Musings of an Idiot

Out Stealing Horses

The book 'Out Stealing Horses' by Per Petterson has been a magical read. It is so lyrical but heart breaking at the same time. The narrative flows like a river and melts your heart and soul with it's simplicity which offers profound insight into the human condition. It is a highly recommended read and it is rare for translations to be as good as this one. The ending breaks your heart and you can judge it by the last line of the book which says 'we do decide for ourselves when it will hurt.'

David and Christina came over last night to pick up the DVD and watched the tweaked cut and I am still alive, so needless to say the cut is almost there - a couple more minor changes and the cut is ready to be locked. Now I get a couple of weeks break from the short film post before David sorts out background stuff and then we will have a couple more days in post for locking the cut down. Now it is time to concentrate on the music video and try and get that organized, so I am still able to finish it within the next couple of months. At this point - I need to test out the post workflow for the music video as it is going to involve a small amount of 2-D animation as well.

Well that's me for now.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Short film

posted by Amit @ 11:17 PM 0 Comments

Out Stealing Horses

I am reading this awesome book titled 'Out Stealing Horses' and there was this paragraph which nearly ripped open my heart with it's simplicity and insight. I had to stop reading the book so that I could just let the paragraph sink in.

'People like it when you tell them things, in suitable portions, in a modest, intimate tone, and they think they know you, but they do not, they know about you, for what they are let in on are facts, not feelings, not what your opinion is about anything at all, not how what what has happened to you and how all the decisions you have made have turned you into who you are. What they do is they fill in with their own feelings and pinions and assumptions, and they compose a new life which has precious little to do with yours, and that lets you off the hook. No-one can touch you unless you yourself want them to. You only have to be polite and smile and keep paranoid thoughts at bay, because they will talk about you no matter how much you squirm, it is inevitable, and you would do the same thing yourself.'

That's me for now.
Amit

Labels: Books

posted by Amit @ 10:02 PM 0 Comments

Marvels

I cooked myself some Lahori Fish and it was really really yummy. The fish I used was Orange Roughy - which is delicious in itself and it was the perfect choice for the dish. It has been ages since I have tasted proper fish kebabs and the instant batter that I used to cook the fish was so good that my mouth is still watering thinking about the dish. Next on my 'to try' list is Tikiya Kebab. I have the batter mix packet - just have to try it out sometime this week. Yummmmmm......

I finished reading 'Marvels' and 'Kingdom Come' illustrated by Alex Ross and they were both alright. The artwork in both the books is stunning but the story on the other hand has similar themes in both the comics - even though they belong to different comic book universes. Both of them were critically acclaimed graphic novels when they were released but I don't think they hold up today as the stories didn't really tell anything unique.

I also finished watching season-9 of Seinfeld as I had never ever seen it and I still think it is one of the best TV shows ever. It is still as irrelevant and as funny as it was when it first screened. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David are comic geniuses unlike any others.

Signing off for now,
Amit

Labels: Books, Food, TV Series

posted by Amit @ 8:17 PM 0 Comments

Black Hole

Black Hole is a surprisingly depressing book all through the story with the only glimmer of hope appearing towards the end of the book. I picked up the book based on the fact that David Fincher is making it into a movie and it definitely piqued my interest. The book has stunning art work and it is all beautifully rendered in black and white. It is high school life in the 70's that heightens the sense of dread and alienation and inevitability. It is a good read but depressing nonetheless. I am currently reading 'Out Stealing Horses' and it is a lovely book. It has sucked me right into the story from page one. Let's see how it shapes out.

Finance markets all over the world seem to be in a tumble and more so in New Zealand where the NZ Dollar is fluctuating at a all time high against the US Dollar. It is a mixed blessing as it is keeping the petrol prices in check for now but at the same time hurting the exporters. What this has also meant is that anyone who owns a house through mortgage [which would be about 90% of the NZ house owners] is starting to feel the hurt because of the high interest rates offered by Banks because of Reserve Bank regulations and also rising prices of essential commodities. Now it takes about 75% of the take home pay to keep servicing the mortgage prices, which is not ideal at all plus defaulting on the mortgage would mean a mortgagee sale of the house - which is terrible. The housing market has slowed down and hopefully the house prices will go down over the next 5 years to bring some sanity to the current housing market in NZ. On the other hand it is probably a good point to invest in the stock markets - the share prices are falling and it is a risk worth taking - if you pick the right portfolio then you will reap a good profit in 5 years time. Higher risk = Higher profits or Higher losses - all a matter of timing, judgement and luck. Just realized that it was a pretty random rant from me about finance.

