My Next Movie
Although I'm afraid I can't yet give too many details as I'm bound by a non-disclosure agreement, I'll be playing a small role in a feature film this summer called Mind's Eye.
At the moment there's not much information at the official website, however it will for-sure be shot on REDs (hopefully EPICs if they arrive in time), and I've just learned that bona fide screen legend Malcolm McDowell has been signed to play a key role! I'll share more as and when I'm able ...
Wow....that's excellent Erik.
No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life...Albert Einstein
It's pronounced "K'nex"Or do you have connects
But, congratulations Erik!
You'll never know if you don't go. GO!
It was a complete method thing: wore the same clothes for a week, didn't shower, didn't say a word to anybody until they got to me, just read my sides and glowered at anyone who tried to get my attention.
Psych!
Actually, I've worked with the producer before, caught wind of her new project, and not-so-innocently inquired if there might be a role for a semi-creepy-looking character actor of a certain age ...
Sadly no; so far as I'm presently aware, my one whopping line happens at a location his character never visits. (After the table read I naturally offered helpful suggestions which would have also just happened to pad my part, but I don't think any of them were taken!)
Here's a press blurb with a little more info:
Malcolm McDowell and Dean Cain Join Mind's Eye Cast
That article also lists Meryem Ersoz as producer. I've not met her, but have had some email contacts with her. I finished all 6 of her UWOL "challenges" the first year.
Enjoy the work and I look forward to seeing the film when it's finished.
Bruce Foreman
I am a reforming videomaking addict
Malcolm McDowell... as in, creepy guy from A Clockwork Orange? I hope he's not that creepy in real life... WOW.
Congrats on that by the way Erik, I wish you good luck!
It's an interesting competition that UWOL run there, do you know what the prize packages were in the end?Originally Posted by Bif
Daniel: the same. But why take my word for it, when you can read it for yourself in Variety?
Bruce, Meryem's awesome! She has a PhD in film studies, but saw the future of digital cinema coming and decided it would be more fun to do it than to teach about it. So she quit her university job and bought a couple of REDs and a set of Master Primes! Besides the UWOL challenge, I believe she's also one of the founders of the Boulder Adventure Film Festival (and we first met working on a 4K 72 hour film challenge).
Although most of her work has been wildlife/stock photography and corporate/commercials, she's been reading scripts obsessively for the last few years hoping to find a worthy first feature project: Mind's Eye is it.
Considering Peter Jackson's using 30 and James Cameron just bought 50 of them, I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that Meryem will apparently take delivery of the first EPIC-M in Colorado in time for production!
Just now "revisiting" this thread. Prizes varied but the one 1st place I took got me a high dollar 5x7 inch white balance card and a 60GB firewire portable hard drive. But the real prize was participation and feedback.
Bruce Foreman
I am a reforming videomaking addict
Hey Eric! I haven't seen a full cast list yet... but I have worked with Kevin Shawn Ryan before... and I'm the Extras Coordinator for Mind's Eye. Any of the HV20 folk in the Denver/Boulder area during the month of June, let me know and maybe I can slip you into a scene or two!
Meryem announced just yesterday that we will, indeed, be shooting some 2D stuff on Epics. The production crew met to make connections and do other prep work for shooting... which starts next week. McDowell and Dean Cain will only be around a couple days each and will be in tightly controlled locations, but hey, an IMDB listing for a feature beats an autograph on an aging VHS anyway.
That should say "3D" stuff!
Looking forward to meeting you: will you be at the table read tomorrow?
Obviously, I didn't make the table read... I have an evil, frightening day job... that ends just as the shoot gets underway next week. I'll see you on set... come by the extras check in and holding area.
Bob LaRue
WARNING: Long post ahead
Only three days into a six week shooting schedule and it's already picture wrap for me. Bummer, because working on Mind's Eye has been sheer delight. In my book not much can beat working on a show with enough funds, time, toys, and talent to really swing for the fences indie-wise.
In a state which doesn't see nearly as much feature and network production as we once did, even a 'Low Budget' or 'Modified Low Budget' gig attracts top-notch, experienced crew. Same goes for the cast: an actress who appeared in a cult horror classic and an actor who was a regular on a currently-hot cable series each won roles no larger than my own.
Truth be told, I'm more comfortable working below the line than above it — although my sordid past includes an unseemly amount of acting training and by now I've done a fair few roles both on stage and on screen, I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to depend on earning my living that way.
Incorporating the director's input, hitting every mark and eye-line and hopefully also giving a believable performance when 'Action' is called, knowing that 35 or more people are holding their breath depending on you to do it right, right now, every time, when hundreds of dollars are burning away with each minute, is a level of pressure that's difficult to comprehend unless you've experienced it. The sort of thing that can make you nauseous with anticipation before it happens, and giddy with relief when it's over. By the time the moment arrives, it's way too late to do anything but tamp down your fear and trust that preparation, training and instinct will see you through. A little like playing jazz: you spend countless hours practicing scales and developing technique, learn to copy a few favorite solos note-for-note, but when the time comes you have to put all that in your pocket and just catch the wave and try your damnedest to ride it.
The artifice of making movies often complicates things. When I was called to set for my speaking scene, they had already finished shooting the reverse angles on the other actor, and she was changing makeup and wardrobe for her next scene, so I never actually got to see her performance: I played my lines to the 1st AD walking through her marks. An actor is very dependent on the director in that situation to fill in the missing details of pace, interpretation, mood, etc. to ensure it will all cut together seamlessly.
Thank you for taking the time to share these thoughts and your experience. It is posts like these that help keep the fire going for those who have never experienced such things. I think inspiring to many of us. Thanks again.
The producer of Mind's Eye has posted a sneak peek, friends-and-family trailer for 24 hours only:
http://vimeo.com/63209435
PASSWORD: BlackWing11234
This was actually cut last November for the American Film Market, so the score and VFX are just temp "rough drafts."
I notice some Illuminati symbolism in the movie poster. Please let us know when the public screening takes place.
Last edited by blondandfun; 2013 April 3rd at 08:12.
I love stories like this.
HFS21 l HF100 l DM100 l Zoom H1
You know what's awesome? That you worked with Malcom Macdowell! I only wish I'd known... I'd have asked you to get his autograph for me!
This guy is a God amongst actors (if you ask me)... I can only think of one thing he was awful in (and it was the movie, moreso than him). GEEK OVERLOAD! :P
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