The stock footage site Artbeats is giving away one free clip (in either NTSC, PAL, or HD) a day (forever?).  All you have to do is register for the site and then choose your resolution and download.  Registering is free and basically painless.  I just found out literally minutes ago, so I’m not sure about the variety of subject or any other specifics.  The clip today is an aerial pan over the Badlands.  Who knows when I’ll use it, but I’ll find a way!  All I know is that it’s a great idea that I’m going to take advantage of!

You can also request to have the clip shipped to you, on dvd I would guess, but you have to pay for the shipping.

From Artbeats.com

They also say the clips are exactly the same as the ones they sell, or otherwise noted if they have been shorted for download time or whathaveyou.

I’m hesitant to link the “about” page because it seems like the url might change day by day depending on what clip is free, but here it is just in case it stays the same: http://www.artbeats.com/free_clips/SMA128/about

Annnnnd because I’m interested, here are the nominees for the Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture

2012
Volker Engel, Visual Effects Supervisor
Marc Weigert, Visual Effects Supervisor
Josh Jaggars, Visual Effects Producer

AVATAR
Joe Letteri, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Joyce Cox, Overall VFX Producer
Eileen Moran, VFX Producer
Richard Baneham, Animation Supervisor

DISTRICT 9
Dan Kaufman, VFX Supervisor
Stefanie Boose, VFX Producer
James Stewart, Creature Supervisor
Peter Muyzers, On-set VFX Plate Supervisor

STAR TREK
Roger Guyett, Visual Effects Supervisor
Burt Dalton, Special Effects Supervisor
Shari Hanson, Visual Effects Producer
Russell Earl, Visual Effects Supervisor

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
Scott Farrar, Visual Effects Supervisor
John Frazier, Special Effects Supervisor
Scott Benza, Animation Director
Wayne Billheimer, Visual Effects Producer

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

ANGELS & DEMONS
Barrie Hemsley, VFX Producer
Angus Bickerton, VFX Supervisor
Ryan Cook, VFX Supervisor
Mark Breakspear, VFX Supervisor

THE BOX
Thomas Tannenberger, Visual Effects Supervisor
Olcun Tan, Digital Effects Supervisor
Mark Kolpak, Visual Effects Producer
Peter Cvijanovic, Compositing Supervisor

INVICTUS
Michael Owens, VFX Supervisor
Geoff Hancock, VFX Supervisor
Cyndi Ochs, VFX Producer
Dennis Hoffman, Head of Production

THE ROAD
Mark O. Forker, VFX Supervisor
Phillip Moses, VFX Producer
Ed Mendez, Compositing Supervisor
Paul Graff, VFX Supervisor – Crazy Horse Effects

SHERLOCK HOLMES
Jonathan Fawkner, VFX Supervisor
Chas Jarrett, VFX Supervisor
David Vickery, VFX Supervisor
Dan Barrow, VFX Producer

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

9
Jinko Gotoh, Co-Producer
Joe Ksander, Animation Director
Daryl Graham, Supervising Animator
Ken Duncan, Animation Supervisor

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Pete Nash, Animation Director
Chris Juen, Co-Producer
Alan Hawkins, Supervising Animator
Mike Ford, CG Supervisor

CORALINE
Henry Selick, Animation Director
Claire Jennings, Animation Producer

ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
Melvin Tan, Senior Animator
Galen Chu, Supervising Animator
Jeff Gabor, Senior Animator
Anthony Nisi, Animation Production Supervisor

UP
Pete Docter, Director
Jonas Rivera, Producer
Steve May, Supervising Technical Director
Gary Bruins, Effects Supervisor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or a Special

ALICE – Night 2
Lee Wilson, VFX Supervisor
Lisa Sepp-Wilson, VFX Producer
Sebastien Bergeron, DFX Supervisor
Les Quinn, CG Supervisor

BEN 10: ALIEN SWARM – Montage
Evan Jacobs, Visual Effects Supervisor
Sean McPherson, Visual Effects Supervisor
Andrew Orloff, Visual Effects Supervisor

DISNEY PREP AND LANDING – Gadgets, Globes, and other Garish Gizmos
Dorothy McKim, VFX Producer
Scott Kersavage, VFX Supervisor
David Hutchins, EFX Animator
Kee Suong, EFX Animator

INFESTATION
PJ Foley, VFX Producer
Efram Potelle, VFX Supervisor
James May, Technical Director
Dan DeEntremont, Animator

