie fan should know about. Brandon Lee was killed by a prop gun during filming The Crow (1994).
The cause of Brandon Lee’s death has been disputed since he died on the set of the movie at the age of 27. The film was supposed to be a remake of a Bruce Lee movie, but the character Lee was playing was already killed in the original.
Even though he had shot the movie before, The Crow was being re-filmed because Warner Bros. found it to be too violent.
Unfortunately, the bullet that killed Brandon Lee was a blank, meaning he was innocent in the wrong place at the wrong time. The film was reshot, but it was too late for Brandon Lee. In February of 1996, the film was released.
The Death of John Candy
John Candy was only 42-years-old when he died after suffering a heart attack during the filming of his last movie, titled Ice Castles. The comedy classic was about two misfit teens who get stuck in a hockey game after being ditched by their parents. Drawings and sketches of realistic portraits
The film starred Sean William Scott, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson, who also served as an executive producer. Candy was cast in the lead role of “Flounder” with co-stars Amanda Bynes and Eliza Dushku.
Ice Castles was released in the United States in 2002, earning more than $200 million worldwide, but the movie was also nominated for four Academy Awards. Candy was survived by his wife Lynne and his three children.
The Deaths of James Dean
There was no other actor like James Dean. His movie, East of Eden, has become one of the classics of the 1950s. There are many who were affected by his untimely death.
Dean left behind his brother, sister, his parents, and one daughter. He also left behind a major impact on the movie industry, which is why there are many classic movies that are still great decades later, thanks to his passing.
The Death of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee’s Death Bruce Lee passed away in 1973 at the age of 32 after an apparent heart attack. The martial arts legend did not let his career get in the way of his love for life.
He was an avid jogger who lived a healthy lifestyle. In fact, he had even suffered from epilepsy. Lee also accomplished many great things in life, even before his death.
The celebrity death tolls are never-ending.
Celebrities come and go every single day, and you never know when a star will die.
It’s very sad to know that so many people have lost loved ones while filming movies, so we should be grateful that Hollywood is protected with bulletproof glass and padded protection devices.
Although it can be extremely sad when an actor dies during filming, it can also make the viewer appreciate the movie all the more. It’s always better to remember a good performance than a bad one, so do your best to remember the good times and great performances.


Suzanne Allain - Author/Screenwriter Mr. Malcolm's List
Suzanne Allain wrote her first novel, Mr. Malcolm’s List, in 2009 and has since turned it into the screenplay for the movie of the same name. Find out how that all went down in this episode.
Suzanne is another writer who was working in an entirely different field before she decided to take a chance and try her hand at something she’d always wanted to do. She shares the story of that journey with Jeniffer and Chad, and offers some good advice for aspiring writers. She’s living proof that with talent and perseverance it’s totally possible to write successful novels and do big things like breaking into the world of screenwriting—and having your script optioned for a movie!
Creators and Guests
Writer. Reader. Interviewer. Cohost of The Premise Podcast. I help authors build brands + websites. Cofounder of the San Diego Writers Festival. Chicken-mama.
Suzanne adapted her novel Mr. Malcolm’s List into a screenplay and it was made into a movie starring Freida Pinto, Theo James, Sope Dirisu, Zawe Ashton and Oliver Jackson Cohen. It’s now available on every major rent-on-demand streaming service.


Hello, welcome to my website and I am glad that you have found your way here, despite multi-billion pages on the Internet.
I am a hard working all-rounder filmmaker, with an unprecedented passion for capturing beautiful, touching images and moments to tell a story for the audience to immense themselves with the film. I love to collaborate with other filmmakers who has an intense passion and hunger to create exciting projects.
I grew up in Gateshead, North East of England, where I had the opportunity to create my first film at school, but that ended up in disaster as I broke the school’s camera.
After that floundering start to filmmaking, I seized an opportunity to make a film through a young filmmaking course, and one thing led to the other. There are several other inspiring filmmakers all over the world that I grew up idolising, and have pushed me to blossom as a filmmaker.
Recently, I made a monumental decision to emigrate to Singapore, and I am relishing the challenges I face here, especially making my first short here in this tiny, exotic island.
I am always looking for new people to work with to develop and push my skills further, to improve myself, so please do drop me a line!


