Binnsy's Hovel

Again, a thousand apologies for the lack of postage here. My film production career manages to go from strength to strength, and I barely have time to catch up. I am now a producer at Onion Media, and the challenges and excitement that the position offers never fail to surprise me. Five years ago, I was finishing my high school education, with very little idea of where I wanted to go. I knew I wanted to write, but the question was… write what?

One trip to a careers market in – of all places – Penrith, fixed that for good. A passion for the romance of the cinema, an awareness of the media and how technology was changing society, not to mention a love of all things art, led to my undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Communication, passing in a blur, and Second Class Honours. And now I’m doing a Doctor of Philosophy in the same field, at the same uni.

In the past six months, I’ve travelled myself to New York, Boston and Washington DC, and for work I’ve flown to Brisbane, Dubai, and, most recently (yesterday), to Taree, in mid-NSW. The trip to Taree was, ostensibly, a lens test, but was also a chance for the new crew we’re working with to sink their teeth into a new project, and I must say it worked brilliantly well. We even came away with a short trailer to show my superiors and the client.

This extensive introduction is a means of outlining how I have come to meet a man by the name of Jim Frazier.

Jim Frazier is an Australian cinematographer, most famous for his work with, among others, Sir David Attenborough. Many of the images you have seen in primetime on Sunday night nature documentaries were shot by Jim, camping out for months in trees, deserts and grottoes, to get the one perfect shot.

Of importance to Onion, professionally, is how Jim came to invent the now-famous Frazier lens. Much is confidential, suffice to say, personally, that Jim is an incredible and inspiring man, and one that I am proud to say I have met. His enthusiasm, intelligence, wit and larrikinism are truly inspirational to me.

This is a man who grows crystals, and photographs them for fun. He has made over 20,000 slides in 30 years, and they are beautiful. A man who fixes clocks (one of his first apprenticeships was to a George Street clockmaker). A man who pulls things apart, not only to see how they work, but to put them back together differently just to see what happens.

Watch this space, because what we are working on now will blow you away. It already has with me.

Until next time…

All is in readiness for the second day of filming of Unravel Me on Saturday. It was a mad dash to the finish line, with camera equipment availability and casting to be done up until yesterday afternoon!

But I’ll be picking up the camera, kindly being loaned to us by a friendly fellow production company, and the 35mm adapter on Friday, and all will be well.

Lastnight saw me finish my second short film in as many weeks. I’m just super-crazy-productive at the moment. I hope I can channel this sort of enthusiasm into my Ph.D. writing when it gets going in a month or two.

Work has seen me production managing a shoot in Pakistan, doing some great creative work for a rather large and well-known multi-national, and implementing a stack of new management systems, mainly JobBag. I’m also organising contracts for a stack of short films (not mine, sadly).

More soon.

Until next time…

Well, I’m making the switch to WordPress… very soon, the Hovel will be hosted at www.danbinns.net/blog.

I’m not too sure how I feel about this. Blogger has been great, but I think I need to get rid of my old Google account – many aspects of it anyway – given that it’s been compromised in the past.

In other news I’m writing again – a few ideas inspired by television series I’ve been watching, and desperately wanting to cash in on something topical and/or bankable.

For now though, off to work I go (full time at the production house – very, very cool). Will update when WordPress goes live.

Until next time…

The other day a mate and I went to experience Avatar, James Cameron’s new epic 3D science-fiction film.

I feel it necessary to re-disclose what most people know about Avatar: The film has been in active development for over 15 years, at varying levels of secrecy. It wasn’t until about a year ago, when a teaser was finally released, that we could be certain the film was actually going ahead. The film cost (roughly) $350 million to make, with a further $150 million spent on publicity and marketing. Aussie actor Sam Worthington is in the lead role as Jake Sully, a crippled Marine sent to a (relatively) nearby Earth-like planet to take up his dead brother’s place in the Avatar program, whereby a human consciousness is temporarily transplanted into the body of a specially-grown Avatar.

The premise, characters, locations, technology, production, nigh on everything about this project is epic. The director himself is renowned as a visionary perfectionist who will stop at nothing to get it done his way (Worthington, in an interview with Rove McManus, relayed a story of Cameron nail-gunning a mobile phone to a tree because it rang on set).

