Bruce Campbell does Grand Rapids

Bruce “don’t call me Ash” Campbell gave a really good speech and Q&A session at the Wealthy Street Theatre in Grand Rapids. He did a book signing for “Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way” before hand, but then he went on to talk about support of local theatres and independent films. I highly recommend the book, if only to learn what a shakey cam is! Great idea, I wonder if he and Sam are the ones who came up with that idea?

He is very outspoken and didn’t pull any punches. He railed on Hollywood and the fact that all the mainstream movies are fast becoming the new B movie genre. He railed on all the remakes, making a great point of the fact that original ideas are shunned by all the big wigs. He also railed on the idiots in the crowd who, in their moment to shine, asked incredibly retarded questions like:

Please, God. Tell us that Stiffler is not going to play Ash in Evil Dead 5.

To the delite of the crowd, Bruce replied:

You’re an idiot.

After fielding a slew of other questions, some good, most bad, we proceeded with the film ‘The Man With the Screaming Brain” – Starring Bruce. Ted Raimi was in it as well as a few other familiar faces, but no one I could actually name. Come to find out, the script was written by Bruce and then retooled to be shot in Bulgaria. Why Bulgaria? Because the film crew was making a whopping $110 a month (a.k.a. cheap labor).

All in all, I’m very impressed with Bruce, atleast what I saw of his public face. He seems pretty down to earth. The only downer of the whole evening was what he signed in my book. It simply said:

Hey Sterling.

But, since he had to sign books and other memorabilia for a good two hours, I guess I’ll cut him some slack. This time!!

Treatments: Why are they important?

This installment is focused on you scriptwriters out there. I happened upon a good site called www.filmmakers.com and inside the many pages of information I saw an article called Writing Treatments That Sell. This article isn’t choke full o’ meat, but it is a glancing overview of what a treatment does and why you should write one.

As an aspiring scriptwriter, I’m always on the lookout for good tools and tricks to help me write more effectively. As I neared the end of the article this paragraph really stood out to me:

A treatment can be useful in getting your story straight, as well as getting the details of the screenplay you wish to write clearly spelled out. When you begin creating the details of the script, it’s too easy to lose track of the backbone of the story. The treatment focuses on the story’s backbone, allowing it to be seen clearly

I suddenly realized what I have been lacking when I write. Sure, I do an outline before I begin. But, a treatment is sort of like writing a short story about your script. I think it would be a great tool for testing a story idea. A tool to help you see where you want to go before you actually head out. The idea of using the treatment for a backbone to keep you in line is just brilliant. Thanks for the tip!

48 Hour Film Project – Detroit

Cancelled. Well, postponed indefinitely. I could cry. I was so looking forward to this. We had a crew and a cast ready to roll and everything. Sorry to everyone involved. We’ll see if a nearby city will be hosting soon and give that one a shot. I guess this means I can start writing again; since I was saving up all my creative juices for the competition.

Life et al

Hello out there all you flim nuts. Sorry we haven’t posted anything fun in a bit, but things are a bit hairy right now. Dan has just started teaching at GR Community College so he’s a wee bit bogged down at the moment. As for myself, well, I’m just lazy 🙂 Whoo haaa. Alas, I do have a small something to keep you occupied while you anxiously await our next ground breaking story. Without further adieu: How Video Editing Works.

War of the Worlds

Fantastic movie, folks. I really enjoyed it. I’m also going to go out on a limb here and say that I was impressed with Cruise. He’s normally type cast in rolls where he plays this suave guy who is really cool and is a bit of a hot shot. In WoW, however, he plays a dead beat dad who is just your average Joe. He isn’t brilliant nor is he super tough; he’s just average. I like that. It worked for me, and I think Cruise did a great job of pulling off the role.

I’d also like to take a brief moment to talk about Dakota Fanning. That little girl can act. I’m always impressed with someone so young having such a huge range of emotional control. She covered the gamut of emotions throughout the movie. I’m just floored.

The special effects were amazing. The whole movie had a tendency to suck me into the main characters shoes and ask myself this one nagging question, “What would I do if it were me?” Where do you run when everything around you is falling apart around you?

I give this movie a solid A. The effects were great, the characters were interesting, and I felt the movie had a little something more than what was just on the surface. I want to watch it again, and that’s always a good sign.