Time to sign off,
Amit

Labels: Books, Random

posted by Amit @ 10:54 AM 0 Comments

Astronaut Farmer

'The Astronaut Farmer' is a syrupy movie and it was an OK watch. Some of the cinematography is downright beautiful but the third act comes across as forced and hard to swallow even though on paper it probably looked right. It might have to do with the fact that the turning point was so weak and poorly executed that it made the entire 3rd act look so syrupy. Good family fare though.

I also finished reading 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wau' and it was crisp, funny and ultimately very sad and tragic. The book is a surprsingly quick read and it is a page turner for sure.

Here is the video link to my favorite scene from 'No Country for Old Men'. The only other piece of news is that 'Five' has been selected to screen at DeREEL Independent Film Festival to be held in April in Victoria, Australia.

Thats the lot.
Amit

Labels: Books, Five, Movies

posted by Amit @ 1:56 PM 0 Comments

Entourage

On film making front - I was in final negotiations with an international sales distribution company for them to pick up FIVE to sell it to international territories excluding NZ/Australia but that has fallen through for various reasons. I still have another sales representation offer from a French company but that is on the backburner for the next 6 months when both the parties will look at the offer again.

Labels: Books, Script, TV Series

posted by Amit @ 7:31 PM 0 Comments

The Saudis

Labels: Books, Movies, Random, TV Series

posted by Amit @ 11:52 PM 0 Comments

Tick Tick

'Tick...Tick...Tick' - that's the one sound I can hear loud and clear right now - besides the cicadas chirping away (they have quietened as it falls dark). That's the sound from the new wrist watch that dad sent over from India and I love it. I had stopped wearing watches for I can't remember how long and I decided to start wearing one again after seeing the simplicity and elegance of the watch. I am happy.


I just finished reading 'Get Rich Slow' by Mary Holm and it was a fascinating read and very practical. It definitely clears up a lot of uncovered ground as far as investing for a first time investor goes. I am now seriously considering doing some geared investments.

I also finished off 'Persepolis' and it was a good read. The characters I most liked in the book were Marjane's mom and dad. They are so endearing and bring a sense of respect and love into the story. Overall it is definitely a must read and I can't wait to see the movie when it comes out in the cinemas here.

Thats me for now.
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies, Random

posted by Amit @ 7:47 PM 0 Comments

Books Galore

I had to return 'Tree of Smoke' before finishing it as someone had it on hold and I didn't want to pay a fine. Add to the scenario out of the 9 books I wanted to read - 8 of them came through at the same time. So I returned that book and got a whole bunch of books filling up my desk, my bed and my floor. I am currently reading 'Persepolis' by Marjan Satrapi. The book has also been converted into an animated movie which is running for 'Best Animated Feature' at the Oscars. It is a great read and changes your perspective about how western media has painted Iran without taking into consideration the lives of ordinary people living there.

A month or so back I had my Indian passport canceled and applied for Overseas Citizenship of India and I was surprised when I got back my NZ passport with the OCI in the mail today. This has got to be my least painful exposure to Indian bureaucracy.

I watched 'Seraphim Falls' yesterday and it was an OK movie. It starts off great but it soon looses momentum and the stakes are lowered as the movie progresses. The cinematography though is absolutely beautiful.

I have just come out of my 10 day work stretch and have the next couple of days off, which I am looking forward to. Hopefully I will be able to catch 'There will be Blood' this weekend.

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies, New Zealand, Random

posted by Amit @ 8:42 PM 0 Comments

The Time traveller's Wife

I finished reading 'The Time Traveler's Wife' and it was an amazing read. It is more of a love story than a science fiction. The story is beautiful and moving and it keeps you hooked into the story all the time - that if there is time. The story jumps all over the place because of time travel but once you get a hang of the style - it is so easy to follow. The other thing I love is how the book doesn't adhere to more general rules of time travel as described in science fiction books. It is being made into a movie for release in November 2008. I wonder how the audience will react to the adult themes within the story and also the un-conventional love story. Or if the movie will even retain any of them.

