The Last Detail

The Last Detail is a film I watched awhile back, but I wanted to post on the blog about it. I really enjoyed this movie. It isn't neccesarily on my Top 10 Movies list, but it is a good movie for it is. It's a story of two men who have to take a man who stole from a fundraising fund to a prison. The movie basically revolves around this simple story. The story really doesn't give you a lot to work with, but when a story has a few out there characters, something very different is formed. Those characters are Billy "Bad Ass" Budusky and "Mule" Mulhall. The two characters are played by Jack Nicholson and Otis Young. Then there is the young prisoner played by Randy Quaid. All of these characters have very different personalities, from Budusky's take no crap and have a good time attitude, to Mule's tough exterior, who just needs a little fun in his life. Finally Quaid's character is a very frightened individual who just simply needs to lighten up. The real story is the breaking of this young man. At first Buddusky and Mule just see this as some stupid job, and I way to get out. However, they realize that there is something truly wrong with this young kid, and he needs to be broken. So, the three of them get into all sorts of trouble, from drinking to partying. There is an especially good scene with Nicholson at a bar, when they try and get the kid a drink, and then Mule who is black wants one too, but the bartender refuses. Nicholson is especially intense and at the top of his game at such a young age in this scene. The dialogue within the film is quick witted and snappy. The visuals are nothing to die for, but they are realistic and I believe that's what the director was looking for. The direction is well done, and with the great performance from the top actors it creates quite a show of mental and physical perseverance in the game that is life. I do recommend this film and I may rethink my thoughts of not putting it in my Top 10, because it certainly is one of Nicholson's best performances. Finally it is a great film because it was part of the new beginning of no censorship and an any thing goes attitude as long as its real, it is a visionary film to rival that of Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy in the 60s-70s generation.

Omaha Film Festival

So this past week I volunteered at the Omaha Film Festival. I would recommend volunteering to everyone! You have to work a minimum of ten hours, but then you get an all-access pass and a t-shirt. An all-access pass I think is worth at least $60 or $70. I'm not sure of the prices. An all-access pass gets you into all the movies and parties for free. I was really sad because I didn't get a chance to go to a party this year, but last year the parties were a blast!

So Monday was my first day of volunteering, and it was basically an "observation" night. That meant that I just hung around for a couple hours, and then I got to watch the special screening of the movie Sleepwalking. This was an okay movie. It was a bit depressing, and the main guy was a lazy bum. I also volunteered Saturday and saw the Nebraska shorts, The Living Wake, and Strongest Ever.

For the Neb shorts some were strange, some were boring, and some were really good. You never know what you're going to get. They were all totally different.

The Strongest Ever was a good film and won best documentary, but I'm pretty sure it was rigged because everyone in the audience knew the people who made it. Oh well. This was just a movie about a woman body builder and how she took steroids and got in fights with her boyfriend. Last years documentary was better, I think.

The Living Wake was such a great movie! It was unlike any independent film I've ever seen. That's probably why I liked it so much. And the main character reminded me of Conan O'Brien. It's a really funny and bizarre movie about a man who finds out exactly when he is going to die, and so he makes a list of things to do (which kind of blow up in his face) and invites everyone to his wake. I hope that maybe I will be able to find it on dvd someday. One of the producers was there. He said that they were trying to make the film so that no one could really tell what time period it was in.

So I recommend that everyone volunteers for the festival next year (if you are around) or submit a film of your own.

Write! Final writing reminders.

Just a reminder that your final, complete step outlines for the entire feature and your completed first act of your screenplay are due on THURSDAY.

I have gone over all of this in class, but to remind you, these are my expectations and some suggestions:

1. Both your outline and your first act should be typed and in proper screenplay format. I also suggest that you read through it for typos and grammatical errors. You WILL be graded on format and grammar. Remember to include scene headings in your outline and format them just as they are in your screenplay.

2. I expect both to be in completed, final draft form. Your outline should have approximately 60 scenes. As we have talked about in class, generally first and third acts have about 15 and second acts about 30. You do not need to have exactly this number, of course, but know that you should be around these numbers. As for the first act, it should be around 20-30 pages, give or take a few.

3. Keep your screenplay in PRESENT tense.

4. Only write what you can SEE or HEAR. Be visual. You're telling a story through images and sounds.

5. Remember to capitalize characters when they are introduced and sounds.

None of this should come as a surprise. This is all stuff I have gone over in class, but your final outline and first act are a large portion of your grade, and I want you to be fully aware of all of the above. If you have any questions on any of this, please ask, otherwise I will assume you understand.

So keep writing and working!

Juno

first of all sorry for the procrastination Ms. T. The turning point of the first act in the film Juno would be when Juno decides to give her baby up for adoption. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I suggest you do, its different in the fact that they give you some blatantly obvious clues about a certain affair, but they never come out and say in black and white that it was actually happening. This is something that i've never really seen or noticed in a movie, to that extent at least.

Mrs. Doubtfire

well finally got onine and as i sad in class i watched mrs. doubtfire
I figured the turning point was when robin williams character "becomes" a woman when his brother makes him up
oh another easy turning point i just realized in cloverfield is when there is an unknown explosion in new york

Legally Blonde

I watched Legally Blonde. I think that the first act turning point for this movie is when the main character, a leader of a sorority, is accepted into Harvard and then actually goes in order to win back the man of her dreams. She was basically the stereotypical dumb blond girl that was into fashion and boys, but then her boyfriend dumps her because she isn't smart enough for him. He then goes to Harvard, so she decides that the only way to get him back is to go there too. She gets accepted, and then is thrown into this world of people that aren't like her at all and it is her story in this entirely different and new place.