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| The I in Independence |
| Spring 2007 Page 2 |
| Masterpiece or Not By Raul Castelan All writers are never happy with their work, As to the artist is with the brush, As to the director is with the actors, As to the philosopher is with the truth, Only until the critics have seen their work, They will come to the conclusion of what it is. Masterpiece or not, they will continue, Preaching on what they believe in, Making a movie that is bound to touch many lives, Drawing a painting that revolves around the scenes of everyday life, Writing a book that will show all the aspects of life, One is at peace when one knows one’s self. Empowered by their natural necessity to strife for the better, They will keep on keeping on with their works, Not letting anybody block them from their path, Full of virtue they shall become to render their emotions, They shall put all their backbone into their daily grind, That they will end up losing themselves in it. Who knows where they live or in what state they’re in, One just needs to look around for those particulars, It won’t be hard because they’re there in the flesh, Showing everything they have come across with, Multitudes of them shall be shown in almost anything, Everybody is here on earth for a purpose. Death is not an option in life for us all, We are here to exposed our uniqueness, What is and what is not to be done by us, Our affections toward every living thing, The circumstances that we have got into, Therefore, one becomes what one knows. |
| Jonathan Vazquez hasn’t been making movies very long, as a matter of fact this is still considered his first year but he has already managed to work with an establish production company and gotten some award reconnection for his first two short titled “Imitation is Suicide” and “Hello, I Love You.” He’s got that natural talent about him when it comes to telling a great story. Jonathan can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into this in the first place. ~My name is Jonathan Vazquez, born and raised here in Florida, and I'm a senior in high school. I think ever since I was 7 I've had little ideas for music videos, funny cartoons and such. I never really considered making something until my sophomore of high school, when I took my first T.V. production class. My teacher, Tim Oldakowski, was definitely a big influence. If it wasn't for him, I would probably still be hanging around the street corner, skateboarding all day long. Another GIANT influence was Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". I remember watching that for the first time and wishing I could have that kind of a connection with the world. Hopefully I'll get there one day. Beneath The Surface is your current project. Can you tell me about the storyline and how you end up working with Steven Shea of Abyssmal Entertainment? ~"Beneath the Surface" is a short about the journey of a dollar bill and the lives of the different, yet similar people who come in contact with it. It stars a bunch of fantastic local talent like Juan Santos, Sabrina Perez, Brewier Welch, Jeff Doden, Charlie Strickhouser, Garrett Harrisson, LiA Stivers, Kenny Matthews, Brandon Howle, and a few others. How I ended up working with Steven is actually a funny story. During May of my junior year of high school, I sent him an email basically saying that I'm a high school student and that I had no money, but I had a really good idea for a short. After reading my script, Steven was completely ok with helping me out. After sending him a bunch of "thank you" emails, he told me that he understood where I was coming from and that he had wished someone would've helped him out while he was in high school. Steven Shea and Jason Liquori (DP on Beneath the Surface) have been a lot of help and I am truly greatful. Your first two shorts were school related projects. How different was this approach to the school method? ~ Going from my little school projects to working on “Beneath the Surface” was quite a leap for me. I shot both “Imitation is Suicide” and “Hello, I Love You” with my school’ s AG-DVC 7, which is a piece of crap compared to the DVX-100a that Abyssmal is using on “Beneath the Surface” (I can’t imagine ever shooting anything without 24p again). Also, with “Imitation is Suicide” and “Hello, I Love You”, I was extremely limited when it came to cast, crew and location. Pretty much everything I ever shot before “Beneath the Surface” was either shot at my house, my school, or the local park with a couple of friends from school. I was blown away when we casted "BTS" with real actors and shot in locations other than my neighborhood. It was definitely a fantastic for me. What phase in the whole filmmaking process was the most difficult for you and why? ~ Production was the most grueling part of the whole process. Because I'm in high school during the week, I wasn't able to be on set for any Day shoots. This left us with only shooting weekends, which seemed okay until everyone else's schedule came into play. Not only that, but we had really bad luck with locking locations. For example, we had locked a gas station a week in advanced, just to be safe. The day before shooting, we called them just to keep them updated on everything. We came to find out that they had confused us with a different film that had already scheduled to shoot that day before we had. What are the odds?! Even though production was the most stressful part, it was definitely my most favorite. Going in did you have an idea of the way you expected things to be done and how did that differ from the way things did get done? ~ I came into this project already knowing a great deal about the filmmaking process, which I'm grateful for because I would've looked like an idiot in front of everyone. Steven and Jason did teach me a lot while on set though. In a way, they helped me "grow up" a bit more as a filmmaker. As a young filmmaker what do you think about the industry and mainstream films, Hollywood blockbusters? ~ I have mixed feelings about "mainstream" films and the industry as a whole. Some of these "mainstream" films are definitely worth the time. Scorsese's "The Departed", Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain", and Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men" are just a few films that really impressed me in 2006. Films that actually have a sense of purpose deserve being in the mainstream. But then you have those movies that are just out to make a buck, which are not even worthy of being mentioned. I think 2006 was a good year of films. A much better year than I've seen in a little while. Hopefully 2007 will blow '06 out of the water. You’ve done three shorts, any feature ideas in mind for the near future? ~ I actually just finished a rough draft of my first feature length script. Going from a short to a feature is a big leap, but I think I'll be ready for it in time. I plan to have my first feature in pre-production within the next 2 years. Keep an eye out for it! What do you hope to accomplish in the next five years and any final thoughts? ~In the next five years, I really hope to get my first feature film theatrical distribution. That's probably my goal in life right now, ha ha. Nothing would make me happier than to have the opportunity to share a story with the world. A story that I hold very close to my Heart. It's a one in a billion chance, but I'm willing to take it. Even if I end up not being able to accomplish my dream, it would have all be worth it. The journey there is what matters most. |
All the Pretty Faces by MMJoe Sanchez It doesn’t take much to make a movie these days. Well a “teen movie” but really they’re all over the place. Have you notice how these so called fresh young faces just keep popping up. These “girls” and “guys” who are part of the essential group we are suppose to be rooting for. Then there’s those that show up just to be hacked off but will get to the ones that count first. I’m talking about Paul Dano in”Little Miss Sunshine”. Great performance, he could have used a little more dialogue, don’t you think. How about Ellen Page in “Hard Candy”, well played? Better Still Ana Claudia Talanco’n from “Fast Food Nation,” want to know something about the fast food industry. Also worth mentioning are the young cast of “Art School Confidential”, “The Squid and the Whale” including Mrs. Paquin, half the cast of “ATL”, “Brick” and some of the cast of “We are Marshall” I know clique but it’s a feel good movie. Speaking of cliques here are some notable mentions; Alison Lohman, Lindsey Haun, Emily Rios, and anybody else that fits this ensemble. Now we’re getting to the “girls” and “guys”. The “fresh faces” that show up on screen to do whatever it is that they do. I mean who really cares about their “Final Destination” or “The Covenant.” Let’s not forget about the “Pulse” some people had to “Step Up” to. Also the “Turistas” that “Decent” into some sort of “Hostel.” Each year Hollywood producers cuff up an idea to sell and they figure a fresh face will do the trick. These gimmicky films are great marketing tools. Take a young cast and see how many people are willing to come in. Show a breast here and there or a six pack for the ladies and you got yourself some ticket sales. The trailers alone will tell you what exactly is being sold here. These so called “Pretty Faces” all have one thing in common; the potential to become the next best thing. While most of them will become part of the clique scenarios, some will have that lead potential. Time is the only thing that will tell us whose beyond the pretty face and will stand victorious in this giant game of chance that we call the Hollywood Film Industry. |
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