My Film In The Making!

You heard it here folks, Twister is in the process of making a film which will be a sequel in the Halloween franchise! Being a devoted fan of the series, and of film in general, a couple years back I thought of the idea of turning my creative ideas into reality. It will be filmed in my hometown (which bears a striking resemblence to the fictional Haddonfield, Illinois), and on a little budget - no, Twister is not a professional filmmaker. But even with minimal resources I am trying to create something rich and enduring; something that will actually scare people and not make them laugh. Therefore, I am not trying to make just some "fan-film", but  actually movie based off of an idea, but not a ripoff. I have seen numerous Halloween fan films like this or that, which are very low on creativity and imagination that they seem unintentionally funny and ridiculously contrived. Don't think that Twister is trying to tear down someone's labor of love for fun or ameusment, but rather he is trying to learn from them. That's right. I'm learning what not to do in this kind of position.

Here is a list of the old, tiring cliches found in these fan made Halloween films I see over and over:

* The atrocious acting
* The blank, bland, underwritten "characters" used as mere plot devices
* Teens/ 20 year olds getting killed off just to add more "scares" and dead bodies into account
* Someone has to mention something about drugs or alcohol
* Then the teenagers drink and get high
* The plot is flat and hollow
* Atmosphere and subtlety are simply non-exsistent
* Loud, over the top music plays over scenes to disgusise the lack of substance
* There are no close ups, as if the camera is afraid of getting intimate with the actor
* Dr. Loomis-esque characters rave about evil and such how Michael Myers must be destroyed, etc.
* All of the characters say what they think out loud instead of letting their face silently tell the audience what they're thinking (one of the wierdest ever)
*Michael Myers is seen completley in the light and is rarely seen as the shadowy nightmarish figure he was intended to be

The list goes on and on....

I will update you guys on what is happening in the process, like a film journal. Right now the script is being written, and I hope by the summer filming should take place.

Also, if you guys have any sort of ideas or anything to contribute please say so, because I would love to get your input!

Stay tuned.....

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Premiere's List of Overrated Films

Click here for the full story.

•2001: A Space Odyssey

                                                                     
                                                                   •American Beauty

•An American in Paris

•A Beautiful Mind

•Chariots Of Fire

•Chicago

•Clerks

•Easy Rider

•Fantasia

•Field Of Dreams

•Forrest Gump

•Gone With The Wind

•Good Will Hunting

•Jules and Jim

•Monster’s Ball

•Moonstruck

•Mystic River

•Nashville

•The Red Shoes

•The Wizard of Oz

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New Cool Video's!

Chloë on Letterman

Chloë on Leno

Enjoy!

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Remember Charlie's Angels?

Of course you do! The three sexy, ass-kicking ladies equipt with their rockin' heels and fashionable wardrobe.

I love the two films, and they are perfect for a fun Friday night at home. For dinner is take out, for dessert....the Angels....

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Forgotten Performances: William Holden in "Network" (1976)

Holden's performance as Max Schumacher is one of the most underrated performances to ever to be found in a largely overrated slop pile of a film. Everyone always remembers Finch's memorable ranting, and Dunaway's (ack!) shrill bitchiness, but Holden (the real lead actor of the film, I don't care what anyone says) with a quieter performance isn't given alot of attention at all. It helps that he and the great Beatrice Straight create the only real humane characterizations in the film (Finch is powerful, but soulless), and give real depth and understanding to the proccedings. Max is caught up in a world with these freaks, yet Holden's performance reveals Max's attempt to sustain a sane life by going back to Lousie, and maintaining his integrity.

It's a subtle, textured performance which makes the film bearable, and seeing it through Max's eyes, actually interesting.

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My Next Performance Review Will Be Of....

...Kate Hudson in Almost Famous (2000)

*Followed by Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed

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Joan Crawford's Birthday

Today, Ms. Crawford would have been 105!

I'm sure that wherever she is...there are no wire-hangers!

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Consuela, The Stereotypical Mexican Maid

"No, no, no....."