On Monday, February 28, there will be a test screening for two films, a short documentary, Gluteus Maxximus, by Alison McMahan, followed by a short fiction film, Quick Shop, a horror thriller written by Martin Binder and John Leary and directed by Martin Binder. The program will begin at 5:30 with refreshments and socializing at Splash Studios, 49 W 23 St, NYC, Alison McMahan will moderate.
Seating is limited to fifteen people so you MUST RSVP to email@example.com in order to attend.
FIRST FILM (screening at 6 pm)
TITLE: GLUTEUS MAXXIMUS
Wrestler. Limo Driver. Mechanic. How did a tobacco-chewing no-college homeboy from Indianapolis design the fastest street-legal dragster in the world?
He was a mechanic with a dream, driving a limo on the side to feed his family. Now he’s shown ‘em, with his Maxximus G-force, a street-legal car that just broke six world records including 0-60 mph (2.134 seconds); 0-100 mph (4.451 seconds); and the mother of all supercar metrics, the 0-100-0 mph mark of 8.861 seconds.
SECOND FILM: (screening at 7:30 pm)
Stop in. Grab a snack. Run for your life…
Hunter and Trevor are new roommates at college. After a falling out over a girl, Trevor talks Hunter into going to his hometown for a weekend in the country. Things take a turn for the worse when they stop at a Quick Shop to go to the bathroom, and proceed to get locked in the store and stalked by the shopkeeper.
Martin Binder – Director/Producer/Editor - In 2004, armed with “The Filmmaker’s Handbook” (borrowed from his sister-in-law, a TV/Film major), he created a proof-of-concept short movie titled “Hellmo”, and followed it up in 2005 with a 22 minute mockumentary From Engineering To Product Development: A Transition For the Rest of Us. In 2008 he completed the short comedy One-Day Seminar (http://www.moviesbymartin.com/) which screened at the Long Island International Film Festival as well as the Lancaster Area Film Festival, garnering positive reviews along the way. Shortly after One-Day Seminar, he conceived the story for Quick Shop, and has spent the last three years bringing the film to the screen.
John Leary – Writer
John Leary is the award-winning author of thriller, horror, and fantasy screenplays and animation. He’s contributed scripts to the Saturday morning Fox series EEK! THE CAT.


