Thomas Edison (Short Film Available for Viewing)

Started by matt35mm, January 01, 2005, 04:15:06 PM

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kotte


ono

I mean, if you dislike it, so what?  Don't buy it.

Matt, it worked for Ghostboy, it'll work for you, too.  I say, definitely put it on DVD.  Sell it.  Send copies to everyone, everywhere.  Make money, put it to your next project.  And more importantly, you get your work out there, seen.

Pozer

This thread has been building up to the final product dammit, and this is where I'm gonna view it!  If you want my feedback then you best be putting here!!!

:yabbse-grin:I kid, I kid you, Jerry.   

meatball

Quote from: matt35mm
Thomas Edison (Coming Fall 2005)
Directed by Matt Latham (that's me)

:finger:

matt35mm


md

whats the song in the trailer?  And please just post the film for the love of god
"look hard at what pleases you and even harder at what doesn't" ~ carolyn forche

Pozer


matt35mm

Sorry for putting "coming Fall 2005" in my signature before.  I never intended to just dump it on the internet once I was finished.  It's currently being considered at various film festivals, has had its premiere(s), and now I'm just waiting to see how it does at film festivals while I finish up a good-looking DVD for it.  The DVD will not be a bare-bones DVD, it'll have various special features and perhaps other shorts.

I'm not saying you'll have to buy it, but you will have to wait.  I haven't decided yet whether the internet is a proper way to show it.

Oh, and the song in the trailer is "No Limit On The Words" by Songs: Ohia.  Legally acquired, and featured in the film.

Pozer

Don't worry about us, Matty.  We're just messin' with ya cause we're eager to see it.  You're one of our filmmaker brothers y'know.  When it's ready, it's ready.  Nobody rushed Kubrick or Malick or... say, does your last name end with ick?

polkablues

Quote from: pozer on December 29, 2005, 06:57:58 PM
Don't worry about us, Matty.  We're just messin' with ya cause we're eager to see it.  You're one of our filmmaker brothers y'know.  When it's ready, it's ready.  Nobody rushed Kubrick or Malick or... say, does your last name end with ick?

QuoteMatt Latham (that's me)

Ham.  Which puts him in the same category as... let's see... John Badham.  Did anybody rush John Badham?
My house, my rules, my coffee

Weak2ndAct

Quote from: matt35mm on December 28, 2005, 01:50:19 PMI'm not saying you'll have to buy it, but you will have to wait.  I haven't decided yet whether the internet is a proper way to show it.
:? Yeah, that will so ruin your career.  Get over yourself.

md

My filmmaker side says congrats on the professionalism youve carried throughout this movie.  Not only was it a good script but, well fuck, you actually came through and produced it-- which alone is a great accomplishment within itself. 

Dont mind the others here...

But with that said, its life will probably be alot longer if you were to post it on the internet, for thousands of people to see, rather than waiting for people to buy it on its originally medium, a dvd.

Anyways good luck with the film festivals..cant wait to see it. md
"look hard at what pleases you and even harder at what doesn't" ~ carolyn forche

Ghostboy

Matt gave me a copy of this last month. Like the script, it's quite good. Pretty smart, pretty well executed. It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than the short film that I sold here a few years back. However, whether or not Matt has a behind-the-scenes documentary to rival mine remains to be seen!

The one thing I was most worried about when reading the script for Thomas Edison was that its formal potential wouldn't be realized. Luckily, for the most part, it has; the first five minutes of the film in particular are just about perfect, full of long, quiet implicit moments and some outstanding editorial choices. The 2:35:1 composition here is good as well(the overexposed cinematography looks a bit video-ish sometimes, but generally serves the film well enough).

The other thing I was worried about - a worry shared by others - was the acting. I have a feeling this wil be a divisive issue amongst those that see this, but for the most part, I felt both performers are on point. They never come across as WB-ish (I think I remember someone expressing such a worry a few pages back). If anything, they're guilty of over-acting sometimes and being stitled at others, but the fault isn't entirely theirs (as I'll get to in a moment).

Those of you that read the script (or the criticisms of it here) may find, as I did, that the somewhat redundant nature of the dialogue is the chief problem with the film. The film is largely made up of an argument which, impressive as its points may be, starts to feel prolapsed at a certain point; this fault is exacerbated by the staging of the sequence; it's a long series of mostly static cross-cuts that gradually dampens the performances, draining them of a bit of their energy. Matt worked himself into a corner a bit there, but, as he did in the script, he pulls the film out of this minor rut and ends it as well as it began.

And as I mentioned above, the argument between the two characters is indeed impressive (incidentally, it's somewhat similar to the one Jonathan Rhys Meyers has with Scarlett and the landlady at the end of Match Point).  It's good stuff nonetheless - thought provoking and expansive in intellectual scope. Could it have been tightned? Probably. But the film is complete, and while it's not a masterpiece, it is a very strong and thought provoking piece of work.


atticus jones

great review...

congratulations to anyone who has a creative idea...sets a course of action...executes a plan...and has the nuts to present them bulls to the bears...

in this case matt you are in good company...

did i say greight review?...

i refuse to believe the acting was on point...and i havent seen it yet but am willing to state how WRONG i might be after viewing...its just that i am a stubborn old goat when it comes to these things and to believe that local high school kids from san diego can bring sick truth to a worthy amatuer project (no offense intended) such as this would put my fragile world/ego on tilt...

i wanna say you should have taken my offer to help cast this in l.a. because i bee leave i could have stirred you in the ryte die erection...

but dood...you rocked it...you rolled it...now show it to me...set me free

tah mas eh dis sun...i used this as a meditative mantra few years back...blew my dim bulb white open
my cause is the cause of a man who has never been defeated, and whose whole being is one all devouring, god given holy purpose