FRAME by FRAME: August 2005

GREAT NOIR LINES

Friday, August 19, 2005 | 0 Comments

Just for the hell of it. Mat has been underway on a film noir genre screenplay. And he said that before he got into it he did some reading on the history of film noir and it's language. Which got me thinking. So I did some research of my own to help me get into that film noir mind set. So I have this book called "Hard Boiled: Great Lines From Classic Noir FIlms." Some of my favorites follow:

For example:

THE BIG SLEEP 1946
"My, my. Such a lot of guns around a town and so few brains."

THE BIG COMBO
"I treated her like a pair of gloves. When I was cold, I called her up."

THE BLUE DAHLIA 1946
"Bourbon straight! With a bourbon chaser!"

FORCE OF EVIL 1948
"If I make you feel necessary, I'm making a mistake."

"If you need a broken man to love, break your husband."

STRANGER'S ON A TRAIN 1951
"Some people are better off dead. Like your wife and my father, for instance."

Now these are just some of the example I have found and having heard Mat's pitch he's already got some great lines of his own.

Anyway, just a fun little rant and one more line that pertains to all we are working on right now.

SCARLET STREET 1945

- "Who do you think you are, my guardian angel?

- "I lost my wings a long time ago."

posted by Twenty One Productions @ 11:27 AM

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Thursday, August 18, 2005 | 1 Comments

Working nine to five just plain sucks! The fact is I actually admire people who love their "job." I work with people who have been doing the same job 20 or more years. Not working and moving up but literally doing the same job every day for 20 years, and they love it! I mean I have a job, a career. One that pays the mortgage, doctor bills, school, etc. And it'll do just fine. But there inherently lies the problem. My goal when I started my nine to five was to get as far as I could within the corporate (and I use that term loosely) structure. Seeing as how I didn't have a complete college education, (ie. no degree) I figured, at best, I would have a moderately good paying job and some decent benefits. Well it seemed as though every time I was willing (and ready) to jump ship, they would up the ante. Now after working for five years at the same place (a record I might add) I am the art director for a monthly publication that has a subscription rate of about 50,000+ people. It's no Oprah magazine (subscription rate in the millions), but it's at least a well paying position. Ah, I have achieved my goal, well a goal anyway. I have a professional well paying career now. But you know what? It sucks. It really is all about the journey and not the destination. It is for me anyway. Because once I have achieved a goal, and one mind you that I never expected to reach, my first thought is what's the next goal? Have I reached the ceiling? Maybe, if I let it be that way. This is where my A type personality comes into play. I have to keep moving up. The logical goal is to to work for a bigger publication. Fine. I'll start sending out resumes.

But honestly, if I could have it my way I would change careers altogether. I want to work in the video production field as a "career." The nine to five. That way it fuels directly into my movie "career." I know, how many friggin' careers do you want? Really, they would all be one in the same. My situation is that the company that can hire me away from my art director job really can't. Let me clarify. They'd like to hire me and if I was 20 something and my life consisted only of me and my needs. It would be an easy decision for me. But because starting over with them means lower pay, lower benefits, etc., and the fact is that I do have more than just myself to worry about. I have 3 ladies in my life that depend on my career as do I. So there's the rub. Fortunately for me it's not an all or nothing proposition.

I have been part of Twenty One for 4 years now, since it began. And I have a business partner and friend who is loyal to me and my position in the company like the mob is loyal (or back in the days when it was supposed to be, before Sammy "the Bull"). If there is anything that's more important to Twenty One it's loyalty, literally to a fault. In that respect I know that all the time and effort put into Twenty One is something I could never (nor want to) turn my back on and walk away from any more than I could turn my back on my family. It's the only thing I have that keeps me sane while I'm trudging my way through the nine to five.

I always have Twenty One to look forward to something. And I know barring some incredible force of almighty God himself that Dave would never leave me behind. Is that naive? Maybe. It is a business after all. But my gut and the past four years tell me otherwise. Like I say Dave at his core is loyal and that's all he's ever asks in return. Which is striking to me since I just got finished reading "DisneyWar." Where loyalty or the lack of it is what finally will oust Michael Isner from Disney in 2006. It was a detailed look at the entertainment business as a whole and how unGodly deceitful it usually is.

So, what's the final analysis? Well, I hate my nine to five. I love my non-paying job. And I would be happy making little or no money just doing what I love. But my family life prevents it...for now and that fact does not make me bitter. The Rock is my "job" and the necessary needs it fullfills. The hard place is my movies and not being able to do that as my nine to five. Luckily I have a company, business partner (now partners, Mat) that I can count on that will, in due time, help me remove the rock and make the hard place nice and comfortable.

Okay, obviously I am writing this at the "paying" job and my mind needed clearing before I look for something sharp to jab into my eyes. Thanks for reading. I feel better, do you?

posted by Twenty One Productions @ 11:32 PM

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Tuesday, August 02, 2005 | 0 Comments

When the premiere is over and all the glory that is friends and family who praise you and your creative movie making ability have gone home and life gets back to whatever you consider normal is, what now? It's like this big wave of energy that you ride for what seems like months. You don't sleep very much (never did to begin with), you don't eat and so on and so forth with bad health issues.

