Rebirth

Hi. I'm going to restart this soon. Just updating so you get hype. I'll do a rundown of certain things that are happening/happened right now.

-Writing a full length screenplay.
-Producing another film right now
-Spent two months in Los Angeles this past summer.
-Currently in Philadelphia
-Apple, my produced film from last year, had wrapped.
-Interested/talked with a few other people about their projects.
-Playing Field Hockey at Temple University's Club team.
-Second year in TU's Comedy/Improv Club
-Taking a creative writing class & a creative non-fiction class.
-Working on a few short stories.


I'm not sure what else. Right now my main focus is the producing/writing thing. It's tedious, but coming along.

I'm not sure how I'm going to make this more interesting, but I'm gonna try to come up with clever ways to be entertaining.

I'm on twitter -www.twitter.com/brittniannbrown - didn't have that before.

Until next time.

-Brittni

I want to go to there.

Tina Fey. The woman is a master of comedy. I mean, she is not only this generation’s greatest female comedy, but honestly, as of right now, she’s THE face of comedy. She’s won like 3 emmys, 2 golden globes and 2 SAG awards just this year alone. She won a handful last year. I think one of the big reasons why she is on fire right now is just, she makes literally the best speeches at this awards. At the Emmys she talked about how her inspiration for her character was Julia Louis-Dreyfus (whom she beat in the category). She scored a bunch of laughs for that. Last month at the Golden Globes, she had everyone dying at her “Suck It” to everyone who ever hated her on the internet. On Sunday at the SAG awards, she told stories about her daughter as her inspiration and even made a shot at the SAG themselves since there’s an on going crisis if or if not they will go on strike. The bottom line, is even though Sarah Palin is behind us and she was absolutely brilliant for the short time she played her on SNL – what is even more impressive is she’s not going away. 30 Rock is easily the best it’s ever been right now. I watch the show every week and it’s honestly my favorite thing on. Sure, I love Scrubs, The Office and Samantha Who and everyone gives their all on their respective shows but the energy that goes into 30 Rock is amazing. That show is pure Tina Fey and her humor and her speeches all transition into it. 30 Rock is on tonight and I can't wait to watch it!

An Update From Me!

I feel like I owe myself an update. I haven't posted in like two months. I know you're wondering "what could a person been doing for two months?" The answer is pretty much absolutely nothing. I had finals and then Christmas and I've been on a vacation for about a month. It's been really nice. I've kinda done nothing but read and watch movies. I gotta get back into the swing of every day life though in a few days. Anyway, the real reason I wanted to post is just I was reading an article about the cinematographers of 2008 and I can across a few very pretty shots I thought were beautiful.



This is by Harris Savide from Gus Van Sant's Milk. It was done in post production but I don't think that takes away from it. It was two shots combined into one: a whistle and then Harvey Milk (Sean Penn). I just saw Milk the other day and I absolutely loved it and I'll try to get a review posted in a few days. This might not have been my 100 percent favorite shot in the film but I think it's a great one that stands out.



This is Roger Deakin (who is one of the best in the business) from Sam Mendes Revolutionary Road. I'm reading the book right now and so I haven't seen the film yet but I can place this exactly where it takes place in the novel and it's nothing short of beauty and heartbreak at the same time.



This is from The Wrestler and I don't know much about the film except that its directed by Darren Aronofsky who is an absolute favorite of mine. All of his work has been so good so far. I'm seeing this on Sunday so I really can't wait. The only thing I know about this shot is that its the opening frame in the film and I really think it sets the tone beautifully.



Christopher Nolan made one of the best films he could ever possibly make with The Dark Knight. It's so well shot that this is actually the first of two shots on the top 10 shot list in the magazine. I would say this is one of the best of the Joker even though there are so many. The whole "defying Gravity" works so well with the joker and it's so haunting. It's really powerful, but then again, there are so many you can choose from that are great.



I remember seeing this shot in the very first teaser trailer and it was the one shot that stuck out to me. It was the last frame in the trailer and in the second full trailer it wasn't in it. I knew looking at it at the time it was a spoiler for the film, but I honestly didn't care because it was so beautiful. Even though its only a few seconds in the film (which disappoints me to say in the least), looking at the frame right here, it's breathtaking. It means more in this single frame than most of the whole movie adds up to. I mean, this is it. It sums it up and it's heartbreaking.

