awards season bonaza

If you didn't know instantly that I was referring to awards being given to FILMS, then you are pretty much NOT MY FRIEND.

The next wee while is all about the build up to the Oscars. And although its all grumble-grumble 'they don't mean anything really, its all politics anyway, true talent never gets recognised' rahrahrah, they're still a unifying ceremony worldwide and the landmark cinematic event of the year.

I always try and make sure I've seen each of the Best Picture nominations and as many of the other relevant top category films too. So, yes, this means in the last few years I've wasted time and money on pieces of shite like Crash and Million Dollar Baby, but watching the whole shebang live just isn't a participatory experience unless you've seen the flicks already.

Doing the whole sweepstakes thing always throws me out though. Because it IS 'political' and I tend to tick my boxes instinctually, I never win enough points. Besides, who really saw the black-out of 2002 coming?! Last year I so wanted Brokeback Mountain to win, I really thought it was better than Walk The Line, but in terms of stakes i shouldn't have backed it. FOOL!!

Recently I've seen Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen and The Last King of Scotland. All VERY different films, but all nominated in those big categories. (You can check the full list here at the Oscars website, and of course Lou's blog is a reigning authority on all things cinematic).


The Queen didn't really light a fire under my arse, to be entirely honest. Its not visually exciting in terms of cinematography, though I thought what they did with the archive footage of Diana was great. However, that's come to be something expected in this post-modern age.

At the other end of the spectrum is Little Miss Sunshine, which blew my mind in terms of its look. Its beautifully composed, with shots that are careully structured and dynamic but done in a way that is so effortless it never feels overbearing. I'm a sucker for oversaturation and symmetrical balance so combine that with a great black comedy about a wonderful and wonderfully dysfunctional family and I'm sold.


The Last King of Scotland is another film with lush lush visuals. And a cracking pace, which always makes me happy. The two hours or so hours passed without me noticing, which is astonishing considering my 90 minute attention span. The film covers a fascinating, terrifying aspect of a nation's history from a very subjective viewpoint, and I'll be interested to learn more about how much is fact and how much is fiction.

Next on my list is Babel, and also Dreamgirls. Although I'm being distracted from my goals by the Twilight Cinema screenings, and the fact that summer seems to have arrived finally. You feel a bit bad wasting all that precious good weather being locked away in a dark cool room... But that's what being a film geek is all about!!

Taika Waititi's definition of "independent film":

My definition of "Independent Film" is a film which doesn't take any shit from any other film. It's independent, it's not gonna listen to your film or that big, rich film over there... No way, this film is gonna do what it wants. If it wants to go out and get a job then it can. It it wants to vote, that's cool. This film is gonna pay its own way, and it doesn't need your charity, so go back to the hills and swim in your infinity pool 'cause this film is hanging down here in the film ghetto.

From his interview with the poor innocent people at the Sundance Festival.

Oh and then the next day...

...I helped sellotape four reams of A4 paper together. Cause that's how I roll.

bring it on double-oh seven!

The year is off to a good start.

My former Lower North Terrace compatriots, Marama & Joe, joined me in Wellington for the dusk days of 2006. We perused the finest dining establishments of the capital city (i.e. went to Midnight like a billion times) and upon discovering that both Ed's and California Sushi were closed for the Christmas break, decided to scamper up north early.

That kinda makes it sound like we just spent the whole time eating, planned everything around eating, and only cared about the eating, but tis untrue!

We also went out drinking one night. HAH.

Sweltering in the car, we stopped in Taupo early evening and enjoyed a picturesque sparkling lakeside spot, where we managed to get windblasted in a style I thought confined to my current residence and soon scurried back to the comforting muggyiness of our vehicle.

Arrived in Hamilton pretty late, but not so late that we couldn't watch a movie. I love this about hanging with my old crew. My eyes started going square just being in the presence. And my words get nerdier, doused in theory I thought I'd forgotten. Because its never good enough to just chill out and enjoy a movie. We have to discuss how it relates to post-modern feminism as influenced by a Deleuzian interpretation of identity.

So 40 Year Old Virgin was not only way funnier than I thought it would be ("You know how I know you're gay?" "How?" "You like Coldplay.") but also I wound up analysing the beegsus outta it in a way in a way that would terrify anyone involved in the original development, I'm sure.