SKELLIG
Sara Bennett, Compositing Supervisor
Jenna Powell, Visual Effects Producer
David Houghton, Visual Effects Supervisor
Jean-Claude Deguara, Senior Animation Supervisor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON 4 – Ep. 421 “Daybreak”
Michael Gibson, VFX Producer
Gary Hutzel, VFX Supervisor
Jesse Toves, CGI Artist
Dave Morton, CGI Artist

DEFYING GRAVITY – Pilot
Sam Nicholson, VFX Producer
Dale Fay, VFX Supervisor
Mike Yip, 3D Lead Artist
Jared Jones, Lead Compositor

FRINGE – Ep. 206 “Earthling”
Jay Worth, VFX Supervisor/Producer
Robert Habros, VFX Supervisor
Andrew Orlaff, VFX Supervisor
Eric Hance, Visual Effects Artist

STARGATE UNIVERSE – Air
Mark Savela, VFX Supervisor
Shannon Gurney, VFX Producer
Andrew Karr, CGI Supervisor
Craig Vandenbiggelaar, Digital Effects Supervisor

V- Pilot
Andrew Orloff, VFX Supervisor
Karen Czukerberg, VFX Producer
Chris Zapara, VFX Supervisor
Johnathan R. Banta, Lead Compositor

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

CSI CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION – Ep. 1001 “Opening Sequence”
Rik Shorten, VFX Supervisor
Sabrina Arnold, VFX Producer
Steve Meyer, Compositor
Derek Smith, Compositor

FLASH FORWARD – No More Good Days
Kevin Blank, Visual Effects Supervisor
Andrew Orloff, VFX Producer
Steve Meyer, 2D Supervisor
Jonathan Spencer Levy, Facility VFX Supervisor

KINGS – Ep. 001 “Goliath”
Craig Weiss, VFX Supervisor
Ron Moore, VFX Producer
Niel Wray, CG Supervisor
Brian Vogt, Lead Lighting TD

KRUPP-EINE DEUTSCHE FAMILIE – Krupp
Thomas Tannenberger, Visual Effects Supervisor
Olcun Tan, Digital Effects Supervisor
Mark Kolpak, Visual Effects Producer
Shane Cook, Compositing Supervisor

LOST – The Incident Part 1 & 2
Mitch Suskin, Visual Effects Supervisor
Samantha Mabie-Tuinstra, Visual Effects Producer
Eric Hance, Supervising Artist
Sean Scott, Character Animator

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year

2012 – Escape from L.A.
Volker Engel, Visual Effects Supervisor
Marc Weigert, Visual Effects Supervisor
Josh R. Jaggars, Visual Effects Producer
Mohen Leo, Visual Effects Supervisor

AVATAR – Quarich’s Escape
John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor
Jill Brooks, Visual Effects Producer
Frank Losasso Petterson, Simulation Technical Director
Tory Mercer, Compositor

AVATAR- Neytiri Drinking
Joe Letteri, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Joyce Cox, Overall VFX Producer
Eileen Moran, VFX Producer
Thelvin Cabezas, Lighting Technical Director

KNOWING – Plane Crash
Andrew Jackson, VFX Supervisor
Camille Cellucci, VFX Producer
Dan Breckwoldt, Lead Compositor
Angelo Sahin, Special Effects Supervisor

TERMINATOR SALVATION – VLA Escape
Charles Gibson, Studio Visual Effects Supervisor
Chantal Feghali, Studio Producer
Ben Snow, Visual Effects Supervisor
Susan Greenhow, Visual Effects Producer

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

The logo for VES, and the actual trophy are modeled after the moon in "Le Voyage dans la Lune," the 1902 Georges Méliès film.

AMF – The Caterpillar
Asher Edwards, VFX Producer
Robert Sethi, VFX Supervisor
Becky Porter, Lead Compositor
Jamie O’Hara, Lead Character Modeller

AUDI – Intelligently Combined
Jay Barton, Visual Effects Supervisor
Rafael F. Colon, Sr. Compositor
Ronald Herbst, CG Supervisor
Chris Fieldhouse, Visual Effects Producer

KERRY LOWLOW – Mouse
Jake Mengers, VFX Supervisor
Stephen Newbold, VFX Supervisor
Ashley Bernes, Effects TD
Louisa Cartwright Tucker, VFX Producer

PEPSI – The Flight of the Penguin
Murray Butler, VFX Supervisor/Lead Flame
Seth Gollub, Animation Lead
Andy Walker, VFX Supervisor, Technical Lead
Jenn Dewey, Senior VFX Producer

