Month: April 2018
Screenplay Festival: April 26, 2018 Event
A showcase of the best TV PILOTS, shorts, and 1st scene screenplays from around the world today:
FULL CAST LIST:Rais Moui, Tim Paul McCarthy, Lara Amersey, Alicia Payne, Scott McCulloch, Hugh Ritchie, Georgia Grant, Jane Smythe
TV PILOT COMEDY – REMOTELY WORKING, by Bill Baber
Genre: Comedy
This sitcom web series pilot features five quirky diverse millennials who work remotely for an international tech corporation. They struggle with online meetings, living on the road, and working from “wherever.” Each lone wolf must cooperate with the others, or everyone will be fired. Meanwhile, none of these independent co-dependents has a personal life that is even remotely working. (Single-camera TV-14)
CAST LIST:
Anna: Alicia Payne
Nav: Tim Paul McCarthy
Akihiro: Scott McCulloch
Narrator: Hugh Ritchie
Phil: Rais Moui
Kate: Jane Smythe
Chloe: Lara Amersey
TV PILOT SCI-FI – GALAPAGOS, by by Lukas Hassel
Genre:…
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Film Review: A SWINGER’S WEEKEND (Canada 2017)
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Seemingly perfect couple Lisa and Dan plan a steamy swingers weekend. However things go wrong when a third couple drops in unexpectedly.
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The relationships of three couples come under examination in the debut feature of writer/director Jon E. Cohen with co-writer Nicola Sammeroff.
The audience is first introduced to what seems to be the perfect couple, Dan (Randal Edwards) and Lisa (Erin Karpluk). Dan is exceptionally pleased in the car on the way to a gorgeous property by a lake when Lisa closes a house sale. “I am the happiest man in the world,” Dan quips. This means that this couple is going to have problems. At the house, they are met by the second couple, their younger friends, Teejay (Michael Xavier) and Skai (Erin Agostino) who reveal their recent engagement. Teejay and Skai are a mixed couple, so that the film can be current with the times. Skai and Dan had an attraction in the past, so one can expect more trouble. The third couple is Geoffrey (Jonas Chernick) and Fiona (Mia Kirshner), one with marital problems. Lisa is unaware of the couple’s invitation by her husband and Fiona is unaware of the purpose of the weekend.
The purpose of the weekend is revealed to the audience 10 minutes into the film. Lisa and Dan want to swap sexual partners. It is Lisa’s idea as she wants to try something different, and one can see Dan has the hots for Skai. Each individual has his or her own reasons for participating in the partner sharing in what is termed A SWINGER’S WEEKEND. A list of rules are laid out, like no true affection, just sex and confidentiality. It turns out that the couples are not really swingers but ordinary folk with jealousies and weaknesses trying to be hip. The girls draw like a lottery to see who sleeps with whom.
It is interesting to see how each person reacts to the assigned sex partner. But the film is no BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE, Paul Mazursky’s film with a similar theme that was a hit way back when. One problem is the story’s predictability. It does not take a genius to guess which couple will benefit from the weekend. (Cohen has his key to the success of a couple’s relationship.) Cohen’s film cannot decide whether it should be a drama or a comedy. As a drama, the story is too predictable and for a comedy, there are insufficient comedic set-ups. Cohen appears too confident with the humour. In one scene, Skai suggest yoga and Lisa retorts: “Can we drink wine with the session?” The camera fades way as if allowing the audience to have time to take a good laugh. The house, furniture and food served are more interesting than the couples. The film contain a musical interlude that somehow fails to uplift the proceedings.
It is surprising though that the sex scenes turn out quite erotic. The segments of Skai putting her arms around Dan while water-boarding and Geoffrey sneaking into the bed naked with Lisa get the blood flowing.
If Cohen meant the film to be a character study, it hardly works with couples the audience does not really care about. Every person turns out too selfish (except for maybe Geoffrey) at the end.
Hot Docs 2018: DIE NACHT DER NACHTE (THE NIGHT OF ALL NIGHTS) (Germany 2018) ***
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Together. For a lifetime. Who can manage this? And who still wants this? What seems to be an oddity for us nowadays was the norm for the generation of our grandparents. This generation still experienced it – a traditional wedding night.
