Risks of 'The Interview'

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-sony-hack-north-korea-the-interview-20141210-story.html

This article is about the upcoming film The Interview and the risks it hold behind its release. Before Sony Pictures Entertainment was hacked, there were skeptical debates on whether they should actually release the film for theaters and the audience around the world. There were in fact threats made by North Korea concerning the film, calling it "an act of war." It was said that the studio executives were constantly being warned about possibly provoking retaliation by the Homeland Security. Then again, it was a film based on a fictional assassination attempt on Kim Jong Un. Rumors have it that the North Koreans had some sort of contribution to the hacks on Sony, but but no one truly knows the real perpatrators who were to blame. As a filmmaker and student, this helped me realize that film is much more than just a picture on a screen. It's what people around the world use to send a message. Theres always a moral or central message behind a film that can really change a person's life. It just so happens that with The Interview it was a strong political statement against the North Koreans. It was sort of like a growing sense of pride saying that Americans aren't afraid of anyone. It was a statement against the cruel doctor who brain washes his very own people. It was in fact a powerful act to continue, even after the threats came in. As a consumer, it's sort of a scary thing to do, because you never know how serious of a problem this was until North Korea decides to retaliate. Let's say they were involved with the Sony hacks; that just means they were warning us about what was to come if we ignored their wishes. It was an attack on our people's freedom of speech because of all the private information that was released. Obviously this made people feel afraid and less free, which is why there were debates on whether the movie should continue to screen in the first place. This raises a lot of questions on not only film, but political issues as well: Will the film continue to screen even after all the problems have gone through? What will North Korea's reaction be? Was this film ever intended to make North Korea angry ( act of war) in the first place?

Doha Film Institute Launches Fund for Qatari Filmmakers

http://deadline.com/2014/12/doha-film-institute-film-fund-qatar-1201309105/

This article is about the announcement made during the Ayjal film festival that the Doha Film institute will fund Qatari filmmakers. The Ayjal Film festival is known as a community based program that allows all ages to get together to talk about cinema and things that have inspired their creative interactions. Their main goal is to inspire the creative, young film enthusiasts of all ages in Qatar. Along with that news of the Doha film institute, four features and eight short films will be supported by the Qatari fund as well as one feature film from the fund will also receive production funds in the next two years. More specifically, 50,000 dollars will be offered by the development fund to the feature films and the other 50,000 dollars combined as a development/production award to the short best short films. As a student, this makes me glad to hear that other children, teens, and adults from another part of the world now have the opportunity to see and follow the path of a filmmaker. Unlike us, some film enthusiasts around the world just hope to one day get a glimpse of what a camera looks like. Now that institutes like Doha, are starting to fund filmmakers, theres hope for undiscovered talent. As a filmmaker I can expect working with different cultured filmmakers, bringing more ideas to the table and different feels with new material for the audience. As a consumer, this might benefit me because maybe films will start to take a multi-cultured turn with different stories because of personal experiences from the foreign filmmaker's country. This certainly raises questions like: Will film become more multi-culture based? What kind of new talent will we see in the future? Will more film institutes help fund filmmakers all around the world?

