FIVE has just landed a non-exclusive VOD deal with Cabinetic [formerly greencine.com's vod section]; who had earlier brought 'Memories' to the VOD market through film.com. The movie will soon be available online and more details to follow as I get to know them. The posters for FIVE look fantastic and a special shout out to Ilke Gers, who spent a lot of time designing the poster and also in getting them printed properly. They are truly fabulous.
Me, D.F.Mamea (the writer) and Rod Johns at the premiere of FIVE [pic courtesy - Dr. D]
In other news - one of my best mates and business partner and partner in crime, Lance, has returned from his world travels and it was great catching up with him over the weekend. Here are a couple of pics from the party that night. More pics are on his camera. :-)
I was afraid to walk into 2 of my favorite video stores because of the fear that I wouldn't find FIVE there at all. And there is a reason for that fear as well - 'Memories' was hardly stocked by any video stores besides the ones that supported independent NZ films.
So I mustered up enough courage and checked out both the stores and was pleasantly surprised that both of them had stocked FIVE. First up was Video Ezy in Ponsonby and the photograph below shows only half the rack - the other half of the rack had another 4 copies of the movie. When I asked the owner if I had the permission to take this photograph, he asked me the reason and I told him that I had made the movie and wanted to share it with friends. His response caught me completely off-guard, he said that he had watched the movie and had enjoyed it thoroughly and hence the copies in the store. :-)
FIVE at Video Ezy in Ponsonby
Next up was the video store from where I get almost 95% of my rental DVD's - Civic Video in Glenfield. I was nervous because they never stocked 'Memories' and they haven't really supported NZ cinema that much, so it was relief seeing a couple of copies of the movie there. Note in the photograph below that one of the copies has already been rented out and that's not by me either :-)
FIVE at Civic Video in Glenfield
So yeah I am happy that atleast this movie has been better received than 'Memories' {which incidentally a lot of people still like because of it's scope and ambition}
Here is the opening scene of FIVE posted on youtube to convince anyone reading this to hire out the movie
FIVE has been released for DVD rental today and should be available at a video store near you if you are in NZ. You can also rent it online at AROVIDEO DVD UNLIMITED I don't know how many video stores are stocking them and the easiest way to get it is ask your local video store for it - if there is demand they will provide. As far as retail sales for FIVE goes - it won't be happening for another 6 months.
A few other major things happening, which I will update about when I get the time.
Above is the photograph of the review by Craig Major and the text of the review is below:
FIVE Director Amit Tripuraneni
This ultra-low budget psychological thriller by South Seas Film School graduate Amit Tripuraneni tackles familiar themes and motifs that work exceptionally well within a New Zealand context. Five starts off with a group of friends tramping into the bush and camping out in a basic hut. Chris is a melancholy and moody gay man; Zara is an ambitious girl about to leave for the US; Rajit (played by Tripuraneni) and Belinda are recently engaged; and Henry is the everyman of the group. Tension between the friends is heightened by recent memories of the (apparent) suicide of their friend Emily (Henry's girlfriend). As the quintet hangs out together, a growing sense of isolation beginsto take over. The story slowly unfolds, with a series of sinister events resulting in the friends' descent into paranoia, deception and violence.
A genre pic that thematically references The Shining, Cabin Fever, and My Little Eye (about how isolation can turn you mad), Five's strength lies in its setting. Shot on digital film in spectacular native bush outside of Auckland, life mirrored art to some degree with Tripuraneni and his crew having to tramp to the location and set up camp. The lush beauty of the forest ironically adds to the film's sense of claustrophobia as we watch the group's psychological stability begin to crack and crumble.
Not only does the film look superb, but also the performances are incredibly strong (with much of the actors' lines improvised). Music and sound design is also top-notch. A shining example of what can be done on a shoestring (Five was apparently made for a measly $12,000), the film looks polished and avoids falling into cliche. There are also moments of genuine shock as the 'stalker' is finally revealed. Five is a solid film that thankfully pulls away from being over-the-top. Watch it and be impressed.
It is nice to get a nice review, especially since the only review for the movie we have had till now did not talk about the acting and the sound design kindly {which in my opinion came down to personal taste of the reviewer}. There are atleast 3 other reviews somewhere in the world either waiting to be published or waiting to be written - I will update you as and when they come out.
Oh on a completely different note - I forgot to take photographs at the premiere since I was such a nervous bundle before and after the screening. :-( I will try and see if I can atleast get one photo from the premiere.
First up I have to confess that I have just woken up from a 15 hour 'nap' - I lay down to take a 1 hour nap after work yesterday and I woke up to find it is 6.30 in the morning now. I feel super fresh and energetic. :-)
The premiere of 'FIVE' on Friday night was exciting. I was there at the theatre by 10.00PM and there were only 2 other people there and I was thinking 'Shit, no one will actually show up.'. So you can imagine by excitement when 55 people showed up before the movie started. I was thrilled beyond words as it was a good sized audience for that time of the night and that too on a long holiday weekend. I was also happy that I did not have a nervous breakdown while the movie was actually screening. There were some technical hiccups initially with the sound and it took a good 5-10 minutes for the cinema to sort out sound while the movie was still screening. The other thing which was annoying was that the theatre had a 2.0 setup while the DVD was a 5.1 mix, so the music sounded loud and overbearing and some of the audio was getting muffled because everything was being mixed down to the front speakers. But technical issues aside, the feedback I got after the movie was mainly positive and the audience did come out of the theatre buzzing, so that's always a nice thing to see.
I didn't attend the Saturday screenings - i was working the day shift while I was taking a 'nap' in the evening. But I did pop down to theatre in the morning to do a quick sound check, to make sure that the movie experience would be as good as it could be. The word I got back from someone who attended the Saturday morning screening is that there were about 15-20 people in the audience. I don't know what the numbers were for the evening session but will find out soon enough.
