Thursday, May 29, 2008

(Cine)Vegas, Baby. (Cine)Vegas

In a couple weeks, I, your loyal narrator and guide, will be heading to the CineVegas Film Festival. While there will be some major releases in the program (Get Smart, The Rocker, Choke), I'm also looking to catch some smaller films, which is really what going to festivals is all about. Right now, the ones looking good are Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson, Visioneers, and The Wackness (I've heard nothing but great things about this film) but the beauty of a festival is basically writing up a schedule that allows you to spend your entire day in a theatre watching films and trying to find the gems that no one else knows about yet.

If anyone has any recommendations for films showing at this festival, please post them in the comments section!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Quiet on the Set!

So last week I did my very first set visit. I went down to New Orleans to watch some filming on Final Destination 4. Aside from what you'd expect to see on Final Destination movie set (lots of extras experiencing a case of shrapnel-face), I also saw and experienced a lot of the cool 3-D effects they're planning to use.

"Pshaw. 3-D. Enjoy the gimmick, sucker." I hear you scoff. That's right: I HEARD YOU THROUGH THE INTERNET.

But before you dismiss my experiencing, know that no other film has attempted Digital 3-D on location. I really hope they do an in-depth featurette on the DVD where producer Craig Perry (a highly knowledgeable and entertaining fellow) explains how they pulled off some particularly difficult shots, like putting the 3-D camera in a car that's filling up with water but making sure that no water gets on the mirror that allows for the 3-D picture to come together.

I'll have more on this once I finish writing up my full report for the site that sent me, Collider.com