Light Project Reflection

This has been my hardest group project I've experienced so far this year and it's not over yet. My group has gone through very difficult situations to the point where we are constantly changing our schedule, which is very frustrating. There have been both ups and downs throughout this project, but there is one that concerns me more than all the others in particular. I feel that sometimes the group chemistry isn't there at all and it's something we have to work on as a team. I know we could work together better than the way we have been. I don't blame anyone in the group of course. I just think not ever working with each before on previous projects had a lot to do with how we communicate while on set. Like i mentioned before, constantly changing our schedule times have been a huge impact on us. A lot of our group members are involved in sports activities so we try our best to work our way around it. Although, I love how the group has been able to work through the adversity , such as our teacher actor having to leave the country for emergency reasons, rooms not being accessible for our shooting days, and a whole lot of reshooting because of lighting problems. A camera can be a really tricky thing, and that's definitely a hard lesson we have learned so far. There have been times where we set up our lights and check it on the mini screen of the camera to see how it looks and the picture seems just about right to us. With this in mind, we shoot our entire scene only to come back and see how terrible it looks on the computer. This was extremely frustrating and was a problem for several days, because we couldn't figure out how to get the right lighting on our set. Not until farther into the film, where we got the hang of it and how it was supposed to look on the mini screen in order for it to look good on the computer as well. Sometimes it's just plain and simple our faults, where we forget a piece of equipment or forget to dress for the scene. Once again, this is our lack of communication that we have to improve together. What I'm liking so far is how our sound crew is ahead on their work, so that won't be such a big problem in the future when it comes to editing all that in. Another thing I think my Dp and I should work on is how to use our surroundings better. What I mean by that is lighting wise, and how we can use the already present light and our own to make the shot even better than what it was intended to be. I hate how sometimes I find myself taking away the camera because I can't really explain to my Dp what I want the shot to look like.I need to work on my ability to be more understanding with her. Although we've gone through a lot of downs and knowing that we're probably the group that's the most far behind, I still believe that by the end of this project our film will turn out good. The way we've been handling situations like that and how our communication has somewhat improved since the beginning, I can already foreshadow a good future for us.

First IMAX Theatre To Open In Japan

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/top-japanese-exhibitor-toho-to-open-first-imax-theater-1201356158/

This article is about Toho, Japan's leading cinema operator and distributor, and their future plans for Downtown Tokyo. The plan includes opening the first Imax theatre in Tokyo as it has had huge success all throughout Japan. Some movies that hit it big in Imax Japan included Transformers and Godzilla, meaning the experience was very powerful and different causing more audiences to attract. In fact, this deal stands as the first one being made with Toho, but Imax has already contracted for 23 theaters in total throughout Japan. Only 17 were able to successfully open and the one in Downtown Tokyo will be adding onto that list. The screen is said to be a part of a complex that has already been in construction, located in a district called Shinjuku. This complex will also include hotels, restaurants, and retail. I chose this article because I wondered how successful Imax was in other countries and how it would attract its audience. As a filmmaker and student this impacts me in a way where in the future I might want to think about shooting a film in that sort of format. What I mean by that is, filming a movie as if it were only screening for an Imax theatre. That means I would have to really pay attention to the picture, sound, etc in order to release that even more powerful experience the audience is expecting to have by the end of the film. As a consumer, I notice now that Imax theaters are becoming worldwide and very successful. You never know, maybe in the far future Imax will replace the standardized theatre. This surely raises questions like: Will Imax ever become so successful to the point of just having Imax theaters? Do Imax screenings do better than regular theaters? What impact will this have on future filmmakers?

TOY STORY 4?

http://deadline.com/2014/11/toy-story-4-john-lassiter-directing-disney-pixar-1201276224/

This article is about John Lasseter and how he will be the new director of the 2017 film, Toy Story 4, said to be released on June 16. Lassester was also known for his previous work with the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2 so this is definitely not the first time working with the franchise. John is now the chief creative office of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation. Bob Iger, a Disney boss, made the announcement in the company's earnings call with analysts about the news. It was a huge shock to the film world as it was said that there were no plans for any future Toy Stories after the 3rd one was made. Toy Story 3 was such a huge success that after coming out in 2010 it grossed 1.063 billion dollars worldwide, which gave it the top-grossing animated film title of all time. They kept that achievement until Frozen overtook it. I chose this article because it was a major surprise to me, almost like another Toy Story film sounded like a practical joke or something. As a consumer I'm very worried about this fourth film adding on to an amazing franchise. Yes, John Lassester will be directing the film, but I'm just worried that this addition is just for the money and not the story. This could potentially be the movie that ends the Toy Story franchise on a good or bad note so the pressure is big on the creators and film crew. As a student and filmmaker it shows me that there is always more opportunities and ideas to continue a franchise like Toy Story even though it doesn't seem possible to make another. Writing is endless because you can always keep going and adding on to a great series of films, it's just up to you to make the story and plot work out. This raises questions such as: Will this Toy Story be as successful as the other three made? Is this film being made for just money or for the love of the franchise? Does this film indicate people lacking ideas to make new films instead of adding onto well-known franchises?