PLANE STUPID – Polar Bears
Jake Mengers, VFX Supervisor
Vicky Osborn, CG Artist
Suzanne Jandu, Compositor
Scott Griffin, VFX Producer

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

BEYOND ALL BOUNDARIES – Multi-plane Visual Effects
Daren Ulmer, Visual Effects Supervisor
Cedar Conner, Lead Compositor
Susan Beth Smith, Visual Effects Producer

DANCE OF THE DRAGONS – Eastern
Derry Frost, VFX Supervisor
Michael Morreale, VFX Producer

Outstanding Real Time Visuals in a Video Game

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 – Gulag Extraction
Mark Rubin, Producer
Richard Kriegler, Art Director
Robert Gaines, Lead Visual Effects Artist
David Johnson, Visual Effects Artist

FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 – Gameplay
Frank Vitz, CG Supervisor
Jenny Freeman, Art Director
Jeff Atienza, Producer
Ben Ross, Lead Character Artist

NEED FOR SPEED SHIFT – World Sequence
Andreas Moll, Art Director
Sven Moll, Art Director
Dave Flynn, Development Director – World
Robert Dibley, Lead Rendering Software Engineer

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES
Evan Wells, Game Producer
Christophe Balestra, Technical Lead

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Video Game Trailer

DJ HERO
Diarmid Harrison-Murray, VFX Supervisor
Sarah Hiddlestone, Senior CG Producer
Marco Puig, Art Director
Jamie Jackson, Game Producer

HALO 3: ODST – The Life
Robert Moggach, VFX Supervisor
Ryan Meredith, VFX Producer
Jens Zalzala, CG Supervisor
Michael Pardee, Executive Producer

MASS EFFECT 2
Tim Miller, VFX Producer
Brandon Riza, VFX Supervisor
Dave Wilson, GC Supervisor

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC
Tim Miller, VFX Producer
Brandon Riza, VFX Supervisor
Dave Wilson, GC Supervisor

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

AVATAR – Neytiri
Joe Letteri, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Andrew R. Jones, Animation Director
Jeff Unay, Facial Lead
Zoe Saldana, Actress

DISTRICT 9 – Christopher Johnson
Steve Nichols, Animation Supervisor
Jeremy Mesana, Animation Lead
Vera Zivny, Senior VFX Coordinator
Brett Ineson, Motion Capture Supervisor

G-FORCE – Bucky
Benjamin Cinelli, Senior Character Animator
Dustin Wicke, Lead Cloth and Hair
Peter Tieryas, Character Set-Up Technical Director
Ryan Yee, Animator

WATCHMEN – Doctor Manhattan
Keith Smith, Lead Animator
Kevin Hudson, CG Modeling Supervisor
Victor Schutz, Lead CG Lighting and Compositing Artist
Aaron Campbell, Character Rigger

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

CORALINE – ‘CORALINE’
Travis Knight, Lead Animator
Trey Thomas, Lead Animator

ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS – Buck
Simon Pegg, Buck
Peter de Seve, Characters designed by

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS – B.O.B.
David Burgess, Head of Character Animation
Scott Cegielski, Effects Lead
Terran Boylan, Character Technical Director
David Weatherly, Animator

UP – Carl – “No Dad Scene”
Ed Asner, Voice of Carl
Ron Zorman, Animator
Brian Tindall, Character Modeling and Articulation Artist
Carmen Ngai, Character Cloth Artist

Outstanding Animated Character in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

AMF – The Caterpillar
Robert Sethi, Lead CG Artist
Jamie O’Hara, Lead Character Modeller
Steve Beck, Lead Character Animator
Becky Porter, Lead Compositor

DISNEY PREP AND LANDING – Wayne
David Foley, Voice of Wayne
Mark Mitchell, Supervising Animator
Hidetaka Yosumi, Character Technical Director
Leo Sanchez Barbosa, Modeler

EVIAN – Skating Babies
Jorge Montiel Meurer, Lead Animator
Wayne Simmons, Animator
Jordi Onate, Animator
Emanuele Pavarotti, Animator

PEPSI – Penguin – “The Flight of the Penguin”
Andy Walker, VFX Supervisor, Technical Lead
Seth Gollub, Animation Lead
James Dick, Technical Director
Spencer Leuders, Technical Director

Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Rob Bredow, VFX Supervisor
Dan Kramer, Digital Effects Supervisor
Matt Hausman, Effects Animation Supervisor
Carl Hooper, Effects Animation Supervisor

CORALINE
John Allan Armstrong, VFX Animator
Richard Kent Burton, Stop Motion Effects Animator
Craig Dowsett, CG Modeler

