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Bonus View Digest - May 25, 2012
Fri May 25, 2012 at 01:30 PM ETTags: Bonus View Digest, Aaron Peck, The Bonus View, Fun Stuff (all tags)
May is coming to a close and ushering in the heart of the summer movie season. Many of you might be outside enjoying the nice weather, but we here at The Bonus View are huddled over our computers, working to bring you the latest and greatest in all things high-def. Let's see what happened this week.
Josh's Week of Audio
Josh Zyber took a trip to California, and while he was there he took in a few different audio presentations from companies like Dolby and DTS. There are four articles up right now that discuss, in extreme detail, what it was like listening to the demonstrations of audio that a few of these companies are coming out with in the near future.
In Part 1, Josh visits Dolby and learns about 96k upsampling. Part 2 he visits Dolby to find out what Dolby Atmos sounds like. In Part 3 Josh heads on over the DTS and experiences what he calls a "game-changer in home theater audio." In Part 4 he visits the SRS Labs and gets to listen to what they call Multi-Dimensional Audio.
If you're at all interested in the ins and outs of home theater audio then you'll want to read each of these entries to find out exactly what you can expect from these companies in the near future.
TV Madness
This week in the tournament Jack Bauer took on Echo from 'Dollhouse' while Fox Mulder fought Seven of Nine. Check out the results and stay tuned for our Friday matchup, Raylan Givens versus Spartacus.
Blu-ray News
Check out what movies hit Blu-ray this week in our Blu-ray Highlights post. Tom Landy gives us the rundown on the new 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' steelbook that we can expect upon its Blu-ray release.
Theatrical News
This week sees the opening of another hopeful summer blockbuster, 'Men in Black 3.' Luke has seen it. Find out whether or not it was worth rehashing this old idea.
Aaron Peck discusses the latest movie posters that are hitting theaters near you in his latest edition of Posterizing.
TV Recaps
In case you've been missing out, you really should be reading our recaps of 'The Killing.' They're enjoyable, even if you haven't watched the show.
We also have recaps for shows like 'Game of Thrones,' 'Grimm,' and 'Fringe.'
Special Features
In our Weekend Roundtable we asked which board games should be made into movies next since we already have 'Battleship.' In the Mid-Week Poll we asked a very important question, "Do Spoilers Ruin Movies For You?" Let us know.
That's it for this week. We'll be back here next week. Same time. Same place. Until then, be safe and watch good movies.
Sickbay to Security: HDD Attends 2012 Calgary Expo Q&A with Star Trek's Gates McFadden and Denise Crosby
Thu May 24, 2012 at 05:05 PM ETTags: Fun Stuff, Star Trek, Tom Landy (all tags)
By Tom Landy
As this year marks the 25th anniversary of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' (expect the complete first season to debut on Blu-ray on July 24th), the bridge crew from the TV show have even joined in on the celebration. On the last weekend of this past April, all nine principal cast members beamed down to the annual Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo held in Alberta, Canada.
The first 'Star Trek' panel High-Def Digest was able to attend during the Expo was with Gates McFadden and Denise Crosby -- the U.S.S. Enterprise-D's Dr. Beverly Crusher and Security Chief Lt. Tasha Yar. Since 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' both actresses have starred in several films and TV shows, and they continue to work together on stage in Gates' L.A. theatre company.
Below you'll find a transcript of the panel that I attended which was moderated by Teddy Wilson -- one of the hosts of "Innerspace" on Space (Canada's sci-fi network).
---------------------------------------------------
TW: Please welcome Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden!
(Applause)
TW: Here are some microphones for you. There you are. Ladies how are you?
DC: Dandy.
GM: Jim Dandy!
DC: Wow this is like being a rock star here.
GM: So were these seats up in front too expensive?
(Laughter)
GM: Oh! There are people sitting there!
(Laughter)
TW: (Inaudible) ... a lot of TNG cast members see each other from time to time, but you two especially since you work together in theatre in L.A.. So is it a bit strange to do that and then to come here and be with each other in this different context?
DC: No.
GM: No.
DC: Theatre is really normal.
GM: Theatre is very normal.
DC: I mean, not that this isn't normal, believe me, but I mean it's very much a part of who we are as actors and what we like to do as artists and it was just this unique, rare opportunity. I don't know anybody else who's had the chance to do a kind of iconic television show and then years later do... you know.
GM: I remember...
DC: She's my boss! She's the artistic director of the theatre company that I, you know, get to belong to and work in.
GM: It's been really fun. You should Google our company 'cause actually we'd love to hear feedback from you and you can always e-mail us and everything, EST-LA Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles and we just built -- there's another sister company in New York City and I'm a member of that and some of us migrate back to L.A. for television shows, and so we built, we started...
DC: we built a new space.
GM: The company's been going for about 15 years (inaudible) so we just did our first year of (inaudible) this past year and won lots of awards and Denise, I directed Denise in a play and she was AMAZING!
DC: Thank you.
(Cheering)
DC: And Gates was an amazing director. I truly -- I was just thinking about this last night, you know, I really want to say this and I want to say this in front of everyone, that you really brought us as actors into finding our own (inaudible). A very extraordinary original play we did about JonBenét Ramsey and, I don't know if you guys, I'm sure you know of her as well. She was a young beauty queen in Colorado in America and was found murdered in her own home and they never discovered who did it. So it was an extraordinary look…
GM: Denise wore one of my wigs. Seriously. She played--
DC: I played the mom. And boy did I use that wig that Gates happened to have lying around by the way. But anyway, you were just an extraordinary director and I really regret that I didn't get to be on the next (inaudible) that you were directing because that would've been extraordinary.
GM: Actually, I think that was my favorite time in the whole seven years was directing that episode. Genesis, yeah. I know it wasn't the classic Star Trek episode, but I mean seriously, I got to direct an iguana and a Spot really...
(Laughter)
GM: And it was kind of a cool, like creepy fun show. I don't know, the makeup was extraordinary what Michael Weston did. He really should have won an Emmy for that.
TW: Which is harder to direct: a cat or an iguana? Or Denise Crosby?
DC: Or me? With a wig on.
GM: No, no. I don't want to hurt her feelings. The iguana -- I just felt I had trouble reaching the iguana.
(Laughter)
GM: I thought he was very, you know, I was just like okay fine, just do it your way.
(Laughter)
GM: But with Spot, Spot I could definitely, you know we did a little. Whatever. And he always helps. Always helps..
TW: Okay we're going to ask the floor for some questions and the way it's going to work is there are a number of intrepid mic runners running around. Give it up for the mic runner volunteers.
(Cheering)
TW: So if you want to put up your hand just put it up and they will find you with the microphone. So don't be shy and feel free to toss in a question.
Q: I want to ask, you've probably got a fun answer to this, and I want to ask you as well Denise, you've both gone on to do amazing work. Was there one thing that you took with you that you learned in your roles on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' that you really carried with you as an actor?
DC: Never wear spandex!
(Laughter)
GM: And I actually really learned how to handle that spaceship. So that's helped me in a lot of things I've done since then.
(Laughter)
GM: No I actually had someone, seriously, who said where do they park the spaceship when they aren't using it?
(Laughter)
GM: And I said, oh no, it's pretend. Well I know it is, but where is the ship part when they aren't using it? Like okay...
(Laughter)
TW: I'm sorry I just never thought about it before that's why I asked you.
DC: At Paramount!
TW: Okay so we got a question on the floor and it's mic #4. And it's to the right -- Joseph. Can you give us a big wave so we can see you there? Where are you Joseph? Oh there! Hey Joseph!
GM: Hi Joseph.
DC: Hi Joseph.
Q: Denise the question is for you, was, was, was your death... planned on the show?
DC: I'm sorry, what? Was it planned my death?
Q: Yeah, when your character diiiiied.
(Laughter)
DC: Wow (laughing) yes it usually is! When someone dies it's planned. Once it was decided--
GM: They just decided to kill her that day.
DC: Right. You know, I'm going to break it to you. I would not sleep with Gene Roddenberry so...
(Laughter)
DC: You guys are the first to hear it and I've been sitting on it for 25 years and it's finally come out.
TW: Well that explains why Gates was not killed off.
(Laughter)
DC: I'm not touching that.
GM: You gotta do what you gotta do. Thanks for bringing it up.
DC: (Inaudible) for women, OK? You do what you got to do. No, once it was agreed upon that I was leaving the show Gene Roddenberry had the idea that he wanted to kill this character. Not to punish me, per se, but to make it so radical and dramatic as no regular character had ever been killed. But, I wasn't really killed... as we saw. I mean, I'm still here now, right?
(Laughter)
TW: What was it like to come back in the Yesterday's Enterprise episode when you came back in that alternate timeline?
DC: You know, first of all that episode, for me, was my favorite episode that I did. But also (inaudible) it was a complete a surprise and was so well written and I just had so much fun. And I never thought that would ever happen. And so it just opened the door for the character Sela, and so you know, I just got to keep on being a part of it in a way that I had never anticipated and in a way that made a lot of sense for me.
TW: What did you think when you read the script for Skin of Evil -- the episode where Tasha Yar dies?
GM: I thought it was about time.
(Laughter)
GM: No, I thought but I can SAVE her! Just give me a chance! I can save her! I brought someone else back, some other creature from some planet, but they just didn't let me use that vial. Remember all those vials I had in sickbay? There were very interesting things in those vials. But you know.
DC: A true alchemist.
GM: It was actually a memorable night because we were all there, we stayed really late so we could all, you know, (inaudible) by the camera, like our scenes had already been shot and she was there looking at us and it was nice. It was nice. But you know what was really interesting, and we talked about this, we didn't know each other very much at all on the show because it really wasn't written for women to have scenes together and we were kind of like something else, and it was the guys, we had scenes with the guys or my son, and so I didn't really know Denise and we got to know each other later. And then she became a member of the company and both worked together. It's been a blast. And we were like, why didn't we get scenes together? You know? It was interesting. And now we're really close friends. But then, you know, we didn't have any scenes together.
DC: Then I was dead.
(Laughter)
DC: She tried to save me. She did her best.
(Laughter)
TW: We've got another question on the floor, mic #5 on the left, it's Sherry. Hey Sherry!
Q: Hello. I was just wondering if there was a certain genre that you guys like to act? Do you still do drama or do you like to do comedy, or what do you really enjoy doing now in theatre?
GM: In theatre? Specifically in theatre?
DC: Or anything? Wow. You know, to me it's about the writing. And what is provocative writing and what I can bring to this that excites me and I'm excited about and can transfer to the audience. And so if it's comedy it doesn't matter.
GM: And I echo that. I think a lot of the work that we've done -- Carol Churchill -- a play in New York, a lot of different things actually, even Taking Care of Business, I like it when it's mixed, when there's some comedy and there's drama. I don't think they have to be separate. I also do happen to really love stupid comedy -- I love slapstick. And so I like to do all that kind of stuff.
