The Week Ahead 10.17.16

Welcome to Fall everybody! Although you wouldn't know it here in the Bluegrass State where we'll hit 90 degrees tomorrow. Regardless, it's my favorite time of year for a host of reasons. Not the least of which is River's Edge Film Festival is right around the corner and we'll have a ton of things coming your way. We're going to try to step things up here on the website, so let's talk about what's happening this week.

Monday

A new episode of the Talk Hard podcast hits your listening device of choice on Monday and HEY, that's today!! Todd and I completely hijack the pod from the get-go, but we eventually get around to talking Disney World and our profound disappointment in Luke Cage.

Wednesday

Stop back by for a good old-fashioned Indie Wednesday. This week we'll have an animated short about a Sheriff in the Old West.

Friday

How about another episode of Talk Hard? That's right; two for one this week because we actually split our last recording into two parts since it originally clocked in at an epic two hours and twenty minutes. In this episode we'll discuss our list of the best TV shows of all time and compare it to Rolling Stone's terrible Top 100 list.

Do us a huge favor and leave a rating and review of Talk Hard on iTunes. All you have to do is click that link, Chief. You have no idea how much that helps the show. Have a great week, folks!

Rogue One and Other Stuff

Watch the official second trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in which Jyn Erso leads a group of unlikely heroes to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters December 16, 2016.

If you haven't seen it, feast your eyes on the second trailer for Rogue One. I'm not as big of a Star Wars fanatic as I was when I was a kid, so I don't go breath to breath waiting for this sort of thing. However, I maintain that no one puts together a trailer like the LucasFilm gang. This thing is fantastic and I will go on record right now to say Rogue One will be a much better story (and, by extension, film) than The Force Awakens.

Talk Hard

More Talk Hard episodes are on the way this week as we continue to get back to a regular schedule. This time around we talk Luke Cage, Disney theme parks, and our favorite TV shows of all time. So check in for that tomorrow and remember, if you've listened to the show, we need your ratings and reviews on iTunes. We'll beg if necessary because nothing does more for the show than your feedback.

The Week Ahead 8.29.16

Hey, it's my birthday! Chew on that one. But it isn't the big one. I don't have to jump off a cliff until next year. Let's talk about WSF things, shall we?

I know you've been anxiously awaiting a new episode of the Talk Hard Podcast and it's probably coming this week. Bear with us; it's been a very tough couple of weeks for the WSF family but I expect us to be back in our regular routine forthwith.

The good news is, there's plenty to catch up on! Todd has been slaving away on a short film edit (check out the retro still frame above) and attempting to get it submitted to our very favorite film festival in the far Western reaches of the Bluegrass State. We'll tell you if he pulled it off and how that process is going to go from here. Plus, while he's been doing that, all things Space Cops have been happening in Frankfort. You heard me. Not to mention Hollywood has been screwing the proverbial pooch this summer and you KNOW we want to talk about that too. So, get ready for it. We'll get you up to speed on all of that and more when Talk Hard comes back with a vengeance.

Filmmaking: Stranger Things Titles

The Netflix hit went old-school for its opening credits. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app.

I know I'm not the only film geek that has been burning through Stranger Things and wondering just what process they used to make those retro titles. Did they turn back the dial and do it optically? Recreate the look digitally? ...Turns out a little of both. Check out the whole story with this nice little piece by Vox.

Indie Wednesday: Welcome to The Last Bookstore

This short documentary focuses on the life of Josh Spencer, owner and operator of “The Last Bookstore”, located in Downtown Los Angeles. Against the closure of massive bookstore chains and the rise of eReaders, Josh has been able to create a local resurgence of the printed word. We explore his life as a father, husband, small business owner, and paraplegic, as well as the store’s magnetic attraction of the community.

We've got a short doc to share today because I'm all about paper and analog, man. It'll draw you in; it's a good story.

Beyond The Show - Talk Hard 13

So, we have a few points that call for further examination from Episode 13. Let's start with my claim that Jessica Lange in King Kong (1974) is possibly the most beautiful actress in any single movie. Not an easy claim to make, possibly controversial, but I'm sticking to my guns. Feel free to let us know who you'd argue deserves the top spot. But, again, why is King Kong such a perv in this movie? Why does a giant gorilla want to take a woman's top off? If squirrels wore clothes, would you walk around constantly wondering, "I wonder what that squirrel looks like naked?"

Discontinued Cereals

A couple of corrections to make on our vintage cereal discussion. It turns out that Smurf-Berry Crunch is not in production. You can buy a refrigerator magnet that looks like the box for about 3 bucks, but no cereal. Massive bummer. And Todd was right, those are clearly oranges on this 1974 box of Fruit Brute. (Shout out to '74 for making an appearance twice in one post.) I'm wondering if Allen had the special Nerds cereal bowl with the trap door. That makes all kinds of sense.

Quisp does in fact cost 60 bones on Walmart.com, but you get a 12 pack for that price. So, Todd wouldn't have to break the bank to get his hands on Quisp, but he would need to pound 12 boxes of the stuff in about 6-8 months to get his money's worth. I feel a challenge coming!

Roz Kelly

We all have friends that may be dating someone who isn't in their league. Well, Todd was adamant when he said poor Pinky Tuscadero wasn't good enough for the Fonz. I'll let you all decide.

Fan-O-Rama

This is the Futurama fan film we discussed on the show. Take a look and imagine the time, money, and effort that was sunk into this. What I love about this is that the creators are fully aware of the insanity involved, as you'll see if you read the first screen. And when I checked out their website, it's clear that Dan Lanigan and his crew have a great sense of humor. So, would you do it? Was it worth it? Considering it has well over a million views now, I'm going to guess their efforts might be repaid. If nothing else, I think it proves the people involved have a ton of talent.