Avatar is set on Pandora, a mere four or five light years from Earth. The amount of detail, research and wordbuilding prowess displayed in the design of Pandora is immense. From a blade of grass to an enormous tree, to floating islands to vines that run for kilometres around cliff faces, the world of Pandora is as alien as it is familiar. The Na’Vi, the humanoid inhabitants of Pandora, are somewhat akin to humans, but Cameron has said that they represent a higher plane of human existence, so attuned to nature as to be completely communal and respectful of their world.

Avatar, then, is a movie with a message. Usually a dangerous thing, and something that I’ve been known to dislike, but in this instance, it is layered so deeply and rooted so far down into the world of the film, the ethos of the narrative, and the spectacle of the technology used to make the thing, that I can not only let it pass, but praise its meaning.

Avatar is not the best film ever made. Better films have gone before, and more will come. But for a massive, epic blockbuster, it is wonderful, immersive, and innovative. Let’s hope the sequel doesn’t suck.

Until next time…

I don’t know what it is about historical/political fiction that I love so much.

I think there is the whole not-at-all-based-in-reality thing that I can escape into. Take The Ghost for example. Sure there are elements of Blair or Bush in the politician character, but for the most part he is a new, complex, interesting character with which one can engage.

The Interpretation of Murder took us into the heart of turn-of-the-century America, through the eyes of Sigmund Freud. Yes, I’ll admit they are all real characters (mostly), but the situation is entirely fabricated.

The Rule of Four and The Secret History fall into that whole Skulls/Dead Poets Society genre, without, I feel, slipping into the Da Vinci Code-esque realm of populist speculative fiction. They’re just damn good tales told well.

What inspired this little rumination? I’m currently in the midst of The Minutes of the Lazarus Club, by Tony Pollard, which I’m thoroughly enjoying. It’s an easy and enjoyable read, and the characters are fascinating, plucked from history and resettled as they are, potentially as conspirators in a sinister and murderous plot.

The twisting and contorting of history for the ends of entertainment has always been a popular pastime; particularly now in the era of The Da Vinci Code. The latest exponent of the reconstructed history genre is probably Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, which depicts the end of World War II – if it was directed by Tarantino himself. It says something of humankind that although books are written and movies are made based on the notion of spectacle, we constantly look back to an era or a time or a set of characters or an atmosphere drenched in nostalgia, in classicism, in ‘the old’.

Retro-modernism, anyone?

Until next time…

I could start with the old cliche of ‘Well, hasn’t it been such a long time since I blogged…’ and go from there, but, you know, that’s cliched.

First, the multiple advancements in the existence of Binnsy. In the early days of July, I made the switch from PC to Mac. I succumbed, and bought a MacBook Pro… mainly for work, as Onion Media are a bunch of Mac fiends, and anything I spat out from my PC was liable to cause a super-size glitch in the Onion Matrix. But the switch has also unleashed a sense of clean streamlinedness to my creative work and academic endeavours. I’d define it as follows. As a creative, when you use a PC, it’s like eating good pub food. It’s hearty, tasty, and it fills you up. But when you switch to a Mac, it’s like moving up the road to the exotic foreign restaurant. Everything’s completely new and different; none of the menu items make sense; the decor is all white and translucent. Thankfully, though, the waitress is unbelievably attractive and knowledgeable, and guides you through every step of the process with a glimmering smile.

I’m hanging onto my PC for games and certain media and admin stuff, but I’ve made the switch and I’m hooked.

The other massive thing is my relocation from on-campus accommodation out in Richmond, to trendy new studio apartment-type digs about ten minutes from Newtown, and twenty from the Sydney CBD. I’ve gotta say, it’s great to be away from the parties and insanity of campus life. Had I stayed, I’d never be getting as easily through my thesis as I am. My suburb is the next one up from my supervisor, too, which helps.

I’ve been made Production Manager at Onion Media, which is a huge responsibility, but one that the Onion directors are tempering for the first six months such that I can get my degree completed to a standard with which I’ll be happy. Add to that a guaranteed full-time job on my return from overseas – happy Dan.

Have I mentioned that? Come early November I leave on a jet plane for almost a month. Three and a half weeks in New York, with short sojourns to Boston and Washington DC. Words cannot describe how much I can’t wait. Wrapped up in fifteen layers in Central Park (or in a cafe overlooking part of same), writing random gibberish in my Moleskine that no one will ever read; and hopefully being super-inspired in the post-thesis glee.

Other than that, life continues much as normal. Uni, Onion and still, every now and again, Video Ezy, complete my life and schedule for the time being.

