(PRWEB) January 2, 2004

Pan Theater, improv by the people for the people, will begin assembling a second performing troupe/workshop in later January.

The Saturday troupe will work along with the current Tuesday night troupe to produce low cost/free long form improv shows for the East Bay-Oakland community. The second performing troupe will allow Pan Theater to increase its performance schedule to two shows per month beginning in the Spring.

Pan Theater, is an Oakland based community theater that focuses on long form and scene work based improvisational theater. Current cast members include community members from all walks of life and all nationalities. Troupe members range in age from early twenties to early fifties.

Auditions for the troupe will be held on January 31st. Those auditioning should have some prior improv or theater training.

For more information visit:

http://www.pantheater.com

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Related Theater Press Releases

Pan Theater is pleased to announce that Christopher Hayes, experienced actor, director, and writer, has accepted the role of artistic director for Pan Theater’s new Saturday long form troupe, Pan Theater Deux. Mr. Hayes is a welcome addition to Pan Theater both as a director and performer.

Chris will be instrumental in selecting and training performers for Pan Theater’s new Saturday troupe. Chris is committed to helping the troupe reach its performance and artistic goals both as a director and as a participating performer.

Chris is a member of numerous industry organizations including: AEA/SAG/AFTRA. Chris’ vast performance experience ranges from theater work in Atlanta and LA to commercial film work and industrials. Chris’ improv performance experience includes performing at Improv Olympics West (LA), Dad’s Garage in Atlanta and in Theater Sports LA among other places. Chris’ vast experience in improv and theater will help Pan Theater further develop its commitment to improv that is grounded in traditional theater technique and modern improv long form technique.

Prior to leaving Atlanta, Chris was voted one of Atlanta’s best actors by The Atlanta Press. According to long time Pan Theater troupe member, Brad Schwartz “Chris is obviously a skilled improviser and actor. His addition to Pan Theater will be a great boon to the troupe. I look forward to working with him.”

Chris’ improv training includes stints both as a performer and student at Improv Olympics West (LA), Dad’s Garage (Atlanta) and Theater Sports (LA). Chris also has additional training in Meisner technique with Chris Coleman at the Actors Express in Atlanta.

About Pan Theater

Pan Theater, improv by the people for the people, is an Oakland based theater troupe that focuses on long form and scene work based improvisational theater. Current cast members include community members from all walks of life and all nationalities. Troupe members range in age from early twenties to early fifties. Pan Theater Troupe Deux is a Saturday based long form troupe currently auditioning new members.

For further information contact:

David Alger

Pan Theater, Improv for the People by the People

510.472.0208

http://www.pantheater.com

Christopher Hayes, Artistic Director

Pan Theater, Improv by the People for the People

510.612.6304

http://www.christopherhayes.tv

10. Gore Verbinski: ,308,523,485

Gregor “Gore” Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director and writer, best known for directing The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy and The Ring. After completing a short film, The Ritual (which he both wrote and directed), Verbinski made his feature film directing debut with his comedy flick, Mouse Hunt. The film was a hit globally and he soon followed up the success with the action/comedy The Mexican, starring Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. The film received mixed reviews, and performed modestly at the box-office, earning million domestically which was quite meager considering its star power (it was technically successful due to its moderately low million budget). Verbinski followed it up with the horror film remake The Ring (2002), which struck gold globally, grossing well over 0 million worldwide. Verbinski also had a directorial hand in The Time Machine that year, temporarily taking over for an exhausted Simon Wells. Verbinski directed some of the underground Morlock sequences and is given a Thanks to credit in the film. He then directed the very successful Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which earned over 0 million at the international box office. -Wikipedia.org

9. Peter Jackson: ,315,775,949

Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, best known for his adaption of the multiple Academy Award winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy adapted from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is also known for his 2005 remake of King Kong and as the producer of District 9.  He won international attention early in his career with his “splatstick” horror comedies, before coming to mainstream prominence with Heavenly Creatures, for which he shared an Academy Award Best Screenplay nomination with his wife, Fran Walsh. Jackson has been awarded three Academy Awards in his career. -Wikipedia.org

8. Michael Bay: ,495,782,691

Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for directing high-budget action-adventure films characterized for their fast edits and substantial use of practical effects. His films, which include Bad Boys, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Transformers, have grossed over three billion dollars world-wide. He is co-founder of commercial production house The Institute, a.k.a. The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness. He is co-chair and part-owner of the special effects house Digital Domain. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house which has remade horror movies including Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A Nightmare on Elm Street. -Wikipedia.org