DC: Yeah, I mean, that's so true with Gates. I mean she has a clown background so, you know, what was wonderful about the play we did together, this specific one, was finding the humor in absurd dark moments. I mean, I loved when that would happen and we were able to find some very uncomfortably weird comic moments in some very dark material.
GM: And yeah, and we got to do things, dark things, and there'd be this funny little car that would actually drive on stage and there was lots of multimedia and I worked with an animator from Seattle named Drew Christie -- he's totally brilliant you should check out his animation he's a brilliant guy, and we had animation because it was a very dark subject matter and I wanted people, it wasn't to be so much of the story of Patsy -- I mean JonBenét Ramsey, it was more looking at the way parents exploit their children in these child pageants. It was also about bullying, there was another character who was bullied by these gorgeous looking men called the Apollonian Boys, and everyone just always looked at how beautiful they were and all the athletics they did so they never saw how they were also bullies. So anyway, it's things like that, it's subjects that matter that really gets me. And I love it when it's -- that's what I love about Star Trek. Star Trek was the same thing. We're in a morality tale and deal with things that really make you think. Like what would I do in that situation? What if there wasn't money anymore? What if? What if? And that's what gets people to think. And it's a good thing, I think.
(Applause)
TW: Uh, mic #2, right there. Yes?
Q: Hello Beverly and Lieutenant Yar...
(Laughter)
Q: I was just wondering in the period you and the other actors were in Hollywood did you have trouble sometimes finding other jobs because people thought they would identify you with your characters on Star Trek? And also what does it take to get into your theatre company? Do you do lessons and stuff for actors?
GM: The theatre company you have to kind of be (inaudible) by us. You have to participate we have to see, know your work. I would say it's a very high level. We have a lot of people who've done a lot of stuff -- Broadway, off-Broadway, film, television, but we're always open to new members and we also have an affiliates program where people can audition and take classes but it's generally people who have already done a fair amount of work. And for me, the other part, when I didn't come back in the second season I went off and did a play in New York and did a movie. I mean, I think yes there are times when that happens, but I think for me it had more to do with I had parents who were ill and I was raising my son so therefore I wasn't going out on jobs that much because, you know. I don't think it really held most of us back for being seen in these roles. Maybe, I don't know. But I don't think so. I didn't feel that.
DC: I think that Hollywood tends to compartmentalize easily. And if you're known for comedy, they oftentimes write you on the comedy list. If you're known for drama, well she can't come in and read for this because she does drama. Which is absurd. So there's always a kind of trying to prove them wrong going on quite a bit. For me personally, with Star Trek, once I left I fortunately got work right away. You know? Right away I went and did Pet Semetery. Then I did another series called Key West which was a very odd comedy. So I was trying to shake it up quite a bit. What I didn't do was go right back into a sci-fi thing. But I've had times where people have just made assumptions, well she's so fierce or strong or driven like Tasha Yar (inaudible) so I've encountered that a little bit.
GM: But it is fun, right after I did Star Trek, I did a series, I think they showed the first season, it was Richard Greico and myself, and it was like this is a real boohoo story, they sent me to Hawaii. I had never been to Hawaii. And they put me up in an incredible house right on a protected reef. And we had to shoot in a gorgeous location every day and they had to pay me a lot of money and I had my three year old and he could come with me every day because it was so beautiful there. It was so amazing. I love the island. And I fell in love with the island and the people and then something happened and they didn't go on with the series. And I can't believe the life that we had. It was extraordinary to first have done the cast with Next Gen and we are friends and we do get along and we see each other and it's really fun. You know? We do a yearly Christmas thing. We often see each other during the year and Brent supports the theatre, Patrick is a big supporter of the theatre and donates money. And it's really great. And I go over to see Patrick. LeVar and I went to go see him do The Merchant of Venice which was, to me, absolutely brilliant. It's my favorite thing I've ever seen Patrick do was The Merchant of Venice. It really was incredible. So I don't know, I feel very blessed with everything that's happened and I think it's still going on, you know? There's like new material we're reading, we're talking about next year what we're going to be doing, it's great. Life is good, we've been very lucky.
TW: You got through that tough assignment.
GM: I got through that tough assignment.
TW: What do you guys do at Christmas when you get together?
GM: Well we usually, one of us has the party and then we, you know, it's just casual. It's like friends and we sort of do the Star Trek...
DC: We try to reenact a couple episodes.
(Laughter)
GM: We pull out our action figures...
DC: We take out our action figures and play with each other.
(Laughter)
DC: And, you know, it's what you guys do.
(Laughter)
GM: You know, that new action figure of me, I swear to god, that face looks like Erin Gray. I swear to god! It's got my uniform on, but I don't know...
DC: You should talk to Erin. She's here.
GM: I'm going to have to. Yep.
(Inaudible)
DC: I look like a transgender gone wrong.
(Laughter)
DC: So we need to talk whoever these people are. Something's gotta give here, folks.
TW: We'll make a call.
DC: Okay.
TW: There's another Eric, on mic #4 on the right. Is this a new Eric? A new Eric!
GM: Hi! You're so far back. Yes?
Q: Hi folks. As women in Star Trek, I know that if we go back to the sixties, the short dresses and such, how do you feel you portrayed the role of women on Star Trek: The Next Generation? Do you feel you guys were role models for women looking forward to the future (inaudible)?
GM: I think we were more role models for men.
(Laughter)
GM: You know, I absolutely, I mean to be serious listen, I've met so many, so many women who were inspired to go on and be nurses or doctors and I think it was fantastic to have female role models in the way they were in the show. I know that's true because there were so many little girls who are now full adults and I'm just an old lady...
(Laughter)
GM: And I see that it really has made a difference. In the same way that I think it's extraordinary that people of my son's generation really don't see color in the way I grew up people saw color. I don't know what color, he's got friends of every color, and everyone's color blind which is FABULOUS. So go Star Trek! I think the world's getting better hopefully that way.
(Cheering)
TW: Have you met any security chiefs? (To Denise) .
(Laughter)
DC: Um, the last time I spoke to NASA, you know, I mean look, that was a great way to go to make the chief of security a woman. I mean, there's no question, you're bending, gender bending at that point. However, I feel that... they didn't go far enough, personally. You know? I don't think it's enough to say that it's 1987 or whatever and of course a woman should be made chief of security, but you still better make her ass and tits look good. And there's gotta be some... some... and I'm not against sexuality! You want to be sexy and you want to still have that color in your rainbow, of course. (Inaudible). But you also want to actually do your job and be a decision maker and I don't feel that we went far enough.
GM: I think, we've talked about this, I agree with you about this, it's a wonderful having iconic roles for women. But on the other hand, when you look at the scenes, whenever the women would be together, like they finally put Troi and I in a scene and we were like exercising in a workout place. You know, it's like come on?
(Laughter)
GM: And I have to say that one of the reasons I've argued with one of the producers and that was one of the reasons why I fired was because after the first season I felt I was a mother and I've taken care of children a lot in life, I was a governess and I taught for 40 years -- that's how old I am. Oh my god. But at any rate...
TW: You started when you were two...
(Laughter)
GM: Yeah, I know. It was amazing. But I think (inaudible) people don't, like the way the relationship with Wil Wheaton's character was, I felt it was always the men giving him sage advice, yet my character was the one who raised him. Single, single raised him. And obviously there was advice he could have come to me for because, you know, he only just met these guys and he was always saving our ass every single episode...
(Laughter)
GM: So I felt why am I only the worried mother kind of thing? What about also really having a talk like the way my son would and the way your son would which is really talking about things that mean a lot? And I felt that was always given to one of the male characters. So there definitely were places...
DC: Yeah.
GM: In fact we didn't have a scene. On the other hand, I think I did get, as Dr. Crusher I did get to have authority and I got to fly that ship a couple of times anyway and that was fun.
DC: Yeah, yeah. I got to kick some butt on occasion and that was okay. And it wasn't just about that, though. You know? But anyway. We always brought all that we could to these roles and that was our job as actors and, you know, intelligent actors looking in that direction. What I always like to do with these things is I always call it acting in white spaces. It's not really the lines, it's what is going on in between there so we try to fill these characters with complex personalities.
GM: And also I don't know if anybody realizes it, but one of the hardest things as an actor, I would think most people would agree with this, when you have a lead character come on and give lots of speeches -- yes, it's a lot of things to memorize, yes. But to have a clear through line and it's very clear the intention you're playing, when you just have an occasional line here and there, there's a lot of that white space and it's actually really hard to stay part of it and think the intention. To have a tiny role at something can be actually really challenging. You know, like sometimes. Right?
DC: Yep.
GM: Or boring.
(Laughter)
TW: Um, mic #3 to your left. We have Sarah. Hey Sarah!
Q: It's Sar-rah actually.
TW: Oh Sar-rah. We're using this intense Microsoft word system.
DC: Wow.
TW: The future is now. It's like Star Trek.
DC: Very.
Q: Um thank you both so much for coming and I was wondering what your favorite episodes were to be in and why?
GM: For me, let's see, it sort of shifts sometimes, I think one of the ones I really had the most fun doing, as I said, was directing Genesis. But then I loved doing, I loved the dancing doctor and I was almost four months pregnant when I did that so it was fun to do something different. That was, the choreography, we had this amazing tap dancer Chance, I forget his last name who was Brent's double, and he was awesome.
TW: And you were pregnant?
GM: I was pregnant, yeah. (Inaudible). But then I really loved the one, I keep forgetting titles pardon me, but the one (inaudible) what is love? The one that introduced the Trill, I thought that was a beautiful episode because it really did question what is the nature of love? I also love the episode that I hardly had any part in called First Contact which later, you know we went further with the movie. And I think the philosophical questions that got brought up by the shows were quite wonderful. So anyway those were two of my favorites.
DC: Uh for me, as I mentioned before, Yesterday's Enterprise for me as an actor was the most fulfilling and complex sort of storyline for my character and kind of gave me some redemption. Apart from the fact that I had such a great time working with Christopher McDonald who played my love interest in that, we went on to do two -- one movie and one other series together. Yeah, we played husband and wife in (inaudible) film called The Divorce -- a contemporary western, and then he was doing a law series where he was a lawyer -- not Private Practice but LA Practice or something and I was a guest star. We had one of those relationships where we couldn't look at each other without cracking up. It was really bad and we actually broke up one of Patrick's long speeches in the back, we weren't even in this scene with him we were in the background and Patrick had this long monologue and I started pretending I was coughing and Chris covered for me. It was really... scary.
TW: How did Patrick react?
DC: Patrick just thought I was choking to death but little did he know I was laughing my ass off and wetting my uniform.
(Laughter)
DC: Over nothing, over just looking over at this man's face. So Yesterday's Enterprise was great for me, but I also like the pilot oddly enough, Encounter at Farpoint, only because it's so tacky.
