A polarizing element

Not since the likes of people such as Richard Dawkins, Barack Obama, George Lucas or maybe even Adolf Hitler, have I seen a person of celebrity notoriety as polarizing as Kevin Smith. You probably know Kevin Smith. Savant indie film maker, turned low-brow comedy laced-with-underlying-social-commentary movie writer/director/producer, turned twitter icon, turned podcaster, turned podcasting network runner, turned internet radio host. That's without mentioning his comic book work and the hinted at forthcoming television talk show. Kevin Smith, after his two decades in show business, almost has to have made a bleep on any pop-culture aficionado's radar in some kind of context since his indie film project 'Clerks' hit it big back in 1994.

Smith's film work is varied, funny, relatable and speaks to a generation in a way that movies from film makers like John Hughes or Cameron Crowe might have in their heyday. Despite his commercial and critical success, however, Smith seems to divide audiences and critics alike, no matter what area of pop-culture he's trying to tackle. Listen to his morning internet radio show, 'Plus One Per Diem', and there's a good chance you'll hear Smith rile against bloggers, critics or journalists that have personally attacked him, miss-represented the truth, or conducted themselves in a way that warrants Smith himself to publicly tell them that they're 'bad at their jobs'. It seems that Kevin Smith has had a love/hate relationship with writers and journalists, despite a vast and enthusiastic fan base, his whole career. Most of the criticism seems to be focused on his ability as a director, his some might say 'shameless' self-promotion, or that he, somewhere along the line, has 'sold out' as a film maker. Smith seems to, at times, take it all in his stride, at other times he seems to take it all very personally. Never the less, it's interesting to hear a Hollywood film maker address his personal and professional criticisms straight from the horses mouth, as it were.

Enter the January 2011 Sundance Film Festival, held in Park City, Utah. If Smith detractors had some things to say about the man before, they certainly did after his announcements there. Smith's latest film 'Red State' debuted at Sundance, and so did Smith's public plan for the release of the movie. Leading up to the festival Smith had stated that he would auction the rights to his movie to the highest bidding distributor, but following the Sundance screening, Smith announced on stage that he was going to self-distribute the picture, sending opinions and speculation over the whole project into overdrive. 'Kevin Smith was imploding' was one notorious opinion that was circling the internet. Distributors that were at the screening were vocally unhappy, the internet seemed to swell with Smith criticism, and there was a growing opinion that Smith had 'alienated' Hollywood. In all the controversy it was almost easy to forget that Red State itself was a genuinely interesting looking film, it looked like a major departure from everything Smith had previously written and directed, and that there was an excited Kevin Smith and Smodcast fanbase that just wanted to see the movie.



The Red State saga, which is still playing out via Smodcast network podcasts, Kevin Smith blogs and Sir internet radio broadcasts, is interesting to say the least. It would have made pretty amazing documentary fodder if a doco film crew had been there along the way. Smith's self-distribution model is something that hasn't really been seen since the golden age of cinema, when film makers had to take their film's out on the road, touring from city to city, spreading the word like apostolate preachers. Kevin Smith buses all over America and Canada, other parts of the world to follow, showing his film and giving Q & A's afterwards, interacting with his fanbase on a personal level that Hollywood seems to have forgotten somewhere along the way. Smiths mantra is that there is no need to spend millions of dollars promoting a movie through standard channels; tv, billboards, radio et cetera. Instead he uses his podcast network, his websites and fan word of mouth to get promotion for Red State out there.

Personally, I don't really understand the level of criticism that's directed at Smith. It seems like a genuine way for a passionate artist to get his work to the people that want to see it, and I can't remember ever being so interested in the promotion of a film. It's been an entertaining experience in and of itself hearing the Red State saga play out via the Smodcast network. There have been dramas with foreign distributors setting up press screenings despite Smith vowing not to give his movie away to critics for free, creating some genuinely interesting talk from Smith himself. There are instances where Smith has publicly dressed down bloggers and film critics that have attacked him and Red State, something I have never heard a film maker do on the record. I've never even seen Red State but to a movie lover it's been very interesting to be privy to it's birth, adolescence and all the up's and down's along the way. I'm looking forward to when it finally reached maturity and gets a world-wide release so I can see it down here in Oz.

Face your demons

Just in case you missed it, I recently interviewed Tommy Larkin and Ryan McCalla, the two creative forces behind the upcoming 'Inner Demons' web series.

Next I got a chance to shoot a few questions at some of the actors behind the series. Three of them in fact. Mark Stevens, Tony Rahme and Tim Reuben, or as you will get to see them in the forthcoming first series; Mephisto, Blackout and Sparky.



What attracted you to acting?

Mark: The sum of a life of polemic experiences... this is what I do.

Tony: Ever since I was a kid, I played the lead role of Jonah in my school play in front of a crowd of hundreds, and I aced it. Ever since then, I've just loved the idea of taking on a different character for a short time.

Tim: I've always wanted to act since I was a kid. I love the places it takes me and the challenges it presents me with.



How did you get involved with Inner Demons?

Mark: Casting call on StarNow(great site) to which I responded; Hello, My age precludes Me from applying directly for the only role I desire..... Mephisto. I do a thousand years in hell real good. Give me hell and I`ll give you a truly outstanding Mephisto. Regards, Mark.

Tony: A: It was through the StarNow website that I found the auditions - and after reading the concept and the short character bibliography, I thought it was role that suited me and applied for it.

Tim: I auditioned for Inner Demons soon after graduating from acting school. I was totally sold on the idea of playing a super hero and getting to teleport.


How was your initial approach to your character? Did your attitude towards the character change at all between script and performance?

Mark: One of admiration and empathy! That's not changed...

Tony: Surprisingly enough, my character and I have so much in common, it's beyond the joke. The physical structure, the core beliefs, even my characters job and the incident where he discovers his powers - these are all things that made me question whether Tommy or Ryan were in fact stalking me for some time before they made this character... All in good humor, of course.

Tim: I found the character quite quickly and have basically stuck with it. Tommy and Ryan's writing is often very detailed, which really helps you access and deliver what they're looking for.


Do you have to spend a lot of time getting inside your character's skin, or is it an easy, natural process for you?

Mark: I have a method. I close my eyes, visualize the loop of infinity and allow the universe in. Click.