New Year's Eve was spent in Bucklame at the Balmoral Chalet. Tanyapants is still over in HK unfortch, so it was just a small capacity posse but boy did we party big time. Such a good example of WHO you are with being the key to making ticking over to midnight the best thing ever.

There are some photos floating round but you know how when you're under the influence of your usual medication, celebratory alcohol, prescription painkillers, various other illicit substances including delicious chocolatey snacks purchased from the asian supermarket and then all of a sudden taking photos whilst dancing seems like a good idea?? and then you look at them the next morning and they're all just blurry images of gawky spazoids? Yeah well, maybe that's what happened, maybe I'm trying to give you a detailed metaphor to set the scene. Of what may or may not have happened.

One of the nicest things about leaving Auckland was saying "cool, well see ya...SOON!". Knowing that I was coming back up for the S&M Club reunion the weekend after made the farewells pretty lax. We'd caught up with Kirsty and Gareth in Hamilton, when McGeady and Lisa had come round for lunch there too, and there was just that lovely Christmassy whanau feeling of having everyone nearby.

Brief aside here, as in - slight step back in time - ooh look at me being all nonlinear! Gosh, i can't think of which damn theorist that is right for that whole thingy, with the stuff folding back on its self - Trelease knows!! Trelly..?

Anyway - my point was, both those lot had their lovely kiddies there. Elliot, who is brand new and proving Kirsty to be fantabulous at this whole motherhood gig. Biggest hitch so far is that Gareth has been in charge of naming the toys, so their wee six month old has two very cute teddy bears called Derek and Ken. Oh yes, catchy. And his stripey monkey toy is constantly referred to as 'Elliot's Arctic Monkey'.

And Katya was a cutie little cupcake as ever, dropping her dad in it when Lisa asked her what McGeady's New Year's resolution was. She looked at them both and said, "Anger". She also told Marama that hers should be to stop telling her to act. Which refers to the role Mars gave Katya in the film Down By The Riverside that they've been working on.

Lou's talked about New Year's resolutions over here and she's hit on the same thing as me. The first couple on my list as always complete piss-takes, as i crack myself up writing stuff in my journal like:

1st January.
Resolution #1 Quit smoking. DO IT this time you loser!!
Resolution #2 Lose weight (10 Kgs.) (Min.)
Resolution #3 Learn to love yourself
Resolution #4 Write to Nan before she carks it

...and so forth. Shit I'm funny.

But actual this year I'm not gonna lose any weight at all cause I'm fucken sick of having to buy new clothes and I'm gonna drink about the same amount and smoke more and make art with Sean and keep my life happy and write some more bloody poems and have people pay attention to them and learn to crimp. Or crump. Both?


Where was I?? Oh yeah in transit really... Wandering minstrel that I am, next thing you know, I'm on a plane back whizzing down south, whole row to myself and my nearly un-gammy leg.

Bartlett has already written snippet style about our Naki coast camping adventure and I will update again soon! Tis so blissful being back in the world of the interweb. So blissful that I am up way waaay too late despite the date stamp on this -TRUST ME- i have been distracted by chatting online with hot babes and yes you should be jealous.

coming to a screen near you, so near

I am a big fan of trailers and i recently found two amazing ones online. One is your conventional teaser trailer, and the other is, well, it isn't.

Joe gave me the heads-up on Hot Fuzz which is coming from the same people as Shaun of the Dead and the TV show Spaced. This is the second trailer actually, can't make the first one that was up work now, dang it. But it looks like it gonna be HILARIOUS and the other trailer showed that they obv had a much bigger component of the budget for, like, blowing shit up and car stunts and stuff. Awesome.

To take a completely different tone now, this video, hosted by Marie Claire magazine, is for a documentary called Thin. Directed by Lauren Greenfield, an established photographer, it has been described as "that rare film whose harrowing viewing experience is crucial to learning all it has to teach". Even the few minutes here are hard to watch, but mesmerising at the same time for their honesty.

There has been a lot of media coverage lately of the Madrid Fashion Week's decision to set a limit on what was an acceptable BMI, then the recent death of a Brazilian model who suffered from anorexia (Lou has covered these on her blog here and here).

