FRAME by FRAME: April 2005

SABOTAGE

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 0 Comments

I Can't Stand It I Know You Planned It
I'ma' Set It Straight This Watergate
I Can't Stand Rockin' When I'm In Here
'Cause Your Crystal Bal Ain't So Crystal Clear
So While You Sit Back And Wonder Why
I Got This Fuckin' Thorn In My Side
Oh My God It's A Mirage
I'm Tellin' Y'all It's Sabotage

So So So..
So Listen Up 'Cause You Can't Say Nothin'
You'll Shut Me Down With A Push Of Your Button
But Yo I'm Out And I'm Gone
I'll Tell You Now I Keep It On And On

'Cause What You See You Might Not Get
And We Can Bet So Don't You Get Souped Yet
Scheming On A Thing That's A Mirage
I'm Trying To Tell You Now It's Sabotage

Why...!
Our Backs Are Now Against The Wall
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage

I Can't Stand It I Know You Planned It
I'ma' Set It Straight This Watergate
But I Can't Stand Rockin' When I'm In This Place
Because I Feel Disgrace Because You're All In My Face
But Make No Mistakes And Switch Up My Channel
I'm Buddy Rich When I Fly Off The Handle
What Could It Be It's A Mirage
You're Scheming On A Thing That's Sabotage

-The Beastie Boys

Why, oh, why? Because I have to vent, 'cause I have a vein that's about to pop! This actual situation has nothing to do with anyone or anything at Twenty One but more to do with my nine to fiver. It is a reminder of what can happen and what to watch out for in the movie business which is why I find it relevant to bloviate on this particular situation. Things have been progressing along so well with the movies that we have been in high gear and extremely productive. It feels like we are all in a comfortable groove and can accomplish anything. Even the final cut of 12 STEPS NOWHERE soon. But when a situation comes along in my "paying the bills" job where someone who is trying to fuck me because they think I look like a bitch, it is impossible for me to shake it off.

We have a "team" that has been formed to establish and implement a new production workflow for the company. Much like setting up your production team and schedule for a movie. Now everyone is excited and positive about the project although we realize that there are always going to be problems along the way. Enter the person who will do whatever it takes to derail said project as to avoid the ensuing problems that need to be solved to make the whole thing work. For whatever reason they realize they are above their head and instead of bowing out graciously or tackling the problem with a "real" solution they begin to play both sides of the fence. To the "team" they are on board but behind your back they are planting the seeds of doubt to the person who could pull the plug at any moment.

That is the situation with which I am faced. It's like I have a co-director on a movie and they are doing everything possible to shit-can every shot you plan out. Whether by being passive aggressive or going straight to the producer or studio head behind your back and saying that you are the only one that thinks this movie is worth the effort it's going to take to make it. It all goes back to playing politics, which I've always hated to do. But it's a necessary evil in all business and not just the movie one. Rarely is it personally but when it is it's the worst. Most people do their damage for selfish reasons but it can get personal and when it does it never ends well.

I don't think my particular work situation is personal. It's definitely selfish because I know the person of which I speak is for whatever reason not prepared or ill equipped to take on such a big change to their otherwise comfy, cushy, safe world. It's SABOTAGE! "Listen All Of Y'all It's Sabotage!" Plain and simple.

If you make movies this will happen to you at some point. Fortunately for me, and I think it's safe to say for David as well, that we haven't encountered that yet. It's because we keep our circle tight. The bigger it gets the more chance for sabotage to occur. Much like reality TV, alliances will be formed and then the back-stabbing begins.

Sorry, my last couple of blogs haven't been particularly pithy or funny but part of what we try to do is expose aspiring and new filmmakers to some pitfalls of what it takes to make and who it takes to make a movie. I promise that next time I will expose my most embarrassing production moment of my life.

The final point being, always keep one eye open while sleeping because there may be someone lurking in the shadows with bad intentions.

posted by Twenty One Productions @ 12:01 PM

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO BITCH WE SALUTE YOU

Thursday, April 07, 2005 | 0 Comments

You know I have come to learn a few things over my many years and many attempts in the entertainment industry. In all forms, music, art, movies and so on one thing is clear. There are always critics and there are always people you're going to piss off. Most often they are one in the same.

