Ross Bigly has made a My Space site for his film Disembodied.
Please check it out at:
http://www.myspace.com/disembodiedfilm
We saw a bit of this film at the 1/08 Indy Film Wisconsin Workshop. Great film by a great man.
Also I hope you have all contacted him to see how you can help at the upcoming Milwaukee Short Film Fest.
Wayne
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Indy Film Feb 9th Workshop
Due to Illness the Feb 9th S/F workshop will be canceled we hope to present the workshop in March.
Stay tuned for details.
Stay tuned for details.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Next Blog Talk Raido Show!
Susan F. Heywood of DirectMarketingMBA.com will be talking about social Networking to help promote your film projects. Check out her web page at DirectMarketingMBA.com
I am working on a special guest details to come.
Monday Feb 11 7 PM you can get the player on this page.
Wayne
I am working on a special guest details to come.
Monday Feb 11 7 PM you can get the player on this page.
Wayne
Monday, February 4, 2008
Indy Film Wisconsin show
I am talking again to Joseph C Mistretta of the Four Finger Effects-Cutting Crew on his work in the past (backwoods bloodbath-Clear Lake) and what his plans are. We will also talk about how best to work with your effects guys in pre production and on set.
He will be giving a workshop at an Indy Film Wisconsin meeting.
He will be giving a workshop at an Indy Film Wisconsin meeting.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
A look at Torture Porn Genre
But, Is It Art?
A Look At The Torture Porn Genre
By Kenneth Holm
Torture porn. Gornography. Both of these words refer to one of the most maligned film genres in today’s film world. I am referring to, of course, the twisted works which depict graphic scenes of violence done onto other people. One only has to look so far to find some sterling examples, such as the "Hostel" series by Eli Roth or any of the "Saw" movie franchise. These movies take violence to a new level of depravity, vividly showcasing large amounts of blood and explicit images of what will happen to a human body when you apply various forms of destruction to it.
This genre started with quite a while ago, with the films of Italian schlockmeisters like Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci. They were the original torture pornographers, depicting brutal scenes of cannibalism, disembowelment, and murder. These films were not seen in the mainstream, however, and were usually relegated to any old theater that made its money showing all sorts of exploitation films. This style of movie gave rise to the "Grindhouse" movement, which was famous for its casual showing of nudity, violence, and buckets of gore. Several cities in America had at least one grindhouse theater, where you could see any sort of film imaginable, from gross-out zombie flicks to soft-core pornography pieces disguised as art. Many of these films tended to be short on production values and long on special effects makeup.
In the 1980’s, the "grindhouse" genre seemed to evolve into many of the modern day slasher films we know and hold dearly. Films like "Friday The 13th" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street" seemed to tap into sadistic reserves when coming up with new and intriguing ways to slaughter its victims. These films began in such a way as to root for the victims to rise up against adversity and destroy the killer. However, something strange happened along the way. The killers we were not supposed to like began to develop personalities. Suddenly, instead of supporting the victims, we began to pull for the killer. We hoped and prayed that the creative reserves of the intrepid writers would not dry up and continue to feed the teenage cannon fodder to our favorite masked or deformed psychopath. This began what is truly one of the most unprecedented moves in history. Now, instead of the good guys, we were identifying with the bad guy. We wanted to see blood, the more the better. We did not care how it happened; we just wanted to see death.
Torture porn has its roots that go even further back than moving pictures can claim to. Originally, there was a French school of theater called Grand Guignol, which aimed to have realistic scenes of blood and carnage. As time went on, Grand Guignol began to go overseas to Britain and even the foundling nation of America. Some of the first scenes of graphic violence are able to be viewed in D.W. Griffith’s "Intolerance", showing two scenes of onscreen decapitation and a scene where a spear can be seen piercing a soldier’s naked abdomen. American films began to adopt this style, going so far as being seen in mainstream theaters with films like "Blood Feast" and "I Spit On Your Grave". Of course, this style was only tolerated for so long, and soon splatter films like these were shunted to the wayside, becoming films in the aforementioned grindhouse" genre.