Tony: It's pretty easy, seeing as Blackout and I do have a lot in common. The only difficulty is toning my natural self down to suit the quiet nature of my character, when I am very much the extrovert.

Tim: I think of Sparky as a part of myself. I just find that fun playful part of myself and bring it out.


How is it working with Tommy and Ryan?

Mark: Motivating. You wanna work with them, they value our input. Gotta love a couple of guys following their dream.

Tony: Without trying to sound like a crawler, I would have to say freaking awesome! They're both patient; they know that the cast are not a bunch of mind readers; they're always willing to help out in any way shape and form - pretty much, they are the epitome of a couple of Top Blokes.

Tim: Great. They're both so informed about the technical aspects of film making that you feel you're in safe hands. They also are incredibly trusting and give us a lot of creative freedom.


Are you a horror fan?

Mark: Not particularly. Good story fan. Okay, with a dark thread......

Tony: Kind of and not really... Like I'd watch a horror movie, but it would really have to grab my attention. I'm probably more thriller than horror though.

Tim: Horror? Ahhhhh! I love the idea of horror movies but I get scared so easily. The last horror I went to see at the movies I had to sneak out of. I then snuck into Harry Potter. That's about all the horror I can handle.


If you can say without spoiling anything, do you have a favourite scene or moment from Inner Demons?

Mark: Seeing expressions on cast and crew faces after shooting very last scene of season 1... heh heh heh!

Tony: Can't really say... We have awesome actors all around, the directing and photography always looks perfect. But from what I've seen, I reckon the opening of Episode 3 would have to be my favorite so far.

Tim: I got to shoot an amazing fight scene against a stack of demons recently. I'd been training for a few weeks in Krav Maga which was so cool!


How do you feel about independent film in Australia? Is acting work abundant or pretty hard to find?

Mark: Love the personal input associated with indie productions. Seems to be some salacious projects out there (for a character actor with a dark streak). Sites like StarNow are a gift...

Tony: It varies really... One minute there is more work than you can handle, next minute you're bartending for three months until your next gig.

Tim: I think Australia produces great film work, but it is hard to come by.


Are there any actors you could point at as big inspirations for you?

Mark: Mark Gattis, Johnny depp, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman.

Tony: Yeah, several really; The old action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lungred - these boys were muscle heads that had to deliver pretty damned well on screen. Hugo Weaving - after V for Vendetta, how can you NOT love him?! Hugh Jackman and Heath Ledger - some of our greatest national exports. And of course, Ed O'Neil for playing the best dad under the sun (Al Bundy in Married... With Children).

Tim: I'm inspired all the time, by not just actors. Lately I've been inspired by Moby, Bon Iver, Dayne Rathbone and Titus Andronicus. I love art that opens my perspective.


What's the funniest/strangest piece of direction you've received while filming Inner Demons?

Mark: To fall "gently" on the precious carpet at the Windsor Mansion....

Tony: I think my co-star Tim Reuben (Sparky) may kill me for this; but it was when the crew told us to lie on the green screen, hug each other close and shake... Yeah, I know - kinky!

Tim: Shooting in front of a green screen can lead to some pretty funny situations. The other day we were shooting a scene where I had to lie on a green screen with Tony (Blackout). I'm sure on screen it will look amazing, but on the day it just felt like spooning.



What would be more of a dream role for you; an intense character study of a historical figure or a lead role in a super-hero blockbuster?

Mark: One that affords me a Will Smith type trailer. Luvvie!

Tony: I would probably have to go with the lead character in a super hero blockbuster - assuming it's not a box office flop. But hell, does not mean I would not like to try give the character study a shot some day.

Tim: Super hero. Unless its a historical figure with super powers.


What's your favourite film of all time?

Mark: Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977.

Tony: One film for ALL time?! That's not fair... But if I have to say anything; V For Vendetta - the fact that the protagonist is a well versed killing machine just locks it in for the winner.

Tim: Tied. Garden State and The Breakfast Club.


Do you have any parting wisdom for anyone interested in getting into acting?

Tony: Always remember that the only people who will ever say that you can't achieve your dreams are those who were afraid to chase their own.

Tim: I recommend training at an acting school. I trained at ACA but there are many great schools out there. I think that's the first important step into the industry today.



The first series of Inner Demons is currently in post production. It will be available via iTunes, YouTube, Blip Video and Vimeo upon release. Check out the series website for more information.

Roll credits...

Opening credit sequences are a part of movies that, thankfully, have evolved over time.

In the silver screen days they were something audiences had to suffer through; static text over a still frame, interminably long, crediting everyone and everything right down to the type of film used, before the audience had even had a taste of the movie to come.

The first evolution of film credits came in at the end of 'old Hollywood', in the late sixties to early seventies. Just a few of the more 'important' credits on opening (main cast, writer, director, producer etc.), the complete list of credits rolling at the end of the film. It was a move in the right direction. It avoided boring the audience before the movie had even begun.

Although there are some interesting credit sequences that you can point at throughout the seventies and eighties, the next and most important evolution of opening credits didn't come, in my opinion, until the mid-nineties with David Fincher's 'Se7en'. Fincher recruited a guy named Kyle Cooper to create the sequence. It was pretty revolutionary. Cooper's sequence set the mood of the film perfectly. It was like looking through the eyes of the demented serial killer that the Se7en's story was built around. It played more like a slick, dark, disturbing music video, with the cast and filmmaker credits throughout, in a font that looked as if it might have been carved manically with a razor blade. Add to this a seething, pumping remix of Nine Inch Nail's 'Closer' and the tone is set.



Cooper's sequence was truly game changing and often imitated, and he didn't stop there. His production company's have produced some of the most interesting and memorable title and montage sequences in film. There was the darkly apocalyptic opener for Zach Snyder's 'Dawn of the Dead' remake, and the cool intro to 'Spiderman 2' that showed the events of the first film in a stylistic, illustrated composition. His list of work is huge. Braveheart, The Mummy, Zoolander, Iron Man; even the opening sequence for AMC's 'The Walking Dead' series.

Kyle Cooper's mark on the film world is often understated, his influence overlooked. You might have never heard his name before, but its unlikely, if you love film as much as I do, that you haven't seen his work.

You can find the website for 'Prologue', Cooper's production company, here.