While I do think that representations in the media have a huge effect on people's body image (and generally it seems to be women susceptible to this), I don't think solely the fashion industry can be held to blame for the epidemic of eating disorders in first world countries. The Bartlett recently posted a link to an interesting article, and while a lot of the big words kinda threw me, I did like what it had to say about disordered eating and the issue of control.
The post is referencing a book called A Return to Modesty and the blogger summarises it: "In short, Shalit appears to be saying that because our culture puts women's bodies on display and for male desire, values a certain kind of body, and discourages modesty, some girls react to this loss of control over their sexuality and over their bodies with a kind of self-controlling self-hatred."

The thing is, I never think its as simple as one thing or another. Watching that extract from Thin didn't make me any angrier that Kate Moss has just been named Model of the Year, it made me want to reach out on a personal level. Because that it where it is going to make a difference it seems. With the friend you know has a dark streak of self doubt inside them. To the colleague who might just need to be told that that shade of blue really suits them. Not letting the casual jokey fat comment slide but instead step the uncomfortable line of putting them in their place.

When I was 17 and first told my best friend that I was bulimic, I couldn't even use the word. Oh - I knew it and everything, I wasn't a 'tard, just cause I lived in Wanganui, sheesh.
But that was not the word I had in my mind to apply to what I was doing to myself. I told her I was just stressed and that this was the best way for me to deal with things at the moment. Can you believe that?! Stress?? Not like, yoga or going for a walk or hanging out with my boyfriend - I'd chosen throwing up my meals!! It shows how warped your perception gets and your grip on reality. There were other factors, but it was definitely that control thing - life was all over the place and this was one thing I could get a hold over.

But of course, really the demon had the hold over me. When you have convinced yourself there is no problem, it takes so much longer to come out from under it. I was very fortunate that I had strong relationships and a good counsellor and was held accountable for my actions - and stopped the physical patterns very quickly. But the mind set takes much longer, and that is where the real work is done. My personal opinion is that some women are in the psychology of an eating disorder, without manifesting it physically. Which is just as unhealthy and damaging.

The other week I bought New Woman magazine, solely because Melissa had told me you got a free Napoleon mascara with the issue - which you did! Score! I did a cusory flick through the glossy pages, feeling a wee twinge for cover girl Scarlett Johannsen based on the stories seeping out from her boyfriend's movie currently being shot in Auckland. One line in one article has stayed with me. It was about a woman who worked as a model in the 80s and suffered the worst of the industry, the classic glamour and beauty horror story.

She said that if you were a heroin addict and decided to come clean, it was relatively easy to stay out of those circles if you wanted to, ensure you didn't have access. But for someone who has food issues, there is no such respite. You can hardly avoid food or eating situations - in fact, that's kinda the whole damn problem. Your whole attitude has to change to be able to engage normally and your ability to cope with an everyday thing... well, in some cases, that has to start from scratch.

It reminded me of this thing that happened while I was still wrestling with everything. I'd arrived late at a sleepover with my girlfriends but had some chocolate brownie slice saved for me. I ate and then threw it up into my friend's bathroom sink. I felt terrible about it because I knew I was letting myself down and the people I'd been honest with about the trouble I was in. For years later I couldn't eat the stuff, even the smell was too much, it brought back every emotion of that night, hiding in that bathroom. Mum cooked some one time as a treat and I wouldn't touch it. When she said "Oh what's with you kids? I thought it tasted just like the bought stuff!", I simply burst into tears.

I guess what I'm trying to say here, is more than just that I think Hot Fuzz will be a great movie with car explosions and jokes as well as taking the piss out of over-serious cops.
I guess I'm saying look after your self. Look after each other. I am so grateful to the people who listened to me - and who didn't listen to me - and when you hear those nagging sad angry voices inside bringing you down, don't always push them away, aside. Think about what has brought it on. Talk to someone about it. Someone who loves you, someone with a bit of perspective, someone who knows what they're talking about it. And look in the mirror, and love what's there. Because you can.

The Fountain springs forth!

As a fan of Darren Aronofsky and his films, Pi (its not really about maths, its much cooler, honest!) and Requiem for a Dream (made back before Jared Leto was a douchebag!), I have been excited about his project The Fountain for a long long time.

