Catholic in Film School

And I must say I’m pretty darn proud of it….

The program is going really well BTW. I’ve been blogging about it at Modestia.

Please consider going to see it. I went and visited MPower’s offices a few weeks ago and we chatted about the film that is already making some waves…

Some updates on life:

• School is over and done with. Got my grades back and did well per usual. I’m a senior in college now. (OMG how did this happen?! I need a panic button.)
• Since the semester is finished, so are both of my internships, though I haven’t technically left either company. I’m helping out with the Angelus Student Film Festival, a subsidiary of Family Theater Productions. Basically, I’m just a juror for the films. And let me tell you, I find myself more entertained by the artistry of my fellow student filmmakers than the crap coming out in theaters this summer. Just sayin.
• Things are progressing at Origin. I’m not modest in saying that I am the best intern that has ever graced their office…for reasons I’m not legally allowed to write about itjust yet. I took a month-long vacation but will be going back to work in a few weeks. Yay me…cuz Lord knows I miss seeing the 90210 kids all the time.
• The various ministries I’m involved with are blossoming beautifully. If you’re in the SoCal area, please do make your way to a Catholic Underground LA event one of these Saturdays. We have an awesome summer line up.
• I suppose it was sort of only a matter of time before my two blogs collided. I start production on my summer project next week. Decent Exposure is a formation series for Catholic teenage girls where they learn about modesty, chastity, fashion, and womanhood from Catholic models, actors, and random people of interest like myself. After four weeks of formation, we will be hosting a modest vintage-inspired fashion show in Orange County. In addition to helping with the actual program, I will be directing a reality show of the series to be put on DVD for parishes, schools, parents, etc. We wanted to do a webisode series, but there have been some legal conflicts and it may not be able to happen. (I should have gone into entertainment law…that’s where all the money is…)
• Oh…and I am making an honest attempt to finish my screenwriting portfolio. I’m trying dearly to be disciplined about it…writing during the summer is tough for me.

Originally published at Modestia:

I was at the Thread Show when it happened and was so busy with being unconscious and all I haven’t had the time to mention it…but there’s a couple of things I’d like to say publicly.

I absolutely condemn the murder of George Tiller and I hope the guilty party will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I was angry when I first heard the news, because this murder will have huge consequences for the pro-life movement, whether the killer is connected to the movement or not.

Certain individuals of a certain ideology are convinced that Christians and pro-lifers are secretly glad he’s dead. I’m not glad George Tiller is dead. I’m certainly not surprised he’s dead, but I’m not glad either. Any person who relishes in this crime needs to reevaluate their respect for the dignity of life. Being pro-life indicates a respect and reverence for ALL human life, not matter how small, how large, or how “bad.”

And one more thing…I wouldn’t be surprised to see George Tiller in heaven. That’s right, I wouldn’t. Our God is infinitely merciful beyond the human imagination; I don’t believe in putting God’s mercy in a box.

That’s all folks.

In other news, Stephen Officer of Catholic Media House contacted me to report that they are giving away free downloads of The Miracle of Life in either English or Spanish.  All you have to do is sign up for their newsletter.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

To all of the people who have emailed and Facebooked me about the Catholic Thrive Conference in Anaheim this weekend—-yes I do know what it is, and apparently I’m going now.

I will be manning the Catholic Underground LA booth as well as filming some of the talks and other random Catholic shenanigans.  So please, do come by and say hello.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

They were a huge hit and played to a packed house last June, so we decided to bring the sibling duo back to the West Coast.

Saturday May 16, 2009
Adoration & Confession at 8 pm
Performance at 9 pm

St. Victor’s Catholic Church
8634 Holloway Drive
West Hollywood, CA

http://myspace.com/juddandmaggie

Yesssssssss.

Don’t get your hopes up, I just wanted to write RAWR one more time. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was awful. AWWWFUL.

There was a fatal continuity flaw in the title sequence that ruined the rest of the film—10 points if you can identify it. I had a good time at the theater, but that’s only because I was with a group of friends that like Hugh Jackman’s hairy bear-like man chest just as much as I do.

So in conclusion, save your money on this one friends….

Star Trek better be friggin awesome.