Next on my read list is Tree of Smoke

Amit

Labels: Books

posted by Amit @ 10:25 PM 0 Comments

Falling Man

Oh man, I pulled my hamstring yesterday evening and now I am limping everywhere. I have an appointment with a physio later today and that will start off the process of recovery I guess. I had a lovely dinner with the Mamea family and it was a nice way to chill out plus the home made pizzas were absolutely, mouth wateringly , delightfully scrumptious.



I was supposed to have acted in a promo but the whole thing fell through because of lack of proper production planning by the people who were making it and it was a bit of a shame really. Acting classes start off from next week and it will be a long year.




Falling Man was a harrowing read and coming straight after 'Ghost Wars' it was harrowing still. While Ghost Wars was a macro view of events leading up to 9/11, 'Falling Man' is a micro view limited to the impact of 9/11 on one family and the neighboring community and it is a highly emotional read. Not a light reading again. I will be picking up my next lot of books from the library today, so that should be exciting.

That's me for now.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, New Zealand, Random

posted by Amit @ 10:46 AM 0 Comments

Ghost Wars

I finally managed to finish reading 'Ghost Wars' by Steve Coll. It was an exhausting read. The main book is only 600 odd pages (the rest being detailed notes and explanations about things) but it felt like I had read close to 3000 pages. It is that comprehensive and thorough and the best thing about it is that it is immensely readable. It is a page turner. And to think all this happened it is easy to see the state of the world politics right now, in relation to the fight on terror. The book deals with the secret history of CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden from Soviet invasion to September 10,2001. It unfolds as a story of hope and then soon turns to absolute horror as it progresses. The book is not an easy read (read -not light entertainment), it asks you to pay full attention to whats happening as everything has a consequence. I was so absorbed in the history that it was hard to put the book down even while going to bed. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand whats happening with our world. If you are interested then you can read an excerpt from the book and also here is a Q&A session with Steve Coll.


Well - now that I finished reading that book, I can try and take a breather before plunging into my next one. At this point I have 9 important things to sort out at professional and personal level and I have initiated action on all of them in one form or the other. Some will take a little longer than the others but I intend to strike them off my list within the next couple of months.

That's me for now.
Amit

Labels: Books

posted by Amit @ 7:37 PM 0 Comments

The Devil Dared me to

The list of movies and books keep getting bigger.

The books I finished reading since the last post:
Disgrace by J.M.Coetzee : Awesome book. Thrilling and painful and vivid as his other books. A must read.
Trinity : It is a graphic novel but nonetheless - it was a fascinating read and it comes out more as a character study of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the art work was fantastic.
The Life Eaters by David Brin: Another graphic novel which takes an interesting premise and turns it upside down on it's head. The story telling is fantastic.

And the movies that I watched were:
The Devil Dared me to : Blah!!! A NZ movie. The film makers spirit is infectious but not the movie. It has a few good jokes but that's about it. Watch it if you love 'Jackass' kind of humor.
What's eating Gilbert Grape: Fantastic movie. Leonardo Di Caprio's performance is something to savour and overall the movie is gentle and very touching.
For Your consideration: Average movie. It has funny bits and pieces but the whole thing goes on too long. It would have been a more enjoyable experience if the movie had lost about 10 minutes odd.
Letters from Iwo Jima: Fantastic movie. It was a painful experience watching the movie and it just shows that war has human casualties no matter what the final outcome is. Ken Watanabe is awesome in the movie. To read more about that war click here.

That's me for now.
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies

posted by Amit @ 10:28 PM 0 Comments

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I finished reading both the books that I was reading. 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is shocking, human and epic - all at the same time. Khalid Hosseini is a fantastic writer where the observations become poignant truths that hit home without batting a lid. The journey is incredible.

Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories and each of them is different but similar at the same time. The stories are lyrical and very observational at heart. There were so many times that I was laughing at what was happening within the stories and so many times that it felt that someone was standing there with a mirror in their hand reflecting things back as an immigrant from India. I think the themes are further amplified and written into a long form narrative in 'The Namesake' - a book that was made into a movie that I watched last year.

In the past month or so I have read more books than I have done in the previous 5 years prior. It is frightening to think but I have been here in NZ for 5 years now (well almost!!!) and time has flown by so quickly. It has been eventful all along - the struggles, the pains, the joys, the achievements, the failures - all snowballed into one big lump of time. It has taken me all these 5 years to start from nothing and just about stand up on my own 2 feet. I don't think this would have been possible without all the people who have been supportive and encouraging of the ways of this mad man.