7. Tim Burton: ,621,615,288

Timothy William “Tim” Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for his dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and for blockbusters such as Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, his most recent film, that is currently the highest-grossing film of 2010 as well as the fifth highest-grossing film of all time. Among Burton’s many collaborators are his friend Johnny Depp, musician Danny Elfman (who has composed for all but five of the films Burton has directed and/or produced) and domestic partner Helena Bonham Carter. He also wrote and illustrated the poetry book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, published in 1997, and a compilation of his drawings, entitled The Art of Tim Burton, was released in 2009. Burton has directed 14 films as of 2010, and has produced 10 as of 2009. -Wikipedia.org

6. Chris Columbus: ,671,239,112

Christopher “Chris” Columbus (born September 10, 1958) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Columbus had most his most success with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Home Alone (1990), winning a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Film, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010). His directorial work includes Home Alone (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Nine Months (1995), Stepmom (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999), Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rent (2005), I Love You Beth Cooper (2009) and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010).  Columbus founded his production company named 1492 Pictures in 1995, intended as a play to Columbus’s more famous namesake, Christopher Columbus. -Wikipedia.org

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5. George Lucas: ,700,470,625

George Walton Lucas, Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an Academy Award-nominated American film producer, screenwriter, director and founder/chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic science fiction franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. Today, Lucas is one of the American film industry’s most financially successful independent directors/producers, with an estimated net worth of .0 billion as of 2009. George Lucas is one of the most successful and celebrated filmmakers in cinema history, with a film career dominated by writing and production. Aside from the nine short films he made in the 1960s, he has also directed six major features to date. The early 1970s work as a writer-director that established him as a major figure in Hollywood consists of just three titles, made between 1971 and 1977 — THX 1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars — and there was a 22-year hiatus between Star Wars Episode IV and his only other feature-film directing credits, the three Star Wars prequels. -Wikipedia.org

4. Ron Howard: ,758,280,948

Ronald William “Ron” Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing the son of sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith), Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show (credited as Ronny Howard), and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham’s son and Arthur Fonzarelli’s best friend (played by Tom Bosley and Henry Winkler respectively), Richie Cunningham, on Happy Days (a role he played from 1974 to 1980). Since retiring from acting, he has directed many films including Splash, Cocoon, Backdraft, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code, and Angels & Demons.  In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. -Wikipedia.org

3. James Cameron: ,904,798,279

James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor. His writing and directing work includes The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009). In the time between making Titanic and his return to feature films with Avatar, Cameron spent some years creating documentary films, and also co-developing the digital 3-D Fusion Camera System. Described by a biographer as part-scientist and part-artist, Cameron has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. In total, Cameron’s directorial efforts have grossed approximately US.9 billion in North America and US.75 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing directors of all time. Cameron’s Titanic and Avatar are the two highest-grossing films of all time. -Wikipedia.org

2. Robert Zemeckis

Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1951) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future movie series, as well as the Oscar-winning live-action/cartoon epic, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), though in the 1990s he diversified into more dramatic fare, including 1994′s Forrest Gump, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.  His films are characterized by an interest in state-of-the-art special effects, including the early use of match moving in Back to the Future Part II (1989) and the pioneering performance capture techniques seen in The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007) and A Christmas Carol (2009). Though Zemeckis has often been pigeonholed as a director interested only in effects, his work has been defended by several critics, including David Thomson, who wrote that “No other contemporary director has used special effects to more dramatic and narrative purpose.” -Wikipedia.org

1. Steven Spielberg: ,765,045,385

Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In a career spanning six decades, Spielberg’s films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg’s early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an archetype of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing such issues as the Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism. He is considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Three of Spielberg’s films – Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993) – achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds .5 billion worldwide. Forbes puts Spielberg’s wealth at .0 billion. -Wikipedia.org

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:

The Highest-Grossing R-Rated Comedies

Best Male Lead Performances in Film

The Highest Grossing Actors in Film

The Top Grossing Animated Movies

1. Videodrome

Videodrome is a 1983 Canadian science fiction film written and directed by David Cronenberg, starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and singer Debbie Harry from Blondie. Set in Toronto during the early 80′s, it follows the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal featuring extreme violence and torture. He soon finds out that the signal actually causes damage to the brain causing hallucinations. As he gets closer to discovering the origins of the signal, he gets sucked into a world of sadomasochistic sex, right-wing conspiracies, and bodily transformations. -wikipedia.org

2. The Exorcist

The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism  conducted by two priests. The film features Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Lee J. Cobb, Jason Miller and Mercedes McCambridge. Both the film and novel took inspiration from a documented exorcism in 1949, performed on a fourteen-year-old boy. The film is one of a cycle of ‘demonic child’ movies produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen.  The film became one of the most profitable horror films of all time, grossing 0,000,000 worldwide, and proved to have a profound effect on popular culture. The film earned ten Academy Award nominations—winning two, one for Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay, and losing Best Picture to The Sting.

