Principle Shooting Over, Time For Editing

It has been a hectic 5 days of shooting, but its finally over! What came from those days of shooting were probably one of the most fun and most hardest days I ever have to come to face. Do I hate the fact that filmmaking is hard? No. I actually love that the field of filmmaking is so freakin hard and it is the test of my psychological and personal qualities. If there is one aspect of the field of filmmaking that I'm proud seeing, it is the problem-solving aspect. If Mathematics have number and equation problems, filmmaking has problems dealing with locations, crew and cast, weather and etc. And as a director, you'll have to step up to the light and lead your crew into the next phase of action. That is my challenge. That is my puzzle. And that is what filmmaking is about.

During my production, I do admit my entire cast and crew didn't come out of there feeling 100% friendly to each other. Some can be avoidable or maybe it isn't. It has so much pressure and yes it is freakin hard. But the one thing that made me realize that I love to make films is that I ended up loving the entire filmmamking process even more. I mean who doesn't want to tell their own story and share it with everyone. Who doesn't want to create a piece of art? We aspire to aspire people through doing something unique and talented. And I found that I still love filmmaking after 5 God-forsaken highly pressured emotional ridden very intense and stressed out days.

Now with that over, its now time for editing, which is my favorite part of filmmaking. Because once you finished creating your own puzzle pieces, its time to piece them together yourself.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

In a not too distant future, Next Sunday AD...

Since I'm the person that like to introduce anyone into the stuff I love, this is among the top on the list. If you're a very big geek like me, you should know about one of the greatest TV show of all time, Mystery Science Theater 3000. And you will be asking if it was so great, why haven't you heard about it? Why didn't you see it in any other mainstream network channels? I'll tell you a little bit about this show.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K) is a comedy show, created by comedian Joel Hodgson where it broadcast in cable channels from Comedy Channel to Sci-Fi Channel and ran for 11 seasons from 1988 - 1999. The back story goes that in the future, mad scientist and bad guy Forrester launched a regular joe, Joel out into space in a spaceship, Satellite of Love and experiment on him by forcing him to watch bad movies alone and testing his insanity and spirit, thus finding the weapon for world domination. In order to overcome the mad scientist's scheme, Joel built robots, Tom Servo and Crow. T Robot to accompany him in the theater, where they mock the bad movie with witty and sarcastic riffs, prevent themselves from going mad.

Basically the entire premise was to actually broadcast a bad movie in its entire running time and have three guys riffing and mocking it. It may sounds like a lame and immature idea. However the genius part of the premise are the writers, performances and the deliverance of these riffs on the movie subject. The writers are not giving out curses and child-like remarks, they spend time to create intelligent, observant and witty quotes and comments that are accordance to the timing of the film. And they are GOOD, WITTY and MEMORABLE jokes. You know it works when you watch a very bad movie and a good riff hits it out of the park. Another great part is the performance and the personality behind the three riffers. They don't have a bland personality, each are unique and each have distinctive voices. And hey, this has been going on for 11 years, so you know why its good.

How I was introduced to this, of course Youtube, where we can find anythign on that. I wasn't actually introduced to the Joel Hodgson-era, but actually to the Mike Nelson-era. Mike Nelson was the star writer of the show, replaced Joel at season 7 and became the main host through the remaining years. There is a debate whether Joel or Mike is the better host, but I prefer Mike since his is more wittier and inventive. I watched one episode, where they covered a Battlestar Galactica ripoff, "Space Mutiny" and I was laughing my ass off to each sarcastic remarks and spot-on impressions of the characters. And I was hooked to the show, I began to look at other episodes, perferably in season 8, 9 and 10.

So Mystery Science Theater 3000 is off the air. What happened afterward? There is a huge cult following where many Internet nerds start to do their own MST3K thing on other movies. But the biggest thing is that Mike Nelson and the same cast started their own website called Rifftrax.com, where they still do the same as MST3K, except not just bad movies, but more good and recent movies like Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Star Wars and even The Dark Knight! And they still haven't lost their touch :D

So you're interested in checking out the infamous show of Mystery Science Theater 3000? Well I will give you the Top 5 best episodes I will recommend you to watch. Each of them are soooo great!


