Thomas Productions News Blog

84th Oscars

2012-02-26T22:10:00.000-08:00

For the total tally of tonight's Oscar winners, The Artist won 5 including Best Pic, Hugo also won 5, and The Iron Lady won 2. Any other winners had 1 apiece. My correct predictions (15/24) are colored:

BEST PICTURE: The Artist
BEST DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
BEST ACTOR: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
BEST ACTRESS: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Octavia Spencer, The Help
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Midnight in Paris
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Descendants
BEST FOREIGN FILM: A Separation (Iran)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Undefeated
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Saving Face
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Rango
BEST ANIMATED SHORT: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: The Shore
BEST ART DIRECTION: Hugo
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Hugo
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: The Artist
BEST FILM EDITING: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
BEST MAKEUP: The Iron Lady
BEST MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE: The Artist
BEST MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG: The Muppets
BEST SOUND MIXING: Hugo
BEST SOUND EDITING: Hugo
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Hugo

I was primarily glad to see that Hugo would only take the tech categories. Its story, as of viewing the film last night, seemed too "goody-two-shoes" to win top prize, with unreal dialogue that shattered my suspension of disbelief. Alexander Payne and Woody Allen know exactly what I'm talking about. If I'd not voted for Drive and Apes, it could have been my highest correct prediction yet. Glad Christopher Plummer is finally a winner at age 82, even older than Jessica Tandy was.

Chico, Rita & Hugo

2012-02-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

I'll start with the better film here: Chico & Rita. What an excellent film it is! Visually spectacular because it both revels in traditional animation and incorporates 3D in a way that still resembles being painted. Great incorporation of Cuban jazz and a story that doesn't shy away from a sensual relationship are proof that it's not a Disney film, and it's all the better for it. Not all movies have to be made for kids. Rango will probably win, but I still would be rejoicing for this nom if it won instead.

Hugo, on the other hand, left me extremely disappointed. Yes, I know this is Martin Scorsese's first "non-R" picture in decades, specifically a so-called family film. Still, it felt too goody two-shoes for what it was striving for. It's certainly going to win some tech awards tomorrow, especially for art direction, but the lingering, Narnia-like screenplay itself ceased a suspension of disbelief for me. Note that while it has earned just over $100M, its budget was more like $170M, so it hasn't even broken even yet. That's all the more reason to give it to an indie like The Artist for Best Pic tomorrow!

The Shorts

2012-02-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

I've only seen two of the nom'd animated shorts so far, but one's an obvious frontrunnner, while the other seems to go nowhere. The better of the two by far is The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. No dialogue is included, and it's so creative that none is needed. The other pic I saw, Dimanche/Sunday, also lacked dialogue, but was so unfocused that it seemed to have a non-ending. Until I see Pixar's La Luna, I'd say Fantastic Flying is the one to beat.

BAFTAs & ASC

2012-02-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

So, The Artist appears to have painted 7 BAFTAs today, including Best Picture and Director! It even won for Cinematography over The Tree of Life! Lubezki has won the ASC award many times before, but never an Oscar... I would be okay with The Artist winning gold for Cinematography, but it's no match against The Tree of Life. Check out my updated predictions online here!

Good Times

2012-02-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend that was! I was invited to speak in a TAT class by a former professor, Karen Davis, at my college of CSU Monterey Bay. I talked about entering the job world in this profession post college, and got to show some samples of my latest work. I included quite a spectrum; starting with The King Who Rained and Abrupt back-to-back itself should indicate no fear! But, I was particularly glad I could finally show NOH8: Is It Real Now? somewhere on screen, and close with it.

Speaking of good times, it appears the latest Academy Luncheon occurred today:

An Interview

2012-01-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

Me being interviewed yesterday at PenTV about Oscar noms, or how one looks after wearing a headset. Hosted by Cody Simmons. Directed by Kristen Ohiaeri.

OscarTube

2012-01-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

Trying something never done before: if all goes well, there will be a live broadcast of the 84th Academy Award Nominations in the YouTube stream immediately above this sentence! The catch: it's live, so you better be awake at 5:30 a.m. PST to see it!

And, who might this be? It's only the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence, the actress nominated last year for her role in Winter's Bone, who will help deliver the nominations.

Countdown to Noms

2012-01-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

So, the countdown begins to the Academy Award nominations on Tuesday. My list has been continually updated over the past few months, with more and more additions. For BP, the first 5 are solid. The next 5 are a competition between who I think deserves it and who the Academy wants to play safe with. My predix for the [up to] Top 10, in numerical order:

The Artist

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

The Help

The Descendants

Drive

The Tree of Life

The Ides of March

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Moneyball

If it were based purely on talent and meaning, not on producer stamina, it might be more like this:

The Tree of Life

Drive

The Artist

Midnight in Paris

The Help

Hugo

The Descendants

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2

Weekend

We'll find out very soon!

Let's Drive

2012-01-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

Elated that Drive got some notice from the recent BAFTA noms with 4, including for Director and Picture! There is a reason this won at Cannes for Best Director (Nicolas Winding Refn) over The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick). It sure might be an action film, but good mercy, it is so much more! Hope the Oscars will pay similar attention next week, too, and with Albert Brooks added in!

I will mainly be happy if both of those directors get a nom. Oscars should not be about stamina and the body of work from a person; it's about specific films when it's competitive. Loved the metaphysical, bigger-picture The Tree of Life and the awesomely experiential Drive, and they're neck-and-neck on my favorites list from 2011.

More Yay for The Artist!

