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This is a short excerpt from a 1hour interview with horror journalist Jay Slater. I wish now I hadn't had quite so much to drink :)
With all the talk about MindFlesh and it's similarity with David Cronenberg's movies, I dug up this video on YouTube - well worth the watch.
..well for now anyhow :)
We've been experimenting with several poster ideas and used Cannes to test of various types of people - genre fans, non-genre fans, producers, distributors etc. So, for now at least... this our poster :)
Here's a short round-up of the Cannes "experience" :)
If you're attentive, you might ask "what happen to Cannes day 2 & 3?" Well they kinda passed in a blur :)
Spent most of my time meeting new people this year - probably on account of the fact that most people I usually hang out with here decided not to come. Among the folks I've met so far is a writer from Hull (UK), a documentary filmmaker from Arkansas and lawyer from LA - so quite a spread :) I watched a discussion at the American Pavilion with several well-known directors including Harmony Korine and watched many movies including a something from Ken Russell about a woman with blood-sucking breasts (it's true, I'm not making it up) and a pretty cool Russian sci-fi called Paragraph 78.
Each night I've been at the Martinez which is my usual hang-out. I'm trying to earn a little brass plaque at the bar :)
In all the rush to get ready for Cannes and get closer to finalising the MindFlesh cut, I forgot to mention that I'd discovered this site: www.vimeo.com
It's like YouTube but the compression is much less and hence the videos are much better quality. Checkout the MindFlesh trailer and compare it to the YouTube version below.
So, today was my first day in Cannes. Got up at 3am to get the first flight from Gatwick to Nice. Checked into hotel in Cannes and decided to try the walk to the Palais. 50 minutes later wondered if that was such a good idea :) Still, it was nice walk along the beach.
Having picked up my market pass and bag of goodies, I went along to the American Pavilion (more freebies including Calvin Klein sunglasses – albeit a pair for women!) and ran into Roman and Solvig from Cinenygma so that was a nice surprise. It was now about noon. Come 1pm I was in the UK Pavilion talking with Suki and by 2pm, Tim Clague who I’d pre-arranged to met. 4pm I was in the market meeting with DC Medias who are interest in representing our films; 5:30pm I had dinner in the American Pavilion and by 6:45pm I was sipping Bacardi and diet Coke at the Martinez :)
I had planned to watch the first 30mins of a film at 8pm but as I left the Martinez a fella from film school caught hold of me and I stayed for a drink with them (Kieran and Steve) – swapping stories of what we’ve been up to since leaving LFS. Incidentally, as I left the American Pavilion earlier in the day I passed by Andie MacDowll and then when I left the Martinez I passed by Carmen Electra (at least I think it was her?! It's on the video diary so you can decide): two celebs in one day. Wow :)
Finally, then, I watched a Korean film called Maundy Thursday about a relationship between a prisoner on death row and a spoilt rich girl. I’m really pleased I did because it was a great film but I felt so sad by the end that I didn’t feel much like drinking anymore!
My Particle Illusion demo finally expired and I had to buy a copy :)
Oh yes, the first glimpse of MindFlesh is now available :) Here's the teaser trailer we've created to bide us over until after the summer. This little fella isn't intended to reveal very much - just (hopefully) create a desire to see more! You can also download the podcast (better quality) by clicking this link here.
Have you ever wondered if "things" - but which I mean "events" - happen for a reason? On Monday I called an ambulance for an old lady that was knocked down in the road about 10 feet from where I was standing. It was very upsetting but it was to later make me rethink how we might re-edit MindFlesh.
The Accident
I didn't see the accident because I was standing behind a bush but I heard it and I was first on the scene - the woman was in the road with her husband (presumably) cradling her head, which was bleeding a little. Her body was shaking and her eyes were rolling in and out of her head. Alarmingly, although 999 answered immediately when they connected me to ambulance I was held in a queue! I reckon I had to wait about 20 seconds. In that situation it feels like an eternity. On a more positive note though, once connected the ambulance arrived pretty quickly.
So here's the thing: I shouldn't have been there...at least not at that moment. In fact it was series of seemingly unrelated, out-of-the-usual coincidences that conspired for me to be there: my Oyster card was empty so I had to refill at the local post office (I usually top up at the Tube station); I'd been speaking on my mobile (I usually do this journey listen to podcasts); it was an uncommon time for me to be passing because I'd been editing all day and we usually either finish late evening or early afternoon. Once the police had the accident in hand I walked away and pieced together the steps that lead me to that moment and suddenly the tiny, micro-events of the day were given new meaning.
The Tourist
It's not the first time this has happened to me. Several years ago I raced in the car from Stanstead to Heathrow to catch an interconnecting flight (not something I'd ever consider as "normal" nor anything I'd recommend!). I missed the flight by minutes and I was well hacked off :( With several hours to kill before the next flight I decided to re-park the car and, leaving the airport, discovered a Italian teenage girl struggling with the biggest suitcase I'd ever seen. In broken English she ask me where the bus terminus was.
Anyway, to cut I long story short, I lead her to the terminus, made sure she bought the right ticket and then left her waiting at the right stop. Without someone's help there's no way she would have made it to the hotel in Devon - I couldn't even understand the name of the town she wanted to go to until she showed it to me in writing. I remember leaving that incident thinking she must have a guardian angel that made me miss my flight, made me park in a crap spot etc etc. I was in the wrong place at the right time.
The Film
Oh yeah, MindFlesh. Thinking about Monday's accident gave me a pretty radical editing idea. I don't know yet if it's going to work but I'm certainly going to try it.... stay tuned :)
