When Alex Sichel is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she immediately envisions another woman – a different version of herself – who undergoes the same journey, but in the spirit of living through it, rather than dying from it. Ever the filmmaker, Alex embarks on a mission to tell her own story, through both voices –…
Tag: director
Hot Docs 2015: Jesus Town USA – Julian Pinder and Billie Mintz
Screening today at the Isabel Bader theatre at 9:15pm is this documentary that plays more like a feature film in its construction than a documentary, it has that wonderful mockumentary Christopher Guest feel to it. The setting is a small town in Oklahoma, not so very far from the Holy City of the Wichitas, a…
Toronto Screenwriting Conference 2015: Day 2
Sue and I tackled day 2 of the Toronto Screenwriting Conference at Daniels Spectrum today, and through the course of the day started to come up with the bare bones of a short film we’d like to do, and my brain broke a story that I’ve been thinking about as three sperate tales but…
Toronto Screenwriting Conference 2015
Its that time of year again! The Toronto Screenwriting Conference is here again, and Sue and I are lucky enough to be invited back for our third year. Each year we’ve met and seen some amazing people, not to mention taking lots of notes to use for our own writing and storytelling. This year…
The Mind Reels Chats with Gene Cernan & Mark Craig
Sue and I were very fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down and chat with Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan and director Mark Craig about their documentary The Last Man On The Moon currently screening at the Bloor Cinema. To say I was elated and excited doesn’t even begin to cover it. Check it out…
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) – Kenneth Branagh
The final version of Frankenstein to be suggested for viewing by the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is this 1994 adaptation by actor/writer/director Kenneth Branagh. He takes on this version of the tale by creating a lush and beautiful looking period film. Despite the films he would later make, this one feels restrained, not quite stuffy but…
Canadian Screen Awards 2015: Gala 2
The good times continued last night, as many familiar faces, both in front of, and behind the camera, came out to be seen, and take home some very well-deserved awards. As we were arriving, we got to spend some long overdue moments with the lovely Ali Liebert, who took home the award for Best…
The Equalizer (2014) – Antoine Fuqua
Denzel Washington stars as Robert McCall in this update of the iconic 80s television series starting Edward Woodward. Fuqua has proven consistently that he is a strong director and this film is no exception. The only real problem I have with this film is that there is a whole angle missing from this film;…
Fade In: From Idea to Final Draft – The Writing of Star Trek Insurrection (1999) – Michael Piller
This is a book that was never published but should have been. I’ve included the link below to read it online if it’s something that might catch your interest. Now, don’t get scared about the name Star Trek in the title, yes, I’m a fan, and I’ve got things I like and don’t like…
Night Film (2013) – Marisha Pessl
This week’s book shelf brought me a book that was dark, troubling, steeped in film, murder, the occult, interactive elements, and evil. I loved it! It came to me via my sister at Christmas, and reading the inside of the jacket, I was duly interested. Who doesn’t like a good mystery, especially when it’s…
The Mind Reels 