I guess we all (well, maybe some of us) know that Tarantino and Rodriguez are two amazing filmmakers. Considering what they gave us in their previous endevours such as the El Mariachi trilogy, and Quentin's Pulp Fiction extravaganza--some just can't appreciate being different.



Grindhouse--a double feature that pays homage to early exploitation films opened last weekend in the States to rave reviews. Critics love it. Well, some critics favored Rodriguez's more than Tarantino's; but what the hell, they loved it. Everyone expected at least 30 million dollars earn at the box office. It was highly publicized. E!'s having a Grindhouse week, then you could just see it every night on The Insider. Tarantino and Rodriguez both on late night talk shows. So you'd think that I'd earn even more than 30 million fucking dollars. But then again, it only earned 11.5 million.

So, what's wrong here? Ice Cube's "Are We Done Yet?" earned even more? Fuck it. This weekend on the box office in the states, it only brought in 4 million, which makes it 19 million in two weeks. Considering that the Weinsteins put in 67 million bucks for the production of the movie, you'd say that, Yeah, it's a big dissapointment.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not all for the box office. For me, I'm really glad that it bombed in the box office. Makes you wanna think that only a couple of people really appreciate being different.

So, back to my question: What's wrong here? Let's conside the movie being 3 hours long. Meaning there are less screenings on every theatre. But then again, Titanic grossed billions at the box office. They say that it opened on a Easter weekend where families see family comedies. Who'd want zombies and Fergie being devoured by zombies on Jesus' resurrection?

Some analyst said that this what would happen if Tarantino released Kill Bill in just one volume. Anyway, the Weinsteins are disappointed. They gave Tarantino the break he deserved. Sayang.

All things in perspective, I really am glad that this movie bombed at the box office. As in, really. First, Grindhouse movies doesn't really garner much attention than, let's say, Leonardo's new pic. It could also be Weinstein's fault, they gave 67 million bucks when they could've just gave 10 million and called it quits. It's a grindhouse movie for godssakes--It should be low-budgeted. Anyway, the box office sucks. We define a movie on how much money it makes. Pero sobrang naaawa lang ako. This just shows that Hollywood is no place for something different. It's a great deal! Fuck! For (magkano na ba sine sa states?) 11 bucks? You get two movies? What the fuck is wrong with that? Can't they just watch it?

Anyway, I now realized that I'm all for the Grindhouse split controversy. Pero mas maganda sana if they show it here (please, Lord) on a double feature edition. We're familliar with the setting, I think in the provinces they still have D/W moviehouses. I remember watching Princess Sarah doubled with Cedie: Ang Munting Prinsipe. Panalo! Split Grindhouse into two movies, get back the missing reels, just keep the trailer. Keep the trailer intact. Then we'll all be happy.

I'm sticking to the "sugod MTRCB" project if they ban this movie. Fucking censorship.

I'm going over my notes for this day. I'm hoping I could tell you exactly what I've learned from the workshop today. Anyway, before that... I'm just gonna blog away my day.

After sleeping really late--I did however woke up really really really early. 2 minutes before my alarm rang. I guess it was the excitement of the usual first day. Or whatever. Had breakfast (which was my only meal today, trust me.), did the usual routine. By 7am, I was out of the house. I met up with Francis at Metropolis Alabang where we usually start our commuting activities to Mowelfund.

There's something about commuting all the way from Alabang to Cubao. I managed to stick to MRT and LRT lines. From Alabang, there's the crowded bus ride to Mantrade. Then from Mantrade, an MRT to Cubao. A long walk from Cubao to inside Gateway then outside, then inside again, then outside--just to get to the LRT2 station. Idiotic. We did however entertain ourselves with replacing the lyrics from Katherine McPhee's Over It. Which was just hilarious. If I only recorded it. But we just sang "lalala... My name is Katherine McPhee." That song was stupid anyway. I usually hang by the center poles in LRT2. Feels like you're pole dancing with The Pussycat Dolls in their "Wait a Minute" video. If a girl would just pole dance in the middle of LRT2, man that would make a fucking awesome movie.

From Cubao to Betty Go-Belmonte station we'd walk to Mowelfund Plaza. Mowelfund Plaza looks kinda like an old building, but you know that it's being refurbished. Outside there's the "Paradise of Stars," is that what they call it? I forgot. God, I should take pictures next time. Anyway, It's like our own version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame, with cardboard stands of famous stars throughout our wonderful film history. What distracts me the most is why all the Encantadia characters are standing there? Wala lang. Parang: "Oh! There's Nestor de Villa and Nida Blanca. Look how cute Vilma Santos and Jay Illagan is... Oh my, Encantadia girls. Oh my, Diana Zubiri is f-ing hot. (could also include: Oh my, Diana Zubiri. Boner.)"