(Laughter)
DC: And we didn't know what we were doing. And if you look at some of those early episodes, I, at least for myself, our designer Michael Okuda, who designed all the props and gizmos and bridge stuff, and we were so deliberate. I remember the first time I pulled out my phaser I dropped it. And then I pulled it out a second time and actually made a sound: Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
(Laughter)
DC: And you know, I didn't know what...
TW: You made a sound?
(Laughter)
DC: I made a sound! It was soooo ridiculous.
GM: The prop stuff was really hard. And like with the medical stuff you had to press something that no one was supposed to know you were pressing so you couldn't hold it like you really were pressing it but that's the only way the light would come on. And then you'd have to do something and couldn't touch the plastic because for some reason anything you hit that was plastic you'd have to reshoot, you'd have to dub it.
DC: I used to push like a bazillion buttons on the horseshoe and Michael Okuda finally said to me, " I believe by then you'll only have to hit one."
(Laughter)
DC: To launch first strike, or something. Okay Captain, I've got it! (Pushing lots of buttons). And then later in the season, I would just go aye-aye, Captain. (Only pressing one button).
(Laughter)
DC: We didn't know what we were doing. Pressing communicators...
GM: That too.
DC: You had to press them so hard.
GM: It really was bad because in The Naked Now, I got in so much trouble for unzipping the front of my spacesuit because zippers don't exist in that century and I didn't know that.
(Laughter)
GM: So I was just like, what can I tell you? And they were like, NO ZIPPERS! Don't ever do that again. And I'm like, okay sorry.
TW: What were you thinking??!
DC: Speaking of The Naked Now, that outfit was like literally glue and spit so I couldn't even...
GM: Oh come on, the chief of security for Obama wears the same thing.
(Laughter)
DC: Exactly. Exactly.
GM: No, those were the prostitutes...
(Laughter)
GM: They work with Obama. I know, I know. (Inaudible)
(Laughter)
TW: You've been talking about cracking up on set was there another regular cast member that you had that same dynamic with?
DC: We all did.
GM: It was very funny. We would do things, the hours were LONG, especially when you to cover for everybody, so we would be looking at the same thing and there was this guy named (inaudible) who was adorable and he would read every... alien... like... this... and he would do all of the alien voices and we would be having to react and he was so slow we were like, we'd just start laughing. We'd be pretending we're looking at something like (inaudible) and one director took a stick and would have us look at it and we're all in a line, all of us and we'd be like this (looking up and down and up and down). And we did it for about 30 seconds, you know, and we just all lost it.
(Laughter)
DC: Oh god. My favorite of course was when the ship encountered a storm and got hit and you had to go... (shakes back and forth).
(Laughter)
DC: And everyone had their own thing with that. So that, you know, Jonathan would barely, would just go (barely shakes).
(Laughter)
DC: Everybody would have their own wiggle. I can't tell you how idiotic it felt.
GM: But then you'd go out, go to the ocean or something, and you would lay down and maybe you were in Maine or I don't know where, maybe Alberta, and you'd look up and I'd see all these stars and go, "oh my god!" It's like (inaudible).
(Laughter)
GM: Are there really Rockies around here? Because when I came in I swear to god there were none. There was nothing but fog. My son said there were Rockies and everyone has told me but there aren't really, are there? Are there?
(Cheering)
GM: Are there? Okay. Because I have not seen them I just want you to know, okay? I'll go on your word.
TW: Holodeck mountains. We've got to wrap up. Time flies, unfortunately. But I wanted to ask you after all of these years, it's been 25 years since the first episode back in 1987, what is your fondest memory -- what's the one thing that you've really kind of carried with you, is there one thing or one event or (inaudible) that after all of these years you look back on and it kind of fills your heart?
DC: Um...
GM: No.
(Laughter)
GM: Actually I'd say it was absolutely because I was involved with the show, but I think it was when we had a Make-A-Wish child -- we had quite a few Make-A-Wish children who came in -- but there was a particular six-year-old who came in and was a huge fan. And he loved the doctor. And he was so happy and parents were so happy. And I just got, I wanted to be able to do what Dr. Crusher did, to fix him up but I couldn't and I just realized -- his parents said, "that's okay he just believes in it, that's all right." And I just felt wow that's pretty cool that that could help someone who's going to die and they could still believe in a future like that, the parents. I was so impressed by this little kid that I've never forgotten. And that would not have happened had I not done Star Trek. So I had a lot of things like that that really changed my life.
(Applause)
GM: And you know what? And also when I did a (inaudible) tour in Bosnia, I did it solo by the way, and it was incredible to see soldiers who had carried Star Trek stuff on their backs, like a book of Star Trek things or something, and to see how important it was to people really blew my mind. And I felt kind of privileged to be involved in something I hadn't appreciated until I started meeting some of you all. And I hope to meet more of you today.
(Applause)
DC: You know, that I thank you for saying that because I really you know, doing the show as an actor is one thing, I've been so grateful to be able to earn a living in the profession, the only profession I've ever really wanted to be in. And I'm always, always grateful whenever I continue to work. And I thank you you guys for that. So that's that, but then there's this whole other aspect to doing this particular show and that is the interaction with the fans. And it's been an ongoing, and will continue to be, relationship. And when you mentioned Bosnia, it reminded me -- one of the most profound things that happened to me and I actually hadn't left the table because I was so emotionally moved by this -- was when I was making 'Trekkies' the documentary...
(Cheering)
DC: Thank you. Thank you. I had the unbelievable gift of going to Serbia to shoot, and when I was first contacted by some fans because I put it out on the Internet that I was looking for unusual fans, big fans who wanted to tell their stories about Star Trek, I got an e-mail back from a guy in Serbia. And I thought... really? Because this was just after NATO had lifted the embargo in the world -- United Nations, you know, people were allowed to go back into Serbia. So I began this relationship with this group of Star Trek fans in Serbia which then led me to get there with my film crew. And they of course had never had a Star Trek convention, nor did they ever believe they would ever have a Star Trek convention. And they set it up in the university in Belgrade, and I was the only person there and in begins to walk some Serbian fans. And in comes this giant guy. I mean, his hands were the size of catchers' mitts. And he was a Serbian farmer. And he comes up to me and shakes my hand with this grip and looks me in the eyes with tears... (tearing up) and said that they were being bombed... and that this show saved their lives. And it was right then when I realized this is not just a TV show. This is -- this reaches into people's hearts and into their minds and it keeps them going. He told me that the show gave him faith in humanity. That this bombing would eventually stop and people would find peace because it said so on the TV show. If they can do it, we can do it!
(Cheering)
DC: And (inaudible). So I thank you. All of you.
GM: Thank you everybody very much for coming and listening to the panel. And come see us and I'll be, there's a special (inaudible) from the theatre company Denise and I have and all the proceeds go to the theatre so check it out if you want to.
DC: Yes, please come to our table...
TW: Thank you so much for coming.
(Applause)
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(Pictured left to right: Denise Crosby, Gates McFadden, and Teddy Wilson)
If you're a big fan of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' be sure not to miss our previous Q&A transcripts with Jonathan Frakes (2011 Central Canada Comic-Con) and Michael Dorn (2012 Winnipeg Comic and Toy Expo).
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Bonus View Digest - May 18, 2012
Fri May 18, 2012 at 02:35 PM ETTags: Bonus View Digest, Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
What? You've been missing out on The Bonus View this week? If you have that means you've been missing our Hitchcock Blogathon that we started in hopes of raising some money for a new musical score and online streaming distribution for 'The White Shadow', an early silent film that young Mr. Hitchcock (then officially a writer and Assistant Director) used as a stepping stone to launch his own directorial career (you can donate here).
Hitchcock Blogathon
We have a ton of entries in the Blogathon, many of which will please even the most avid Hitchcock fans. Guest blogger John Carvill, from the UK-based pop culture web site Oomska.co.uk, wrote a great piece which he described as, "an unscientific analysis of the Blu-ray editions of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The 39 Steps’ & ‘North by Northwest’."
Other Hitchcock entries include a column about 'The Birds' by Steven Cohen, a look back at 'Topaz' by Adam Tyner, a 'Vertigo' walking tour by Josh Zyber, the story behind Hitchcock's blonde bombshells as well as his one-word titles, both by David Krauss, and a special edition of Posterizing by Aaron Peck where he lists his top ten favorite Hitchcock movie posters.
If you're a fan of the immortal director then you'll really want to take a gander at some of these articles. We're really proud here at The Bonus View to be honoring such a cinematic legend. We hope you enjoy.
TV Madness
We've entered the round of the final sixteen characters. The last matchup we did, before the Madness tournament took a little hiatus for Hitchcock Blogathon, was a fight between super-spy Michael Westen and vampire slayer extraordinaire, Buffy. Who do you think would win?
Theatrical News
Luke saw this weekend's movies so you don't have to. In case you wanted to know how bad 'What to Expect When You're Expecting,' and 'Battleship' are, you can read his reviews. He also reviewed 'The Dictator' in case you wanted to know the latest about Sacha Baron Cohen's scripted comedy future.
TV Recaps
We haven't had much time to get to television with our Hitchcock Blogathon taking over, but there was one recap posted this week by Aaron Peck about the latest episode of 'The Killing.' Even if you're not watching the show, keep up with the recaps. They're fun.
Special Features
Tom Landy went off to the Calgary Expo (a.k.a. Geek Paradise in Canada) this past week. He's posted a few Captain's Blog updates of his time at the Expo. Take a look at posts for Day 1 and Day 2 along with a post about Tom's emergency that had him heading to the hospital instead of back to the Expo.
Finally, we have the trusty weekly posts like the Weekend Roundtable where we asked what remake or reimagining should Tim Burton take on next and our Mid-Week Poll that focused on what you may think about gesture-controlled television sets.
That's it for this week. Stay tuned though. As always, we have a bunch of great stuff coming your way next week.
Top 5 / Bottom 5: Richard Linklater
Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 02:05 PM ETTags: Top 5/Bottom 5, Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
by Aaron Peck
Richard Linklater's 'Bernie' starring Jack Black has made the festival rounds and is about to expand to a wide opening. It'll be competing with 'The Avengers' which won't be easy, but early reviews for 'Bernie' are good.
With 'Bernie' opening, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back at Richard Linklater's illustrious career to chronicle his best and worst films.
Personally, I found it hard fitting his movies into best and worst categories, because many of the movies in the worst section are still fairly well done. Especially, 'A Scanner Darkly' which I both enjoyed and was frustrated by.
With that said, let's take a look at the list and see if you agree.
The Best
'Before Sunrise'
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'Before Sunrise' remains as one of the few movies with a perfect 100 percent rating on RottenTomatoes.com. There's something to be said for a movie that relies completely on the art of conversation and little else. 'Before Sunrise' has no contrived ideas or clichéd storytelling devices. That's what felt so refreshing about the movie. Now, I've heard some people describe it as "boring." True, for some viewers it can be a little difficult to watch two people converse for over an hour and a half. I think the key is knowing what you're getting into when you sit down to watch it. If you're hoping for a sappy love story then you've come to the wrong place, if you're in a philosophical mood, this is just the film for you.