Along with the novel on which it was based, Blatty’s script has been published several times over the years. The Exorcist was commercially released in the United States by Warner Bros. on December 26, 1973, and re-released on March 17, 2000, with a restored version released on September 22, 2000. It was named the scariest movie of all time by Entertainment Weekly and Movies.com and by viewers of AMC in 2006, and was #3 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments.-Wikiepedia.org

3. Alien

Alien is a culturally significant 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film’s title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial  creature which stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship.

Alien garnered both critical acclaim and box office success, receiving an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects,Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright, and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, along with numerous other award nominations. It has remained highly praised in subsequent decades, being inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2002 for historical preservation as a film which is “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and being ranked by the American Film Institute in 2008 as the seventh best film in the science fiction genre. -Wikipedia.org

4. The Shining

The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Director Stanley Kubrick co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Diane Johnson.

The film stars Jack Nicholson as tormented writer Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as his wife Wendy, and Danny Lloyd as their son, Danny.  Unlike most Stanley Kubrick films which saw a slow graduated release building on word-of-mouth reputation, The Shining was released in a manner more like a mass-market film, opening at first in just two cities on Memorial Day, and then a month later seeing a nationwide release (including to drive-ins) after extensive television advertising. Nonetheless, initial response to the film was mixed and at first it performed moderately at the box office.

The subsequent European release was almost half an hour shorter. Later critical assessment of the film has been more favorable and it is now viewed as a classic of the horror genre by critics such as Roger Ebert and other directors like Martin Scorsese. Its iconic and surreal imagery is now deeply embedded throughout popular culture. -Wikipedia.org

5. Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features John Saxon, Heather Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund and Johnny Depp in his feature film debut. Set in the fictional Midwestern town of Springwood, Ohio, the plot revolves around several teenagers being terrorized in their nightmares by the ghost of a serial child murderer named Fred Krueger.

Craven produced A Nightmare on Elm Street on an estimated budget of just .8 million, a sum the film earned back during its first week. An instant commercial success, the film’s total United States box office gross is .5 million. A Nightmare on Elm Street was initially met with relatively mixed critical reviews—however went on to make a significant impact on the horror genre, spawning a franchise consisting of a line of sequels, a television series, an upcoming remake and various other works of imitation. -Wikipedia.org

6. The Omen

The Omen is a 1976  suspense/horror  film directed by Richard Donner. The film stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson and Leo McKern. It is the first film in The Omen series and was scripted by David Seltzer, who also wrote the novel.  The film followed a cycle of demonic child movies including Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. The cycle continued with such films as Holocaust 2000.  A remake, The Omen 666, was released on June 6, 2006. This date was chosen as a reference to the Number of the Beast (666).  -Wikipedia.org

This was one of the best horror films, if not the best horror film, in 1976.

7. Hellraiser

Hellraiser is a 1987  horror film exploring the themes of pain as a source of pleasure and morality under duress and fear. It is based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. In the UK, the film is titled Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. It is the first film in the Hellraiser series. Seven sequels followed with a remake of the first announced in 2007. Hellraiser was number 19 on the cable channel Bravo’s list of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments. -Wikipedia.org

8. The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead (also known as: Evil Dead, The Book of the Dead, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror) is a 1981 U.S. horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area. Their vacation becomes gruesome when they find an audiotape that releases evil spirits.  The film was extremely controversial for its graphic terror, violence and gore, being initially turned down by almost all U.S. film distributors until a European company finally bought it in the Cannes Film Festival marketplace.

It was finally released into theaters on October 15, 1981. Although its budget was just 5,000, the film was a moderate success at the box office, grossing a total of ,400,000 in the U.S. upon its initial release. Despite getting mixed reviews by critics at the time, it now has a dedicated cult following. The film has spawned two sequels, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness; work on a script for a further film has started.  When the film was re-submitted for a rating in 1994 the MPAA classified it with an NC-17 rating.

When the distribution company Elite Entertainment released the film on DVD in 1999 they retained the NC-17 version. Anchor Bay Entertainment has since acquired the DVD rights to the film, and their subsequent releases have surrendered the rating to allow them to release the film unrated.  -wikipedia.org

This has now become a cult film and from it has stemed Evil Dead II and III. Even “Evil Dead the Musical” now exists which stands equal to the “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” These facts deem “Evil Dead” forever as a top ten horror film.

9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written collaboratively by Hooper and Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Teri McMinn, William Vail, Edwin Neal and Paul A. Partain. While presented as a true story, involving the ambush and murder of a group of friends on a road trip in rural Texas by a family of cannibals, the film is completely fictional.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre started the six films of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise which revolved around the character of Leatherface, portrayed by Hansen in this film.  In drafting his story, Hooper took into account the history of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, as well as perceived lies of the American government. Producing on a budget estimated at around 0,000, Hooper cast relatively unknown actors for his film, drawing people mainly from the areas surrounding the Texas filming locations.

