rubberblog

Not supposed to do it

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:44:00 +0000

My best friend and co-writer of "The Bet" and Detox, Chris Smith said that when you tell people that you're working on something it takes the wind out of the sails. This blog is mostly just my own diary that I have decided for whatever reason to make public, so I don't really think I'm "telling people" much if I tell it here - for all you, oh, 3 readers. Anyway. I've gotten 50 pages into a script (which translates to 50 minutes of screen time) that is a full-on horror script. Blood, fun and mayhem. And, yes, boobies. I'm hoping to be done with the first draft by the end of this fourth of July weekend (family vacations and fireworks are impeding my progress). At any rate, this one is A) low budget, B) fun and scary (the way "popular" horror films are) and C) as my producer friend mentioned - serializable. Yes, this could have sequels. And yes, it's fun. And yes, there's boobies - another genre favourite.

So, challenging my dear Smitty's advice, I think there's something good here.

The Verizon guy, Chad and why I love comments.

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:34:00 +0000

In response to an article about the verizon guy and that chad guy (i swear he's the "O face" dude from Office Space) for alltel, i found this:

When I was in high school, I worked at the local K-Mart.

That's right. Jealous much?

I was a cashier...then I was promoted to the Books/Stationary section. And in the summer months, I also covered Lawn and Garden. Outdoor duty...sweetness.

My most reflected upon memory of that glorious time, was one day, talking with an employee from another dept - like children's apparel or something.

I can't remember her name, but I remember our conversation crystal clearly.

I was 17. She was maybe, MAYBE, a year older. And she was so supremely happy with her lot in life.

She was engaged to a fella who wanted to be a cop. (Wasn't a cop, wasn't in cop school, but wanted to be a cop.) She LOVED working at K-mart. Loved the discount. Loved working with children's clothes. Couldn't wait to get married. Couldn't wait to have kids.

I asked her about college or travel or seeking anything outside her current realm.

Complete disinterest. She had what she felt was everything. A job she enjoyed. A man she loved. Plans for marriage and a little place to raise rugrats.

Part of me was completely aghast at her. No other goals than to be married and kid-ridden before she was even legal to drink.

But another part of me, and I remember this as such a strong reaction, was kinda envious. While I have my doubts about her contentedness lasting for decades to come, I had never met anyone so happily satisfied with their state of being.

It was like talking to a Martian. A really pleasant Martian.

Maybe Chad is content with his lot.

Or maybe he's just a Martian.

p.s. "You're still a ding dong." does make me laugh. It doesn't make me want to buy into Alltell, but it does make me laugh.

I love the comments section.

Lock down - UPDATE!

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:39:00 +0000

So, apparently there are multiple males (that's what the cop people say) living in the house. And one of these males was holding multiple females hostage (which is sometimes okay - well if you can pull it off, it's awesome) and the cops were getting the chicks out one-by-one, save the last one which is when they retreated. Even when they blew in the door with EXPLOSIVES! the dude still wouldn't give up. So they sent in the K9 unit which made him his chewtoy (the dog may have also anally raped him, too, but nobody will corroborate that). Then he gave up and came out and got TAZED (wow, dog fucked and tazed, that's a bad night). My question is, how'd the dog know who to chomp on? And, apparently, they are renting the house. Yay. I want to move. No, I want everyone else to move. To space. Or really far away. And let me swim naked without worrying about the cops showing up to bust some dick with harem issues. Oh, and, if you're the cause of the commotion, and the cops fuck up your shit (tires and door and all that - yes, they shanked his tires) insurance WILL NOT cover it. Lesson learned.

Lock down!

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Had an interesting night last night. At 10:45, Michelle and I went upstairs to go to bed and we were looking for something for one of the kids when BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG on the door. I figured it was kids joking around. Then a few seconds later, again, BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG! So I went downstairs and tried to look out the peephole - our porch light is broken - thinking if I opened it, someone was gonna push their way in or some sort of home invasion scenario was going to unfold. But I could hear what sounded like intercoms. So I opened the door a crack, fighting to keep the dogs back.