During my years in music I was young, stupid and selfish. Now I'm just older, stupid and selfish. But in different ways. I guess it was because I had no clue as to how any of the actual business aspects of entertainment worked when I was younger. Nor did I care. It was about the art and I wasn't going to compromise or kiss ass just to keep people, shit anyone for that matter, happy. Youth and unflinching angst was the key I needed to kick the suits in the ass and tell them to suck it! Rage against the machine baby and rage I did. I wasn't afraid to make others feel angry or alienated due to my artistic expression. I was a rock god waiting to make the mere moral fans of rock worship at my feet and chicks to flash me their tits. Oh, I partied like a rock star, hell at one point I could taste the riches. One problem. That just wound up being a bad coke binge and a nasty hangover the next day. And in the end I found myself homeless and begging for plane fare back to the cozy confides of mommy and daddy. But honestly I thought I was on my way to the big time.

So how does this relate to making movies? For one, I realized for once this is a business and when you do much of your work for free and with volunteers who get paid the same, you go out of your way to be nice. I can't order people around on set, fire anyone or even pretend that it would even matter if I could. So I've learned to make nice, and make sure no bridges are burned or even scratched. I once read that the person who you step up to and play "ego shithead" to may be the one person you'll be facing one day to ask for more financing to finish your film, or the one to greenlight it in the first place. And if you don't think that one person is out there or could rear their now more powerful head to you and not remember the time on some no budget indie shoot you told them what a fuck-up they were, or chewed them a new ass in front of a whole room full of cast and crew? Think again. Because your visage is now burned into their memory like it was placed there by a branding iron and they are just waiting to make you eat your own shit and more than likely in a excruciating and public setting.

So, be nice. Be nice until it hurts. And I do, we do. I swallow a lot of fucking pride sometimes because I want to stay in this business. And you have to know when to pick your battles. This is not about being a pussy either, it's about surviving. Because the reality is this. No matter how nice you are, or how hard you try someone, somewhere, for whatever reason is going to be pissed and then they are going to bitch, to you and to others. So when that time comes and believe me it will you need to have built up a strong and influential group of people around you who have your back. That's where those unscathed and pristine bridges you built come in very handy. This is where who you know, not what, really applies.

We get angry emails from time to time around here, not often mind you, about how we fucked someone over, stole their resources, their ideas, or they just simply didn't feel like we gave them the time of day they thought they deserved. Maybe so, maybe not, but this ain't Hollywood and really there's no ones money on the line but ours. So when those who feel slighted, or when rants flood in from the misinformed do come a calling we try and keep it in perspective. We try, and most times it's hard, not to lash out, be we maintain it pretty well. Shit most of the time it's just not that big a deal. But if you want to travel down that road be our guest, it's not a lonely one that for sure. It's littered with angry, frustrated actors and fimmakers most of which find a nice living being critics. Hey I never said there wouldn't be a silver lining to this one.

posted by Twenty One Productions @ 2:14 AM

Why SIN CITY rocks and sucks simultaneously

Sunday, April 03, 2005 | 1 Comments

Friday 1:10 pm and I'm on my way to check out SIN CITY. Now let me preface this with the fact that I am a huge fan of SIN CITY. Ever since the comics first came out in 1991 I was hooked. I have always been a big comic book fan but when I read SIN CITY for the first time I was blow away. Shit, I even have two versions of the "Marv" action figure, both in color and black and white, the latter of which has yet to be taken out of it's original packaging. That's not an easy thing to admit.

After seeing the movie though, I think that the fact that it was transferred vs. translated or adapted for the big screen was both it's strength and it's weakness. I have been so geared up to see this flick that it in no way could have ever met up to my expectations. So excited, in fact that my anticipation for the film was, at the time, bigger than Episode III. Which in my given social and business circles, mind you, would be considered blasphemous. I've seen the clips on-line, I've seen the ads, and read practically ever article written about the movie. Dare I say on the verge of over exposure even before it was ever released?