"Hello Mister Peter, hello Mr. Children."

Too funny for words.

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Check Out My New Video!

Such sensitivity, beauty, and emotion....

*Watch on YouTube for full view

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Fan Film Review: "Halloween: The Return of the Boogeyman"

I love crusing through YouTube finding amatuer fan films of classic films, particularly of my favorite horror franchise, Halloween. Well not too long ago I stumbled upon a relatively new fan film, one that's title links back to the classic original....

"Halloween: The Return of The Boogeyman"

Directed by Ron McLellen

The film basically follows the original (no!?) in terms of almost everything, from characters, dialouge, plot, kills, and little references to the overall series. Acting as a clone to the original, the film starts off with Dr. Richard Loomis (Daniel Burnely), wanting to see his patient Michael Myers the night before his transfer to "check him out" at Smith's Grove Sanitarium. He talks to Mikey (who's simply strapped down to a chair, real maximum security there fellas'!) about his evil and everything, and then is about to shoot the Boogeyman until the security guard stops him while getting his neck snapped in the process. Michael escapes and all hell is now broken loose. 

The next day, Loomis is set on going back to Michael's home town to find him, because after all, "that's where his RAGE is!!". He speaks to another doctor (the director, looking more like a NY cabbie than a man with a medical degree) about the problem at hand. He dimisses Loomis' warnings and believes the man to be following his lunatic brother's footsteps. Despite his mis-dressed appearence, Mr. McLellen is actually quite believeable in his miniscule part; his accent is convincing, and unlike most director cameos, his felt real.

Following that day, we are introduced to Christy (Becky Biggs, a Taylor Swift lookalike); the sweet, friendly, virginal and overall Laurie Strode-esque teenager who's the new gal in town. She's getting used to life out of a big city and adjusting to the small town life. Hoping to get some extra cash, she is assigned as Bobby Hollister's (Callan Wilson) babysitter, a local munchin who has become friends with Christy. The film, from here, establishes its characters with a likeability, but the dialouge and pacing feel off and discordant. For example, the conversation between the two starts off with the babysitting, then jumps to Bobby asking about Christy living in the old Myers House, then back again. Also, the topic of the Myers House is left dead (haha) in this scene, and is never explored further for the rest of the film.

We also meet another out of place teen during Christy's walk to school, Will (Hunter Ballard). The two meet awkwardly, and it becomes clear that Will has the hots for Christy (who wouldn't?). The character of Will, is well, rather wasted from here on in. He is just sort of there, and besides being just another character, the film has little use for him. For his part as an actor, Ballard conveys a consistent, effective awkwardness while also exposing the characters deeper feelings for Christy.

McLellen, like I said before, has a way of making such cliched characters interesting and not annoying idiots (much like John Carpenter did with the original). Yes, the characters do typical teenage things, but its to the credit of the actors and director that they don't drill a whole into our brain. Such as the case with Tommy and Lindsay (nice 'lil homage) who are played with blithe by Lynn McArthur and Cesar Agurrie. Long story short, the two want to go to a party that night, so Lindsay calls in her new "best friend" Christy to look after her sister while she babysits. Throughout the movie Lindsay always comes equipt with an (lame) insult for Tommy; "jerk-o". Yup, she calls him that to put him down. I think its funny because in the original film Laurie called her friends "meatheads" (which is worse), but the script offers a little unintentional humor. Go here to see what I'm talkin' about.

"This is my lovely, kid brat sister Katie." - I love that line for some reason

The party goes on across the street with the usual booze at the ready, along with the booming music, and possible (but unseen) drug use. Havoc ensures and the rest of the night is a game of life and death for these unfortunate people. 

 Again, unfortunatley jumping back to the negatives, Sandman's basic plot feels too uninspired and the characters left as depth-less and unexplained people.

Now I have to talk about the acting seperately because its my favorite aspect of film in general.