The first film to be labeled as "gorno" as it is sometimes called was Eli Roth’s "Hostel". In 2005, movie critic David Edelstein called Roth’s film "torture porn" when discussing the current trend in filmmaking. Since then, the moniker has been applied to such films as "Saw", "The Devil’s Rejects" and "Wolf Creek". Earlier films were also deemed to fit the bill, such as Takashi Miike’s "Ichi The Killer" and Virginie Despentes’ "Baise-moi". The things that make torture porn differ from the previous "grindhouse" and splatter films is a marked improvement in production values and mainstream distribution. Unfortunately for those with uneasy stomachs, torture porn has a marked financial viability that ensures that torture porn will be staying for a while. Author Stephen King has even gone on to defend both torture porn and "Hostel: Part II" when he stated, "Sure, it makes you uncomfortable, but good art should make you uncomfortable."
Is it really art, though? Have we as a society digressed to such a point in which entrails and rivers of blood can be seen as the next Warhol or Pollack? I am afraid I cannot answer that question. I do enjoy "Hostel: Part II" but no for the blood and guts. I like the human face it puts on these atrocities. It deals with what kind of person would pay money to kill another. I feel that it does raise some very interesting discussion points. The "Saw" series may have degenerated into a series of movies about how much blood one person can spill and still survive, but the original was a brutal exercise in Hitchcockian psychological horror. It got inside of your head and played around with it. Sure, the traps laid by the moralistic killer Jigsaw were violent and gruesome, but it all had a point to it. There was an underlying statement that said you had to appreciate your life as you have it, otherwise it may be taken from you in a matter you cannot control.
One of the most recent examples of this is a film that is not in distribution yet. I was fortunate enough to see the film "Seed" at the It Came From Lake Michigan film festival this year. The director, Dr. Uwe Boll, is best known for making movies about video games. However, with "Seed", he created what I consider to be one of the most disturbing films I have ever set eyes on. He takes a dark, violent world and looks at it with an unflinching eye, refusing to turn away from it. While most films of the torture porn genre have rapid cuts in the main torture action, "Seed" watches with us with a steady glare. It shows us not only violent acts, but what their consequences are on the main characters. I am sure that many critics will label this as an "also-ran" entry into the torture porn oeuvre, but I would hesitate to do so. Yes, it does show violence in an extreme way, but not with the often-nauseating levels of gore that others feel is necessary. The story actually needs the violence to work the way it does.
Now, most modern films could be filmed without the levels of violence that they have. The earlier horror film entries from such sources as Hammer Films or Alfred Hitchcock show that blood is not needed to scare. Surely, the denizens of the dark are much more frightening than someone being eviscerated with a power drill. The fear of what you do not know will always trump blood in my book. However, torture porn not only shows extreme acts of sadism, but it almost encourages us to delight in them. I attended a screening of "Saw II" when it arrived in theaters, and was both intrigued and disgusted by the almost sexual reaction the crowd was having to the violence. In a society like this, it is almost no wonder why violence and rape statistics have gone upwards as these films continue to proliferate their messages of destruction. I am sure that there is a defendable point when it comes to the torture porn genre, but I cannot see it. As long as these movies continue to rake in box office monies, there will be more and more blood arcing it way across movie screens near you.
In closing, let me say that I, in no way, condemn or applaud the efforts of these filmmakers. Just because I do not enjoy these films does not mean that they will not titillate some of you out there. I just hesitate to condone films like these and defend them as art when they do not serve a purpose. Yes, movie fans, art does have a purpose. If a movie can elevate you as a person, it could be considered art. If a movie urges you to become a better person, this too could be considered art. However, just because a movie can make you throw up your designer lunch does not make it art. True art does not have to be comfortable, but it does need a purpose other than trying to one-up the previous guy.
A Look At The Torture Porn Genre
By Kenneth Holm
Torture porn. Gornography. Both of these words refer to one of the most maligned film genres in today’s film world. I am referring to, of course, the twisted works which depict graphic scenes of violence done onto other people. One only has to look so far to find some sterling examples, such as the "Hostel" series by Eli Roth or any of the "Saw" movie franchise. These movies take violence to a new level of depravity, vividly showcasing large amounts of blood and explicit images of what will happen to a human body when you apply various forms of destruction to it.