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Likely the most charming documentary at Hot Docs 2018. Together for a lifetime? Who can manage this? And who still wants this? What seems to be an oddity for people these days was the norm for the generation of our grandparents. The doc follows four separate lifelong couples from different countries as they experience and talk about their traditional wedding night. The couples are elderly couples from Japan, Germany and India including a gay couple from Pennsylvania in the United States. The film is shot in Japanese, Hindi and German with English subtitles and in English. This is a simple documentary not requiring much research. What it lacks in terms of content and history is compensated by the amusing observations on human behaviour. Of all the couples on display, the Indian one is the most endearing. The segment where the husband and wife describe their first ‘touching’ encounter in a cinema is unforgettable and in itself is worth the price of admission.
Film Review: LA TERRE VUE DU COEUR (EARTH: SEEN FROM THE HEART) (Canada 2018) ***
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This new documentary that celebrates our Planet Earth opens in Toronto with competition from the Hot Docs Film Festival currently on at the same time. If one wants to take a break from the Hot Docs crowd, this fascinating documentary serves to celebrate, educate and warn human beings of the delicate nature of the planet. LA TERRE VUE DU COEUR (EARTH: SEEN FROM THE HEART) is a French documentary from Quebec subtitled in English with narration by well-respected scientists.
Having lived for 40 years on an old farm in northern Burgundy, Quebec astrophysicist Dr. Hubert Reeves has observed the deterioration of nature around his property. Faced with this threat to the Earth’s ecosystem, the scientist shares his concern in regards to the imminent possibility of a sixth extinction of animal and plant species on the planet. Reeves and French sociologist Dr. Frédéric Lenoir team up with a variety of experts in various fields to propose possible solutions to stop the overexploitation of natural resources and the erosion of biodiversity.
The doc begins like a science lesson. Water is the source of life, the audience is reminded, and it comes from depleted stars. How water came to Planet Earth is a subject of scientific debate Nevertheless, there is life. The theme of water is kept throughout the film, coming back to the importance of water regardless of the current topic.
The biggest enemy to EARTH is oil, which director Cadrin-Rossignol attacks fiercely. The unethical drilling of oil without any permission by TransCan in the St. Lawrence estuary is enough to infuriate anyone. The drilling is eventually halted after the company is brought to court by the locals protesting the Harper Government and the company.
The film in its attempt to be exhaustive covers too many issues on the health of the earth. Issues covered include global warming, the melting of he icebergs and opening of the NorthWest Passage, death of corals in the oceans (coral bleaching), permaculture, deepwater illumination, overfishing, just to name a few. One needs to learn more on each of the subjects put forward. For example, Jeff Orlowski’s documentary CHASING CORAL would be a good film to learn more about coral bleaching.
As far as educational values go, the film excels. There are many issues examined here that audiences will likely be unaware of. The most important thing is that there is hope for the planet, hope in the form of the tireless activists that volunteer their time and money for an urgent course. The film ends on a high note that cities are beginning to do their part. Rosemont in Quebec are widening pavements for planting trees and shrubs while roofs in the neighbourhood will all eventually be changed to white to reflect heat to keep the neighbourhood cooler. When one turns on the tap in NYC, the water that come out is filtered by natural means.
Ergüven’s doc also talks about the importance of animals. Donkeys are monkeys are mentioned with some esteem. Hunting is also brought into perspective. It is explained hat animals eat others in order to survive and it is part of the cycle of life. When wolves were eliminated from the American National Parks, the elk population expanded too fast which resulted in vegetation eaten too quickly. Nature was rebalanced when wolves were brought back into the equation.
Director Ergüven has recruited a wide range of talents from many disciples to narrate his feature and to give it clout. Among them are a cinematographer, a botanist, a conservationist, an entomologist, a biologist, an astrologist, an environmentalist and even a philosopher.
In the film, a narrator mentions that a person could be remembered as a party person or someone who makes a difference to the planet. Oddly enough, this also points the finger at people going to see films like A SWINGER’S WEEKEND which also opens this week or this one about the planet. The film opens coinciding with the celebration of EARTH Month.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOpOaxZBeww&feature=youtu.be
Film Review: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (USA 2018) ***1/2
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The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
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Christopher Markus (screenplay by), Stephen McFeely (screenplay by) |9 more credits »
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The first of two AVENGERS INFINITY WAR films, this is the most anticipated super action hero movie of the year and most expensive Marvel/Disney film with an estimated budget of $300-$400 million. But much of the filming had been done back to back with its sequel.
