By ROBERT GOLDRICH
There’s a classic George Carlin bit in which he compares the harsh game of football to the idyllic, pastoral pastime of baseball. To paraphrase, in football, you throw the bomb, hit the hole and play in all kinds of inclement weather. In baseball, you get a free pass and if it rains hard enough, you don’t play. Whereas the goal in football is to get into the end zone, in baseball you score by going "home."
Home is also the theme running through several recent industry developments. The need to keep more work at home was the driving force behind a summit held last week in Los Angeles, as well as the creation of an anti-runaway task force in New York.
The latter was formed by the Creative Coalition, a leading nonprofit social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community, which was founded in 1989. The Coalition’s New York Runaway Production Task Force brings together different industry sectors dedicated to making filming in New York more financially attractive to producers spanning such disciplines as features, TV programs and commercials (see story, p. 8).
Meanwhile, some 3,000 miles away, members of the industry at large met with government officials at the aforementioned summit. Among those on hand were Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and Hollywood-area City Councilman Eric Garcetti. Dialogue centered on ways to keep and encourage film, TV and spot production in Los Angeles. Stemming the runaway production tide has been deemed as critical to the health of the local economy.
One of the general points of consensus at the summit was that the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. (EIDC)’s joint Los Angeles City/County Film Office needs to be kept up and running, continuing to offer quick turnaround time on film permitting and neighborhood troubleshooting. Undergoing audits and a criminal investigation for alleged improprieties on the part of its former exec, Cody Cluff, the EIDC is in the process of being evaluated and possibly reorganized. Industry support, though, runs high for the EIDC and the services it provides.
Continuing our home theme, seemingly forced out of his longstanding home—the studio bearing his name, Portland, Ore.-based Vinton Studios—was Will Vinton, the venerable father of claymation (SHOOT’s "Street Talk," 4/25, p. 26). Vinton and several others were laid off as part of a corporate restructuring; however the exact reasons behind the end of Vinton’s 27-year tenure at the company weren’t clear at press time.
On the flip side, disproving the famed Thomas Wolfe adage that you can never go home again is editor Michael Bartoli, who recently joined Red Car, where he broke into the business in the late ’80s. He is based at Red Car’s Santa Monica shop (SHOOT, 3/21, p. 7).
And speaking of returning home, there’s a familiar name back in SHOOT’s masthead and on its front page this week: Carolyn Giardina, who comes aboard as senior editor/technology and postproduction. She first established herself in the business as a SHOOT reporter, moving up the ranks as senior editor/postproduction, and editorial director of a series of supplements on DTV and Advertising. Carolyn established top contacts throughout the business, providing our readership with expertise and insights into assorted significant developments.
A couple of years ago, she left to take on the editorship of a monthly trade publication, but thankfully, she’s now back with us on the weekly news beat. Her contributions to this week’s issue include reportage on PostWorks’ deals involving Editing Concepts (parent to the Tapehouse companies), SMA Realtime and Caterini Studios. We welcome her back. She is based in our Los Angeles office and can be reached at cgiardina@shootonline.com.
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More