Dances with Film - July 6-12, Hollywood, CA

Dances with Films film festival founders Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent, kicking off their 10th year!

Last night I attended the DANCES WITH FILMS "Meet the Filmmakers" cocktail party at The Standard in West Hollywood. The film festival is celebrating their 10th year. The founders, Leslee Scallon & Michael Trent are I'm sure the reason this festival has beaten the odds in a town where having a celebrity in your film is the only way to get attention. This festival prides itself on being dedicated to truly independent films and the people behind them. The mood was festive and down-to-earth. I really enjoyed myself as I mixed and mingled with the brave and creative souls who, instead of being a bunch of talkers, were doers. They were the people who weren't going to talk your ear off about what they were GOING to do, they were going to SHOW you what they DID! How refreshing!! So if you're ready to dive in for some fun and pure entertainment, free of egos and attitudes, come on down to Laemmle's Sunset 5 for the festival's great line-up of films. There's something for everyone! Festival goes from July 6-12. Visit the website for full schedule: http://www.danceswithfilms.com

INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS stars, Lee Perkins and Juliana Dever

BROKE SKY (left to right: Jeff Burr-Producer, Tom Callaway-Director)

NEVER SAY MACBETH

ARIZONA SEASIDE writer/director, j. Pil Pilegaa (...)

I thought this was a particularly good interview with Michael Bay and since Transformers premiered at the LA Film Festival, I wanted to include this interview in this blog.  Robin Rowe, a Los Angeles screenwriter and facilitator of weekly filmmaker events, asks Bay practical questions that I think a lot of filmmakers will appreciate.  Enjoy!  (Contact information for Robin is at the bottom of this email.) 

Michael Bay Interview: Transformers

by Robin Rowe [More articles]
Read Robin's Sci-Fi Movie Page Transformers movie review.
2007.6.29

Images Copyright 2007 Paramount Pictures

Three weeks after The Island. Steven Spielberg called. I said, I don’t know…This summer’s next big action movie, Transformers, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg, hits theaters on July 2nd. Back in 1995, after directing MTV videos and the "Got Milk?" commercials, Michael Bay directed his first feature film, the action comedy hit Bad Boys produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Bay followed that with other Bruckheimer features including The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, and The Island. Critics ravaged Pearl Harbor, but the movie grossed $450 million, and it became one of the top-selling DVDs of all time. Bay became one of the youngest directors ever to reach the billion-dollar box office mark.

As a producer, Bay founded Platinum Dunes in 2001 to create lower-budgeted films and to help new directors break into movies (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher). In May, an investment group led by Bay took ownership of post house Digital Domain for a reported $35M. Digital Domain has created big effects movies such as Titanic and sells the Academy Award-winning compositi (...)

Since Transformers premiered at the LA Film Festival, I am including this review here.  Personally, I love this movie.  I have a short video from the Transformers premiere and block party posted on this site.  Check it out if you haven't seen it!

Transformers Review

* * * * (Guest review by Robin Rowe, Movie Editor)

STARRING: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight, Bernie Mac, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Amaury Nolasco, Kevin Dunn, Ronnie Sperling

2007, 144 Minutes, Directed by: Michael Bay

Transformers is the big summer action movie for 2007! If you thought Spider-man 3 was fun, but just too damn long and the same old story, then you need to see this movie. In fact, if you wouldn’t dream of going to see Spider-man 3, you would still want to see this movie. Transformers accomplishes something that few high-testosterone movies ever do: appeal to chicks. My girlfriend sat open mouthed, grabbing my arm to whisper, "Look! Look!” during the whole movie. But, that’s jumping ahead . . .

The plot involves bad robots, the Decepticons, and good robots, the Autobots. If you’ve seen the Transformers trailer (and who hasn’t?), you know that Disturbia’s Shia LaBeouf (Sam) is just your average teenage boy whose first car turns out to be a sentient alien robot. What would otherwise be the heart-warming but dull introduction to the story of Sam’s family life and buying his first car is inter cut with a huge alien robot attack on an American base in Qatar. (For geographically challenged Americans, Qatar is north of Saudi Arabia and east of Bahrain on the Persian Gulf. Qatar's oil revenues by the way  gives it the highest per capita income in the world. If you want more info, do what I did and check out the CIA Fact book online.)

Likable Las Vegas sidekick Josh Duhamel is captain of a Special Forces unit with sidekick bad-ass dude Tyrese (...)

LA Film Festival Closing Night Gala

Wow...what an amazing festival. I'm a little bummed it's over but then my overflowing laundry basket reminds me that it's time to resume normal life. :-) I had a great time and I just can't stop talking about the LA Film Festival staff and volunteers. They are the greatest group of people ever. It would be an honor for me to screen my film at this festival. As a matter of fact, that's all I could think about the entire week! And every filmmaker I met told me that this festival in particular is run by the most gracious and wonderful individuals. I really wanted to post something about the closing night gala before I went to bed so here it is. I have a more involved blog coming soon with pics and my festival wrap-up video too!

Closing Night Gala Atmosphere

        

Who Framed Roger Rabbit  begins from one ingeniously simple premise, that the characters in cartoons have an existence just like any other of the Hollywood stars. In fact here they are a sort of minority group of their own, with even their own suburb of Hollywood- Toontown, a metropolis that works as a bewilderingly psychedelic run through the laws of cartoon universe physics. The film serves up an astounding array of effects, allowing humans and animation to flawlessly integrate. And that’s where the fun begins, in seeing the zaniness of a cartoon universe mapped onto the real world. 

Congratulations to Jennifer Venditti whose film BILLY THE KID won "Best Documentary Feature"! (My personal favorite of the festival!)

Did you catch my interview with Jennifer? You do not want to miss this one...she is an incredibly insightful person...scroll down for video interview...

Congratulations to Chris Eska whose film AUGUST EVENING won "Best Narrative Feature"!

I didn't get a chance to see this one...did you? Want to send in your review/comments?? Email me!

Transformers Premiere

WOW!  The Transformers preimere and block party last night at the LA Film Festival was OFF THE HOOK!  What an event.  The movie premiered in 5 theatres.  It was a little chaotic down there but with a "life-sized" Bubblebee guarding the "red" (it was blue) carpet, it was allll good! 

Transformers' BumblebeeThis was my second time seeing this movie and I have to tell you, I loved it the second time just as much as I loved it the first time!  The crowd reaction is priceless.  People cheer and clap and yell whenever the hero autobots transform to kick some butt! 

I will add more to this blog soon, along with video from the premiere and party.  I just wanted to pop in and share a couple of picks with you first!

Go Transformers!

 Lisa :-)