Jang Jin Sung, Shirley Lee, Duncan Jepson and Su Tong
HONG KONG — After weeks of protests that have shaken this financial hub of 7.2 million people, residents thought they had seen it all. Then, on Tuesday night, something even more extraordinary happened, on live television: a polite debate between earnest students wearing black “Freedom Now” T-shirts and top Hong Kong leaders over the future of democracy.
The great dystopian science fiction novels of the 20th Century were written from the perspective of elite totalitarian functionaries who become hunted victims of the regimes they once loyally served: Rubashov, the ageing Marxist of Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, Bernard, the disillusioned Alpha Plus of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, D-503, the chief engineer of Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We. In all cases, the real core of the book unfolds within the protagonists’ liberated minds, as they unwind the hideous perversions of intellect that are required to sustain totalitarian mythologies.
Late Monday night, Netflix and The Weinstein Company announced that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend would be the first major feature film to debut exclusively on the digital streaming service — instead of in a standard theatrical release — on Aug. 28, 2015. Although the announcement also noted that the film would also debut in “select” IMAX theaters worldwide on the same date, it is already clear that the movie won’t be appearing on IMAX screens housed in three of the largest movie theater chains in the U.S.: Regal, Cinemark, and Carmike. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, AMC Theaters, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, did not state unequivocally that they would not exhibit Crouching Tiger 2, but its sharp tone remains perhaps the best encapsulation of how exhibitors feel about this deal in general:
AMC Theatres and Wanda Cinema are the largest operators of IMAX-equipped auditoriums in the world. We license just the technology from IMAX. Only AMC and Wanda decide what programming plays in our respective theatres. No one has approached us to license this made-for-video sequel in the U.S. or China, so one must assume the screens IMAX committed are in science centers and aquariums.
Despite the outcry from theater chains, this announcement could fundamentally reshape the way the movie industry regards the way it does business. More likely, it will serve as simply yet another example of the slow, unstoppable expansion of what it means to watch a movie. Regardless of the outcome, however, it is a showdown that has been a long time coming within the movie business and — let’s be clear here — it is kind of weird that it is happening now, with this movie, on this service. And kind of genius.
It is weird that The Weinstein Company, which did not exist when Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became the highest-grossing foreign language film in the U.S. in 2000, is making a sequel 14 years later that does not involve Lee nor any of the first film’s creative team, except for fight choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping, who is directing the new film outright. TWC can call the movie a sequel because, for one, John Fusco (The Forbidden Kingdom) is writing the movie based on the same novel series by Wang Dulu that inspired the first Crouching Tiger, and for another, actress Michelle Yeoh is reprising her role as Yu Shu Lien. (Also weird: The film is shooting not in China, but in New Zealand.)
It is weird that TWC would choose the subscription-based Netflix to exhibit this major feature release, rather than the pay-for-play VOD options that have proven successful on a smaller scale with independent film releases through subsidiary RADIUS-TWC, like Bachelorette and Snowpiercer.
And it is weird that IMAX would risk angering its theatrical partners by agreeing to be the exclusive theatrical parter for the Crouching Tiger 2 Netflix release.
But it is also genius that TWC is using this particular film as its weapon, and IMAX as its partner, to slice through the iron-clad resolve of North American movie theaters to maintain their exclusive window for theatrical exhibition.
And the reason, like so many things with Hollywood of late, has to do with China.
Let’s take a step back for a moment. The “theatrical window” — i.e., the space of time when a feature film is available only at movie theaters, usually lasting roughly three months — is something that major Hollywood studios have been itching to shorten since at least 2011. That’s the year Universal floated a plan to offer the Ben Stiller-Eddie Murphy comedy Tower Heist on cable VOD three weeks after its theatrical release — for a whopping $60. It was met with a swift and resolute rejection by American movie theater chains, which refused to show the movie at all if Universal went through with its plan. The studio quickly backed down, because its plan made no sense: The studio still needed that theatrical run, since there was very little chance Tower Heist’s target audience was all that keen to spend $60 to watch a movie they would have spent $8 on at the theater. Universal had no leverage, exhibitors knew it, and they called the studio’s bluff.
But closing that theatrical window has remained a priority among Hollywood studios, for the simple fact that for over a decade now there has been a seemingly inexorable erosion of audiences away from movie theaters and into their homes. In 2002, according to Box Office Mojo, nearly 1.6 billion tickets were sold in the U.S. Last year, it was just over 1.3 billion — a loss of almost 300 million moviegoers over 11 years. Theaters have been scrambling to entice audiences back, with amenities like assigned seating, fancier chairs, and in-theater food service, while at the same time boosting ticket prices and especially 3D surcharges to make up the difference. But while they’ve succeeded in propping up box office revenue — $10.9 billion in 2013 versus $9.2 billion in 2002 — that steady drip of audiences away from theaters has been weighing on Hollywood’s mind. (This summer’s abysmal box office certainly has not helped matters.) Studios want to start making serious money from the other ways people are watching their movies — on their wide-screen TVs, tablets, and (shudder) smartphones — as quickly as possible.
The one exception: IMAX, which has seen its business and its audiences grow since it started showing theatrical releases and not just nature documentaries. Some major directors — including Christopher Nolan, Michael Bay, and J.J. Abrams — have taken to shooting huge chunks of their movies on IMAX cameras, making their films must-see-in-the-theater experiences for a growing number of moviegoers.
Meanwhile, in China, theatrical business is expanding wildly, so much so that in just three short years, the country has come to dominate the international box office. As of June 30, IMAX had 152 commercial theaters in China, just over 20% of its 735 commercials screens worldwide, and, according to Variety, the company plans to have more than 200 screens in China by next year. Even though studios make far less per movie ticket in China than they do in the U.S., and exhibition deals in the country are nightmares to negotiate and maintain, the rapid box office growth in China has made the country impossible for Hollywood to ignore.
So, to recap: The Weinstein Company will release the sequel to one of the highest grossing Chinese-set movies of all time on Netflix, the biggest subscription streaming video service in the U.S. Subscribers to Netflix will have already paid for the opportunity, making the film much cheaper than shelling out to see it in a theater. If audiences do want a big-screen experience, they will only be able to find it on IMAX, and given how few movie theater chains will allow their IMAX screens to play Crouching Tiger 2, audiences will be that much more incentivized to watch it on Netflix. And since Netflix isn’t in China, IMAX will be the exclusive exhibitor there for a movie that was always likely to make the most money in that country anyway — whether the film plays commercially, or solely in science centers and aquariums.
It is a model that isn’t easily repeatable, of course, and Netflix has been notoriously unwilling to share the kind of transparent viewership numbers that could make clear whether this experiment is a success. And indeed, the movie could potentially not be good, in which case all the careful positioning and complicated exhibition deals can’t save it.
In other words, the whole thing is kind of weird. But it’s also kind of genius: This time, TWC, Netflix, and IMAX have the leverage; by pulling their support in the U.S., theatrical exhibitors are only strengthening Crouching Tiger 2’s chances to succeed on Netflix. All they can do is hope for something exhibitors have never wished for before: a flop.
Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang said that, “We don’t want Hong Kong to be just another Chinese city”. I could not agree more. We’ve all worked too hard and been through too much for Hong Kong to be just another Tianjin or Shanghai. And it’s in China’s interests, too, that Hong Kong doesn’t become just another Chinese city, and instead keeps its rights, practices and traditions – including the right to free speech.
That right is a fundamental part of Hong Kong, one that I, like many Hongkongers, hold dear. I support every person who wants to express his or her opinion; dialogue, discussion and debate are the cornerstones of a healthy society. This is what I teach my students, from five years old to 18, every day. But when freedom of speech morphs into the freedom to interrupt and disrupt, it gets tricky.
Last week, just before all the Occupy Central protests, I visited my dentist at his new office. For four years, he had worked for a bigger dental practice, saving up for this moment, when he was finally ready to break out on his own. It’s a risky move. In a town full of medical groups and fancy offices, his looked tiny in comparison. But he didn’t let that deter him. I watched as he hopped around his new office, getting this cleaning tool and that sink ready. He was dizzy with excitement.
Then, Occupy Central happened. When it did, I immediately called him. I was supposed to go and see him on Monday. He told me not to bother. Because of Occupy Central, he can’t open his office. Nobody will come in anyway now, he said. His office is smack in the middle of Central. When I asked him if he thought everything was going to be OK, he said with a loud sigh: “Who knows?”
My dentist was not talking about Hong Kong democracy. He was talking about his life.
In Hong Kong, having to close up a shop is no joke. With sky-high rents, closing, even for a few days, could destroy a small business. When I hung up the phone, I sat there stunned. That’s when it dawned on me that, in this fight for democracy, we may also be crushing a lot of dreams – not through tear gas and pepper spray, but through something that’s also dangerous: disruption.
These dreams are not the dreams of Beijing or Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. They are the dreams of innocent, hard-working people like my dentist – the kind of conscientious, good people who make up Hong Kong. These people did nothing wrong. By making it impossible to go to their store, by making it hard for people to go to work or children to go to school, we’re hurting all the people who live in Hong Kong. It may not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and I’m confident that, when Occupy Central is over, many people will be able to quickly rebuild. But some won’t.
This is not to say that I think the protesters should give up; that they shouldn’t fight for what they believe in. They absolutely should. But I believe that the pen is mightier than the sword. And it’s far, far mightier than disruption.
Kelly Yang teaches writing at The Kelly Yang Project, an after-school centre for writing and debate in Hong Kong. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School. http://www.kellyyang.edu.hk/kelly/