"It's the police. Stay in your house. We have a situation across the street."

So, I ran upstairs to peek outside. By now, both kids were awake, and Michelle and I were being not so sly spying out the upstairs window. There was a police truck just off to the right of our house in the middle of the street. And a few cops hiding in various places. Even a K9 unit was there. I could hear voices, so I figured there were cops down by our garage below us, just like I could see cops back against the garage door across the street. Then I saw more cops - with guns drawn - in the garage of the house to the left of the one across from us.

Interesting. So, we kept watching, wondering what might be going on. Michelle works for Metro and suspected there was someone who had locked themselves inside. A few minutes later, a cop rushed a woman in handcuffs away from the house and then about seven more cops followed. Now there were even more of them on the street, maybe 20 or so. Then they pulled out one of those bullet-proof shields you see SWAT guys use and the cops that came out of the house lined up behind it and backed away carefully. They were doing the hand signals like you see in the movies. Seemed surreal.

Michelle called 311 and all they would tell us was that someone had barricaded themselves in the house. She tried to get hold of one of her co-workers as i was pulling out the camera when another BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG. I answered the door and the cop said that we needed to evacuate. All things considered, we most likely would have been fine, but the kids were freaking out. Michelle knew that if a barricade didn't end in a few minutes, it usually lasted hours and there was no way any of us was going to sleep until it was over. So we decided to bail and go sleep at her mom's house.

So we piled into the truck in the garage and headed out the back way - which was blocked by every assortment of vehicle imaginable. Cop cars. SWAT trucks. A police/fire trailer that Michelle thought might have robots (cool!). Laptops setup in the back of pickups. Police tape blocking the street. Dozens of people in all sorts of uniforms. Even a negotiator (which was also cool). We had to wait for them to clear the road so we could get through and saw the woman who'd been taken out in handcuffs walking with a police officer (no longer handcuffed).

When we came back this morning, the front door of the barricade house was lying on the ground and the front window was shattered. The back tires of all the cars there were flat. Out next-door neighbor was outside and told us what he'd seen (he hadn't bailed). He said a SWAT truck pulled up in front of the car on the street and then they flattened all the tires. They threw in smoke bombs and flash bombs. And then set up a charge on the front door, ran a line out to the street and blew it open. No battering ram. EXPLOSIVES. The blast shattered the front window. Finally, they got the guy out - who was drunk as hell, staggering around and swinging his bottle of whatever. Apparently they tazed him and that was pretty much the end of it.

EXPLOSIVES! Damn, I wish we'd stayed. Dazed and tazed. Still not sure exactly what was going on. Our suspicion is a domestic violence call. The cops said they hadn't had problems with them before. We also thought it might be drug-related since there have been some people coming and going that don't look familiar. Whatever it was, the chick is back and the door and windows have just finished being boarded up. Fun!

Road trip

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Over the weekend I took my first solo recreational road trip. I went to San Diego to visit my friend Rachel (who wrote the song "Hallway" for "The Bet." After I'd gotten laid off, she kept bugging me to come and visit. So I did. I was a bit nervous driving out there on my own - especially since my car is having issues. But I took it in, got it checked and dropped $920 to get some repairs. Still freaky on certain roads, but it was fine for the trip.

It was a nice ride, no traffic to speak of, and once I neared SD it was overcast and foggy. And great break from the 100-degree weather here. I watched as the temp dropped from 98 to 88 to 78 to 52.

I got there about 3pm. Rachel had told me we were going to ride in Critical Mass that night. I was up for it. Until I saw the bike I was borrowing was a townie, not a bmx. BIG difference. I was way wobbly on it and was suddenly very nervous. Not to mention it was in the lowest gear and a bitch to pedal uphill. But I figured I'd driven all this way, I might as well give it a go. As Rachel said, we'd jumped out of a plane together; this was nothing.

