Walking the Red Carpet or Running the Gauntlet - You Choose

by Julia Smith


Imagine it.

You're Gerard Butler.

You studied hard to be a lawyer, but reached instead for the brass ring.

You've carved a nice career for yourself in Hollywood - not an easy job for anyone.

You've got three films out this year and spend a lot of time promoting each and every one of them. That means walk after walk down the red carpet, a glamorous and exciting part of being an A-list actor.

Or is it?

Let's check out some shots from various red carpet walks he's taken:



Red carpet.
















Gauntlet.
















Having fun.











Having no fun.
















Good times.









With Katherine Heigl



Not so much.
















Workin' it.














Endurance match.
















Thrills.
















Misery.








Co-stars make the burden light.








With Rodrigo Santoro



Spartan training comes in handy.
















Apparently, it's more fun to share the red carpet.













With Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan



I get by with a little help from my friends.






Don't forget to wish Gerry a Happy 40th Birthday today!

Nothing Attracts Women Quite Like the Unattainable Man

"I stalked him like a strange fan," said Madonna of getting Ukrainian musician Eugene Hutz to play the philosophical narrator and one of three main characters in her film Filth and Wisdom. - Billboard.com



"I had become obsessed with Eugene," writes documentary filmmaker Pavla Fleischer. "That's what it was. One drunken car ride with him in the summer of 2004 and I could not get him out of my mind.

He was loud and obnoxious but with a passion I rarely saw in men I have known. He serenaded me with Gypsy songs, and enchanted me with his spirit. I needed more time with him but sadly, Eugene did not need me.


He was after all the lead singer of New York's notorious Gypsy Punk band, Gogol Bordello, with no shortage of female fans. Like a woman possessed I played my final card, and appealed to the only thing I could: his ego.

'I'll make a film about you,' I proposed and to my delight, he agreed." - Pavla Fleischer


A few weeks ago I didn't even know who Eugene Hutz was. But I'm reading Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer for a reading challenge, and even though I hadn't finished the book I asked my husband to bring home the DVD from Blockbuster, where he works. Playing the Ukrainian translater for New York-Jewish Jonathan was Eugene Hutz, turning in a remarkable performance for a non-actor. Now, like these other women, I'm quite obsessed with him.

I find it comforting to know that two creative women resorted to making films in order to spend time with this man. What is it about Eugene that inspires such wild attraction?



I'm certain it has to do with his passion.


It oozes from his pores.













Like most people whose lust for life is infectious, Eugene's energy spills over to whomever he's with. Including complete strangers like myself who have never even met him before.

I started thinking about Eugene's charismatic hold over women.

I believe it's his Unattainable Man persona.

Who could be more unattainable than a part-Gypsy globetrotter whose undying passion is Music?

Here's a little taste of what drew me to Eugene - a scene from Everything is Illuminated:



And here is the authentic Eugene, speaking for Unattainable Men everywhere with Wanderlust King.



This is the documentary Pavla Fleischer made so she could hang out with Eugene:



And here's a performance documentary made by yet another woman, Margarita Jimeno, showcasing the carnival atmosphere of Eugene's band:



And this is part of an interview promoting Madonna's film Filth and Wisdom.

Gerard Butler is More Than Enough Reason For Me

Gerard Butler has had two films released in the past few months:

The Ugly Truth in July - read my review HERE

And Gamer just last week.











I'm actually much more of a Gamer target audience than The Ugly Truth. I rarely see contemporary romantic comedies at the theatre - but if Gerry's in it, well, that's another story.

Gamer is a cautionary tale about nanotechnology and its unforseen applications. Gerard Butler plays a convicted death row inmate who is outfitted with neurotransmitters that connect him to a gamer. Gerry becomes the virtual soldier in a first-person shooter game. Other social implications include Second Life-type programs run amok and creeping Hitler-like seduction and control of the masses.














I knew something was up when there was no review for Gamer in the paper on opening day. Producers who don't release a film to reviewers are plainly saying that they're aware the critics will pan it. But they'd like to get their opening weekend box office before the reviews ultimately get out.

Being the loyal and supportive Gerry fan that I am, I made sure I was there for that essential opening day box office.

Suffice to say, the ending of Gamer is the reason for not releasing it to critics ahead of time. But honestly - before we get there, it's a decent action film. I can only assume that a rewrite or seven of the script and perhaps too many editing suggestions are to blame for that ending.

But no matter. I'm a very particular film goer whose normal tastes fly out the window when it comes to Gerry. If he's in it, I'm there, baby.