- This event has passed.
THEN I KNEW: Film & Forum
April 25, 2018 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
A film & forum about race, change and identity in the metro-east.
In partnership with the Center for Racial Harmony, the Belleville News-Democrat invites the public to a community conversation featuring Dred Scott’s great-great-granddaughter, Lynne Jackson; Sharing America Editor Holly Edgell and I Am East St. Louis, The Magazine founder Charmaine Savage.
KMOX News Anchor Carol Daniel and Racial Harmony President Alex McHugh will moderate the event where excerpts from the News-Democrat’s film “Then I Knew” will be shown throughout the evening.
Watch the trailer online at bit.ly/theniknew
For more information, contact Cara Anthony at 618-239-2471 or firstname.lastname@example.org


by Mike May, Adult Services
With thousands of Blu-rays and DVDs in our collections, monthly movie nights projected onto the big screen in our 100-seat auditorium, and the best free popcorn in Dubuque (sorry, Theisen’s), we are definitely certified movie nuts at Carnegie-Stout Public Library.
That is exactly why we are so excited about the upcoming Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, otherwise known as JDIFF, which takes place in downtown Dubuque from April 20-24.
Every spring for the past decade, JDIFF has shown dozens of films from across the world to Dubuque moviegoers, and they have hosted scores of filmmaker panels, workshops, parties, and more.
And looking at the JDIFF film guide at https://julienfilmfest.com/film-guide, 2022 promises to be one of the best festivals ever.
For example, this year’s JDIFF movies include “Jack,” a crazy, “Superbad”-style comedy; “Remember Me,” a biopic on the life of Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson; and “A Cartoon of a Cat Sleeping,” a seven-minute comedy which unfolds entirely in one shot.
There are so many more films like these, that it will be extremely difficult to choose which ones to see.
The good news is Carnegie-Stout Public Library can help! Just show your library card at the 2nd Floor Reference Desk now through April 24, and we will give you 2 free movie vouchers. Redeem your vouchers at the JDIFF Box Office at Hotel Julien Dubuque for 2 free festival movie tickets!
If you have always wanted to go to the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, here’s your chance to try it for free!
See you at the movies!


Yesterday I saw the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" for the first time. The story is loosely based on a short story that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in 1922. It is said that he was inspired by a quote attributed to Mark Twain that goes "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18". The movie doesn't really follow the Fitzgerald story much other than the theme but there was a genuine thread of Mark Twain in the movie and if it wasn't put there because of Fitzgerald's influence then I believe that one of the writers of the screenplay, Eric Roth, must have been a real Mart Twain fan. Among other things there are elements of the Benjamin Button story that come right out of Mark Twain's unfinished work, "The Mysterious Stranger". Twain worked on this story for twenty years and never finished it. It was a story about the morals of "the damned human race". The scene in the movie that shows the events that led up to Daisy's (Cate Blanchett's) accident where her leg was injured and thus ended her dancing career is a scene right out of "The Mysterious Stranger". The movie is also reminiscent of the sequences of improbable history that one finds in the movie "Forrest Gump". That should not be surprising since Eric Roth won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "Forrest Gump" in 1994. The co-writer for Benjamin Button , by the way, is Robin Swicord.
One of the elements of the movie that stands out in my mind is a scene with Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) wearing sun glasses and sitting on the deck of a sailboat where he looks just like President John F. Kennedy. Another scene shows Benjamin and Daisy on the the deck of that same sailboat in the Florida Keys and you can see a space craft launching over Benjamin's shoulder even though the Florida Keys are on the opposite side of Florida from Cape Canaveral. Another scene had Teddy Roosevelt visiting New Orleans at a time when Roosevelt was suffering from bouts of malaria and would soon be on his death bed. Oh, well, that's show business.
The most far fetched scene in the movie though, was a scene where a character named Ngunda Oti, a diminutive black friend of Queenie's lover Tizzy, claimed to have been exhibited as a Pygmy in the Philadelphia Zoo. This is no doubt in reference to a real person named Ota Benga who had been captured in the Belgian Congo by slave traders and bought for a pound of salt and a bolt of cloth by a man under contract to bring some pygmies to populate an exhibit at the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis. The St. Louis Fair was the first World's Fair lit by electric light and it was much to do about America bringing light to the rest of the world. There were several exhibits of indigenous people on display from places like Africa, the Philippines, and Mexico. It was a shameless affair with racist undertones. After the fair Ota Benga was taken to New York and exhibited in the monkey house of the Bronx Zoo. After people began to protest , he was released in 1906 when the powers that be "realized" they had been inhumane, and he was placed in an orphanage until 1910 when he was relocated to Virginia. He received formal education before starting work at a tobacco factory, and he began to plan his return to the Congo. With the outbreak of WWI his plans seemed impossible and he became depressed and killed himself in 1916 with a shotgun.
The is a lot more improbable history in the movie but it is such an entertaining story that if you haven't seen it you probably ought to. I give it two thumbs up. It's a good flick.
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A serie of 42 genga from Ashita no Joe
Ashita no Joeis a critically acclaimed boxing manga written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba in 1968 that was later adapted into an anime series and movie. The title means “Joe of tomorrow” or Tomorrow’s Joe. Outside Japan it is also referred to as Champion Joe, Rocky Joe or Joe. It was adapted into a live-action film starring popular actor/singer Tomohisa Yamashita as Yabuki Joe and Yūsuke Iseya as Rikiishi. The movie premiered in Japan on February 11, 2011.