As hundreds of bikers gathered around the fountain in a park, waiting to go, there was a thud. Some guy who'd been standing about 15 feet from me passed out. While one of our group ran over to the cop car nearby, he came to, then went out again and I was sure he had just died. But he came to again and seemed fine. An ambulance came and took him away. Not what I needed to calm my nerves. Rachel and I decided we'd bail on the whole event and head back. I was plenty exhausted anyway from the drive and all, so I was all too happy to call it a night.

The next day we went to Salton Sea. I'd never heard of it, but it seemed like a pretty interesting place. Apparently the algae is so thick that it robs all oxygen so when fish get to a certain size they suffocate and float to the surface. Fun! It took nearly three hours to drive out there and the misty overcast skies gave way to sun and heat. When we got there, the smell was so overwhelming we nearly just turned around. But decided to do some exploring.

We'd hoped to find some of the abandoned buildings and such that we'd heard about, but the shore that we were one really held nothing but dead fish. Lots and lots of dead fish. And ground up fish bones. And stink. We'd had enough of the heat and smell and headed back.

That night we went to So Say We All, a Moth-style storytelling event that some of Rachel's friends were in. The theme was "It seemed like a good idea at the time" - which could have described our two pseudo-adventures. After that, we were both dead tired. I was leaving in the morning and wanted to get some sleep, not looking forward to the long drive back.

It may not have been everything we'd hoped, but I was with a good friend so the misadventures were simply adventures. And her dog, Agent Cooper, is probably the cutest damn dog I've ever met. Plus, now that my road trip cherry has been popped (Rachel's words), I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Lots of stuff in the past much days

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Still unemployed, though not poor enough to start whining. I'm getting scarily accustomed to not having a job. Finding a new schedule comprised of family-centric tasks. Odd.
Really studied script structure over the past few weeks - thanks largely to Michael Hauge's 6-stage Script Structure and this one. Helped to rewrite the first act of Detox, and - soon - the rest of the script.
May have figured out the key to the new script - which will be called a "weapon of mass depravity."
Getting a handle on the photography thing. Got my terms sorted and my focus pulled. Just need some interesting subjects. And some lights. And a meter. And a Lens Baby. ... kidding. The gadgets are all nice and fine, but I really love being able to shoot in natural light, which is so unlike my usual aesthetic. Maybe because I don't have all the gadgets.
Finally getting my car serviced. 8000+ miles after his last checkup was due. And two more new tires. That means...
Road trip is imminent. Gonna head out to see my uber friend Rachel - hopefully - May 29th. I'm gonna be shooting a video for her song "Virgins" as soon as money doesn't suck and maybe get in a less expensive one (or two) on the way. Because...
I got a Steadicam Merlin. Borrowed it from a friend and it kills the jello effect of the D90. So I can actually shoot handheld video that doesn't make you wanna puke. I just gotta learn how to fly it. You can see a comparison of with and without the Merlin HERE.
Besides all that, I'm really starting to see myself as a person, rather than an employee. Weird thing, that. No one is my boss. And that's making me become my own boss. And that means I'm slowly - very slowly - becoming more aware of what I'm doing and why. And what to change and how. And what I like about myself. Sadly, the last of those is tougher to solve. But I'm getting better. And I've lost 9 pounds. Just another 40 to go. I think I need to actually exercise to get there, though.

Wil Wheaton is, well, cool

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:35:00 +0000

Unemployment FTW

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:40:00 +0000

Don't cry for me, I'm not without income. But I am without schedule, sadly something I was really, oddly, addicted to. It'll be 1:45 and I try to tell myself I need to eat, but I don't know what to eat and spend the next 20 minutes and realize I need to go to the shower and pick up my elder son son from school (my life is now governed by half-hours - half-hour to shower, half-hour to get kid, half-hour to eat, etc).

The job I was really hoping to get was given to some other... someone. Um, yeah. Fuck it.