2012-01-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

So, the Golden Globes were last night... Definitely a Weinstein night, based on how many winners were financed by his company (includes The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, The Iron Lady and W.E.). No problem, since The Artist was the top dog, winning 3 awards, including Best Pic for Comedy or Musical. Above, you can hear a track of the now award-winning score by Ludovic Bource!

Still, the wealth was spread around. Only The Descendents also earned more than a single award, including Best Pic for Drama. Awards also went to The Help and Beginners.

Homage to Lumière Bros.

2012-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

For 2012, I've created a simple video that, like Scorsese's Hugo, makes historical reference to the beginnings of motion pictures. Soon to air on PenTV:

In Motion

2012-01-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

What a year that was, zipping by so quickly. This one's no slower, already more than a week in! Some prospective goals, I achieved; some, I did not. Here's what was a success for directorG.com in 2011:

Created these movies: NOH8: Is It Real Now?, Flight of the BumblebOWLE, and Green Monster
Entered Journey of the Mind into Cinequest San Jose Fest and Neuro Film Fest
Generated new Thomas Productions logo
New website design created
Redesigned GPicturama photo displays, implemented FancyBox
Redesigned Film Ratings link style
Found old footage from Monty Awards

Our YouTube viewership update has continued to grow, with the following projects receiving over 1000:

Scenes from Being John Malkovich: 11,835
The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 1): 11,225
The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 2): 3,853
The King Who Rained: 2,513
Fort Ord: Doughboy Theater Footage: 2,206
The Last Kiss: 1,927
My Teachers Are Aliens: 1,757
Tons of Sugar Cereal Commercial: 1,305
NOH8: Is It Real Now?: 1,166
Lipstick on a Pig? Actually...: 1,114
Man Facing Nervous Breakdowns: 1,082
Abrupt: 1,041

For 2012, I intend to do the following:

Enter Everyone and Their Mother into a festival, and submit to IMDb
Create at least one short film with my HD Camera, submit to fests
Create an iPhone movie for submitting into Disposable Film Fest
Finish reediting Brave New World, post on YouTube
Finish updating entire website
Find alternate method for posting movies that get blocked

There may be some hiatuses here and there, because this is such a big year in terms of reinventing the wheel at life, but it's time to get started!

Debut of Finished Site!

2012-01-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, and Happy New Finished Site! Still ironing out the kinks, but the main design for directorG.com is finally all set. Now, the News Blog is what naturally appears in full form when the main page loads up, instead of the temporary widget version that miniaturized and/or eliminated certain features. Under Construction logo: be gone!

More updates and a year-in-review coming soon. In the mean time, please enjoy the trailer for The Artist, undoubtedly one of the best films of last year!

Strikingly Similar

2011-12-28T23:32:00.000-08:00

Listen how similar the chord structures are among all three musical works, The Dog of Pompeii included:

Happy Humbug!

2011-12-24T22:26:00.000-08:00

We're showing Scrooge from 1935 on PenTV this weekend for the latest edition of Public Domain Movie Night. Check it out!

39 Songs

2011-12-20T23:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, there are some significant movies here, though a few I have not heard of (i.e. "DAM999"?). Still, I've included them in my Predictions Page. These 39 songs are eligible for an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song in 2011:

“The World I Knew” from “African Cats”
“Lay Your Head Down” from “Albert Nobbs”
“Star Spangled Man” from “Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Collision of Worlds” from “Cars 2″
“Dakkanaga Dugu Dugu” from “DAM999″
“DAM999 Theme Song” from “DAM999″
“Mujhe Chod Ke” from “DAM999″
“Rainbird” from “Dirty Girl”
“Keep On Walking” from “The First Grader”
“Where the River Goes” from “Footloose”
“Hello Hello” from “Gnomeo & Juliet”
“Love Builds a Garden” from “Gnomeo & Juliet”
“Bridge of Light” from “Happy Feet Two”
“The Mighty Sven” from “Happy Feet Two”
“Never Be Daunted” from “happythankyoumoreplease”
“Hell and Back” from “Hell and Back Again”
“The Living Proof” from “The Help”
“Coeur Volant” from “Hugo”
“It’s How We Play” from “I Don’t Know How She Does It”
“When the Heart Dies” from “In the Land of Blood and Honey”
“Ja Nao Estar” from “José and Pilar”
“The Keeper” from “Machine Gun Preacher”
“Life’s a Happy Song” from “The Muppets”
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”
“Pictures in My Head” from “The Muppets”
“Summer Song” from “The Music Never Stopped”
“Imaginary Friends” from “Olive”
“Sparkling Day” from “One Day”
“Taking You with Me” from “Our Idiot Brother”
“The Greatest Song I Ever Heard” from “POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”
“Hot Wings” from “Rio”
“Let Me Take You to Rio” from “Rio”
“Real in Rio” from “Rio”
“Shelter” from “Take Shelter”
“Gathering Stories” from “We Bought a Zoo”
“Pop” from “White Irish Drinkers”
“Think You Can Wait” from “Win Win”
“The Backson Song” from “Winnie the Pooh”
“So Long” from “Winnie the Pooh”

Up With The GGs

2011-12-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

Finally, my Oscar Noms Predictions for 2011 have been posted! Took 'em awhile to appear, but by the day of the Golden Globe noms, they were fully realized. Yay for The Artist with 6 GG noms!

Milestone for NOH8!

2011-12-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

Spectacular news! It took less than 3 months for our video, NOH8: Is It Real Now?, to surpass 1000 views on YouTube! Must be significant.

This is the fastest that any of my movies online have gathered viewership. Lipstick on a Pig was also watched by a good dose of folks while it was still a current event (related to Sarah Palin as the possible VP), but views died down when the election was over. I don't see an end to the NOH8 campaign anytime soon, so cheers to hoping views will continue to grow!