Join A¦B¦C ontemporary for the opening of the first solo gallery show in Zurich of artist/filmmaker Stefan Constantinescu's painting series
An Infinite Blue
A¦B¦C ontemporary, Breitensteinstr. 45, Zurich
Friday, November 7, 7pm-10pm
Started in 2009, the ongoing project is titled after a 1970 song by Romanian singer Angela Similea. The images originate in old Romanian Socialist propaganda photographs that through the artist's rendition, become testaments of a lost period in the artist's youth, that is wrought with nostalgia and longing, while also reflecting a dark moment in history.
The exhibition will also include several drawings and a video, Dacia 1300: My Generation.
This exhibition takes place in conjunction with the artist's exhibition at Corner College, I Dreamt of You
so Much That...
Stefan Constantinescu is a filmmaker and artist living and working in Stockholm. He works in a multiplicity of mediums including film, photography, artist books and painting. In 2009 he represented Romania at the Venice Biennale with the film Troleibuzul 92. He has exhibited his films and other work in group and solo museum shows throughout Sweden and the rest of Europe. In 2012 his short film Family Dinner was selected for the competition of the 51st Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, and in 2013 his film Six Big Fish premiered in the international competition Pardi di domani of the Locarno Film Festival. He is currently working on a feature-length film, Seven Shades of Love, composed of a series of seven shorts portraying the conflict inherent in amorous relationships.


Originally written and performed as a stage play in February 2015, NWP's "Have You Seen My Son?" is sadly relevant and timely once again.
No Weapon Productions presents "change your life entertainment" for the stage, screen and live events. This 2020 production of "Have You Seen My Son?" is the company's first virtual entertainment project.
"Second Chances" actors Ajia Munns, Seyto James, Christina Patterson
No Weapon Productions was founded in 2004 to create family friendly entertainment for the stage and the screen. Since then, more than 100 productions have been written and produced.
No Weapon Productions produces specialized entertainment, specially customized for issues and events. No Weapon works with corporate and nonprofit clients, as well as individuals, to provide innovative and creative training.
No Weapon Productions is currently in pre-production on a feature film, a Netflix original, and a touring musical stage production.
Are you planning a special event? No Weapon Productions can provide customized, thematic entertainment. Send us a message about your plans, and we will get back to you soon!