First up is Daniel Burnely as Dr. Richard Loomis. While the character is an obviously direct prototype of Sam Loomis, I didn't like how he was written as a clone to his brother; shouting the same righteous dialouge, having the same mission, and basically emulating him endlessly. Burnely's performance (even after several viewings) feels overcooked; investing nothing but a constant shrill outer shell, with no emotional texture or feeling. Instead of creating his own character, he cranks Sam Loomis up a million notches resulting in a uneffecting and negligible performance.

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Becky Biggs' role of Christy is one that could have easily slipped under the title of the typical shy teen with heart of gold, but Biggs is freshingly unique. Something about her screen presence seems new and inviting. She nails the wamth, sweetness, and likeability, yet fails to invest any real shades of complexion. She misses the essential foreboding sense of dread that the script sets out of her character to feel, and whatever darker shadows hang over Christy, she neglects to score them. Still - a flawed, but very good performance by Biggs.

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As the main supporting player, Lynn McArthur provides a delightful, enduring playfulness for her Lindsay. Never taking the role too, too seriously works wonders for McArthur who ends up becoming the light touch of humor the film needs. She maintains an enjoyable disposition for her character, and never sinks into unberableness.

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Callan Wilson's performance is one that plays out like a retread of Tommy Doyle, but he holds up by making something interesting out of nothing. He's that adorable, little chubby nugget that you would love to babysit. Never plays the role with an overly cutesy absurdness, which is nice, but some of his line readings and actions just feel forced. Like he's reading a cue card or just blantly saying lines within no context of the character. He's a nice presence, with only a few flawed spots. See what I mean here.

Playing the "brat sister" of Lindsay is Ashley Ballard giving a performance I wish their was more of. She has be, well, a brat, and act like she just doesn't care; rather insouciant. Ballard plays this perfectly, and she provides a few snappy lines that work for her Katie. I really just wished that her character in particular was written better to flesh her out, and give her more depth. For example, her relationship with Bobby is abruptly cut short, and I wish that wasn't so. Maybe their could have been a quiet, tender scene bewteen the two where we see a totally new side to Katie.

Kyle Thrasher does a decent job playing Michael Myers as the embodiement of evil. The slow head turns, the pauses he takes, and his overall naturalistic approach would make John Carpenter and Nick Castle proud. He also makes a cameo in the film as a partygoer:

"Hey everybody, Kyle Thrasher's having a keg party at his house, let's go!"

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I have seen the film well over five times, and while it does have its flaws here and there, it makes for a fun time throughout.

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The Overly Excited Ms. Lovato

Demi, honey, calm down. You're just going to camp.

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Okay, How Interesting Is This!

If you didn't know, Chloe Sevigny is a direct relative to the 17th centry aristocrat Marquis de Sévigné.

I found a picture of her and I was surprised to see how much they looked alike!

(Click on pics on enlarge)

So far down the line, yet the genes reamin strong in the Sevigny family!

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Performance Review: Chloë Sevigny in "Kids" (1995)

As you may have noticed by now, there is one particular actress working in films today who continues to fascinate me. She started out in fashion, as an intern/model, but was soon given the oppurtunity to star in an indie film which became the subject of heavy controversy. Her startling debut in a pivotal, essential role, brought her to into the world of film and gave her an fufilling and interesting career as an actress. Of course, I could only be referring to the excellence but on display by....

Chloë Sevigny in Kids (1995)

Larry Clark's harrowing film Kids, shows us what happens to teenagers who are not raised properly; they steal, drink, get high, and most prominetly, engage in sexual activity. The film follows 24 hours in the doped out lives of Manhattan teens and what they do on a regular, daily basis. The main "kid" Telly (a marbled-mouth Leo Fitzpatick) has a quest to seduce and nail as many virgins as he can - without protection.