GPicturaining

2011-12-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

At long last, the fanciful use of Fancybox has begun on GPicturama! There are several dates I have had planned to incorporate, but wanted to successfully test it out prior to creation. It works! More on the way!

GPICTURAMA DATE: September 25, 2011
Production Photos for The King Who Rained!

Verrrry Fancyyy

2011-12-01T23:07:00.000-08:00

I've finally gotten around to testing out Fancybox for coding new GPicturama pages. The image link below, me likey!

It's a simple test from seeing a concert from The Whitest Boy Alive last year, but the best part is that the escape key allows you to toggle back to the thumbnails. Lytebox did not have this option, to my knowledge. Will be implanting this in pages soon!

The Show's About To Begin

2011-11-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

With the doling out of this year's Gotham Awards, and the noms for the Indie Spirit Awards being announced, I'd say the awards season has officially begun.

I will shortly post my Oscar Predix page for films of 2011, but here are my current Top 10 early selections for Best Pic:

The Tree of Life
The Artist
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Rango
The Descendants
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2
Shame
The Help
Albert Nobbs

Rediscovered Old Clips, Pt. 2

2011-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

They're now online! Without further ado, here are the clips from the 4th and 5th Annual Monty Awards at Carlmont High School, respectively:

Occupy NOH8

2011-11-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 2 month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. It also happens to be the 2 month anniversary of NOH8: Is It Real Now?, which boasts 800 views already! Fascinating that they share the same birthdate...

Rediscovered Old Clips!

2011-11-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

In my very-recent cleanup of old CDs, I came upon some old digital clips from during my high school years! They were of the 4th and 5th Monty Awards, respectively, at Carlmont. They shall become included here soon!

Line Flubs

2011-11-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

My, oh, my. First, Brett Ratner "accidentally" delivers a homophobic slur, then receives the consequential public outrage, and ultimately resigns as producer of next year's Academy Awards within 48 hours. The next day, Eddie Murphy, who had agreed to host the event, also dropped out. Within the next day, Brian Grazer stepped aboard to produce! Don't know who the new host would be (possibles include Billy Crystal, Ricky Gervais, Piers Morgan, or even The Muppets!), but they better pick soon...

Speaking of line flubs, did you hear Rick Perry's own last night?

N'Ebert Pas?

2011-11-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

What a shame. It looks like unless they're able to find a new funder, Ebert Presents At the Movies will go off the air after December. Roger and his wife, Chaz, have been funding it themselves all this year. You can read Ebert's direct thoughts in the article, The Chimes at Midnight.

New Z, Part II

2011-11-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

The layout of Garett's Movie Ratings continues its slow update. Now, the Yearly Top 10 have absorbed the layout of Ratings pages. The page for 2011 itself was also created in the process. Check the new designs out!

Host This!

2011-10-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

In case you've NEVER seen Night of the Living Dead, you now can on PenTV with a project I've been working my ass off for, both on and off the screen, called Public Domain Movie Night! I was filmed on a green screen to host, then created the CG BG in After Effects, and edited the whole shabang together. Here's the content, minus the ...Living Dead segment!

Rearrangement

2011-10-23T00:25:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the migraine, so this will be brief. The sequential order of what shows in the blog sidebar is now an improvement. The highlights for most-discussed topics now display right away, while the archive of blog months now sits on bottom. They're both still there, but the relevant ideas to the blog itself are shown first.

Also, I noticed that GPicturama hasn't had postings recently, and that the production pics from The King Who Rained had not been posted anywhere yet. You know what I intend to do!

Fancybox / 515!

2011-10-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

First, I am still overwhelmed by how quickly the YouTube viewage of NOH8 has been in just one month. There are already have been 515! Some movies never go above a few hundred, if that. This tells me that the topics included for this specific video are all the more relevant... Watch and enjoy:

Now, for revitalizing GPicturama... I initially started using Lytebox, but a crucial feature to that user interface was missing: the ability to press escape to hide things, like on facebook. Seems someone came out with a similar version of Lytebox that contains this ability, and it's called Fancybox! I want to try it out, so be seeing it soon!

Yelp Elite & ROTD!

2011-10-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

While this site is primarily for Thomas Productions, it ultimately is directorG.com to be the showcase of anything I do. Well, I am definitely a Yelper, earning the Yelp Elite status for 2011. Yesterday (10/14), my review of Town Restaurant in San Carlos was apparently selected as the local Review Of The Day on the site!

1st IMDb Pic

2011-10-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a true first for Thomas Productions: successfully submitting a photo to IMDb! It was a production pic from The Nightmare:

No, it wasn't free, but it was still pretty inexpensive. I could see adding several more, now that I know what to do!

Goodbye, Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011. Everything I edit is and has been on a Mac, and therefore would have been impossible without your contributions to society. RIP.

See this clip of a young Steve Jobs, already thinking different in the 1980s:

250 in 2 Weeks!

2011-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I am so stoked that it took just two weeks to get 250 views on YouTube for NOH8: Is It Real Now?, much faster than any other project I've posted there! They usually grow in time, sometimes getting in the multithousands, but this increase out of nothing is just staggering!

At this rate, it could surpass 400 soon... Viewed even better when watched at 720p!

Year of the Fat Cow

2011-09-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

A year has now passed since the web server swap began. We've now been using fatcow.com for the services, and everything has worked well so far. I've been trying hard to get the show back in gear, and have redesigned just about everything possible! See what's been updated after the jump.

Here's what's been updated:

Uniform Layout and Design for:

Home Page
Movie Pages

Better Search Features and News Blog
Improved Layers on Movie Ratings
More Data for:

Names Database
Awards and Publicity
External Links

New Thomas Productions Logo

And, there's more to come!

