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300: Made on a Mac + The Screaming Death Monkey

Posted on March 13, 2007

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Over at this site they have an interesting bit of info on the film 300 and how the Macintosh was a very big part of getting the film done. Some of the Apple tech that was used to make the film possible include Final Cut Pro, Shake and Quicktime. Even though the film was primarily edited on an AVID system, the filmmakers said they prefer to use Macs running Final Cut instead of AVID. Interesting bit of info. And, if you want even more, head on over to the FX Guide site. Even more bits of interesting info there including the above mentioned ‘Death Monkey.’

While we are on the subject of 300, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the film. As I usually do these days, I went in with almost no expectations and as open a mind as I could possibly muster. Fortuntely, the film more than lived up to the hype and I was rewarded with a great experience. Sure, the film isn’t perfect but its a visual treat that should not be missed. Obviously, I’m not alone here because the film made over $70 milion in the first weekend — the third biggest opening weekend for an R-rated film of all time, btw. So, get a babysitter and go out and see the movie if you haven’t already.

Also, got some new stuff up over at Cinematical — including details on Frank Miller’s career aspirations, Michael Eisner’s new venture and the YouTube saga — as well as a brand new ‘Ask the MACist‘ over at LAist. Plus, I should have a couple things coming out at CBR in a few days as well. And, possibly something new and cool I’m not at liberty to discuss just yet too. You’ll just have to chcck back to find out, sorry.

Star Wars and Making Stuff Up

Posted on March 9, 2007

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Today, some friends of mine and I took some much needed time off and went to the California Science Center to see the Science of Star Wars exhibit. It was fun and they had quite a few very interesting exhibits including several models from the movies — the Millennium Falcon, Star Destroyer, X-Wing — and also the full-sized Landspeeder used by Luke Skywalker during the filming of Star Wars.

Plus, a whole bunch of other stuff well worth the price of admission. More, in fact, because the exhibit is actually free. Yes, I said free. The place was mostly filled with school kids on field trips but there were a few older kids around (like us) who had also decided that Star Wars was more important than work today. As we walked around I wondered if the kids looking at all the exhibits felt the same way about the Star Wars films as I did when I first saw them.

Many of the kids were probably close to the same age I was when i first saw Star Wars. Although, Star Wars probably wasn’t their first exposure to the universe. It was probably Phantom Menace or the other of the the newer films. If that’s true that’s kinda too bad for them. To me, the first trilogy will always be the best one and the subsequent three films will always be sub-standard.

Even Revenge of the Sith, which is by far the best of the three left something to be desired when I saw it. I just had to wonder as I looked around today if any of those kids had ever seen the first films or had only seen the second trilogy. If they had only been exposed to Star Wars by watching the second three films I hope someday they find out what they’re missing.

Fauxnews

In a completely unrelated story (except that Fox was the studio that released the Star Wars films) I love it when Fox News just decides to make stuff up instead of reporting the actual news. Seriously, what passes for “journalism” these days, especially at places like Fox News, amazes me. How do these people sleep at night? Sadly, probably better than I do.

Growing Pains

Posted on March 2, 2007

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As I said in a previous post, the move from Typepad went fairly well except for one or two big glitches. Unfortunately, those one or two big glitches are pictures and video. Now, when you go to any posts except those from the last few weeks, they won’t have the pictures or video they are supposed to have. To me, that sucks and I’m sorry for the trouble. I don’t like to have things looking half-finished. Plus, I want things to be easy and not require me to do a bunch of work I already did. Not the case here, i guess.

I wish there was another solution besides putting everything back where it belongs manually but as of now, I don’t know what that might be. If you happen to have a brilliant idea, don’t be shy about shouting it out. Otherwise, its manual-replacement city for me for. So, over the next few weeks I am going to be manually putting video and pictures back into the posts they belong in. Should make for a great time. Fortunately, I am still not 100% better from the walking (and will-to-live-sapping) pneumonia so I have some time on my hands — that is when I’m not sleeping or thinking about sleeping. Fortunately, this picture and video thing shouldn’t be a problem for any posts from now on, just the old ones. So, check back and you should be able to see the videos and pictures eventually. Thanks for you patience during this time of transition.

Oh, in case you were wondering that is the cast of the 80s sitcom Growing Pains. I thought the picture was appropriate for two reasons. One, the obvious one that the site is having some growing pains of its own. And two, I once did a movie with Tracey Gold who, if I recall correctly, was very nice and a huge fan of Diet Coke. Its a fact, actors love that Diet Coke. We used to go through tons of it on shows. Fortunately, in many cases, it was free product placement so we didn’t have to buy it. Just one of the perks of a fully-stocked craft service table, van or occasionally, a trailer — but only on the bigger shows. I guess there were some good things about showbiz after all.