We held our scriptwriting classes on the fourth floor of the main building. I guess we're about 15 in the class considering that some were absent. Sir Nick entered the room. Then there were these assistants. He got like, 8 of them. No, actually they were students who's OJT-ing in Mowelfund. First 20 minutes or so, getting to know part. There were 5 of us under 20. Jazz was 15, Naomi was... I don't know. Sato's about 18, I guess. I'm 18, and Francis was 19. SO that's that. I don't know the other people, Rey Yang is I think in his mid-30's. Francis thinks he's like a grown up version of Jhunette. Don't mind asking who Jhunette is. We got a female classmate who works for the House of Representatives, then one's a Kagawad/Call Center agent, then the other's a travel writer, one works for a bank, one manages something. So there. I only remembered the names of the young ones, well, I think we'll be friends. Haha, tangina asa. May sarili kaming mundo ni Francis, really.

Anyway, so we started. Basically, the lesson for this session was about creating a subject. The subject or concept is what gives off the story. Under the subject is Action and Character. The most crucial part that makes the script flow. SO Sir Nick tells us a story about his first film, "Oliver" about a transvestite who works as a prostitute in Malate. Then he teaches us about not censoring ourselves. Then he notes that Raymond Red was a genius at 17. I don't know why. Maybe because he talked about eternity.

SO we were asked of what our concept was. At first, nagkwento-kwento lang kami. But then Sir Nick slowly explained to us the difference between the concept and the story itself. Concept is the main theme or idea. It could be a simple phrase. For example: In his film ISAAK, the concept/theme is "A son revolts against his father." That simple. Mine was "Mistrust/Miscommunication leading to the destruction of a family."

Oh yes, I haven't told you about my story. It's called "BULBOL" and the concept is what is stated in the paragraph preceeding to this. Chever. He goes around the group asking what our concepts were. For us young ones, we opted to kill people. Hahaha, which made Sir Nick ask what's going on with the society nowadays.

After 2 hours was a 15 min. break. Kain lang, actually, I just did what I do on breaks. Then back again to the description of a screenplay. According to Syd Field: "A screenplay is a story with pictures in dialogue and description and place within the context of dramatic structure."

Factors such as the concept, incident, characters, action, dialogue, plot and structure (acts) , fuels the entirety of the screenplay. Fuels the movie. Serves as the spine. For now, Sir Nick wants us to stick to a Linear way of writing our scripts.

The action may be physical or emotional. In the physical sense, one should establish the environment, the scene, the likenes of the story, the journey and the action. Emotional context depends on the character. Then we're off to making a biography for our own characters. Lastly, we studied about structure. Then, that's that.

Okay, this is now officially my notes. Hahaha. Anyway, Sir Nick is amazing. I remebered when we were doing the treatment and development of our concepts into stories, he just let everything go when he's thinking of these different possibilities that a character or the action could go to. A nun leaving the convent could either go to a bar, or save someone's life. It could be a horror movie where zombies infest Cubao and a body building Priest becomes his ally. See, amazing. He then explains to us what a little imagination could do. That we could go to such great heights with just a simple concept. Raymond Red's "Ang Hikab" started with a double deck bed. It ended up as a symbolism of poverty and rich kids in our country. Just amazing.

I'm Sorry, but I promise to post pics later on, para hindi boring. Puro text. Hehe.

Someday, I am going to be a filmmaker.
I swear to God, I will.

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I basically watch anything I could get my hands into. I'm a big fan of cheesy pinoy movies or anything that's really slapstick. I can tolerate Sam Milby's irritating smile, as long as he falls in love with someone before the movie ends. I love film noir. Humphrey Bogart makes you want to live your life in black and white. Casablanca is my favorite romantic film. I <3 everything Quentin Tarantino makes, the man's a genius. I try to watch tagalog films from the 70's, whenever they're on cable. I tend to appreciate what others don't in terms of films. I laugh at decapitated heads and mutilated faces. I'm quiet when I'm alone in a cinema, but I'm really pumped when someone's with me. Cult films are the best.

I tend to look idiotic when I'm framing the world using my two hands. Or when my eyes zoom in and out or pan left to right.

Teh Boob Tube.

Honestly, I'm a couch potato. I can spend hours in front of the television, my dvd player or my computer just watching these shows. I used to watch a lot of telenovelas, but because I can't tolerate commercials I don't do it anymore. Thanks to ABS transferring their telenovelas into DVDs, I can watch them now without commercials. A Lot of shows belong to my DVD collection. I <3 teen dramas. 24. Sitcoms. Heroes! and Judy Ann-Piolo extravaganza. Reality shows, I try to watch them every week.

Teh Tagboard.

Teh <3Links.

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