'Before Sunset'
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Truthfully, I don't think it should've worked. 'Before Sunrise' seemed like a one-off. Even though it didn't feature any of the normal gimmicks we've become used to in movies, having two people talk to each other for the entire movie is certainly a gimmick in itself. Maybe it was because he waited nine years to do the sequel (which is the exact amount of time that has passed in the movie since Jesse and Celine last saw each other). Or maybe it's because 'Before Sunset' returns with the same wonderful spirit and art of conversation that made 'Before Sunrise' so good. Either way, this film is a Linklater classic, and the ending, it's simple perfection.
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If only the high school comedies of today could be as witty and as loveable as 'Dazed and Confused.' Sure, we have movies like 'Mean Girls' and 'Easy A' which seemed to buck the trend of thoughtless, soulless high school comedies, but I think we're all still waiting for something like 'Dazed and Confused' to rise once again. Maybe Linklater is the guy to make it.
'School of Rock'
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'School of Rock' is just a whole lot of fun. A movie that perfectly understands what makes Jack Black loveable. If he's given the right material and the right character he can be as charming as anyone else. Playing a music teacher to an eclectic bunch of kids was the role he was born to play. It may not be as classic as 'Dazed and Confused' or as cerebral as the 'Before' films, but there's something to be said for a movie that inspires genuine laughter no matter how many times you watch it.
'Tape'
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Like the 'Before' movies, 'Tape' has a simple premise: three people in a motel room and all they do is talk. This would be excruciatingly if it wasn't for Linklater's masterful direction and a sharp screenplay written by Stephen Belber. You could certainly group 'Tape' together with 'Sunset' and 'Sunrise' in Linklater's All-Dialogue All the Time Trilogy.
The Worst
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I really admired all the work that went into this movie. First they had to shoot the movie. then they had to rotoscope over every single frame in order to achieve the desired look and effect. It's an astounding amount of work, but in the end I had to ask myself was it all worth it? Did the animation really add all that much to the story as a whole? For long stretches of the movie I felt bored and unengaged. I marveled at the animation, but that's about it. Even with the talent that was involved.
'Bad News Bears' (2005)
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The original 'Bad News Bears' had the same kind of kid spirit that films like 'The Sandlot' have. The remake? Not so much. It's basically "Bad Santa and the Bad News Bears,' a tepid comedy at best. Most of the film contained lowest-common-denominator humor. It simply came across as a remake that never needed to be made in the first place.
'Fast Food Nation'
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Despite its star-studded cast I could never get into Linklater's fictional version of Eric Schlosser's non-fiction best-seller. I don't know. It felt too crowded, like it was trying too hard. Instead of taking you along for a simple journey like 'Tape,' it thrust you into the middle of the action. Still, there are a few very memorable moments in this movie, including a tragic accident at a meat packing facility, a look inside a working slaughterhouse, and Bruce Willis eating a burger we only wish had pink slime in it...
'The Newton Boys'
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There's actually a lot to like about 'The Newton Boys.' I enjoyed Linklater departing from his norm and taking on a big-budget heist movie. But, Matthew McConaughey gives a grating performance. So much so that it cause me to end up disliking the movie by the end.
'Suburbia'
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Another one of Linklater's movies that I didn't really enjoy putting in the Bottom 5, but when compared to the movies above I didn't like 'Suburbia' as much. Still, it's an enjoyable , clever tale about a group of kids coming of age. There are some great performances from Steve Zahn and Parker Posey too. Eh, maybe we should've made this one Top 6 / Bottom 4.
What do you think? Where would you rank Linklater's filmography regarding your personal tastes? Do you think 'A Scanner Darkly' is great science fiction? Head on over to the forums by clicking on the link below and let us know how you feel about his films.
I think that we can all agree on one thing though.: Not nearly enough Linklater movies have found their way to Blu-ray!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
High-Def Digest's Favorite Bookmarks: April 2012
Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:10 PM ETTags: High-Def Digest's Favorite Bookmarks, Fun Stuff, Steven Cohen (all tags)
by Steven Cohen
Welcome back to another edition of High-Def Digest's favorite bookmarks, where we spotlight some great scenes from various Blu-ray titles that we've found ourselves revisiting again and again.
With bookmarking capabilities allowing viewers to save their favorite scenes becoming such a common extra among many Blu-ray releases, we here at High-Def Digest thought it might be fun to take inspiration from this popular feature by spotlighting some of the scenes that we've personally bookmarked.
We're talking about the kind of scenes that literally reach out and grab you, that make you forget you're just watching lifeless pixels ignite and fade, that make your house rumble and eyes open wide with wonder. The type of scenes that simply make you smile from the sheer, infectious passion for filmmaking in their images and sounds.
In February I covered a tense plea for mercy in an empty woods, a horrifically comical battle between a man and his own hand, a hauntingly bizarre rendition of a classic Roy Orbison tune, an endearing and exciting homage to moviemaking, and a very infamous box's tragic contents. If you missed them, be sure to check out the February, the January, the November, the October, the September, the August, the July, and the June bookmark lists.
This month I'll be covering an iconic main title sequence, a soon to be forgotten monologue, fun zombie mayhem set to the vocal stylings of Freddie Mercury, a hero's call to action, and an honorable man's last stand. For those who haven't seen the titles featured, be warned that there are of course major spoilers ahead.
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'Superman: The Movie' (Ch.1, 00:00:00 - 00:05:18) - Yes, I know what you might be thinking, and you're right, this isn't even really a scene at all, it's just the film's opening title sequence -- but what a title sequence it is. With 'Superman: The Movie' Richard Donner basically invented the big budget comic book film, triumphantly ushering in a heroic age of spandex-clad cinema. An age first introduced to audiences through simple, soaring text and a now iconic theme.
After a brief prologue featuring a child reading from a comic book, we transition directly into the world of the film. The music starts to gently rumble, giving us our first tantalizing hints of Williams' brilliant score. Suddenly, towering blue letters literally fly by, swooshing toward the audience like a bird, or a plane, or, uh… giant blue letters! As each new cast and crew credit flows over the backdrop of zooming stars and swirling cosmos, the powerful melody builds and builds. Finally, the theme explodes in an epic crescendo just as the red Superman symbol proudly appears. The stirring score serves as an exuberant call to the imagination, evoking all the magic and excitement of the character in just a few notes. Now synonymous with "the man of steel," it's a truly heroic theme if there ever was one.
As a kid I can remember sitting glued to the TV, my eyes mere inches from the screen as my parents popped in a VHS copy of the movie. As soon as those notes played, a huge, uncontrollable smile would form on my face. I knew what was coming and it filled my little heart with wonder. It was all I needed. Just those soaring, larger-than-life words and that lifting, epic music. Before I even saw Christopher Reeve don his red and blue tights, I already believed a man could fly, and to this day when those titles start to roll… I still do.
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'Memento' (Ch.6, 00:36:19 - 00:39:26) - With its inspired twist on traditional film noir structure, 'Memento' is a truly innovative and brilliantly crafted thriller. While its unconventional chronology is certainly impressive, it's really the film's unique protagonist and his tragic plight that end up carrying the picture. Through the memory deficient Leonard Shelby, Christopher Nolan presents a man literally incapable of creating new experiences, incapable of moving on. To him every day is marred by the fresh sting of loss. This somber reality is perhaps no better enumerated than in a brief, reflective scene that sees the brooding insurance investigator lament on his unfortunate condition.
The sequence begins with Leonard (Guy Pearce) resting in bed with Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) seemingly asleep across his lap. Dimly lit in cold hues, he just stares ahead with an almost dazed expression on his face. Eventually, he speaks quietly to himself. His words come out in a gentle whisper, soft and fragile, as if in a dream. He reflects on his condition, on the pain of losing his wife. The camera slowly drifts in as his monologue continues, following the solemn rhythm of his words, getting closer as his sad emotions ramp up. Melancholy music creeps in, subtly enhancing the mood without overpowering the striking simplicity of Nolan's staging. Leonard goes on, describing how it feels like his murdered wife just left, that it always feels like she just left. If he could touch her side of the bed and feel that it was cold, he'd be able to understand the passage of time, but he can't. Unable to hold on to new memories, his perception is off. The camera cuts to Natalie, secretly awake and listening to every heartbreaking word. Leonard pauses for a moment as he comes to a profound realization. He then speaks the film's most insightful, poignant lines, "How am I supposed to heal… if I can't feel time?" Indeed, it is said that time heals all wounds, but poor Leonard doesn't have that luxury. His pain can't ease or dull, it's always fresh, always new.
The bittersweet music continues to perfectly underscore the minimalist imagery. Leonard gets up and leaves the room. Natalie feels the other side of the bed, still warm. She's experienced loss too, but Leonard doesn't realize she aims to manipulate him, not help. Understated and delicate, the scene strips down the film's protagonist bare, revealing his vulnerable core while expanding upon his unusual, tortured dilemma with moving insight.
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'Shaun of the Dead' (Ch.30, 01:10:42 - 01:13:30) - A loving mishmash of horror and comedy, 'Shaun of the Dead' is a fun celebration of genre mayhem. A big screen evolution of the style they developed on their wonderful sitcom, 'Spaced,' Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg come away with a humorous, gory, and absolutely charming flick. The film's juggling act of tones comes to a head in one particularly memorable sequence that uses a classic Queen track as the backdrop for some kickass zombie action.
Trapped in a pub, our rag-tag group of survivors attempt to wait out the zombie epidemic. The camera ominously cuts between the group, each one bracing for the worst with nowhere to go and nowhere to run. Suddenly, a zombie pops up out of nowhere and the characters scramble, preparing to defend themselves. Just as things are starting to look bad for our heroes, the jukebox in the corner kicks in and Queen's "Don't Stop me Now" starts to play. The jaunty tune perfectly juxtaposes against the dire situation, undercutting some of the drama with a playful burst of humor. Wright then turns up the style knob on his directing chair to eleven, throwing in some kinetic camera movements and quick cutting. The song continues to play as Shaun (Simon Pegg), Ed (Nick Frost), and Liz (Kate Ashfield) attempt to fight back against their undead enemy. With nothing else handy, they use pool cues as weapons. They circle the zombie and bash it over and over again in unison, each hit perfectly timed with the beat of the music. The lights flicker as one character fiddles with the fuse box, again, completely in unison with the song. The whole scene becomes a kind of gleeful zombie music video. Some of the characters even get into the spirit of the track and move along to the rhythm. As the humorous chaos ramps up, more common pub items are used as deadly weapons, including a fire extinguisher and darts. The scene ends when the zombie's head is smashed into the jukebox, abruptly concluding the song.