The script has been floating round since 2002, when it was pitched as a multi-million dollar follow up, riding on the crest of this young director's popularity. The premise sounded fantastic, borderline ludicruous, but I trust dear Darren. Then something went bung when his star, Brad Pitt, pulled outta the project. Those of you playing at home may recall a phase in Brad's appearance when he grew a monster beard and Jen on his arm looked like she snagged a yeti or something? Well that was when he was, superfluously it turned out, getting ready to shoot The Fountain.

Recently, however, Defamer posted a link to a Wired interview where Aronofsky finally talks about what happened there. First I'd heard, as the project was shelfed at the time, hush hush, and the film has only recently been completed (reenvisaging, new cast, slashed budget - but inside word is its still gonna be orsum). Of course you could go to Wired and read the full article there, but if you go through Defamer, you get to read the awesome headline: How Brad Pitt Broke Darren Aronofsky's Heart ...heh hee I love those guys.

Ain't It Cool News did a set visit while they were shooting but I could only bear to read the first paragraph before I freaked out and clicked every X on the screen. I really can't cope knowing anything about a movie before I go to see, speshly something I'm amping for. I want every image, every detail of the story, to be presented to me up there on the silver screen. Spoilers just... spoil it. And I consider pretty much any prior knowledge under that category. Afterwards though, i suck up all the info I can, and want to know everything about everything! Aah... being a film geek. Such joy.

Special Guest Post! Rebecca Trelease in her own words:

First of all, lets get a few things straight. Why 'Trelease'? There were two Rebecca's in the last year of uni so by default it went to the surname. However, the other Rebecca hasn't been around for more than a couple of years now so lets get it back to the original status, huh? I'm mostly annoyed by the fact I didn't even get a The prefix, as in The Bartlett. I'm so jealous of that I'm totally going back to Rebecca (although it did cause some confusion as I was introduced around Wellington. Eddie met Trelease but was told he would be hanging out with Rebecca so he had NO idea who I was when I climbed into the car).

Bel and I both did the BCS so I knew of her from first year. I always thought she was really cool right from the start but alas she hated me. Although, I remember before we actually started hanging out or knowing too many people in common (i.e. only Shane and Gareth) she saw me walking around mega stressed at Uni one day and she walked over and gave me a big hug. Which I thought was lovely. Over the years we met at random parties, but the one she mentioned at my house - why did you come if you hated me so much! Although she did encourage me to have the vodka and orange juice that ended the night for me, so maybe it was all planned... *

Right. Wellington.

I managed to make it all alone into the city, except I got off at the wrong stop and totally ruined my grand entrance outside the St James. Was there for about 5 minutes before I was sat down with a stapler, stickers and pamphlets. Spent a couple of hours in the most gorgous but very uncomfortable costume from 'My Fair Lady', my hat made me 10ft tall but it squished my brains and the elastic cut into my chin. But no biggy. *

Explored every floor in Te Papa. This visit was a lot more educational than the last one where Bel just pointed to it and said 'well thats Te Papa'. *

That night, drinks at the Hawthorne (which I thought was the Matterhorne) and roasted marshmallows with Ebony, Sam and Sarah-Kay. Now Bel had talked this place up, how they have 'Connect 4' and lots of board games. They had cards for poker. That's it. We considered a round of Snap but instead ate more marshmallows. Went to the Matterhorne where I met Melissa but they didn't have any confectionary so we left.

We explored the Art Gallery which featured Sam Taylor-Wood * and while it showed random pieces of her other works, the main 'attraction' were her photos of actors crying (www.city-gallery.org.nz/mainsite/). We had both heard about it and had our criticisms before seeing it and I'm happy to report that it did absolutely nothing to sway our opinions of getting hired emoters to emote on cue and then call it an 'intimate portrayal of grief'. At one extreme was Philip Seymour Hoffman who actually looked like it could be an honest portrait, to Robert Downey Junior who seems to have a very elaborate way of lying himself out on a bed to cry. Although he did keep it modest. And don't get me started on the David Beckham video of him 'sleeping'. He wasn't. It was probably very difficult getting comfortable wearing massive diamond earrings and bracelets and flexing the pecs but it was by no means 'sleeping'. It was totally worth paying to see just so we could spend the whole time criticising the 'drawcard' of the exhibition. (note: The first part of her exhibition is quite good, especially 'strings'. Just not the crying thing).

