The Future of Digital Manipulation is Now
Some folks in Britan have made a film depicting a future fictional assassination of President Bush (the younger). Wow.
This is weird on a number of levels: first of all that they feel the technology is at such a point that they can realisticly pull this off (for any who don’t know, I have CGI “issues”); and secondly that someone would gel this fantasy to the point of making a film of it. Rights have been secured for a US release - which I predict will be a small run, not a wide release or a film seen by a large portion of American filmgoers, at least on the big screen. Obviously, the conservatives are pissed that such a thing would ever be conceived, much less produced, then granted release in their own country. Welcome to the zone where the 1st amendent and ‘terroristic threats’ (fantasies) meet.
If a kid writes a story in a creative writing class about going nuts and shooting up his school, the odds are very high someone will hit the ‘Columbine’ panic button and hot water will ensue for the writer - which I think is screwy. The difference between a story, words on paper/text on screen (a creative outlet, no matter how morbid or twisted the subject matter) and murder, in whatever form or fashion (an unethical, irreversible act for which one should be held accountable by their society) is vast and extreme. But I think it’s obvious that Americans today are confused about these blurry lines: celebrity, entertainment, emulation, ‘respect’ at any cost, fiction/reality. And there is plenty of evidence for the trueism: Fear spawns Results.
Jeez, and just when I was trying to figure out how I felt about all the 9/11 films, continued ‘hero worship’ at the 5 year anniversary, and a vaguely defined reactionary war (in multiple theatres…no pun intended) that has no end in sight-
And don’t forget ABC’s “The Path to 9/11.” Fiction is so much easier than reality. Plus, if it’s “reality” you want just watch some reality TV programming. Who needs “real” reality? Just too damn complicated.
CGI issues? This should be rich. Just what about CGI is different than any other image manipulation throughout history?
Oh com’on you know me and what I’m sayin: LOTR didn’t get the ‘gravity’ right often, much of the footage didn’t ’smell’ like anything - it can be done right and tastefully, but it an also be over the top and wrong. Don’t make me mention the 2nd S.W. trilogy….
To recap: most Gollum footage good, Gollum sinking into river of magma in ‘RotK’ - absurd…
I promise you this era’s effects will look dated quickly.
Where’s another angle: what is the #1 reason, after ‘the fuckin script’, Alien (1) is so much better than Alien:Resurection? Guy in ‘Geiger suit’ with only a few minutes of full camera time is scarier than CGI Aliens swimming around like dolphins taking near bites out of feet. To imagine if the CG geeks had gotten ahold of the ‘Bishop Birth’ scene makes me shudder. Another example - Carpenters ‘The Thing’, no CGI and it’s shithot! Don’t let the geeks in the airconditioned office put the hardworking FX crew out of buisness!
Take a hint from Hitchcock filmmaking people - you don’t have to try and show everything all the time, in fact ‘drama’ rarely does…
Twitch has the review..