Auditions for Famous Roles

Watching auditions for famous roles always interests me....especially when they are by actors who later become huge.  Some of these I like because the role is classic and the performance was outstanding and others are interesting because they are by a no name that becomes a mega star years later.


This audition by Henry Thomas for the role of Elliot in E.T. has become pretty famous but I think it is my favorite.  This kid was impressive and Spielberg is obviously blown away at the end.


I love this one because it's for one of my favorite movies and what launched Jason Schwartzman's career.  He had never acted and was never planning to be an actor but was convinced by Wes Anderson to give it a try.


It's Pacino auditioning for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather....not much else has to be said.


A young DeNiro auditioning for the role of Sonny, in the first Godfather.  I like this one because he didn't get it but then was fortunately used in the next one to play Vito in the flashbacks.  One of his greatest roles.


Scarlet Johansson as a little girl is neat to watch.  It was for a bad movie and she doesn't do all that great a job but not long after, she got the role in The Man Who Wasn't There by the Coen Brothers.  An odd movie but she played a wonderfully uncomfortable role.


Wolverine!


I have never actually seen The Notebook but I love Rachel McAdams and her chameleon like acting ability.

If you know of any others that are cool, please comment.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- The History of Typography - Animated Short

The History of Typography - Animated Short from Ben Barrett-Forrest on Vimeo.

This is an interesting educational short about the history of Typography.
I recently was designing a full page ad that was to be in a Hong Kong antique magazine and was having trouble finding the right font.  I am not a graphic designer but when it involves photography I can wing it.  I ended up going with a font called District Thin, which is a Helvetica based font and I sort of felt like it was an easy cop out since Helvetica is always used....everywhere.  But I didn't have time to play around with it too long.  My trouble with the font finding made me think of this animated short I found a year or so ago .  It's very interesting and the animation keeps you involved.
The only real issue I have with the video is the doughy softness and rosy knuckles of the dude's hands.  Not that I have Viking hands but guys with hands like that need to get out and do some hard labor and toughen them up.  If not, every meeting will start with a disappointing hand shake. Just saying.

-Brian

Movie Posters

Metropolis

I have slowly been ripping my dvd collection onto an external hard drive and converting all other movie files into .mp4s so I can assemble everything onto my iTunes.  From there I have been able to home share the computer with my Apple TV then search and watch anything from my collection easily.  Because it is now through my Apple TV, it almost looks like Netflix or the iTunes store.  This means each movie or show has "album artwork" that goes along with it.  Sometimes ripping the DVD would save the original artwork as well and other times I would have to download new images for certain movies.  Through this process I have been finding a lot of cool movie posters...classic ones and newly designed ones for both old and new movies, so I thought I would share some cool ones with you.

It is definitely an art most people don't even think about, but we see it everywhere.  Some movies have iconic shots and that's all it needs, but other times someone has come up with a very creative way to capture the feel of a film and attract the viewer just in this one still image.

Here are some of the ones I have found.

Then, of course, you have all of Wes Anderson's movies.  They are perfect for interesting and unique posters since his films have such bold cinematography and purposeful, unrealistic sets.

And if you want to read about how many movie posters look essentially the same, here is an interesting story: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/why-movie-posters-all-look-same-75846+

Oh yeah... And always avoid movies with the Bold Red Uppercase Fonts:

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- Atticus Walker and the Monster in His Mind

Here is my next installment of Short Film of the Month

Atticus Walker and the Monster in His Mind. from Michael Karman on Vimeo.

This 12 minute short is hilarious.  The absurdity of the Monster is perfect.  He is an indigent rude asshole and the relaxed sarcastic eyes make it that much funnier.  The guy who plays Atticus has a bit of a Jesse Eisenburg awkwardness to him without being as obnoxious.  

There is a simple but enlightening message about the power of getting over one's fears and anxieties but in the end it's a lighthearted flick which makes me laugh and hopefully makes you do the same.

Oddly, only after I watched this short did I notice that the cinematographer was a dude I went to high school with as well as drove to school for a couple years.  He is damn good at what he does http://sean.conaty.net/

-Brian

Short Film of the Month

Since we took off last Thursday for Thanksgiving I wasn't able to post my "Short film of the Month".  We are now in December but this one is the belated November short.  You can still expect the December film on the last Thursday of the month.

’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card


I thought this one would be the perfect movie for Thanksgiving and the Holidays in general.  A time when family gets back together, reminisces and enjoys each others company.....sometimes.  Relationships can be picture perfect at times or seriously strained but it is family and in the end that's all that really matters.  There is a line in the Avett Brothers song, Murder in the City, that says "Always remember, there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name".  That song reminds me of this short film and I thoroughly enjoy both.
It's a short comedy that follows two brothers with two very different life paths and personalities, who are brought back together because of the death of their father.  The film makers do a wonderful job of showing that these two men were once very close but just don't view life the same way or even how to mourn the death of a family member.  They both have their own ways of coping with the passing of their father but it's his death that helps them reconnect.
It's a funny movie that also has some very poignant scenes at times.  The overall meaning and content reminds of a Wes Anderson movie in a way.  If Wes Anderson's work is the rhythmic verse than this short is the pros. Take out the cool music, edgy camera work and quintessential slow mo scene and there is a similar feel to the Anderson relationships and raw way in which characters converse.
If you don't have the time or energy for a 12 minute video you should at least advance to the 6 minute mark for an outstandingly hilarious dinner scene when the two brothers have their climactic face off after a long period of tension.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month: '8' by Acim Vasic

'8' by Acim Vasic from Partizan on Vimeo

I am no expert movie critic. I don't claim to be some film connoisseur. But I do have a thing for finding interesting and well made shorts. In fact, I find a short film to be a lot more enjoyable than most full-length movies and they don't take up nearly as much time. There are a lot out there and several sites where one can find quality flicks.  The two sites I frequent most are vimeo.com and shortoftheweek.com.

Creating a successful short film is, in some ways, harder than a feature-length movie.  They are almost always independently produced and budgets are relatively tiny.  Actors are not always of the highest caliber and a lot of work falls in the laps of a small number of people.  

For these reasons, and many others, it makes finding a really good one very exciting and I hope to post a new one on the last Thursday of every month.

Since we are approaching Veterans Day, I thought this one above, being a military comedy, would be a good start.

'8' by Acim Vasic runs roughly 10 minutes long and doesn't have one word in the script.  Sound and imagery tell the story of two soldiers who cross paths in a setting similar to WWII Bastogne.  It is not laugh out loud funny, but creates a dark humorous tone in a situation that would not be very funny in real life.  There is a bit of a Tom and Jerry-esque battle of the wits between the two soldiers, yet it is accomplished without getting too goofy.  The sound throughout is very crisp and defined, from the crunching of the snow to the heavy breathing of the two men; it helps add to the tension and becomes it's own character in a way. There is also a great appearance by an owl towards the end that is a wonderful little addition.  He is observing the ridiculousness of the showdown and seems to have a real interest in the outcome.

I hope you enjoy this little film as much as I do and I look forward to posting my next short film find in a month.

-Brian