/sarc off

Apartment shopping, development meetings, filming—plus it’s the end of the semester—I need a vacation.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought, “I need to post x on the blog” in last few months, only to be too exhausted to do it when I got home! Sorry for being MIA, but this adulthood thing is harder than it looks. And if I ever say I want to go to school full time, hold down two jobs, two internships, and party like it’s 1999 on the weekends…please remind me of my current exhaustion.

Cool things are happening though. I’m stressed, but I feel incredibly blessed, and covered by God’s mercy. My internships and third year of college are about to come to an end in just a few weeks, and I have learned a lot (including how to finance million dollar movies!)

I’ve made some new friends, and spent many hours talking and learning from some incredibly faith-filled and talented individuals. Consider this my public thank you…

I have not talked about my projects in a long time, so here’s a brief update:

- Pilgrims is dead. *cue the violins* Some of my footage got damaged and I wasn’t able to do what I wanted. Instead of stressing myself out, I have acquired a new project within the Catholic reality realm to be shot this summer. The good news is that it is being sponsored and supported by multiple companies and will actually get finished! (Hopefully.) In about two weeks I will announce what it is.

- The 40 Days For Life commercial is in post production. Yes, I know 40 Days is over with…the good news is that there are two seasons per year…

- I just finished the first draft of a TV spec, which after it’s polished will be inserted into my portfolio. I’ve never written for television before. It’s hard, and I don’t think I will be winning any Emmys any time soon, but the spec is coming along nicely, and I’m proud of myself for giving TV a try. But I will be sticking with movies in the meantime.

- I’ve got two projects to shoot this weekend, one for my Jesus in film class, the other for my directing class that I shot the soap opera for previously. For my directing project I will be reinterpreting a scene from the hit film “The Night of the Hunter.” Will someone please leave a comment and tell me they’ve seen it? I have talked to a zillion people who have never heard of it. It’s a classic people!

Oh, and I’m trying to find an apartment with some girlfriends of mine. We’ve already seen a few places, and I’ve concluded that residences in Los Angeles are either 1) creepy or 2) too expensive…and then there’s always the third option: creepy AND expensive.

That’s all for now folks…

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

A friend of mine had a party after mass on Sunday to celebrate John Paul II’s life.  (The 4th anniversary of his death was last Thursday.)  One of my CU girlfriends who is an amazing cook and baker made this cool rum & carmel cake for the party!

You have to admit this cake is pretty cool. And it was yummy too!

Dear Supporters of the Genesis Initiative,

Thank you for your support and interest! The response we have received since our launch in January has been overwhelming. We are working hard to bring you quality Catholic entertainment, but now we need your help to make that happen.

Can you give $25 per month (less than $1 a day!) to support beautifully Catholic films and the filmmakers who are working tirelessly to produce them?

Our current projects include Fatima the Movie and A Severe Mercy the Movie, among many others. We are acquiring scripts and developing numerous projects, but we need your help to get these projects made and on to a big screen near you.

We are dedicated to producing quality Catholic entertainment that you, your friends, and your children will want to watch. Your monthly donation will make this happen!

You can donate to us here.

Thank you for your support!

In His Service,

+ The Genesis Initiative
http://genesisinitiative.org

On Sunday morning I attended the annual Catholics in Media Associates luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I had never been to the BHH before—that place was sweeeet…and they had hordes of cute valet guys too. That information isn’t pertinent to the post; I just thought I’d share.

Multi-award winning actor Lou Gosset Jr., who I mostly know from his role as Fiddler in the mini-series “Roots”, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Vivica A. Fox. She’s beautiful in person…and exactly what you see on TV. LOL

“Doubt” won Best Feature Film and Best TV Series went to “Without a Trace.”

The night before the luncheon I went to one of my CU buddy’s apartments for a viewing party. He did some of the VO work for the character King Julien in “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.” Nickelodeon is now doing a spin off show called “The Penguins of Madagascar” for which my friend is also doing some of the VO work.

The premiere was really funny. And it was CLEAN! If you’ve got kids I suggest you check it out.

I have a very genuine love/hate relationship with HBO. While they basically produce porn, they also make really awesome socially conscious projects like “Sometimes in April.” They’ve drawn my eye with their latest release “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” starring Jill Scott, (who is a surprisingly good actress.) The basic storyline is about a native woman in Botswana (Jill Scott) who opens up a detective agency. The pilot started a little slow, but it picked up in the last half. I will be tuning in again.

Now take a deep breath….there’s a Catholic family on TV!