Dredd is the second attempt to make a movie from the incredibly enduring 2000AD comic strip, Judge Dredd. The last attempt, with Sylvester Stallone in the title role, was such a smouldering pile of crap that I refuse to say any more about it. Does the new version make up for that? Actually, yes it does.
Dredd is the story of a future Earth where nuclear holocaust has reduced the vast majority of the planet to radioactive wastelands full of mutants, generally referred to as The Cursed Earth. The surviving, unaffected members of humanity live in massive, sprawling cities that cover thousands of square miles, called Mega-Cities. The biggest of these, covering the vast majority of the east coast of the US and home to some 800 million people, is Mega-City One. Most people live in Blocks, mega structures of some 200 stories each. As you can imagine, people crammed in those kind of numbers into that kind of space means crime and violence are everyday dangers. The only line between the people and utter chaos are the men and women of the Hall of Justice, known as Judges. They are judge, jury and executioner, dispensing justice and sentence wherever they go. Of all the Judges, Judge Dredd is the Judgiest. An absolute law man, with a perfect working knowledge of every aspect of Mega-City One’s fascist and brutal justice code and a black and white eye for resolution.
This is a world and a society that has grown incredible detail over the decades, so to tackle the subject in a single 90 minute film is daunting, to say the least. The makers of this film, however, were smart and, after some opening sequences through Mega-City One, they locked two judges in one block and the rest of the film played out there. It’s the story of one particular crime boss, known as Ma Ma, and her control of the new drug Slo-Mo. When you take Slo-Mo, you perceive the world as passing at 1% its normal speed, which gives the filmmakers an excuse for some awesome and beautiful super slo-mo sequences. Also some truly brutal ones, but we’ll get to that.
Judge Dredd is saddled with a new rookie judge, Anderson. The rookie failed her test to become a judge, but only just. She does, however, have a pretty powerful psychic ability and the Chief Judge tasks Dredd with taking her out for a day’s assessment to see if the slight fail can be ignored if Anderson’s psychic abilities prove her to be a good judge on the streets. On investigating a triple homicide in Peach Trees Block, they find themselves trapped in Ma Ma’s web and the crime boss seals off the block with war protocols and orders everyone inside to find and kill the judges. Thus begins a Die Hard-esque fight for survival while Dredd and Anderson try to stay alive and dispense justice.
Seeing as I’ve been a fan of Judge Dredd since before my age hit double figures, I was scared about how faithful to the comics this film would be. I have to say, they did a pretty bang-on job. I’ll list quickly a handful of things that deviated from the comics which I wasn’t so happy about. The Lawmaster bikes the judges use looked very different and I didn’t care for that change (though the Lawgiver guns were excellent). The appearance of Mega-City One was quite well done, but there weren’t nearly enough blocks and roads and other signs of density. When we got big aerial shots of the city, the blocks were far too spread apart and that killed what was, to me, one of the best and most horrible aspects of Mega-City One, being the absolutely crammed nature of the city with massive highways criss-crossing the bristling blocks, hundreds of feet in the air. But these are small gripes.
My one main gripe about a change from the comics was around Judge Anderson. In the comics, Anderson of Psi-Division is the best and most powerfully psychic judge in the division. In the film, there was no Psi-Division and Anderson was painted as a mutie, who was lucky enough to have a strong psychic mutation and none of the weird and horrifying physical disfigurements normally associated with denizens of the Cursed Earth. Within the comics, psionics and mutants are not the same thing, and it bothered me that they went that way in the film. And it was also a shame that there’s no actual Psi-Division in the film version, as that reduces by a great deal the stories that can be explored from the comic book’s history.
Anyway, on with the film. As the friend I went with said, “That was the most violent hour and half I’ve ever sat through!” And she’s right. The comic books are very violent, but, being comic books, there’s a certain remove from the actuality of what’s going on. When that is translated into a live-action film, with an R rating and no holds barred on showing what’s happening, the violence is sudden and brutal and unrelenting. But it’s a perfect example of violence in context. The film was far better for it. A place like Mega-City One is a very violent environment, where death and brutality are around every corner, every minute of every day. Life is cheap. That’s explored a lot in the comic books and the film doesn’t shy away from it. Bodies dropped from great heights with realistic impacts, shoot-outs with realistic injuries and so on, often shot in super slo-mo due to the nature of the drug in the story, makes from some very confronting viewing. But it also makes for a strong correlation between comic book and film. When you see someone getting shot in the face in super slo-mo, you’re seeing a filmic version of the single frame in a comic book where the bullet hits its target. As a homage to the style of 2000AD, I enjoyed the way this film was made.
The story itself was pretty much by the numbers. There were no sudden twists and turns, no surprises. The story played out in a fairly linear way and, while we could never be sure exactly who might survive and who might not, the film was more spectacle than deep narrative. The real narrative lay in the place, the people, the situation itself, not in how it played out. As a film, that works just fine when taken for what it is, but it did mean the film felt more like the pilot for a TV series than a standalone movie. And, in all honesty, if they made this into a series, with the production values of this film, I would be one happy monkey.
Dredd doesn’t explore deeply the nature of its dystopian future, which is a shame, but it shows it clearly. It lacks the depth and richness of social commentary it could have had, but it is a perfect example of a genre film. Gritty, relentlessly violent and realistic, this is simply a drug bust gone ballistic set in Mega-City One and it’s brilliant for that. I just hope it’s the first of many films and the subject matter can get deeper and more interesting with subsequent ventures.