New collaboration

I've never read the source material, and I know next to nothing about it, but when three incredible artists (David Fincher, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) come together on a project, this is the kind of thing you can get. Impressive trailer, amazing cover.

Fresh off of their collaboration on The Soical Network, the contemporary masters are back at work together again. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Modern Hollywood

Versatility is an asset any good aspiring actor knows the importance of. Pigeon-holing your craft into any one aspect of performance limits your potential career opportunities right from the get go. An actor that can tackle a variety of different jobs, intimate performance, stunt and martial arts work, and voice acting, for instance, is more valuable than a performer that only knows how to wear one, single proverbial 'mask'.

Matt Yang King is one actor forging an impressive career for himself in Hollywood. Take a look at Matt's IMDB page, and it's clear he knows how to push his talent into many different aspects of performance. From television roles in shows like 24, Numbers, Frasier, The West Wing, CSI, Strong Medicine, Friends and ER, to his long list of voice work in video games like Dragon Age, Warcraft III, Uncharted, Infamous, The Saboteur and Alpha Protocol, as well as work on animated series such as GI Joe, Family Guy and Naruto, it's clear that Matt knows how to make his talents work, anywhere he needs.

Matt was kind enough to answer some questions for me about his craft, and Hollywood at large. Here's what he had to say...



Me: What made you decide to pursue acting?

Matt: I was a concert violinist at a very early age. Then I got into 45 minutes from Broadway when I was in 8th grade and I realized I loved performance not violin. I never looked back.


Which of you jobs/performances are you most proud of?

My role in the pilot Washington Field. My role as Caliban in the Tempest. My work on GI Joe the animated series.


What garners the most geek respect/admiration; your voice work on G.I. Joe or as Illidan?

GI Joe.


What's your attitude to the current acting scene in Hollywood?

It's rough. I wouldn't do it unless I loved it. It requires that you spend a great deal of time expending effort being a business person on a day to day basis, followed by 30 second bursts of being an artist. Rinse and repeat. The juxtaposition of the amount of time necessary practicing your craft and practicing your business is disproportional.


Which kind of role has more appeal to you personally; a complex characterization or a more physical, action role?

Complex characterization at this minute in time. Although I think that one is the same as the other. When I am truly doing my best performances, I am "in my body." So whether I am fully grounded in a character that is driven by complex thought or complex body movement is largely irrelevant as long as I am grounded.


Did you find it hard to find your success as an actor? Did you ever see yourself as a 'struggling actor'?

Yes, still do. It's all just another rung on the ladder. Someone is ahead of you and someone is behind you. The only way to stop worrying about it is to stop climbing.


How do you perceive Hollywood's general attitude towards Asian actors? Has it improved or worsened over the past decade?

I believe that Hollywood's perception has improved, if at a glacial pace. And largely the improvements have been variations on a theme. Asian women are now allowed to be love interests, but they are still subservient or exotic depending. Asian men are no longer the help, they are the best friend. Bruce Lee opened the door to allowing us to be perceived as ass-kickers and that has stayed open but all in all Asian men are largely shafted. Name the last time you saw a major Asian American actor kiss a girl or (gasp) have sex with a girl in a film or TV. It's non-existent. Jackie Chan is an action star twice the size of Schwarzenegger and he might as well be a Ken doll as far as Hollywood is concerned. It will take an Asian Sidney Poitier to do it, and hopefully one will come along soon. The Asian American community does not help either since it delineates itself (rightly) into Japanese, Korean, Chinese, etc. However when they take umbrage against a Chinese woman playing a Japanese woman and yet do not come out to support when As-Ams produce good film it creates an atmosphere that is non-conducive to changing Hollywood's opinion. Hollywood after all only really cares about one color... green.


Which comic book/video game character would you love to play on film? Do you have any particular 'dream role'?

There are no good Asian American superheroes. See my last rant. However, I always wanted to be Spiderman, but that's neither here nor there. I don't think that Peter Parker should be Peter Park. I would love to play a role as a "Knight" in a TV series adaptation of the comic "Checkmate." That would be oodles of fun. My dream role is to play Cyrano de Bergerac.


Is there a performance medium you haven't tried yet that you'd like to?

No. I just would like more opportunity to really show my stuff on film. I'm pretty covered in TV and now animation, but film was one of the reasons why I came to LA.


Which on screen performance, not of your own, do you most admire?

Recently, the King's Speech blew me away. But I actually tend to LOVE the little performances rather than the big ones on Film now that I am an "insider." I think that big actors can let one scene go whereas the small actors have to reveal a whole character in a tiny scene in order to support the film. Stephen Tobolowsky (sp?) is brilliant at this. Chris Cooper was one of my fav's forever. I'm really glad he's getting the response he's getting. I do have one favorite, but really I'm a devotee of film performances in general. So here's what I'd give as a primer.

Still performances;

Derek Jacobi in the I, Claudius TV miniseries

Kevin Spacey in Glengarry Glen Ross

Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice

Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda

Moving performances;

Toshiro Mifune in Seven Samurai

Chaplin in The Great Dictator

Daniel day Lewis in My Left Foot

Overall for me Peter Sellars in anything.



You can find Matt on the Geekson podcast, or at his website.

Exploring 'Inner Demons'

If there is one tool that has changed the game for independent film makers in the last decade, it's the internet. Online video delivery systems, such as Youtube and itunes, have put the power to reach a vast audience directly into the hands of the content creator. Indie webseries have well and truly caught the attention of major film and television studios, and made them sit up and take notice. It's clear that as more and more people spend increasing amounts of time in front of their computers, that they are spending less in front of the old idiot box. The time for talented and ambitious indie film makers to make their mark, and raise the level of what can be achieved via independent marketing and distribution, is now.

One such team, Ryan McCalla and Tommy Larkin, are preparing to make their first mark on the independent webseries scene. Their anticipated first project, Inner Demons, is nearing the release of it's first series. Inner Demons is a non-linear story, with its roots in horror and the supernatural.

I recently had a chance to ask Ryan and Tommy some questions about their ambitious new project. Here's what they had to say...



Me: Describe the genesis of Inner Demons.