“Table for Twelve” is TLC’s newest “big family” reality series starring Eric and Betty Hayes and their ten children—two sets of twins AND sextuplets! Eric is a police officer, and Betty stays at home to take care of the kids, including my favorite child named Rebecca, who has cerebral palsy. They’re definitely a pro-life witness, and their show is funny too.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

Note: A handful of people have asked me what I thought about this movie in the last few days, and then I remembered I hadn’t published this post yet…Sorry—

There was a lot of violence. So much so, I had to close my eyes twice. There was a lot of unnecessary sex. Dr. Manhattan couldn’t seem to put his blue penis away (and instead walked into frame with it.) And the movie was terribly dark.

That being said, I must admit I managed to still (kind of) enjoy it.

“Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” - which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity… but who is watching the Watchmen?”

Watchmen is not the typical super hero movie. Our “heroes” are gritty, they have plenty of personal problems, and it’s hard to distinguish some of them from villains. Again and again it is asked, “The Watchmen watch us, but who watches the Watchmen?” We are forced to sit and watch the people who are supposed to be saviors kill, pillage, and plunder one day and rescue someone the next, then spend the night awake in bed wondering who or she really is. These are not happy-go-lucky superheroes, but rather real people with real issues who just so happen to have supernatural abilities.

This is one of those movies that splits religious opinions in half. Even though I managed to enjoy certain aspects of the film, I cannot recommend it.

Thematically speaking, there are definitely some jewels. By the end of the movie, Dr. Manhattan, the only hero with the true super ability to stop the imminent attack, has the realization that even though humans can be monstrous, life itself is a miracle, and that miracle is always worth fighting for. Rorschach, our protagonist and narrator, has some really great lines of dialogue, some of which condemns the superheroes and the sins they have committed.

The first half of the movie is really good, but then there’s a good 25-30 minutes of just sex and violence, only about 2-3 minutes of which was actually necessary (in my screenwriter opinion.) There is full-frontal male nudity, which in its context actually wasn’t completely gratuitous, but it definitely was still awkard and I think it could have been implied rather than shown.

The Comedian was my favorite character. Ironic it seems, because The Comedian was the most immoral character of the bunch. His list of sins include shooting a pregnant woman whose baby he presumably fathered, attempting to rape Silk Spectre II’s mother, mass murdering people, etc. Despite his horrific deeds, The Comedian is the only character who actually repents at the end, though I don’t think the film’s presentation of this fact did him justice.

The latter half of the film felt a little disjointed as far as the story goes, and the ending was lame. I’ve never read the graphic novel from cover to cover, but from what I’ve been told the movie’s ending wasn’t as bad as the graphic novel’s ending.This may be a film that just needed to stay in its original format to truly be appreciated, because what I had read of the original graphic novel prior to viewing the film I really enjoyed.

I think the ultimate question we should ask ourselves about this film is that even though it has some arguably pro-life themes, is the movie’s questionable portions really worth sitting through to get to them? Given that I can’t shake the feeling that Warner Brothers has somehow stolen my virginity, I think the answer is a resounding “no.”

Again, just for clarity’s sake, I’m not recommending this film, and if I find out you have taken or took your children to see it without walking out (as a number of people did in the audience!) I’m calling Child Protective Services.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

Popple was at Catholic Underground LA this weekend, which I braved, concussion, whiplash, and all. I did a hilarious interview with them which will be up tomorrow. In the meantime, you can see some photos from the night and check out the crappy, but entertaining, recorded Ustream of the event.

…because the New Evangelization must be televised Ustreamed!

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

Man oh man. I got into a car accident on St. Patrick’s Day, (though this time it wasn’t my fault!)

I definitely appreciate the FB messages I’ve received. Just for clarity’s sake, no I am not seriously injured, and here’s what happened:

The driver of the little Toyota was drunk. He hit a Range Rover but kept driving. The driver of the Range Rover called 911 and kept following the Toyota.

I had some friends in town from the Naval Academy who had never seen Sunset Boulevard. We went to dinner, and then headed to Sunset to cruise so they could see the sights. I started to slow at the stoplight at Selma & Sunset when all of a sudden we hear this huge crash—a split second later, my car gets rear-ended. Even though we were hit, I didn’t even realize what was happening for a good few seconds until I heard people outside the car on the street screaming.