There are a few more shots on the list that I hadn't really seen from the films yet or didn't really connect with me as well as these. Obviously this isn't my list but it's always neat to look at someone elses shot list and see what they mean to you.

Under Pressure

I need to really start updating this thing if I'm going to continue on with the whole "blogging" universe. I don't really have much to share. Apple is coming along right now. We're in a millionth rewrite, but we did have a test shoot for that. I haven't seen the footage yet, but hopefully it looks good - and if not, then we'll make it better. It's hard to believe it's almost the end of another semester. I can't believe how far I feel I've come. Two short screenplays written and one in production. It's exciting. Next semester isn't going to be the same. I'm going to really miss this creative flow and energy going on. But I suppose it's up to me to keep it going. I think I will. I feel like film just flows through me. Like a take-up spool or something (FILM REFERENCE!)

So, the film world - some crazy stuff going on in it. Basically Indepedent Film is dead if you haven't noticed. Many "indie" studios have folded - such as Warner Classic and Paramount Vantage. Last year there were 12, this year there were 6. Part of it may have to do with the economy. It's hard to believe Paramount Vantage - a company that brought on No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood from last year is gone now. Those were like the two best films. But it's changing. It's exciting to know its changing and that by the time I get out there I'll have to make up a new form, but it is. Christine Vachon, who is one of the writers of our producing textbook and a very successul producer with her own company - Killer Films is like the Indie Queen. She's done small stuff like Kids and Swoon but then slightly bigger films with I'm Not There which company partner Todd Haynes (who is brilliant, just wanna put that out there). Anyway, she's the Indie Queen since the 90s. We have based all of our knowledge to how to be a successful Independent film producer from her and she just SOLD HALF of her company so she could make 40-60 million dollar picture films. Woah! This all happened in the past week. It's nuts. Like everything we learned just went out the window. I just think it's interesting because clearly there might be a new indie movement. Miramax sorta killed it and Fox Searchlight definitly put the stake in its heart. Someone who said they were only gonna make independent films now sees the movement is time where "indie" is dead. I'm sure it will come back eventually. Not in the same form, but something else will amerge. It always does. Maybe I'll have to make Mumble Movies in Brooklyn if thats what it takes...
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SO....In other exciting news. Tim Burton fascinates me. Here's a director who can single handly take his vision and beat you over the head with it while destroying your childhood. Don't get me wrong. This man has made some great movies - Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks...Hell I'll even give him Big Fish.

With that said, anything he's done this decade (give or take Big Fish) has been a remake or an adaptation. He's a guy who literally made a brand of himself which he markets to Hot Topic Tweens. Whether or not he's doing it himself, somehow his style has caught on. No other director has a mainstream cult following like he does. I mean, sure everyone can obsess about QT or Speilberg or Wes Anderson but they're not making t-shirts and bedding out of it. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - unnecessary. Sweeney Todd - flat. Corpse Bride - awful. I'm sorry if you may disagree but it's true. Anyway, he's raping - ahem, remaking Alice in Wonderland. Sure on paper he sounds PERFECT for the job. In a way he's brilliant because he makes me want to see what he'll do with it out of pure curiosity...but thats the thing. I know already what he's going to do with it. He casted ALL the people we have already expected him to. Depp, Carter, Rickman, Lee...no surprise there. The same people. I called Depp as Madhatter before Depp was even cast. I knew what he was gonna do before he even did it. The only person I'm intrigued about is Anne Hathaway because she doesn't really fit in the universe. Anyway, I'm trying not to hate too hard. I always see his films and give him the benefit of the doubt and I'll do the same for Alice...but I'm can't get excited about this right now.

So here's Depp apparently in his Madhatters costume:



Looks weird...but about the same. In a way, it's something you would never expect. It's different...but it fits in the Burton universe. It seriously looks like if Edward Scissorhands meets Willy Wonka. Throw in a little David Bowie. Sure it's interesting but it doesn't feel fresh anymore. We'll see.

Conversations With Myself

Everyday I ask myself, “What’s the point.” Everyday I feel a little bit closer and a little bit further from the truth. Should you become discouraged? Do you run away from your problems? Everyday, someone somewhere gives up. Will I be that person next? I keep asking, “What stands in my way?” I answer, “Everything.”

Yes, I talk to myself a lot.