The entire sequence perfectly encapsulates the movie's fun mixture of tones and genres, balancing excitement, scares and tongue-in-cheek humor, all to the timeless, rocking beats of Queen. When the inevitable zombie apocalypse comes, I now know exactly what to load up on my iPod as I bash in some undead skulls. I suggest you do the same.
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'Unbreakable ' (Ch.22, 01:17:34 - 01:22:19) - Though M. Night Shyamalan has been the recipient of some much deserved vitriol for his last few lackluster efforts, for me, even the laughable aftertaste of 'The Happening' can't quite sully the strong work he did on 'Unbreakable.' A low-key deconstruction of superhero mythology, the film weaves a slow burn narrative that sees an unassuming, reluctant man finally discover and embrace his place in the world. The moment a hero truly accepts his destiny is always an important and memorable milestone, and David Dunn's call to action is no different.
After finally admitting to Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) that he's never been injured or sick, David (Bruce Willis) enters a train station ready to take the next step. First masked in shadow, he walks out into the light, prepared to use his gift. The camera tracks overhead, giving us a good look at the bustling station filled with citizens. David peers around, wearing his simple work attire -- a raincoat and hat -- a perfect real world stand-in for a cape and cowl. As people move by, David stands still, studying the situation. He scans the crowd and then bumps into a lady dressed in red. Instantly we flash to a vision from her past, revealing a crime she committed. Back in the station, she walks away, disappearing into an anonymous sea of people. James Newton Howard's powerful score propels us forward as David realizes what he must do. The camera closes in on his arms while they slowly extend out into the crowd. The messianic image evokes thoughts of self sacrifice with David literally opening himself up to the sins and transgressions of his surrounding brothers and sisters.
While he makes contact with more commuters, Shyamalan once again flashes to quick glimpses of their misdeeds, revealing an instance of hateful racism. Wardrobe color is again used to spotlight and single out the wrongdoers in the crowd, separating them from the innocent. David's head bursts up. He's getting the hang of his powers and grows determined. Howard's music hits a new rousing beat, putting us in sync with the character's increasing drive and heroic momentum. We cut to another flash, this time to a rape. The drums kick in, ramping up the urgency and gravitas. The camera dramatically circles David as he plans his next move, deciding who to go after. While walking back, he bumps into a janitor, transitioning us to the worst crime of the bunch -- a home invasion and murder, but there is still time to save the victims. The camera shoots up from David's shocked expression toward the ceiling and a screaming effect bursts from the soundtrack, giving visual and auditory form to the character's distress. He's found his target and follows him, determined. The once triumphant music eases into a solemn melody, espousing the heavy burden and lonely responsibility that comes with seeking justice.
Throughout much of the film, David Dunn seems rather listless and unfulfilled. In this scene, for the first time we see a spark of purpose ignite within him. As a hero in a corrupt world, his is a path laden with many hardships, but he accepts and embraces this destiny with courage and bravery, and Shyamalan reflects this through the very form of his filmmaking. Through the director's camera tracks and cuts we are thrust into a pivotal turning point for the character, realized brilliantly with heroic bravado.
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'Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season' - Episode 9 "Baelor" (Ch.8, 00:50:00 - 00:55:10) - Love or honor. That's the essential choice that Ned Stark (Sean Bean) is forced to make in HBO's masterful series 'Game of Thrones.' Throughout the entire season, Ned stands tall as a shining beacon of virtue in a world rife with corruption. As the serpents and sharks around him vie for power and control, he chooses a different path altogether, seeking truth and justice. He understands how the "game" is played, but he refuses to play it. Unfortunately, as the season nears its end, the character's stalwart ethics place him in a very precarious situation. He must proclaim allegiance to a false king, brand himself a traitor and accept exile, or face execution. Based on everything we know about the character, the choice seems simple at first. After all, Ned does not fear death, and it's clear that to this proud northerner, dishonor is a fate far worse than any mere beheading -- and yet, the situation is not as simple as it first seems, for it's not just Ned's life on the line, but his two young daughters' as well. The dilemma comes to a head in the closing minutes of the series' ninth episode, resulting in a breathtakingly staged and utterly devastating sequence where Lord Eddard Stark is forced to finally choose between love and honor.
As a crowd gathers to hear Ned's confession, Arya (Maisie Williams) scans through the commotion, desperately looking for her father. The poor, disheveled girl climbs under a statue of Baelor that rests in the center of the square, giving her a good view of the action. Ned is then brought out cuffed. While being dragged through the angry mob, he spots his daughter by the statue. Ned is clearly concerned, not wanting Arya to witness what might soon transpire. Right before reaching the stage, Ned sees Yoren, a loyal Night's Watch recruiter. He calls out to him, screaming "Baelor," then glances toward the statue. Yoren turns, sees Arya, and gets the message. Ned is then positioned upon the platform, forced to address the hateful crowd. At this point, it's still not clear what he will do or say -- possibly even to the man himself. He turns to each of his daughters, and seeing no other option, he finally decides -- choosing love, choosing family. Slow moving shots across the square and dramatic crowd POVs draw out the tension and drama. The delicate, swooping camera movements present a false sense of calm, masking a slight air of discomfort that lurks just beneath the surface. Ned takes one last look out at the angry crowd, and then speaks. He does exactly what he was told to do. He confesses to a treason he did not commit. He hails Joffrey as the rightful king, putting a pompous smile on the little bastard's face. Sorrowful music underscores the action, as we all mourn the once steadfast honor of Lord Eddard Stark. Or do we? After all, is there anything more honorable than protecting one's family?
The filmmakers continuously cut between Ned, the angry crowd, and his worried daughters, perfectly engendering a sense of uncertainty and chaos through editing. Though things seem fine for the time being, the rhythm of the cuts creates an unshakeable, nagging feeling that the mood could change at any moment. Accepting Ned's confession, Joffrey reveals the sentence the Queen has set for the Lord of Winterfell. He is to be shown mercy, but he must join the Night's Watch and live in exile at The Wall. For a brief moment, it seems like tragedy might actually be averted. It doesn't last. Suddenly, Joffrey's demeanor changes. He claims that the Queen and Sansa have the "soft hearts of women," and that under his rule treason shall not go unpunished. Before we even have a chance to readjust to the shifting tides, Joffrey calls for Ned's head. The music grows tense. We dramatically circle Arya as she watches the blood thirsty crowd. Much like the camera itself, the situation is spiraling out of control. She pushes her way through the mob, ready to defend her father, ready to put her "dancing" lessons to good use. As impossible and farfetched as it seems, as a viewer we want it to happen, we're practically trained for it to happen -- we want the little girl to leap to the stage and single handily vanquish evil. We want her to… but we know she can't. The guards push Ned down. Once again, the tempo of the editing creates a level of confusion, chaos, and tension. Everything is happening so quickly we barely have time to fully process it or brace ourselves for the bloodshed. Yoren grabs Arya before she can reach her father and tells her not to look. Ned's own massive blade is brought out.
Everyone pleads for the madness to stop, and it has to -- doesn't it? This is the star of the show. This is the protagonist of the story. He can't die? Can he? Alas, it is soon clear that there will be no last minute reprieve for Eddard Stark. No sudden deus ex machina to save our hero. HBO really is about to kill off its leading man, once again daring to go where few networks tread -- fully willing to shoulder potential audience backlash in favor of undiluted storytelling. The sound dulls, becoming almost muted, placing us within Ned's state of mind as time slows down. He looks to Sansa, scans over the violent crowd, and then spots the statue of Baelor -- Arya now gone. At least he knows his daughter is safe. Deep, isolated breaths fill the soundtrack, easing us toward the inevitable tragedy. The sword is lifted. Ned looks down, accepting his fate. Arya closes her eyes. The blade descends, and the camera cuts away right as it slices cleanly through Ned's neck, giving us an almost subliminal hint of brutality that leaves most of the horror to our imagination. We see Arya, eyes closed. The sound of the sword slicing still fills the air. Birds take flight. The young girl looks up and sees them fly. Their soft, fluttering wings are all we hear. She closes her eyes and the screen gently fades to black. Perfectly paced, acted, shot, mixed and scored, the scene offers a tragic but powerful end for a truly memorable and beloved character. Though Eddard Stark is gone, his death and memory continue to have a lasting impact on the events of the show. In the end, with his daughters' lives on the line, Ned chooses love. It was the honorable thing to do.
We'll be back next month with some more of our favorite bookmarks, but for now, what do you think of these picks? What are some of your own favorite bookmarks?
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Aaron's All-Night Movie Marathon: Part 2
Wed Apr 25, 2012 at 08:00 PM ETTags: Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
The wild journey continues...
Last weekend, like any rational movie critic, Aaron Peck said to himself, "Hey, how cool would it be to do a 24-hour movie marathon?" This wasn't one of his better life decisions...
In case you missed the first part of Aaron's All-Night Movie Marathon you can read it right here.
It's now past midnight and Aaron is getting tired and fears hallucinations of a giant pink octopus. Oh, wait, that thing was real?
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#8 'Inglourious Basterds ': 153 min.
Time 12:40 am
Starting a movie after midnight is a surreal moment. Midnight is usually when I call it quits and head to bed. Starting a movie closer to 1:00 am is lunacy as far as I'm concerned.
I'm starting to feel tired now and don't know if I can take in another 2-hour plus movie, but I've started this madness, there's no way I'm going to quit now.
I tear off the shrink-wrap wondering why I haven't watched this Blu-ray until now. No matter, because as soon as the movie starts I'm sucked in. I forget that I'm slowly entering the early morning and instead I'm mesmerized by Christoph Waltz drinking milk in the most malicious way possible. I can't think of another opening scene in a movie that made me feel more unease than that of 'Inglourious Basterds.'
By this time my notes have gotten sparse. Earlier on I was jotting down everything that happened to me, but now my brain is starting to give up just a bit. It sure isn't with me when it comes to completing my task. It wants to go to bed desperately, but I told it to shut up by chugging another Redbull slushie.
The Numbers
15 hours and 23 minutes watched
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#9 'Thor': 114 min.
Time 3:15 am
My head is swimming by this time. I realize that my previous statement about starting a movie after midnight seems silly, since starting a movie after 3:00 am is when it really gets weird.
I'm seeing 'The Avengers' next week for a press screening so I thought 'Thor' would be a good refresher. I would've probably watched 'Iron Man' too, but it's buried somewhere in our mountain of moving boxes.
My notes have become pretty incoherent by now. I'm checking them now and I can barely make out something that says, "Imagining Kat Denning having something to do with science is just as hard as imagining that Blake Lively could be a fighter pilot." I also wrote, "Loki looks like a deranged beetle with that helmet." The funny thing is, I don't remember writing these things at all.
I did, however, make it all the way through 'Thor' without dozing off. Although, it's apparent that my brain wasn't really cooperating.