That's the lot from me for now. Amit
UPDATE - It seems that there were 7-10 people in the last screening and in between all the good and constructive feedback I have been getting about the movie - I had someone whammy me by saying that the movie felt amateurish (which inspite of my bravest face and the attitude that everyone is entitled to their opinion - really hurts because that's one of the worst things you can hear as a film maker). But oh well - that's the nature of the game.
Nothing much to update besides the fact that I am buzzing with excitement about tomorrow's NZ premiere of FIVE. Here is a screen shot from Academy Cinemas website. I will try and take some photos at the premiere tomorrow - I would be happy if 50 people turn up for the screening [especially with the late night screening and all]
And I keep forgetting to upload this photograph of me getting my NZ citizenship,so here it is. Now have to get off my arse and apply for that NZ passport. :-)
Being congratulated by George Wood, the 'ex'-mayor of North Shore City (he lost the mayorship election last week)
Well latest development on movie front is that 'Memories of Tomorrow' will be screening on Rialto Movie Channel in November and December {yeah you have to be a SKY subscriber}. Here are the screening times: 21/11/07 8:30:PM 22/11/07 11:40:AM 07/12/07 12:05:AM 16/12/07 10:05:PM 17/12/07 12:05:PM 25/12/07 12:15:AM
An artful psychological thriller set around a man's (Thompson) frustrating amnesia of a past which seemingly involves commando training and assassination.
These secrets are possibly known to both his attractive wife (Gilchrist) and a strange visitor (Trickitt), the three individuals becoming a triangle of muddled honesty and deception, while a threat of a surveillance tracking team looms over them. Set in present day New Zealand, this remains impressively serious, with good locations, low-key photography and believable acting. Although it overreaches into action kinetics at times, an excellent DV debut.
For some reason I have been having massive trepidation since this morning and I can't seem to shake it off. Why? What? How? I don't know.
I finished watching the rest of Season-3 of BSG and overall the season was a little bit slower than the first 2 seasons. Off the last 8 episodes - there were another 2 filler episodes and it was frustrating at times but the season ends with a big bang and now have to start the agonizing wait for the final season. Rumors have it that they will screen first 10 episodes from early 2008 and then the show takes a break with the rest of the episodes airing in 2009. I hope the rumors are wrong and the screen the entire Season-4 in 2008.
For now here is the promo for Season-4 - DO NOT PLAY IT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON-3.
One of the screening times for FIVE has been changed and now the screenings are on 19th October @ 10.30Pm; 20th October @ 10.30AM and 10.30PM. The entry is priced at $5 to cover the costs for the theatre.
On other completely random note - the housing affordability in NZ is at an all time low - here is a report for it. Add to it the state of economy, rising inflation and cost of living and the tightening credit market influenced heavily by the global markets - owning a house is a pipe dream. Maybe if you are married and both husband and wife are earning atleast NZ$ 2000 each week in take home pay - the prospect becomes a reality but otherwise welcome to the rental market. Anyway..................
Season-3 of BSG arrived in mail yesterday and I have watched 12 episodes of it - couple of episodes were filler but the rest of them were right up there with the rest of the series. Bigger post later - for now that's the lot and here is a pic I took earlier this evening. This was taken just down the road from where I live.
Opening Scene of the series - this is how it starts
Thankfully the series is going to end with Season-4 - which means a proper conclusion to a fantastic TV series instead of a lame way to close a series after dragging it on forever. I finished watching Season-2 and I can't wait for my Season-3 disc set to show up in mail.
'Hard Candy' was brutal and a tense film which was also beautifully shot and acted. It leaves you gasping for breath. The documentary on the making of the movie was interesting and frustrating at the same time - I am sure that the director of the movie is immensely talented and all but his was one of the most annoying interviews. He couldn't sit straight and would keep looking away from the camera while talking - it felt like he was guilty of something and he was trying to hide something during the interrogation.
I am officially addicted to Battlestar Galactica - I managed to get my hands on the first 8 episodes of Season-2 and it was satisfying as ever. Now that the craving is high and the product is scarce (the series always seems to be booked out at the local DVD rental store) - I went ahead and bought the entire DVD set: the mini-series, season-1, season-2 and season-3. Now just have to be patient and wait for them to arrive within the next couple of weeks. This TV series is a keeper.
The weather has been playing havoc recently and it finally brightened up today. Add the extra hour of daylight (courtesy: daylight savings being moved forward by 2 weeks) and the evenings are now great. I am eagerly awaiting my next lot of free days so that I can try and cut down my 'to do' list atleast by half.
A view from Rakino's on High Street
Tranquility
I did a couple of interviews with print media over the last week and hopefully it will give FIVE some much needed publicity. And if you are in Toronto on the 12th of October by any chance then you should check out the movie at Camera Bar (1028 Queen Street W).
I watched 'The Kingdom' yesterday night and it was a decent action flick. Very well executed but in the end it wasn't satisfying coming out of the movie theatre. Something is missing from the movie but still it is a fairly decent watch- you never get bored.
Well my list of things 'to do' went down from 29 to 20 but now it is back up again to 25. And I haven't helped the cause by spending most of my free day today watching Battlestar Galactica - which has proven to be an awesome sci-fi show. I started off by watching the 3hr mini-series and followed it up by finishing off all 13 episodes of season-1. The experience was awesome - the mini-series was a shot of pure adrenaline and does take you out with it's first scene. The thing with the TV series that I liked is that it is great drama and sci-fi just provides the perfect setting to amp up the stakes. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
FIVE just got selected into DNA Film Festival in Toronto - which is exciting. Other than that it is all OK. :-)
Loneliness can never be cured - only endured.
Lance, Max, Anna and Gareth