As you can see in the picture, the Toyota hit the Navigator, and the Navigator hit me. My car isn’t in the photo because it was driveable, and the officers told me to move it to a nearby parking lot.

To my knowledge the moron driving the Toyota will be charged with a hit and run as well as a DUI. There weren’t any major injuries, but we all went to Cedar-Sinai to get checked out any way. I have an acute case of whiplash; one of my girlfriends has to be in an arm sling for a few days. Amazingly enough, my car isn’t even dented, just really scratched and in need of a new paint job.

In looking at the pictures, we were extremely lucky. The incident was on a curve, and had we been going any faster and had I not had my foot on the brake (since we were coming to a stoplight) it would have been a lot worse.

ThankyouLordThankyouLordThankyouLord. Drunk driving is not cool!

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

I feel like I’ve seen a zillion movies the past few weeks, which means instead of doing full reviews, I’m doing little ones!

He’s Just Not That Into You

One of my Family Theater girlfriends saw this film at a pre-screening and said that while it was funny, the message was a little off. I think I fully agree with that conclusion to a certain extent.

GiGi, played by Giniffer Goodwin, is “that girl” we’ve all known and loved. She’s cute, smart, and funny, but overanalyzes everything when it comes to dating. When Gigi meets Alex (Justin Long), a sarcastic bartender who dishes out free dating advice, Gigi changes the way she dates, taking into account that “he just might not be that into her.” Also interwoven into the film is the story of Ben and Janine (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Connolley), a couple whose marriage is on the rocks due to a number of reasons including Ben making “friends” with the beautiful and single Anna (Scarlett Johanssen), Beth and Neil (Jennifer Anniston and Ben Affleck), a couple whose been together forever but just can’t seem to get married, and Connor and Mary. Connor is a real estate agent who pines after Anna, but just can’t seem to understand why the spark has been lost in their relationship (probably because she’s busy sexing married men.) Mary is a graphic designer whose storyline was somewhat lost on me and I thought the film could have done without.

I will admit the movie was funny. I went and saw it with one of my girlfriends and we were cackling the entire time (though nervously thinking, “Oh crap, do I do that?”) I also think it definitely told some truths about women in the dating game—overanalyzing, over emotionalism, etc. I’ve never read the book, but I’ve been told that the basic message is that if “he” doesn’t do “x” like calling you, he doesn’t like you. But what confused me about the film was that at the end, some of the storylines get wrapped in a pretty bow with the boy and girl skipping off into the sunset. It seemed a bit contradictory to me.

One big thing that I didn’t like (other than Scarlet Johanssen’s homewrecker character) was the message that “if he’s not having sex with you, he’s just not that into you.” The editing of the film is meant to copy the chapters of the book, and that message was titled in bold print across the screen for that portion of the film. It was actually applicable to the following scenes about Beth and Neil’s marriage, but as soon as I saw the title I couldn’t help but steam in my chair knowing that there were teenage girls sitting all around me who were taking that message as black and white truth. (Girls, that’s not true! I know this as fact!)

The film was funny, but your life won’t be missing anything if you don’t see it.

Coraline

I saw Coraline on a whim with some friends and had no idea what it was about, other than it was a Tim Burton film and it was supposed to be a kid’s movie. It’s not actually by Tim Burton, but from his former “Nightmare Before Christmas” teammate Henry Selick. In my opinion want started as children’s movie ceased to be so about 3/4ths of the way through, so please be discerning before you take your kids to see this film.

The film follows a girl named Coraline, a young tween who moves into a creepy house complete with creepy neighbors in the country with her parents. Coraline’s parents are gardeners/writers and are about as painfully boring as movie parents can get. In her effort to escape her life, Coraline discovers a secret passageway in her home that leads to an alternate reality of her heart’s desire—cool parents, a cool house, etc. Every night, Coraline waits until her real parents go to sleep and then crawls through the passageway to hang out with the parents that understand and love her. Eventually this “Stepford” reality turns sour when Coraline’s fake mother turns possessive and evil. Coraline narrowly escapes, but only to find that her fake mother has kidnapped her real parents. The rest of the film follows Caroline’s very clever and brave moves to save her family and the souls of the children that her fake mother has claimed over the years.

First of all, given that it is a Burton-esque film it’s pretty freaky deaky and some parts scared the crap out of me (and I’m 20.) It’s very dark, which may give some kids nightmares. I liked the overall message about family, but again there are a few parts (including a half-naked woman in a thong with pasties on her breasts) that may not be appropriate for children.