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS
Amaury Aubel, Effects Lead
Scott Cegielski, Effects Lead
Alain De Hoe, Effects Lead
David Allen, Effects Animator

UP
Jason Johnston, Effects Artist
Alexis Angelidis, Effects Artist
Jon Reisch, Effects Artist
Eric Froemling, Effects Artist

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture

AVATAR – Pandora
Yvonne Muinde, Lead Matte Painter
Brenton Cottman, Lead Matte Painter
Peter Baustaedter, Senior Matte Painter
Jean-Luc Azzis, Senior Compositor

FRANKLYN – Meanwhile City Scapes
Tania Richard, Matte Painter
Christoph Unger, Matte Painter

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
Tania Richard, Matte Painter
David Bassalla, TD
Emily Cobb, 3D Artist

STAR TREK
Brett Northcutt, Digimatte Lead
Shane Roberts, Digimatte
Masahiko Tani, Digimatte
Dan Wheaton, Digimatte

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

KAISER PERMANENTE – Emerald City
Ben Walker, Matte Painter
David Woodland, Matte Painter
Kim Taylor, Matte Painter
Ben Walsh, Matte Painter

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture

AVATAR – Samson/Home Tree / Floating Mountains / Ampsuit
Simon Cheung, Senior Modeller
Paul Jenness, Lead Modeller
John Stevenson-Galvin, Senior Modeller
Rainer Zoettl, Senior/Lead Modeller

CORALINE
Deborah Cook, Lead Costume Design Fabricator
Paul Mack, Model Maker
Martin Meunier, Facial Animation Design
Matthew DeLeu, Miniature Lighting Technician

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN – National Air and Space Museum Escape
Ian Hunter, VFX Supervisor
Forest Fischer, Model Crew Chief
Robert Chapin, Digital FX Supervisor
Tony Chen, Model Maker

TERMINATOR SALVATION – Practical Models and Miniatures
Brian Gernand, Creative Director, Model Shops
Geoff Heron, Special FX Supervisor
Nick d’Abo, Model Shop Supervisor
Patrick Sweeney, Director of Photography

Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture

Image borrowed from cgsociety.org

2012 – Los Angeles Destruction
Haarm-Pieter Duiker, CG Supervisor
Marten Larsson, CG Effects Animation Lead
Ryo Sakaguchi, CG Effects Animation Lead
Hanzhi Tang, CG Lighting Supervisor

AVATAR – Floating Mountains
Dan Lemmon, Visual Effects Supervisor
Keith F. Miller, CG Supervisor
Cameron Smith, Lead Compositor
Jessica Cowley, Senior Texture Painter

AVATAR – Jungle / Biolume
Eric Saindon, Visual Effects Supervisor
Shadi Almassizadeh, CG Supervisor
Dan Cox, CG Supervisor
Ula Rademeyer, Lead Texture Painter

AVATAR – Willow Glade
Guy Williams, Visual Effects Supervisor
Thelvin Cabezas, Lighting Technical Director
Daniel Macarin, Lighting Technical Director
Miae Kang, Lead Lighting Technical Director

Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

AMC THEATERS / COKE – Magic Chairs
Rob Nederhorst, VFX Supervisor
Dariush Derakhshani, CG Supervisor
Steve Cummings, CG Artist
Harry Michalakeas, Technical Director

ASSASSINS CREED: LINEAGE – Ep. 1 “Duke of Milan Assassination”
Mathieu Lalonde, CG Modeler
Nadine Homier, Compositor
Joseph Kasparlan, Lead Textures and Lighting
Christian Morin, Compositor

FLASH FORWARD – Pilot “Freeway Overpass”
Steve Meyer, Compositor
Colin Feist, Compositor
Paul Ghezzo, CG Supervisor
Roger Kupelian, Matte Painter

V – Pilot “Atrium and Ship Interiors”
Chris Zapara, VFX Supervisor
Chris Irving, Lead Compositor
David Morton, Matte Painter
Trevor Adams, CG Artist

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

AVATAR
Erik Winquist, Compositing Supervisor
Robin Hollander, Compositor
Erich Eder, Compositor
Giuseppe Tagliavini, Compositor

AVATAR – End Battle
Eddie Pasquarello, Compositing Supervisor
Beth D’Amato, Digital Paint
Todd Vaziri, Compositor
Jay Cooper, Technical Director

DISTRICT 9
Shervin Shogian, Compositing Supervisor
Hamish Schumacher, Lead Compositor
Janeen Elliott, Senior Compositor
Simon Hughes, Senior Compositor