Then the day approaches. Shit it's here! You're busy on the phone making any and every contact humanly open to your existence and need, you rush around like some crazed lunatic, you meet, you greet, you make new acquaintances, you show the film, you get praised, drink too much, stay out way to late and then it's over. This is no pity me session, mind you, just the reality of setting up a local premiere. The real question comes after that wave you've been riding has crashed and now you are churning in an violent undercurrent of uncertainty tossing you around and slamming you on the shore. You lie there sore and in pain but you smile because it was worth the ride.

The fact of the matter is, that could have been the first and last time you ever show that movie to anyone. That's the long and short of it.

You see when I was a singer in a rock band(s), there was always the next song to write, the next gig to play. Not that they were always packed shows but there was always one just a few weeks away. The people would come out wether they liked you or not, shit it was in a bar, so someone was bound to show up. That's the part of making music I miss the most. Not the off handed chance that I would become a rock star but the simple fact that I could just get a few people together, rehearse a bit and then put on a show.

In the movie making business it's the complete opposite. You are hoping for that BIG break! One shot to make something of what you spend so much of, not just your time, but your life on. But that's also the best part. That opportunity can be right around the next corner. And you've got to believe in that or you are just wasting your time. Music I made for me, movies I make for others. I mean I make movies for me too, but I think about what my audience wants now before what I want.

I had a good talk with a guy I know who lived, worked and made money in Hollywood as a writer. He had the perks, the success and living what for most of us we would consider "the life." He doesn't do it anymore, he still writes, just in a different medium. He said he hated Hollywood and doesn't miss it, he's a New Yorker through and through. He did say what he does miss the most is the fact that the next big break could happen any second. It's such a hit or miss business but it can happen. And he told me that you have to believe in what you are doing and not downplay your work. You work hard so be proud of it.

So now the premiere is over. Where do you go from here?

Forward. That's the only answer I have. I don't know that our movie will get picked by any festival. That someone who can make a difference will see it and get behind us and champion our movies and our careers. But I have to believe that the "slim to none" chance exists. And moving forward is the only thing I can do to make assure us that chance will find us either by accident, fate, or just dumb luck. Hopefully a combination of all three! I don't play the lottery but I do make movies. Probably the same odds but at least with movies I've got some say in the final results.