Principal photography of the film took place between July 15 and August 14, 1973. When the film was completed, Hooper struggled to find a distributor for the film because of the graphic depiction of violence; when he did secure a distributor the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave the film an R-rating, instead of the PG-rating Hooper had intended.  Bryanston Distributing Company released The Texas Chain Saw Massacre theatrically on October 1, 1974.

Because of the content, several foreign jurisdictions banned the film. It drew mixed critical reception initially, receiving both praise and criticism regarding the atmosphere, story, characters, and graphic content, but it became a strong commercial success, grossing .8 million at the U.S. box office. Despite the mixed critical reception, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has gained a reputation as one of the greatest and most influential horror films of all time, originating several topics common in the slasher film genre, including the characterization of the killer as a large, hulking and faceless figure and the use of power tools as murder weapons. -wikipedia.org

10. Halloween

Halloween is a 1978 American  independent horror film directed by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film is set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois. On Halloween, six year old Michael Myers murders his older sister. Fifteen years later, he escapes from his psychiatric hospital, returns home, and stalks three teenage girls with plans for a murder spree.

His psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis suspects Michael’s intent and follows him to Haddonfield to try and prevent this.Halloween was produced on a budget of 0,000 and grossed million at the box office in the United States, equivalent to over 0 million as of 2008, becoming one of the most profitable independent films. Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).

The movie originated many clichés found in low-budget horror films of the 1980s and 1990s. Halloween  itself contains little graphic violence and gore. In 2006, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

-wikipedia.org

As we are now looking forward to the 11th Annual 0 Film Festival, I would like to take you back to the early days of the Festival. While, in this story, I talk about myself and what I did, the success of the Festival comes from the many people who took inspiration from the spirit of Festival, and made their own contribution. Some of these I mention by name, but many more I have not. Speaking for all of those who have had fun at the Festival I thank those who made it happen.

The Prehistory of the 0 Film Festival: The Odyssey of James Beattie Morison

I cannot tell the story of the 0 Film Festival without telling some of my own story. I was born and raised in Winnipeg and I got interested in making films after I saw Stanley Kuibrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” To this day this remains my favourite film.

For my first films I used my father’s regular 8mm camera. Coincidentally the poster for the 8th Annual 0 Film Festival used the same make and model of  camera. Later I bought  my self a super 8 camera.

I often describe the films I made then as “two minute back yard monster epics.” These films had titles like “The Monster Who Killed,” “The Monster Who Killed Goes on Vacation,”  “The Monster Who Killed Celebrates Christmas” and “The Terror in Room 24.” The Monster was my brother in a nightshirt with a pillow case over his head. My most ambitious film was “The Smiling Corpse,” a film heavily influenced by H.P.Lovecraft. For this film I shot three rolls of Super 8 film and produced a final film running about 8 minutes. These films had limited artistic merit, but I enjoyed making them.

I stopped making films after I graduated from University. This was partly because I was devoting so much time to my career. However, I also felt I had reached the limit  to the films I could do with the equipment and the knowledge I had. I decided that until I had something more substantial to say that I would not make any films.

After working for an engineering consultant in Winnipeg I moved to Calgary. I worked hard at my engineering career and enjoyed it very much and gave little thought to film making. After several years of work I began to feel the need for an outlet for my creative impulses. My hope was to make a film, but I thought that making a film was an unrealistic goal.

That didn’t stop me from taking some film classes at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal College and SAIT. In a class at SAIT, taught by Wayne Bernier, I made a short 16mm film: “Extra Special Care.” The rule for  films made in the class was that they could use no more than three rolls of film. Making  this film showed to me that I could make a film with more substance without spending millions of dollars. In a class taught by Gord Pepper, I happened to overhear him talking about the CSIF to another student. I joined the next day.

The CSIF exposed me to films very different from what I had seen before. This experience changed my own ideas about film making. I began to see making a film as a more realistic goal. I worked on two of my own projects at the CSIF  “Sam and Vic” and “My Most Difficult Case.” By early 1991 neither of these efforts had produced anything. The failure of these projects discouraged me.

Bring Us Your Ideas

It was at this time that Denise Clarke phoned me. She was a member of the CSIF Board of Directors. She invited me to attend a meeting to discuss ideas about how to encourage more people to make films at the CSIF. The CSIF was facing an uncertain future. Some people were saying that in five years everyone would be working in video and nobody would be making films. She encouraged me to come with my own ideas.

A few days later I set aside time think of ideas. I spent a couple of hours scribbling down my thoughts. Nothing really got me excited.