SHERLOCK HOLMES – Wharf Explosion Sequence
Kate Windibank, Senior Compositor
Jan Adamczyk, Mid Compositor
Sam Osborne, Compositor
Alex Cumming, Junior Compositor

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

CSI CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION – Ep 1001 Opening Sequence
Derek Smith, Compositor
Christina Spring, Compositor
Steve Meyer, VFX Supervisor
Zach Zaubi, Compositor

KERRY LOWLOW ‘MOUSE’ – Overall
Jake Mengers, VFX Supervisor
Stephen Newbold, VFX Supervisor
Kelly Bruce, Compositor
Greg Howe-Davies, Compositor

PEPSI – The Flight of the Penguin
Murray Butler, VFX Supervior/Lead Flame
Ben Cronin, Senior Flame Operator
Andy Rowan-Robinson, Technical Director
Miyuki Shimamoto, Flame Operator

PORSCHE – Family Tree
Tim Davies, VFX Supervisor/Lead Compositor
Jeff Willette, Lead Technical Designer
Zach Tucker, CG Supervisor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

THE FULL MOON MYSTERY – The Discovery
David Goubitz, VFX Supervisor & Producer
Flip Buttinger, VFX Supervisor & Producer
Jeffrey De Vore, Director

MOTHERLAND
Hannes Appell

THEY WILL COME TO TOWN
Thilo Ewers

URS – Cliff
Moritz Mayerhofer, Graduate

While we’re at it, here are the nominees for the American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Awards. The winners, which were announced on Valentine’s Day, are in bold.

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):

• Avatar – Stephen Rivkin, A.C.E., John Refua, A.C.E. & James Cameron, A.C.E.
• District 9 – Julian Clarke
• The Hurt Locker – Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
• Star Trek – Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. & Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E.
• Up in the Air – Dana Glauberman, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL):

• 500 Days of Summer – Alan Edward Bell
• The Hangover – Debra Neil-Fisher, A.C.E.
• Julie & Julia – Richard Marks, A.C.E.
• A Serious Man – Roderick Jaynes
• It’s Complicated – Joe Hutshing, A.C.E. & David Moritz

BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

• Coraline – Christopher Murrie & Ronald Sanders
• Fantastic Mr. Fox – Andrew Weisblum
• UP – Kevin Nolting

BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION:

• 30 Rock: “Apollo Apollo”- Ken Eluto, A.C.E.
• Curb Your Enthusiasm: “The Bare Midriff” – Steven Rasch, A.C.E.
• Entourage: “The Sorkin Notes” – Steven Sprung, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:

• 24: “8pm-9pm” – Leon Ortiz Gil, A.C.E.
• Breaking Bad: “ABQ” – Lynne Willingham, A.C.E.
• ER: “And in the End” – Randy Jon Morgan, A.C.E. & Jacque Toberen
• Law & Order SVU: “Hardwired” – Karen Stern, A.C.E.
• Lost: “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” – Christopher Nelson, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:

• Dexter: “Living the Dream” – Stewart Schill
• Dexter: “Remains to be Seen” – Louis Cioffi
• True Blood: “Hard-Hearted Hannah” – Louise Innes

BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:

• Grey Gardens – Alan Heim, A.C.E. & Lee Percy, A.C.E.
• Into The Storm – John Bloom & Antonia Van Drimmelen
• Taking Chance – Lee Percy, A.C.E. & Brian A. Kates, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY:

• The Cove – Geoffrey Richman
• Food, Inc. – Kim Roberts
• This Is It – Don Brochu & Kevin Stitt, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED REALITY SERIES:

• The Deadliest Catch: Stay Focused Ordie – Kelly Coskran & Josh Earl
• Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone – Jonathon Braun, A.C.E., Brad Ley, Sven Pape & Molly Schock
• Top Chef: The Last Supper – Annie Tighe, Alan Hoang, Adrienne Salisbury & Kevin Leffler

I’m a little concerned about the state of Hollywood.  Remember when “movie magic” really did seem to be so?  The world of filmmaking was but a mystery except to a select few in the business.  Being a celebrity was close to royalty.  Back when everyone was still new at it and people were in it for the creativity and invention.  You could walk into a studio and say “I want to work here” and they were happy to have you on board.

