wow, I think this is one of the longest times I've gone without actually doing an update of any sort. Quite amazing really but heh I've been busy with ten ton of stuff it's been unreal. So hello anyone who actually is reading this blog - cause I think I'm the only person in the world who actually bothers with this anymore - and lets get started with the updating.
Uni - well talk about what the fuck - pardon french - happened. The deadline is in three weeks time and I'm wondering where the hell everythings gone. I've been working on the scripts, editing them down as I over-wrote them origianlly which was not that brilliant, and found myself actually enjoying them properly for the first time. I think this last year has been hyper stressed but when I think of all the stuff that's being going in around in I'm actually not that surprised. I mean mum was in hospital with two operations, I had the trouble with the police, I had a load of work load on me, an ex who was being a pain in the arse, a kendo grading which I was worried to hell over as well as the usual assortment or work, coursework and mainting a social life that for a few months was completely none-existant. But things are sorted out now I'm happy to say and after reading one of the stars info pages - yes I read them though most are rubbish - which said that everything appears to be crumbelling around you when it's just rebuilding itself into something new and a whole lot better reflection on you. This makes me smile and has given me an good old fashioned confidence boost. Still waiting to hear from Swansea and Westminster to see if I've got places but I'm thinking that if they're anything like the ucas lot then they get the rejections out first - Goldsmiths rejected me but not because I didn't have enough experience just the fact that it was a very competative course and there were better people, it was better than getting told I had nothing of worth which was a good thing - and then go through the possibles and definates. Just wish they would hurry up and get back to me then I can start planning my life again. But yes, coursework deadlines coming up now so I'm bevering away at that and I've only got two 2,500 word essays to write but they have plans now so that shouldn't be to bad.
The film shoot - yes, the film got done but oh my god. I do not want to go through something like that again unless I'm either not involved in it personally - aka not my house - or that the people I'm working with actually give me something to do. I'm going to rant on here so forgive but seriously it was a bloody horrible but yet rewarding experience. I had no trouble with Simon - producer and editor - cause we get along really well and he's dead canny but what was pissing me off - and Dad as I later learned - was that fact that Lee - director - hadn't taken the time to read the script which I had done, had barely put anything into it and then constantly asked me things about the script or left me completely out of the picture and asked the actors how they would say things in this sort of situation. Now don't get me wrong, the actors were good and all that but they were stage actors and the medium is a totally different thing. Yes they can act and write their own stuff but the difference is unbelievable and they would have focused more on the theatre based stuff. I was sitting in the living room on these days, watching TV with Dad cause I wasn't given any other jobs to do other than drive them around, so Lee knew he could come and ask me for information cause I knew the script inside out and wouldn't have minded working with him on it. I felt downright cheated out of that right as a script writer but I think Mam got to Lee and gave him a slight nudge because his biggest fear now is going to be at the premier to make sure he gets the nod from me that it's what I intended for it to be. Speaking of which, the gala for the screening is June 11th at the gate if anyones interested, I'll keep an eye out for tickets and give a yell to anyone who wants to go. Another thing which pissed me off was the fact that Lee and Mark - camera op who I get along with just not as much as Si - kept on making quips about my room and other little niggley things which were tolerable but were nasty in a lot of senses because they were getting the house for free and weren't paying for it. It just boiled away into streams of frustration but looking back it was actually quiet valuable because I now know exactly what I should do before filming starts and make sure if I'm going to be on set to know what the hell I'm supposed to be doing there. But like they say, it's over to them now and I can't complain.
Holiday - after the weeks filming, which felt more like a month I can tell you, we went on holiday to Shropshire for a week and I got a total cut off cause Dad had a fall out with mum on the third day after red marley. the bike show was brilliant and we had a good laugh with Andy - friend of the family - which was great fun and someone was trying to get a scooter up this bloody hill and managed it much to everyones amusement. I spent most of the time wandering around the countryside or sitting reading my book and not doing much when the parents weren't talking to one another and just enjoying some well earned solitude. I also went out and about with mum to which was great and got to go around castles, small towns and just kick about with not much to do. Just nice, quiet, relaxing and well worth it. It totally revitalised me and set things into perspective which was great because I can start to sort myself out once I know what I'm doing.
Films - been a mixture of filsm recently but my three favourite are as follows. 300, seen it twice and absoulutely adore it. The graphic's are stunning, the acting is brilliant and story is written so well. And for once it looks like a comic book! A proper comic book, the film industry has finally clicked to the fact that if you want to do a comic on the big screen you have to do it like the actual comica book cause otherwise it looks daft. At the sake of sounding like a hypocrit, most of the comic book conversions to film have not worked very well at all, I'm not a real fan of comic books either but most just haven't worked and look completely wrong. Plus I tend to find they get people who look nothing like the characters or have the wrong personalities for them. Like the X-men films, they're good don't get me wrong but think back to the cartoon series and how much better that was. 300 looks and feels like the comic book - I went hunting for it image wise and I was reading the screen - which is why it works perfectly well whilst (don't you dare kill me Mark) Spiderman and Fantastic 4 are naff.
Getting off that topic I can also recommend 'Sunshine' by Danny Boyle which is an interesting concept Sci-fi (and british to but guess where our budget went) that is strangely surreal and interesting whilst being a very fun film to watch. Danny does trumps here in making you think things through and playing with the stereotype conventions to make you go 'oh no not another [insert film here]' and then takes it completely away from you to mess on with it. The visuals are typical Danny work - the guy who did Trainspotting, 28 days laters (which is getting a sequal so his quote of never doing another scify is completely wrong lol) - but owe a lot to the arthouse tradition but in a commercial way. They guy is great to watch and I recommend it though it's not his best work. It's more one you've got to watch several times over.
The other film I've recently watched and completely enjoyed was Casshern, a J-cyberpunk (if it can rightly be called that) film that was out in 2004 and Jonathon Ross highly recommended it. I also highly recommend it. The best way to describe it is take GITS, Akria, Final Fantasy Advent Children, Battle Royal and The Ring, mix them toghether, make it live action and add a heavy metal base track to it and you get a very vauge idea of how this works. It's stunning visually, showing the story from three serperate perspectives at points which is strange but interesting, the story is multi-layered and the actors are good. Very cute as well and one of them could definately be in a live action version of FF if they ever made it. Very confusing the first time you watch though but one that has many layers and is definately worth while. Plus I wanted to cry at the end.
And that's it folks. ^_^
