(S01E07) I'm pretty sure Fox has an intern whose sole job is to check the web every Wednesday morning to see what the bloggers and web magazines had to say about the previous night's episode.I say this because it feels like the producers take the online criticism into account and have been making little adjustments here and there to try and make the show a little bit better.
For instance, this week Adriana Costa cut right to the chase and let us know that Marty was going home. For this I applaud the network, not only because Marty was getting terribly annoying, but because the "we're not telling you who is leaving until after the break" stuff was equally as annoying.
So, if there is some Fox intern out there who hates himself enough to read my weekly musings on the show, I have a minor suggestion for next week's episode.
Get rid of all the contestants except Sam, Adam, Andrew, Will, and Zach and let the five of them duke it out with 10 minute film skirmishes for the rest of the season.
I'm not saying that the rest of the directors are bad. I'm just saying that the rest of the directors aren't very good and it would save us all a lot of time since it's pretty clear (in my mind anyways) that the five I mentioned make the best films.
At the very least, if Fox insists on sticking with the "4 or 5 contestants show their films" direction they've had the last three weeks, they should level things out a bit.
I propose that one director writes a script each week and all the other directors create a film from that script.
This would give America a better basis to make judgments on cinematography, creative vision, and the performances the directors were able to elicit from the actors among other things. If anything, I think it'd be interesting to see how the film makers interpret the same piece of material.
The format for the last three weeks was working for me for a while, but I find myself getting really bored all of a sudden. I'm not an advocate of a show changing mid-season, and I've griped about it the numerous times it's occurred already, but I'm begging for this last change - or something like it - to keep me interested. I'm fading fast, and the lackluster film offerings from the last few weeks aren't helping.
Okay, I'm done griping. The venerable Wes Craven was this weeks guest judge.
#1 - Will - Glass Eye
Synopsis: A guy loses his glass eye, but realizes he can now see the world in a completely different way.
Carrie - If my dog pooped my eye out I wouldn't be waiting around to put it back in. You make very sweet films and I like the spirit. They are like silent films. Might try to have some dialogue next time.
Wes - I thought you had a really fun concept and you followed it through. Very original and cinematic. There were a few misdirections. It would make more sense to have the glass eye scenes in black and white.
Garry - You've got a good eye for film making. Your lead character was in a wife-beater shirt. Be careful of wardrobe.
The entire film I kept wondering why the lead character was covering his empty eye socket to view what the glass eye was seeing. It seemed like he should have been covering his good eye instead. I realize Will had to establish that the lead character realized his eye fell out but he could have accomplished the same with an audible cue when the eye hit the ground. That point distracted me a bit, but I still found the film amusing. He did a great job directing the dog as well. I have a few pets and can imagine how difficult that must be.
#2 - Jason - Blood Born
Synopsis: Story about a troubled kid who realizes he has a miraculous gift.
Carrie - I was a little confused by your film. I wasn't clear on the moral of the tale. The message needed to be clearer.
Wes - I felt you were trying to tell a moral tale. I also thought the character was stoned all the time. Not very clear.
Garry - I think the film making was good, but an uplifting tale would have been better.
I hated this movie. For portions it was way too bright and other parts it was way too dark. The idea of a guy with healing blood was mildly interesting, but there was all kinds of stuff going on in this one. I also laughed hysterically at the end when what I'm guessing was a drug dealer pulled out the gun. I'm guessing that wasn't the reaction Jason was hoping for. Bizarre.
#3 - Zach - Sunshine Girl
Synopsis: A little girl is scared of the dark and realizes she has a miraculous gift.
Carrie - It was a simple story told simply. I could have done without the sweet music. I've liked some of your other stuff better, but this was a great success.
Wes - I think you're a real film maker. I gasped with the sun bit. Make sure you get good actors for the voice overs.
Garry - I didn't get that the little girl was afraid of the dark. Music was a little sappy but you did a good job.
I agree with Carrie in that he's done much better with past films. I also get the sense that he has trouble telling a good story. Neat effect with the sun though.
#4 - Mateen - Lost
Synopsis: Guy is completely delusional and contemplates proposing to a lady that left him 8-10 months before.
Carrie - You can write dialogue and you can create characters. I wish more happened and that there was a third act. You're talented and I love your work.