Immorality, what's thy offence?: Musing on Shakespeare's Most Moral Play
By Annie Martirosyan
Measure for Measure is one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays. It cannot be labelled a comedy or a tragedy but it could be labelled as both. And comparing it to the other late plays like The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest, the tag “romance” too sounds awkward for the play. Perhaps the “romance of sin” would be more apt.
I like to think of Measure for Measure as a “play about prostitution” and “good and evil”. Strange as it looks from the outset, the two general descriptions can fit together, converge and diverge around the axis of a single issue Shakespeare pushes forth in this most mind-boggling play – what is morality?
Prostitution has often been called “a necessary evil” for a human society. Culturalised thinking will look at it as an evil – it is immoral, says the Church. The basic, unspoken reasoning in us will say it is a necessary institution for a society to prevent crimes of heavier nature. While it is evil and immoral to sell your body by any standards, from the viewpoint of especially the male of the species it is a call of nature to freely copulate.
The strangeness of the punishment for getting involved in prostitution in Measure for Measure is that it is not the prostitutes who are being condemned, publicly disgraced or morally effaced, but it is the men using the services that are verdicted for harsh capital punishment. The whole process of Angelo’s decisions and actions is controversial, confusing and contradictory. He gives order for Claudio to be executed because his girlfriend is pregnant. Angelo takes upon himself the right to punish everyone for copulation – not prostitution, as he tries to convince Escalus (and himself too). In portraying Angelo as a fine defender of justice, order and morality, Shakespeare deliberately makes him so perfect in sternness to show us the blunders in stereotyped, institutionalised standards of rightness and wrongness in the face of the “moral dictator” Angelo. “I am perfect, everyone should be like me – a passionless, rational Homo sapiens”, that’s what Angelo thinks.
Unlike animals, everything we do, including basic physical actions like using the loo, is culturalised. Hence, copulation too, being part of our adapted existence, is supposed to be validated by certain moral codes. The Church – the formal institution spreading the beliefs-turned-rules we have set ourselves throughout the ages – says copulation outside wedlock is immoral, therefore it is evil.
In Measure for Measure, Isabella is a direct representative of the Church – all defined purity and righteousness. Angelo, whereas, being a true adherent to the moral codes set by the Church, is mocked by his maleness. He not only finds his natural basic (or base?) needs prevailing over his culturalised thinking of what is good and what is evil – but the human-made moral codes are derided further as Angelo tries to restore it to the effect by trying to cover up his breach (Isabella’s supposed seduction) with a double coat of erring (Claudio’s supposed execution).
Questioning the issue of prostitution as a necessary evil, Shakespeare in fact pushes forth the issue of the moralness of copulation and its role in the life of a human versus society. He challenges the righteousness of the moral codes we humans have moulded for ourselves and judge others for the qualities and desires we all possess.
Shakespeare persuasively argues for the different sides of the issue (Isabella vs. Juliet, Isabella vs. Mariana, Angelo vs. Claudio, Isabella vs. Angelo) out of the mouth of the most “objective” Duke as the Ultimate Judge. The Duke’s fair dealing with the whole party throughout the play very judicially, professionally and smoothly makes us believe in all the uncontroversial decisions the Duke makes to find the happy medium between the evils and their necessity. He calls for measure for measure by unimpassionedly and impartially solving problems and arranging everyone’s life for themselves. The objectivity of the justice on the lips of the godding Duke is most vivid especially when he marries Marianna off to Angelo and then orders for him to be executed only to see Isabella plead for the life of the man who did (yet did not) do evils to her. The Duke, like God, wants to try all his subjects, and succeeds.
The play might end as a good lesson in morality and justice if Shakespeare had inked his feather and sent Isabella to a nunnery. But he had not. Instead, he challenges the Supreme Judge in the form of the just, objective, impersonal, benevolent Duke. Shakespeare takes us back to our initial basic unspoken reasoning, reminds us that to err is human, therefore it is no erring – it is human. The controversial ending of the play with the Duke proposing to Isabella and her silent response (yes or no?) leave the play open to perpetual interpretations about what the play is actually about.
The poet C.L. Washbrook says, “We are emotional creatures and throughout the entirety of history, our emotional reactions have been placed last”. The Duke fails to be a pure, unemotional, banal godly judge to the end, yet he falls in no disgrace – he rewards his maleness for the just, unemotional course of actions he has taken so far by ignoring the sermon he has been preaching. The Duke and Angelo are in fact two sides of the same coin. They both act subjectively: Angelo desperately seeks a social moral ideal and falls – Vincentio knows it all and consciously chooses to sacrifice his social righteousness to personal desires. This is that Shakespearean trait that puts him on a unique pedestal - he values an individual above the society.
Justice, Justice, Justice, Justice!, cries Isabella. And the justice – if we reason as objectively as the Duke had – should be sending her to a nunnery. But the Duke chooses to marry the nun instead. And what does she do? Does Isabella accept the proposal apace? Does she reject? Shakespeare leaves it up to us to guess. If Isabella had said “Ay, my lord, henceforth your true servant”, she would fall before our eyes as an erring face of the inerrant Church, that godly righteousness. If she had said “I beseech your pardon, sir. I have my God to serve”, the play would simply be uninteresting, albeit logically anticipated.
Lack of logical sequence of actions in Shakespeare is one of the reins that shuffled the canon through 400 years. The originality of Shakespeare’s mundane plots is that he is never ultimately objective, passionless and impersonal. He slips, once in a while, like Duke Vincentio, and this is what makes him so universally adorable. Shakespeare places our humanness above our culturalisedness, pushes morality out of the social stereotypes, differentiates between a social tradition and the inner morality and places the moral code inside our souls (Duke Vincentio) – not outside in the social crowd (Angelo). He says we are animals with basic needs and desires above all godly duties but different from animals with not merely institutionalised reasoning, but refined complex deep emotional souls.
Isabella puts her hand on her cross, kisses it, draws back her hand and gives it to the Duke. Because she is a wo-man.