I did not read any reviews of the movie for the simple fact that I really wanted to be honest about how I felt about the movie given my preexisting prejudiced; I didn't need any other influence going in. So, finally what's my review, get the fuck on with it already. I loved it! However, I was also a bit disappointed. How's that? The visuals were stunning and given the fact the director Robert Rodriguez had been invited up to Skywalker ranch, years before SIN CITY was made, to see the developments in digital filmmaking by Lucas himself showed itself on screen. Hell I think half the reason I love and will see any movie made digitally is because that what we do here at Twenty One. Film? Why? It's expensive; it's unpredictable in a novice's hands, and it''s a fucking headache. Shit even Tarantio who is a staunch film maker bought into digital after directing his one; count it one, scene in SIN CITY. And really it's all because of Lucas.

Back to my review. While the movie looked like the comic book, it also sounded like the comic book. Now I don't know if that's the same old song and dance theory as the book was better than the movie but in many ways that's what I felt. I think anyone going to see this movie needs to buy into the spirit of the film to enjoy it. On that level I did. But I watch films and ask the same questions about the movies I direct, is the general audience going to get it? In the case of SIN CITY I doubt it. It is noir it the ultimate sense. Ugly mug, dames, broads, my mitts? And that's my biggest problem with the movie. It reads better than it sounds coming from actors on the screen. If you buy into it, no big deal, but if you are someone who doesn't understand the nature of the comic book then I think the dialogue gets hokey. And coming from Brittany Murphy it just ruins a fucking scene, which she did on every time her bug-eyed face appears on camera.

The stories themselves play great though. I really enjoyed Mickey Rourke as Marv. That was fucking flawless performance. Clive Owen, Willis, Del Toro, Frodo as Kevin, shit even Rutger Hauer were spot on. I was very happy to see that Rodriguez stuck to the spirit of the comics with the violence, hard-edged toughness and to be quite honest the nudity. Carla Gugino as Lucille who is nearly nude in every scene was amazing. Karen Cisco and the mom from the Spy Kids series never looked so incredible. Jamie King, can't go wrong. But the one thing that bothered me was Jessica Alba. She plays Nancy Callahan. She's a stripper in the movie and she doesn't get naked, at all. In the comic she does and often. Nancy is dancing on stage, topless, when the man who saved her life 8 years earlier walks in and sees her again for the first time. Now why do I find this important? It's not because I needed to see Jessica Alba nude. But it really was for the story. This woman, this stripper, who is in love with a man old enough to be her grandfather is in a position to show him why she is irresistible to him as a lover and we have the obligatory, "I am an actress who doesn't do nudity" shot. Hartigan needs to see that Nancy is all grown up and you don't do that by prentending he can envision her nude but buy showing it. Give him a fucking reason to have a conflict in his feelings for her! His little head needs to duke it out with his big one. Here's my solution, and David agrees, find an actress that is just as attractive who will do the nudity. Every other aspect of noir is maintained except that scene and only because of the actress playing the part. Bullshit, pure and simple.

So to finally sum up my review, I loved it. But I "got it" I'm not so sure the general movie going audience will, but I have faith. Mostly because I hope this movie does so well that it moves the digital movie making movement even further into the norm. Lucas has been pushing, developing and making his movies that way for many years now and Rodriguez was one of the first young directors to buy into it and run with the ball. Because that's what we at Twenty One have as our norm and future and we embrace it. I seriously doubt that I will ever shoot a movie on actual film stock and if I never do so fucking what? After all whether it's a comic book movie, sci-fi, drama or whatever, digital filmmaking is still just another tool to make a great story and if the story sucks who cares what it was shot on.

Needless to say Epidsode III regains the top spot as the my most anticipated filck of 2005.