In A World Where...

2011-09-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a trailer, but in a world where I can't use Adobe GoLive like I used to, I still managed to use Dreamweaver to begin site revisions on displaying sequential images.

In a much more code-friendly format, I renamed several elements of code, eliminated unnecessary portions, and layered elements in a style friendly to being centered regardless of frame size. The first success was with slides of Lipstick on a Pig? Actually... (2008), which can now be the basis for remaining page revisions. FYI...

100 Views in 4 Days

2011-09-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

Wow... I am astounded. I don't know if the stars lined up all of a sudden, or it's in coordination with the end of an error (DADT), but in the four days that NOH8: Is It Real Now? has been posted on YouTube, it has already received 100 views. Holy shit!

Now, if it were a video that's already racked in 1000s of views, 100 in 4 days might not be so much. But, this came out of nowhere, starting with ZERO! "Astounded" is putting it mildly.

Speaking of new views, I've begun the restructuring of the look of the movie pages. They will resemble the main page, but with colors individualized for each film so that they can maintain a unique feel. Content to be updated soon, but we're entering final stages of the site redesign. Hang tight if pages are missing a thing or two over the next month.

New Vid!

2011-09-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

The movie above was posted today on YouTube! Called NOH8: Is It Real Now?, it considers the current American status of gay marriage in 2011, as well as acceptance in general for the LGBT community. Edited by yours truly, for the thrill of it!

You may notice there's a new animated Thomas Productions logo at the start of it! Also, the extended credits referred to at the end will be posted on this site soon.

Ratings Upgrade

2011-09-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Another new site update comes to the Movie Ratings part of directorG.com! We're transitioning to using layers instead of frames. There's still the same basic setup, but now titles and links at top & bottom remain visible at all times, in a slightly translucent sort of way. More movies have been viewed recently, including Midnight in Paris, so the ranking database itself has definitely been updated, too!

YouTube Update

2011-09-02T23:45:00.000-07:00

Haven't said much on this lately! We've had quite a huge YouTube following with some vids, with a few reaching big milestones in views! Can you guess which joined our 1000 views club?

Scenes from Being John Malkovich: 11,647
The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 1): 9,520
The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 2): 3,269
The King Who Rained: 2,136
Fort Ord: Doughboy Theater Footage: 2,090
The Last Kiss: 1,822
My Teachers Are Aliens: 1,633
Tons of Sugar Cereal Commercial: 1,232
Lipstick On A Pig? Actually...: 1,067
Man Facing Nervous Breakdowns: 1,033
Abrupt: 1,001

Lovely Cinemagraphs

2011-08-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Interesting concept. Used to make animated GIFs for websites on occasion. Seems they've stepped up the ante on them now, by stylizing supposedly still images to have subtle, ongoing movement.

It kind of reminds me of the newspapers shown in the Harry Potter films. Perhaps I could implement this concept in the new site design... More samples are below:

Green Publicity

2011-08-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

This site is close to completion in its reconstruction phase. The Awards and Publicity portion is about to go live today, and has been updated. I'm hoping this design can work for the remainder of the site pages, too, to shift away from the former look. Investigating...

The above clip is one that fits into the mix of this blog posting here by being a reflexive sampling of what I do at my job. Deconstructing (and reconstructing) a green screen is something I have to do quite often at PenTV!

2Nu iGPix

2011-08-02T02:16:00.001-07:00

Testing out writing a blog entry from my iPhone, I'm announcing two new GPicturama entries! One is specific to In-N-Out Burger, and the other holds dear to iPhone capabilities.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Widget Time!

2011-07-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

During this site's reconstruction, I've found a way to keep the blog on here with Widgetbox!

Only time will tell if this experiment lasts, but I finally had another moment to sit down and do web work today. My goal is to have the site be at least as active as it once was, where the rest of the site is as easily accessible as before, from movies to GPicturama to the rest. Still plotting out the layers, but I want the design to work 100% with Google Chrome.

This here is just another test of the jump... Seems to work, right?

Forgotten Dreams

2011-07-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

It's a slowww process, apparently, but I've finally transferred DreamWeaver to my new computer. Hopefully, this will make the remainder of the site update quicker. You can't believe how slow the former machine was, but assuming I won't continue to be brain dead after work, I can get this site up and running again soon, compatible with Google Chrome and all.

Last night, I viewed the 3D film, Cave of Forgotten Dreams. It is one of the few 3D films I've seen that's actually worth being shot that way, exploring the depths of the Chauvet Caves in France and depicting the 30,000+ year old drawings on the textured walls. Reflexive, very well-envisioned, and with an enrapturing musical score to boot. Directed by Werner Herzog, it so far has my vote for Best Documentary of 2011!

Also yesterday, The Social Network won 4 Golden Trailer Awards! The last film to achieve this quantity of them was The Matrix.

Gizdichian Update

2011-06-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

It seems Gizdich Ranch, featured in At the Core, is in the news lately! Ever hear of agritourism?

Flight of the BumblebOWLE

2011-06-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

Remember the OWLE Bubo I had mentioned earlier this year? Well, here's a sample of it in action!

It was filmed today in my backyard, with an iPhone. Almost too easy!

Sestercentenniblog

2011-06-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

To commemorate our 250th blog entry, from which our title strives from the term for 250th anniversary ("Sestercentennial"), we're testing out something new: the jump feature! If all works, there should be a special video clip from YouTube to see, after the jump!

