Author Archives: rc111646

The late gravel voiced comedian Jimmy Durante used to jokingly say, ‘everyone’s trying to get into the act, and I’m losing’ when a guest of his tried to steal his thunder. His remarks have an unmistakable echo in the 2011 Oscars. The producers of this yearly extravaganza which brings out ‘tout Hollywood’, have induced the mothers of the nominees to use Twitter to campaign for their son or daughter for the much coveted Oscar.

And the mother and grandmother of James Franco who is nominated in the category of Best Actor for his performance in ‘127 Hours’, have joined the hounds to boost the chances of  the multi talented actor.

As we know, the Oscars are a ‘dog & pony show’, and the producers have hit on the novel idea of use Twitter, to hustle extra votes for the top candidates and more publicity for the films they back, in order to draw more people to the box office. Franco’s grandmother Mitzi is an ‘old broad’, fierce proud of James, whose salty remarks have drawn and attention by attacking any criticism of ‘127 Hours’. How many new votes will this dump in Franco’s hopper, as well as another dollar into the producers’ wallets, is open to speculation.

Nonetheless, the producers, like racetrack touts, have found a new angle to up the odds on this year’s 2011 candidates, and at the same time, in a divide and rule maneuver, set the candidates’ mothers and grandmothers at each others throat, as well as titillate the blabbing Twittersphere.

The Oscars are an exercise in self indulgence and high finance. So, anything to bring out the cat’s claws of envy and ring up another Greenback which will bring back the money the producers invested is always welcome!

Na WeWE

Rarely have I seen a live action shorts in US picture houses. After viewing the 2011 Academy-nominated Live-Action shorts at New York’s IFC Center, it struck me how good they were, and how much we are deprived of a rich mother lode of cinema.

The five nominated live-action films are the best chosen among many for this Oscar category,  either in technicolor or black and white. Live-action shorts demands a  terseness and a control in directing that the script has to obey.  The five nominated films nominated this category run from 18 or 19 to 25 minutes.

Two films — ‘Na Wewe’ [Belgium] and ‘the God of Love’ [US] — direct our attention to history, geography, language and literature, which might have escaped our everyday interests or concerns. They are more adult in story line. On the other ‘the Confession’ [UK], ‘Wish 143’ [UK]  and ‘the Crush’ [Eire] have a wider mass appeal demanding nothing more of us than empathy. They evoke and explore, archetypally, a boy’s awareness, through tragedy, disease, and precocious mischief, of the human condition and the loss of a child’s ‘garden of eden’, with which we can identify.

Finally, mainstream America is missing a lot by the absence of live-action shorts in Hollywood’s standard awful menu of films.

“Awesome dude!”

“My eyes moistened during the showing of the five films. They moved me. I, however, do wish I knew what “Na WeWe” meant.”

Oh, Inverted World

“On, Inverted World” [OIW] is a video shot in black and white with unknown [and perhaps amateur] actors. “MyLifetime.com” [MLT] “Suite Seven” episode is in color and has two known TV actors, one being Shennen Doughty [also listed as the “MLT” producers] and Warner Cleveland. Mike Hale in his 14 January 2011 blog pegs them in his “Watchlist: Web Series With Promise”.
OIW’s opening episode introduces us to four young people — one young woman and three young men — returning to their suburban town after graduating from college. The opening scene is in an automobile with Mina at the wheel and the bearded Art, Finn, and Rob crowded in the back seat. Immediately, we know that a sense of “ennui” and apathy will dominate the series shot in grainy black and white, to emphasize the distance from them and the hometown to which they are returning.
The main scene takes place in a “local dive”. It is not much of a “dive” but a small town bar. Our three “protagonists” set the tone of boredom and shallowness in meeting “Douchy” McNeil who never left town, but lives in the real world. He has set up his own business–a gun shop and a tanning salon. The use of the adjective “douchy” tells us everything we want to know about the three college boys who look down at McNeil; for his part, McNeil makes a remark about their beards. In an amateurish scene, as Mina arrives outside the bar and finds McNeil smoking a cigarette, Art, Finn, and Rob charge to defend their hairy faces, in a shot that reminds one of a poor man’s Japanese Samurai film. Inside, we see our bruised heros and Mina.
Suddenly Selena enters the “dive” asking for three strong men to help change a tire for her, leaving Mina alone. The use of a full moon makes us think of vampires and the mysterious unknown. The story line is obvious and shopworn. The acting is hardly engaging.
As for “Suite Seven” in the MLT series although better acted, the script is also obvious and hardly keeps our attention. It is 4 am in a hotel. The reception [Cleveland] brings the guest [Doughtery] a pillow. We find her rearranging the furniture. She cannot sleep. She is lonely and wonders why she and her boyfriend cannot connect. Everything separates them, she explains; he works night, she days. The line from Kipling comes to mind: ‘east is east, west is west, and twain never meets’. That more or less sums up the 8 minute episode. Doughty asks Cleveland why loneliness. He rightly cannot answer. Oh, those philosophical questions which complicate life! Nevertheless, even trying to adumbrate an answer to life’s “unanswerable why’s”, Doughty and Cleveland “connect”. In the closing scene as Doughty’s head hits the pillow, and Cleveland gently lifting her head and putting the pillow she requested atop the other pillow, our “heroine” falls asleep.
Technically MLT is superior in production elements–props, color, acting, etc. As far as the story line is concerned, it suffers from a strong dose of the sophomoric. The French call this “un age bete”, it can happen at any age. it seems. Mike Hale might find promise in these two video series, but he does not really say why. Were I an investor, I could spend my money better.
Classmate quote: “I did not like the first video. The sponsored video was engaging; the characters more believable; a good use of props to set the atmosphere.  And, I found it funny.”

www.ohinvertedseries.com [Episode 1: “Neighborhood #1]

www.myliftime.com/original-webisodes/suite-7/video