Urbanworld Film Festival 2024

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Directed by by Frank Sputh, Bin Martha, Kolumbianerin (I'm Martha, Colombian) is a slowcumentary, the nearly three-hour portrait of a young Afro-Colombian woman, a slow, closely observing documentary.

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Perspectives directed by Neer Shelter has qualfied for the 2024 Academy Awards

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Rent Abyss: The Greated Proposal Ever, a short film made with a diverse cast & crew working together to tell a story about Love, Friendship and PTSD! This urban military homecoming drama is a candid glimpse into the troubles surrounding a U.S. Army Sergeant who gets stranded by SEPTA in the inner city when a wild marriage proposal shakes up his plans to reunite with the only family he knows. 

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Entries in Abyss Movie (32)

Sunday
Sep022012

On Casting Actors Like Gerard Butler

Actor Gerard Butler at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival

"I ran into Berkoff in the coffee shop downstairs and said, 'I'd love to read for this.' He said, 'Sure, why not?'-- I gave it everything. Afterward, the casting director came up to me almost in tears. She said, 'You're the best he saw in two days!'

Walking home was probably the happiest moment of my life, when there's an energy in you that can't be put down. I'd gone from handing out pages (as an assistant) to getting the lead role." - Gerard Butler on landing his role in playwright Steven Berkoff's production of Coriolanus.

This quote has me thinking about the casting process -- more specifically, a reminder to make sure to cast actors who put all that they have mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically, into their performances. What producer or director in the world would want to work with an actor who is only half-way in with regards to how they treat the roles that they're given?

Actors who show partial interest in the material and/or do not showcase their best efforts, abilities and talents during the audition become a liability to the overall quality of the film -- if they are selected for said role. Actors like this also create an imbalance within the flow of the production environment, especially when their fellow cast and crew members are working to the best of their ability to make the greatest film that they can, in the highest capacity they are able. When an actor gives a lackluster performance, the whole project suffers, for everyone involved. 

The part of Gerard Butler's statement that goes "...when there's an energy in you that can't be put down" is also worth noting with regards to approaching any career of interest. If there is something pulling us towards a particular position, shouldn't we give it everything we have in usbe it in the field of entertainment, law, medicine, hospitality, travel, fitness, the list goes on. If I don't put forth efforts to move my filmmaking pursuits forward, then there is no reason for me to do it. We shouldn't half-ass anything -- a task, a friendship, a project or a job.

There is no reward in being involved in something with one foot in and the other foot out the door. Just imagine if Kobe Bryant and LeBron James only put in 50% of their efforts during the London 2012 Summer Olympics -- the Gold Medal for Men's Basketball category would have probably went to Spain. You risk a loss when taking the half-way route, which is something I experienced while writing the first draft of my new short film script.

I've also realized more times than none this year, the importance of devoting all of my time, energy and attention to a cause that I believe to be just or a project that I want to witness come to fruition. That said, as I soon approach the casting stage of the short film that I finally finished writing, I'm seeking actors who can make a role their own and who will (as Gary Vaynerchuck says) bring the thunder by putting their very best foot forward.

If I'm giving this movie my all, then you better believe I'd expect cast and crew members working on this project with me to do the same. That is not to say I expect their best efforts to look like mine, but rather, I require -- at the most basic level, an effort showing themselves in the greatest light they've ever been in or at least matching their last "best" performance among the previous films that they worked on.

The concept sounds so simple and should come as second nature to any filmmaker making a movie. I didn't always cast for ability, however, nor did I adopt the practice of casting for passion. I would often cast for accessibility and budget, even going so far as to hire a total stranger someone else noticed on the road, sans audition due to scheduling restraints and mostly...impatience. That is one of the reasons why things have to be different this time around because it's better to go for the Gold (even if you end up with less) than go for the Bronze and get a bunch of wooden nickels. I want the Gold -- I want actors who give performances that movie casting directors to tears the way Gerard Butler did.