5. Final Justice

Texa Ranger Geronimo fights off the Mafia in Italy. Could be a low-blow on John Baker's large physique, but always a laugh at this ridiculous cowboy outfit.




4. The Final Sacrifice

A boy and a scruffy man with a mullet fights off against a weird cult, consisting of ski-mask wearing wrestlers. And whenever your name is as ridiculous as Roswdower, you are bound to make fun of.




3. Puma Man

Man finds out he's a superhero called The Puma Man, where he is blessed with the super powers of a.... puma. And he doesn't fly, he pounces!!! SIDEWAYS!!!

"Puma Man. He flies like a moron."




2. Prince of Space

English Dub of the 1950s space adventure, where a space hero go up against a group of space aliens.... in SPACE!!! And these space aliens look like chickens for some reason.




1. Space Mutiny

The first one I was introduced to and it is still remains my most favorite, simply because there are soooo many things to make fun of! Like Lance Butchmeat, his girlfriend who like his mom, and Captain Santa Claus.

My Top Ten: Best and Worst Anime Shows To Be Adapted By Hollywood

Its that time of the month where I give my Top Ten on ANYTHING!





Dragonball: (puts up quotes gestures) "Evolution" is arriving to theaters very soon and even though I haven't seen the entire film, I clearly know its gonna suck major balls. It may put off casual moviegoers while it will shattered every childhood of every Dragonball fangeeks out there. Hell it may offend the Japaneses. Just compare it to the original source and the latest trailer of the adaptation. I would have been much interested if my favorite character, Krillin was in it. And I know who I like to play him (John Goodman).


Thus marks the next addition to the line of anime/manga adaptations by Hollywood, along with Speed Racer and Transformers. I didn't think it would happen, but anime properties are now the next big money-making scheme for Hollywood like comic books, video-games and cartoons. Some of us would fear and some would welcome. Doesn't mean that most will be bad movies. It really depends on the source materials and the people behind the adaptations. Thus I present you Top 5 Anime Adaptations I Would Not Like To See It Made and Top 5 I Would Like To See It Made. Importantly this is my list based on my personal thinking, not on everyone's else.


In order to be on the list,

- the property has to be worldly popular or at least well-known to everyone.

- the property must at least have been broadcast in US TV, not Internet



First off...

My Top 5 Worst Anime Shows To Be Adapted By Hollywood

5.
SAILOR MOON

This one is aimed mostly towards girls young to teen and hey, guys may like to see hot actresses in cute dresses with short skirt. But there is nothing interesting and edgy to make this into the big screen, let alone in Hollywood. Costumes are ridiculous and characters were pretty generic. Everything about this anime is very girly. Not it is a bad thing, but it is too girly for its own good. All the Sailor Scouts can ever do is just wave their wands and we see shots of falling hearts after-effects. They're not fighting enemies through punches and energy blast, but by love....yeaaahhh. This could be the Sex In The City of Anime Adaptation. Or even like Bratz.

4.
POKEMON

I can't understand why this property is still popular. This goes way back in my elementary school days and my classmates were collecting pokemons. Now we're now fully-grown adults in our 20s and still they are collecting pokemons. Geez. Anyway making this into a Hollywood movie is not a good idea. The only appeal from this are the cute monsters and possibly monster action. But if you notice, the numbers of pokemons are rising by each month. Hell it was already hard enough to keep up the first 100 pokemons. Not to mention the fact that casual audience would just get weird out by the pokemons. And those Team Rockets...

3.
YU-GI-OH!

If people can't give Goku have his giant blond spiky hair in the movie, then I doubt I will give this character's hair in this movie. Seriously how could you make a cool movie with people fighting using cards? Especially when the rules in this card game is so complex and constantly changes? What is wrong with just going across the table and punching the asshole in the face? If there's anything I would like to see out of this film, its see an 8-foot guy with bizzare hair and a very very very deep voice.

