Author: Timothy

  • Police Engage Robbery Scene

    A robbery scene for a low-budget film was being shot in a Long Island convenience store when police intervened with their guns drawn. Earlier, a witness outside the store saw the actors with guns and called the police who were quick to react.

    Luckily there were no casualties, but quite a few mistakes could have made things a lot worse. A policeman with his gun drawn ordered the actor to drop the gun several times; the actor’s reaction was to hold his hands up with the gun while insisting it’s just a movie, forcing the officer to disarm the man. The cop showed a lot of restraint from harming the actor, despite what the pseudo-robber was saying.

    I have nothing against guerrilla filmmaking; I’ve done it myself; it does have its advantages, but under the right circumstances. Filming a scene guerrilla-style which involves guns is an entirely stupid idea; the aforementioned incident being an excellent example of why.

    What the filmmakers should have done is get the permit to film in the store; inform the police station about the scene taking place, and that weapons will be involved. Usually a policeman will be on location to assure that there isn’t any misconceptions for any bystanders. It keeps everyone safe.

    Hopefully other low-budget, independent productions pay attention to this incident and learn from it. If you’re going to shoot scenes involving weapons, approach it properly so you won’t endanger any lives.

    News Article

  • Matthew Vaughn for X-Men: First Class

    According to Deadline, Matthew Vaughn and 20th Century Fox are negotiating a deal for Vaughn to direct X-Men: First Class, a prequel to the X-Men films. The former director, Bryan Singer is set to be one of the producers.

    It’ll be interesting how this turns out, since this film is essentially a reboot of the franchise. The prior films did help pave the way for movie adaptions of comic books, but they took a few liberties with the characters that left comic fans unhappy — most notably downplaying Cyclops’ leadership to bump up Wolverine in the films. This could be Fox’s opportunity to fix their mistakes, and get characterizations correct. It’d be a smart move since Marvel’s own movie adaptions are making a huge impact on the market.

  • Third Batman Movie

    Recently Warner Bros. set the official date for the third Batman movie to be July 20, 2012. It’s the only concrete detail on the movie while it’s under the presumption that Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan will be involved in the film.

    The Riddler is a fan favorite for the next villain, though I’m hoping for the Riddler to be an intellectual rival to Batman as a detective. The third movie can easily suffer the fate of most trilogies if it follows the same formula of “bigger is better” — having the Riddler as a rival on top of an actual villain would help keep the film grounded, and further display the detective aspect of Batman that was only touched upon in the prior movies.

    As for actual villains: I’d like to see Bane and Black Mask being used. If Bane’s characterization is the intelligent version like in the comics — coupled with Black Mask who hates Bruce Wayne and eventually controls much of the underworld of Gotham — they would make a formidable team against Batman while he’s in his rivalry and occasional help from the Riddler.

  • Thor

    Actor/director Kenneth Branagh is set to direct Marvel’s movie Thor, which should excite any fans of the superhero. Mr. Branagh is most notable for his adaptions of Shakespeare plays; something that fits perfectly with the Thor franchise.

    Playing the part of Thor will be Chris Hemsworth, who portrayed George Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek.

    The question on my mind now is if this will be the Ultimate’s version of Thor. I’d imagine that version would make a seamless transition onto film.

  • Stories and Pink Floyd

    My parents have an amusing story about me when I was still in my mother’s womb: I behaved well while my dad would blast rock music, but the moment it was Pink Floyd, I would start kicking to the beat of the songs. My mom noticed this and told my dad — they then experimented and played different bands to see how I’d react, but I was docile. They put on Pink Floyd, and again I kicked to the beat.

    One of my distinct childhood memories is in our old apartment; I was blasting my dad’s Pink Floyd collection and sang along, air-guitaring to the solos. I was fully submerged in the music. There could be company over, but I was so lost in the music that I didn’t care.

    At eight-years-old I developed a tradition of listening to Pink Floyd’s Darkside of the Moon alone in my room on my birthday. At midnight today the tradition continued; I spent time in solitude in my room listening to the album.

    There’s a nostalgia, a child-like happiness I experience each year. To this day no other band has touched my soul like Pink Floyd. The experience is always therapeutic and euphoric to me. Until next year again.

  • Roger Waters’ “The Wall”

    To mark the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s concept album, The Wall, Roger Waters is bringing it back on tour. Waters thinks that hidden in the personal story of “Pink” lies an allegory for universal, political, and social themes that are still relevant today.

    The last time The Wall was performed live was in Berlin, Germany, on July 21, 1990 to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. A sell-out crowd of over 250,000 people attended with an additional 100,000 after the gates were opened; along with fifty-two countries broadcasting the concert. It featured the building of a 550-foot-long and 82-foot-high wall during concert, which was then demolished at the end.

    The new tour will feature the construction and deconstruction of a 240-foot-wide and 35-foot-tall wall, along with other props and special effects.

    Waters believes this will be his last major tour; his swan song. The tour kicks off on September 15, 2010 in Toronto, Canada, and will conclude on December 13, 2010 in Anaheim, California.

    • American Express presale tickets starts on May 3.
    • RogerWaters.com presale tickets starts on May 5.
    • iTunes presale tickets starts on May 6.
    • And public tickets are on sale on May 10.

    For more information on the tour and tickets, go to: http://www.roger-waters.com/

  • Branching Out

    For the second time I’ve branched out, and with a more clear direction — though still likely won’t be that cohesive — which will be more focused on entertainment, stories, and occasionally projects I’m involved in. Make sure to sign the guest book! Oh wait . . . this isn’t Geocities or the ’90s. Oops.