The stories of prolific author Stephen King are popping up everywhere at the moment as many of his books are being adapted into movies and TV series. This year alone there’s been the new IT movie, The Dark Tower movie, Gerard’s Game and 1922 on Netflix, the Mr Mercedes TV series and Castle Rock is coming soon.
On Writing by Stephen King ISBN: 9781439156810, pp 291
My husband loves reading Stephen King and is currently working his way through The Dark Tower series and we’re enjoying all the TV and movie adaptions as they come out. While I’ve read quite a few Stephen King books over the years, my husband is definitely the biggest fan in our household. My favourite Stephen King book is not one of his fiction books, it’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I read it many years ago and, searching for inspiration, have…
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Introducing animated video’s character is a process of “reviving” him using various technological means with a specific goal.
Animated characters have become an integral part of various spheres of modern life, they are successfully used in:
- Advertising, brand building, marketing campaigns, etc.;
- The gaming industry, various screensavers, interfaces;
- The film industry and animation;
- Scientific researches and medicine;
- The fashion industry and many others.
Heroes of videos contain a huge amount of information. Therefore, a professionally created character will fulfil all the functions assigned to it (sell, advertise, demonstrate, attract, memorize, teach, and others) brilliantly.
How Does It Work in Real Life
Regardless of the type, the algorithm for animation character development as a whole has the following sequence:
- Forming an idea – always plays the role of the “starting point” of the beginning of the creation process. An interesting idea, a separate part of the plot, sketches, type, anything is suitable on that step of creation.
- The scenario is needed in order to formulate and stipulate the actions that will occur with the character, to underline what he must be able to do, how to look, what basic informational message to carry to the viewer.
- After this, the most interesting begins – the designer draws a sketch, carefully thinks over the details and facial expressions of a bright character, intended to provoke emotional background and stay in memory for a very long time. The sketch can be made both in digital form and on paper with a pencil.
- After the client has seen and approved the sketch, a character model is developed on its basis, taking into account all the nuances and wishes.
- After that comes the turn of the animation itself. Animators take to life all the characters and activate all the scenes of the project.
- The final stage is the addition of soundtracks, effects, if necessary, narration voices, musical backgrounds, as well as the mounting of all sound options and frames in one animated movie.
The price of creating a character animation depends on the following factors:
- Number of concepts;
- A volume of edits;
- Details of the character;
- The timing of the project.
An animated character thought out to the last detail is the key to the success of the information products of which he will become a part, so it is imperative to pay attention to this part of the production. So take a great start of your animation project with the developing of its main character for the best result.


Grant Roberts is recognized as one of Hollywood’s most successful trainers/nutritionists and lifestyle coaches. Roberts received international acclaim following his work with actress Hilary Swank who captured an Oscar for her performance in the Clint Eastwood film - Million Dollar Baby. Grants clients include Academy Award winning actors, leaders of industry, world champion athletes, he is a consultant to the US military and the founder of Unified Lifestyle.com.
You. You are fat. Your clients are fat, and as a matter of fact so is your mother. The real question is why are we so offended by the mere mention of the word fat? Like it or not, fat is the third most... View More


My short film MInd Games will screen as part of A Voyage Through Animation which celebrates historical and contemporary innovation in animation, matching films by recent artists with seminal work from the last 90 years including Man Ray’s Dadaist experiments, Lotte Reiniger’s silhouette animation, Russian collage by Ivan Ivanov and master of stop-frame Jan Svankmajer. All films receive a live score by live cinema pioneers The Cabinet of Living Cinema, who will outline the innovations in animation that have shaped the artform.
The evening will also incorporate live animation by audiovisual artist Noriko Okaku and a selection of animated short films programmed by Whirlygig Cinema to showcase emerging talent in the genre.This event is part of the Scala Beyond season.
Enchanted Life screened at HD FEST 2010, December 6th-9th in Portland Oregon USA. The screening took place at The Living Room Theaters in downtown Portland – famous as the first all-digital and only-digital theater in the USA.
Mind Games screened at Short and Sweet last night (29th of November 2010). It was a really enjoyable screening good crowd and a good selection of short films. I’ll post some of them here in the next few posts…
Mike 360 Played at Raindance Film festival, The Screening was: Friday 1 October 2010 at 5:15pm. We went along and it was an interesting selection of films, all very self referential, filmy and genre based.
They accidentally played mine twice, which was an unexpected bonus! They obviously liked it a lot, either that or the person in the projection booth didn’t know what they were doing. I have a feeling it was the latter as there was a kid in a wheel chair in the audience who’s film wasn’t played at all, at the end his distraught mum got up to complain.
Mind Games was a finalists for the Virgin Media Shorts Award . From over 1400 entries it made it to the last 12! The lavish awards ceremony took place at the NFT where the film was screened along with the 12 other nominees to a packed audience. The film was also transfered to 35mm courtesy of Virgin Media Shorts and is screening in cinemas round the UK until next July as well as on Virgin Video On Demand and Virgin mobile. Look out for it!


The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki
País Finlàndia, Suècia, Alemanya // Year 2016 // Duration 92'
Cast Jarkko Lahti, Oona Airola, Eero Milonoff
Finland, 1962. Olli Mäki (Jarkko Lahti) is about to play the match of his life, preparing for the featherweight championship title match against titleholder Davey Moore. He knows it, winning could change his life. But since Olli Mäki met the sweet and beautiful Raija (Oona Airola) – it was love at first sight – he partly lost his focus on the training… With this real-life story freshman director Juho Kuosmanen elegantly rethinks the genre of boxing dramas (and love stories). Dazzlingly shot on a monochrome 16mm, exquisitely crafted and leaded by two subtle actors, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” is a surprisingly immersive biopic (even for those with no knowledge of this sports). This explains the overwhelming success of the film: screened at he 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Prize Un Certain Regard and is now a leading contender for the foreign language Oscar.
- Saturday 3 // 12HANTIGA AUDIÈNCIA
- Sunday 4 // 22HANTIGA AUDIÈNCIA