posted by Twenty One Productions @ 4:50 AM

		FRAME by FRAME News and commentary from Russell Johnson and Twenty One Productions.
		SABOTAGE Friday, April 15, 2005 \| 0 Comments I Can't Stand It I Know You Planned It I'ma' Set It Straight This Watergate I Can't Stand Rockin' When I'm In Here 'Cause Your Crystal Bal Ain't So Crystal Clear So While You Sit Back And Wonder Why I Got This Fuckin' Thorn In My Side Oh My God It's A Mirage I'm Tellin' Y'all It's Sabotage So So So.. So Listen Up 'Cause You Can't Say Nothin' You'll Shut Me Down With A Push Of Your Button But Yo I'm Out And I'm Gone I'll Tell You Now I Keep It On And On 'Cause What You See You Might Not Get And We Can Bet So Don't You Get Souped Yet Scheming On A Thing That's A Mirage I'm Trying To Tell You Now It's Sabotage Why...! Our Backs Are Now Against The Wall Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage I Can't Stand It I Know You Planned It I'ma' Set It Straight This Watergate But I Can't Stand Rockin' When I'm In This Place Because I Feel Disgrace Because You're All In My Face But Make No Mistakes And Switch Up My Channel I'm Buddy Rich When I Fly Off The Handle What Could It Be It's A Mirage You're Scheming On A Thing That's Sabotage -The Beastie Boys Why, oh, why? Because I have to vent, 'cause I have a vein that's about to pop! This actual situation has nothing to do with anyone or anything at Twenty One but more to do with my nine to fiver. It is a reminder of what can happen and what to watch out for in the movie business which is why I find it relevant to bloviate on this particular situation. Things have been progressing along so well with the movies that we have been in high gear and extremely productive. It feels like we are all in a comfortable groove and can accomplish anything. Even the final cut of 12 STEPS NOWHERE soon. But when a situation comes along in my "paying the bills" job where someone who is trying to fuck me because they think I look like a bitch, it is impossible for me to shake it off. We have a "team" that has been formed to establish and implement a new production workflow for the company. Much like setting up your production team and schedule for a movie. Now everyone is excited and positive about the project although we realize that there are always going to be problems along the way. Enter the person who will do whatever it takes to derail said project as to avoid the ensuing problems that need to be solved to make the whole thing work. For whatever reason they realize they are above their head and instead of bowing out graciously or tackling the problem with a "real" solution they begin to play both sides of the fence. To the "team" they are on board but behind your back they are planting the seeds of doubt to the person who could pull the plug at any moment. That is the situation with which I am faced. It's like I have a co-director on a movie and they are doing everything possible to shit-can every shot you plan out. Whether by being passive aggressive or going straight to the producer or studio head behind your back and saying that you are the only one that thinks this movie is worth the effort it's going to take to make it. It all goes back to playing politics, which I've always hated to do. But it's a necessary evil in all business and not just the movie one. Rarely is it personally but when it is it's the worst. Most people do their damage for selfish reasons but it can get personal and when it does it never ends well. I don't think my particular work situation is personal. It's definitely selfish because I know the person of which I speak is for whatever reason not prepared or ill equipped to take on such a big change to their otherwise comfy, cushy, safe world. It's SABOTAGE! "Listen All Of Y'all It's Sabotage!" Plain and simple. If you make movies this will happen to you at some point. Fortunately for me, and I think it's safe to say for David as well, that we haven't encountered that yet. It's because we keep our circle tight. The bigger it gets the more chance for sabotage to occur. Much like reality TV, alliances will be formed and then the back-stabbing begins. Sorry, my last couple of blogs haven't been particularly pithy or funny but part of what we try to do is expose aspiring and new filmmakers to some pitfalls of what it takes to make and who it takes to make a movie. I promise that next time I will expose my most embarrassing production moment of my life. The final point being, always keep one eye open while sleeping because there may be someone lurking in the shadows with bad intentions. posted by Twenty One Productions @ 12:01 PM FOR THOSE ABOUT TO BITCH WE SALUTE YOU Thursday, April 07, 2005 \| 0 Comments You know I have come to learn a few things over my many years and many attempts in the entertainment industry. In all forms, music, art, movies and so on one thing is clear. There are always critics and there are always people you're going to piss off. Most often they are one in the same. During my years in music I was young, stupid and selfish. Now I'm just older, stupid and selfish. But in different ways. I guess it was because I had no clue as to how any of the actual