Notes on Directing (Hauser and Reich)

A Forever Question: A Game of Chicken?

"Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question."

Sir. Why would a man feel compelled to throw himself in front of a speeding cat?

A Prescient Doug Ford Quote from Last Year

"Under our new government, not a single person will lose their job."

It's amazing how many people fell for that, and helped vote-in Mr Ford as Ontario's premier.

Legendary Bob Cole Calls His Last NHL Game Tonight

We Canadians, and some U.S. fans of the National Hockey League, know the name of Bob Cole. For decades he's called hockey broadcasts for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Fans will know him for his "Oh, Baby!", used at special moments....like scoring plays.

Mr Cole will be calling his last game tonight, although he's been in a state of semi retirement for a few years.

The game starts in a few minutes: the Montreal Canadiens vs the NHL's comic strip, the Toronto Maple Leafs. (An old rivalry, that is.)

Perhaps this is my favourite of all Cole calls. It was a one-off: "Naslund! Naslund! Naslund!....scorrres!"

Among the Thugs (Bill Buford)

The Mathematics of Doug Ford & Co

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives want to implement mandatory annual math testing for all of the province's elementary and high school teachers. Understandably, there's a social media reaction of some numbers to the equation.

To me, this initiative does not add up. Ford and his caucus, many of whom seem to lack basic skills in a few departments, don't come across as possessing any math ability outside of "Fifteen Billion!".

Here's a simple problem set for Mr Ford and his minions:

0 + 9 =

To make the test easier for them I'll make it a multiple-choice question. Pick just one answer....

a) 9
b) 0
c) 3,742.36
d) all of the above

Stompin' Tom - Before the Fame (Book)

"Don't Take My Picture!"

... says the Gyr-Saker falcon.

I Met a Special Lady

A Gyr-Saker falcon.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on the New Carbon Tax

It's in the news.

Ontario's great intellectual premier is warning us all about a "carbon tax recession".

He goes on to say: "You can be for carbon taxes, or you can be for jobs."

It's a matter of one or the other. That easy, and easy to understand.

I like this Doug Ford guy. He takes somewhat complicated concepts and distills them for simple guys like me. Go Doug!

A Forever Question: A Forever Fate, It Would Seem

"Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question."

Sir. Why are the Toronto Maple Leafs again doomed to be matched up with the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL playoffs?

Filmmaker Richard Kerr at Innis Town Hall

Last evening I trotted down to the University of Toronto's Innis Town Hall to take in a screening of Canadian filmmaker/visual-artist Richard Kerr's work. On the bill were: WhollyHolly (7.5 minutes, 2017); Plein Air (20 minutes, 1991); Machine in the Garden (22 minutes, 1991); House Arrest (20 minutes, 2012); and Vesta Lunch (11 minutes, 1978).

It was a mix of spin-o-rama, flash-panning, and peaking....and peeking.

Having seen Vesta Lunch, I have an urge to take in a very special lunch again -- it's been a while. The slimline eatery is still there on the north-east corner of Bathurst and Dupont. (I once had breaky there with friends at 3 o'clock in the morning -- an essential and enjoyable experience.)

It must be said that Mr Kerr is one of the most humble of artists that I've had the pleasure of seeing speak.

The program was part of Ad Hoc Cinema, an experimental film series co-organized and hosted by filmmaker Jim Shedden. Last night was #17 in the ongoing presentations.

Ad Hoc's web page

Will & Mist to Return Here Soon

"Will & Mist", the first batch:

(5-12-2018)

(12-12-2018)

(19-12-2018)

(26-12-2018)

(02-01-2019)

(09-01-2019)

A National Post Newspaper in Actual Paper Form

On Thursday last week I picked up a National Post newspaper. Two big surprises awaited me when I took the paper to the clerk:

* The price: $2.50
* The slight paper weight, tied in with the purchase price; which prompted the following after I later unfurled the newsprint: "Two dollars and fifty cents, for this?"

I was a little surprised at the lack of anti-Trudeau print that day. That's right. Postmedia has designated the bulk of its anti-Trudeau fish & chips ink for its certified rag, the Toronto Sun.

How much does the Sun charge at the newsstand?....

(Fit to print: The above all because the newsagent didn't carry the Globe and Mail.)

Atom Egoyan on the Smaller Budget

"When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of the things that has to be in your mind when you are writing is that you have to keep the characters down to a minimum."

Indeed. It's funny how often and so easily those simple initial scribbles turn into a complicated epic.

Atom Egoyan on His Film (and Television) Career

"Right now my career is totally schizophrenic, because when an American production like Hitchcock Presents asks to see my work I would never dream of showing them my independent films."

A few years ago I watched some episodes of the 1980s "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". One was directed by Egoyan and it had a special something. It popped out from the pack.

The Lives of the Great Composers (Book)

Warmth, Courtesy of the Hudson's Bay Company

Film Opticals of Canada Logbook Sample

Above is a half page sample from a logbook I kept when I was an optical printer cameraman/operator at Film Opticals of Canada.

Some details....

"Wetgate S-16": a blow-up from Super 16 to 35mm; in this case, the original camera negative is re-photographed to Kodak Vision 5244 intermediate stock (as an Interpositive, or "I.P.").

"Pack": filters of 5 cyan, 20 magenta, and 70 neutral density ("N.D."). This is the filtration decided upon by earlier "CX" (Cinex) colour testing.

"Cam B/U": Camera blow-up.

"L": Lens at micrometre position 1450
"C": Camera (body) at position 0835
"-20 ND comp": remove 20 worth of Neutral Density filter as compensation for the blow-up position (since the value of the light intensity is lower than it would be at a "normal" one-to-one position).


Of course, any such post-production work is now done on a computer.

Rip It Up and Start Again (Book)