Voting Booth

This topic is linked to 3 different ideas...

First, it relates directly to Thomas Productions through our 2011 Neuro Film Fest entry, Journey of the Mind. It could become a fan favorite if it earns enough votes! Please go to the following link, and click the "Vote" button:

• patients.aan.com/neurofilmfestival/index.cfm?event=vote:video.view&film=219

Public voting will close at 11:59 PM ET, on March 8th, so vote soon!

Next, perhaps you saw the Oscars last night? Not quite the shabbiest of telecasts in recent times, but the doling out of Academy votes was particularly well-spread. I truly appreciated that Inception, though snubbed for Directing, tied for earning the most wins, at 4! And of course, The King's Speech was crowned with Best Pic. Don't forget Melissa Leo, who became the first Oscar-winner in history to utter any variation of the F-word in her acceptance speech!

Lastly, in a semi-related topic, Heidi the Cross-Eyed Opossum made several correct Oscar predictions! She correctly "predicted" the Best Actor and Actress winners (Colin Firth and Natalie Portman, respectively) by placing her paw on the according Oscar statuette with the predicted actor's photograph. However, she wrongly guessed the Best Pic winner would be 127 Hours, so she still needs to refine her skills.

Chart & iPhone Predix

Two things here, updated live with the Oscars...

1) The Google Chart:

This was created from entries received via a Public Group on Facebook, from wall submissions, as well as the iPhone app discussed next. A spreadsheet with the data was entered categorically, and this chart is the result.

IMAGE VERSION:

INTERACTIVE VERSION:

2) The Free Oscar iPhone App:

Download at app store, or from here. Create a username, and make your predix. Join directorG's Group (entry code: BNAELD98). Done! Your predictions could be included in my chart above if entered in time.

Brainstorming

Bunch o' random thoughts here:

How this did not catch my attention right away, I know not, but another YouTube vid of ours has surpassed 1,000 views! Lipstick on a Pig? Actually... currently has at least 1,010 views. Woo!

It's about time I get a new external hard drive. I want to do so much, but don't have the space yet. It's difficult enough to find the time to do anything these days, but that notwithstanding, it's a lack of space. A Mac laptop newer than the Jurassic period would also be great, in time...

Among the things desired, I wish to reedit Brave New World (this project has been on hold for more than a year), film my first HD short (perhaps Hitchcock Road can fit), and create an updated logo for Thomas Productions because it's about time! There was a "Thomas Productions 2000" logo, and a few temporary ones in early high school, but the current has existed forever and a day. I want to bring back the old text look, but in an HD-ready 3D motion environment not just filled with adolescents.

The Hosts

Seems the Oscars tend to spice things up a bit every once in awhile with new hosts. Big recurring ones in recent times included Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin, but every so often, they go out on a limb. Take David Letterman!

This year, as you probably know by now, it will be both James Franco and Anne Hathaway. First time in decades that any nominees themselves (Franco for 127 Hours, and Hathaway last year) will also be the hosts. We'll see how that goes... But I'm confident it will work. One of the Producers of the show this year is Bruce Cohen, who also happens to be one of the Producers of American Beauty. 'Nuff said.

Neuro Film Fest

In a last-minute decision, I've entered Journey of the Mind into the 2011 Neuro Film Festival! I had to edit-crunch it down to 5 minutes from the original 18, but I maintained a complete storyline, and somehow managed to keep a few doctorial points included. Watch and enjoy!

Ze Nom'd Shorts

These are always the most difficult nominated pieces to view each year, simply because they are not as widely released as the feature-lengths. While this may only work temporarily, here are as many of the nom'd shorts (or their trailers, if the movies themselves were unavailable) as I could find on YouTube!

CATEGORY: BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Madagascar, A Journey Diary:

Let's Pollute (French Dubbing):

Day and Night:

The Gruffalo (Trailer):

The Lost Thing (Trailer):

CATEGORY: BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

Na Wewe (Trailer):

God of Love (Trailer):

The Crush (Clip):

Wish 143 (Clip):

The Confession: NO CLIP AVAILABLE

CATEGORY: BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

The Warriors of Qiugang (Clip):

Cross-Eyed Predictor

No, I'm not cross-eyed, but Heidi is! Heidi, the German opossum shown above, is apparently going to attempt picking this year's Oscar winners. A gimmick, surely! It'll be a similar technique to what Paul the Octopus did when correctly predicting the outcome of all seven German games at last year's World Cup.

Full story at this Yahoo link:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_en_mo/eu_odd_oscars_cross_eyed_opossum

10,000 Views!

Something certainly worthy to celebrate: Passing the 10,000 views mark for a single clip on YouTube! Can you guess which?

With 10,022 views and counting, I'm guessing this happened at some point within the past week. Way to go, Lauren and Andrew, your movie is a milestone for Thomas Productions!

BTW, for another viewership angle, a new achievement at PenTV occurred this week. Our channel listings are now displaying on the program guides of Comcast! Now, instead of "Local Programming" 24/7, people can actually select the shows they wish to view, which could certainly fascinate the mind more than the previous display. Would you choose "24" or "Local Programming"? Now, would you choose "24" or "Tag Team"?

Live Predix Chart Now Posted

Let there be life!

All right, so this year's Google Chart has been created. If you'd like to participate, join the public event on Facebook, and follow the simple 3-step instructions. Your predictions could be part of the chart shown above!

It's been a few years since my last actual Oscar party, but they always had the best tagline: "Where the only drama is on screen." Gosh, it's always nice when it stays true!

Host of "In the Mix"

So, it's official: I'm the host of In the Mix, the compilation show on PenTV that now seeks out local short films! I was taped yesterday on the studio green screen, and I animated the opening titles, too. Check it out!

As such, please submit your short vids to PenTV! Must not have any copyrighted music, and must be a maximum of 10 minutes in length.