Wes - I really liked it and you did really good work with the actors. I wasn't clear what the lady was doing since she made the call to him.
Garry - Step back a little bit. You were a little too close. Good job though. I got it. The lady called him to tell the guy her feelings.
Good acting, decent dialouge, delusional protagonist. Really? You haven't seen a woman for nearly a year, she leaves you, and you consider proposing to her. Only in the movies...
#5 - Jessica - The Orchard
Synopsis: Horror movie from the perspective of a tree?
Carrie - That was my least favorite thing since adolescence and being left by a man for a man. The only thing really scary was that it could have gone on longer.
Wes - I enjoy your spirit. I think it would work for tree fans. Horror is about blood not sap.
Garry - Good idea, but it's just the beginning of something?
This was not horror. This was horrific. Had the tree attacked the man this may have worked. As it stands, a guy was in the middle of an orchard cutting branches from a small tree with eyes. Tonight was really strange.
Favorite movies of the night:
Carrie - Sunshine Girl
Wes - Sunshine Girl
Garry - Sunshine Girl
JJ - Glass Eye
Any suggestions on what this show needs to do to get better or is it working for you? Take the poll or leave a comment.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-20-2007 @ 1:30AM
David said...
I'm glad Marty got the boot. He was annoying and cocky and lousy. I'm glad Carrie poured salt on his wounds with a speech that reminded everyone of his crybaby behavior.
This and Adriana's legs were the highlight for me. I'm with JJ: the quality of the movies is dragging this show down fast. Tonight featured two watchable ones, two bad ones and one embarrassingly foul waste of film.
After this I'm convinced Jessica needs to be kept far away from any kind of camera. And it was oh so painful to hear her pathetic attempts to defend her film as risky. Props again to Carrie for skewering her.
JJ's idea to have everyone do the same script has some promise. I can respect how hard it is for one person to come up with an engaging idea. Comedy shows have large teams of writers and still the product is often bad. The burden of the script is poisoning everything. The name of the show indicates it's about shooting on the lot, not typing on the computer.
One big missed opportunity on this show is behind the scenes of making these films. That would probably be more interesting than their product. I'd like to see their frustrations with casting and shooting and editing. And what tools is Zach using for his effects?
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6-20-2007 @ 2:24AM
Victor said...
Right now, this program is like "Show and Tell", where each kid gets in front of the class and shows what he made.
I'm completely NOT interested in these films. If you take them completely on their own, outside of this contest, I wouldn't watch any one of these films. I would turn the channel if it was just a show featuring short films.
This show needs to be about the PROCESS of creating a short film, which to me is far more interesting. This show should use "Project Runway" as its template rather than "American Idol." This isn't just a show-us-your-talent thing like singing. It's the creative process. What decisions did each filmmaker have to make? What were the challenges they faced in pulling their film off? How did Zach do that sun effect?
And make the films shorter. Two minutes at the most. The last three weeks had three minute or so films and all of them felt WAY longer than that. All of them could have been much shorter and would have been much more effective.
And finally, there's one format change I'd make immediately, and I'd keep changing it week to week until it worked, and that's to do whatever it takes to get Kenny off the show. What planet is he making films for? Him am should be making films for Bizarro World. I'm baffled as to how he's still around (although I'm not upset that Marty's ego has left the building. He really let his lack of talent go to his head in a hurry, didn't he?)
I'm losing interest in this show by the moment.
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6-20-2007 @ 7:13AM
Gary said...
I liked "Glass Eye" and "Sunshine Girl". The stories were simple and fun. I definitely would like to see more dialog from Will.
I thought that "Lost" was a bit cliched - I've seen that scene numerous times.
"Blood Born" was pretty hard to follow. I was waiting for something to tie it all together.
As for "The Orchard", I thought it was drawn out and didn't go anywhere. However, it's greatest sin was the fact that if she did not say in her intro that it was a horror movie from the perspective of a tree, I wouldn't have know what the point was. It would have been a couple of minutes of a guy cutting a tree.
In all, I've seen a few films that were pretty good, but I've seen a lot better ones at the 48-hour film festival (which I do every year) and those films are under a bigger time/budget constraint. I find it hard to believe that these were the best of those submitted.
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6-20-2007 @ 8:45AM
Wintermute said...