Tommy: It started off with Ryan writing a short story about someone who has to deal with being a werewolf and a drug addict. I loved the initial concept of it. After many games of Halo and many discussions, we started talking about making a short movie. As we kept talking about it, more characters kept coming to life. Since I was studying film at the time, we thought it would then make an awesome movie. However, because funding was really hard to get, we decided to make it a series. Then we both came up with the idea of showing it on the web.

Ryan: Yeah once we decided to go for web distribution it really opened up the ideas for more characters and ideas – I still remember passing Tommy the first draft of season 1 in hand scrawled notes, and him going off to decipher my so called “chicken scratch” handwriting as he called it. Initially I wrote alot more characters but Tommy really helped to streamline this down getting rid of unnecessary characters, merging characters and coming with several new ones as well such as Sparky, which was initially just an unnamed teleporter that Tommy helped to flesh out and bring to life. We wrote the main storyline in a linear fashion, plotting out certain moments and beats in the season, before going into more depth, before settling on going for a non linear format, meaning we could just really push in and focus on these key dramatic moments in the season 1 timeline.

Tommy: Also having this being shown on the web cuts out any drama trying to pitch it to a television network. Plus with the content of the episodes, I think that the web will be able to reach more people than television would. It works so we because Ryan and I are using practical tricks we have learnt to pull off something that looks like it has a big budget.

How long did you work on the script? Any inspirations?

Tommy: Overall we have been working on getting this series off and running for the last two and a bit years. It’s been long road but worth it in the long run. We started casting in December last year and since then, it has snowballed. We have managed to find fantastic cast and crew that love the project as much as we do.

Ryan: I think it helps having people that love the source material we came up with as well, to really help bring this to life, and are as enthusiastic about this as we are. Basically the we plotted out a major arc that goes over 4 seasons of 13 episodes during the first year and a bit of development, then we went in and fleshed out the moments we thought would have the most impact. This took us about another year getting the season 1 scripts finalised – inspiration wise I loved we have alot of comic books and various tv shows as well, I really quite liked in the UK show SKINS, how we saw these events and moments from a certain characters point of view and just really focused on that character for a given episode with other characters still weaving in and out but more just being in the peripheral.

Is the series totally self financed?

Ryan: Haha yes completely self financed... scrimping an saving bits and pieces here and there to put towards it.

Tommy: Yeah basically we have been doing this on the skin of our backs. Any big pay we would get, would go straight to equipment props, costumes, catering etc.

Are you using a distribution plan similar to other web series, or are you trying a different model?

Ryan: It is similar in some respects yes – we are pushing it out via as many different video distributors as possible to get a maximum reach, so people are not just forced to go to youtube to watch the latest episodes. People will be able to watch through itunes, Vimeo, Blip.TV, Youtube and also on the Inner Demons website.

How did you find the casting process? Is it difficult to find actors interested in independent film projects in Australia?

Tommy: We actually got really lucky with our cast. Everyone that applied for the roles loved the idea and were definitely keen. The casting process was stressful at times but in the end was really worth it all.

Ryan: Everyone is perfect for their roles as well, both in acting ability and look. It’s quite scary how much they match what we originally had envisioned in our heads.

How long were you in pre-production?

Ryan: Including the writing process about 2 years – though really, its been more the last 6 months that we have really started to push things together with costumes, props and the like – we got very lucky with our costume designer Jerrel Dulay who has just nailed exactly what we are after from the get go.

Tommy: We had basically started doing some VFX tests about 3 years ago to see what we could and couldn't do. From there I was also doing some camera and sounds tests. And also before we started shooting, we had a few table reads to make sure that all the cast members were on the same page and we also did lighting tests and camera tests. We figured the best way to shoot this series was to be as prepared as possible.

How are you finding the filming process? Is it what you expected?

Tommy: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!! The cast and crew are so amazing to work with. After a day of shooting, we all relax and watch the rushes of the day. It has become a real family vibe. I wasn't expecting everyone to get along as much as they do. They have been all so supportive and keep both Ryan and I going which is rewarding to see.

What kind of equipment are you filming with?

Ryan: We are using the Cannon Series DLSR’s, plus Tommy has a lot of his own equipment...

Tommy: We are also using the latest in steadicam units and dolly tracking systems. The camera team is just doing an amazing job.

How do you get what you need out of your actors? Is that an easy exchange?

Tommy: I find that in order to get a great performance from your actors, you let them play around with the idea first. See if they can truly get the vision. After that, I simply make suggestions to help improve the performance. The cast we have are so spot on. Everyone is very professional and really easy to direct. They all know how to bring the best of the character out and give it 110% everytime. Even with blocking through action scenes, everyone goes balls out and fully commits to the role.

Ryan: Alot of the time too they will think of doing things that we hadn’t even thought of during the blocking process – taking the characters to a completely new level.

Inner Demons is ambitious in terms of special effects, especially for an independent project. What's the biggest effect you have to tackle for Inner Demons? Is there anything you had to omit due to budget or technical limitations?

Ryan: when we initially plotted out the season, we both sort of said to ourselves lets go all out. Put it all in and we can reel it back in once we realise what we can achieve – with most of the VFX side of things we would go out and shoot tests to see how we could achieve things in post and what we would need to pull off the effect, I think for me that moment when I could actually breathe a sigh of relief was watching a finished shot of the twins. Being able to see them interacting with each other and brought to life with just one actress (Melissa McConnel), it was one of those sort of moments where if we didn’t get it right the whole thing would have fallen apart. A lot of what we are doing is using every little trick in the book to pull of certain shots and cheating as much as possible before we go to a Digital VFX shot in post – if we can do it on camera we go for it.

How important are social networking tools for spreading the word about your series?

Tommy: Having social networks such as Facebook and youtube, gives you the option to reach out to more people as these sites are being used in everyday use.

Ryan: They are pretty much the standard nowadays, it allows you to interact with fans and people interested in the project at a great level.

Which aspect of production or filming has surprised you the most so far? Is creating a series like Inner Demons from the ground up what you expected?

Ryan: Mostly just how friendly and supportive everyone has been throughout the whole process, our friends and families have been extremely supportive about the series along with all of the cast and crew which makes so much easier and can what would be a painful long day go by do quick with laughs between takes.

Tommy: For me I guess it would have to be the crew. The crew we have are extremely talented and by far the best crew I have worked with in years. And even if there is something that needs attending, they stop and help out. It's very much a "no one gets left behind" mentality and i think thats why we work extremely fast and awesome together.