Lately it seems like the business is losing its magic and tradition. Changing old standards like the number of best picture nominees is just a small example of what seems to be contributing to a bloated industry.  It’s getting too big for its own good and I’m afraid the industry is coming to a point where it can be largely cast off as a joke.  I’m not talking about cg blockbusters, or multimillion dollar blow-stuff-up movies as the “getting bigger” examples.  That’s fine. I’m talking about the need for more. Releasing more movies a year equals making more money, no matter how stupid or ridiculous the premise. And what better way to make guaranteed money than on a film that you’ve already got the sets for and has made money in the past. The sequel!

We’re coming up on the 7th installment of the “Saw” series, falling into the already laughable genre of “Torture porn.” And I won’t say that in the past there haven’t been… less than impressive film series released (Rocky and Planet of the Apes, to name a few. PS, a Planet of the Apes prequel is in active development), but there was never anything good about the first Saw to try and capitalize on the following movies.  And good God, the next one is in 3D. Apparently 2010 is the perfect time to make another “Scream” movie, 14 years after the first, 10 years after the third.  And in 2010 a 4th Austin Powers is ripe for the picking, 13 years after the first one, 8 years after the third one.   It really just feels like sequels, prequels, squeakquels are in overdrive right now.   I’m still not clear whether “Fast & Furious (2009)” was a redo or a sequel to “The Fast and The Furious (2001).” The tagline of “New Model. Original Parts.” just confuses me further.

There’s such a lack of creativity for the sake of fast cash in the vast majority of releases lately that writers are resorting to movies based on boardgames and sequels to movies that came out 20 and 30 years ago.   Sure, Jumanji did okay, but Monopoly? Candy Land? Battleship?  Are there really good movies there? There’s… a FACEBOOK movie coming out. Come on!

The U.S. is remaking movies other countries have made less than a year after their release.  “Let the Right One In” was practically still in the theaters when they were announcing the American remake.    There’s a constant need to “One up” the previous attempt. Which brings me to why I initially decided to write this thing.

Hollywood has actually gathered up the courage to remake classics.  It started with “The Taking of Pelham 123″ and that was a train wreck. Pun intended. But, brace yourselves… They are actually in development to REDO “The Birds” and “My Fair Lady.”

…

Monangelisa?

It’s hard to gather my thoughts on how disappointing this trend is.  I love the original “Taking of Pelham 123,” and the new one is totally forgettable in my mind and I plan to just ignore it forever.  But honestly, what is the thinking behind it?  Do the producers really think they can make a better “My Fair Lady”?  What do they set out to achieve?  All they can hope for is to literally remake, shot for shot, the same movie but with a newer cast.  But why? What benefit to the industry and the world could that possibly have? You certainly can’t change the movie.  That’s one of the major failings of the new “Pelham 123.” And the actors have no choice but to try and mimic the actors of the famous, classic version. They certainly can’t reinvent the character. It’s not really their place, and then it’s not the same movie anymore.  I can’t imagine an actor likes having to outdo Audrey Hepburn. Why do it?

The excuse seems to be “to update for today’s generation.”  But that’s bullshit.  The classics are classics because they’re timeless. It’s like saying “You know, the Mona Lisa is good and all, but I don’t think her beauty speaks to today’s generation.  So we’re putting the original in storage and displaying this NEW painting with Angelina Jolie sitting in.” Today’s generation still watch and like both “The Birds” and “My Fair Lady.”  I really feel like it’s disrespectful to the original.  We’re talking about all time, best movies. Ever.  Producers are trying to make it fresh and new? Try ACTUALLY making something fresh and new.

Stop ruining movies. Just stop. Seriously.

I write this not because I hate movies, or I want the industry to fail, but because of the exact opposite.  I want it to be still standing and holding its head high when I get there.

The following sequels are currently in pre-production (This list doesn’t count legitimate next installments of a series) c/o imdb:

Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Transformers 3, Saw 7, Scream 4, Rambo 5, Wanted 2, Sherlock Holmes 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, Chronicles of Riddick 2, Lethal Weapon 5, The Strangers 2, BloodRayne 3, Big Mamma’s House 3, Raging Bull 2 (having nothing to do with Scorsese), Ghostbusters 3, Star Trek 2, The Hangover 2, Kill Bill 3, Paranormal Activity 2, Terminator 5, Underworld 4, Sin City 2, Sin City 3, Wolverine 2, xXx 3, Indiana Jones 5, Wild Hogs 2, Men in Black 3, Jumper 2, Zombieland 2, High School Musical 4 (aka, we’re not in high school anymore?), Ghost Rider 2, Anchorman 2, I, Robot 2, Scary Movie 5, Mission: Impossible 4, Dragonball 2, Iron Man 3, Hairspray 2, Silent Hill 2, Monster’s Inc 2, Super Troopers 2, National Treasure 3, Hancock 2, 28 Months Later (aka 28 Days Later 3), Austin Powers 4, Rounders 2, Kung Pow 2, Evil Dead 4, Cars 2, A new PeeWee movie of some sort of sequel status, Jeepers Creepers 3, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas (aka Harold and Kumar [blank] 3), Beverly Hills Cop 4, Get Smart 2, Kung Fu Hustle 2, an I Am Legend prequel, a Bubba Ho-Tep prequel, Unbreakable 2, Madagascar 3, Constantine 2, The Thomas Crown Affair 2, Hostel 3,  The Mummy 4, White Chicks 2, Tremors 5, Bad Boys 3, Bridget Jones 3, Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2, Spy Kids 4, Spawn 2, Nancy Drew 2…  Any of those movies could be good, but DAAAAANG!