Eventually, I asked myself why aren’t people making films? Then, to make the issue more personal, I asked myself why I wasn’t making film? My first answer was that films cost tens of thousands of dollars to make. Video was much cheaper. My second answer was that the quality of work achieved by other film makers at the CSIF  intimidated me. My third answer was to express the fear that  if I made a film, would anyone come and see it? Making a film is itself an achievement, but that was not enough. I wanted to make a film that would connect with people and make them glad they had seen it.

After a few minutes I didn’t come up with anything, so I retreated to reminiscing about the films I had made. I thought about my “two minute backyard monster epics,” but then my thoughts focused more on two of my films  “The Smiling Corpse” and “Extra Special Care.” I thought it would be enjoyable if I could show these films some place. I thought: why doesn’t someone start a film festival?

Now I had an idea that excited me. I started to think of the rules for the festival. Anyone could make the kind of film I had in mind with three rolls of film. Three rolls of super 8  would cost about . I rounded that off to 0 and  had a name: The 0 Film Festival. By now I felt I was on to some thing and started to develop the idea further. I came up with the idea of an audience favourite award, which became a central feature of the festival.

At the meeting I sat back quietly and listened to the discussion. I didn’t really want to speak up. Near the end of the meeting, the chairperson asked each person there to say something before closing the meeting. I  decided not to bring up my idea for the 0 Film Festival, and just say something supportive of the ideas discussed instead.

Just before my turn came,  Stephen Hanon got up to speak. He offered to edit a newsletter for the membership. After what Stephen said I felt I had to volunteer to do something, so I when I got up I talked about  “The 0 Film Festival.”  As I remember it two people, Stephen Hanon and Michael Willis,  reacted with real excitement to the idea. In the following weeks, especially as word got around, many people more began to encourage me to organize the festival. Stephen Hanon in particular was very supportive, as was Gord Pepper.

Year 1: The Monster Who Killed Rises Again

In the fall of 1991 I started the ball rolling by setting a date and sending out a notice with the rules. While I called the festival “The 0 Film Festival,” in the rules, I set the limits based on the number of rolls of film shot. Three rolls of colour sound film, four rolls of colour silent film and five rolls of black and white film seemed reasonable limits to me. I  made the pledge that I would try to show every film submitted. The Festival  kept this pledge for seven years.

The First Annual 0 Film Festival was set for in April 24, 1992 at the CSIF theatre. At the time the CSIF lived in the basement of an old church on 16th Avenue. I recruited a jury to program the festival that included Marcella Bienvenue, Martin Rumsby and Ron Sadownik. Allan Belyea, who was then a brand-new employee at the CSIF, did most of the work of organizing and publicizing for the festival. He recruited Patrick Brooks, who designed the floating directors chair that became the Festival’s Logo.  Michael Willis was the projectionist.

Film makers submitted seven films to the Festival. I talked to many people who had thought of making films, or who tried to make films. Although they did not have a film to enter, the idea still excited them. Some of these films were completed and screened in later 0 Film Festivals.

As the Festival date approached, I attended the jury’s screening of the films and I sat in on their initial discussions. The jury gave an award to every film submitted. We felt that anyone who finished a film deserved an award, and that since our objective was to encourage film making, we should give everyone an award. It also ensured that I got an award.

After the Festival Gord Pepper said, it was like a scene from a Fellini film. Allan Belyea described the crowd as a “don’t tell the Fire Marshall crowd.” We had close to 90 people in a 30-seat theatre. Even at that we turned away people at the door. The master of ceremonies, Nowell Berg, said “no mater how good any of the future festivals are, we will know that this was the best.”

I remember the seven films quite clearly.

“Grave Delusions” by Howard Horowitz ( 6 min’s 30-sec) was a horror film about a man trying to save a woman from a threat in a grave yard. Howard had just recently joined the CSIF and this was his first film.

“You Know What They Say” by Pete McGowan (2 min’s 43-sec) was about a tense conversation between two women, with much left unsaid, until the end. Pete was a filmmaker based in Edmonton.

“Before the Collage” by Allan Belyea (5 min’s 45-sec) was the story of a romance. A juror felt this film was praiseworthy because looking at a relationship in this way was rare for a man.

“A Weekend in Calgary” by James Beattie Morison (2 min’s 18-sec) grew out of a camera test. I  used a camera with an intervalrometer to produce a time lapse version of a trip from Calgary to Lake Louise and back. The addition of the title and “Pipeline” by the Chantays transformed this test into a statement about the pressures of living the Calgary lifestyle. I was pleased at the positive response of the audience, and I still get comments about the film, over 10 years since it was last shown in public.

“The Wandering Jew” by Robert Manning ( 8 min) was the most controversial of the films, with the jury spending more time discussing it than all the others combined. This film succeeded at times in achieving an epic feel that suited the story. Robert, was the only filmmaker not attending the festival.