With what free time I scrounge, I imbibe DVDs and books wherever possible. I’m still in the middle of PopCo by Scarlett Thomas; earlier I finished Bill Bryson’s Shakespeare; and my thesis has necessitated the consumption of Kubrick by Michael Herr, and Jerold J. Abrams’ The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick. In terms of visual entertainments, I’m about three episodes into the third series of Spooks; I’m also almost finished series one of True Blood, which I think is a great take on the whole vampire fad. Being a massive fan of Kevin Smith, I put in an order for his third live DVD, A Threevening with Kevin Smith; this arrived from Redbank, NJ, on Monday, SIGNED! I didn’t even order an autographed copy, so imagine my glee. Kevin Smith, as I’ve tweeted, is the perfect blend of Cicero, Han Solo, and Bart Simpson. His style of storytelling is so engaging; his wit and intelligence is so vast; he is the perfect nerd. The crudity sneaks out of nowhere, such that it just adds to whatever tale the man is imparting.

As far as my own creative work, writing, etc, most of it’s taken a back seat to establishing myself at Onion over the last year, and my uni work. I still have a stack of ideas to get out there, and a few scripts that I pick at every now and again, though, so the juices are far from stagnant!

What else can I say? Kyle and Jackie O – a shemozzle, to be sure, but a great one, as they’ll probably never be back on radio. I’ve got TV reception in my new place, which is great, except for now I can only get ABC and Ten properly. Shmeh, I’ll watch Aunty til all hours – commercial TV irritates me anyway.

But I guess that’s it for now. Will endeavour to update again much, much sooner!

Until next time…

Star Trek was… an interesting experience.

As many of you will be aware, I am, very much, whole-heartedly, a card-carrying Star Wars fan. For me to go and see a Star Trek film, in an actual cinema, is somewhat tantamount to blasphemy.

However, as this film, a reboot of the entire Trek franchise, was directed by one of my favourite all-time directors/creators/creativegodgenii, J.J. Abrams, I couldn’t really pass up the chance.

And I have to say that I really enjoyed it. There were moments that were beyond, in the words of my good friend Shwa, cheeserific, and self-indulgent, and in-jokey, but as a sci-fi nut, I enjoyed it.

The plot was fairly straightforward, but it propelled the agenda of the reboot forward in a very innovative and exciting way. A whole pseudo-Back-to-the-Future subplot helped this a little, but for the most part it was the interesting backstories that writers Orci and Kurtzman came up for each of the characters, and the dynamics that set up their relationships as Enterprise crew members, that really drove the story, and, most importantly, kept us all interested.

Notable cast include Chris Pine as the impulsive, rough-and-tumble, never-tell-me-the-odds Jim Kirk, Zach Quinto as the meant-to-be-emotionless Vulcan Spock, and the inimitable Simon Pegg as tech officer Scotty. I’m of the opinion that Pegg could star in anything, no matter how crap or flimsy, and make it awesome. Star Trek was already cool. And he made it just that little bit cooler.

And, of course, Leonard Nimoy was outstanding as ‘Spock Prime’, as the role is called on IMDb. I won’t say anything else here, to avoid spoilers, but Nimoy was great. Live long and prosper, indeed.

I will, though, admit to a lapse in my Star Wars devotion. A chink in my stormtrooper armour, as it were. I have watched almost the entire series of Enterprise, that attempted jumpstart of the Trek franchise that aired between 2001 and 2005, starring Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock and Connor Trinnear. I found the dynamic of that particular Enterprise crew – the first, or among the first, in the canon, if I’m not mistaken – to be engaging, funny and somewhat informational as a writer.

But, Mr. Abrams, you’ve done well, sir. 3 and a half out of 5 for me.

Until next time…

Angels & Demons. The book was better than The Da Vinci Code in so many ways. Secret societies and a riotous romp across Rome and the Vatican. The female lead was sexier in literary form, and Robert Langdon was younger, more naive, and more active than the later book.

I never really understood what any of the fuss was about with the religious response to Angels & Demons. If either book can be taken as somewhat true – which is a ludicrous notion that I’ll indulge only to make a point – The Da Vinci Code has the greater ramifications for the Church, in that it posits that Jesus was married and had children, spawning a line that survives to this day. This is a hideously radical notion that undermines Catholic teaching throughout the millennia.