The Numbers
17 hours and 17 minutes watched
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#10 'No Strings Attached': 107 min.
Time: 5:07 am
I finished up with my shrink-wrapped pile with 'Thor.' It felt good to finally watch those movies that had been sitting on my shelves for months.
The sun was just peeking over the mountains outside, and that weirded me out a bit. I sat and stared out the window wondering where the darkness had gone. I can't remember the last time I was awake when the sun started rising.
With little left in the brain tank, only a will to keep on going, I dug my hand around in the box of movies and pulled out the Blu-ray of 'No Strings Attached.' The third movie starring Natalie Portman that I watched during my 24-hour movie marathon. I was too tired to think it was strangely coincidental.
The birds are starting to chirp outside my window now. Every movie after midnight is starting to blend together. Ashton Kutcher getting shot in a bank robbery. Al Pacino playing Hitler. Natalie Portman burning down a theater full of Nazis. It's all just a big bowl of movie soup in my head and it's about to spill out, all over the place.
Still, it was nice to take my mind off gunshots and explosions and take in a breezy comedy. It isn't a perfect movie but 'No Strings Attached' does have its moments and I laughed along with it. At least I thought I laughed. I also could've been having an out-of body experience. Even my big bowl of Malt-O-Meal Blueberry Mini-Spooners isn't enough to wrestle me from my tired funk.
The Numbers
19 hours and 4 minutes watched
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#11 'Serenity': 119 min.
Time: 6:57 am
Honestly, who watches movies before 7:00 am? That just doesn't make any sense.
My personal screening of 'Serenity' was brought to you by a delusion-fueled grab into the mighty moving box of movies. At least Nathan Fillion was able to keep me semi-lucid during the movie, although I did doze off a couple times. However, it was because of Ponyo that I was able to achieve my goal of getting through a full 24-hour cycle. Ponyo, sitting at my feet, licked my toes whenever I fell asleep, which jolted me back awake.
Another lesson I learned while watching 'Serenity' on 20 some odd hours of no sleep, don't watch science fiction when you're dead tired. You won't understand a thing. It's a good thing I've seen 'Serenity' or I wouldn't have known what was happening. Also, the giant pink octopus cartoon isn't conducive to a person who thinks he's hallucinating anyway.
The Numbers
21 hours and 3 minutes watched
Eight o'clock was rolling around. At least I think that's what time it was, until my body literally couldn’t take any more. My butt had been numbed out of existence from sitting on my couch for that long. I tried to muster the strength to watch at least one more movie, but I couldn't. The marathon was over.
To quote Al Pacino from 'Heat,' "Because she's got a GREAT ASS!!!" wait, no. "I'm going to sleep for a month!"
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Aaron's All-Night Movie Marathon: Part 1
Wed Apr 25, 2012 at 04:00 PM ETTags: Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
The weekend was approaching and my wife had informed me she was taking off to go to her mother's house for the weekend. She was taking our young son with her. I was going to be all alone. So... Last weekend, like any rational movie critic, I said to myself, "Hey, how cool would it be to do a 24-hour movie marathon?" This wasn't one of my better life decisions.
Before sitting down to watch a stack of movies, one after the other, I took my dog Ponyo out for her morning walk. When my chain-smoking neighbor's dogs tried to attack poor little Ponyo I should've recognized it as a bad omen and quit right there. It was too late though. I'd told everyone I knew. I'd even announced it on the High-Def Digest Facebook page. There was no turning back.
I tried to allay my fears about how grueling a task this was going to be by remembering back to a time where I, along with a group of my friends, spent all night at the local bowling alley during a specially planned all-nighter. What I failed to realize is that it's easier to stay awake when you have people to talk to.
I had made a run to the store and gotten all the essentials for my 24-hour movie binge. Atop the list I had written in big bold letters, "CAFFEINE!" I know people say to stay away from caffeine if you're trying to stay awake for long periods of time because of the inherent crash that comes afterward, but that only happens if you stop drinking it. Advantage, me! I stocked up on other movie-watching necessities, like microwave popcorn and Cheetos. So I could feel good about myself I did buy a bag of carrots to munch on, but I only touched them once.
My top choice for a caffeine drink is Total Zero Redbull, but drinking it over and over can get pretty old. So, if any of you are planning on an all-nighter and need something yummy to drink/wake you up, here's a little recipe for you.
Rasberry Redbull Wake-up Juice Slushie
1 can Redbull (8.4 oz. can)
1 cup Simply Raspberry Lemonade
3 – 5 good-sized ice cubes
Combine ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Add a quarter of lime after blending if desired.
Now you have a wonderful slushie full of all the caffeine you'll need to take in countless numbers of movies. Plus, it tastes like raspberries, but with a kick.
With my caffeine blended and my munchies readied, I sat down on my couch and prepared myself for an entire day of movies.
 |
#1 'Shame': 101 min.
Time: 10:15 am
My first movie was 'Shame,' which seemed very strange watching it at 10:00 am. I don't know why. This seems like a movie that you should be watching in a darkened basement at 2:00 am somewhere.
I could hear the kids next door playing in their backyard while I watched Michael Fassbender navigate a life of emotionless sexual conquests and a steady stream of hookers filling up his lonely nights. It was all just too weird.
The movie, however, is a fascinating study of sex addiction and what it could/does do to a person. I've seen 'Shame' twice now and both times I've come away with the same conflicted thought, "I never want to see that movie again, but I really need to watch it again to make sure I understood everything that happened."
Fassbender got a ton of praise for his part (heh), and rightly so. Carey Mulligan on the other hand didn't get nearly as much talk about her performance which in my opinion is as good as, or better than, Fassbender's. Her musical solo in the middle of the film is heart-breaking and hauntingly effective in providing insight into the broken characters of Brandon and Sissy.
Seriously, see 'Shame' if you can. It's tough to stomach at first, but you may find yourself wanting to watch it again right after you've finished. Do I want to watch it again? Not really. Will I watch it again? Almost definitely.
The Numbers
1 hour 41 minutes watched
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#2 'Splintered': 88 min.
Time: 11:54 am
Okay, truth be told, I don't do well with horror movies, especially when I'm alone. That's why I decided to watch 'Splintered,' a low-budget horror movie from across the pond, early in the day. That way the light streaming in through the windows would relieve many of the fears I'd undoubtedly have during the movie.
I have another confession to make. I judge horror movies by their covers more than any other genre. I can feel my brain tensing up whenever I see an overly bloody, or scary-looking movie cover. That's why the cover of 'Splintered' (see above) made me think it was scarier than it really was. It looked like a torture porn title. A sub-section of films that I never seek out because I simply don't like them.
My fears were soon put to rest when I stuck in 'Splintered' and found a cliché-ridden mess of a movie. Almost like the filmmakers wrote as many horror movie clichés as they could on a piece of paper, tore it up, and picked the remnants, one-by-one from a bowl deciding which cliché to use next.
A group of teenagers head into the woods (sound familiar?) to track down a mysterious thing that has been killing animals (these kids are smart I tell ya). They spend the next 80 minutes wandering off on their own even after wondering if splitting up is the best idea (idiots). They decide calling the cops would be completely silly, even after they find dead people (oh dear). And the worst part of it is that they play it all straight-faced like this is the scariest movie that has ever been made. These guys needed to watch 'Tucker and Dale vs. Evil' before they made their movie. That would've solved so many problems.
The Numbers
3 hours and 9 minutes watched
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#3 'Beautiful Wave': 96 min.
Time: 1:50 pm
A new restaurant just opened a couple blocks from my house. It's tucked away in the middle of a neighborhood. If someone didn’t tell you that it was there you'd never know it existed. It's called Herm's Inn. A breakfast and lunch place that serves pancakes the size of manhole covers. I ordered some takeout from them for lunch. A tasty tuna melt smothered with jalapenos and served with a side of spicy potatoes.
As I chowed down on my tuna melt I stuck in the third movie of the day. Another screener which I had to watch in order to review. The cover of 'Beautiful Wave' shows a spunky teenage girl hoisting up her surfboard in triumph. My feeling when I saw this was, "Ugh. How many coming-of-age surfer movies can realistically be made?"
This is one of those movies that is so proud of its title that it repeats it at least 42 times during the movie, each time with even more emphasis than the last. It's the story of a young girl trying to find herself as she learns to surf. It wasn't fair that I watched this movie so early in the day since it started putting me to sleep before I was even tired. There's nothing more lonely than watching a bad movie alone.
'Beautiful Wave' exhibits a distinct formula for frustrating its viewer: one shot of a rolling wave, one shot of a contemplating face staring off into the distance, all followed by musical surfing montages. Wash, rinse, repeat, yawn.
The Numbers
4 hours and 45 minutes watched
 |
#4 'Walking Tall': 124 min.
Time: 3:25 pm
A sigh of relief came over me when 'Beautiful Wave' ended. It was time to move onto something that I was sure to like, and what's not to like about a vigilante sheriff named Buford Pusser. When Pusser runs for the office of sheriff in his small town, I couldn't help but think that today someone with that last name would be unelectable, then I remembered Anthony Weiner got elected, so I guess Pusser has as much a chance as anyone with a hilarious last name.
Pusser doesn't take law breaking lightly and he abhors douchbag criminals, probably because they remind him of the kids who used to pick on him at school because of his last name. So, Pusser fashions a giant stick and walks around town beatin' on people.
Fight choreography has come a long way since the 70s. So have effective props. There are a few times where Pusser's law-keeping stick bends as he swings it, like he's swinging a giant Styrofoam tube painted like wood. I also had to laugh around the 23:00 minute mark when the camera dolly noticeably rolls over something big on accident. The whole frame bounces up and down, while a loud KER-CHUNK can be heard in the audio.
The Numbers
6 hours and 49 minutes watched
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#5 'Blade of Kings': 106 min.
Time: 5:40 pm
I never, ever want to see 'Blade of Kings' ever again. If you ever show up on my doorstep with that movie in your hand I'm going to go all Pusser on you (I know, I chuckled at that phrasing too) and start beating you with my giant stick.
Good God, what an awful movie experience. Imagine if the SyFy Channel decided that they were going to do a martial arts film, but that's not all. This martial arts film would also feature comedy! I couldn't tell what was worse. The hackneyed special effects of people flipping through the air, or the acting.
The most fun I had watching this movie was when I was teaching my dog Ponyo to sit up before I'd give her a piece of the carrots I was eating. Yeah, she loves carrots. We still have no idea why she loves carrots, but she can't get enough of them. All it takes is one loud snap of a carrot breaking in your mouth and Ponyo is right there, under your feet, looking up at you with those big puppy dog eyes, begging for a crunchy morsel.
Sorry, what were we talking about? I forget. Let's move on.
The Numbers
8 hours and 35 minutes watched
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#6 'Camel Spiders': 85 min.