Do YOU think there's a difference between a good actor and a great actor...or are they synonymous with each other?

Can anyone define bad acting or is it something that YOU just know when you see it?

Is requesting or even expecting people who YOU work on a project with to be at their very best, too much to ask?

Also, here are a couple of Announcements…

Since I skipped the King Dong series in July and August, Idris Elba has upgraded from the June 2012 King to the Summer 2012 King, just so we can keep this thing rolling without any missing months. Elba's throne has now passed to Gerard Butler, who is the September 2012 King Dong. 

It's official, I am now a LAMB! -- On Wednesday, August 29th, I found out that my blog received membership into the Large Association of Movie Bloggers, otherwise known as The LAMB. So, be prepared to see additional blog posts about specific actors and film mash-ups published here at The Madlab Post. 

 

Sunday
May202012

In a Jude Law State of Mind - Case of The Never Ending Screenplay Part 1 #indiefilm #shorts #actors

 

I’m channeling the wisdom of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" star Jude Law this weekend, to get a short film script ready for what I hope will be the final draft stage. I have a feeling, however, that there's probably more work to do before reaching that point. It’s been too damn long -- I mean, I expected to have this thing done, especially now that January has come and gone.

The story was simple enough but then I altered the script outline a bit to try to make it more interesting. Afterward, I got bored and was no longer interested in making the whole darn thing. Then, I went back to square one, with plans to just make a straight-to-video flick that I could sell, regardless of whether I was interested in the movie or not.

In April, I lost enthusiasm for taking the script from first draft to final draft and these days, I’m taking the story in a whole new direction after coming up with some ideas that I actually like, to finally create a workable script that could be both simple, yet interesting. So, what does this all have to do with Jude Law, you may be wondering? Well, I recently came across three quotes from this Tony and Oscar nominated actor, that reminded me of what making movies (especially independent films, in my case) is all about -- more specifically, what needs to be the motivation for writing the script.

Since a screenplay is the very foundation for which films are based upon, if I’m not enthusiastic about creating the story on paper, how in the world am I going to find excitement in shooting it?! So, any movie for which the writer has no motivation to complete is doomed from the start. Now don’t get me wrong, producing artificial enthusiasm for a movie CAN be done, at any stage of production for that matter -- but is it worth it in the end? No way! Or, at least not according to Jude Law, where his acting is concerned.

Photo: People Magazine
“The only film I ever made for money was something called Music From Another Room, which I really didn't like.” - Jude Law

This reminds me of one of the most expensive short films I’ve made to date, which serves as a lesson to not make the same mistake twice. The irony is that I lost money on this particular film rather than making dough and also ended up with a film that brings me all sorts of frustrating and annoying memories on top of that. I thought that by making a film that I could use to raise money for the one that I really wanted to make, I didn’t have to exactly be attached to the end result.

Similar thoughts crossed my mind while hitting mental roadblocks on the first draft of my current script -- “I don’t need great ideas for this, so long as I cast at least one actor who can attract sales based on who he or she is -- hell, this person doesn’t even have to have acting experience. The guys from The Skorpion Show on YouTube has a huge audience. Problem solved!” Thank goodness I knew that this was a destructive path to follow and thus, started trying to find a story angle that I at least find attractive enough to hold my attention while I work on the remaining scenes.

Therefore, being focused on a straight-to-video ending is not going to improve the script that I have right now nor will it suddenly make me fall in love with a story that I dislike. What good is earning money on a film that you wouldn’t champion at every chance you get or even defend against critics?! -- which brings me back to the basic point that focusing on an end result only serves as a distraction while I put together a screenplay that I don’t even care about. Solution: Make sure you like the script before moving on to the next stage.

Read part two, which includes another Jude Law quote and more scriptwriting observations!

Did YOU know that Jude Law was injured on the set of “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” leaving him with a broken rib?

If someone paid YOU $1 million to make a film based on a script that YOU loathed, would YOU do it?

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