Anyway I will sign off for now but not without a BIG SHOUT OUT for Lucas Young at Digitalus, who has completed the DVD authoring for the NTSC release of FIVE. Now it is a matter of getting the DVD cover and disc print finalized and then I will be mailing it off to the website through which the DVD will be available. More on that when time comes.

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Five

posted by Amit @ 9:32 PM 0 Comments

I am Legend (Not...)

I am Legend is a really good movie for the first half of it's running time and then it turns into utter crap. Will Smith gives a fantastic performance and it is a pity that the haphazard third act with plot holes galore ruins the movie. What made the movie interesting was the lady sitting right in front of me who for some reason wouldn't turn off her cellphone and it rang 3 times and each time it took her longer and longer to find her cellphone and the experience wouldn't have been complete without a lovely young couple sitting right next to me, deciding to catch up on their gossip and love lives once the movie started. I reprimanded them 5 minutes into the movie and they promptly shut up and watched the movie for rest of the time. Oh my.....

I did a second round of raid to the library and got 3 more of the books that I wanted. I am currently reading 'Interpreter of Maladies' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. How can I read 2 books at the same time? I have 2 eyes, no? Just kidding. 'Interpreter' is a collection of short stories and the way I read short stories is to read one a day and let it seep into you before reading the next short story, which obviously gives time to carry on reading another longer format story.

I start back at work from tomorrow and it should be a good way to get back into the groove of things. I feel primed again to start jumping back into the fray of things with all the feature projects and all - after taking a good month's break from it. First and foremost on my list is to try and get the NTSC DVD of FIVE out for sale. The rest of the things will follow.

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Five, Movies

posted by Amit @ 10:21 PM 0 Comments

The Last Mughal

It has been exhausting and exhilarating reading 'The Last Mughal' by William Dalrymple, which covers the fall of the last Mughal king during the Great Uprising of 1857 [also known as the Indian Mutiny in Britain] bringing to an end the Mughal rule of India and also the dissolution of East India Company soon after. It is vivid and fascinating and heartbreaking seeing Delhi ravaged and raped and almost destroyed to nothing before some sense prevailed. History is littered by predictions of the future and the last few pages in the book provide a crucial link to what's happening today (and will again be repeated sometime in the future). A highly recommended read if you have the slightest interest in history. Oh don't let the word 'history' put you off because William Dalrymple writes so elegantly that you think you reading a novel more than anything else.

K-Pax was an interesting movie. It kills off any sense of mystery and intrigue in the first couple of scenes in the movie and tries desperately hard for the rest of the movie to try and keep the audience guessing. If only they had chopped off the first 5 minutes of the movie!! But even in the shape it is right now it is an interesting watch nonetheless because the cinematography is fantastic and so is the acting by Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey.

That's the lot for now.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies

posted by Amit @ 7:53 PM 0 Comments

30 days of night

What a crap movie. I don't know if I ever shared the fact that I get a headache whenever I watch a really bad movie - that is how I can tell if the movie is bad or not. :-) Pretty rudimentary method for judging movies you would think - especially for a guy who thinks he is a film maker. Well the truth is that every person is an audience member first and foremost and everything else follows. Yeah that's deviating from the thought process but if you can try hard enough - then try and avoid 30 Days of Night - which is utter bull crap. It was made even more disappointing by the fact that David Slade's first movie Hard Candy was a really solid flick. Reasonable acting and beautiful cinematography combined with non-existent storyline or character development or even scares or coherence.

The other movie I watched was 'The Root of all Evil?'. It wasn't a movie per se - it was a 2 part documentary put together on 1 disc. It was a fascinating documentary mainly because it deals with religion and God - a topic which usually brings everyone into a heated debate. The first part of the documentary 'The God Delusion' was fantastic and the second part barely reaches those heights, even though it is good - the reason being it mainly explores Christianity and not the other major religions. It lead me down an interesting trip down memory lane about my own dealings with different religions and I am happy the way things have shaped out for me as far as my belief system goes. Now I am tempted to read 'The God Delusion' the book by the same author - Richard Dawkins.

Talking of reading - I finished 'Youth' by J.M.Coetzee and it was a tearful and hard read because of what it is. I don't think I will go into the actual content itself but needless to say you will either know what he is talking about or you won't - there is no middle ground. He is turning out to be one of my favorite authors.