Bel's brother Eddie took us on a tour of Parliament. As a security guard he would be in charge of Lost and Found so we handed over a soggy and dejected pink teddy bear found on the path. He also didn't need to go through (or explain) the security checkpoints, so as he kept walking we were stopped and I said 'but we're with him' (meaning he needs to stop or we'll lose him and don't know what we're doing) but being told 'that doesn't mean anything to us' in a very snotty manner as if I was trying to smuggle in stuff. However, that was when Bel was caught with (heaven forbid) her mobile to which he was quite horrified. * The question session in Parliament was a bit boring, when they start yelling you can't work out what they're saying. And no-one asked the tough hard-hitting question: Who lost their pink teddy bear?

Bel tells me we're going to 'Pao Pao Pao'. I had no idea what it was about but it starts and everyone is talking Te Reo. With no translations. However I'm sitting next to Cam and he was laughing away and agreeing with what's being. What I learnt: Pakipake means clap! Canicani means dance! We most enjoyed the performance by Hinemoana Baker (www.hinemoana.co.nz), and ended up seeing a second performance by her at The Marae in Te Papa. I've since heard her version of 'Secret Love'; the only other person I've heard sing this is Mandy Moore and I must say both versions are excellent.

Bridgit's wedding was beautiful and I was very honoured to be Bel's 'date' for this event. We did have to run off to Turnbull House for the Anthology Launch * in the middle (where Bel presented another glorious poem of hers) and I did have a moment out the window of 'That building looks like that main Parliament building. Oh, it is Parliament.' The night continued with our appearances at Mighty Mighty, The Hawthorne, Salsa night at the Jimmy and concluded with a Rosebud cocktail at Motel.

Random thoughts:

• Never seen Malasian restaurants before but they are GREAT.


• Whats up with only having fancy lemonade in glass bottles all the time, can't a girl get a decent watered down, overly carbonated Sprite? If I'm paying $8 for vodka do you think I give a hoot about the lemonade?!!


• The 'walk' signals are incredibly loud.No one waits for a 'walk' signal. The entire group would start crossing so I would too instead of being a scared loner because the man was still red! It took me one day to start running across whenever like a Wellingtonian.


• Yes, California Sushi must always be spoken with a reverent tone.


• Bel's friends in Wellington are all very lovely and I enjoyed meeting them all.

* Bel here, chipping in because I'm the editor and that's my perogative. I would've been in attendance at the at-the-time dreaded Trelease's party because Shane or Gareth or BOTH was so in love with her back then. Another contributing factor to my depising - ya know how possessive I was of those boys. About the same level as I am of Trelease now.
No comment on the drink thing tho. Heh heh hee...

* This is referring to the photo shoot I intended to involuntarily recruit Trelease for, mentioned in this post, which it turned out she hadn't read and therefore was oblivious to our broadcast weekend itinerary!

* We were in a hurry, people!! I thought our time would be better spent eating gelati at Oriental Bay... good call, right?

* Yes, I went along. Yes, this was partially because Trelease offered to shout me. Yes I folded over the sticker pass they make you wear at the door so I didn't have to wander around the building with that pink-shirted sap Hayden Christiansen attached to my body. However, I wholehearted agree with Rebecca's comments about the REST of the photographs/films included, and I think I felt even more strongly about them. Her images The Leap and Self Portrait As A Tree has such impact on me, much more so than some fucken actor working up crocodile tears in front of another lens.

* The 'he' being the snooty security guard that this, not my brother - who is just a regular security guard, feeling cool wearing his radio ear piece n all. The guy had a freakin MARE at me, as it was just before entering the actual, um, chamber? is that what they call it? ...am trying to think back to Social Studies... Anyway - pulled out my phone to put it on silent and they acted like I busted out a glock or something, honestly. What, am I going take scandalous photos of them flipping the bird to each other?! whoo!!

* You can read more about the launch of the NZPS 2006 Anthology here. As well as being Assistant Editor for the collection, and doing the typesetting and cover design, I had a poem included, called 'Long Letters'. Some of you may know it from my zine 'The Knife Thrower's Apprentice' - I'll probably post it up here some time soon anyhow... it went down pretty well on Saturday :)



Ok, better hop to it and get this posted. Trelease - I mean, Rebecca sent this through before COB as request but I somehow got busy and then had to head home from the office and THEN had all kinds of distractions, like ohhh I don't know sussinganewflatmate and stuff like that!!