*whispering*

Hey Julia -

I've got a film coming out. Can you help me out with some box office love?


Sure, Gerry.






This one hasn't got a pre-release to critics.




You know I don't care about that, Gerry.











Can I blow you a kiss?



Already caught it, Gerry.

WOODSTOCK: The Grooviness-to-Fringe Ratio

40 years ago this week, three days of peace, love, hippies, inhaling and rock and roll converged on a farm owned by Max Yasgur in Upstate New York.

I set up my own set list in honour of the historic festival. You can time travel back to the concert by clicking HERE.

I tend to be funkier rather than folkier. So my set list included original funk meister Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix. It wasn't hard to see that the funkiest musicians were head to toe in fringe.

And it's very mesmerizing to see the grooviness in 3D as the fringe sways along with the music.






Jimi Hendrix gets down, baby





























Sly Stone, brothers and sisters



Carlos Santana skipped the fringe but was arguably the funkiest musician there. Though he did have wild, fringe-like hair.










Rock god Roger Daltrey had both the hair and the fringe. He's definitely doing it for me!



























Farmer Max Yasgur kept to his non-fringey look as the host of the world's most celebrated drop-in.

















Yasgur addressed the crowd on the third and final day of the music festival:

"The important thing that you've proven to the world...is that a half million young people can get together to have fun and music...and have nothing but fun and music and God Bless You for it!"

After the concert, he said "If we join [those young people], we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future." - Wikipedia

The Who - My Generation



Santana - Soul Sacrifice



Sly & The Family Stone - I Wanna Take You Higher



Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady

The Rise of Green Screen Technology

by Julia Smith











Did you ever wonder why blue screens seem to have turned into green screens for film effects?

The reason is the simple march of time - and technology.

History of Chroma Key

Blue screen continues to be used in film, as we can see in these composite shots from 300.

















"Until the the 1990s most blue screen for films was done optically, and all television composites were done using analog real time hardware." - Bob Kertesz

Optical effects are expensive, exacting and have to be done in post-production, which is the time used by the production after the principal photography is completed. This is the time when music is recorded for the soundtrack, dialogue is replaced through looping, and sound and visual effects are created.

Before the advance of digital technology, the only way to get a realistic-looking visual effect was through blue screen optical matting, which replaced a background component - the blue screen - with a second visual component - usually a risky location such as a cliff.

The process of traditional travelling matte optics is time consuming. Each frame of the actor has to be made into a negative. The blue background is replaced by the new location footage, then photographed again with the negative of the actor superimposed, then the images photographed once again replacing the negative of the actor with the actual actor.









Graphic by Tech On

The television industry has always opted for green screen technology, due to the way TV cameras work to a basic three-color spectrum: Blue, Green and Red. Often the superimposed images are created on the spot in the studio at the mixing console by the video switcher.

"Chroma-Key is a television process only, based on the luminance key. Video cameras are usually most sensitive in the green channel, and often have the best resolution and detail in that channel. Green paint has greater reflectance than blue paint, which can make matting easier." - Bob Kertesz

Because cameras have gradually moved over to digital, even for full-length motion pictures, the effects have moved with them. The green background works best in digital format and has the added benefit of not interfering with actors' blue eyes or blue clothing.

















The trick with green screen is knowing how your other colors will behave when you shoot them. Notice how on-set for Sin City, Marv's bandages are red, but in the finished effect shot, the red becomes white. Also notice how a slight blue tinge on Marv's white T-shirt turns the shirt into a truer white in the effect shot.

Actors today can be assured of having to act in front of either a blue or a green screen at some point in their careers. A major challenge for them, but green screen has changed the way film and television is shot. I personally love this technology, especially when it brings me back through time to ancient Rome or to Middle Earth.















Graphic from Make Movies or Die

Oh, How I Miss the Hockey Night in Canada Theme

For 40 years - count 'em - 40 years, Canadians settled in front of their TV's to watch Hockey Night in Canada. If you hail from a country that wonders what makes Canadians tick, this national tradition is the closest thing you're going to get to a collective heart beating as one.

And every broadcast of Canada's great game began with The Hockey Theme, written in 1968 by Dolores Claman.

Here's how it sounded when I was a kid, growing up with a dad who never missed a game if he could help it.





The Hockey Theme is widely referred to as Canada's Second National Anthem. Listen to what Canadian soldiers serenade themselves with while on a tour of duty.





This tune is embedded in our psyche - big time.





Just watch the reaction the theme gets from two little boys.





So, one would think that CBC executives would know better than to mess up a good thing when they had it.