Ryan: I think I expected to be a lot more difficult than what it has been – all of our cast and crew like I was saying earlier are so friendly and down to earth – it makes our jobs alot easier. The most difficult part was getting it started, once you get enough momentum the project takes on a life of it’s own and picks up more momentum. Me and Tommy like to call it the snowball effect, which sort of hit for us about halfway through casting.

How do you feel about the state of independent film making in Australia these days?

Tommy: I find that indie films made in Australia really suffer as I feel that there is little to no support. I find that every indie film maker struggles as most of the stuff shot in Australia either has to have everything Australian in it to get funding, or, Make it for an overseas market with little theatrical releases. If the indie film industry had more support, It would seriously boost the film making in Australia. There is sooooooo many talented film makers in Australia that are just waiting for the chance.

When can we expect to see Inner Demons hit the web?

Ryan: At the moment we are shooting for a Q4 release, once we have most of the episodes finished we will be releasing the details through our website 'innerdemonstheseries.com' and our Facebook fan page as well.

In a hole there lived a hobbit...

Any fan of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy needs to see this; a directors diary from Peter himself, with glimpses of pre-production, the first day of shooting, and some sneak peeks at new and returning characters. This is truly awesome. Find it on Peter Jackson's Facebook page.

Blood, sweat and hobbits

The fantasy film genre is a pretty interesting one. To define the genre; fantasy movies have magical, supernatural themes, fantastical, exotic settings, and larger than life characters. To put it simply; the fantasy genre can deal with anything outside the realms of common believability. Then there are a few subcategories of movies within the 'fantasy' genre. There are horror, supernatural, mythological, science fiction, historical, romantic and sword and sorcery fantasy films.

The 'sword and sorcery' sub genre is arguably the most popular fantasy sub class. Sword and sorcery films are fairly self explanatory. Heroes and villains, warriors and wizards, dungeons and dragons. You know sword and sorcery when you see it. It's very Tolkeinesque. They have archetypal characters; clearly defined representations of good and evil, muscle and magic. They almost always have a quasi-medieval undercoat, with a second layer of monsters and sorcery. They have an almost magnetic attraction to most self proclaimed geeks. Throw a magic acorn at a geek film convention and you'll probably hit a six-foot tall dwarven warrior, or a lanky guy with fake, pointy elf ears.

If you take a look at the fantasy movies that Hollywood has produced over the years, you see it's a very hit and miss affair. You really have to wade through the less than great stuff to find the diamonds in the rough. But there are some truly great, genre defining titles out there to enjoy. The problem with making a fantasy movie is usually the cost. To make these fantastical worlds come to life convincingly, a studio has to throw a lot of money towards any given project. Just look at 'The Lord of the Rings'. Stanely Kubrick, when considering taking on the monumental task of directing Tolkein's legendary book trilogy, was quoted as saying that it was 'un-filmable'. Thank Crom for Peter Jackson and company. The other roadblock to a sword and sorcery film's success, is Hollywood's reluctance to take the genre seriously. Despite the mega success of films like the Rings and Star Wars, many studios see fantasy as untested, silly and that it only has a small, niche audience. There is some justification to this attitude. For every Lord of the Rings, there are half a dozen 'Deathstalker's', 'Krull's' and 'Hundra: Barbarian Queen's', or in other words, awful movies.

There are, however, many great, well made, interesting sword and sorcery epic's out there. Here are my top 5...


5. Willow - Willow is a something George Lucas threw together, obviously heavily inspired by The Lord of the Rings. Ron Howard directed the mid-eighties epic about the half-pint, aspiring magician (Warrick Davis), out on an adventure to protect a prophecized child, told to be the only hope of overthrowing the evil Queen. Along the way you get to meet Val Kilmer as a swashbuckling warrior, some hairy trolls and a villain that likes to turn her enemies into pork.



4. Star Wars - Some might argue that the Star Wars trilogy doesn't fit the sword and sorcery genre, but I think it clearly meets the specifications. Star Wars has always felt far more 'fantasy' than 'sci-fi' to me. It has the clear cut, black and white sides of good and evil, the young farm boy that wants to take up his fathers sword, the ominous black knight, the cackling, old evil wizard, and even the unscrupulous, dashing rogue...and his wookie sidekick.





3. Legend - When Ridley Scott, one of the contemporary greats, wants to bring a world to life on film, he really, knows how to bring a world to life on film. Wether it's ancient Rome, sci-fi San Fransisco or a beautiful, fairytale, fantasy world, like the one in 1985's 'Legend'. This flick, about a forest dweller named Jack (Tom Cruise) and his quest to save the princess and the world from the clutches of a maniacal villain (played with relish by Tim Curry), is an underrated film. Every shot looks amazing. Shigeru Miyamoto even sites Legend as a big inspiration for the Legend of Zelda video game series.





2. Conan the Barbarian - Ron E. Howard's Hyboria is a harsh, unforgiving world where you either live by the sword or die upon it, brought to life in his classic series of dark, pulp fantasy novels. When Arnie put on the loincloth and brandished Conan's enormous, phallic, broadsword, a classic was made. This is an eternally watchable epic, complete with blood, sweat, snake cults, larger than life characters, an immersive world and, of course, Crom. Strong in his mountain. This is a top notch production from start to finish. It feels dirty, mythic and darkly poetic, much like Howard's source material. Easy to recommend to anyone that loves action epics.



1. The Lord of the Rings - The trilogy of trilogies. The one trilogy to rule them all. Tolkein's books invented the fantasy genre at large, it's only fitting that a typically epic movie series be made by some truly game changing film makers, tackling the monumental task of putting Middle Earth on film. Peter Jackson knew what he needed to keep from the books, he new what he needed to omit, he kept the spirit that Tolkein instilled in his stories, and made films that would appease the die hard fantasy fans and mainstream audiences alike. Some of the scenes that are brought to life need to be seen to be believed. A film trilogy that belongs in any ones DVD collection.

'Inner Demons' teaser

A good friend of mine, Ryan McCalla, and his production partner, Tommy Larkin, revealed the first teaser to their brand new web series, 'Inner Demons'. The series promises to be some dark, complex and non-linear storytelling. I can't wait until they launch their first series, later this year. You can keep up to date with the Inner Demons launch at the official site, or the Inner Demons Facebook page. Oh, and keep an eye out on this very blog for some exclusive insight and interviews with Ryan and Tommy.