Could someone please acknowledge two things? 1) my awesome anchor tags doing the whole footnote thang and 2) how I let the whole Mandy Moore thing slide. 'Cause you know she ain't trying to be funny at all there. K, sweet.

yeah more Borat and other movie stuff

I realise that Sasha Baron Cohen's latest film wound up being discussed rather extensively in the comments of this post but I can't resist posting this gem. You see, Borat is actually a friend of mine. Ok, not so much a friend as a Friend, as in a MySpace Friend, which means I get the bulletins sent from his profile, like the one below, which had me giggling so much Cam came to investigate the source of the hilarity:

Subject: Borat MySpaces ThanksYou!! (this one)

Jagshemash my myspaces besttfriends!!

I would like thank you alls from bottom of my chram for make my moviefilm great success and savings me from be execute. It was close - my Government had already made purchase of the 40,000 AA batterys necessary for power Kazakhstanfs electrics chair. I would also like thank generous anti-communist Fox Corporation for sharings profit of this movie. They have already fully honoured the terms of our deal and supplied my Government with the 25 iPods Nano. My nation has never known of such riches. Once again thanks you! I like you!! I like sex!!
Chenquieh.

You can make him be your Friend by visiting http://www.myspace.com/borat (it's worth it just for the authentic Kazakhstanian music... is it wrong that it makes me feel like a felafel kebab?). And the link to my MySpace is on the side there. Tho actually my profile is set on private now, so you'll have to be a logged-in capital-eff friend o mine to have a decent perve these days.

Oh and I saw my first Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan poster up on the weekend - apparently it opens here on the 23rd! woot! Now its the end of the year and the number of shows are finally trailling off at work, I have a chance to catch up on the silver screen essentials.

For example, I had a binge on the weekend and watched three DVDs. The fact I used the word 'binge' to describe the viewing of just three just then tells you how outta form I am.
My favourite of the bunch was definitely Miranda July's Me & You & Everyone We Know. It held me spellbound the whole way through - entranced by the characters and by each scenario that developed. I felt like there was so much humanity and emotion to relate to in the film, and it was so beautifully made too.
I loved what it said about commitment and sexuality, particulary in the context of the young. In one of the extra interviews, she said "we have to acknowledge that children grow up in an adults' world" and I think she portrayed this in such a tender way.
She talked about how we all have memories of sexual things as children but we don't really know what to think of that. And that perhaps if it was dealt with in a better way, rather than immediately and all encompassingly with shame and repression, people wouldn't grow up to deal with sexuality in a perverted way, whatever that may be.
Obviously this is a very fine line and a touchy argument - and I don't want anyone to stumble across this and think I'm condoning something abhorant, but I think that's the strength of the film, in showing the true beauty and innocence of relationships and finding a connection that means something.

I also really enjoyed the way contemporary art was explored and talked throughout the film. Although the main character Christine's artwork was presented in a kinda piss-take way, I really liked it hah! I don't actually know much about Miranda July in terms of her performance art or videos, but Steph saw some recently and said I'd love it. I believe I've ranted to Steph about my passion for Tracey Emin on at least one occasion, so I'll take her word for it and continue to seethe with jealousy that she got to see that firsthand.

PS the title is so much better in French: Moi, Toi & Tous Les Autres :D

so THAT's where they come from

You know how movie posters and DVD covers always get slashed with great little quotes from reviews or some such that seem to sum up the film perfectly and convey the right tone of enthusiasm?
Well, i know that since I've started working in arts marketing, the reviews coming in having been very important to me - because I am The Laminator, putting the reviews on display front of house and on the website.

Ok, mainly I just want you to be able to click on a link that says: Borat Blows Blurb Whore's Mind and not feel bad about it. Because its educational!!
Turns out that in the States at least, there's this guy who writes for Rolling Stone and he writes in snappy little nuggets of quotable quotes. You've got to check it out. For the summary list of movies that the reporter has tracked down as being attributed to by him as "laugh til it hurts!"material if nothing else.

transpose 'cinematic' for 'literary'

and this razor sharp rant becomes relevant to more than just its original intentions. in my experiences anyway.

on the other side of the coin, mad props to Al Bol and Ian Wedde for getting Arts Lauraute grants this week. these are both people I've met, conversed with and was thrilled that they are just as awesome as their work that i had admired in the cinematic/literary fields

"Agents...