The following remakes are in pre-production (though a couple are at optioned property stages and might not make it to the screen) c/o imdb:

Conan (The Barbarian), The Three Stooges, Footloose, My Fair Lady, Yellow Submarine, The Thing, The Crow, Poltergeist, Total Recall,  The Wizard of Oz (as an animation), Spider-Man, Superman, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dracula, Child’s Play, RoboCop, Dune, Alice (This time fully admitting to be American McGee’s Alice), The NeverEnding Story, Drop Dead Fred, The Host, Pinocchio, of course Tron, Logan’s Run, Fantastic Voyage,  Old Boy, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Flash Gordon (whose production company is ironically called Original Film), Another Dracula, Battle Royale (also being produced by Original Film), Ghost in the Shell, The Blob, The Seven Samurai, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Great Gatsby, Timecrimes, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sunset Boulevard, The Color Purple (as a musical),  Kiki’s Delivery Service, Jesus Christ Superstar, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (again), Dirty Dancing…

Performance by an actor in a leading role
• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company)
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Matt Damon in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
• Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (The Weinstein Company)
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Best animated feature film of the year
• “Coraline” (Focus Features)
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox)
• “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney)
• “The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS)
• “Up” (Walt Disney)

Achievement in art direction
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
• “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• “The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Achievement in cinematography
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore
• “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
• “The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

Achievement in costume design
• “Bright Star” (Apparition) Janet Patterson
• “Coco before Chanel” (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
• “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
• “The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell

Achievement in directing
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Cameron
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels
• “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman

Best documentary feature
• “Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) A Magic Hour Films Production, Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
• “The Cove” (Roadside Attractions) An Oceanic Preservation Society Production, Nominees to be determined
• “Food, Inc.” (Magnolia Pictures), A Robert Kenner Films Production, Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” A Kovno Communications Production, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
• “Which Way Home”, A Mr. Mudd Production, Rebecca Cammisa

Best documentary short subject
• “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
• “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” A Community Media Production, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• “Music by Prudence” An iThemba Production Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
• “Rabbit à la Berlin” (Deckert Distribution) An MS Films Production Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Achievement in film editing
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year
• “Ajami”(Kino International) An Inosan Production Israel
• “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haddock Films Production, Argentina
• “The Milk of Sorrow” A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production, Peru
• “Un Prophète” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production, France
• “The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics),  An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production Germany

Achievement in makeup
• “Il Divo” (MPI Media Group through Music Box) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• “The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Horner
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
• “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros. Hans Zimmer
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ (Sony Pictures Classics) Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best motion picture of the year
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox), A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
• “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.) An Alcon Entertainment Production
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
• “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production, Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) A Voltage Pictures Production
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
• “A Serious Man” (Focus Features) A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
• “Up” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer
• “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Best animated short film
• “French Roast” A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production Fabrice O. Joubert
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Brown Bag Films) A Brown Bag Films Production Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production Javier Recio Gracia
• “Logorama” (Autour de Minuit) An Autour de Minuit Production Nicolas Schmerkin
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death” (Aardman Animations) An Aardman Animations Production Nick Park

Best live action short film
• “The Door” (Network Ireland Television) An Octagon Films Production Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
• “Instead of Abracadabra” (The Swedish Film Institute) A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
• “Kavi” A Gregg Helvey Production Gregg Helvey
• “Miracle Fish” (Premium Films) A Druid Films ProductionLuke Doolan and Drew Bailey
• “The New Tenants” A Park Pictures and M & M Production Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Achievement in sound editing
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Achievement in sound mixing
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Achievement in visual effects
• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Adapted screenplay
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• “In the Loop” (IFC Films) Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Original screenplay
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Written by Mark Boal
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Quentin Tarantino
• “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• “A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

We’re going to be delaying our Year-End list until January. I know, it loses a lot of the recap magic coming after New Year’s Day, but there’s a lot more movies to see in January that had limited release during ‘09, and we will be taking the opportunity to catch up on them in order to offer a more comprehensive list, including docs and indies.