I like the idea of giving everyone the same script to shoot from. Or even a set of scripts that they can pull from. I have a feeling that this will be the only way we can tell what Jessica is capable of. I thought "The Orchard" was beautifully done, but the concept was just too "out there" to begin with.
Am I the only person who found Jason's comment on sex and violence to be hypocritical, considering those comments were followed by a film which featured drug abuse and a drive-by?
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6-20-2007 @ 8:56AM
eja said...
I agree with David and Victor. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes, they showed more of the process of film making. That's what I wanted to see. Maybe one week show the process, next week show the films? I don't like the whole voting process, then a week goes by before we find out who's going home. I feel like this show has been on for months, and it's only been a couple of weeks. At this rate I'll be sitting in a retirement home before we find out who won. Forget me...Steven Speilberg will be retired, then the whole show will be a moot point. SPEED IT UP! Show more of the process, and get rid of the stragglers quick!
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6-20-2007 @ 7:03PM
Natalie said...
I too like the idea of having the directors interpret the same script as well as the idea of showing more behind the scenes footage.
I'd like this show to come up with a new phone number to call in. I wanted to vote this evening but didn't write the "main" number down and couldn't remember it for the life of me. Their number should be something easier to remember like 866-MOVIE-## or 866-FILMS-##.
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6-20-2007 @ 11:09AM
Renee said...
I would agree - I'm very quickly losing interest in this show. None of the films in this round (the last three shows) have been very entertaining or engaging. I think they started out with too many filmmakers and now it's just taking forever to move forward. I like the idea of everyone interpreting the same script, although it would be boring to see the same film 12 times, so they need to cut some of the dead weight fast. Maybe they could choose from some scripts so that it's more about movie making and less about writing and developing an idea.
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6-20-2007 @ 12:18PM
Rob said...
Jessica needs to go home. Ok, that gets that out of the way.
All in all, this weeks shows were not nearly in the same league as previous weeks.
Glass Eye: Good, not great. Doesn't deserve to go,.. yet.
Blood Born: While this wasn't my favorite movie, I think people are being too harsh on it. I think it was good, but needed a little polishing. And in response to Wintermute's 'Hypocritical' comment, I agree with Jason that too many movies these days are ABOUT violence, drugs and sex and that they RELY on these factors to make them blockbusters. While Blood Born contained passing shots of drugs and a gun, it hardly focused on violence and drug abuse - they were just plot devices - nothing hypocritical there.
Sunshine Girl: Great effects, as usual. Good story. Only wished he hadn't mentioned the fact that the story was supposedly about a girl who was afraid of the dark, since she was clearly afraid of what was under her bed. He deserves to stick around though.
Lost: Last two seconds redeemed this movie for me, but it wasn't enough to make me enjoy it. And what is it with this guy? Anyone else notice that he only uses black,.. I'm sorry, African American actors? Granted, I haven't paid much attention to the race of all the other actors, it just seems so obvious when his movies come up.
Orchard: Well that was three minutes of my life I'll never get back. Not even worth writing a review over.
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6-20-2007 @ 12:33PM
james said...
y'know thinking about the Orchard it would have been easy to fix. She just didn't put a payoff in the flick. If the farmer's foot had been snagged by a root and he fell onto his saw then THAT would have been a horror movie. The Blood movie just sucked, I liked the guys goofy comedy but this just sucked. And the soap opera thing was just, eh. Decently shot but no real reasoning behind it.
I'd hoped we would be farther along by now. Maybe having them all collaborate on one movie and directing different "beats" so that their strengths can show through. But there has been no growth no nothing.
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6-20-2007 @ 2:10PM
pgwp said...
You forgot the best part of the episode! When Adriana asked Wes Craven if he had any advice for the directors before they made their horror films: "make it scary."
Loved it. Coulda done without the other 59:55.
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6-20-2007 @ 3:39PM
darthpragus said...
this should be a team competition where a director gets paired up with an aspiring writer.
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6-21-2007 @ 5:14PM
amboo said...
And what is it with this guy? Anyone else notice that he only uses black,.. I'm sorry, African American actors?
1. You notice because he is the only black competitor.
2. Zach uses white actors.
3. Adam uses white actors.
4. Will uses white actors.
5. Andrew uses white actors.
Or did you notice? Why does that matter?
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