Vegemite Western

There have been many funny, touching and cool Australian made films over the history of Aussie cinema. There was the man from out of the wastes, clad in leather, ready to put post-apocalyptic marauders to the gun - Mad Max, the ever iconic working class antics of 'The Castle', and the three drag queens and a bus that took the world by storm in Priscilla. I don't think any serious film lover could deny that there have been some diverse, original and brilliant Aussie films that have left their mark on cinema as a whole.

But as I pulled one of my favourite Aussie movies from my DVD collection and gave it a spin, I realized that there was one facet of Australia and Australian history that was being very under-used. The movie I watched was 'The Proposition'. This is an amazing film in alot of ways.

First of all, it brought the director, John Hillcoat, to the attention of the film industry at large. Hillcoat, after turning out The Proposition, went on to direct 'The Road', a movie based on the coveted Cormack McCarthy novel. Both of these films have left me eager to see what Hillcoat does next. I think he is one of the most talented Aussie directors working today.

Secondly, this film was the product of a script written by none other than the dark force of alternative Oz rock, Nick Cave. The script speaks in Caves artistic language. It's dark, disturbing and it's full of devoid and isolated characters, like much of Caves music. The script and story for The Proposition feels totally original, and uses a period of Australian history in a way that not many other films do.

The third aspect of the Proposition that is exemplary is the cinematography. The sparse, central Australian landscape was captured vividly by French cinematographer, Benoit Delhomme. This film looks epic, and the settings are represented on film so naturally. Delhomme puts you into colonial, rural Australia; blow fly's and all. This film looks and feels so sparse and dry, you could almost be fooled into thinking that it was set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

It's clear that there is alot to love about The Proposition. The performances from Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Emily Watson and John Hurt are amazing, and Guy Pearce as the stoic, barely speaking lead is done perfectly. He is dark, dirty and almost like some sociopathic prophet, riding across the desert, dispensing violence.

The thing that struck me the most during my most recent watch of this flick, is that the Australian western is a very under-used genre. I would go so far as to suggest that most foreign film goers, and probably some local ones, are unaware that the Aussie western genre even exists. This is, perhaps, because it barely does. The only true Aussie westerns that I can think of off the top of my head are The Proposition, Ned Kelly and it's remakes, The Man from Snowy River and Quigley Down Under (if you're being generous). This seems like a crime to me. Australia has this incredible landscape that translates so beautifully to film. We have a turbulent, violent history. It really was like the wild west during the early days of European colonization. We have folk lore and stories to draw on such as bush rangers and aboriginal Australian history. We have some of the most talented actors and film makers working today. Why on earth is the Aussie western or 'vegemite western' not a flourishing genre? It seems a crime to me. We have the landscape and history to tell some great stories right in our backyard. Why aren't we playing with them?

Do you believe in Superman?

I've been looking out for news about the upcoming Superman movie lately. I've never been a huge Superman fan, but it's hard for any movie loving geek not to be interested in a film directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), and written and produced by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception).

It got me wondering why I've never really warmed to the 'man of steel'. The character is arguably the most definitive super hero of all time, DC Comics flagship icon and one of the most revered and beloved comic book characters ever. I remember news reports of people actually breaking down in tears when DC 'killed' Superman back in the nineties. I've just never felt a connection to the guy. To me his whole mythology is kind of unpalatable.

If I had to pin down why Superman is so uninteresting to me it would come down to a few things. Firstly, he is too powerful. There is no way around it. He is just way too powerful. That's why writers have had to spend years coming up with these ridiculous plot lines just so there is some kind of threat. If it's not 'magic' it's someone who somehow gets kryptonite bullets or something similar.

Secondly, the guy is totally unrelatable. Not just to me, but to just about anyone as far as I can tell. I don't know what kind of comic book reader can relate to an almost invulnerable, indestructible being of virtually limitless power. He is basically a God. I remember reading books like X-Men back in school and finding a connection to the characters and stories. These books were about people who, granted, had almost god like powers themselves, but they were outsiders, misunderstood. This spoke to a shy, introverted kid. But Superman? He has it so easy. Nothing can touch him, everyone loves and admires him. I can't imagine how the guy can stay grounded (no pun intended). He would have to see the human race as a bunch of petty, imperfect little insects, but he never does. Everyone has flaws. It's what makes us human. But Superman is flawless. With all our wars, racism, hate and self destruction, how could such a perfect, morally inflexible, super powered god find any way to understand, and more importantly, tolerate all the human race's bullshit? A character like that does not fit on planet earth. Maybe if writers gave the guy some flaws he would feel different. I'd love to see Superman get angry and pissed off. I'd love to see him lose it a little. I'd love to see him show any semblance of human emotion other than 'love' for Lois Lane and his unbending sense of moral duty. There needs to be more complexity there. I'd like to see Superman tempted to wipe humanity off the face of the earth, not being able to put up with the fact that we can't help but do horrible things to one another and ourselves. I'd love to see him wondering, after years of protecting us, wether we are worth saving or not.

The likely hood of DC allowing something like that onto a movie screen with one of their top shelf characters is pretty unlikely, but who knows what will happen. Snyder and Nolan are smart and talented enough to make something interesting.

Sociality

Check the twenty-five most played tracks on my ipod, and you will see some live Ween tracks, a few songs from Nick Caves 'Murder Ballads', and a slew of pieces from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' soundtrack for 'The Social Network'. The score is pretty amazing. It's dark, different and stands as a great piece of sonic entertainment, independent of the David Fincher film. Reznor and Ross mix delicate piano pieces with with bassic, rolling synth samples, expertly layered to give the tracks weight and depth. There is even a slight retro 16-bit gaming feel lurking in some of the tracks, such as 'Intriguing Possibilities and 'In Motion'. You will even find a rendition of Edvard Griegs 'In the Hall of the Mountain King', done with a dark, eighties, electronica feel, that Fincher cued his regatta race scene to.