MIDNIGHT RIDER - Train Accident in Investigation

http://deadline.com/2014/10/midnight-rider-death-timeline-sarah-jones-train-accident-investigation-1201266684/

This article is about a tragic on-set accident that happened on the first day of filming Midnight Rider. It took the life of 27-year-old cameraman, Sarah Jones, who was a part of at least 20 crew members who were piled onto a railroad track and led by director Randall Miller. The cause of the accident all began when crew members not being informed about the email that was sent out by railroad owner CSX, which clearly denies their permission to shoot on the Doctortown train trestle located in rural Georgia. The crew also happened to be 25-30 ft above water in very dangerous conditions. The overall result was leaving one dead and eight other members injured, Three of which were hospitalized. The entire ordeal had already been under investigation and Trial is set to begin on March 9. This article caught my eye because I've never really heard of an accident happening on-set. It always seemed like something rare and unheard of to me. This affects me as a student and filmmaker because it shows me the true significance of working together as a team. Clearly the crew didn't have clear awareness of what was going on. The lack of communication is what caused this young woman's death and several other injuries. In addition, some of the crew now face criminal trespass and involuntary manslaughter charges. All this can happen if the film crew doesn't work together as a team. As a consumer, this can affect me because not Midnight Rider is a film put on hold after the producers and production managers are finished with their trial. Who knows, they may be faced with serious charges leaving them out of the Film crew and the movie is put on even a longer hold or worse, never be made for the audience. This raises questions like: Will film crews take even bigger precaution will filming on or in dangerous conditions? Is it always the fault of producers and production management when things like this happen?

NBCUniversal Agrees To Settle SNL Intern Lawsuit

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-snl-intern-settlement-story.html

This article is about NBCUniversal finally reaching an agreement with a dispute regarding Interns who worked on the show Saturday Night Live. The issue was that these Interns who collaborated with the late-night comedy should have been paid for the work they did. The court came to an approval of 6.4 million dollar settlement, which would be shared among the thousands of SNL interns who worked in both New York and California. Interns have always been a huge beneficial factors for TV networks, but some have claimed to have done work usually associated with paid workers making the situation unfair. These individuals were said to receive at least $5,000 to $10,000 each for their help, but on the other hand the unpaid interns who qualified for the lawsuit agreement were said to receive as little as $500. Being an Intern required lots of work, sometimes assisting a filmmaker or record producer. This was rare because they usually were used to make coffee, photocopy documents, make travel arrangements, or simply run errands. This is not the first time Interns have sued a TV-network/show because of payment issues. Some similar cases include the Inters suing 21st Century Fox, Warner Music Group,  and Atlantic Records. This article caught my attention after I saw a lawsuit being filed against Saturday Night Live. I've always heard about Interns, but never truly understood the significance of one and how they're a beneficial option for TV-Networks who don't want to pay much for employees. As a filmmaker and student, this article shows me that unfair payment issues come up very often for those who are trying to make it out in the Film Industry. It must be a very frustrating situation to know that someone can take advantage of you like that by making you work that is usually done by paid employees and call you an unpaid Intern to just get away with it. It just goes to show you that its hard out in the Film business to get by just to get recognized and meet new people to help you grow and someday be something more than an Intern. As a consumer I feel bad for those who were not paid properly, but at the same time I understand that the whole point of an Internship is to be a beneficial way for TV networks and shows to get by a tight budget. It's definitely a place to start if you want to gain experience and have a glimpse of what it's like to be on set or working with professional. It helps you grow as a filmmaker because you get to see what kind of knowledge is required in that sort of field of work. This raises questions like: Will Interns finally begin to get paid the appropriate amount of money based on the work they do? What other TV-networks are having issues with payment of their employees?