I’ve been checking out the MyVisualPitch web site recently, which I must say is very cool, especially now it has the Unk seal of approval with the Pitch Your Niche competition.
I was mulling over the best way to pitch my sci-fi script on there (as most of the pitches on there so far seem to use current material) when I got an e-mail from a nice chap telling me about his site, Ammo Previz, which strikes me as a superb complement to MyVisualPitch.
I signed up to Facebook recently as well, so if anyone wants to be my friend, give me a poke (or throw me a sheep or whatever), feel free. I was ever so excited when I ended up with Jonathan Ross as one of my friends (I remember years ago going into his Comic shop in London just after it opened and spending a fortune on Sandman comics). Thanks to Gia Milinovich for pointing him out… If anyone has suggestions for useful filmmaking or screenwriting groups to join as well, let me know.
I like Facebook, I can use Facebook, it’s possibly the first web site in a long time where I’ve actually thought, OK, that’s clever, well thought out with some very nice AJAX features.
Unlike MySpace, which is quite frankly the worst designed, most un-user friendly web site in the world. Let’s hope Google sort it out soon.
I’m heading over to Reading for a few nights this week, so if anyone can suggest some interesting places to visit of an evening, let me know… not that I’ll be heading out much as I’ve finally got my hands on the new Harry Potter book (even though I was glancing through the Sun the other day and had the ending somewhat ruined for me by a ridiculous headline revealing far too much information about who survives and doesn’t survive – grrr – don’t these people have the courtesy to plaster ‘Spoiler Alert’ over things?). Anyhow, I’m enjoying it so far, even if my feelings that JK Rowling really should be more tightly edited remain largely untouched (she uses far too many adverbs for a start…).
Speaking of the great Mr Potter, we saw HP and the Order of the Phoenix last night.
Now I’d been expecting a lot from this film, mainly because I’d heard so many good things about David Yates – how he’s the ‘master of blocking’ and he’s a great director, etc. etc. and how he’s been offered Half Blood Prince as he’d done such a splendid job of this film. So I went in with high hopes.
Which were somewhat dashed.
I thought the film was, well… average. I thought the direction was OK, but certainly no better than Alfonso Cuaron (still my favourite) or Mike Newell. The cinematography was alright but some of the editing and effects were decidedly dodgy. The level of acting is heading in the right direction, but could still be better, and I just found Harry’s characterisation, just a little bit lacking. I didn’t really care much for him (I don’t recall a Save The Cat! moment, unless I fell asleep and missed it).
I know I didn’t feel that way after reading the book, so I can only assume that the subtleties of JK Rowling’s text have got lost somewhere in translation. I realise it’s a tall order to condense the book into a film, but even so I felt it was a rushed, emotionless mess.
I did like the Wizard Battle at the end, that was cool, but even that seemed like it was over before it began.
Oh well, back to the current book…