I have enjoyed this class about as much as I expected to enjoy the class. It was challenging and at some points it was the last thing I wanted to do. However, I still enjoyed it.
I think this has been a really valuable experience for me especially since this relates pretty directly to what I want to do as a journalist. Knowing how to properly run a blog has given me the confidence and experience to start my own blog. I'm really excited about my future endeavors in journalism.
I think blogging is a great way to get your own content on the web and share things that are valuable in your life. I think it's really important to have an online presence in the modern day and blogging is a way to do that on your own.
The hardest part has to have been writing about movies. I always found out something new which was fun, but I should have gone with music instead. So much happened with music news in the past 6 weeks there were some days were I wished I could change my beat. It made blogging more challenging to have to constantly post when I wasn't the most passionate about this content, but I still enjoyed it. Ultimately, this blog just reaffirmed my passion for music. I know that I love it and I care about it and I want to pursuit a career in journalism talking about music and the entertainment industry.
The most fun part had to be finding a picture to break up the monotony of the blocks of words in the posts. It was a break for me too and I had a good time doing it.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wicked News
Imagine a book, which becomes a movie, which inspires a fan story, which becomes a book, which becomes a musical, which becomes a movie.
Excitement has been building since Wicked was initially released as a book in 1996. This story is an alternate retelling of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the witches. The story takes place before, during, and after the events of The Wizard of Oz. It explores the friendship between Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west, and Glinda the good witch. Despite having opposing personalities this is a story of good versus evil in a much more adult, complex way than the original book.
The original book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was the first of a series of novels by Gregory McGuire. The book was instantly a hit and premiered as a musical in 1998. From there it was a short journey to broadway; the musical has been running since 2003. Wicked has seen the stage 5,000 times since its initial premier on Broadway making it the 10th longest running show on Broadway.
For those of you who were able to follow along, that's the path that Wicked has taken to the big screen. The movie is set to be released in December of 2019. Fans of the Musical Wicked have been awaiting this film release for a long time.
Excitement has been building since Wicked was initially released as a book in 1996. This story is an alternate retelling of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the witches. The story takes place before, during, and after the events of The Wizard of Oz. It explores the friendship between Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west, and Glinda the good witch. Despite having opposing personalities this is a story of good versus evil in a much more adult, complex way than the original book. The original book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was the first of a series of novels by Gregory McGuire. The book was instantly a hit and premiered as a musical in 1998. From there it was a short journey to broadway; the musical has been running since 2003. Wicked has seen the stage 5,000 times since its initial premier on Broadway making it the 10th longest running show on Broadway.
Stephen Schwartz, lyricist for the film, said "It took 27 years to make Into the Woods into a film from its original stage production, and 30 years with Les Mis," he said. "Some things take time for a reason”.
This initial film release date was set for some time in 2016, however, as Schwartz says, these things take time. Universal has been producing the film along with Marc Platt to create the film, under the direction of Stephen Daldry.
The crew originally began gearing up to create the film back in 2012, and only released new details about the film Thursday. Fans have been guessing about potential cast members with the top picks being Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. Both of these women starred on Broadway as a part of the original cast of Wicked.
When asked about starring in the movie, Menzel said "I’m gonna be way too old by the time [Platt] gets it done, unless he CGI’s it, and he knows how I feel about that — I really want him to do that.”
This initial film release date was set for some time in 2016, however, as Schwartz says, these things take time. Universal has been producing the film along with Marc Platt to create the film, under the direction of Stephen Daldry.
The crew originally began gearing up to create the film back in 2012, and only released new details about the film Thursday. Fans have been guessing about potential cast members with the top picks being Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. Both of these women starred on Broadway as a part of the original cast of Wicked.
When asked about starring in the movie, Menzel said "I’m gonna be way too old by the time [Platt] gets it done, unless he CGI’s it, and he knows how I feel about that — I really want him to do that.”
While there has been no announcement of potential cast members this movie is sure to make a splash in the theatre and film communities.
Zootopia versus The Amazing Spider-Man
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| from moviepilot.com |
The people at Couch Tomato strives to do the seemingly impossible by convincing the audience that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Zootopia are actually the same movie. It sounds like a stretch, but this video provides 24 instances in which both films had the same things going on. Everything from character development to the way the conflict in resolved gets broken down until the audience ultimately sees how similar the two films really are.
Couch Tomato has a plethora of videos which make the same kinds of connections between other movies. Which is why the slogan for the whole page is "You can't love a movie for the same reason you hate another...".
Each of the 78 videos takes seemingly unrelated videos and ties them together with arguably indisputable facts.
Some of the key connections he makes between Zootopia and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are: an assassin who targets a luxury vehicle, graduation scenes at the end and beginning, a genetic mystery, and bad guys having access to important tapes.
Despite the overwhelming amount of similarities between the two films, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 got less than positive reviews and Zootopia is an international sensation.
I think this demonstrates how important the smaller details are in deciding how a film is received by the public.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
This Week's Updates
So I covered indie films in both of my posts this week.
I think that made blogging more fun because it felt like I had a theme going. That may be something I consider pursuing in a personal blog in the future.
It has been a lot of fun for me to decide what I research for the week and then write a story about. It was difficult for me to choose a story this week because none of the blogs I'm following had an update that interested me. In addition, gathering information on indie movies can prove to be extra challenging because there's not a lot of information on them. Indie films are often overlooked by film critics and in movie reviews. Which means I either have to dig extra deep or watch the film myself.
The stories I've written this week and last week have shown my growing criticism of the industry. I am trying to shed more light on those underrepresented groups in the film industry. Simultaneously, I want to shed light on the films that are working to make sure that minority groups are represented in their films.