Did I mention I blew a tire, my battery decided to fuck off and my tires, in some sort of odd mutiny - one of my few consistent comrades, BAT BOY, is even giving up on me - decided to enhance my daily fatigue -by getting out of alignment or balance or whatever makes him shimmy and shake and swerve across the freeway. Now, that I realized the damn guy's out of warranty. Maybe it's his lack of bathing got him, BB, on edge.

Today I watched the end of Donkey Punch, a fair thriller, though it was tough to hear what they were saying in subdued tones late at night with their Leeds accent (and only got to watch the last half hour with the sound up). Then watched, in stops and starts (those half-hours again), what may be the best film I've seen in... years: The Orphanage. It's like a remake of Poltergeist without copping to the remake fuckery and actually one-upping the original. I called them out, then nearly cried, then nearly cried, then was haunted by then film the rest of the day.

As far as what I'm doing? I've revamped the Rubbersquare site, spent much time understanding script structure to where I can finally understand it (and watch The Orphanage and absolutely love it and recommend it and recognize the script structure (and Poltergeist-ness of it), and am rewriting Detox and making sure the new script follows it (which oddly they both already do to a large extent). There's the Detox novelization and a really exciting Mother's Day gift which just emerged today and got me more excited than I've been in weeks.

New site is LIVE

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:33:00 +0000

The newly revamped Rubbersquare site is now live. Go ahead, check it out (opens in a new window).

Some of the cool stuff you'll find are information about all of Rubbersquare's projects, like "The Bet" and Detox. There's also the music video for "Hallway" and the short film "Foreplay" - both of which you can watch on the site. There's a news section which connects to the brand-new Rubbersquare News Blog with an option to subscribe. And links to the Rubbersquare network, including this blog, Rubbershop and Rubberforum.

Now that the hard part of designing it is done, it should be easy to add new content and keep the news current.

Why are you still reading? Go check it out.

I re-redid the Rubbersquare site

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:17:00 +0000

Yes, I'm a bit... insane, bored, pick your own adjective. Just don't share. But I completely revamped the revamped Rubbersquare site. Why? Because I want something a bit lighter. And I figured out how to get a text feed into Flash whilst keeping the formatting. No, it's not a live update from the soon to be awesome Rubbersquare blog - different from the rubberblog in that the Rubbersquare blog will be press releases, verses the random rants of my head on rubberblog... but anyway. The new BETA site is live at rubbersquare/beta and would appreciate feedback if you are so willing.

Some things to keep in mind, though, are that at this juncture, only the "The Bet" and "Suffer" buttons will produce content. But like the previous revamp, the "Hallway" and "Foreplay" buttons will eventually, before the wide release, give you what you're looking for. I decided to emphasize revenue-generating links first. Call me arrogant. Call me unemployed. Blah. Also, the news feed is temporarily feeding from random "see if it works" content, but will - eventually - feed from the very newly created Rubbersquare news blog. I am retrofitting that beast as we/I speak.

In the meantime, let me know what you think. Fail, win, etc. I am thick-skinned and can take (and actually hope for) criticism.

Sneak Peek

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:32:00 +0000

Get a sneak peek look at the in-progress, revamped Rubbersquare site at http://www.rubbersquare.com/beta

Just a taste of what's coming, it's all still in flux, little tweaks, little bugs, and possibly a revamp of the revamp. Nothing is set in stonepixels. SO, your feedback is very much appreciated. Sound off!

The economy sucks

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:55:00 +0000

I got laid off today. One of 9 people who got laid off (in a 30-employee company). Everyone else got a pay cut. Did it matter I was there for 8 years? Well, apparently it did, since 2 others who were there nearly as long were also laid off. Who stayed? The ones with the least time there - probably the lowest paid in each department. Know what pisses me off the most? I had 187 hours of vacation. I never took it. And I didn't get anything for it. That's over 4 weeks of time off I should have taken - and didn't because we were, by management, fought taking any scheduled time off, and was trying to look like a good employee and not take any time off. I'm the fool on that one. Apparently, performance had nothing to do with it. Which - and the bitterness leaks out - what I did for the company and no one else could do or had no idea about, hopefully now they'll stammer and fumble and fail. An empty hope, I know, but wutev.

