DEUTERONOMY 24:16

Hey hey, all!

I've been ignoring this blog for a several months! Was really busy working on various projects. A few months back, we wrapped on the tv series, School of Fish, then we filmed the horror, Madness, then we went straight into pre-production on the feature comedy, Last Night in Suburbia.

Our 15 day shoot of Last Night in Suburbia wrapped yesterday at 7am! Whoop, whoop! Can't wait to see the film when it comes out of post.

Many many things have changed since I last posted here -- our company, High Deaf Productions, is in the middle of a giant revamp. We said goodbye to cinematographer/producer Andy Hodgson, one of our founding members. Andy has decided to take his career in a different direction and focus on music videos and commercials. We wish him the best of luck in the future.

Mike and I are focused solely on film. (well, I am anyway, Mike will still do the occasional music video if he feels passion for the project)

Funny enough, the second I decided to concentrate solely on film, all these film projects started falling into my lap. The old adage rings true -- when one door closes, another door (or in my case, several other doors) open.

Anyway, I have some great news. A few years back, I wrote a martial arts film noir called Deuteronomy 24:16. It got close to production on a couple of occasions, but due to circumstances beyond my control, the project was put on hiatus.

I am happy to report that we are finally going into production on Deuteronomy 24:16 in the next few weeks thanks to executive producer, Sam.

The plan is to have all key roles on the film filled by women. So far, I have brought on Amy Zimmerman as a co-producer, Leen Issa as director and Malin Ottosen as 1st AD.

Stay tuned for more exciting details to come!

Me and Sam on the set of Last Night in Suburbia.

Remember me?

It's been awhile!

I don't know. What with the holidays, then the new year, then the fact that I was being lazy, I guess I sort of forgot about this blog.

I wonder if anyone even reads it anymore! Doesn't matter, I like to write it (sometimes more than others), plus it gets me back writing, so there you have it.

I'll start my first post of 2014 with my take on a few of the movies and documentaries I've watched since the new year started.

A couple of weeks back, I spent a few days on the island in Campbell River with some dear friends. The wife is not overly into movies, but the husband is a big fan. Whenever I visit, he and I always watch movies and/or documentaries together.

The last time I visited, I forced him to watch my choice in movies so this trip I let him choose. Hence the following films are more along the lines of  "man movies" as opposed to chick flicks.

One night we stayed in and watched this one:
(click on the title to go to the film's IMDb page)

LAWLESS (2012).

I liked it. I'm not saying I loved it, but it was likeable and held my interest. It's about the moonshine business during prohibition and the story is ripe with corruption and lawlessness. Who doesn't like corruption and lawlessness? Fight the fucking power, I say! Lol.

The next night we went to the theater and took in:

JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (2014)

A global action thriller based on the character, Jack Ryan, created by author Tom Clancy. Typical "manly" fare involving Russian terrorists planning an attack on the U.S. economy. I'm not generally too into these types of movies, but this one was okay. All in all, I liked it, even though some parts were predictable.

I'll end the film list on this one:

THE WOLF OF WALLSTREET (2013)

For those of you that were of age in the late 80's and early 90's, you're going to love this one. In fact, even if you aren't from that era, you'll still like it.

It's a black comedy directed by one of my all time favorite directors, Martin Scorcese, following the rise and fall Jordan Belfort, a New York stockbroker whose firm engages in security fraud. And...  just like the 80's, it's filled with hookers and blow! It's pretty funny, too. One drug/car scene in particular made me laugh so hard!

Moving on to documentaries:

Since I loves me some documentaries, I could literally recommend dozens and dozens. Probably into the hundreds if I sat down and thought about it really hard and went back through my lists, but for now, I'll just give you three.

THE SQUARE (2013)

I watched this one the night it was released on Netflix.  If I didn't already feel lucky (for numerous reasons) to be born into a democratic country, this film would have made me so.

It is a verite portrait of the ongoing Egyptian Revolution and a few of its dedicated activists. I thought it was really interesting and quite well done. Apparently so did others as it is nominated in the Best Documentary category in the upcoming Oscars. Go Egypt!

WE WERE CHILDREN (2012)

This emotional documentary skillfully tells one of the most horrifying stories in Canadian history. It follows the tale of two First Nations survivors of the residential school  that the Canadian government forced them to attend in order to "take the Indian out of the child".

It's okay to cry when you watch this one. I did.

And it really is a story that needs to be told. I was never taught this history in school.  I highly recomend that you watch it, even if you aren't from Canada.

EARTHLINGS(S) (2005)
  
This one is a powerful and informative documentary about society's selfish and unforgivable use of animals and our dependence on them

I'm not going to lie, this one was hard for me to watch. Really, really hard. I cried, I cringed and I even admit to fast forwarding through a few scenes that were just too much for me to handle.

Very emotional and highly recommended to watch!

Anyway, that's all for now, but I'll be back soon!

A little tip for the holiday season...

You know how they say what happens at the work Christmas party stays at the work Christmas party?



It's a big fat lie.

Nevertheless, eat, drink and be merry! And stay safe :)

The leaves of laughter!

Fall is in the air and the city is filled with vibrant colors!