However, Christmas bringing the last major releases of the year, here are a few lists to chew on in the meantime:

FIVE MOVIES I DIDN’T LIKE, BUT EVERYONE ELSE DID
(I can admit to being wrong, and will freely admit that these aren’t bad movies. That doesn’t make me like them.)

• Up
• Adventureland
• Zombieland
• Public Enemies
• Duplicity

WORST FIVE MOVIES I SAW IN 2009
(These, however, are bad. I’m pretty good at not buying a ticket for REAL crap, so this category is “movies that had a chance of not being lousy, but were anyway”)

• Knowing
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3
• Year One
• I Love You, Man

What do you think? What movies did you hold out hope for, only to have that hope squashed once you saw it? My year end top 10 will come once I’ve seen the indie screenings in January. I can guarantee it will include Star Trek, Red Cliff, and Inglorious Basterds!

I compiled a list of every Best Editing Academy Award winner by year along side the Best Picture winners to see 1) Just a list of all the Best Editing winners all lined up, and 2) Which films won Best Editing and NOT Best Picture as well.  I plan to watch them all or at least start with those that won Best Editing and not Best Picture first.  I doubt I’ll go all the way down to the 1934 winner, but maybe just as far as the award seems currently relevant.  That’s probably somewhere around the early 60s with some exceptions lower.  Mary Poppins seems very modern to me.

So, in case anyone else is interested in a list laid out and easy to reference, here it is.  (There is also a column, if Best Picture and Best Editor winners don’t match, for whether the Best Picture winner was even nominated for Best Editing).

OscarEditWinners

A few epiphanies and a trip to Lowe’s and I’m ready to go. I ended up using a couple of 3 inch-long 1/4″ bolts, and a bunch of washers and nuts. The flat metal plate is actually the plate that sits on your door frame that the knob latches onto. It’s called a “lip strike” and works really well in this sort of application. The screw holes are just the right size (1/4″ at least) and are equidistant from the larger hole in the middle. Another hex nut and a bigass fender washer (1/2″ hole, 1.5″ diameter) secures the whole thing to the mounting plate for my Fig Rig. Test videos coming soon! Now I need to get some Anaglyphic glasses so I can start figuring out how to prep the video for 3D-ization. I’ll have to make a trip to a party store or something tomorrow.

My brother Brad holding the Fig Rig with the semi-finished product mounted on it.

Close-up of the mounts. A fender washer holds the whole thing onto the plate of the Fig.

Mounted onto the Fig Rig

To buy:

• 2 small protractors
• 1 small ruler
• A couple of tripod mount-sized screws + washers, etc
• Some sort of apparatus that will allow me to screw on both cameras and slide them along the center
• A handle or pistol grip to mount in the center of the camera apparatus. Additionally, this should be able to mount to a tripod/the Fig Rig.

Alan MacDougall (Jake from ‘Koala Wars!‘) is writing a quick app that will let me calculate parallax based on the angles and distance of the two cameras via my iPhone. This will allow me to naturally mimic the human eye (Avatar-style) to make the 3D images less exaggerated and hopefully more accurate.

Science! Anyway, I was recently doing an inventory of our gear and realized that with the 5D2’s shoot-video-in-disguise and the HF100’s small size, I didn’t have any real use for our two RCA Small Wonder cameras. We bought them as quick little things to mess around with anyway (and they were new enough at the time that Kim got interviewed in the Wall Street Journal!) so now that they’re just sitting in a box, I looked for a fun experiment that would put them both to use. The answer: Stereoscopic 3D!

Obviously we will need another audio solution, so I will likely plug a mic into the HF100 and boom with it, but syncing sound is not going to be too bad, since we’ll be using a slate anyway to make sure the two video devices are matched up. Then we’ll either need an Avid/FCP plugin that will do the color channels for the two video layers, or to come up with our own red/blue solution. I honestly haven’t done a lot of research in that area, but from what I’ve found there are plenty of resources out there.

I found a supplier of anaglyphic 3D glasses (the red/blue ones) for $.25-.35 apiece, or nice ones for around $4. If we screen the project anywhere like Channel101, I would be happy to drop $50 on 150 glasses to show off the work.

First step: Building the side-by-side mount. To Home Depot!