I got laid off. Right now, all I care about is keeping the kids oblivious (other than the "why are you home so early?" and subsequent "why aren't you going to work?") and keeping the income coming in before I have to tell them why all their channels aren't working.

Happy Birthday, Scott

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:17:00 +0000

I miss ya.

My so-called criminal past - part 2

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:17:00 +0000

So, I finally found (I think) a way to get "The Bet" torrent removed from at least one torrent site. I sent them an email following their instructions, and it should be removed in a couple of days. We'll see.

I also asked (though I'm sure I will get no response) if they had any information about how the incorrect and slanderous biography became attached to the film.

Part of me isn't all that concerned that it's being downloaded illegally - it's getting seen - but it is wrong and I need to fight, I guess. I would have less of an issue if any of the 100+ downloaders, including the two that posted positive comments about the film (if they're real), would take the time to actually purchase the DVD with extras legally. But, then, that's just the way I would do it. It's not like I ever got paid for making the film. I paid to make the film. And recouping the $5000 or so put into making it would go a long way to alleviating the frustration.

I have an interesting past

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:19:00 +0000

I got spam on my Vimeo account which, oddly enough, led to a torrent of "The Bet." I know nothing about torrents. Except that it pisses me off people can download the film without paying - and paying me. Anyone who knows how to get torrents deleted, please let me know.

Anyway, what was particularly interesting is the Director's Biography they have for me:

Con-turned-filmmaker Michael Dunn (*22 November 1970, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) directed The Bet. Convicted of several rape crimes in 1995, and sentenced to 5 years in prison, Dunn continued his work as screenwriter. Texas prison proved to be harsh, but he survived. There, he wrote a biography about himself, in it, explaining some of the issues he has with women. At Sundance, Hollywood Producer Mischa Barton, stated in 2008: "He's not a bad filmmaker, but as a woman, and knowing about his past, I would always stay at least half a mile away from this guy...." Dunn is currently working on another short film, again, about violence against women.

I may use this as my bio from now on.

I have no idea where they got that info - it's clearly not true - and it's not like they just stuck some random info in there (unless they have a template that replaces specific info). It's my birthday and hometown the have listed. Just. Weird.

Very odd

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:38:00 +0000

We have "The Bet" for sell at Amazon, has been available there for quite awhile. That isn't the odd part. What's odd is that it shows there are 4 in stock, and in the breakdown of what's available it shows: 2 new, 2 used. At first I thought it was strange that the used copies are selling for over double the cost of the new copies, over $32. Then I realized that they should have in stock 4 new copies. Any used ones should be in addition to those 4. The reason this bothers me is that, technically, if it's being listed as used, it must have been sold, and if it's been sold, I should have been paid for it. However, the seller, "any_book," which has nearly half a million counts on its feedback, is somehow selling (at over twice the retail price) a used copy of a DVD they don't even seem to technically own. Something's fishy here. It's almost as if Amazon is using this "any_book" name to get more money from customers (not that 55% of my sale is enough).

Hybrid Moments

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:18:00 +0000

My wonderful friend Rachel Bellinsky (who wrote the song "Hallway" for "The Bet" and liked to disturb me by eating crackers like a hamster when we worked together) has another awesome video. Her previous video for "Salt of the Sea" was directed by Thomas Barndt. This one was directed by Lexington Wolfcraft. Hopefully, soon, I'll join these amazing guys as a director for her videos (soon, I swear).

You can buy the CD, The Secret Life of Spiders - which kicks ass - HERE.

My good friend and creative giant, Lexington Wolfcraft, has created this video for Switchyard's version of "Hybrid Moments." I think you will find that I have never looked better.

D90

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:33:00 +0000

It arrived. Actually, it got here on Tuesday, but I've been too slammed with work to really mess with it other than quick point and shoot tests. I still haven't really had time to do much with it, but I've been devouring the manual and testing various things. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some time to shoot some test videos and see how the editing goes.