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies, Random

posted by Amit @ 11:48 PM 0 Comments

Shantaram

I watched 'The Darjeeling Limited' yesterday night and it was a strange movie. I like Wes Anderson's movies however quirky they turn out to be but this one had something missing. It had some really funny moments in it but the movie was not complete in some way that I can't put my finger to.

I didn't get selected for 2008's Berlinale Talent Campus and was disappointed by the news but there is nothing one can do about it. The letter said that I had potential talent (whatever that is supposed to mean) and that I should apply again the following year. Hmmmmm......... I guess the upside of it is that I have potential talent at an international level.

After a flurry of emails between Katha publications, I have decided not to make 'Peace'. Without going into details all I can say is that I didn't want to make the short film anymore. A bit of a bugger but as the french say it cest la vie.

What an year it has been - more good than bad has happened to me in 2007, so I am a happy chappy. Everyone always has some problems or the other but the key is to focus on what we have got rather than what we don't. I am hoping that 2008 will be a much more positive and fun year.

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies

posted by Amit @ 11:48 PM 0 Comments

The Man from Earth

I did nothing today - well almost nothing. I spent the entire day reading 'Shantaram' and watched a movie called 'The Man from Earth'. The movie turned out to be a really pleasant surprise considering that the whole movie is set in a cabin room. There are some points where the acting and camera angle choices are dicey but still it was a fascinating movie to watch. It is a science fiction movie that doesn't have any aliens, any space ships, any SFX, any blood and gore or action and it is not set in some future point in time. If you can get past some dodgy acting from some of the players then you will thoroughly enjoy this movie without a doubt.

'Shantaram' is an intimate epic and I am only 1/3rd of the way through the book even though it seems like I have spent an eternity with the main characters. I will write my impressions when I finish the book - for now it is a brilliant read.

Back to the book.:-)
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies

posted by Amit @ 10:20 PM 0 Comments

Divisadero

The book that is a must read is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and it is a real masterpiece that genuinely moves you and surprises you at every twist and turn. I read the whole book in one sitting - it is a page turner. The story is narrated by Christopher - a 15 year old autistic boy and it is a breath of fresh air and is a way of seeing the world in a whole new light. Do read it by hook or by crook - preferably by hook. :-)

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Random

posted by Amit @ 10:59 PM 0 Comments

Illusions

A topic which often comes up for discussion with friends is relationships and dating in India and I have a good chuckle because of the big chasm that exists. Here is an article which kind of gives a good overview of the dating scene in India.

I raided 3 different libraries [all of them falling under the same umbrella library] and managed to get just 1 book from the long list I had - Divisadero. But at the same time I was equally excited to chance upon 2 books from my favorite writer - William Dalrymple and I can't wait for this long reading session to start.

Amit

Labels: Books, Random

posted by Amit @ 11:06 PM 0 Comments

Mr. Pip and others

I finished reading Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones and it was a great read. It was innocent but involving; magical but real at the same time. Easy to see why it has garnered such critical acclaim and awards. I have now started reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and it is a completely different experience. It is a big book, about 1000 pages or so and I am only 100 pages in but the world again is so real that one can almost smell the location of the story. I can't wait to continue on the journey.

And then I have my list of books that I want to read over the next few months -

• The Memory Keeper's Daughter
• A Thousand Splendid Suns
• Tree of Smoke
• Kafka on the Shore
• Divisadero
• Disgrace
• The Gathering
• Falling Man
• The Night Watch
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
• The World without Us
• The Curious incident of the Dog in the night-time

Heeheee....That's the list for now. Let me see if I can find any of them in the local library.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books

posted by Amit @ 8:01 PM 1 Comments

PEACE

One of the randomest things happened and I broke a 3 year promise to myself - I was talking to Lance about future projects (even though I am taking time off projects) and he mentioned that he had about 12 minutes worth of 16mm film stock and 2 16mm cameras. That got me thinking and I was racking my head about the possibility of making a short film on 16mm film - a short film in this case being really short with a maximum time limit of 3 minutes as that would give us the flexibility to shoot with a ratio of 1:4 (which is insane - trust me on that one). I racked my brains about for a short film that would still be a good human story despite the massive restrictions we had. I asked a couple of people if they could write something but when things came to nothing I decided that I probably had to do something about it.

