speed racer is far from revolutionary

Every time I hear someone talk about the Wachowskis’ “revolutionary” idea of shooting Speed Racer with everything in focus I want to smash them in the face with Gregg Toland’s skull. When people wonder why Citizen Kane still gets hailed as one of the greatest films of all time, there’s one reason why. That crazy idea of Toland and Orson Welles to shoot in deep focus 66 years ago is apparently still revolutionary. (Ignoring the fact too of course that a deep depth of field on film is so much harder to achieve than it is on digital.)

Oh and shooting on sets that are mainly greenscreen? I seem to remember someone else pioneering that about nine years ago. Someone who said that process would be the future and most people thinking he was crazy (of course if the script had been better or apparently had included a chimp instead of Jar Jar people might have paid more attention). Heck, even the idea of using cgi to blur the region between live action and source authentic animation has been done several times over (Sin City and 300 being the two most prominent examples). Granted neither was bright and colorful, but Dick Tracy certainly was.

None of which is to say they’re hacks, just that none of their ideas on this project are truly revolutionary.

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -George Santayana

there are no new ideas

Yesterday watched a movie rather incorrectly titled He Ran All The Way in which John Garfield takes a family (father, mother, older daughter, and young son) hostage while hiding from a manhunt (and does very little running). The son wants to fight and is disappointed with his father giving in. Garfield lets the father and daughter leave the house to go to work, warning them that if he sees any police he’ll kill their mother. As he’s there he falls for the daughter and clearly wishes he’d had a family and a life like they have. It was quite good and ended with a beautiful shot of Garfield stumbling towards camera in a rain filled gutter.

Today watching a movie called The Desperate Hours where Humphrey Bogart, along with two accomplices, takes a family (father, mother, older daughter, and young son) hostage while hiding from a manhunt. The son wants to fight and is disappointed with his father for not fighting back. Bogart lets the father leave to run an errand and the daughter go on a date, warning him that if he sees any cops the rest of the family will get shot. Not sure how this one’ll end, but so far it could almost be a remake. One of Bogart’s accomplices has even started to show some of the longing Garfield’s character felt.

All of this is to say, Tivo and TCM make a great resource when writing a noir.

struck companies

Here’s a handy list of struck companies so you can boycott any content released by them digitally.

Don’t buy their content off of iTunes or Amazon or any other site.
Don’t watch their streamed movies or TV shows from Netflix, NBC Direct, Hulu, Joost, et al.

When anyone redistributes a movie without the studios getting a cut, they call it piracy.  When the studios do it, they call it promotional.

striking back (on behalf of writers)

As I’m sure everyone knows now, the Writers Guild of America is striking, which means no new Daily Show or talk show episodes now and, in a few months, no new drama or sitcom episodes.  For a good look at things from the WGA side, check out this site, United Hollywood.  For a look at the corporations’ side, check any main stream media outlet (since they own them all).

The keys facts to know:
• Residuals are paid to cover the re-use of creative work, either in an ad-supported form (such as TV) or for pay (such as home video) and are not a bonus
• Right now writers receive 0.3% residual on home video sales thanks to a contract set up back in 1988
• Most writers only make about the same as a school teacher (or less)
• That amount was set as a concession to the studios who said they needed it due to home video being an uncertain new market
• Many or most films now make more money on home video than they do in the theater
• The studios don’t want to negotiate an increase in home video residuals and the WGA even pulled the request for an increase in the latest talks
• The WGA is presently asking for a 2.5% residual on electronic sales (meaning iTunes and Amazon downloads) and the same TV re-run residual rate for online streaming
• The studios only offers are no residuals for electronic media (the status quo) or the same 0.3% home video residual figure and refuse to negotiate unless the WGA accepts one of those

That final bit is the real sticking point, not DVDs as most media outlets report. The studios are helping that mis-information by admittedly using the term “DVD” to refer to DVDs and electronic distribution so when reference is made to DVDs, keep in mind that’s not really what they mean. So basically, the writers want to be sure that they don’t get stuck with a very low residual for 20 years for electronic distribution the way they did for home video.

Not being a member of the Guild, I can’t help by not writing. Not living in L.A. means I can’t go picketing. They already get residuals for movies and TV, so not going out or switching off my set won’t help. Then I realized I do have a way to show support and something everyone I know can do too. So I suggest the following and ask that you spread the word:

Boycott studio-produced content on new media. Don’t buy any TV shows or movies off of iTunes or Amazon. Don’t watch shows streamed off network websites (including the massive Daily Show archive) or Joost or the new Hulu site.

jumping back into battle

Looks like Mace Windu’s ready for a rematch with Anakin. Cut off his hand and there will be consequences.