Grassy Knoll

looky

9-11 is quickly becoming the JFK assassination of our time. What really happened? Who was responsible? How much of what we “know” is wrong? However, unlike the JFK assassination, the trail has not yet run cold.

The official
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States is the one put together by Congress despite protest from the White House (although later Bush tried to take it over). But is that really enough? If there were even more embarrassing facts that turned up about the intelligence community, would we really find out? After two years of the subject being taboo, mainstream news may be starting to come back to life on this issue, although don’t hold your breath: in June, Salon published a fluffy article wondering why the current administration is trying to block ongoing investigations.

You have to ask yourself why we don’t hear about these stories on any of the national networks, because the stories are out there. Political commentator Mike Hersh writes an article which is a little more substantial, complete with links to mainstream news stories, and radio host Doug Basham maintains a page with more links.

This topic has given rise to entire on-line societies- 9-11 Citizens Watch is sort of a portal tracking this ongoing effort, alongside the interestingly-named The People’s Investigation of 9-11. Also interesting is the writers at
Unanswered Questions who have produced
this provocative Question chart to put on web pages, and my favorite, a detailed timeline of the events of 9-11.

A little more aggressively political is the Citizens for Legitimate Government and their List of 9-11 “Oddities”. And while we’re venturing into the specifically anti-Bush category, there is Resist the Bush Occupation who are “Proud Americans Resisting the Neocon Right.” These guys are intense! And they have T-Shirts!

It’s all about the cool paraphenalia you can generate to support your cause. Not as cool as the Georgy For Governor thong though.

Sucks To Be You, The Film School Edition

looky

LESLIE: I worked on a USC grad film, so now I know how the other half lives…
LESLIE: Which is good, since preproduction was not something we really worked too hard on in school.
BRIAN: the other half?
LESLIE: the super-rich or super-in-debt students at huge film schools with high-end equipment.
BRIAN: ha ha
BRIAN: I see

LESLIE: Yeah, this guy spent 20,000 on a short film.

BRIAN: they spent it all on what, equipment?
LESLIE: he’s now up to his ass in loans and family obligations.
BRIAN: I bet!
BRIAN: credit cards baby!

LESLIE: equipment beyond what the school provides, craft service, post, some labor, since students work on each other’s films but you hire a few people. One week shoot. free permits, because they’re students, but he had steadicam and a special effects guy for rain, and that’s money. Actors, I imagine, though it’s a SAG waiver. Film stock. Post time.
LESLIE: Materials for art department,etc. polaroid.
BRIAN: yikes
LESLIE: studio teacher because he was using kid actors.
LESLIE: it basically ran like a professional set.
LESLIE: and this is getting every discount or donation he could think of.
BRIAN: wow
LESLIE: you can spend quite a few thousand because USC makes you go all the way to answer print or a digital finish. with sound mix and various deliverables.
BRIAN: so he did this on purpose?
LESLIE: yeah, to get his degree and have a reasonably well-produced industry calling card. Total time on just the one project ends up being 2 or so years.
BRIAN: that’s hard core
LESLIE: yeah. I couldn’t do it.

BRIAN: but now he’s totally employable right?
LESLIE: only as employable as any of the thousands of USC grads in LA. Maybe he’ll get lucky and get an agent after the screening. Maybe not.
BRIAN: ouch!
LESLIE: that, my friend, is film school.

What Is A Demo Reel For?

looky

I asked Leslie, in her experience, what a demo reel really is for:

it depends what you want to do. directors often have their long film school short as a calling card,
when trying to get a meeting with producers or get an agent. They have a screening and invite industry people. Editors and dp’s and animators have project samples. Music video directors have reels of that kind of thing.