But that would be assuming too much. Especially from executives.

In their wisdom, CBC decided not to renew the license for the iconic Hockey Theme. I can just imagine the board meeting where this somehow made sense.

"We can have a contest! We can have a new theme that really speaks to Canadians!"

CTV executives - who smelled the blood in the water - snapped up the unwanted Hockey Theme for TSN, The Sports Network. Here's what their revamped Hockey Theme sounds like.





Pretty good, eh? But who settles down to watch hockey on TSN? Anyone? I wonder how many Canadians switch on TSN to hear the theme, then flip over to CBC to watch Hockey Night in Canada?

So, for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, this is what I'm forced to listen to. Granted, it's got a great visual and audio montage of past hockey glory. But it seems to me the great visuals and sports announcing gold of the past is there to mask the unbearably generic sound of the new theme, by Colin Oberst.

The True Jaw Dropper - Films I Have Yet to See

by Julia Smith

The shock value criteria for this list:

First - that half of the films on this list are in my longing-to-see category.

Second - as a graduate of Ryerson's film program in Toronto (14 years ago) most people assume I've seen all the great films. (LOL!)


Third - my husband works at Blockbuster, takes home 10 free rentals a week, and has seen almost every film ever made. Example - he's seen The Duchess with Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. I have not. It's a film I will love - once I get a minute...












1 - Taxi Driver (1976) by Martin Scorsese

with Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster

A classic. Cutting edge, character-driven, Scorsese in top form, a hotbed of cultural references - everything I could want. Why do I deprive myself?










2 - Cinema Paradiso (1990) by Giuseppe Tornotore

with Philippe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio

"Every Filmmaker's Favorite Film" says caspian1978 on IMDB. "The ending answers all of your questions and completes the missing pieces to all movies. If the musical score doesn't put you in tears, the amazing visuals will push you over the edge."

This one really is a puzzle.





3 - A Christmas Carol (1951) by Brian Desmond Hurst

with Alastair Sim and Mervyn Johns

The 'definitive' film version of one of my favorite all-time stories. My big problem is that I love the 1984 version with George C. Scott so much. I also love the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart.

I like thinking there's a Christmas delight still waiting for me.





4 - Singin' in the Rain (1952) by Stanley Donen

with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

This one was doubly hard to miss, as it was screened at film school. I was working a matinee that day at a performing arts theatre, which was a total drag because I'd been looking forward to it.







5 - The Red Shoes (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

with Anton Walbrook and Moira Shearer

Torn between the love of dance and her passion for her lover - is that not the perfect film for a ballet freak like me? "Personal relationships are fragile; a dancer's active career can be short. If you have a gift, service to it must come first. Domesticity can wait," writes Silverwhistle from Glasgow on the IMDB. After watching the documentary on the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo a few years ago, I must watch The Red Shoes as all the stars of that company dance in the film. In their prime!


6 - Cold Mountain (2003) by Anthony Minghella

with Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger

My former critique partner's favorite film. The late 1800's, battle footage, a tragic love story - why am I doing this to myself?







7 - The Seven Samurai (1954) by Akira Kurosawa

with Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune

My husband is a huge fan of samurai films and Japanese manga like the Lone Wolf and Cub series. My hero George Lucas named this film as an influence to my beloved Star Wars films. And still I've never seen more than clips of this masterpiece.






8 - Breathless (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard

with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg

A landmark film that ushered in the French New Wave. "With fast editing and unresolved camera movements, Godard disseminated the very essence of his hero's lifestyle," says Spiros Gangas of the Edinburgh University Film Society.

About time I saw it, then.




9 - An Inconvenient Truth (2006) by Davis Guggenheim

with Al Gore

Preaching to the converted, but I know I'd love it.










10 - School of Rock (2003) by Richard Linklater

with Jack Black and Joan Cusack

There's no good reason why I haven't seen this yet.











11 - Sleepless in Seattle (1993) by Nora Ephron

with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan

Actually, I'm not that much of a contemporary romantic comedy fan. I like them quirkier than this. Like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by Pedro Almodovar.









12 - Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) by Audrey Wells

with Diane Lane and Sandra Oh

The people who love this film tell me how gorgeous it is. So maybe one of these days...










I can vouch for the shock value of this list. If you could have seen the look on my mom's face when I mentioned I hadn't seen Casablanca. We remedied that, by the way, my mom and me.

Or on my sister's face when I told her I was putting Taxi Driver at the top of this list.

Are there similar films waiting impatiently for you to watch them?