It's pretty wonderful when an artist you love, like Reznor, streches his wings and does something so unexpected like this score. I've been listening to it almost obsessively lately. I would have to rate it highly among my favourite 'left of centre' film scores. It's totally original, and Reznor and Ross are even getting some very well deserved recognition from Hollywood, with a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination. I can't recommend the album enough for any fan of dark electronica.

If you want some alternative and different film scores, there are several others that step away from the typical 'orchestral' score, also created by well know artists, not normally recognized for writing film music.

There Will Be Blood - The story of an oil tycoon slowly losing his grip on sanity throughout the movie was scored by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. He captures Daniel Plainview's greed and mania with seething violins and strings. This is a score that will immediately grab your attention sounds totally unique.

Fight Club - Written and performed by the Dust Brothers, this a cool score. It thumps along with an almost electronic, dance music tempo, mixed with a dark, synth undertow. This is a score that doesn't go along with the program. It's as different and brilliant as the David Fincher film.

Into the Wild - A folksy, rootsy score, written by Pearl Jam front man, Eddie Vedder. This score is understated and fits the film perfectly. Director, Sean Penn, gave Vedder almost free reign over the soundtrack, which helps drive the story about the American wanderer, heading into the wilds of Alaska.

(Post) Apocalypse Now

Despite the bugs and sporadic crashes I'm really enjoying Fallout New Vegas. The worlds that both Bethesda, with Fallout 3, and Obsidian, with New Vegas, have brought to life are really fun to explore. New Vegas has a slightly different atmosphere than Fallout 3. The interplay between the different factions is cool and I love what they've done with Caesar's Legion; a faction of militant marauders who sweep across the wasteland killing or enslaving anyone they come across. From what I understand many of the employees at Obsidian formerly worked for Black Isle, who of course made the original Fallout and Fallout 2. Apparently Caesar's Legion was conceived back after Fallout 2 was released and they were going to be in Black Isles Fallout 3 but, of course, Black Isle closed before that could happen. It's kind of awesome that those guys are getting to use that material now in New Vegas. It's just a shame the game keeps crashing and I keep running into broken quests...

Whenever I play a game in a certain setting, such as Fallout's post apocalyptic world, I end up wanting more in a similar motif so I usually go to the old DVD collection to see what I can find. Here's my top 5 post apocalyptic films.

1. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior - Possibly the greatest Australian film ever made, a legend of the post apocalyptic genre. Mad Mel Gibson fighting for fuel out in the desert wasteland. Dark and dirty and great car scenes, don't need to say much more about this other than if you haven't seen it you really need to.

2. The Road - I absolutely loved this book and I really liked the movie too. Cormack McCarthy's barren Central United States are among the bleakest settings I've ever seen and the film did a fairly good job of replicating the feeling of hopelessness. The story of the boy and his father wandering down the road, trying to reach the coast, in a dead world beset by marauding cannibals. A hard watch, especially if you're a dad (or mum), as the father (played perfectly by Viggo Mortensen) try's to shield his son from the horrors that surround them.

3. The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington traversing the wastelands of a desolate Earth and fighting with Garry Oldman and his goons over the last surviving copy of the bible. Some cool popcorn action scenes and Michael Gambon as a crazy old cannibal into the mix. Awesome stuff.

4. Waterworld - This movie seems to receive alot of ridicule I think because it's a Kevin Costner production and because it was a box office flop. I think you need to watch it for what it is. Sure, it pretty much is The Road Warrior on water, but I don't understand how anyone couldn't find this an entertaining watch. The plot; the Earth's polar icecaps are all melted and the surface of the planet is totally flooded, leaving the remnants of the human race to do battle upon the surface of the endless ocean and search for the mythical 'dry land' that is rumored to exist somewhere out there. Costner himself as the stoic lead and Dennis Hopper having a ball as the ridiculous bad guy.

5. Six String Samurai - A low budget gem sneaks in at my number five just for being so damn cool. The hero, Buddy (who looks suspiciously like Buddy Holly) traverses a post apocalyptic world with nothing but his six string and his samurai sword, on his way to 'Lost Vegas' the rock 'n roll capital of the future. This movie is all about having fun so don't take things seriously and you're in for a good time.

The old and the new...

Movie nostalgia is a seemingly immeasurable factor when thinking about your favourite movies from your youth. Are things really as great as you remember them or are you thinking about them through child's eyes? When you revisit movies that were important to you as a kid some things hold up and some don't. If you made a list of your top five movies when you were fifteen how similar would it be to the same list if you made it now? Sure, you loved ewok's when you were twelve but isn't it a tad hard to watch them ambushing all those heavily armed and trained stormtroopers when you watch Jedi these days? There was no problem with it when you were a kid because that filter in your mind hadn't developed yet. Movies were just something fun and a little bit magical and bullshit like whether a bus could jump a fifty foot gap in a highway overpass didn't enter into the equation.

If you made the two lists, childhood versus adulthood, how much crossover do you get? Is there anything you loved as a kid but can't watch today without cringing? Here are my two lists.


Top 5 movies when I was a kid;

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark - I've watched this film at least 100 times. It spoke to my imagination like nothing else ever had when I first saw this at about age seven or eight. Indy was the definitive action hero and Raiders was the definitive adventure movie. I'm pretty sure I didn't even know what a Nazi was back then, they were just like villains from a Bond movie to me. I think I loved Raiders so much because the action and characters were great, the 'good guys' and 'bad guys' were very black and white which spoke to a kids understanding of what was going on and I thought Ford was the coolest guy I had ever seen. This near obsession with Indy spilled over to the two sequels and the old Fate of Atlantis adventure game that Lucasarts put out in the early nineties. I loved this movie.

2. The Goonies - When this first aired on tv back in the eighties it was the first thing I recorded with the brand new VCR that dad had just bought. I watched that old video cassette until it was worn out and chewed up. As far as light hearted kids adventure movies went this one was my favourite. What can you say about Goonies? Kids going on an adventure looking for pirates treasure...what more could you want when you were seven? Data, of course, was my favourite. Not only was he from Temple of Doom but he had all the cool gadgets. When I see this one as a adult it is still endearingly charming. It's also amusing how much they could say 'shit' in a kids movie in the eighties. I've recently heard rumors about a remake of this one. Only time will tell how that turns out.