“Tender” by Greg Danyluk (6 min’s 22-sec) was the story of a young doll threatened by the corruption of the big city. Chosen as the audience favourite, this film has retained its popularity. The Puppet Film Festival recently showed it. Greg was another new film maker who had joined the CSIF. He, like myself, attended the University of Manitoba and graduated in Civil Engineering.

“left brain right brain” by Jeff Langille (2 min’s 40-sec) was the jury favourite. More abstract that the other films, it was a challenging and stimulating film. Jeff Langille was a filmmaker based in Vancouver.

Year 2: New Faces, New Directions

With the success of the first festival we knew there had to be a second. At the first Festival people were already talking about the films they were going to make for next year. I recruited Geo Major, Philip Letourneau, David Jones and Donna Burwood as volunteers to help with the Festival. Philip and David have both been involved with every Festival since then.

Unfortunately, in early 1993 I had to bow out because of  work commitments. Geo Major took over as the head of the Festival. Geo called on me several times for advice and kept me informed about the progress of the festival.

While I regretted having to leave the Festival, I also felt that it also started a tradition of the Festival bringing in new people with new ideas. At first I thought of the Festival as “my” Festival. However, in time the Festival developed a life of its own, with the people who make it happen bring new energy and ideas. The Festival belongs to no one and everyone.

For the Second Annual 0 Film Festival we moved to the Fort Calgary Theatre, which had 150 seats. In its second year the Festival received 20 film submissions, with most of them from Calgary Filmmakers. I did not make a film for the festival, so  Donna Burwood gave me a “try again next time” award.

The Festival was very lucky with publicity in 1993. First local CBC radio picked up on the Festival and interviewed several filmmakers. They gave out some free tickets, with the stipulation that the people had to come on air after the festival and do a review. The CBC local TV news covered the festival by showing Allan Belyea working on his film. The CBC National News later showed this report. Finally, CTV’s morning program interviewed two of the filmmakers, Ewa Snyaticka and Clarence Boudreau.

All the publicity resulted in a big public response to the festival and the tickets quickly sold out. We added a second screening on the Sunday night and in the end the Festival  made a slight profit. My personal favourite was “the last time I saw you” by Janice Starko, a reflection on the death of a close friend.

About a week before the Festival Geo Major called me in a panic. He had bought a glass plate as an award for the audience favourite. It suddenly occurred to him, what would we do if we had a tie? I told him not to worry as a tie was very unlikely. The night of the festival when they announced the audience favourite it was a tie!  Afterwards I asked “how close was it?” Geo said “They got the same number of votes, you can’t get any closer than that.” I felt foolish, until a minute later when someone else came up and asked the same question. Geo had to go buy another plate.

The two audience favourite films were “In the Fast Lane” by Howard Horowitz and “H.U.S.H” by Ewa Snyaticka. “In the Fast Lane” was about combining two popular Canadian sports. “H.U.S.H.” was a dystopian vision about a future where art was outlawed. “H.U.S.H” was also the jury favourite. The second Festival also saw the first 16mm films, “The Big Frame” by Andy Jaremko and “Turtle Heads React” by Gary Burns, although they were not part of the competition.

A Bright Future: 11 years and counting

The 0 Film Festival began as a way to inspire people to make films. After 10 successful years the 0 Film Festival has built a tradition of support for film makers in Calgary. Many films have been made that would not have been made if the Festival did not exist. Many people have made films that would not have made films if the Festival did not exist. In other Cities similar festivals have started.

I believe a film maker must have a vision. You need to have something to say that you want other people to hear. The 0 Film Festival is about helping film makers realize their vision. The Festival is there to celebrate film making.

When I started the Festival people told me that film was on the way out. I thought that the Festival  would last at most five years before video would make it obsolete. I was wrong. Film may someday become obsolete, but there are still many things that can be done in film that cannot be done otherwise. The Festival can continue to celebrate film for many more years.

The future will bring new challenges, but this is a Festival that was a response to challenges.  The future holds opportunities too. As long as the Festival can give people the opportunity to make their mark they will make the Festival vital.

I went to my first writing course on Saturday 29th November in London: On the Page with Pilar Alessandra.
I was a little nervous but more excited about going to the course. I have only just decided I am going to do this, so I didn’t want to turn up and be the student who can’t write because I think I am good at this and I didn’t want to fall at the first hurdle.

Anyway the course was exactly the right one for me as ‘On the Page’ refers to getting those ideas out of your head and, you guessed it, on the page! 

The course was fantastic, not only because, thank god, I didn’t suck but, Pilar gave us simple and easy steps that made the prospect of going on and writing seem easy. Also the group was put at ease by Pilar’s approach to teaching so you felt safe sharing ideas and they were a great bunch of writers. I felt a little intimidated as everyone else was obviously used to calling themselves a writer whereas I feel like I can, could, will be one, but I’m only at the ideas stage!However I have now been inspired by Pilar and with my resources at my finger tips I shall write all I need to get a calling card script and a writing agent. 