Last week I did an update about the LGBT film festival FilmOut, which seeks to improve the community in San Diego by representing the diverse groups there.
I think diversity in film is really important. I'm glad I've been able to use my blog as a platform to discuss an issue which is so important to me.
I think that made blogging more fun because it felt like I had a theme going. That may be something I consider pursuing in a personal blog in the future.
It has been a lot of fun for me to decide what I research for the week and then write a story about. It was difficult for me to choose a story this week because none of the blogs I'm following had an update that interested me. In addition, gathering information on indie movies can prove to be extra challenging because there's not a lot of information on them. Indie films are often overlooked by film critics and in movie reviews. Which means I either have to dig extra deep or watch the film myself.
The stories I've written this week and last week have shown my growing criticism of the industry. I am trying to shed more light on those underrepresented groups in the film industry. Simultaneously, I want to shed light on the films that are working to make sure that minority groups are represented in their films.
Last week I did an update about the LGBT film festival FilmOut, which seeks to improve the community in San Diego by representing the diverse groups there.
I think diversity in film is really important. I'm glad I've been able to use my blog as a platform to discuss an issue which is so important to me.
The Lobster: Better as Food or Film?
Indie Film The Lobster is making waves in across the nation.
This film is a satirical parody of the typical love story by Yorgos Lanthimos. In this film a man in a dystopian society must find a partner within 45 days or be transformed into an animal.
People who go to see The Lobster either leave after 30 minutes or go home confused after the whole film. While a number of audiences are left confused or bored this film has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 91 out of 100 percent.
The largest critics of the film were from those people who felt that Lanthimos used too much of a creative approach. The use of a non traditional storyline and the number of themes he tries to communicate make the film unclear.
Jason Zingale from Bullz-Eye.com said "While it starts out as a sharp satire on the horrors of dating, The Lobster stretches so far into absurdity that its various eccentricities overshadow the point it's trying to make".
While many fans agree with Zingale, others appreciate the eclectic nature of the film. Others saw the "absurdity" as an intentional break from the traditional love narrative of blockbuster films the last 100 years.
Form your own opinions by attending your local indie theatre to see this film on the big screen.
Indie Films Get Political
This week is the vote for the European Union referendum. For those of you, like me, who do not live in the UK I will explain what a referendum entails.
A referendum is when everyone who is of legal voting age in the UK votes on a question. Voters choose either yes or no and whichever side gets more than 50 percent of the votes is presumed to be what the public wants.
This year the referendum is deciding whether or not the public wants to stay in the European Union. I'm sure you're wondering, "what does this have to do with films"? If the UK decides to stay in the European Union it would have huge impacts on the production of European films.
The EU is pushing to make films available online available to all countries in the EU at once. In addition studios would have to sell the rights to the entire EU at once instead of territory by territory, decreasing revenue.
Rebecca O'Brien from The Guardian reports, "...this misguided DSM strategy will only serve to buffer the power of monopolistic players in the new online marketplace, squeezing out opportunities for thought-provoking European films to be made, and fostering a monoculture of formulaic blockbusters".
Which means that in the long run indie films will not make enough revenue to be a sustainable business market, leaving the film industry to be run by movie tycoons like Universal Studios or Fox Studios. Award winning European indie film I, Daniel Blake would not have been possible under the new laws proposed by the EU. Director of the film, Ken Loach is an example of someone who's influence in British culture originates from his powerful indie films.
Indie films are invisible supports of hollywood and the movie industry. Indie films are a breeding ground where new talented actors get their start in the film industry. They also offer new storylines and film techniques that are often left unexplored by larger film studios. Losing indie films would mean losing representation for a number of minority groups, who are often underrepresented or absent in blockbuster films.
Andy Leipzig from Cultural Weekly, claims that "Indie films are made by and for our culture’s opinion-makers, the people who drive the national discussion on artistic, social and cultural issues".
The UK stands to lose a major part of their culture if they stay in the EU. Without some careful economic planning to support media we could see the end of European indie films.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
LGBT Community in the Spotlight
Tomorrow will be the opening night of Film Out, San Diego's LGBT Film Festival.
FilmOut is a festival organized each year made entirely of LGBT film submissions from local directors. The goal of the film festival is not only to honor the achievements of LGBT identified people in the film community, but to unite the San Diego community.
In past years actors such as Emma Roberts and Zachary Quinto have been among the people honored with an award at the end of the festival. In 2015, the film I Am Michael won best screenplay, best director, best supporting actors, and best narrative. The film is a drama about a gay activist, Michael Glatze, who rejects homosexuality and becomes a pastor.
FilmOut is a festival organized each year made entirely of LGBT film submissions from local directors. The goal of the film festival is not only to honor the achievements of LGBT identified people in the film community, but to unite the San Diego community.
In past years actors such as Emma Roberts and Zachary Quinto have been among the people honored with an award at the end of the festival. In 2015, the film I Am Michael won best screenplay, best director, best supporting actors, and best narrative. The film is a drama about a gay activist, Michael Glatze, who rejects homosexuality and becomes a pastor.
This is the 18th year for the festival, which will be running from June 3rd through the 5th. There are a total of 40 films shown over the course of 3 days which will each contend for one of the various awards given at the end of the festival.
This festival is not only an opportunity to create more exposure for LGBT films, but it also spotlights the entire community. That being said, this is a fantastic opportunity to dispel stereotypes and promote equality that has been so often denied to LGBT identified people.
This festival is not only an opportunity to create more exposure for LGBT films, but it also spotlights the entire community. That being said, this is a fantastic opportunity to dispel stereotypes and promote equality that has been so often denied to LGBT identified people.
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