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| Sundance says hello. |
Welcome, welcome. Since this is an indie film blog (of sorts), I'd be remiss not to mention the most ballyhooed spectacle in the indie world: the Sundance Film Festival. Just how indie it is always stirs great debate, but you can argue that amongst yourselves. I dig Redford and the fact is, if any one of us was lucky enough to get accepted into Sundance, we'd all go running and jumping through the streets. Therefore, we will give respect here at Walk Softly. As the 2013 Festival comes to a close, the biggest item of note was that this was the year of the ladies. That's right. Congratulations, ladies! The U.S. Dramatic Competition, for the first time ever, featured as many female directors as men. Jerusha Hess, the female half of the Napolean Dynamite team, made her directorial debut with Austenland which was very well received. And some other names that created waves included Francesca Gregorini, Jordan Spiro (who apparently made quite the heartbreaking love story), Mahalia Belo, and Lauren Wolkstein. Also, interestingly enough in this economy, there were several record breaking deals for films like the feature directing debut of Joseph Gordon Levitt. But enough of that. Let's talk more of the usual nonsense.
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| When Bo Jangles comes calling, it could be the end for Don and Jonny. |
There are several things that I'm excited about this week, the first of which is the way the Space Cops 4 edit is coming along. The closer it gets to completion, the more I can't wait for you to see it. Lots of effects work got done last week, primarily compositing. Things like sky replacement, adding muzzle flashes, bullet hits, and blood hits and whatnot into shots that would look even sillier without them. We don't have the budget, expertise, or time for many old school practical effects like exploding blood squibs (I wish we did), so we do much of it after the fact. The effects work continues this week as well as lots and lots of sound design as I'm trying to be meticulous about the sound effects and music on this episode while teaching myself a few things along the way.
The second thing I'm hyped about is the newest VHessay. The next movie up for analysis arrives today (courtesy of Netflix)! You want hints? It involves the ultimate excursion for nerdy kids in the 80s. And it stars several big names in an ensemble cast that were just getting their start. That's all you get for now and I'm afraid I've already said too much. I haven't seen this flick in twenty-five years, so I'm excited. I hope to post it this Saturday, but I'm not going to make any promises.
One last really weird and incredibly awesome tidbit for you today...
What year did Space Jam come out? 1996? Well, what if I told you the Space Jam website (yes, from 1996) had been living on the Warner Brothers site all this time? Untouched by the hands of man. Like a time capsule. Like King Tut's tomb. Just waiting for the sand to be cleared away and shared with the world, perfectly preserved. Waiting to make us all 19 years old again. I mean we're talking about the infancy of the internet. No joke. Now what if I told you, you could go see it? Right now? You have a ticket to King Tut's tomb. And here it is: Space Jam!!
See you later this week for Indie Wednesday and more!
UPDATE: I completely forgot to mention that the Short Film Night at Natasha's is this Wednesday, so I'll be sure to give updates on how that goes if you can't make it in person. It's always nice when you get a chance to support the indie scene in Central Kentucky.