My friend Eva Prowse is having her album release tonight. I’m gutted that I can’t make it (as I have a meeting for The Lake, and then I’m attending the Script-To-Screen discussion with Peter Briggs, and then I’m meeting a friend about a job, and then have a skype date. Phew!).
For anyone who can make it, do go along. It’ll be fantastic! Eva was interviewed in The Capital Times this week.
On Monday 15 November, I attended a seminar on making short films, as part of the Show Me Shorts Film Festival. The Bergman Theatre at Paramount was packed with filmmakers after tips, and perhaps plebs wanting to know more about filmmaking. The event was hosted by StarNow.com.
Three filmmakers who have shorts screening in the festival were interviewed. The filmmakers were Paul Stanley-Ward, writer of Choice Night; Michelle Savill, writer/director/producer of Betty Banned Sweets; and Paul Campion, writer/director of Eel Girl (official website here) (IMDB page here). We got to see the films, and ask the filmmakers questions.
http://sjfilmgrant.wordpress.com/how-to-apply/
This is a fund I just saw today from the WIFT newsletter. I am going to look into it for Harmless.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/09/girl-dragon-tattoo-american-remake
A good article on the Hollywood remake, with reference to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo films and Let Me In / Let The Right One In.
I loathe Hollywood remaking great foreign films. I loathe overdubbing. I think people should learn to read subtitles.
That said, something that also irks me is when people with a similar view to mine blame Americans solely. As in “Americans should learn to read subtitles”. 1) that is a gross generalisation, and the American audience shouldn’t be lumped into one ‘can’t and won’t read subtitles’ box; and 2) it’s not just the American Hollywood audience who don’t like to read subtitles. When I was in Belgium, my host brother complained that he didn’t want to see the version originale of an anglophone film, as he didn’t “want to read a film!” So, not just anglophone audiences (pardon the generalisation) who dislike subtitles.
A thought I had is that it may be easier for foreign markets to translate from American English into their language. It may be easier to find an English translator than an obscure language translator. Also, if there are cultural translations available, due to the globalisation of American culture, it may be easier for an audience to understand and for a translator to translate. Sad but true.
And then there is the dumbing down… being a cinephile, you’ll have to get used to any patronising attitude on my part to losing cultural significance in movies for the lowest common denominator. However, someone suggested to me once that concepts are easier for the international audience to understand if they are dumbed down. Hence my thought about translation being easier. So Hollywood makes films more basic to understand for the international audience, not the American audience? Something to think about.
NZ On Screen has this interview with Janice Finn online. Topics covered include writing and producing for TV. I’m going to watch it later. For now, I’m sharing it.
http://screentalk.nzonscreen.com/interviews/janice-finn-writing-and-producing-for-tv
The first post.
Now why would I create a website of me?
Quite frankly, as a marketing tool. To put up my CV in a place where I can direct prospective employers, collaborators, and students to find out more about my work. Where I can put my opinions about various things in a public online forum – because with the permanence of the internet, that is always a good thing to do. *cough*
I shall try to keep this website up to date as best as I can. However, note that this blog is called ‘Busy Times’. Most notably because of how busy I am. So I make no guarantees. It could get out of date quickly. Know that if it is out of date, it is because of how busy I am doing creative (and sometimes not-so-creative) things. Sometimes I may even just post a link to something I find interesting. Or something I’d like to look at later.
That is all for now.
Busy Times 