This clip meant a whole lot to me as a child, and made me very interested in being a paleontologist at age 5. What I didn't know was that it probably also indirectly steered my interest toward filmmaking. A short piece in claymation had a lifelong effect, and only later did I learn it was created by Will Vinton, the Academy-Award winning animator of such things as the California Raisins!

I'll Be Damned

2011-05-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

No, this blog title does not refer to the rapture, at least directly! It specifically regards my movie below, Judgment Day (2002):

I titled this blog entry as such because, once again, you can hear the music! When it had supposedly been removed by YouTube, I thought it was gone for good. Who knows how temporary this may be, but while it's still playing, please watch and enjoy!

Upgrade!

2011-05-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Not much has been going on with this site lately, in part due to the recent purchase of a new computer! Upgrade in the works... In the meantime, congrats to Jean-Paul Belmondo from Breathless, who received a special Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival!

Mothers Day

2011-05-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today and tomorrow (SAT & SUN), you can view Everyone and Their Mother on PenTV!

It will air during "In the Mix," the show I host, at 1:30 PM both days. Enjoy!

Special Election Clip

2011-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

In the meantime, as this site eventually regains its consciousness, take a look at part of my work. I was the camera op on the guest (David Tom, County Election Manager) in this Voter Minute clip for the May 3rd San Mateo County Special Election, created by PenTV.

Rotten Tomatoes Chart

2011-04-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Not much to say here, other than that our level of appreciating quality films has been declining for decades, based on this chart. It shows the median Rotten Tomatoes score of each year's top 10 grossing films. Here's proof that we need to step it up a notch!

Walk.Ride.Run.Laugh

2011-04-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Two things, neither related other than that they both interest me:

First, today was Sharon's Walk.Ride.Run for Epilepsy in San Diego. My sister, Chelsea, was a partipant for Team Purple. Well done, sis!

Second, the recent startup of "Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza" on the Game Show Network has managed to continue the inevitable laughter. Love it!

Testing the President

2011-04-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

This blog entry utilizes the Freedom of Speech we Americans know and love, and incorporates it with a test of technology. President Obama delivered a great speech today that didn't hide behind any GOP walls, and instead, made some honest declarations. His best part of the speech came at about the 21-minute mark. If this test works, the clip below (when played) should instantly begin, cued to that point.

"In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. And that’s who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that’s paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m President." -President Barack Obama, 4.13.2011

Many Competitors

2011-04-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

And so the page is turned, and we sadly did not get recognized. However, it is the first time were 108 contestants, the most ever before! So, that makes the odds of winning 1/108, or less than 1%. Better odds than winning the lotto, though... Read the results here.

On a completely different note, this website deserves the update I'd initially started with the new FatCow server about 6 months ago. Also, today's crash of the Photobucket site has me pondering if that's worth continuing. Expect to see new results in the coming days.

The Owle Bubo

2011-04-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

I present the Owle Bubo. This gizmo really might be of good use, if I'm to enter something like the Disposable Film Fest. You can apply a wide angle lens to your iPhone, and it comes with grip handles for sturdier movement, not to mention tripod mounts!

Disposable Future

2011-04-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

I think I've found a new festival to enter! It's already time to enter for the 2012 year (submission deadline is in November, so I've got time), but such 2010 entries as these from The Disposable Film Festival are compelling and awesome!

So long as whatever the project is can be shot on a nonprofessional device, such as an iPhone or web cam, and that the duration is 10 minutes or less, then it's a valid entry! Very interested. You will hear of this festival again, trust me!

One Week

2011-04-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

The winners announcement for the 2011 Neuro Film Festival will be one week from today: Sunday, April 10th, at 9 p.m. HST in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Our entry, the concise version of Journey of the Mind, was one of more than 100 submissions. The Grand Prize winner earns $1,000, and the runner up will earn $500. There's a Fan Favorite award doled out, too. Stay tuned for results, and thanks if you helped support the project in any way!

Pilgrimmage

2011-03-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, so two things: First, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has [finally] started winning some recognition through some awards! In both the 1st Comedy Central Comedy Awards and the Jameson Empire Awards, it earned the Best Director award for Edgar Wright, as well as the Empire Inspiration Award, to be exact. Woo!

Second, the greatest Zemeckis film of all time, says me, is Contact. Here is a great read for other fans of that film:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/foreignc/2011/03/contact.html

Also, if you haven't viewed the bloody film yet, see the original 'R' version of The King's Speech! I can't believe they censored a crucial scene which is so important in context that it's like taking candy from a baby. The 'PG-13' version (the whole film should just naturally be this anyway) is ridiculous.

3rd Blogiversary [Belated]

2011-03-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

Man, one must be busy (or getting old) to keep forgetting his birthday! In tech time, like with dog years, things become dinosaurs in 6 months or sooner. On March 7th, which was a little more than a week ago, this blog existed for three whole years!

To celebrate, I'm announcing the official posting of Journey of the Mind on the website of the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California! This can generate great publicity, educate the public, and show folks that life isn't over just because of a health condition. Here's the direct link. The video clips they show are the new HQ versions from YouTube, below:

2GPix: Ording & CSUMB

2011-03-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

These posts come at random, but I wanted to make sure to start each of them during the months listed so that they'd each be granted at least one photo session. These months always seem difficult timewise to get anything for this site accomplished, so here you go:

DATE: 02-09-2011
Hike to the Beach at Fort Ord Dunes State Park!

DATE: 03-08-2011
Random CSUMB Pics, Vol. I: Blackout on Campus!

Good News!

2011-03-09T00:50:00.000-08:00

As you may already know by now, part of Journey of the Mind consists of various neurologists speaking about medicinal and surgical procedures that patients undergo in attempts of suppressing seizures.