In this disturbing tale of adolesence, we find Jennie; a sweet, 16-year-old New York teen who lost her viginity to Telly last summer. A year later, on a hot summer day which starts out with girl talk, uncoils and ends in devestation for Sevigny's Jennie.  We learn that out of the group of girls, Jennie is the least sexually promiscuous, and claims to have only had sex once. The other girls talk about their blooming sex lives and encounters with wild excitment to which Jennie primarily acts as a listener. One of the girls Ruby (young Rosario Dawson) has had sex with many guys, so just be sure she's healthy, she visits a health clinic to get tested, and Jennie does so to to keep Ruby company.

A week after getting tested, their results are back; Ruby is clean, but Jennie has tested positive for HIV. From here, everything is downhill for Jennie, and the shit has officially hit the fan. The film here teaches us that even having sex once can result in contracting something deadly. In these scenes, Sevigny presents something interesting about Jennie, and how she reacts to the horrible news. Instead of playing it with direct fright, fear, and anger, Sevigny witholds and underplays, letting the emotions slip through the cracks. But now she has one goal - finding Telly before he passes on the deadly virus to another innocent girl.

In a movie filled with disgusting, horrid, unlikable people, Sevigny's Jennie emerges as the films only humane character. The one person we can look at and say "I feel bad for her", without any hesitation. And this is to Sevigny's credit, as she keeps this wild contraption grounded, while maintaining a realistic grip on Jennie's broken heart. I found Kids to be a rather soulless film (it's trying to say something important but is missing that final piece) and luckily Sevigny provides the movie with a heart and a compelling, emotionally charged character.

As an actress, Sevigny is gifted with a face that radiates emotion, and a pair of eyes that tell the story. Where most actress' would have overplayed every emotion and gesture (possibly edging into melo-drama), Chloë doesn't broadly express what's happening to Jennie (mentally and emotionally), instead she lets us into the darkest parts of Jennie's psyche and soul to reveal something devestating. Cholë is absolutley vivid and precise in the role, naturalistic with glowing humanity.

Perhaps my favorite scene of hers is when she is in the back of a cab, and the driver notices that she looks rather troubled and upset. They talk of losing troubles and finding happiness, and reasures her that not everything is bad.

He even makes her smile....It's a poignant, powerful scene in which Jennie is reminded that for every dark side, their is a beaming bright side with welcoming redemption.

As day leads into night, Jennie gets closer to finding Telly and stoping this cycle once and for all. Something else that makes Jennie stand out amoung the characters is that she is the only person to really see the world that everyone lives in, for what the world really is; a dangerous frightening landscape full of nasty shocks and doomed fates.

After being force fed some drugs at a '90s teenage rave (by a nerdy Harmony Korine) while tryin to find Telly, Jennie is on her way to him but is in a worse state due to the overwhelming effect of the drug. (* The scene in the picture above, was the one scene Chloë actually thought she acted well in - she hated the rest. *)

Jennie gets to the apartment where Telly is, but its too late. He is already having sex with yet another girl, giving her the virus. Jennie walks by the encounter seeing how saying anything now just wouldn't matter now. Weak and emotionally drained, Jennie curls up on a couch, and lets what she's kept bottled in, flow out. Perhaps the most heartbreaking image in the film.

Jennie knows that everything is crumbling away. She knows that she will die, and so will that young innocent girl. She feels empty, helpless, and violated, all of which Sevigny palpably conveys with a haunting authenticity. Once Jennie is in a catatonic state, one of Telly's disgusting friends Casper, decides to have his way with Jennie by raping her. The scene - one of the most disturbing I have seen - is awful to watch. It's slow, menacing, and sick. By doing this, Casper dosn't even know that he will get the disease from Jennie, so in a sick way, its on him. That's his punishment.

Chloë Sevigny's performance put the girl on the map as one of the most promising young actress' of her time. Mixing intensity and heart with her own unique naturalistic acting style, has yet to fail Ms. Sevigny, and her debut performance in Kids just gives me more reason to love the girl.

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Renee' Zellweger Doing Her Scrunch Face Routine

Something wrong, Renee?

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Supporting Actressness Archive: My Favorites

*This post will be on the side for access, and will be updated whenever a new favorite comes along, or in case I forgot any that I already have. In other words this is not a final list.

  

             

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