It’s a funny business – Film. It keeps dying and becoming reborn every few years. In a way, Independent film is dead. Completely – 100% dead. No one will ever see your film. You won’t make any money. Nobody cares. On the other hand – it doesn’t matter. I have my whole future ahead of me and I have a lot left to learn. After you escape college, it’s an exciting time because you have no idea where you are going to end up. I could sell out and work for some big company that will probably drain my very own soul out of me, or I could keep to myself, walk around withholding my very own genius and hope one day, I can make the greatest film ever with 50,000 dollars to only throw away all the money for a film no one will see.

Hmm, what to do? I was thinking that today. There are very few options for me in my life that will drive me one or the other day. I can give up, sell out or never surrender but accomplish nothing probably.

I like this time in my life when everything is exciting and hopeful. One day, I’ll be jaded, but no that day is not today. Everyday, I have long conversations with myself and everyday I ask one final question: “What’s left to gain?” The answer: “Everything.”

So I keep producing and I keep writing. Eventually, everything’s gotta fall into place, right?

Uh oh. Another question. Another answer I gotta come up with myself. I’ll save that conversation for myself for another day.

Yes We Can

"Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama's running so we can all fly." - Jay-Z


Obama won! I don't know what I can say that hasn't already been said or how I can add to the popular opinion of this great man. I look forward to the future. I don't know what's gonna happen, but I feel a little bit better than someone I voted for is in office. When Obama won, my roommates and I went out onto Broad Street and marched to City Hall (again for the third time this week). Apparently Philadelphia is becoming a city of riots. Maybe because we're so passionate, but it felt good to be out there.

When I got to Center City, it was drizzling a little bit and Obama had come on the radio for his speech. Someone had their car doors and windows wide open blasting it as loud as possible. A very rowdy crowd soon becamse hush as we let this man's voice take us over. There I was standing in the heart of Philadelphia with hundreds of strangers listening to the voice of hope and future and history. I saw two african american girls holding each other for warmth with tears coming down their eyes. I could see how important it felt for them. But a few people over, I literally saw a white man with tears in his eyes. Obama stands for more than just one race, but for all races and all types of people and all kinds of hope. People have come a long way. This presidental race proved it. I felt so lucky to be able to just have my small vote be a part of it.

Philadelphia!

So last weekend, I attended the greatest wedding I've ever seen. It was called Rachel Getting Married. Now if you don't know Rachel you should and if you don't know Kym, her sister, then you REALLY should because she's Anne Hathaway. If you haven't caught on, I'm talking about a movie. This is the ultimate wedding film and family film. Jonathan Demme who over a decade ago redefinied a genre with Silence of the Lambs has done it again. What I love about this is his choice to film it as if the camera is a character itself. It's intimate and you're in this set space of a limited time - just a few days. You come in on these characters problems not at the very beginning like most films are but right smack in the middle of it. You see it as it is. It doesn't give everything that happened in the past, but just enough so you can follow where this family dysfunction comes from. Anne Hathaway is great, giving her best performance to date, but the rest of the cast, while mostly unknowns or theaters actors are all very strong. While it feels like a huge ensemble, and it is, Demme cast most of his friends and family as extras and the cast's friends and families so everyone felt comfortable with one another. I knew I'd love this film about half way through, there's a rehearsal dinner scene where about 10 different people give speeches. Half of these people, are really limited roles, some of the people giving a speech, we haven't seen in the film and won't see again, but what they have to say about Rachel and her future-husband is so beautiful and of course, it's all leading up to what Rachel is going to say and how it's gonna affect this family and boy does her speech deliver. There's so much to this film that makes it great, check it out.



It's a great time to live in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series this past week and the entire city just went nuts. Out on Broad Street, seas of people marched all the way to City Hall to riot and it was nuts. A few film friends and I took a camera out and documented the chaos at its finiest, catching people hanging off stop lights, screaming drunk and standing on top of moving vehicles. It was unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it in all my life and I probably never will again. City Hall was a complete riot and it was amazing. That was Wednesday night and this afternoon on Friday, they had a Philadelphia Phillies Parade and even more people were down there celebrating, detched out in their red and white. We saw all the players come by on top of buses and the whole Broad Street and Market and City Hall went crazy. It was the most incredible moment I've ever seen in the city. It makes me proud to live in the city. Its been like 25 years and we earned it.