This 2009 Conference, called Living with Epilepsy, was put on by the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California (EFNC). I had received official permission from Neva Nickols-Hirschkorn, its Executive Director, to film there.

Now, I am granted another honor from them in 2011: permission from William Stack, their Associate Director, to post my full 18-minute short documentary on the EFNC's official website! More info coming soon. Awesome!

BTW, JOTN received a total of 258 votes from the public at the Neuro Film Festival before the polls closed yesterday. Among the best!

Voting Booth

2011-02-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-24T22:54:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

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"

2011-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

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.

Working the Bugger Out

2011-01-31T23:54:00.000-08:00

So, I'm gearing up to create the 2nd year's worth of an online predictions contest on Facebook through Google that I'll be updating live with the show. Last year, we had a good turnout of participants. It's always different every year... This was the results page from last year:

Scrolling to the right shows the various participants and scores, listed in the order of who first submitted their predictions. I hope to spiffy the design up a little bit, but the same basic premise exists: a chart will be generated from the spreadsheet, and it remains as updated as the data:

Maybe it could get more colorful... I'll be experimenting for sure!

BTW, saw The King's Speech this past weekend. Spectacular and hilarious. It is the ONE to beat.

Return of the Favicons

2011-01-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

Remember these li'l guys, web icons from the past?

I've brought 'em back! It's not that I ever actually got rid of 'em, but in the midst of transferring servers to FatCow.com recently, I never bothered to change the favicon links. Now, that change has begun!

So, Thomas Productions, GPicturama and Movie Ratings will all be identifiable again. Small message... Enjoy your weekend!

Dog of Airwaves

2011-01-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering, if you happened to viewing PenTV earlier today, you may have happened to see The Dog of Pompeii! As Program Director there, I'm trying to revamp the show called, In the Mix. It currently is what we run our shorter-than-half-hour shows, but I'm hoping it can become something that people will submit their 5-10 minute shorts to. I may even record an intro as host! Keep you posted...

I've already shown both Journey of the Mind and At the Core on this show, so why not one more? It may only be a one-day thing, but Thomas Productions has now had at least 3 different projects broadcast on television!

9 Outta 10 Ain't Bad

2011-01-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

The noms were given this early morning! My predictions for Best Picture were particularly good, with 9/10 correct! I knew Scott Pilgrim would be shunned from this category, though I do NOT appreciate that it's a COMPLETE shut out... Nor do I like that Christopher Nolan still lacks any Directing nom, while the Coens magically can churn noms out like butter.

Still, my predictions aside, I have the first GPicturama page up of the new year! Check it out!

Badge

2011-01-19T23:44:00.000-08:00

So, at Current TV, where we submitted Everyone and Their Mother last year, and Fat is Not a Four-Letter Word a few years before that, we apparently have earned the "Current 2010" Badge for participating. Every little honor helps!

Now, to think about the latest Oscar noms, to be released Tuesday... Definites for Best Pic have got to include The Social Network, Inception, The King's Speech, Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, and perhaps Toy Story 3. The remainders could include Winter's Bone, True Grit, 127 Hours, Barney's Version, Blue Valentine... Hell, throw in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in case the Academy has good insight this year!

Current YouTube Stats

2011-01-14T01:02:00.000-08:00

For 2011, it's probably good to know your statistics, so let's start with quantity of views:

Scenes from Being John Malkovich: 9,672
The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 1): 7,249
The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 2): 2,544
Fort Ord: Doughboy Theater Footage: 1,643
The Last Kiss: 1,520
The King Who Rained: 1,447
My Teachers Are Aliens: 1,434
Tons of Sugar Cereal Commercial: 1,032
Lipstick on a Pig? Actually...: 988
Abrupt: 895
Man Facing Nervous Breakdowns: 884
Photagrizzly Man: 755
Judgment Day: 694
Thief: 638
Three Shorts: Commentary on Society (Pt. 1): 627
Demo Reel: Directing: 533
Three Shorts: Commentary on Society (Pt. 2): 507
Macbeth and the Crusades: 504
Three Shorts: Commentary on Society (Pt. 3): 462
At the Core: 444
Mother (Pt. 1): 442
Demo Reel: Cinematography: 423
Shakespeare's Sonnet 12 / Parisian Hill: 417
Macbeth: Act 1 (Pt. 1): 349
The Trouble (Pt. 1): 342
Alex & Mike's Alaskan Cruise - Sneak Peak: 341
Cannery Row Doc: Sample Footage: 306
Rage Against the Scenes: 275
Mother (Pt. 2): 258
The 'Nuther-Time Wheel: 239
Journey of the Mind: 201
Macbeth: Act 1 (Pt. 3): 180
Macbeth: Act 1 (Pt. 2): 167

First, let me point out that this is a rather large list of digitized movies currently on display, and it doesn't count the trailers and behind-the-scenes clips, let alone ALL of the ones not even related to Thomas Productions. Also, the first eight clips are all above the 1,000 milestone mark!

I'm also realizing how much I need to finish reediting Brave New World... It needs to be online NOW. New hard drive, get your tush ovah here!

Nom Nom Nom, Vol. I

2011-01-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

It's the new year, awards season is in full bloom, so I've gotta rack up my predictions!

Therefore, my Oscar Predictions for this past year's films are now live, by clicking Oscar Predictions on the bottom link options. Golden Globes are on Sunday, Jan 16th, and Oscar Noms are not long after, on Jan 25th.

