Feeling Chipper

Movies seen recently:

Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Mood - Dumber.

Little Children. Mood - Thinking Jackie Earl Haley would make a great Rorschach, followed by glee today to read that he may very well be cast in the upcoming Watchmen movie.

Children of Men. Mood - Very impressed, mildly depressed.

I'll be posting a new comic over at the newly streamlined Great Western Comics called Rounders on at least a weekly basis. My confidence and aspirations with regards to cartooning are at an all time low, but Rounders is something that gnawed at me, so I'm trying out a format that isn't so time-consuming, is a little rough-hewn, and drops time-released nuggets of gratification rather than sequestering myself for six months to make 24 pages and then dumping on the world with fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, I also saw Grindhouse. Planet Terror was trashy fun, but Death Proof might be the end of cinema. I kid (sort of). You can't bore me for an hour with girls talking in some faint echo of Tarantino-speak and then convince me to care with a sort of kick-ass car chase in the end. Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike character could be the basis of a great movie... he's fantastic, especially when his inner wimp gets revealed, but Death Proof isn't it.

Bigscreen Bodega

Here on the internets we sometimes forget that media is actually not always meant to be watched at 320 X 240 pixels. I've gotten so far removed from film festivals in terms of getting my movies out there that I end up never watching my own movies on anything bigger than my computer screen.

This should be corrected. I think the internets can and should still be the priority just in terms of audience potential but it's important to see your movies presented with, well, some kind of presentation. When cutting movies, I think of them only being seen on small, neutral screens. This is as damaging as the old equation - thinking of movies only being seen on the biggest screens with the best sound and ignoring how a flick might look and sound on a laptop.

When you go do an audio mix, the engineer always plays back your mix on both the high-end theater surround sound it's intended for AND the clock radio speakers resting innocently above his board. These days, finished products are seen on more platforms than ever before. Your movies must be flexible. They should be able to play wherever.

So this Friday, BODEGA gets the bigscreen test treatment. I think I've watched it once on a TV screen so I've got no idea how an 11 foot by 14 foot experience will accommodate it. The internets celebrities - hosts of Bodega - are about to become larger than life. Here are the details:

BODEGA
Playing at Rooftop Films
THIS FRIDAY JUNE 15
Part of the New York Non-Fiction Program (always one of the best programs in my opinions)
LOCATION: The Open Road Rooftop Project at 350 Grand Street between Essex and Ludlow in Manhattan

INFO: The Open Road Rooftop Project is atop what used to be Seward Park High School (the building now houses several different schools). You should enter at 350 Grand Street.

For more scoop on the other films and rooftop in general go HERE.

I will be there and we shall definitely have some drinks afterwards!