2.
COWBOY BEBOP

This is something so personal to me. This is my most favorite anime of all time. Especially when I'm not anymore an anime fan, I would see it again in a heartbeat. Everything about it is perfect, but perfect only to a mini-series. Translating this to the big screen is a huge difficult task and there is a very high risk of pissing off fans of the show around the world. I would say this, this is the Watchmen of Anime. This anime show recieve wide critical acclaim and is loved by millions. Its not like Dragonball where it is safe a make a campy and silly film out of it, but for this it is not the case. This is an artistic, deep, stylish and well-written piece, built on a massive, complex and well-detailed universe, close to the hearts of anime fans out there. Its gonna be very difficult to write a 2-hour story consisting of the misadventures of the Bebop gang as well as the mysterious past of Spike, leading this into making into a saga. That is the one thing you shouldn't think of when you first make a movie: creating a saga. Unless you have a surefire franchise like Harry Potter that can make tons of money, the fate of a saga depends entirely on the first movie. And if the movie fails, then the idea of the saga is wasted. Sadly a Cowboy Bebop movie is on the way and the only thing I have heard of is that Keanu Reeves is set to play Spike. There is a difference between laidback and stoned. And he doesn't have the awesome cool voice of Steven Jay Blum. Hell why would you make a live-action movie when they already have a movie?




And THAT is still a kickass movie to watch

1.
ANY HENTAI MOVIE

Some people wouldn't mind this, but the majority will still get freaked out by teenage maids getting raped by tentacles.






Now...
My Top 5 Best Anime Shows To Be Adapted By Hollywood

5.
AFRO SAMURAI

Ok, so The Spirit didn't turn out to be a good film, but green-screen movies are still there. Its wacky, fun and very cool with a very simple story to interpret. And after seeing The Spirit, are we still up to seeing Samuel Jackson as a samurai? Hell yeah!!

4.
GHOST IN THE SHELL

Whatever they do the remake of the actual movies or based off the Stand Alone Complex series, this franchise can be adapted into a no-nonsense sci-fi crime thriller. Like the first movie, it doesn't explain much about the organization they are working for and goes straight to the case they are solving. And they have plenty of cases to choose from to translate to the big screen from the Puppet Master to the Laughing Man. Its like the good X-Files movie, casual moviegoers can go straight into it without no use of a backstory. Plus the element of sci fi and futuristic setting is also appealing.

3.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION

This one I'm a little bit worried for since the plot can be a little too long. But after witnessing something like Transformers, we want giant robots battling giant freakish angels! Plus throw in some deep and philosophical elements of Christian Mythology and the End of the World, you have yourself a bigger-than-life story. Are we sensing something epic here? As long we don't make those pilot kids like those Twilight kids and its smooth sailing from there.

2.
LUPIN THE 3RD

I would kill to see a Lupid The 3rd Hollywood Movie! Not Arsène Lupin, famous French thief, whom they already made a movie about. But the indestructable wise-cracking preverted goofy always-lucky Lupin the 3rd. All of the adventures he goes on are always funny, campy and wild. And you got a set of cool and interesting characters, plus their backstories don't need to be explained. Thats whats its like when I first saw Castle of Cagliostro. I never knew about the actual show and I love that movie to death. The Hollywood adaptation can just be about one grand adventure of Lupin and from there, it becomes a rumble-fest! Making a Lupin 3rd is such a sweet idea.

1.
FLCL

It doesn't have be a Hollywood film, but an Indie film. The entire show has that Indie film vibe and after seeing the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, imagine the possibilities for this. A giant costumed Canti, how freakin awesome is that?! Hey if any studio is green-lighting a FLCL movie, I would petition myself to direct that film. The show only has 6 episodes with 20 min length each, which already at length 2 hour, great for a feature length. You also have real and zany characters, all-out actions scenes and some beautiful moments. The one thing that is totally crucial from the movie is the music. The music from The Pillows are legendary and either it must be kept in the film, Japanese lyrics, or you have a mix of both Pillows and other various artists. The music makes the show and it should make the movie. Speaking of that, the one director I would love to see handling this franchise is Michel Gondry. Imagine that, eh!

So thats my Top 10. What's your opinion?