Year in Review

2010-12-30T21:05:00.000-08:00

Alright, let's look at what Thomas Productions / directorG.com has achieved in 2010:

Movie Projects Completed This Year: Everyone and Their Mother, The Nightmare (Director's Cut), Alex and Mike's Alaskan Cruise, and Web Videos for One Shot One Kill Trading (◊)
Submitted Journey of the Mind to two festivals: SF Shorts Fest, and Big Bear (√)
Submitted The Nightmare to one festival: Cinequest SJ (√)
Submitted Everyone and Their Mother to CurrentTV in time for Mothers Day (√)
On YouTube, Scenes from Being John Malkovich surpassed 9,500 views, and The Dog of Pompeii (Pt. 1) surpassed 7,000 (√)
Eight entries for GPicturama, which started using Photobucket and bigger thumbnails (√)
Purchased new HD Video Camera, often in use at PenTV (√)
Both Journey of the Mind and The Nightmare achieved IMDb status (√)
More IMDb Connections through our Names Database (√)
Transferred Website Server to FatCow (√)
Movie Ratings continually updated, and got slight makeover (√)
Live Oscar Predictions Competition with Google! (√)

A lot was accomplished, but there still is much to be done:

Finish reediting of Brave New World to submit to YouTube (◊)
Create new[er] logo for Thomas Productions that maintains original '97 font look, incorporating 3D motion (◊)
Create HD movie in 16:9 (◊)
Create Hitchcock Road, perhaps as the HD 16:9 project (◊)
New website needs full redesigning, currently in the works (◊)
Complete Demo Reel for VFX (◊)

There might be even more to do on next year's list, but those will certainly take part in it. Gotta get a new hard drive to keep up with it... Oh yeah, need more time, too! Bring it on, babe, and happy new year!

Holidazed

2010-12-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

Alright, folks, it's the holidays, so I'll keep the text short, and deal out a few gifts:

The Movie Ratings pages have been updated, and are in the midst of receiving a slight makeover. Oscar Predictions for 2010 to be generated soon!
Our Names Database now contains updating for links to the newest IMDb members, connected to The Nightmare.
Both Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper have released their Top 10 Lists of the year.
Enjoy this awesome mashup of a trailer from both Scott Pilgrim v. the World and The Matrix!
Links to legally view great full-length movies for free: moviefone and suntimes.

Happy Holidays from directorG.com!

Dude Wants a Cookie

2010-12-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

For the moment, see me "sneak" onto the PenTV set of Hooked on the Niners for a cookie:

I was one of the camera guys, and the gig was to have each of us crew members do that at some point during the show... Lots of other unrelated stuff's been goin' on, with updates soon to come. Our Names Database will soon come with more IMDb connections!

On a much more serious note, Jafar Panahi, an award-winning filmmaker from Iran, was both sentenced to 6 years' jail time and banned from making films for 20 years because his projects expose some unpleasant details of his society. Please support Mr. Panahi and view his works!

'Tis Up!

2010-12-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

At long last, The Nightmare has a trailer at IMDb!

It will probably coexist at YouTube in the near future, so you should hear again about that soon. Next month, it will probably get a few production pics posted at IMDb, too. Enjoy!

Red Carpet

2010-12-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

As a quick prologue to this blog, The Nightmare trailer has been created, and will be posted soon! Now, on with the show...

The topic for this blog entry is basically the kick-off of awards season for 2010. All sorts of things have been occurring in the past few weeks, from the selection of James Franco and Anne Hathaway to be the Oscar Hosts (can a host also be nominated?), to numerous Top 10 lists being released (with Black Swan, 127 Hours, Inception, Winter's Bone, The Social Network, The Kids Are All Right, and even The King's Speech all seeming to do fairly well).

I'm particularly happy for Blue Valentine, which got its rating reduced to "R" status from a previous "NC17" without needing to make a single edit, so this top-notch acting indie will now get the proper release it deserves!

Even which 15 films have been whittled down to possibly become VFX Oscar nominees, which includes both Inception AND Scott Pilgrim v. the World, were selected. Woohoo!

Golden Globe noms come out next week, though they have only chosen the same Oscar-winner for Best Pic once in the past 5 years (for Slumdog Millionaire). Still, the red carpet has officially been unrolled!

G-Jaunts

2010-11-28T21:53:00.000-08:00

Two new GPicturama entries have been entered in the past week, continuing the utilization of Photobucket for these latest large albums!

Entry Date: November 21, 2010, Vol. I
A Jaunt with Each Parent: Dad

Entry Date: November 21, 2010, Vol. II
A Jaunt with Each Parent: Mom

Until you see both a Gorilla Rock and a Blue Whale Carcass in the same week, you might forget how much of the world remains to be explored! Also, as part of our upgrade to Photobucket, our thumbnails have become larger!

Just Breathless

2010-11-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

According to a posting in Roger Ebert's blog, there are a good number of great movies that are legally viewable online in full for free! One of them is among the best ever made: À bout de souffle, or Breathless, from 1960:

The film's French director, Jean-Luc Godard, was recently awarded an Honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' second annual Governors Awards. See an article about the event here. Yahoo!

In case you'd like to own a great copy of it, a 50th anniversary special edition just came out!

9,000 • 400

2010-11-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

So, Scenes from Being John Malkovich has officially surpassed 9,000 views. Hell, we'll probably hit another digit by Christmas at this rate!

And, YET ANOTHER project, Shakespeare's Sonnet 12 / Parisian Hill, has also joined The 400 Club.

Additionally, I plan to create the trailer to The Nightmare this weekend. Still updating its IMDb info, for name correcting and whatnot. Eventual webwork, too...

Live News

2010-11-13T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here's introducing the latest IMDb link that belongs to Thomas Productions, for The Nightmare: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772390/

It's not very content-rich yet, really only containing the title thus far, but more will be added soon! It's still only the weekend, mind you... More news on this to appear in the coming weeks.