3. Return of the Jedi - There was only one rule for growing up in the eighties; you had to be a Star Wars fan and Jedi was my favourite. The third movie from the original trilogy felt the most 'swashbuckling' to me, with the awesome scene on Jabba's sail barge, the speeder bike chase through the forest and the ewoks, oh the ewoks. I wanted to go live in an ewok village and have ewok buddies and become 'an honorary member of the ewok tribe'. Plus you got to see Darth Vader with his freaking helmet off! That was a mind blowing moment for a young geek. I think Jedi still holds up great these days. Not as well as The Empire Strikes Back maybe, but there is Mark Hamil's performance in Jedi, which I believe is underrated. He is great and when Vader goads him in the last act and Luke looses his composure and lashes out he is so believably on the edge, so close to falling to the dark side. It makes you wonder why the same character duality is handled so clumsily with Anakin in the prequel trilogy.

4. Lethal Weapon 3 - Cops and robbers is one sure fire way to entertain a kid craving some action and Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon series were among my favorite of the 'old school' action flicks. When you watch these today it's clear the first movie is the strongest but back in the early nineties I was all about Lethal Weapon 3. Mel Gibson back in his prime acting days could piss pure charisma and Danny Glover was like the African American second dad you always wanted. As ridiculous as these 'buddy cop' antics were I'm sure I believed this was what cops were like when I was ten. There was something about this that captured my imagination perfectly that I can't clearly define. The 'cop killer' bullets? The exploding buildings? Leo Getz? Who knows.

5. Jurassic Park - When my dad took me to see this at the movies in '93 I didn't really know what I was in for. I remember this movie being hyped to high heaven before it came out and I was keen to see it as I was in the mid stages of collecting dinosaur magazines that came with a bit of a plastic t-rex model every week, so I was into dinosaurs at that stage. Then Spielberg worked his black magic or whatever it is he does and drew me so deep into his world that I made dad take me back to see Jurassic Park four more times. This is an incredible movie. The plot, the special effects, the performances and everything else about this movie owned me for the two hours or so that I sat in that cinema every time I went to see this. I recently watched this again with my five year old, and it is a testament to the directing of this film that when the t-rex shows up it is truly suspenseful. My kid watches alot of stuff with me and it's rare anything effects him too drastically, but when that huge, razor toothed maw is trying to get the kids through the perspex roof of the car my kid freaked out and made me turn the movie off. The iconic build up of that scene and the tension injected into parts of this film are amazing. Dr. Grant and the kid trying to get out of the tree before the car falls on them, the electric fence and any scene with those raptors; this stuff is all so good. To this day whenever I see the words 'objects may be closer than they appear' printed in a rear vision mirror I smile and think of Jurassic Park.


Top 5 movies now;

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark - Some things don't change and for me the top slot is still the same as is was twenty years ago. Raiders is, and I believe always shall be, my favourite movie of all time. The pacing is perfect the plot if simple and fantastic and the action is so entertaining I never get sick of it. I love the way Indy gets put through the wringer; the guy is not James Bond. He's never on top without even breaking a sweat. Instead he gets thrashed half to death in just about every scene but always manages to come out on top by the skin of his teeth. I love the way Indy is a Catholic but has a lackadaisical attitude towards religion; he believes in the historical importance of the ark but quote "I don't believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus" is his attitude about it when Marcus warns him. Something must be said as well about John Williams score for this film. It is so iconic and so well executed. Many movie scores are incidental to the film but I believe this one is so important to the movie and the characters that it could well be my favourite film score.

2. Children of Men - This movie is something special. It is that brilliant kind of science fiction that makes you think and makes you look at the world you live in differently. The fundamental question Children of Men asks is what happens to the human race when it is suddenly faced with it's own mortality. The answer, in this dystopian, near future, is that it tears itself apart. This movie is comment on society, immigration, religion, terrorism and war. It's put together so frighteningly realistically that all this violence and hopelessness feels almost too real. The hand held shaky camera work and the long takes that don't cut for ten minutes at a time speak to that part of your subconsciousness that recalls seeing this kind of violence on the news or in documentaries. I love the way Clive Owens central character never picks up a gun in this film, even though he has ample opportunity to. Children of Men is what I love about movies. It makes you think and it makes you feel.

3. O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Coen brothers. What can you say about them? They have certainly left their mark on modern cinema and, personally, O Brother is my favourite of their work. An epic, ancient Greek poem put in a 1930's southern United States setting? How could that work? I don't know how but it certainly does. This movie is eternally charming, funny and brilliantly acted. You come for the Coen trademark writing, wit and directing flare but you stay for the performances. George Clooney, John Turturro and the late, great Tim Blake Nelson are each wonderful as the three escaped convicts on their 'odyssey', having chance encounters with fame, a hilarious John Goodman as the intimidating cyclops and a run in with the Ku Klux Klan are among some of the best moments in this film, not to mention this great folk and blues music that is featured throughout. This is one of those films that you can watch over and over and never tire of it.

4. Leon aka. The Professional - The story of a hitman that takes a young person under their tutelage is almost a cliche' now but this film does it with so much style and a real, human relationship between Jean Reno as the assassin and a very young Natalie Portman as his understudy give this movie a gravity that imbues it with some emotional punch, where it could have just been another disposable action film. Reno's Leon has learned to suppress his emotions in order to be the consummate killer but those suppressed emotions surface when he finds someone to care about in Portmans young, orphaned Mathilda. Gary Oldman, in the role of the movie stealing corrupt, violent and psychotic cop, is not to be missed. Luc Besson's directing and action scenes are typically awesome and it all makes this film another of those movies you can watch time and time again and never get tired of.

5. The Fellowship of the Ring - Since reading The Hobbit as a kid I've been waiting for Middle Earth to be brought to life on screen. I wasn't quite prepared for just how epically and faithfully Peter Jackson's production was going to do it before I saw this movie for the first time in 2001. Differences in the source material aside, this filmaker understood the world he was bringing to life and captured the spirit of Tolkein's work in incredible fashion. I love fantasy adventure and there is so little of it that is truly good on film, so I was blown away by Fellowship. It is my favourite of the trilogy I think because I have affection for the whole 'party of adventurers on a dangerous journey together' aspect of the plot that speaks to my love for Dungeons and Dragons and fantasy novels. This movie is an example of what fans of a fiction can get when someone who is both talented and loves and understands the source material is in charge of making the film adaption.