moving forward

I had a fantastic, if tiring, trip to London and saw a lot of great flicks, along with some mediocre offerings. Overall it was an excellent weekend that started, and ended, with strong films. I’ve an extensive review of the whole affair over on Babblogue. There’s no point repeating myself.

I was chuffed to briefly meet Brad Anderson, a talented director I’ve been praising since I viewed his creepily atmospheric film, Session 9. What impressed me the most about his new project, The Machinist, was his meticulous direction. Throughout the film I noted how he framed his shots, and when he chose to track, pan, or keep the camera stationary. Combined with the 1950s-style music by Roque Baños, and the excellent lighting, the film has a Hitchcockian atmosphere. Christian Bale transforms himself for an astonishing performance, and he is ably helped by the other actors. The script by newcomer Scott Kovacs is well-written even though it utilises an idea that’s been used before. The film is the epitome of how you can invest new drama into an old idea if you have an inventive director, and a solid supporting cast and crew.

What’s also interesting about The Machinist is that Anderson could not get funding for the project in the USA. So he turned to Spain, where Session 9 had been well received, and shot his film there even though it is set in LA. This trick is helped because of the unreal quality of the film. Expect other American directors and producers to take this approach in the future in order to see their cherished Indy projects on the big screen.

I’ve been busy since I returned from London, with little time for anything other than catching up, getting mundane matters in order, and recuperating from a gruelling five days as well as the travel between countries.

Today I touched up the flash fiction I wrote recently and sent it off to a market. I do like publications that allow email submissions. It makes the process so much easier.

I’ve had little time to prepare for college on Monday. I think I’ll be nervous on the day, but that’s to be expected. I’ve plenty of work to accomplish in the coming day, so I better get cracking.

I was without email for my entire trip away, and much to my surprise, I didn’t miss it. And, when I returned, my phone line was dead for a day, which hampered my return to the Internet. I was no-mail on a bunch of mailing lists during this time, and I’m going to unsub from some of them. I won’t have the time to keep up with them, and when I examine it, seriously, many of them don’t contribute anything to my current goals. It’s best to let them go.