While shooting a short film in New Orleans, TG Harrington and I gave a talk at a local arts high school, NOCCA. TG showed his short film, MR. OKRA, which profiles a merchant who sells vegetables from his pick-up truck, as he drives through the French Quarter.
Following that, four students showed us their short films. Now, these students are aged 14-16. Their films were shot in HD, cut with Final Cut, effects created in After Affects. But more impressive than their fluid mastery of requisite hardware and software, was the …

I just finished my short movie.
Ok, it is more a funny experience that cost less than 200 bucks than anything else.
It’s called ‘Inferninho’ (Little Hell) and I wrote the script, produced it and co-directed it. Oh, I was also the driver, the cook, and I lent some clothes to the actors.
It’s a simple, strange and (I suppose) funny story that starts with two friends in a nightclub with a terrible reputation. There, one of them reveals something awkward. He swears to God that he met the Devil, in person, there, …

Marlon Bando would occasionally agree to give an interview, but only with the stipulation that he would not discuss acting. He did his thing, in the way that seemed right to him, and it worked. He was a genius, and a little nuts.
Christian Bale is the same way. His last interview for Esquire was a five-page interview about why he refuses to do an interview about acting. He may be a genius, too, and he is a little nuts. (Google: Christian Bale, rant)
On the other hand, completely sane people, who …

I had a conversation with a Director today. We hadn’t spoken for four years. When we last talked, he was a film holdout. At that time, he had all the cliché things to say about shooting digitally, and he was probably right. “There’s nothing like the warmth of film,” and, “digital just isn’t there yet.”
But since then, something happened, and he’s changed his tune. “Digital definitely has a place. There are times when I am watching a movie, when I honestly can’t tell if it was shot digitally, or with …

This old comedy was running on the TV the other day.
If you are not familiar with it, here’s how it goes:
Two guys are trying to make their way in a company. One on charm, the other on work. One day, their president (that’s Bernie) invites them to his beach house for a weekend. That’s when the mafia kills Bernie. So, the guys start to hang around with the corpse, pretending he’s alive, to fool the mobsters and save their lives.
Now, let’s see what lesson this writer will take off this …

I finally watched The Social Network, the movie. Very good.
But after I saw all the pieces of the jigsaw together, I immediately constructed a theory in my mind.
I am convinced that Mark Zuckerberg ordered ans sponsored this film. And why?
Well, the more famous he became, more versions of his story started to pop up.
Books, articles, blogs, gossip. That’s bad for business and, I believe, bad for the stomach of any 20-some year old guy.
So, why not tell the world his own version? And who else could do this with a …

I just saw “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, the fakementary produced by graffiti/punk/pop/multi-channel British artist Banksy.
Although it was released some months ago in the US and Europe, I patiently waited for its presentation at Sao Paulo’s Film Festival here in Brazil.
But, for my surprise, the tickets were sold out after a few hours of the box office opening. So, I did the most honest thing I could do with a Banksy piece: I stole it. Ok, I downloaded the movie for “free”.
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”, for those who didn’t …

The rescue of the 33 miners in Chile, became the media and marketing spectacle of the year.
But, one week after, it doesn’t really matter what happened down there, in those 68 days.
Now, what everybody wants to know is when it will become a movie, a book and, who knows, a Broadway musical, a Disneyland ride, a Playstation game.
Yes, people are more interested in fiction, then the reality and the facts.
And that’s why news seems and sounds more like romance these days.
People don’t really care who the miners actually are, but …

You can’t learn about people in a job interview. They’re just going to kiss your ass and tell you what you want to hear. How are you supposed to know what your candidates are really made of?
Here’s an idea—I call it The Thuderdome of Death. The rules are simple: Two creatives walk in and only one walks out—with a job.

You put the weakest creative you currently have on staff against the candidate who wants the job. Give them both and assignment and a time limit and see walks out with …

Listening to the re-release of the Stones’ Exile on Main Street I am reminded of two things: a) how incredibly awesome a record it is, and b) what suck-ass reviews it received at the time of its original release.
Rarely, it seems, is great and important work recognized as such in its own time.
(Witness the work and lives of so many of the great masters of painting if you need proof.)
So here is an Oscar prediction for the future, based on the immediate past.
I hadn’t yet seen this year’s winner, The …