This genre started with quite a while ago, with the films of Italian schlockmeisters like Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci. They were the original torture pornographers, depicting brutal scenes of cannibalism, disembowelment, and murder. These films were not seen in the mainstream, however, and were usually relegated to any old theater that made its money showing all sorts of exploitation films. This style of movie gave rise to the "Grindhouse" movement, which was famous for its casual showing of nudity, violence, and buckets of gore. Several cities in America had at least one grindhouse theater, where you could see any sort of film imaginable, from gross-out zombie flicks to soft-core pornography pieces disguised as art. Many of these films tended to be short on production values and long on special effects makeup.
In the 1980’s, the "grindhouse" genre seemed to evolve into many of the modern day slasher films we know and hold dearly. Films like "Friday The 13th" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street" seemed to tap into sadistic reserves when coming up with new and intriguing ways to slaughter its victims. These films began in such a way as to root for the victims to rise up against adversity and destroy the killer. However, something strange happened along the way. The killers we were not supposed to like began to develop personalities. Suddenly, instead of supporting the victims, we began to pull for the killer. We hoped and prayed that the creative reserves of the intrepid writers would not dry up and continue to feed the teenage cannon fodder to our favorite masked or deformed psychopath. This began what is truly one of the most unprecedented moves in history. Now, instead of the good guys, we were identifying with the bad guy. We wanted to see blood, the more the better. We did not care how it happened; we just wanted to see death.
Torture porn has its roots that go even further back than moving pictures can claim to. Originally, there was a French school of theater called Grand Guignol, which aimed to have realistic scenes of blood and carnage. As time went on, Grand Guignol began to go overseas to Britain and even the foundling nation of America. Some of the first scenes of graphic violence are able to be viewed in D.W. Griffith’s "Intolerance", showing two scenes of onscreen decapitation and a scene where a spear can be seen piercing a soldier’s naked abdomen. American films began to adopt this style, going so far as being seen in mainstream theaters with films like "Blood Feast" and "I Spit On Your Grave". Of course, this style was only tolerated for so long, and soon splatter films like these were shunted to the wayside, becoming films in the aforementioned grindhouse" genre.
The first film to be labeled as "gorno" as it is sometimes called was Eli Roth’s "Hostel". In 2005, movie critic David Edelstein called Roth’s film "torture porn" when discussing the current trend in filmmaking. Since then, the moniker has been applied to such films as "Saw", "The Devil’s Rejects" and "Wolf Creek". Earlier films were also deemed to fit the bill, such as Takashi Miike’s "Ichi The Killer" and Virginie Despentes’ "Baise-moi". The things that make torture porn differ from the previous "grindhouse" and splatter films is a marked improvement in production values and mainstream distribution. Unfortunately for those with uneasy stomachs, torture porn has a marked financial viability that ensures that torture porn will be staying for a while. Author Stephen King has even gone on to defend both torture porn and "Hostel: Part II" when he stated, "Sure, it makes you uncomfortable, but good art should make you uncomfortable."
Is it really art, though? Have we as a society digressed to such a point in which entrails and rivers of blood can be seen as the next Warhol or Pollack? I am afraid I cannot answer that question. I do enjoy "Hostel: Part II" but no for the blood and guts. I like the human face it puts on these atrocities. It deals with what kind of person would pay money to kill another. I feel that it does raise some very interesting discussion points. The "Saw" series may have degenerated into a series of movies about how much blood one person can spill and still survive, but the original was a brutal exercise in Hitchcockian psychological horror. It got inside of your head and played around with it. Sure, the traps laid by the moralistic killer Jigsaw were violent and gruesome, but it all had a point to it. There was an underlying statement that said you had to appreciate your life as you have it, otherwise it may be taken from you in a matter you cannot control.
One of the most recent examples of this is a film that is not in distribution yet. I was fortunate enough to see the film "Seed" at the It Came From Lake Michigan film festival this year. The director, Dr. Uwe Boll, is best known for making movies about video games. However, with "Seed", he created what I consider to be one of the most disturbing films I have ever set eyes on. He takes a dark, violent world and looks at it with an unflinching eye, refusing to turn away from it. While most films of the torture porn genre have rapid cuts in the main torture action, "Seed" watches with us with a steady glare. It shows us not only violent acts, but what their consequences are on the main characters. I am sure that many critics will label this as an "also-ran" entry into the torture porn oeuvre, but I would hesitate to do so. Yes, it does show violence in an extreme way, but not with the often-nauseating levels of gore that others feel is necessary. The story actually needs the violence to work the way it does.