The Warren Beatty Story

If you're interested in Rob Lowe's book, here it is. And I'll leave you with this. Many of you are wondering which actress Rob Lowe's girlfriend was in the story. I'm pretty sure I know. I'm not going to say it, but Lowe actually didn't have many serious girlfriends. So, if you follow the clues in the story...

Indie Wednesday: BÄR

"Bär" is a personal story about my grandfathers past in World War 2. The film is my graduation project from the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. It was finished in 2014. I am very thankfull that within the last 2 years, the film was screened on over 150 festivals worldwide, win Awards and Special Mentions and had me travel to many of those wonderfull festivals. I thank everyone involved in helping me create this very personal piece and the people choosing the film for their festivals. Thank you very much! Please go to my website for more info about the film and myself: www.floerks.de Thank you for watching! Credits: Music and Sound: Christian Heck (sumophonic.de) Production: Julia Smola Excerpt of Prizes, Nominations and Official Selections: First Steps Award 2014 / Winner Short and Animation Film 12th Shnit International Short Film Festival / Nomination: Jury Award Up to 10 Minutes Section Reflecta Film Festival 2014 / Audience Award Couch Fest Films 2014 / Golden Couch Watersprite 2015 / Nominated for The Animation & Original Film Music Categories 20th It’s All True International Documentary Film Festival / Special Mention Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival / Best Animation 9th Wendland Shorts Kurzfilmfestival / Best Documentary Film 4th International Tour Film Fest / Special Mention 23rd Curtas Vila Do Conde International Film Festival / Best Documentary 22nd Capalbio International Film Festival / Special Mention 12th Indianapolis International Film Festival / Best Short 2nd International Film Festival Crosscurrent / Winner in The Category International Contracorriente 14th Concorto Film Festival 2015 / Golden Donkey Award 8th Filmzeitkaufbeuren / Special Mention Innovation Award of the Jury 30th Brest European Short Film Festival / Shorts Tv Award for The Ovni Competition Prix Ars Electronica 2015 Computer Animation/Film/VFX/ Award of Distinction Annecy 2015 / Official Selection Unicato / Unicato Award film of the year 2015 For the full list, please visit http://augohr.de/catalogue/baer

NOTE:  BE SURE TO TURN CAPTIONS ON (CC)

An animation student, Pascal Floerks, tells a story about his grandfather's past in this short film. Visually substituting a bear for his grandfather was an interesting and, in my estimation, very effective choice. Why do you think he made that decision?

The Week Ahead 7.24.16

Monday

If you haven't already heard the last episode of Talk Hard, you need to swing over there. Allen said it's his favorite so far and I would probably agree. Don't forget to subscribe, peeps.

Tuesday

Talk Hard 13 debuts. This time we paid tribute to Garry Marshall, reminisced about classic breakfast cereals, told an epic story about Warren Beatty, talked about the "why" of fan films, and discussed the best and worst movies adapted from TV shows.

Also, we'll have an accompanying Beyond the Show post right here, so we can give you some of the visuals and links to the stuff we talked about.

Wednesday

Another installment of Indie Wednesday and the best short films out there.

Thursday

I'll head to Danville to record another episode of the podcast. This time we'll DEFINITELY all be in the same room and hopefully will have a chance to conduct our first interview for the show.

P.S.

Here's a little bonus for anyone who listened all the way to the end of Talk Hard 12. You know what I'm talkin' about, don't you. Blankity-blank Gatlins. Have a great week, everybody.

Indie Wednesday: Girl On the Escalator

A film by Kayhan Lannes Ozmen, based on the poem "Girl on the escalator" by Charles Bukowski. nowness.com/story/girl-on-the-escalator-charles-bukowski Production Companies: Cosmo Cine & O2 FILMES Casting: The Girl: Nicole Della Costa The Boyfriend: Breno Moreira Voice Over: James Scott Girlfriend at the park: Caetana Metsavaht Guy at the disco: Pedro Prado Guru: Olav Lorentzen Screenplay and Director: Kayhan Lannes Ozmen Assistant Director: Guilherme Meirelles DoP: Daniel Venosa A.C.: Michele Diniz Gaffer: Lucas Stirling Art Director: Isabel Pedrosa Set Designer: Marcos Reis Costume Designer: Violaine Cadinot & Maria Alice Salgado Sound: Luiz Henrique Lins Campos Executive Producers: Kayhan Lannes Ozmen & Rejane Bicca Producer: Bernardo Portella Driver: Amarilio Lopes Catering: Neusa Maria de Paula & Eva Sound Design and Mix: Serhan Lannes Ozmen Edit & Color Correction: Kayhan Lannes Ozmen

For filmmakers struggling to find inspiration; a reminder that it can come from anywhere. This short adapts a Charles Bukowski poem to great effect. Exercise those filmmaking muscles whenever and wherever you can. Develop style. Develop voice. Don't agonize over writing the perfect script or finding the perfect hook at the cost of your own evolution.

NOTE:  MATERIAL IS A BIT MATURE (but nothing we're too embarrassed to share)

The Week Ahead 7.17.16

Tuesday

Prepare yourself! We have a piping hot review (and possible flogging) of the new Ghostbusters on the Talk Hard podcast.

Wednesday

Indie Wednesday returns! If you followed the old blog, you'll remember that we used Wednesdays to showcase a new short film every week (almost) and now we're back at it. On Talk Hard, we've discussed how difficult it is just to get eyeballs on your work. So, we're going to generate a few extra views for some indie filmmakers while being your personal short film curators; plucking one out of the internet muck for your weekly enjoyment.

I believe we'll also be recording more episodes of Talk Hard; live and in person this time.

Friday

Another new episode of Talk Hard and this one is an epic installment of our usual movie banter.