This being my first and only course I have nothing to compare it to but after talking with others on the course it seems it was a favorite for even the more seasoned course attendees. Here’s some of their quotes:

“Must say that I’ve done many classes in my time but I’ve never met anybody who imparts quite so much really useful information in such a short space of time. Quite invigorating.” Simon Rose
I thoroughly enjoyed the class on Saturday.  I must admit to being somewhat sceptical going in; I am not a fan of structural preachings (I threw McKee’s book ‘Story’ so hard against my living room wall that it has become structurally integral to the building).  However, I was turned. ” James Bicknell

You can find out lots about Pilar and the course online. I’d recommend it for anyone who really wants to start the process of putting the ideas you’ve had for ages to good use!
I consider this my step 2 in writing. Step 3 requires action!!!!

Acclaimed writer-director Paul Haggis has been a fixture of television and film for over 25 years. In this wide-ranging interview, the Oscar®-winning co-screenwriter, director, and producer of Crash (Best Picture 2005) discusses a three-decade career that led from writing for sitcoms like Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life to his breakthrough screenplay for Oscar®-winning director Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby (Best Picture 2004). Haggis’s matter-of-fact stories of navigating the entertainment industry are an indelible primer for how to manage the screenwriting life, make a successful transition from TV to film, develop a strong story and characters, pitch an idea, and surmount Hollywood’s more frustrating obstacles.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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22 Ways to Improve Your Screenwriting
By hcroasmun

Whether you are trying to win contests or sell your script, it is important that you take advantage of every opportunity you can to increase your chances of success.

Some people have estimated the odds of a good screenwriter selling a script to be in the neighborhood of 1 in 5,000.

What if you could cut that in half just by one action? Now, you’re at 1 in 2,500.

Then, what if you could cut that by 1/5th by taking a series of actions. Now, you’re at 1 in 500.

And if you continue on that path, sooner or later, you’ll get to 1 in 10 or even 1 in 2.

If you don’t believe that, let me ask you this: What are the chances of Charlie Kaufman selling another screenplay?

He wrote BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION, and other screenplays. Would you say that his chances of selling another screenplay are pretty high? Would you be shocked to hear that he sold another script in the next six months? I doubt it.

But if you’d met Charlie Kaufman when he first began writing, wouldn’t you say he was right in there with the 1 in 5,000 odds against him?

My point is this: Everyone starts at 1 in 5,000 odds and it is up to us to shift the odds until they are in our favor. Shifting those odds is just a matter of constantly improving and taking advantage of the opportunities that come to us.

Below is 22 ways to improve your screenwriting. I’ve started with the most obvious and built to some ideas that are out of the ordinary.

I present this list so you will always have a way to improve your screenwriting, even if you are trapped in your room by yourself with no money and no contacts.

1. Write every day.

2. Read produced screenplays and search for what they did well. Read for a contest and see the difference between the winners and the ones that didn’t make it.

3. Take a screenwriting class. I can easily recommend a few.

4. Get feedback on your writing.

5. Critique another writer’s scripts.

6. Join a screenwriting group.

7. Take your favorite screenplay and transcribe it, noticing the choices the writer made.

8. Select a technique to improve and use it in one or more scenes.

9. Write the same scene a completely different way.
- Reverse a scene or character
- Increase the stakes
- Change who prevails in the scene
- Use a twist to change the end of the scene
- Put the characters in a worse position

10. Have another writer write one of your scenes in a completely different way.

11. Take a character to an extreme to see what other possibilities are available.

12. Take a line of dialogue or description and rewrite it 10 different ways or more.

13. Stretch yourself: Give your character an unsolvable problem and then solve it.

14. Pick a scene in a movie you like and write it. Once you have completed it, read the writer’s script for that scene and see how he or she wrote it differently.

15. Watch a movie, stopping it at the end of each scene. Write down what happened in the scene, how the characters changed, what was the in and out points, and what was the most interesting part of the scene.

16. Take your best idea and top it in some way! Sometimes, it is not about the writing. It is about the thinking and the breakthroughs and getting used to coming up with fresh ideas. Force yourself to top your best ideas on a regular basis and soon, you’ll have the best ideas in Hollywood.

17. Find out what a producer or reader wants in a script. This can shift your chances dramatically. It may save you from writing something that has no chance of success.

18. Take an acting class.

19. Do a read-through with actors.

20. Shoot a short on DV. For anyone who has done this, you’ve had the experience of seeing actors bring your script to life. Until you do, you can’t imagine the amount of pride and embarrassment you’ll experience. But directing even one scene will change how you write.