On the plus side, if you are an adult, GO SEE IT. I have never seen animation like this before in my life. It was brilliant and you need to see it on the big screen to get the full effect. The story was a little slow in parts, but I am quite sure this film will be receiving a number of awards for the absolutely ingenious special effects.

Fireproof

I finally saw Fireproof….at a spa in Santa Monica while I was getting my nails done no less. It wasn’t as bad as I originally thought, but it was still painful to watch in some areas.

I don’t really know what else to say other than I know people are going to be mad that I’m not ranting and raving about it.

Taken

Finally…a Hollywood film that brings the horrible sex trafficking business to light. The film does a great job in this respect, showing that “it’s just business” to these men that kidnap, drug, and sell girls internationally for sex.

I enjoyed the film, but if you can’t suspend disbelief that a 60-something-year-old man could take down 20 guys singlehandedly without a gun…then you’re not gonna like it.

It’s okay Liam Neeson…I still think you’re badass. LOL.

The Namesake

I’m in the process of watching this movie about a first-generation Indian American for my Film and Spirituality class.

I haven’t seen the end yet, but it’s a beautiful film about family and racial identity I suggest you put in the NetFlix queue.

The Mission

Can you believe I just saw this film for the first time a few weeks ago? I know, I know…I should be banned from any other Catholic film discussion.

I wasn’t sure if I would like it, and to be honest I can’t say I super-enjoyed it. Critically speaking, it was a great film, it was just a little too doomsday for me. Shots of children with bullets through their heads is a but much for me. Jeremy Irons was awesome though. The climax scene where he walks before the congregation with the Eucharist exposed is epically Catholic.

Cinema Paradiso (The Italian Director’s Cut version)

Another classic I just saw for the first time recently, about the life and times of Salvatore “Toto” Di Vita, a filmmaker profoundly influenced by his mentor, a film projector operator. This coming-of-age film has the best bits of Italian culture mixed in with Catholicism, a love story, and clips of wisdom from classic films. Awesome movie. I LOVED it. If you rent it, I would suggest the Italian version over the American release which has a completely different watered-down ending.

“The Watchmen” review coming soon…

The first article I was interviewed for has been posted on the National Catholic Register’s website.  I haven’t read the final copy, so you’ll have to tell me what it says. Big thanks to Celeste Behe for making me sound articulate and NCR editor Tom Hoopes for greenlighting this piece and the forthcoming article.

You can read “2 Blog Wonder” here. The article will also appear in Sunday’s print edition.

In other news, I’m on spring break, and as soon as I took my last midterm I packed Frankie and made a break for the border. I’m at home in San Diego until Sunday, trying to keep away from Facebook, email, my cell phone, spend some time with my mom and dog, and (maybe?) get my wisdom teeth removed. I swear getting these things pulled has been an ongoing saga that doesn’t seem to end. One of my BFFs from the Naval Academy is coming home on Friday and I’m looking forward to seeing her too.

I like to treat my school breaks as a retreat. Last night I was reading/meditating on 1 Kings and thought I’d share a passage with you:

Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.”

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD–but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake–but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire–but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?” He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” “Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus,” the LORD said to him. “When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. If anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill him. Yet I will leave seven thousand men in Israel–all those who have not knelt to Baal or kissed him.”

Elijah expected to meet God on the mountain in all of these mighty things, and yet God was in the silence. I think it stuck out to me because I’ve been feeling so anxious and overwhelmed lately.

Just for the record, I feel way better. The past couple of days have given me a break and some perspective on why I do what I do. Some reviews will be posted in a bit.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

AKA the blooper real from my project.

Just remember, when in doubt, pretend like you’re filming a soap opera.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

Here’s what you need to know: 

when I screened the project to my class…there was applause. I have no idea why, but I’m not one to question applause.

Truth be told, Will and Tiffani did a great job in elevating the dialogue that was otherwise very corny and awkwardly out of context.

BTW, I didn’t choose the scene, it was assigned to me, and yes I realize there is nothing “Catholic” about it (except for the fact that Will is a red-headed Irish man.)  I called it a soap opera “Catholic style” because Tiffani is on the core team of Catholic Underground with me, and I met Will at daily mass. They’re both professional actors and very good people.  It was great working with them!

Pax Christi, Rebecca.