It dawned on me that some of the short stories written by Uday uncle are very cinematic, touching and at the same time very human. So I went about reading some really short short stories from the book 'Short Shorts, Long Shots' which I had co-translated with Bob chachaji [Robert A Hueckstedt] when I was in India and I found 'Peace' - it is this wonderful short story that takes you by surprise. I promptly emailed both Uday uncle and Bob chachaji and both of them gave me a go-ahead to make the short film. I sat down and wrote the script - which is all of 2 pages long but has so much going on within those 2 pages - to the point where I think making this short will require a lot of attention to details to make it authentic and a long pre-production period. So yeah - I am happy that I broke my vow because I did it for something that is worth it. I am excited and have started assembling the jigsaw puzzle of a pre-production into it's normal state. This will be very very challenging but fun at the same time.

Peace out,
Amit

Labels: Books, Short film

posted by Amit @ 10:07 PM 0 Comments

Razor

It is that time of the year here in NZ where everyone goes crazy doing Christmas shopping and closer to Christmas the entire country comes to a virtual standstill. The main streets are decorated with various stuff and it just kicks in the point that we need periods of extravagance like these to connect with people we care about. If only we could connect with people and be good to each other all the time.

I just watched Battlestar Galactica: Razor - it was an interesting watch and adds a little more plot detail before the last season kicks off. The only thing that bugged me is that they did not add more threads to tie it up tighter to Season-4.

I had a day off work today and it has been a nice relaxing day. Played some tennis with Lance {he started teaching me how to play the game and this is the first time ever i put my hands on a tennis racket, so was nice to lose the set 6-5}; watched the BSG movie {refer to above paragraph}; lazed around and have now started reading Mister Pip by Llyod Jones, which is turning out to be a fantastic read.


Maybe I should get some pending work done tomorrow. :-)
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Festival, Tennis, TV Series

posted by Amit @ 11:38 PM 0 Comments

A good movie and a good book

It is amazing what watching a good movie and reading a good book can do to you. I feel really alive and connected as I did both recently.

The good movie being 'This is England' and the good book being 'Life of Pi'. The book is definitely more powerful than the movie because of the simple fact that you get to use your imagination while reading the book but not so incase of a movie.

Got 2 more books lined up to read, so should be a relaxing couple of days off work.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Movies

posted by Amit @ 11:33 PM 0 Comments

Life of Pi

Something that Yann Martel wrote in the preface of 'Life of Pi' has just got me more centered - "If we , citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up in believing in nothing and having worthless dreams."

FIVE got a mini review from AROVIDEO and they have called it a potential cult kiwi film. Other than that life is at a standstill right now - I don't mind it - need a little time for reflection and see if I am still on the right path.



I watched 'NO END IN SIGHT' and it is a good documentary. The subject matter is explosive and the interviews are amazing but not sure if it is deserving to be on the Academy Awards short list for Best Documentary.

Till later
Amit

Labels: Books, Five, Movies

posted by Amit @ 10:20 PM 0 Comments

Terror Inc.

It has been a busy few days - work at TVNZ + work on fine cut + acting practice sessions. I got the chance to catch up on my sleep today as I have been pretty restless over the past week and I had been waking up at 4.30 odd in the morning while going to bed around 11.00-11.30 each night. So feeling fresh and awake right now.

The fine cut on 'Five' is almost done. I will be watching it again and tweaking it if need be but the plan is to lock the cut down soon, so that work on sound design and score can start straight away. Most of the feedback which came through from the rough cut screenings have been implemented and I have to say that it does improve the movie's narrative/pacing a bit more.

I finished reading 'Terror Inc." by Loretta Napoleoni - a couple of days back and it was a fascinating read. It is a must read for understanding the state of world current affairs and how terrorism has evolved and who is responsible for the funding of it. The book is not political at all - it rather traces the money route and just states the facts based on solid research - and to top it all it is an easy read. A masterpiece and an essential read for sure.

I received a letter from Department of Internal Affairs saying that my application for NZ citizenship has been approved. So once the ceremony is done I will be a kiwi - the date for the ceremony hasn't been set but yayyyyyyy anyway.

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Five, New Zealand

posted by Amit @ 5:58 PM 0 Comments

An Inconvenient Truth

Fever is gone (I think!!!). Sleeping through most of today did me some good.