21. Give yourself permission to write from your heart with no holding back.

22. Decide that you will constantly improve your writing until you are one of the best screenwriters there is.

There you are. 22 ways to shift the odds of your success. Many of which do not even require that you leave your computer. If you’re serious about writing, I wouldn’t let a day go by without doing at least one of the above.

A 1% improvement every day is a 365% improvement over the next year. Keep doing that and sooner or later, you’ll be in Charlie Kaufman’s league — making those 7-figure deals.

Hal Croasmun is a writer/producer and the author of “33 Ways to Break into Hollywood.” He publishes the ScriptForSale newsletter with articles about screenwriting and interviews with A-List screenwriters at http://www.ScriptForSale.com

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You may also be able to store biographical details n characters, their relationships to each other, their places in the arc of the story and the development of plot. Once you have a basic idea of how to write a script but are perhaps intimidated by the idea of following your original ideas through to realisation, this type of software can undoubtedly make the entire experience more enjoyable and accessible. Color coded screen tabs are often used in the interfaces of these applications, which allow you to cross reference and cross check each chapter with your synopsis whilst subdividing your script according to not only chapter breaks but perhaps a three part natural flow or even into natural scene or act breaks.

Your script will cease to be a monolithic monster which is daunting each time you approach it, but will become an organic creation which can easily be adapted and altered according to your requirements. As your characters take life and follow unexpected paths, you can track whether this will alter your overall conception of plot in a negative or positive manner, adapting script to fit synopsis and vice versa. Many professional television and feature film scriptwriters use screenwriting software because it is so convenient and saves time and money. These applications cannot replace your initial inspiration and a degree of raw talent coupled with determination and dedication but they can undoubtedly make the entire process more accessible and enjoyable.

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I married a man who inherited his father’s love for home theater. So obviously when we moved in to our own house a home theater is in order. I am lucky I have at my disposal a home theater geek to explain to me what a home theater is, my husband. He is also a certified DIYer so another bonus, savings on installation cost.

We have a 22-square meter room which we converted into our very own custom home theater. The room is not that big so a gigantic screen and humongous speakers are a definite no-no. Actually the number one consideration should be the budget, and usually the smaller the room the smaller the budget you will burn. Our strategy is to design a home theater for the 22 square meter room on a relatively low budget and purchase the equipment one by one.

Warning, buying home theater equipment is a very confusing activity. Be wary of sales people, who will bombard you with terms like “FullHD”, “HD capable”, “Blu-Ray”, “1080p”, “720p”, “THX”, etc. Hopefully my experience will help to put some sanity to all this home theater mumbo jumbo.

First on the agenda is the display. We had a great deal on this one, for Php 27,000 we have a 720p HD capable 42″ Plasma TV. So why not the Full HD TV, apparently the human eye cannot distinguish the difference between Full HD and HD capable TVs for 42″ below screen unless you have super vision.

And its 27K, it’s a steal.

Next in the agenda are the speakers, amplifier and receiver.  This is the tricky part, usually for custom installation these are purchased separately. In our case due to space and budget limitation we opted for “Home Theater in a Box” or HTIB are basically a packaged home theater system which offers out of the box home cinema experience. The speakers, amplifier and receiver are bundled into a single package. It also removes the connection guesswork that usually comes with home theater. HTIB uses a single wire called HDMI cable to connect the TVs, DVDs, etc. For our HTIB we chose  6 speakers, 5.1 surround sound and 3 input system. This set us back at around Php 15,000.

The last thing that we bought is a PlayStation 3 or PS3. Why the PS3? It serves us as the DVD player, BluRay player, Music Player and most of all it is also a gaming console making it our main source of family home entertainment. This home theater of ours is easy to set up, just plugged it all in to the HTIB via the HDMI cable, put in the latest DVD and just like that we have  a cinema on our very own home.

Just Watch It
Video Rating: 4 / 5

The general area is more dominated by covering such opportunities as weddings, senior portraits, family photos, you know the general sort of stuff. A good example of this is David Wadley, who provides Birmingham Wedding Photography. Most of the photographers in this area will not be using this income as their primary source.

Commercial photographers will work for businesses rather than the community. This will be shooting for the likes of magazines/catalogues, newspapers, architectural business, any type of corporation that require photographs to be taken. This could mean that you will be a staff photographer or working as a freelance. Freelance means that your hours are much more flexible but you’re generally not able to rely on a steady income. If you do work in this area then you will probably specialize in a specific area, such as food, concerts or motoring.

And as for advertising, well it’s a bit of an obvious one really because the clue is in the name. These photographers will help companies to advertise. This area is hard to break into, but when you do, you will find your name pretty much everywhere from magazines, tv shows, billboards and other types of media outlet. To get into this area you will have to find out how to climb the ladder to success and be prepared to spend a lot of time and effort doing so.

So before choosing what area you want to get into in your Photography career, make sure you know what it’s going to take and which would be best suited for you.

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