I took this picture outside of my house earlier today.

Three blocks up that street was my neighborhood Starbucks. Notice I say was and not is? Because it's not. Not anymore. I haven't been back since my cunty phone incident. Ah, well. I'm drinking less Starbucks these days which I'm sure my body thanks me for.

Anyway, since I'm a firm believer that laughter is always the best medicine for all of life's ailments, I have to share this following video. Someone sent this to my daughter -- the way normal people laugh and the way she laughs.

And holy shit, does it ever make me laugh!

In fact, every person who watches this that knows my daughter busts a gut! It is exactly her. Really. If I recorded her laughing and played it side by side with this video? No difference.




Ah, baby girl, you bring joy to my life :)

Some documentary suggestions

I love documentaries. So much that I couldn't even begin to tell you how many I watch/have watched. And I have no preference in the subject matter. If a documentary somehow looks interesting to me -- maybe the title grabs me, perhaps the poster looks good, someone recommended it, or I saw a trailer and it's filmed well, I'll watch it.

To me, documentaries are sort of like a mini-education and a fun way to learn a diverse range of subjects. A well-made doc can make even the most dreary subject interesting.

The fall is almost upon us and since it's nice to sometimes spend a cold evening in the warmth of our homes, I've put together a small list of documentaries you may think are worth watching.

I generally like to sip on a Chai tea while watching my movies/documentaries so before I give you my picks, I want to share something that happened to me the other day.

Seven in the morning and I'm standing in the line up at Starbucks when this really loud siren goes off, followed by official sounding words through a megaphone:

"Do not pick up your phone! The person who is calling is a cunt! If you pick up your phone, you will be talking to a cunt!"

Someone's cellphone. What kind of asshole has that for a ringtone, sets it on loud and goes out in public!

It took me a sec to figure out the asshole was me. The night before I was in bed making myself laugh listening to different ringtones and... well, I don't know. All I know is I woke up in the morning, went to Starbucks,  and my phone started screaming the dreaded c-word.

I was mortified! I'm not joking. I don't embarrass easily, but damn...! It was packed in there and everyone was looking at me, some in disgust, others hiding a smirk. If I didn't need a dose of caffeine so bad, I might have left. Instead, I just shut it off and hoped the red would leave my face soon.

The guy in front of me turned around, smiling, "I just have to ask. Who was that calling? Your boss?"

"Nope. My mother." (It really was)

The guy laughed so hard, he paid for my drink and thanked me for making his morning. Although my embarrassment came with a reward, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to that particular Starbucks again which totally sucks because it's the closest one to my house.

Without further delay, my pics of the month:

THE GATEKEEPERS

A documentary featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency. 

THIEVES BY LAW

(aka Ganavim Ba Hok) An inside look at the Russian mafia.

MARK OF CAIN

Russian criminal tattoos and their meanings, filmed inside one of Russia's toughest prisons.

BURN

Detroit firefighters as they try to save a city that has lost all hope.
 
I AM

Director Tom Shadyac explores the way we live life through interviews with spiritual and intellectual leaders.

QUEEN OF THE SUN: WHAT ARE THE BEES TELLING US?
 
The title of this one is self-explanatory so I'll say nothing other than this -- I think the whole world should be made to watch this one!

Those are my picks for today -- short list but enough to get started on a doc watching marathon if you feel so inclined.

And now, I'm off to bed to settle in with a documentary!

Me and my men!

I used to refer to them as my boys, but really, they are grown men so I figured it was time to change the label.

The men to which I refer are Mike and Andy. Two of my dear friends who are also my film partners. Mike and I go way back, since he was a teenager and a friend of my younger brother, and Andy came in to the picture about five years ago.

The three of us starting making films together when we were all green and brand-new to film-making. I had just won a screenwriting fellowship with my first solo script, Mike had just graduated from Vancouver Film School and Andy was a year out of the cinematography program at Capilano College.

One drunken New Year's Eve, Mike and I decided that we should make a film noir together. I would write it, he would produce and finance it and Andy would shoot it.

Thus, a partnership was born.

'Course, that first project slammed to a halt before production due to grevious ignorance on (mostly) my part.

But the next project followed within a few weeks with all of us a little wiser. Not much, mind you, but a little. Enough to actually go into production on a short film.

And can I please tell you that our first short film experience, PRIVATE DICKS, was a giant clusterfuck? From the words, "... and rolling!" to the words, "... and that's a wrap!", we struggled. Everything that pretty much could go wrong, did.

But we got through it. And we learned. More importantly, we learned to think on our feet while in a pressure cooker!  Truthfully, watching that film now,  I can easily pick out all sorts of things wrong with it, but I'm still proud of it nonetheless. For knowing diddly-squat back then, I think we did a decent job and it does have great production value!

We started out together with nothing but passion and the determination to succeed. None of us are where we want to be yet, but when the time is right and we've all worked hard enough, it'll come.

Me and Mike (far right) at our office party this past Saturday.

Me and Andy, taken at our last office party two months ago.

(is it just me, or do we throw a lot of parties... heh, heh)

 

 

I can't wait to see where the future takes all of us, both individually and as a group!