business aspects of entertainment worked when I was younger. Nor did I care. It was about the art and I wasn't going to compromise or kiss ass just to keep people, shit anyone for that matter, happy. Youth and unflinching angst was the key I needed to kick the suits in the ass and tell them to suck it! Rage against the machine baby and rage I did. I wasn't afraid to make others feel angry or alienated due to my artistic expression. I was a rock god waiting to make the mere moral fans of rock worship at my feet and chicks to flash me their tits. Oh, I partied like a rock star, hell at one point I could taste the riches. One problem. That just wound up being a bad coke binge and a nasty hangover the next day. And in the end I found myself homeless and begging for plane fare back to the cozy confides of mommy and daddy. But honestly I thought I was on my way to the big time. So how does this relate to making movies? For one, I realized for once this is a business and when you do much of your work for free and with volunteers who get paid the same, you go out of your way to be nice. I can't order people around on set, fire anyone or even pretend that it would even matter if I could. So I've learned to make nice, and make sure no bridges are burned or even scratched. I once read that the person who you step up to and play "ego shithead" to may be the one person you'll be facing one day to ask for more financing to finish your film, or the one to greenlight it in the first place. And if you don't think that one person is out there or could rear their now more powerful head to you and not remember the time on some no budget indie shoot you told them what a fuck-up they were, or chewed them a new ass in front of a whole room full of cast and crew? Think again. Because your visage is now burned into their memory like it was placed there by a branding iron and they are just waiting to make you eat your own shit and more than likely in a excruciating and public setting. So, be nice. Be nice until it hurts. And I do, we do. I swallow a lot of fucking pride sometimes because I want to stay in this business. And you have to know when to pick your battles. This is not about being a pussy either, it's about surviving. Because the reality is this. No matter how nice you are, or how hard you try someone, somewhere, for whatever reason is going to be pissed and then they are going to bitch, to you and to others. So when that time comes and believe me it will you need to have built up a strong and influential group of people around you who have your back. That's where those unscathed and pristine bridges you built come in very handy. This is where who you know, not what, really applies. We get angry emails from time to time around here, not often mind you, about how we fucked someone over, stole their resources, their ideas, or they just simply didn't feel like we gave them the time of day they thought they deserved. Maybe so, maybe not, but this ain't Hollywood and really there's no ones money on the line but ours. So when those who feel slighted, or when rants flood in from the misinformed do come a calling we try and keep it in perspective. We try, and most times it's hard, not to lash out, be we maintain it pretty well. Shit most of the time it's just not that big a deal. But if you want to travel down that road be our guest, it's not a lonely one that for sure. It's littered with angry, frustrated actors and fimmakers most of which find a nice living being critics. Hey I never said there wouldn't be a silver lining to this one. posted by Twenty One Productions @ 2:14 AM Why SIN CITY rocks and sucks simultaneously Sunday, April 03, 2005 \| 1 Comments Friday 1:10 pm and I'm on my way to check out SIN CITY. Now let me preface this with the fact that I am a huge fan of SIN CITY. Ever since the comics first came out in 1991 I was hooked. I have always been a big comic book fan but when I read SIN CITY for the first time I was blow away. Shit, I even have two versions of the "Marv" action figure, both in color and black and white, the latter of which has yet to be taken out of it's original packaging. That's not an easy thing to admit. After seeing the movie though, I think that the fact that it was transferred vs. translated or adapted for the big screen was both it's strength and it's weakness. I have been so geared up to see this flick that it in no way could have ever met up to my expectations. So excited, in fact that my anticipation for the film was, at the time, bigger than Episode III. Which in my given social and business circles, mind you, would be considered blasphemous. I've seen the clips on-line, I've seen the ads, and read practically ever article written about the movie. Dare I say on the verge of over exposure even before it was ever released? I did not read any reviews of the movie for the simple fact that I really wanted to be honest about how I felt about the movie given my preexisting prejudiced; I didn't need any other influence going in. So, finally what's my review, get the fuck on with it already. I loved it! However, I was also a bit disappointed. How's that? The visuals were stunning and given the