I'll be posting stuff on my VIMEO PAGE. There's already some stuff up there now, like commercials, shorts and a music video. Take a look. It's fun.

Finally

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:14:00 +0000

I did it. I bit the bullet and defied the recession and bought a Nikon D90.
What sucks is that I'd planned on going to a store and getting it and spending the weekend getting to know it. But, as my luk would hold, they were sold out at all Best Buys. No other local outlets were kind enough to devulge stock levels through the interwebs, so I ordered it and had it shipped. I got a memory card, too.
I am already overwhelmed. I downloaded, for the second time, the user manual, and can't even begin to grasp that which is photography. I've tried for so long to understand it and hope that once I spend endless hours on this fucker I'll begin to get it.

In the meantime, I can't wait to go through the pains of understanding.

I've seen 157 of 239 films

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:35:00 +0000

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(o) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(o) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(o) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(o) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 6

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
(x) Saw II
(x) White Noise
(o) White Oleander
(o) Anger Management
(o) 50 First Dates
(o) The Princess Diaries
(o) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 13

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(o) American Pie 2
(o) American Wedding
(o) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 20

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
(o) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 29

(x) Finding Nemo
(o) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(o) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(o) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots
Total so far: 37

(o) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
(o) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(o) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(o) Kingpin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(o) Meet the Fockers
(o) Eight Crazy Nights
(o) Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
Total so far: 42

(o) A Cinderella Story
(o) The Terminal
(o) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
(o) Passport to Paris
(o) Dumb & Dumber
(o) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
(x) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
(o) Surviving Christmas
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 49

(o) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
(x) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(o) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 57

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
(o) Seed of Chucky
(o) Bride of Chucky
(o) Ten Things I Hate About You
(o) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(o) Remember the Titans
(o) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
(x) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
(o) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 65

(o) Bad Boys
(o) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
(o) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(o) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
(o) Lone Star
(o) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
(x) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x) Curious George
Total so far: 75

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
(o) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
(o) My Boss' Daughter
(o) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 84

(o) Best Bet
(o) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(o) She's All That
(o) Calendar Girls
(o) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(o) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 92

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
(o) Jeepers Creepers 2
(o) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(o) Reign of Fire
(o) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
(o) Cruel Intentions 2
(o) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 104

(o) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(o) The Notebook
(o) K-Pax
(o) Krippendorf's Tribe
(o) A Walk to Remember
(o) Ice Castles
(x) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 108

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(x) Basketball Diaries
(x) Hostel
(o) Waiting for Guffman
(x) House of 1000 Corpses
(x) Devils Rejects
(o) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(o) American History X
(o) Three
Total so far: 120

(x) The Jacket
(o) Kung Fu Hustle
(o) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
(o) Willard
Total so far: 126

(x) High Tension
(o) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days
(o) Orgazmo
(x) Phantasm
(o) Waterworld
Total so far: 133

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
(o) Mortal Kombat
(x) Wolf Creek
(o) Kingdom of Heaven
(x) The Hills Have Eyes
(x) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
(o) The Last House on the Left
(x) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 140

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
(o) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
(x) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 147

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
(x) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(o) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
Grand total: 157

My take on AFI's Top 100

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:00:00 +0000

I've seen 49 of the Top 100 according to AFI. What I hate about these lists is that I really don't care to see a lot of "important" films and have only seen the bulk of these because of film classes. To me, films are entertainment, they're an escape. When it comes to the "scholarly" films, I'll read about them or watch the pertinent scene(s) or analyze them rather than watch them.

By the way, the Friday the 13th remake comes out Friday!