Merry (insert appropriate holiday here)

Posted on December 29, 2006

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hello all. just a quick not to say i wish you the best for this holiday season and an even better 2007. its been a pretty good 2006 for me and mine and except for a few minor setbacks it all went pretty smoothly. i hope it was the same for you and yours. so, if its so great what could i possibly wish for in the new year? well, couple things at least. i would like to do more writing work, see more movies, have more fun and travel more. that last one is something i vow to do every year and don’t seem to have time for. so this year, i’m going to devote more energy to it.

on other fronts, at LAist we are doing LA-centric end of the year top-ten lists so please head on over and check them out. so far, mine was the top ten tv shows of the year but i hope to get one more in there before the end of the year. maybe i’ll do one about the top ten reasons i prefer the valley to the west side. that might be good. got any suggestions for me? (keep it clean)

at cinematical, most everyone is making their lists of the top things (movies, trailers, posters, etc.) of the year and i’m no exception. some of the comments about my choices are pretty interesting. apparently, i don’t care about international cinema at all and only like american movies. plus, someone suggested we are all just tools of our aol masters at cinematical. we sure have an interesting group of readers over there.

lastly, at comic book resources, we’ve thrown down the year-end roundup of trends in the industry. its a good read, especially if you’re a fan of comic books or are just interested in how things work in the biz. look for more parts of this series coming soon.

again, all the best for the new year.

What Would Vincent Vega Do?

Posted on November 15, 2006

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/SeDyK2lz0YY]I find this funny so I thought I would post it here. Other than that, I am currently busting my butt to meet various deadlines and doing exactly what I feared I would do — not post here much. Well, even as I said I hoped to keep up I knew in the back of my mind that I may have been biting off more than I could, well, chew.

Anyway, I will still attempt to post here as much as I can but with all the Cinematical and Comic Book Resources stuff going on, I hardly have time for LAist — let alone this here blog. Still, it would be nice to be able to do what i said I was going to do. I’m trying. I really am.

Until then, enjoy this little bit of video and I hope you get a laugh from it. Oh, one more thing. If you happen to be in San Francisco at MacWorld Expo in January, feel free to say “hello.” I’ll be there checking out all the latest Apple goodness (and maybe even an iPhone). You never know what might happen.

Format Wars – HD DVD and Other Stuff

Posted on September 5, 2006

Over at LAist I have posted a rather good (IMHO) article about the HD DVD format wars. So, as I don’t have anything cool or witty to say
here, how about just going over to LAist and reading the article? That would be great, thanks.

Here it is.

Or, if you insist, here are a few other great things to read. One, written by me and others, written by some equally intelligent and fantastic people.

Enjoy!

Best of . . .

Posted on December 25, 2005

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over at LAist we are doing our “best of” picks to end the year. yes, i know it may seem a little trite but its still a bunch of fun too. you can check out my pics for best music, blogs, tv shows, movies, bars, restaurants, etc. over there. they will be coming out a piece at a time, starting with music.

or, for your convenience, they can all be found below. enjoy!

best movies:
munich
brokeback mountain
good night and good luck
syriana
capote
serenity

best tv shows:
veronica mars
battlestar galactica
my name is earl
the office
rome
out of practice

best bars:
father’s office – santa monica
firefly – studio city
starlight lounge – studio city
cat and fiddle – hollywood
roof bar at the standard – downtown
el centro – los angeles

best restaurants:
hugo’s – studio city
lala’s – studio city
arroyo chop house – pasadena
ciudad – downtown
great india cafe – studio city
jar – beverly hills
doughboy’s – los angeles
taco bell – anywhere at 2 am

best blogs:
engadget
the superficial
the unofficial apple weblog
LAist (so i’m biased, so what?)
sploid
starbucks gossip
digg (not really a blog exactly but still interesting)

best cd’s:
coldplay – x&y (i play this all the time and like it more and more)
death cab for cutie – plans
fall out boy – from under the cork tree
franz ferdinand – you could have said it so much better
the white stripes – get behind me satan

also, i am still listening to these cd’s from 2004 and before (some, way before. oldies but goodies, as they say).
coldplay – a rush of blood to the head
interpol – antics
zero 7 – simple things
the crystal method – vegas
the killers – hot fuss
black rebel motorcycle club – b.r.m.c.
miles davis – the complete birth of cool

and that be that. enjoy the rest of 2005.

Over 1M people switch from Windows to MAC

Posted on November 7, 2005

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mmmm, this is an interesting development. who can blame them? thank you iPod (now with video). i know i love mine. even though i only got the 30gig, its still cool. i can even watch movies on it. its not so bad, really, the screen is a little small but it looks great. maybe santa steve will bring a horizontal iPod video with true 16×9 screen? commence breath holding.

also, not on a related note except that i’m writing this post and its about video (sort of), have been busy putting together a little horror film with some friends of mine. soon, i will allow the waiting masses to view the carefully crafted trailer. but for now, a photo will have to suffice. say hello to the bad guy.

Testing Dashboard

Posted on August 9, 2005

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i’m testing a dashboard widget that allows you to post to my blog. so, how does it look? i guess its the same. why wouldn’t it look the same?

anyway, things are going well. busy and all that. saw “the island” on sunday and i gotta say, it wasn’t that bad. of course, i went into it with low expectations after hearing all the critics bash it and it not making much money, but i was very surprised.

its not perfect but it is fun and has a great look. plus, scarlett johansen looks fantastic so that’s a plus. i mean she really looks fantastic. almost unbelievable. ewan mcgreagor looks pretty good too, if you go that way. but really, just look at scarlett, will ya?