...can eat my ass out like hungry bears" is a true true Hollywood story about the perils of the system. It's a long read, but worth it - and very entertaining. Of particular interest to those of you with scripts up your sleeves. Obviously things are run differently here, where we're pretty much dependent on government funding, not huge commercial payouts, but check it out anyhoo if you're so inclined.

Am also just going to scamper off and pop in those links for the post from the other day and comment on comments! Am concerned some slanderisation is going on!!

Have had two truly divine moments this week. Not like 'ooh I think I can sense God here somewhere' but actual big mud patties of spiritual tangibility shaped up and thrown at me. Messy but good for me. Actually that is quite a parallel metaphor but that tactileness of it express something.

procastinator extraordinaire

A deadline looming for my other other job and I have wasted many precious hours this weekend on YouTube and elsewhere.
I'm trying to think what the ye olde equivilant would have been? ...shadow theatre in front of the roaring fire? sock puppets to pass on treasured folk tales? the community out on the village green to see passing, um, whatchamacallits -MINSTRELS! yeah. Wandering minstrels. With lutes. Or lyres? No... those are the greek things. Must be lute. And one of those floppy hat with a feath--

Focus, Bel, focus! You're here to discuss rambling, not to actual ramble!!

I'm not leet enough to post videos straight into here, so here follows a few links. First up is a beautiful music video for M Ward's new song 'Chinese Translation'. This came to me via a source I have flagged as "inappropriate" as they say. Yet I am proving to be a complete liability when it comes to dealing with that situation. Sometimes you burn a bridge and then you find yourself dipping your toes in the water, just to see how fast the river's flowing I guess.

everyday by Noah Kalina is what I'd call a short film, but obviously an experimental one. It's time-lapse, based on photographs he took of himself daily for six years. Tightly cropped head shots, pretty much free of context, just those eyes staring, while the background flows and ebbs. I think it's just amazing.

I think the first thing I ever watched on YouTube was this crazy spoof movie trailer:10 Things I Hate About Commandments. Joe emailed it through, knowing full well that every film geek bone in my body would love it.

For something also very humourous (but dealing with a serious subject, really) check out this animation: The End of the World. I IM-ed my brother to force him to partake of the hysteria immediately and apparently I'd already made him do this at some earlier stage. How goldfish of me. The whole style/tone of it kinda reminds me of that bit in Bowling for Columbine. But with bonus taking the piss out of Aussies.

That site (AlbinoBlackSheep) also has the Napoleon Dynamite Soundboard (somewhere under 'classics' i believe). I remember finding this absolutely HILARIOUS when Hayley first showed it to me, back in the initial flush of ND fandom, when saying "gosh" was a novelty rather than a reflex action now disassociated with the film!

Ok. Now to go do some work. Otherwise I'll be up all night and exhausted when I go to my real job tomorrow.
Problem is I'm a bit of a night owl and can feel myself getting energised as dusk settles in, all purple and black. But then ever since the chaos that was August my sleeping patterns have been messed up and my body clock has an alarm that goes off faaar too early. Deary me. I wish we did the whole seista thing in this country... that would sort it out.

Either that or implementing effective time management practices to my overcommitted lifestyle.


BAHAHAHHAHA!!

Please contact: campaignforseista @ tuesdayschild co nz

(short) script to screen

Went along to this event last night, Script To Screen's first foray into Wellington territory. There was bit of talk about how they were really excited to be there and looking forward to similar things next year - but it does rub in how Auckland-centric the NZ film industry is. Of course "they" is essentially one person who's doing a great job with the revitalised organisation, but doing it once off exemplified the possibilities and the demand for such events by/for non-Auckland filmmakers.

ANYWAY. It was a pretty good night, despite technical difficulties, mostly related to the insufficient length of mic cords and to Taika throwing scalding hot green tea in his own lap. Very good turn out in the lovely Katipo cafe (my favourite place to go for hot chocolate, other than Bridgit at the Opera house, obv). Te Radar was the MC for the night and the three panellists were all short filmmakers with varying levels of experience and plans of attack, but who have all (eventually) received NZFC funding and been screened at international festivals.