(x) 1 CITIZEN KANE (1941)
(x) 2 GODFATHER, THE (1972)
(x) 3 CASABLANCA (1942)
(o) 4 RAGING BULL (1980)
(o) 5 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
(o) 6 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
(o) 7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
(x) 8 SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
(x) 9 VERTIGO (1958)
(x) 10 WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939)
(o) 11 CITY LIGHTS (1931)
(o) 12 SEARCHERS, THE (1956)
(x) 13 STAR WARS (1977)
(x) 14 PSYCHO (1960)
(x) 15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
(o) 16 SUNSET BLVD. (1950)
(x) 17 GRADUATE, THE (1967)
(o) 18 GENERAL, THE (1927)
(x) 19 ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
(x) 20 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
(x) 21 CHINATOWN (1974)
(o) 22 SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
(o) 23 GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)
(x) 24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
(x) 25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
First 25 Total: 15

(o) 26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
(o) 27 HIGH NOON (1952)
(o) 28 ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
(x) 29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
(x) 30 APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
(o) 31 MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941)
(o) 32 GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974)
(x) 33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
(x) 34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
(x) 35 ANNIE HALL (1977)
(o) 36 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)
(o) 37 BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946)
(o) 38 TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE (1948)
(x) 39 DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
(x) 40 SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965)
(o) 41 KING KONG (1933)
(x) 42 BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
(x) 43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
(o) 44 PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE (1940)
(x) 45 SHANE (1953)
(o) 46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
(x) 47 STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951)
(x) 48 REAR WINDOW (1954)
(o) 49 INTOLERANCE (1916)
(x) 50 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE (2001)
Second 25 Total: 13

(x) 51 WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
(x) 52 TAXI DRIVER (1976)
(x) 53 DEER HUNTER, THE (1978)
(o) 54 M*A*S*H (1970)
(x) 55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
(x) 56 JAWS (1975)
(x) 57 ROCKY (1976)
(o) 58 GOLD RUSH, THE (1925)
(o) 59 NASHVILLE (1975)
(o) 60 DUCK SOUP (1933)
(o) 61 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)
(o) 62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
(o) 63 CABARET (1972)
(o) 64 NETWORK (1976)
(x) 65 AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951)
(x) 66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
(o) 67 WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
(o) 68 UNFORGIVEN (1992)
(x) 69 TOOTSIE (1982)
(x) 70 CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971)
(o) 71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
(x) 72 SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE (1994)
(o) 73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
(x) 74 SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
(o) 75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
Third 25 Total: 12

(x) 76 FORREST GUMP (1994)
(o) 77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
(o) 78 MODERN TIMES (1936)
(x) 79 WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)
(o) 80 APARTMENT, THE (1960)
(o) 81 SPARTACUS (1960)
(o) 82 SUNRISE (1927)
(x) 83 TITANIC (1997)
(o) 84 EASY RIDER (1969)
(o) 85 NIGHT AT THE OPERA, A (1935)
(x) 86 PLATOON (1986)
(o) 87 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
(o) 88 BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
(x) 89 SIXTH SENSE, THE (1999)
(o) 90 SWING TIME (1936)
(x) 91 SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982)
(o) 92 GOODFELLAS (1990)
(o) 93 FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971)
(x) 94 PULP FICTION (1994)
(o) 95 LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE (1971)
(o) 96 DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)
(x) 97 BLADE RUNNER (1982)
(o) 98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
(x) 99 TOY STORY (1995)
(o) 100 BEN-HUR (1959)
Fourth 25 Total: 9

Nikon D90

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 03:03:00 +0000

I just watched the most interesting and inspiring video created from stills shot on the Nikon D90 - which makes me even more desperate to buy the fucking thing. Just. Wow. Using the 4.5 fps still shooting mode and putting that together with Twixtor, just created the most amazing display. Someone had mentioned shooting with a (sorry I forget which one, but one that shot still as at 13-or-so fps -- maybe a D30?) and then running it through Twixtor.

I told the kids yesterday, when one of them made a comment about shooting video on their phone, that soon they would be the subject of many-a-video to which he was rather silent.

But, still, I tried to take a picture of the clouds crawling over our mountains (we have yet to name them, but they're ours) and was pissed that the crappy little 5MP wasn't cutting it. I have been spending a lot of time researching a lot about photography, f-stops, ISOs, the difference between fixed and variable lenses, the meter range or lenses, all that photo stuff to get ready for the (hopefully soon) d90 purchase.

ok. too drunk to continue.