Saturday was a good game of badminton but I had to leave before our 2 hour period ended as I felt the fever coming back. In the evening, caught up with a friend who has come up from Wellington and managed to catch 'An Inconvenient Truth'. It is a compelling movie and I would say is highly recommended for everyone to watch - especially the skeptics who think global warming is a whole load of shit. Irrespective of what your political inclination is I think it is extremely important to rise above the petty politics and think about the planet. As a movie - it is not perfect, it has its flaws. - like intercutting the subject matter with Al Gore's personal life didn't make much sense. It definitely cut off the flow of the movie at times but it is still a compelling watch because of the science behind it. Global warming is a reality and I think we are definitely inching closer to the 'point of no return' faster than we can imagine.

I got out a new lot of books from the library and this time instead of picking up books that interest me I just picked up the first 3 books on the recommended read shelf. I started reading 'Shut Up & Sing' by Laura Ingraham and by the 3rd page I was getting frustrated by the author's pig headedness and wanted to close the book. But it is unfair doing that to any book - so decided to finish the first chapter and see if I wanted to continue any further. By the end of the first chapter I had only one thought in my head - if this is what america's socially conservative, middle class americans believe in then that country is really fucked. When a book starts off in a defensive counter attack on ideology then you know that the author is nothing but a pure hack. I skim read some pages across the book and it has the same problem - the author really is dillusional and divorced from reality.

I put the book away and started reading 'Natural Born Cyborgs' by Andy Clark and it is proving to be a fascinating read.

Watched 'The Aristrocrats' and it was a great documentary. It's tagline is 'No Nudity. No Violence. Unspeakable Obscenity'. And I would say that it is an understatement but it was hilarious seeing some of the best comedians tell the same dirty joke. A must watch and definitely a game you can play with strangers and friends alike and watch them squirm. (:-)

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Badminton, Books, Global Warming, Movies

posted by Amit @ 10:12 PM 1 Comments

Veneer

My favorite artist for the moment is Jose Gonzalez and his music is enchanting. Currently listening to Veneer - his debut album and it is enchanting. Different sound and different melody. There are lots of awesome tracks on the album but my favorites for now are 'Lovestain' and 'Heartbeats'. You can listen to the music samples HERE.

It has been a couple of extremely busy days at school with planning and crewing for term-4 in progress. It really drains you out so completely that it is hard to stay awake later than 9.00 PM (or in some cases having an evening nap and then falling asleep by 10.00 PM).

I finished reading a feature script by one of my friends - it was a page turner and an absolute gem of a script to read - funny, gentle and felt complete. Now I have started reading the book 'Two Hands of God' by Alan Watts and it is proving to be a much easier read than I thought (plus it is interesting as well).

Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Music

posted by Amit @ 8:05 PM 1 Comments

Long Update

Over the past 4 days I have tried getting onto blogger but it has been annoying as hell not being able to access the blog to post. It almost seems that their servers are overloaded ever since they put up the option of logging in either with your blogger username or gmail username...what a silly idea - especially if the servers are not capable of handling that much load. Or does Pluto being stripped of it's planetary staus have anything to do with this whole thing? We now live in a solar system with 8 planets and not 9. So as it stands I am seriously contemplating retiring blogger as my blogging tool and move onto wordpress to do all my blogging. It is free and is not owned by a company and it runs on your own server...so every reason to shift to it - especially after the past 4 days.

Friday was a fun day at school as there was the South Seas version of Dragon's Den and the school was buzzing with nervous excitement since the panel invited for it were top industry people: John Barnett (CEO, South Pacific Pictures), Nick Ward (Top screen writer), Paul Swadel (EP,Headstrong),Stan Wolfgramme (Producer), Tim O'Brien (Development Executive, NZFC). Kathryn Burnett arranged for all of them to spare 2 hours of their time to listen to the story idea pitches from 13 student directors and decide if they liked them or not and then give additional NZ$ 500 prize money to go into the production of that short film towards the end of the year.

The event itself was a real learning curve - just watching from the sidelines but even more exciting was the whole initiative taken by the students to setup a temporary 4 camera studio setup in the lecture theatre. James Brookes was the mastermind and the geek team setup a fantastic production. Here are some of the pics from that event.