Time: 7:30 pm
When I attend the Sundance Film Festival I'm able to take in five movies on a good day, but it's always tough. Four is usually my max. So when I was pulling out my sixth movie, which was a screener for 'Camel Spiders' that I've been dodging for a few weeks now, I couldn't help but feel a bit dejected. I'm coming up on my movie watching record for simultaneous movies in a row and I'm trying to take on a movie called 'Camel Spiders' right in the middle of that feat? Truthfully, I thought this movie would doom me.
I had already started feeling a bit shut in and claustrophobic. A friend or two said they might stop by, but no one did. Apparently, they knew I'd be watching 'Camel Spiders' and fled. There I was, alone. Only Ponyo to keep me company, but even she wanted nothing to do with this idiotic movie. She scurried from the couch and made herself at home by the open front door, feeling the breeze coming in from the screen.
I gulped, sighed, and stuck it in. At first I thought live-blogging the movie would be a good idea. At least it would keep me busy, but I soon realized that the movie was even too stupid for that. You know a movie is bad when it's preceded with a trailer for 'Metal Shifters.'
I hate spiders. I absolutely loathe them. So, even though the movie's effects were one-step up from paper cut-outs of spiders scuttling across the screen, I still jumped when Ponyo brushed against my leg late into the movie. Then I was glad no one was around to see it.
My favorite part of the movie though was how the movie's "scientists" kept saying "They aren't really spiders, check out their legs. There's only six of them." Then we'd see a non-spider spider crawling along the ground with what appear to be eight legs plus two giant pincers up front. I wonder if they even let the special effects guy read the script. Or if there was a script at all.
The Numbers
10 hours watched
 |
#7 'Heat': 170 min.
Time 9:20
It was starting to get late, and it was starting to hit me that I was only just over halfway through with my marathon. I decided to take a short break and shower. Our swamp coolers haven't been turned on yet since winter, so all that was keeping me cool from the 75-degree weather outside was an anemic ceiling fan and the occasional licks from Ponyo. To put it lightly, I didn't feel all that fresh after marinating for that long.
I decided to stop with the screeners and dug out three movies from my collection that have worn shrink wrap since I bought them. They're all packed away in boxes since we're moving in a couple weeks, so I had to dig to find the still shrink-wrapped movies. Luckily I pulled out three worthy titles. The first to come out of the box was 'Heat,' followed by 'Thor,' and 'Inglourious Basterds.'
It was a bit daunting starting a near 3-hour movie at 9:00 pm. I remember renting 'Heat' at the local video store. I probably did so four or five times in my youth. It was the time of VHS, and 'Heat' was one of the rentals that came in a VHS 2-pack. Every time I watch it I have a feeling of accomplishment wash over me because I remember feeling the very same way after finishing the second VHS tape. Two VHS tapes, that was a big deal.
I've seen the movie so many times that there's no reason to talk discuss the movie as a whole. Instead I wanted to focus on random things I noticed this time around.
- Remember when Robert De Niro did good movies and actually seemed like a guy that could kick anyone's ass? Yeah, those days are over. Sorry.
- Remember when we thought the very same thing about Al Pacino? Dammit!
- Remember when Val Kilmer was still considered a sexy dude and didn't look like he'd just raided the craft services table on set?
- I had totally forgotten that Natalie Portman was in this movie.
- Remember when Tom Siezmore was a somewhat respectable actor/citizen?
- I like revisiting 'Heat' if only for that huge gunfight. Why can't gunfights be more like that in today's movies? There was a gunfight/action scene that actually had a keen awareness of its geographical space. You could always tell where the bank robbers were relative to the cops. And there's no damn shaky-cam!
- Pacino's eyes bugging out when he says, "Because she's got a GREAT ASS!!!" is the single best moment in the entire movie.
The Numbers
12 hours and 50 minutes watched
Stay tuned for Part 2...
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Bonus View Digest - April 6, 2012
Fri Apr 06, 2012 at 02:00 PM ETTags: The Bonus View Digest, The Bonus View, Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
How was your first week of April? We had a busy one over at The Bonus View! In case you missed anything, we have it all encapsulated here in one easily digestible recap of The Bonus View. This week we covered everything from new theatrical releases, to the premieres of new television seasons. So sit back, relax, and let us guide you through the high-def extravaganza of the week that was.
TV Madness
The battles rage on as iconic television characters go head-to-head in a giant battle-to-the-death tournament. On Monday we had a very close call between Eric Northman of 'True Blood' and John Locke from 'Lost.' In the end Locke ended up pulling it out, but just barely. In the other matchup the universe's most famous Klingon, Worf, pummeled Al Capone into submission.
On Wednesday, Michael Knight from 'Knight Rider' was pitted against the world's scariest drug dealer, Omar Little from 'The Wire.' Needless to say, Little demolished him. In the other Wednesday matchup we have a very close race which is too close to call at the moment. Angel and Sarah Walker from 'Chuck' are only separated by one vote right now. So make sure to go cast your vote there because every vote counts.
Blu-ray News
If you're into collectible steelbook packaging then Tom has a few posts that you might want to read. First, check out the new Future Shop steelbook for 'Underworld: Awakening' and then head on over to see if Play.com's new 'Alien Anthology' steelbook strikes your fancy.
If you're just looking for suggestions on what to buy this week then Josh has every Blu-ray release hitting store shelves in his weekly Blu-ray Highlights post.
Theatrical News
Luke already saw this week's new movies so you can know what you should see this weekend. Find out if the new 'American Pie' movie 'American Reunion' is worth your time and box office dollars. Also, find out what Luke thought of Morgan Spurlock's new geek-centric documentary 'Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.'
Wondering about upcoming releases? We're getting close to the summer movie season and E has a few trailers in this week's Trailer Park that you might want to take a look at. The new trailer for the remake of 'Total Recall' has finally been released. If you need your sci-fi with a bit of odd-ball humor then maybe you should check out 'Iron Sky.' Nazis attacking from the dark side of the moon, what could be better, right?
Also, we all know that you've been dying to see who won big at the Razzies. In case you didn't hear the outcomes, Josh has a complete rundown of the event which honors the worst that Hollywood has to offer.
TV Recaps
This week we covered a couple of TV's big season premieres. Check out Aaron's thoughts on 'The Killing's season two premiere, along with what Josh thought of 'Game of Thrones' season premiere. We also have recaps of 'Fringe,' and 'Awake' if you're looking to find out about what's on TV.
Special Features
In last Friday's Weekend Roundtable we discussed our favorite dystopian films. What are yours? Please let us know.
In the Mid-Week Poll we wanted to find out where you buy most of your Blu-rays. Is it online or at a physical store?
Well, that's it for this week. As always we thank you, dear readers, because without you none of this would be possible. Have a great weekend and we'll see you back here on The Bonus View bright and early Monday morning to continue talking about anything and everything related to high definition entertainment.
HDD Interviews Morgan Spurlock and His 'Comic-Con' Star Holly Conrad
Fri Apr 06, 2012 at 12:45 PM ETTags: Luke Hickman, Fun Stuff (all tags)
by Luke Hickman
Note: Since we talk specifics about 'Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope' in the following interview, it might be wise to read my review of the film in the Bonus View section of the site first.
When the world's biggest geektastic comic book convention, Comic-Con, is held in San Diego, California each year, those of us who do not attend typically only hear about the stuff that goes on in Hall H – the celebrity-filled movie-centric frenzy. What we don't get to see is what goes on at the rest of "The Con" – which is exactly what the exceptional documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is showing us in 'Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope.'
Spurlock is a major comic book geek. His passion for the convention shines throughout the film even though he doesn't make a single appearance in front of the camera. While he's usually front and center for his docs, this time around he's letting everyone else convey their love for The Con, since these are his equals in geekdom. There is a great amount of interview footage with celebrity geeks in attendance, but the majority of the film follows six specific fans attending Comic-Con with unique purposes. Joining Spurlock for this interview is one of the six main "characters," Holly Conrad, an aspiring make-up and costume designer who went to The Con to show off her unique homemade and animatronic costumes of the main characters from 'Mass Effect 2.' Enjoy!
HDD – Luke Hickman: Hello, Morgan! Let me start off by telling you that I really enjoyed the film. I want to know how you chose the six main attendees that you followed and if there are any plans to follow them around Comic-Con again in the future.
Morgan Spurlock: We basically put out a big casting call - once we knew the movie was happening - using mailing lists from The Con and other cons. Ain't It Cool News – Harry Knowles, who was an executive producer on the film – sent out a blast about the casting call via his site. Then we just got bombarded with about two thousand people sending letters and videos, wanting to be in the film. And from there we whittled it down to stories of people who were going to achieve certain goals, or to make sure that certain things didn't happen – like with Chuck Rozanski wanting to make sure that his business was going to stay afloat in light of the faltering paper comic book business. We just wanted to make sure that we found the most interesting folks. I think the cast that we got was really amazing. We got fortunate with the people we got – with Holly, Skip and Eric, Anthony Calderon … With this year we will probably try and shoot with a couple people. It will kind of depend. What I'm hoping is that we can have a few big screenings of the film at Comic-Con. If that happens, we will definitely shoot that and the Q&As after. We will probably do some checking in [with the characters] over time. That's the thing – Holly's career has just taken off in the two years since we shot with her. To see what happens with her post-this film, I think, is going to be really really exciting.
HDD: Being someone who attends Comic-Con each year, how did you manage to fly under the radar and keep people from knowing what you were doing?
Morgan Spurlock: I think that people knew we were making a movie. Anyone who lives in that community or submitted videos knew there was a film being shot, but we didn't make a lot of noise about it. I don't make a lot of noise about most films I make just so that it doesn't cause a lot of distraction. I try to keep things under wrap as much as we can with the exception of, you know, telling who we need to tell to get it executed. It wasn't like we had one or two people – we had a crew of 150 people making this movie. It was the biggest crew I've ever had in my life. We had 15 full-time cameramen, another ten field producers with them that, at any point, could pick up a second camera. There were anywhere between 15 and 27 cameras rolling at once. We shot 650 hours over the six days – a day on each side of The Con. There was a lot going on, so it wasn't like we were invisible. Lucky, 150 in a field of 150,000 is still very small.
HDD: How did it feel to not be in your movie?
Morgan Spurlock: It felt fantastic! It was great! I highly recommend it! (laughs) I'll do it as often as I can. With this film, we went to a lot of investors trying to make this movie and there were a lot of people who said, "We will give you the money to make this film – but only if you're going to be in it." I was like, "Well, great – but we'll find the money somewhere else." We basically walked until we found an investment team that wanted to get behind the movie that we wanted to make, that wasn't going to force us into making something that we didn't believe in. With this film – I'm a fan. And I am very obsessive over certain things in this culture. But there are people who are much more emblematic of this kind of passion than I am. We wanted to make sure that those were the people who were front and center in the movie. It was the right choice.
HDD: How do you feel about the comic book aspect of The Con dying off a little bit?