Rough draft of "setup"

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:59:00 +0000

I just sent the rough draft of the setup - mentioned in the last entry - to Matt Wilkinson. As I said before, this lays the groundwork for the rest of the film. It clocked in at 24 pages, just shy of my 30-page goal, which translates to about the first half hour of the film. Since it's rough, there's a lot of "cheating" where the dialogue isn't as good as it could be, where some character development is foggy (or non-existent), but, as it is, it's not a bad bit of writing. There's sex and humor, suspense and terror, blood and nudity. Still vague, I know. Hopefully Matt will be intrigued and we'll move forward with it. Then I'll be able to shed a little more light.

Matt's finishing up a location scout and said he'd read it later tonight.

In Detox news, I'm contemplating whether or not to send it in for a critique. The place I'm looking at, ScriptCoach, charges $295 for a complete analysis with about 7-10 pages of notes on how to improve all elements of the script. Plus, it covers 10 pitches at Virtual Pitchfest. I think, once I get through the last few minor changes (and if we get enough back on our tax return), I might do it.

Something new

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:13:00 +0000

Long time, no blog.

Believe me, I haven't spent all this time sitting around playing Left 4 Dead (if only!) The something potentially awesome that I had in the works seems to have fallen through, so it really wouldn't even mean much to relay what that was - though it could have been pretty awesome.

I know not many people read this, so what I tap out here is more for my sake than anything else, a way to track what I was working on and when and what became of it. So, I figure, since I'm about to head off down another, hopefully not futile, path I should log it - or blog it.

I have, for the past many months, been trying to concoct something to shoot for a feature film. I'd hoped it would be Detox, but that one is proving too expensive without investors. I'd thought, naively, that a short film would be enough of a proof of concept to generate interest for a feature. Apparently it no longer works that way. So, I've decided an actual feature may be a better proof of concept to, hopefully, get funding for Detox. The problem I kept running into was that every idea I had ended up being even more expensive to shoot.

So I went back to the basics.

What I've got cooking now, I think, as of now, will be cheap enough to self-finance - or at least need little investment money - and still be something I would be proud to be credited as "A Michael Dunn Film." This "something" has yet to be scripted. See, that's where the new thinking comes in. I've spent quite a lot of time researching how to make a microbudget feature. There've been some people that have offered some good advice - despite being dickheads - and some who've given what seemed bad advice and proved to be decent guys. I've been taking it all in and have a plan that - hopefully - will work and will result in being able to have a finished feature-length film under my (and my collaborators') belt without affecting the day job.

Suffice to say, the biggest piece of advice, at least in the scripting stage, is to write around a location. Our biggest expense on "The Bet" was building the sets - in money and time - so, if Matt Wilkinson (producer of "The Bet") is onboard past the initial "You interested?" stage (which he's already mostly onboard at this stage) - basically after he reads the setup - then we'll move on and scout locations which will be factored into the script.

From there, with a finished script, we'll move ahead to breaking it down and budgeting to see how much the whole shebangy will cost. And, if feasible, make a feature.

Stay tuned.

I've Been Pirated, Attention Indie Filmmakers

noreply@blogger.com (the man in the planet) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:34:00 +0000

I was Googling "The Bet" - hey, don't judge - and saw it listed for sale at a new website. A lot of sites pull from Amazon, so I wasn't freaked out. Until I saw that it was listed for a price lower than Amazon AND that they had 317 copies in stock (which no one but me has more than 20).

So I sent them a letter asking how they had permission to sell the film and how they had so many copies. They responded by saying (lack of caps is theirs):

thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

We will have the entry removed asap.

I will send you another confirmation notice, once removal has occurred.

Which makes me wonder if other films are being sold there illegally.

It's entirely possible someone had bought the DVD and then sent it to them as their own. As quickly as they pulled it, though, without question or proof of my ownership of copyright, makes me suspicious.

Really? You have to rip off the little guy? Shit pisses me off.