Over the past 4 days I have watched 3 good movies, 1 average one and a really bad one: 'Eight Below'; 'Inside Deep Throat' and 'Moolaade' were good. 'Darwin's Nightmare' was average while 'Bloodrayne' was bad. Eight Below was surprisingly refreshing and I really enjoyed it. And the best thing was not seeing CGI animals but real animals go through the whole story - which makes it even more compelling. The 'Behind the Scenes' was decent and gives a quick overview of how they managed to pull it off. 'Inside Deep Throat' was an interesting movie and it succeeds as it is more interested in explaining the mechanics as to why an adult movie with the title 'Deep Throat' made for US$ 25k went onto gross US$ 600 million and why it has always been surrounded by controversy {no - not that kind of controversy - more like freedom of speech; censorship; moral policing and feminism} and how it started a revolution of sorts. 'Moolaade' was a Senegal/French movie set in a small tribal African village. It was gently paced and was a bit long for it's 120 minute run length but it was a great watch - it had a warmth and genuity about it. The story was powerful and it shaped out to be harrowing and uplifting at the same time. Definitely a good watch. 'Darwin's Nightmare' was a bit long and did not really need it's full running time to make it's point. There were some bits which dragged on and on but still an awesome doco subject. 'Bloodrayne' - I won't even waste my time talking about it.

I went to the Takapuna library on Saturday after a couple of years and it felt great. I almost forgot the joy of searching for books and the surprises that lead you into a different train of thought while searching for them. So now I have 4 books on my desk, out of which I have already finished one of them {'Greek & Roman Mythology'}. The tramp which was scheduled for sunday has been postponed till next weekend because of unavoidable reasons, so hoping that the weather holds up next weekend. Another cast member has been added to 'Five'. The cast would have been complete but there is an outside possibility that we might have to recast one of the roles because of time commitments. But it is still an exciting development and leads us closer to the goal.

I will take leave for now.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Books, Five, Movies, Pre-production, Random

posted by Amit @ 5:59 PM 0 Comments

Nemesis

Friday turned out to be a really productive day with a fantastic meeting with the local distributor regarding both 'Memories' and 'Nowhere'. The weekend on the other hand has been lazy but productive - a paradox I know but it's true. I got up 7.00 AM on saturday morning, worked a couple of hours and then went back to sleep for another few hours before I lazily did some house work, before getting back to work again on some paperwork for 'Nowhere'. The same with Sunday - add a few rounds of 'Punisher' to it though. I managed to clear a few more rounds and I have a feeling that I might be close to finishing off the game.

I also finished reading 'Nemesis' and it was alright - it almost felt as if Issac Asimov got bored of the story and simply brought it to a sudden end. Similar concept is discussed in 'Foundation' series anyway - which is a benchmark sci-fi event. If you skip 'Nemesis' you won't miss much.

I was watching some random flick on tele where the 2 main characters were dancing together and being a 'non dancer' my mind suddenly went off on a tangent wondering what the history of dancing actually was and how dancing in modern times has become a mating culture of sorts. I did an internet search and this link probably provides a good overview on the topic.

The coming week is going to be a short but extremely busy week. Just preparing myself mentally for it (read- I am going off to bed)

Ciao,
Amit

Labels: Books, Memories of Tomorrow, Nowhere to Love

posted by Amit @ 7:38 PM 0 Comments

Exorcism

Time loss again!!! It is saturday already. Busy days. School has been extremely busy. I was so tired yesterday that I fell asleep while reading 'Nemesis' - a novel by Issac Asimov. I have a lot of reading to do over the next few weeks and I am looking forward to it, especially since those books deal with directing actors, which is always a tricky business.

I am dreading to go and watch 'Memories' at Rialto incase I am the only one sitting in the theatre. It is stupid I know but I can't help myself in this matter. Just praying that people do turn up to see the movie.

I had a last game of badminton with Lance, Becks and Dean this evening, since Lance is going to UK for a few months to work on a couple of docos. It was a tough evening for me because I had hurt my hip bone yesterday at the gym. It wasn't anything serious - I simply ignored the 'WET FLOOR' sign while taking a shower at the gym and found that it was really a wet floor as it slipped from under me. (:-) So understandably I wasn't as agile during the badminton game but it was still good exercise.

I cooked some Cajun Meatballs today and my flatmates were drooling over the aroma. Yumm...it tasted good. I also watched 'Exorcism of Emily Rose' on DVD and it was an interesting movie. The end seemed tame and kind of anti-climatic as compared to the first 2/3 rds of the movie. Anyway I think I am babbling now...there is exciting things happening with 'Nowhere to Love' and I will update on whats happening on Monday.

Bye for now,
Amit

Labels: Badminton, Books, Memories of Tomorrow, Nowhere to Love

posted by Amit @ 8:24 PM 2 Comments