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Showing posts with the label stunts

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Mad Max: Fury Road

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Mad Max: Fury Road |  George Miller | 2015 | Australia, USA | Format: 35 mm (anamorphic) (Kodak Vision 2383), D-Cinema (also 3-D version)  | 120 min Mad Max is essentially one long chase scene. But what a complicated and thrilling chase scene it is. It surprises me none to find out that George Miller, the director, created a storyboard comic book to map out the shooting of the film from logistics to aesthetics. Storyboards and concept art are important tools for filmmakers but even moreso for filmmakers making action movies. Below is a compendium of links to articles on the making of Mad Max: Fury Road. Read, watch, enjoy but don't forget to take notes. The making of Mad Max: Fury Road (according to Wikipedia ) Development Plans for a fourth film in the  Mad Max  series hit financial difficulties and the project spent several years in " development hell ". [17]  The idea for a fourth installment occurred to Miller in August 1998 when he was walking in an

PRODUCTION TIPS: Don't be like Randall Miller - Think Safety

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Filmmakers sacrifice alot for their art; their sleep, their bank account, their time, their family, their sanity, even their health. That is understandable to a degree since the need and desire to express yourself trumps the more rational necessities of life. But while filmmakers, as artists, might believe there is no limit, there really is and that is when you take someone's life in your hands. It feels morally repugnant to risk someone's life for art or money. But it happens in film. And the reality is that it has to happen. It has to happen because without taking risks you can't "get that shot" or "finish the film" or "make the fight scene look amazing." But because there are risks to making movies, the filmmaker has a sacred duty to do all within their power to minimize the risks.   What is truly morally repugnant is when a filmmaker risks someone's life without doing all in their power to minimize the risks. Accidents will alwa

PRODUCTION JOURNAL: Midweek Morning Mixer - 2.5.14 (United Artists edition)

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My apologies for the temporary disappearance of the Monday and Midweek Mixers, I have been busy working with clients and developing projects for 2014 that rendered me unable to blog.  Although I love searching for informative and fun stuff to add to the mixers, it's time-consuming so I can only squeeze them in whenever I can.  Still, as busy as I get, I will do my best to continue to do so. And now without further adieu... Today in film history let's remember... 1919  –  Charlie Chaplin ,  Mary Pickford ,  Douglas Fairbanks , and  D.W. Griffith  launch  United Artists . 1933  – the birth of  Jörn Donner , Finnish director and screenwriter 1943 – the birth of  Michael Mann , American director, screenwriter, and producer 1948 – the birth of  Christopher Guest , American actor and director 1948 – the birth of  Errol Morris , American director Taking a cue from the formation of United Artists is a good reminder of the good work that can result when talented filmmak

PRODUCTION JOURNAL: Midweek Morning Mixer - 1.8.14 ("It's-hard-for-black-actors-but-things-change" edition)

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Sometimes it's easy to forget how far we've come because we still have so far to go. Although public outcries forced SNL to hire a black female as a featured player on the show after so many years, opportunities are plentiful for actors of color compared to what it was like in the past.  And the roles are waaaaaaay more dignified.  So as a reminder of how hard it was for black actors who had to accept roles that were beneath them, let's offer a special HBD tip of the hat to... Butterfly McQueen . "She was born on January 8, 1911 in Tampa, Florida, to a stevedore and domestic maid, Thelma McQueen would go on to make cinematic history as one of the few African-American character actors in classic Hollywood. In 1916, her father abandoned the family, leaving her mother and her to travel the East Coast in search of work. She eventually landed in Long Island where she completed her education and learned to dance. She made her stage debut as a part of the Butterfly