The film boasts all the marvel superheroes led by Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). The Avengers combine forces with the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and gang to fight the most evil of all villains, Thanos (Josh Brolin) who wants to control the Universe. In order to succeed, he has to possess 5 infinity stones, stones that were formed with the creation of the universe during the Big Bang, whatever sense this makes. The stones are space, reality, power, should, mind and time. There is no need to question the names or reason for these elements but the script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely takes the story very, very seriously.
The Guardians of the Galaxy have never met the Marvel fighters, so their first meeting is done tongue-in-cheek, resulting in some humour.
There is no messing around with the Marvel superheroes, unlike the mess Warner Bros. created with the D.C. comics i.e. Batman’s identity known to everyone; Superman dying and returning to life. Comic book and super hero fans should not be disappointed with the treatment of their super heroes in this film. Almost every Marvel hero is present, the list too long to mention. Of all, a few appear more (Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, Spiderman, Dr. Strange) than others (White Wolf, Heimdall). Humour is provided by one-liners and banter resulting from enmity among the Super Heroes, like between Dr. Strange and Iron Man. Some emotion is provided during the Thanos/daughter confrontation.
For the most expensive Marvel production, the film is stunning to look at and there is no shortage of CGI and special effects. Needless to say, it is best to pay a bit extra to watch the film in the best viewing environment be it in IMAX or 3-D.
A satisfactory action film always depends on a good villain. Credit is given to the impressive performance of Josh Brolin who plays Thanos, the intergalactic despot from Titan who longs to collect all of the Infinity Stones in order to impose his will on the Universe. Thanos is in the most scenes in the film, even more than Iron Man, Dr. Strange or Thor. Thanos is so powerful that his size towers over all the super heroes. He does not have to wear armour and his strength and might grows as he acquires more of the infinity stones.
At the press screening, reviewers were reminded to preserve the magic of movie storytelling by not revealing any surprises and plot twists in any coverage. The film does not have as many as in the STAR WARS films, but there are a few, including some deaths and story surprises.
This film paves the way for the final part of the storm, which judging from this film should be a hit critically and at the box-office.
Interview with Winning Screenwriter Byron Erwin (POOP MOVIE)
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
See the world from the Poop’s point of view as a cowardly outcast discovers his courage and bravery when he battles the evil Toilet Paper Empire in this animated action adventure.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Comedy / animated adventure
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
The laughter that it will bring to everyone that sees it!
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Holy Shit!
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
The Shining.
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
4 months
7. How many stories have you written?
Two dozen feature screenplays
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
96 Tears by Question Mark And The…
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Interview with Winning Screenwriter Marissa Lessman (TRANSPARENT)
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your TV SPEC screenplay about?
*This is an episode of the most beloved Transparent. The episode centers around Sarah and Len having people over for Purim while Ally, Josh and Maura attempt to have a garage sale to sell Maura’s old possessions.
2. How does this episode fit into the context of the rest of the series?
*I foresaw this episode being at the beginning of Season 3, as Sarah is fighting to get involved in the Temple.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Dysfunctional and Endearing.
4. What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
Several. Transparent, FRIENDS, New Girl, GIRLS and Top Chef: Just Desserts.
5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I had worked on it for 9 months from conception until the draft I sent in for consideration.
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Interview with Winning Screenwriter Marissa Lessman (TRANSPARENT)
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your TV SPEC screenplay about?
*This is an episode of the most beloved Transparent. The episode centers around Sarah and Len having people over for Purim while Ally, Josh and Maura attempt to have a garage sale to sell Maura’s old possessions.
2. How does this episode fit into the context of the rest of the series?
*I foresaw this episode being at the beginning of Season 3, as Sarah is fighting to get involved in the Temple.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Dysfunctional and Endearing.
4. What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
Several. Transparent, FRIENDS, New Girl, GIRLS and Top Chef: Just Desserts.
5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I had worked on it for 9 months from conception until the draft I sent in for consideration.
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Interview with Winning Screenwriter Robert Cox (TOUCH)
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your TV Pilot screenplay about?
The story concerns a man gifted with the ability to locate people by touching objects they own or able to pick up on events from surrounding objects. This ability has drawbacks and dangers that he struggles to overcome, and fears coming from what and how much he sees and feels. Plus, his activities have caught the interest of an unsavory character that has his every move watched and wants him for his own purposes.
2. Why should this screenplay be made into a TV show?
It shows that even someone with an extraordinary ability, in this case, psychometry, is still human underneath. The main character has the same flaws, fears, errors of judgement, and emotional baggage as anyone else.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Psychic Mystery
4. What TV show do you…
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