Live your dreams, people. You only get once chance at this life so don't waste it.

Street Food!

When you say it like that, doesn't it sound unappetizing?

But it's not!

Street food, as in food trucks/carts that serve up yummy delights, are the rage in Vancouver these days. Go downtown and you'll see them everywhere, usually with a line-up, especially if it is lunchtime.

Last year, the city decided to "celebrate" our love for food carts and put together a Food Cart Festival. It was such a hit, it's now going to be an annual event.

It runs every Sunday for the duration of the summer and I encourage you to check it out! Be prepared to battle the heat, though. Although the food was delicious, the venue sucks. It's by the Cambie Street bridge, across from Olympic Village, right in the middle of the concrete jungle, in a parking lot, with no shade in sight.

Last Sunday, I went with my daughter and Melissa and we (along with everyone else) roasted!

That black asphalt soaks up the heat and blasts you from the bottom while the sun overhead pounds you from the top. I haven't seen so many sunburns in a long time! Vancouver is a coastal city and we have dozens of beaches with large parking lots. Beaches equal breeze off the water. If I was an organizer, I'd have chosen one of those locations.

 Anyway, we all decided to order something from a different cart and play a round of sharsies.

 This is what we sampled:

Melissa's is a yam taco and mine is a fish taco.

 

Jerk chicken poutine

  

Dougie Dog European wiener with macaroni and cheese and a butterscotch root beer.

West Indian curried vegetables, plantain slices and a ginger lemonade.
(not pictured, I drank it too fast!)

Also not pictured was meat on a stick.

I didn't touch the meat on a stick or the jerk chicken poutine. And I especially didn't touch the European wieners. (Which is such an ironic comment coming from me considering I love European men! Ha, couldn't resist... *cheesy grin*... seriously, though, there is something about European men... )

This weekend we were feeling like partaking in some more street food, but instead of the Food Cart Festival, we went out to the Richmond Night Market where we were joined by another friend. The market also has good eats and this year's theme is rubber duckies.

I've always had a dream of sitting on a duck throne ... and yes, fulfilling the wish was everything I imagined and more!

 

Again, we all played a round of sharsies, except I didn't partake. I ate way too much last weekend so I'll wait a couple of weeks before I play again.

Not pictured is my BBQ tofu, which I find delicious, by the way. All three of my "dates" tried it, two said it was edible if they were starving, and one gagged and spat it out.

Ah, well. I didn't have to share that much of it!

(I do admit to trying one small bite of the treat pictured below. Then I walked away, far away, over to the vendors and bought some trinkets. I didn't come back until the box was empty)

 

Deep-fried cheesecake

Curly potatoes, one sour cream and onion, one cheddar cheese, grilled on a rotisserie.

As much as I enjoyed the Food Cart Festival, I do choose the Richmond Night Market. The food at both places is equally good but the night market gets the edge because it's near the river and no matter how hot it is outside, the breeze is glorious!

Plus, it's more like a fair, as opposed to just food. They have dozens and dozens of vendors selling everything from electronic and cell phone accessories through to clothes for your animals. Don't expect the brand names to be real, though. Everything like that is a knock-off.

One small word of caution:

Other than sweets, pretty much everything you eat there is served either with or on bamboo skewers. Not chopsticks, but sharp pointy skewers you BBQ with.  The place is always full and I have visions of people running around and in their haste, someone gets poked and not in a good way. Just be aware of where you point your "tool".

This was the first time I've attended the night market before dark and the only difference I noted was that although it was still just as busy, there were a lot of families with children present. After dark, it's more of a party atmosphere with neon lights and louder music, not so many families. Decide what mood you are in and attend accordingly.

Both festivals cost $2.00 to enter with the proceeds going to charity but at the Food Cart Festival if you are a VanCity member, you get in for free, just show your bankcard. At the Richmond Night Market, you can purchase a 7 visit punch-pass for $10.00 that is transferable, valid until the end of the summer and lets you bypass the long entry lines.

Me and my dear child, at the end of a beautiful day, just before dusk!

Life is good. Life is really good :)

And now that I'm back in Vancouver full-time, I'll post here a little more often.

INFERNO!

I'm a huge fan of author, Dan Brown.

If you aren't familiar, he wrote The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Perhaps you've seen the films.

I've read all of his books (only five, wish there were more!) and what I enjoy about him the most is that his stories are so intricate, yet weaved together with a seemingly effortless flow.

Add to that his subject matter. I really enjoyed his Robert Langdon trilogy ( The Lost Symbol, The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons) because I find that particular subject matter fascinating.

But I also enjoyed his other two, Deception Point and Digital Fortress.

He came out with a sixth book, Inferno ( another featuring Robert Langdon), and I finally got around to picking myself up a copy.

 

Yup, that's my book and my bed.

Now I just need to grab a bowl of grapes... okay, let's get real, a chocolate bar... and settle in for a night of reading!

Before I go, though, I have to show you a picture that made me laugh my ass off today!

My kid and her cat, Sushi. She posted the picture on Facebook and tagged it...

CAT BEARD

It's the little things in life that I enjoy most, I tell ya!