The premise of Angels & Demons, however, is that of a Church trying to find its place in the modern world, and one man’s quest to revolutionise the world’s perception of the greatest institution in human history. Enter symbologist Robert Langdon, and the mysterious – and later to become love of his life – Vittoria Vetra, some shifty Swiss Guards and a dead Pope, and you’re set for a grand and rollicking adventure.

The book was better-written than The Da Vinci Code, for starters. And The Da Vinci Code necessitated a lot of explanation, so its translation to the screen, therefore, also got bogged down with trying to explain, via long expository scenes, the hidden meaning of The Last Supper, for example. Angels & Demons, though, is just one huge chase sequence, with a short stop here and there in each of the churches to explain another piece of the Illuminati’s history. This translates a lot better to celluloid.

Ron Howard is a wonderful director, and he’s proved this in films like Apollo 13, A Beatiful Mind, and his latest stellar offering, Frost/Nixon. But I think with The Da Vinci Code he failed to reproduce the book’s energy, instead trying too hard to explain every last detail. With Angels & Demons, screenwriter David Koepp was brought on board, no doubt to accelerate the pace of the action, and truly adapt the book to the book’s benefit, rather than work against Dan Brown’s original intentions, as The Da Vinci Code adaptation unfortunately did. Koepp has a killer writing portfolio, including all the first two Jurassic Park films, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Panic Room, among many others. And his influence can clearly be seen in Angels & Demons, with the plot dipping and weaving deftly and smartly through thousands of years of history and the alleyways and boulevardes of Rome and the Vatican.

Performance-wise, Hanks pooped all over his own performance in the last film. His offsider this time was the gorgeous Ayelet Zurer, of Munich fame, who actually proved a foil for Langdon (as it was in the book) instead of a hindrance to plot and protagonist, as Audrey Tautou’s Sophie Neveu proved to be in The Da Vinci Code. Ewan McGregor was inspired casting as young camerlengo Patrick McKenna. I won’t spoil anything here but McGregor’s performance was outstanding. Equally as good as the foil for McGregor’s character, was the sinister Stellan Skarsgård as Commander Richter of the Swiss Guard.

The other point of interest was the suave time warp Goldsman and Koepp pulled off by setting Angels & Demons after The Da Vinci Code. The implications for the film continuum are good, in that Vittoria Vetra will possibly return, depending on where the third book goes.

Overall, Angels & Demons is highly enjoyable popcorn fare. This time I will definitely be buying the DVD.

Brown fans have to wait till September for the next book, though, unfortunately. Not to worry, plenty of good flicks coming out between now and then!

Until next time…

Exciting news for film fans today as Twentieth Century Fox confirms rumours that Oliver Stone will direct Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in a sequel to his hit 1987 film Wall Street.

A true expression of the current economic climate? With Gekko at the helm? Or a further exploration of Gekko’s epic corruption? Will Sheen be back as a slightly less young and idealistic broker, now, ahem, broken into the ways of the world?

Who can tell. But hey, with Stone, you know it’s gonna be awesome.

Until next time…

Blue State is an interesting little film. It’s short, by today’s standards, running at just under 90 minutes. It is overtly political, despite its attempts to cover it up with a road movie-cum-love story hybrid plot. It’s weak, in that it does not deeply explore the political concepts it could possibly unravel and truly criticise. It does not take us truly into the passion of a politically-minded relationship. Its road movie aspect is its best-executed feature, but, unless you’re Wim Wenders (whose visionary interpretation of the road movie precludes him from any criticism), the road movie is not a hard thing to make.

Blue State, though, has strength in its simplicity. The script is raw, but is focused around the dynamic between the two main characters, John (Breckin Meyer) and Chloe (Anna Paquin), who move to Canada in protest of Bush’s victory in the 2004 US Presidential Election. It’s this that grabbed me – the political aspect. I’m a sucker for anything dramatic with ‘US’ and ‘politics’ anywhere near it. The fact that a love story and road movie were woven in meant this could be a winner. And in its simplicity, it truly was. Two characters, one mission – what could possibly go wrong? Lies between the two principals add tension and conflict, not to mention some bizarre and darkly comic moments. Insecurity about their cause brings a confused melancholy to the tone that I wallowed in while watching.

Look – this is no Bob Roberts or American President (and it certainly isn’t a Paris, Texas or Duel, while we’re at it). What it is though is a retro-topical piece about the whimsical and sometimes impulsive nature of political activism, and cause for reevaluation about how one deals with one’s feelings towards the status quo. I give it three out of five – mainly for trying to say something about something – ANYTHING.

Until next time…