Morgan Spurlock: The only aspect of The Con that's dying off is people buying physical paper comics – just like every book store in America is dying off. Barnes and Nobles are going away, as are Borders bookstores. People just don't buy print comics. I read more comics now than I ever have in my life. As an adult, I download and read more comics on my iPad than I ever did as a kid because it's even quicker to get them. I don't have to go to a comic shop, I can go right online and buy five comics without ever leaving my apartment. The accessibility and interest level in comics is greater than ever before and it's reaching an ever grander audience. What is dying is people buying paper anything. For me, I think that side of The Con is an argument that is a bit insular in its viewpoint.
HDD: In the film, you touch on how Hollywood, television and video games have been dominating The Con over the last few years. How do you feel about the balance shift in that direction.
Morgan Spurlock: You have to think. The DC booth is still one of the biggest boots that's there – as is the Marvel booth. The Dark Horse booth is a big booth. ... The smaller artists on comic alley are always going to have smaller booths and a smaller presence because they don't have the dollars to jump up and be as loud as someone else. The people always say – and this is something that I don't completely agree with – "Movies are completely dominating Comic-Con now." Hollywood dominates the press of Comic-Con now; they don't dominate Comic-Con itself. If you go to Comic-Con Hall H, which is where they do these large movie teasers – which holds 6,000 people – there's still 144,000 people at The Con that aren't in Hall H. The movie portion is still a smaller portion of the giant con, it just dominates the media because Angelina Jolie just showed up for a press conference and what are you going to write about? You're going to write about Angelina Jolie showing up for a press conference. That's news – much more than the small comic book purveyor who's launching his new title. For me, I think that comics are still part of this – and they're still recognized as part of it – but it becomes a financial battle at that point. You're never going to win a battle against Rockstar Games. They have the biggest video game title in the world, so what you do is think, 'How can I still offer unique and creative opportunities to these people?' That's the thing, they (meaning the heads of the convention) easily could have gotten rid of these people years ago. If Comic-Con didn't care about comics and just cared about making money, then they would have gotten rid of these smaller places and let in the big giant studios and just let them dominate The Con. I think that [Comic-Con] recognizes that the heart is still those folks and that's why they are still dedicated to making sure they have a presence.
HDD: Holly, can you tell me how working with Morgan Spurlock has changed your career? I noticed on your website that you have some big projects coming. Can you talk about some of those?
Holly Conrad: After the movie was filmed, we were still pretty much trying to make it. It was off-and-on, so I ended up moving to L.A. and getting out of San Bernardino – which was nice. [Me and my team] ended up going to Bioware and making a bunch of suits for [them], which was really cool. We did the live-action trailer for them ... and a few official Femshep costumes, so I got to walk around as Femshep, which was very cool. Pretty much, it's just been freelance things. I just did a project with (inaudible) and got to do production design and make monsters. I'm, more or less, just looking for more cool design positions like that in the future. I'm still doing what I love to do while still trying to make it.
HDD: During the close of 'A Fan's Hope,' it says that you're working on the 'Mass Effect' film. Can you talk about that?
Holly Conrad: Obviously, it takes a while for these things, so once it actually does get into motion, I'll be hoping that I get to learn more about [my job] because it's going to awesome once it actually does go forward.
HDD: Do you have a comment about the controversy of the 'Mass Effect 3' ending that's been all over the internet lately?
Holly: That's actually a big deal. It's been all over my feed recently. I've been meaning to make a video about it. I think, honestly, that people are jumping the gun on the ending. How I feel about it is that we haven't really seen how Bioware is going to conclude everything. Maybe they'll add a DLC, maybe they'll have another game. We just don't know. Being upset about an ending, I understand. I cared about the characters as well, but I think there's a lot more to it that people are jumping the gun for. We should just wait it out and have fun playing the game. (laughs)
HDD: Thanks! Morgan, did you use any product placement to fund 'Comic-Con?'
Morgan Spulock: Yeah. Didn't you see? The whole thing was brought to you by DC and Marvel! (laughs) Oh, and George Lucas and Lucasfilm, apparently! (laughs) I remember when we first started making this film - we were also in the process of finishing 'The Greatest Movie' - you would just walk into the building and think, 'This is a clearance nightmare. We're not going to worry about any of that. There's no way.' … Once we got permission from The Con to shoot there, all of that got piggy-backed in – which was great. Could you imagine having to try clearing a movie like this? I would take you ten years!
HDD: Was it easy getting all of the celebrity interviews for the film?
Morgan Spurlock: The minute we knew we were going to The Con, we got the book with all of the scheduled panels, trying to see who would be there. We just started chasing them immediately, calling their agents, calling their managers, calling their publicists. The response was overwhelming. Most people said yes. There were some people who said no – like maybe if it was somebody who was there to promote a studio film who, when they're there, have a very limited window of what they want to accomplish that usually has to do with a release that's coming out in the next two to three weeks or two to three months, so they're doing nothing but press that's going to drive to that window – but most of the folks that we got on there were people who had a real relationship with Comic-Con in the past and could speak legitimately and openly, as well as heart-warmingly, about their experiences there.
HDD: How was it going from weightier content to something fun and playful like 'The Greatest Movie' and this?
Morgan Spurlock: This is something that I'm passionate about. This film spoke to every little bit of fanboy inside of me, every bit of my geek obsessions, so to get to make a film like this – not only make a film like this but get to make it with Stan Lee, with Joss Whedon, with Harry Knowles – it was a dream come true. To have things fall into place the way they did, to have the cast that we did, to get the access that we did – it was a really special project in so many ways. I felt very fortunate to get to make this movie.
HDD: How did you get this great list of producers?
Morgan Spurlock: The whole idea of the film came from a conversation that I had with Stan Lee. It was Comic-Con 2009, I had just been hired to make 'The Simpsons' 20th anniversary special for Fox, so we were down there casting 'Simpsons' superfans. We were trying to find people who could come out and wax rhapsodic about their passion and love for all things Homer. That night – Friday night of that Con – I went to a party and met Stan Lee. I went to Stan just to tell him how much he changed my life as a kid, how I read his comic books in West Virginia growing up basically gave me the courage to tell my own stories, how they motivated me to want to be a creative person, and he was like, (in a Stan Lee voice) "Oh, Morgan, thanks! That's really nice of you. You know, we should make a movie together. We should make a documentary! We should make a documentary about Comic-Con!" And I was like, "That's a great idea Mr. Lee! That's amazing!" (laughs) I literally took it to heart. (laughs) I met his producing partner Gil Champion and literally five minutes later I said, "Stan and I are talking about producing a movie together." He goes, "Listen. If you want to do that, we're in." So I saw Peter Micelli, an agent for CAA also at the party, and he said, "How was it meeting Stan?" I go, "It was incredible. We want to make a movie about Comic-Con." He's like, "Great! You should meet my other client who's coming into town tomorrow." Cut to tomorrow and I'm having breakfast with Joss Whedon. I said, "Stan's in. Here's the movie we want to make …" and we fleshed out the idea a little more – we want to follow people into Comic-Con and tell a little more of their experiences. Joss is like, "I love it. I'm in." And I literally went from my breakfast with Joss to find my friend Mark Wytullarde who is on the board of directors for Comic-Con. I called him up and said, "Where are you? I want to come find you." So I found him, told him that we want to make this film, that Stan Lee's on-board, Joss Whedon's on-board, here's what we want to make the movie about, and he goes, "Listen. I've worked for Comic-Con now for the past two decades and literally every year someone has come forward wanting to make a movie and we've said no – but this time it just might work." Lo and behold, a year later we are there making the movie. It was remarkable.
HDD: That's an awesome story. Thank you!
Morgan Spurlock: You're welcome. And thank you!
HDD: For all of our readers abroad, is there currently a plan to release the film outside the United States?
Morgan Spurlock: Absolutely! We're going to be announcing an international plan for this very soon. Right now it's just a domestic release, but the film is going to go international very very soon.
HDD: What's up next for you?
Morgan Spurlock: My next film, which we're finishing now, will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21. It is a movie that we did with Will Arnett and Jason Bateman that looks at the magical world of manscaping, called 'Mansome.'
HDD: (laughs) I can't wait!
Morgan Spurlock: (laughs) It's special. It will be a very special film.
HDD: Who came up with that idea?
Morgan Spurlock: I think that idea was cooked up between Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Ben Silverman, then they roped me and I said, "That is a great idea. I'm in."
'Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope' is now playing in select cities, but will be expanding over the next several weeks.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Bonus View Digest - March 30, 2012
Fri Mar 30, 2012 at 03:40 PM ETTags: Bonus View Digest, Aaron Peck, The Bonus View, Fun Stuff (all tags)
Where'd March go? This month has just flown by if you ask me. Even though time seems to be fast-forwarding on us, we were still able to crank out a lot of exciting posts this week. This week had a bit of everything. TV Madness is going steady as new characters punch their tickets to the next round. Check out everything you may have missed below.
TV Madness
This week featured some interesting matchups. We had a couple of lopsided matchups. Malcolm Reynolds easily took out Shane from 'The Walking Dead.' While Ben Linus outsmarted Christopher Chance.
Then we had the war of the world's most famous FBI agents. Fox Mulder went up against Dale Cooper. Mulder pulled out the win with much chagrin from the Cooper fans. In the other matchup, Buffy the Vampire Slayer easily defeated young Indiana Jones.
Today's matchup is another doozy. You get to pick who is going to win between 'Deadwood's Al Swearengen and 'Rome's Titus Pullo. After trying to figure out who will win in that matchup you have another hard choice in voting for either Detective Sonny Crockett or Jarod from 'The Pretender.'
Home Theater News
Josh took a look at after-the-fact 3D conversion gear, most specifically a new box called the 3D-Bee. Is this the 3D box for you? Check out what Josh has to say about it.
Theatrical News
This week Luke saw and reviewed quite a few movies which are opening today. Check out reviews for 'Mirror, Mirror,' 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,' and 'Wrath of the Titans.'
TV Recaps
'The Killing' starts its second season on Sunday. Aaron took a bit of time to write down his thoughts on the end of the first season and why he is mildly excited for the show's second season. What do you think? Will you be tuning it to see what happens? Take the poll.
Other recaps include 'Awake,' 'Fringe,' and two recaps of 'Alcatraz.'
Special Features
This week's Mid-Week Poll we asked how old your TV set is, while in The Weekend Roundtable we talked about crazy cinematic cross-overs and what it would be like to see them happen. Finally, don't forget to check out this week's Critical Mass. Luke and Aaron argue whether or not 'The Descendants' was really a great film. Luke liked it; Aaron didn't think it was worthy of all the hype it got. Make sure to take the poll and voice your opinion.
Thanks for joining us here on The Bonus View. Another month has sailed by, but it's been fun all the same.
MORE BLU-RAY NEWS TAGGED "FUN STUFF":
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