Now, most modern films could be filmed without the levels of violence that they have. The earlier horror film entries from such sources as Hammer Films or Alfred Hitchcock show that blood is not needed to scare. Surely, the denizens of the dark are much more frightening than someone being eviscerated with a power drill. The fear of what you do not know will always trump blood in my book. However, torture porn not only shows extreme acts of sadism, but it almost encourages us to delight in them. I attended a screening of "Saw II" when it arrived in theaters, and was both intrigued and disgusted by the almost sexual reaction the crowd was having to the violence. In a society like this, it is almost no wonder why violence and rape statistics have gone upwards as these films continue to proliferate their messages of destruction. I am sure that there is a defendable point when it comes to the torture porn genre, but I cannot see it. As long as these movies continue to rake in box office monies, there will be more and more blood arcing it way across movie screens near you.
In closing, let me say that I, in no way, condemn or applaud the efforts of these filmmakers. Just because I do not enjoy these films does not mean that they will not titillate some of you out there. I just hesitate to condone films like these and defend them as art when they do not serve a purpose. Yes, movie fans, art does have a purpose. If a movie can elevate you as a person, it could be considered art. If a movie urges you to become a better person, this too could be considered art. However, just because a movie can make you throw up your designer lunch does not make it art. True art does not have to be comfortable, but it does need a purpose other than trying to one-up the previous guy.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Next Raido show 1/28/08!
Tonight at 7:PM CST we have: Jen Tonon (writer/producer/actress; "Super Tromette Action Movie Go!") - Jen is a musician/visual artist/theatre geek who has recently unearthed a crazy urge to make retarded and sometimes pointless movies. STAMGo!, however *has* a point. What that is, we're still not sure, but it's there! An avid fan of all things cheesy, cartoony, and horrific, Jen hopes to bring together all three in this film with loads of help from director Steven A. Grainger. Look for it in 2008! www.stamgo.com"
Thursday, January 24, 2008
News News News!!!!!
Be part of this!
Ross Bigley
Director, Milwaukee Short Film Festival
414-807-4008
rbigley@hotmail.com
www.dirtyjobfilms.com
http://www.dirtyjobfilms.com/filmfest.asp
http://www.myspace.com/mkeshortsfest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ross Bigley
Director, Milwaukee Short Film Festival
414-807-4008
rbigley@hotmail.com
www.dirtyjobfilms.com
http://www.dirtyjobfilms.com/filmfest.asp
http://www.myspace.com/mkeshortsfest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10th Annual Milwaukee Short Film Festival Announces Judges.
MILWAUKEE (Jan 16, 2008) – The 10th Annual Milwaukee Short Film Festival is now accepting film submissions for its May event, and is pleased to announce this year’s panel of judges. Coming back again is:
• Jerry Houser, an actor on such the films like Slap Shot, Summer of ’42 and Another You.
• Tim Lonsdale, the 1st First Assistant Director of ABC’s upcoming Eli Stone, TBS’s My Boys, Ghost Whisperer, and Charmed.
• New this year is Uwe Boll, Director on the films In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Postal, BloodRayne and House of the Dead.
• Actor Zack Ward, who appeared in the films A Christmas Story, Freddy vs. Jason, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Transformers and Postal.
• Lori Kahn, the former Vice President of original programming for the Showtime network. and
• John Van Slyke, Milwaukee playwright and actor in the films Disembodied, The Dirty Job and Slacktime.
The Milwaukee Short Film Festival continues showcasing the best in local, national and international short films. The longest running festival of its kind in Milwaukee, this coming year’s event will take place this coming May. This year's host will be local personality Rex Sikes whose film appearences include Backwoods Bloodbath, Massacre at Central High and the web series Naked Man.
For the first time, this year, the festival will expand with seminars and workshops. It will also include an even more extensive line up of films. The Deadlines for submitting films are January 311st for the Early deadline ($10), February 29th for the Regular deadline ($15), and March 26th for the Final deadline ($20).
Created by local and independent filmmakers, the Milwaukee Short Film Festival is proud to provide local talent with a venue for local filmmakers and getting their work seen. Through community support, the festival also is able to offer one of the largest first prizes in the area – a $1,000 grand prize. MSFF was named the 'Best Local Festival' in Moviemaker’s Winter 2006 issue.
For more information, call Ross Bigley at 414-807-4008 or e-mail rbigley@hotmail.com.
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