It’s a new buzzword in the field of filmmaking, but in truth, crowdfunding has been around for a while. Marillion used fan funding for several oftheir albums since 1997, and movies have been doing it since 2004 (Demain la Veille). I’ve never tried it myself, so I thought I’d take a look at the different [...]
It’s the little things that make all the difference. The tiny little screw that attaches the tripod plate to the camera. The little sign by the fuel tank that says “Diesel only.” The writing at the bottom of page five of the exam paper that reads “Please Turn Over.” The little notch on your key [...]
I’ve just seen Battle:LA, starring Aaron Eckhart, and it seems that an era is over. The film itself isn’t especially remarkable Sci-Fi fare, covering a fictional world invasion, and a platoon of marines caught up in the mayhem. Indeed, the usual stereotypes are there; the hard-bitten sergeant with hand tremors; the lieutenant with no combat [...]
In November 2010, I decided to write a novel. For the uninitiated amongst you, November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short.NaNoWriMo Site it isn’t a competition, just a collective of aspiring writers who egg each other on. After all, writing 50,000 words isn’t easy. It’s even harder writing them in a month, [...]
It seems to be a character flaw. I could attribute it to low attention span, or a lack of commitment, but whatever the reason, I find it difficult to concentrate on just one thing at once. Reading my history, you can see the pattern emerge – was in a band, was writing, was making films, [...]
I’ve been reading a lot recently about the grammatical distinctions between talking and speaking, and something that I often see is the phrase “talk with”. As an Englishman, I’ve never used this phrase, and it feels wrong to me. On further investigation, it seems clear that “talk with” is an American conceit, and something which [...]
Sitting in the UK Film Centre, accompanied by the soothing clash of waves upon the Cote d’Azure shoreline and the somewhat less soothing cacophony from the Kodak Pavilion as they frantically try to get everything finished. I think I saw Sir Michael Grade earlier, looking for all the world like James May in his aspect. [...]
It’s different this year, probably because I’m unfashionably early. Last time I stood in Nice Airport waiting for the Cannes express, I had little company – there couldn’t have been more than four of us in the queue. We chatted, exchanged cards, and never saw each other again. Not now. Now I see recognisable faces [...]