Monthly Archives: April 2013

Best “Die Hard” Music Video Ever

If you haven’t seen this, drop everything and watch it. It’s not a mish mash of clips with some random song overlayed. These guys actually wrote a ballad, a 4 verse rock song describing the entire Die Hard Series! (Minus the 5th installment thank God). The band is called Guz Nite. The video is expertly edited, very funny, and has one ...

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Top 3 Hilarious Film School Marketing Gimmicks

Even though the cost of production equipment has plummeted over 100% in the past 10 years, the number of film schools in the same period of time has nearly tripled. With Federal Student Aid still readily available, it’s become quite lucrative for schools to open their doors, cram 30 kids into a classroom at $30,000 a head, and teach them ...

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“Point Break Live!”: Movies and Interactive Plays

Late last year I had the pleasure of checking out a hilarious play called “Point Break Live”. It was, you guessed it, based on the movie “Point Break”  starring Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, and the late great Patrick Swayze. The play was a blast: literally. I had to buy a plastic rain poncho to avoid getting sprayed by the water they ...

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Why Did PT Anderson Drop Out of NYU Film School?

PT Anderson, director of “There Will Be Blood”, “Boogie Nights”, “Punch Drunk Love”, and a slew of other great movies, was once enrolled at NYU Film School. For a Week. But before the Bursar could completely digest his tuition, he smartly got out, got most of his money back, and used it to help make his first film. But what ...

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7 Gritty 70s Films Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should See

Every new filmmaker should study movies made in the 1970s as an example of what can be done with visceral storytelling and camerwork, and no special effects. The ’70s were an awesome time for gritty, realistic cinema. It was known as the heyday of the “Director/Auteur”, before Michael Cimino single handedly bankrupted United Artists with “Heaven’s Gate”. A little context: in ...

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Jackie Robinson: Baseball Legend… Movie Star?

A couple of weeks ago, my girlfriend and went to a matinee screening of “42”, the story of Jackie Robinson’s rise to fame as the first African American baseball player in the Major Leagues. This was opening day for the movie, and it was like opening day at a baseball game. The theater was packed with kids, and everyone cheered when Jackie ...

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3 Examples of Great Filmmakers “Borrowing” From Others

There’s some sayings in Hollywood. “Give Me The Same Thing, But Different!” and “All Great Stories Have Already Been Told.” Within the Industry, there is an ongoing battle between the sparkle of originality and the safe harbor of shit that has already been done and made a lot of money. And this ideological battle has spawned a swarm of remakes ...

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