fact the director Robert Rodriguez had been invited up to Skywalker ranch, years before SIN CITY was made, to see the developments in digital filmmaking by Lucas himself showed itself on screen. Hell I think half the reason I love and will see any movie made digitally is because that what we do here at Twenty One. Film? Why? It's expensive; it's unpredictable in a novice's hands, and it''s a fucking headache. Shit even Tarantio who is a staunch film maker bought into digital after directing his one; count it one, scene in SIN CITY. And really it's all because of Lucas. Back to my review. While the movie looked like the comic book, it also sounded like the comic book. Now I don't know if that's the same old song and dance theory as the book was better than the movie but in many ways that's what I felt. I think anyone going to see this movie needs to buy into the spirit of the film to enjoy it. On that level I did. But I watch films and ask the same questions about the movies I direct, is the general audience going to get it? In the case of SIN CITY I doubt it. It is noir it the ultimate sense. Ugly mug, dames, broads, my mitts? And that's my biggest problem with the movie. It reads better than it sounds coming from actors on the screen. If you buy into it, no big deal, but if you are someone who doesn't understand the nature of the comic book then I think the dialogue gets hokey. And coming from Brittany Murphy it just ruins a fucking scene, which she did on every time her bug-eyed face appears on camera. The stories themselves play great though. I really enjoyed Mickey Rourke as Marv. That was fucking flawless performance. Clive Owen, Willis, Del Toro, Frodo as Kevin, shit even Rutger Hauer were spot on. I was very happy to see that Rodriguez stuck to the spirit of the comics with the violence, hard-edged toughness and to be quite honest the nudity. Carla Gugino as Lucille who is nearly nude in every scene was amazing. Karen Cisco and the mom from the Spy Kids series never looked so incredible. Jamie King, can't go wrong. But the one thing that bothered me was Jessica Alba. She plays Nancy Callahan. She's a stripper in the movie and she doesn't get naked, at all. In the comic she does and often. Nancy is dancing on stage, topless, when the man who saved her life 8 years earlier walks in and sees her again for the first time. Now why do I find this important? It's not because I needed to see Jessica Alba nude. But it really was for the story. This woman, this stripper, who is in love with a man old enough to be her grandfather is in a position to show him why she is irresistible to him as a lover and we have the obligatory, "I am an actress who doesn't do nudity" shot. Hartigan needs to see that Nancy is all grown up and you don't do that by prentending he can envision her nude but buy showing it. Give him a fucking reason to have a conflict in his feelings for her! His little head needs to duke it out with his big one. Here's my solution, and David agrees, find an actress that is just as attractive who will do the nudity. Every other aspect of noir is maintained except that scene and only because of the actress playing the part. Bullshit, pure and simple. So to finally sum up my review, I loved it. But I "got it" I'm not so sure the general movie going audience will, but I have faith. Mostly because I hope this movie does so well that it moves the digital movie making movement even further into the norm. Lucas has been pushing, developing and making his movies that way for many years now and Rodriguez was one of the first young directors to buy into it and run with the ball. Because that's what we at Twenty One have as our norm and future and we embrace it. I seriously doubt that I will ever shoot a movie on actual film stock and if I never do so fucking what? After all whether it's a comic book movie, sci-fi, drama or whatever, digital filmmaking is still just another tool to make a great story and if the story sucks who cares what it was shot on. Needless to say Epidsode III regains the top spot as the my most anticipated filck of 2005. posted by Twenty One Productions @ 4:50 AM	About Me Name: Twenty One Productions Location: United States View my complete profile Links Twenty One Productions Twenty One Podcast Russell's MySpace Russell's YouTube Twenty One's MySpace Producer David Cottingham's Blog Writer/actor Mat Raney's Blog Justin R. Durban's site RSS Subscribe to Posts [Atom] Previous Posts New project in the works 1st SCENE IN THE CAN! TEST SHOOT IS LIKE RED BULL! Lucky or Just a F***ing Idiot! Losing a Loved ONE Scars & Souvenirs MOVING FORWARD HELP US WIN! VOTE FOR US! Happy Easter! Archives March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 January 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 Current Posts © 2007 TWENTY ONE PRODUCTIONS, All Rights Reserved STAR WARS and all associated characters, logos and other elements are the property of LucasFilm Ltd. This production is a "Fan Film", and as such no profit can be made from the presentation or distribution of this film. This film is not for sale. STAR WARS is a Registered Trademark of LucasFilm Ltd.

FRAME by FRAME

About Me