posted by Twenty One Productions @ 2:42 PM

		FRAME by FRAME News and commentary from Russell Johnson and Twenty One Productions.
		GREAT NOIR LINES Friday, August 19, 2005 \| 0 Comments Just for the hell of it. Mat has been underway on a film noir genre screenplay. And he said that before he got into it he did some reading on the history of film noir and it's language. Which got me thinking. So I did some research of my own to help me get into that film noir mind set. So I have this book called "Hard Boiled: Great Lines From Classic Noir FIlms." Some of my favorites follow: For example: THE BIG SLEEP 1946 "My, my. Such a lot of guns around a town and so few brains." THE BIG COMBO "I treated her like a pair of gloves. When I was cold, I called her up." THE BLUE DAHLIA 1946 "Bourbon straight! With a bourbon chaser!" FORCE OF EVIL 1948 "If I make you feel necessary, I'm making a mistake." "If you need a broken man to love, break your husband." STRANGER'S ON A TRAIN 1951 "Some people are better off dead. Like your wife and my father, for instance." Now these are just some of the example I have found and having heard Mat's pitch he's already got some great lines of his own. Anyway, just a fun little rant and one more line that pertains to all we are working on right now. SCARLET STREET 1945 - "Who do you think you are, my guardian angel? - "I lost my wings a long time ago." posted by Twenty One Productions @ 11:27 AM BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Thursday, August 18, 2005 \| 1 Comments Working nine to five just plain sucks! The fact is I actually admire people who love their "job." I work with people who have been doing the same job 20 or more years. Not working and moving up but literally doing the same job every day for 20 years, and they love it! I mean I have a job, a career. One that pays the mortgage, doctor bills, school, etc. And it'll do just fine. But there inherently lies the problem. My goal when I started my nine to five was to get as far as I could within the corporate (and I use that term loosely) structure. Seeing as how I didn't have a complete college education, (ie. no degree) I figured, at best, I would have a moderately good paying job and some decent benefits. Well it seemed as though every time I was willing (and ready) to jump ship, they would up the ante. Now after working for five years at the same place (a record I might add) I am the art director for a monthly publication that has a subscription rate of about 50,000+ people. It's no Oprah magazine (subscription rate in the millions), but it's at least a well paying position. Ah, I have achieved my goal, well a goal anyway. I have a professional well paying career now. But you know what? It sucks. It really is all about the journey and not the destination. It is for me anyway. Because once I have achieved a goal, and one mind you that I never expected to reach, my first thought is what's the next goal? Have I reached the ceiling? Maybe, if I let it be that way. This is where my A type personality comes into play. I have to keep moving up. The logical goal is to to work for a bigger publication. Fine. I'll start sending out resumes. But honestly, if I could have it my way I would change careers altogether. I want to work in the video production field as a "career." The nine to five. That way it fuels directly into my movie "career." I know, how many friggin' careers do you want? Really, they would all be one in the same. My situation is that the company that can hire me away from my art director job really can't. Let me clarify. They'd like to hire me and if I was 20 something and my life consisted only of me and my needs. It would be an easy decision for me. But because starting over with them means lower pay, lower benefits, etc., and the fact is that I do have more than just myself to worry about. I have 3 ladies in my life that depend on my career as do I. So there's the rub. Fortunately for me it's not an all or nothing proposition. I have been part of Twenty One for 4 years now, since it began. And I have a business partner and friend who is loyal to me and my position in the company like the mob is loyal (or back in the days when it was supposed to be, before Sammy "the Bull"). If there is anything that's more important to Twenty One it's loyalty, literally to a fault. In that respect I know that all the time and effort put into Twenty One is something I could never (nor want to) turn my back on and walk away from any more than I could turn my back on my family. It's the only thing I have that keeps me sane while I'm trudging my way through the nine to five. I always have Twenty One to look forward to something. And I know barring some incredible force of almighty God himself that Dave would never leave me behind. Is that naive? Maybe. It is a business after all. But my gut and the past four years tell me otherwise. Like I say Dave at his core is loyal and that's all he's ever asks in return. Which is striking to me since I just got finished reading "DisneyWar." Where loyalty or the lack of it is what finally will oust Michael Isner from Disney in 2006. It was a detailed look at the entertainment business as a whole and how unGodly deceitful it usually is. So, what's the final analysis? Well, I hate my nine to five. I love my non-paying job. And I would be happy making little or no money just doing what I love. But my family life prevents it...for now and that fact does not make me bitter. The Rock is my "job" and the necessary needs it fullfills. The hard place is my movies and not being able to do that as my nine to five. Luckily I have a company, business partner (now partners, Mat) that I can count on that will, in due time, help me remove the rock and make the hard place nice and comfortable. Okay, obviously I am writing this at the "paying" job and my mind needed clearing before I look for something sharp to jab into my eyes. Thanks for reading. I feel better, do you? posted by Twenty One Productions @ 11:32 PM WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Tuesday, August 02, 2005 \| 0 Comments When the premiere is over and all the glory that is friends and family who praise you and your creative movie making ability have gone home and life gets back to whatever you consider normal is, what now? It's like this big wave of energy that you ride for what seems like months. You don't sleep very much (never did to begin with), you don't eat and so on and so forth with bad health issues. Then the day approaches. Shit it's here! You're busy on the phone making any and every contact humanly open to your existence and need, you rush around like some crazed lunatic, you meet, you greet, you make new acquaintances, you show the film, you get praised, drink too much, stay out way to late and then it's over. This is no pity me session, mind you, just the reality of setting up a local premiere. The real question comes after that wave you've been riding has crashed and now you are churning in an violent undercurrent of uncertainty tossing you around and slamming you on the shore. You lie there sore and in pain but you smile because it was worth the ride. The fact of the matter is, that could have been the first and last time you ever show that movie to anyone. That's the long and short of it. You see when I was a singer in a rock band(s), there was always the next song to write, the next gig to play. Not that they were always packed shows but there was always one just a few weeks away. The people would come out wether they liked you or not, shit it was in a bar, so someone was bound to show up. That's the part of making music I miss the most. Not the off handed chance that I would become a rock star but the simple fact that I could just get a few people together, rehearse a bit and then put on a show. In the movie making business it's the complete opposite. You are hoping for that BIG break! One shot to make something of what you spend so much of, not just your time, but your life on. But that's also the best part. That opportunity can be right around the next corner. And you've got to believe in that or you are just wasting your time. Music I made for me, movies I make for others. I mean I make movies for me too, but I think about what my audience wants now before what I want. I had a good talk with a guy I know who lived, worked and made money in Hollywood as a writer. He had the perks, the success and living what for most of us we would consider "the life." He doesn't do it anymore, he still writes, just in a different medium. He said he hated Hollywood and doesn't miss it, he's a New Yorker through and through. He did say what he does miss the most is the fact that the next big break could happen any second. It's such a hit or miss business but it can happen. And he told me that you have to believe in what you are doing and not downplay your work. You work hard so be proud of it. So now the premiere is over. Where do you go from here? Forward. That's the only answer I have. I don't know that our movie will get picked by any festival. That someone who can make a difference will see it and get behind us and champion our movies and our careers. But I have to believe that the "slim to none" chance exists. And moving forward is the only thing I can do to make assure us that chance will find us either by accident, fate, or just dumb luck. Hopefully a combination of all three! I don't play the lottery but I do make movies. Probably the same odds but at least with movies I've got some say in the final results. posted by Twenty One Productions @ 2:42 PM	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.

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