Zia Mandviwalla is the writer/director of Eating Sausage. This film had its production funded by the SIPF and post by NZFC. I haven't actually seen it, but Zia talked about it being inspired by her own experiences of being an immigrant to New Zealand and specifically by her interaction teaching English as a second language to older Asian women here.
Zia had some interesting stuff to say about getting a full blown film degree as opposed to spending the money on a camera and getting stuck in, which is what she did. She also mentioned a couple of times that a important part of the process for her, as a writer, as interacting with actors. She said that something might read really well on the page but sound terrible coming out their mouths. You have to let them contribute and inhabite your script, for the authencity it will bring to the finished product.

Writer/director of the short films Two Cars, One Night and Tama Tu and up-coming feature, Eagle Vs Shark, Taika Waititi was no stranger to the crowd there. It was great getting to know Taika when I was working at NZFC, he was not one of the asshat directors that i wanted to slam the phone down on and rip up the contracts of. Ahem.
He talked about short films being a great genre for experimenting with and that moving into feature length doesn't mean abandoning the other permanently. An example given was shooting on HD, doing a short film on this at some stage maybe.

Thirdly, Veialu Aila-Unsworth, writer/director of Blue Willow, which screened in the Homegrown section of the NZIFF and went on to be selected for the Berlin Festival. I met Veialu when i helped her fax her forms to confirm attendance to this festival. I remember thinking at the time 'primo! that film was gorgeous'. It was even lovelier to learn that it was a year-long Masters project that she had no lofty ambitions for. Veialu talked a bit about processes and how sometimes about change your mind, do something different, come back round to the original concept - and that can all be part of the process of getting to where you're supposed to be. She gave the example of animating her lead character's face, but Te Radar chipped in with how it applied with his television writing.
I didn't actually know he had a TV show but I don't actually watch TV so shame on my name.

Te Radar asked at one point about who do you show your drafts to and Veialu admitted with a laugh that she shows her mum. She said that maybe because she's not involved in the industry in any way, she can offer great perspective on scripts. Zia said that, yes, her mum too gets a look-in but not on scripts. She uses her "Indian housewife" mother for screenings of rough cuts and finds the feedback really useful. Taika then stated that he'd never show his mum his draft scripts. Apparently she's an English teacher and would just mark them.

Just to wrap up, one of my favourite things was something Zia said. They were talking about instinct and the little voice inside you and getting overloaded with other people chipping in on ideas for your script or whatever. Zia was giving an example of how it can be quite hard when someone says to you 'oh but you have to put this in/change this bit because of this this this,,,' with really bulletproof justification and yet it doesn't feel quite right to you and your guts saying no but how do you use that as a comeback? But Zia was like "Your gut is justification!" and there were all these heads nodding in the crowd, it was classic.

PS i was going to give this some kind of headline working in my other favourite quote of the night ("I peed myself") but just couldn't do it.... Oscar Nominee Green Tea Pee Chaos was as good as got...

meals with brothers

Lunch with my little little brother and dinner with my big little brother. Tho of course both are bigger than me these days. And the littler one is bigger than the big one. But I can still bully them both. Neither seemed happy today. Maybe just tired. Sometimes its so hard to tell with family!

Just had the most pointless online chat with Dan. Now that i'm Mac-ing it, I use Adium and so this little bird bobs up and down in the dock to let me know that my friends have important virtual things to say to me. However that conversation felt like it had every second word missing or something. His usual air of barrelling in with sweet smile and crazy behaviour and me bemused but kinda wanting to strangle that flapping little bird distracting me from the work I was doing - and then he winds up with something like "chur thug life gotta gap CATCH U!!"

I guess I'm just feeling out of sorts and am not communicating well - I had a weird moment with Cam last night too. Had just got back from dinner after the preview screening for "Out of the Blue" and started bawling when he asked how the film had been. Then we started talking about the movie as a piece of art and as a story that does (or doesn't) need to be told and the way in which New Zealanders deal with tragedy and I was in a right tizz and just wanted to get stuff off my chest rather than properly talk about the morals of it, speshly as i'm somewhat conflicted as its such a brilliantly made film.