Speaking of news, Rachel Maddow had quite the interview recently with Jon Stewart. Here's just a part of it:

Best of the Bunch

2010-11-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

The following icons at Withoutabox represent a project's submission status:
__ = Submitted
__ = Acknowledged
__ = In Consideration
__ = Deleted

Is it too obvious which one we are, as of today?

IMDb, we meet again!

Grand Day Out

2010-11-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

And so it arrives: the big day for Cinequest! The Nightmare has been revamped, remastered, and soon will be delivered to the post office first thing in the morning on the way to work! Everything else for it's been completed through withoutabox.com, so IMDb, here comes another project! Trailer's comin' soon.

Also, we've been big on YouTube lately. Another two projects (At the Core and Demo Reel: Cinematography) both crossed the 400 views mark this past week!

Wonderland

2010-10-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, it's going to be next week when I submit The Nightmare to Cinequest SJ. Late fee! Still working on the last few bits, with Halloween somehow thrown into the mix. Speaking of costumed characters, consider this for Best Pic:

Deadlinez

2010-10-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

There are two possibilities for submitting The Nightmare to Cinequest: 1) It will get submitted on time by the 29th, or 2) It will get submitted by the Late Deadline by November 5th for slightly more dough. Who's cookin' pizza tonight?

IMDb's gonna happen soon for it either way, so yay! Come on, withoutabox, do your stuff.

Time Crunch

2010-10-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Been working like mad on revamping some shots for The Nightmare for the Cinequest San Jose film fest, which I need to submit for by next week!

In the mean time, here's another trailer for a movie screaming to be viewed: 127 Hours, the latest awesome piece from Danny Boyle:

Also, a recent film deserves way more credit for its AWESOMENESS than it received from audiences: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World!

GPictureinstated

2010-10-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, another entry! The first GPicturama entry featuring original pics entirely posted on Photobucket. See Steve Jobs attend his son's episode at "Bay Area Quiz Kids," taped earlier this year!

Entry Date: 09.20.2010

Journey of the YouTube

2010-10-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

While this site continues rebuilding, enjoy both parts of Journey of the Mind, now posted on YouTube:

Enter FatCow

2010-09-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

So comes forth FatCow.com, the new server of Thomas Productions. Now, it's the taming of the shrew!

Our 200th News Blog Entry! So Much To Say...

2010-09-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

Haven't spoken for at least a month! Where to start for this 200th blog entry? These thoughts will be in no particular order...

I've been sooo amazingly busy as of late with PenTV. I've finally even started directing there! Here is the first show I ever directed at the studio: an episode of "One on One," hosted by Dani Gasparini. The guest was Laura Guluzzy, representing Belmont Park & Rec.

Quick blip about the Emmys: Yay for Modern Family! It's already one of my favorite shows, and I knew it could pull this off. Glee was the one to beat, and that still earned a Directing nod, but I was definitely happy. New season starts this next week! (Free ABC advertisement?)

Sad to see At the Movies conclude, since Scott & Phillips were a good pair. But, Ebert rises again with a PBS-show (aka no Disney!) that will start in January! Thumbs are back, two new hand-picked critics, and his computerized voice for certain segments! More on this soon.

It's been yet another huge leap forward on YouTube viewings. Not only has another vid entered the 1000-view mile high club (The King Who Rained, currently with 1,047), but Scenes from Being John Malkovich has passed the benchmark of 8,000 (at 8,183). Wowsers!

Rewiring some hard drives up will reinstitute ability to enter fests! I now intend to enter The Nightmare into Cinequest San Jose. Since Journey of the Mind sadly did not make it into Big Bear, I'm going to post it on YouTube relatively soon. It's time to enter fictional projects again into fests; my last set have all been docs, and I'm ready for make-believe again!

The logo needs an update, too. I like the former text model, and possibly moving within 3D space to introduce newer characters to the current scheme... Hitchcock Road still looms, with my new cam to boot...

Lastly, I'm fed up with the server and will make something happen soon. New server, new somethingorother... I just need NEW. Maybe new site design, too? Only time will tell, as always, but I must break free...

Random trailer from a great flick: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

400, Pt. 4

2010-08-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

We're now adding both the remainder of Three Shorts and all of Macbeth and the Crusades to our ever-growing list of films above 400 views on YouTube!

The current list, in which a few sequential rearrangements have since been made from the last time, is as follows:

Scenes from Being John Malkovich - 7,786
The Dog of Pompeii, Pt. 1 - 5,801
The Dog of Pompeii, Pt. 2 - 2,052
The Last Kiss - 1,300
Fort Ord: Doughboy Theater Footage - 1,271
My Teachers Are Aliens - 1,269
The King Who Rained - 941
Tons of Sugar Cereal Commercial - 873
Lipstick on a Pig? Actually... - 847
Abrupt - 735
Man Facing Nervous Breakdowns - 703
Photagrizzly Man - 701
Judgment Day - 588
Thief - 583
Three Shorts: Commentary on Society, Pt. 1 - 543
Demo Reel: Directing - 444
Three Shorts: Commentary on Society, Pt. 2 - 437
Trailer: At the Core - 403
Three Shorts: Commentary on Society, Pt. 3 - 403
Macbeth and the Crusades - 400

Wired

2010-08-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

First, let me say I was quite satisfied after viewing Nolan's Inception today, primarily due to its awesome cinematography. Way to go, Wally Pfister! On a related note, I've updated my Movie Ratings page for the first time in awhile.

Now, I must find several computer wires I've been missing for the past few months... Without these, I'm probably going to have to postpone a Sundance entry of The Nightmare this year, but I think I can still get to Cinequest in time with a few more months.