(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Sunday morning’s seminar focused on tips for creating your own product. Comedy writer-producers participating included Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, Night at the Museum 2), Robert Ben Garant (Reno 911!, Balls of Fury), Laura Kightlinger (SNL, Will and Grace, Lucky Louie), Linwood Boomer, (Malcolm in the Middle, Third Rock from the Sun, Night Court) and Rodney Barnes (Boondocks,Everybody […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org ) Today the Los Angeles Comedy Shorts Film Festival confirmed my prejudice that good comedy requires the same foundation as any story — good structure and characters you care about. The films that have these are memorable and evoke an emotional response. Without them comedy can only rise to the level […]
Participants Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show with Bob and Dave, Breaking Bad), Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Missi Pyle (Dodgeball, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite) got attendees in touch with Hollywood reality, if there is such a thing. What was your first paid acting experience? Mark Hamill: My […]
(Originally published on Blogcritics) Two expert panels advised, teased, and encouraged filmmakers attending the Los Angeles Comedy Shorts Film Festival Friday morning, while giving them a chance to peek behind the curtain of “the biz.” The first panel, “What…In This Economy?”, focused on giving management/production companies what they really want. Panelists included J.C. Spink (Benderspink), […]
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org ) Twenty-two short films competed for judge and audience approval today. It was a challenge to keep up with the barrage of short films, but with Wonder Woman and Super Girl here to collect the votes, I stayed focused. These four films made the top of my laugh list: Bill Plympton’s […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) The opening night celebrity screening included seven shorts, but only three were in the competition, the others were just for laughs (lots of them). The first competitor was The Action Hero’s Guide to Saving Lives, directed by Justin Lutsky and starring Patrick Warburton (Jeff onRules of Engagement and Joe Swanson on Family Guy). Warburton […]
(First published on Blogcritics.org) The 2010 edition of the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival (LACSFF) begins Thursday, April 15, with a red carpet kick-off at the Downtown Independent Theatre. The festival will spotlight 74 short films in competition, including international entries from Norway, the UK, Australia, and Canada. The celebrity and the bling will ignite the LA night […]
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) The function of the critic is twofold: Identify what the author/artist/filmmaker is trying to say, then evaluate how well they say it. Many critiques have identified the anti-technology, anti-Western feel of Avatar, but to understand it, and why it influences so many people, you need to understand its philosophical roots. The theme […]
The Interrogation, written by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Lilly Thomassian,debuted January 9 at the monthly meeting of the Alameda Writers Group. The short subject film deals with the interrogation of an Iraqi woman by an American soldier, but the reason for the interrogation is left vague. The focus of this study is not about politics or military […]
A theatrical work can often tell us more about the time it was written in than the theme its author intended. Take the case of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The story revolves around a barber, Sweeney Todd, who selectively killed his clients, sending their bodies down through a trap door to his […]