Art=life: Projects, projects, projects...

(Re-post from myspace with updates)

Hey everybody,

with the new decade now in full bloom, I wanted to give an update on my life and some upcoming projects I've been working on. As some of you may know, I've decided to leave my day jobs temporarily to strictly focus on my artistic endeavors, and finally complete a few of the projects I've had in the works for awhile now:

--First off, the "Cliff House documentary". It's a serious, yet humorous look at the inner-workings of the restaurant industry. More or less a character study on the types of people who cook your food. It's like a real-life version of "Waiting" mixed with a little "Clerks". Forget that "Hell's Kitchen" bullshit. This is the real deal.

My documentary has been in the works for over two years now, what with all the shooting and sorting through hours and hours of footage. It's now in it's final editing stages and I've got a title I've been toying around with that I quite like. It's got a ways to go still: Many more edits (as well as some massive sound mixing) and a private screening at the Cliff House restaurant for employees before it's ready for public viewing. Soon though, we'll have a website up and a FB page with a teaser. Keep watching!

--"Fantastic Stan Goes To Hell": Our current short film, about a traveling salesman who rides a flying vacuum cleaner; when his parents are kidnapped by the devil himself, he must go to Hell to save them. We've been in production on it now for almost a year. I've had the concept for this film since I was thirteen years old, so it's been pretty cool to finally see it realized. It's very FX-heavy, so it's been a lot of green screen work, which has been challenging and definitely a learning experience. We're close to wrapping principle filming, and then it's on to plenty of post FX work to do.

So far I've been really pleased with the dailies, and pretty impressed by how the green screen material has turned out. Can't wait to have this baby in the can, and ready for you all to check out. (Soon I'll post a blog about some of the amusing behind-the-scenes stories from shooting, as well as updates on our official website: www.knappbrosentertainment.com.. as well as a "Fantastic Stan" website soon to be announced!)

I think I'll feel quite a bit more relieved after these projects are out of my head, out of my hands, and available for others to see. My mind is already set to move on to my back catalog of future ideas, as I'm quite honestly ready to be done with the current ones...

--If that wasn't enough to occupy my time, I've shot a music video for local musician, Jenni Potts. We're working on "Stay" off of her album "Take This and Go" from 2008. (It's darker in tone than her first music video, "Another Way". I reckon the feeling of it to a coming storm). It's a great album, produced by the boys at Clickpop, and if you haven't heard it yet, I strongly suggest checking it out.

--A Knapp Brothers' "Shorts" Compilation DVD is also in the works, with a majority of our past shorts, trailers, and extra features, which will hopefully be available for sale or direct download via Amazon.com. Followed not long after by the "Complete Edward Gibbs: Volume 1".

--I'm in the middle of acquiring the rights to music by "The Appleseed Cast" and "Mogwai" for my experimental short, "11-11".

--And in the middle of getting our old short "Rat Juice" on IMDB.

--In other news, my band "Lost Horizons", (who you most likely have never heard of...mostly due to the fact that we never play any shows anywhere) is pulling itself back together again with regular practices, prepping for shows(!), and are just wrapping up final mixing on our demo/EP we recorded over at Bayside studio. We had some road blocks along the way, but we've got a new set of tires, and an unwavering, headstrong spirit. In short, we ain't giving up. Some pretty cool things are in store for 2010...

If I have any extra time, I'll be working on the book I've been writing since I was 13, "The Adventures of Johnny Marvel". I hope you're not as afraid of germs as I am...

UPDATE: (3/9/10)

*"Cliff House doc" is seeing real progress, and an end in sight. Name announcement coming very soon...

*"Fantastic Stan" is close to wrapping principle photography, and then on to months of special effects work. Almost a year in the making...

*Jenni Potts music video is in the can, awaiting editing.

*Band demo is almost complete. Just needs mastering and a final mix-down.

Conclusion: Projects are coming close to completion and just need lots of detail work and fine tuning. Time for promotion is near, and I could use your help!

Oscar Time

I've been watching the Oscar telecast for the past ten years now, since "Gladiator" undeservedly took home the big win. And in that amount of time, there has been some truly great films nominated, as well as some best pictures that really didn't deserve to come away with the top prize. As you'll see in the past, the said winner will have aged incredibly (no longer significant) while other older nominees will have aged incredibly and are far more significant now than ever before.

Such is the case with say "The English Patient" winning over "Fargo" in '97, or "Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan" in '99.

Given, there are also some years, when the most deserving film never even saw a nomination. Example in recent memory: "Fight Club", one of the greatest films of the decade.

And so here we find ourselves in '10, and we're back in the same scenario. That's of course, assuming I am correct in my prediction, that "The Hurt Locker" will take home the Best Picture award. Now, "Avatar" could obviously still take it, or there could be a surprise upset with a dark horse film like "Up in the Air", "Precious", or "Inglorious Basterds", but that most likely won't happen.

My real question though is...why nominate 10 films? Simply to draw in viewership by nominating more "popular" or well known films such as "The Blindside"? I hear it's a decent movie, but since when did they start nominating cheesy family, inspirational sports movies? Pointless if you ask me, especially since it's clear which top five should have been nominated. In my opinion, they'll drop the gimmick next year. Hopefully..

Here's the problem. The most deserving films are typically darker, grittier movies that mass audiences typically shy away from. Although I was very glad to see "No Country For Old Men" take home the prize in 2008. This year the award truly deserves to go to Tarantino for "Inglorious Basterds", my favorite film of the year. Or secondly, the Coen's brilliant "A Serious Man". However, judging the film's by their content, they will never win.

But look: Scorsese's finally got his oscar, and the Coen's have gotten theirs, so let's not pull a Hitchcock on the situation, and let's give Tarantino the oscar. Not just because he's deserved it in the past. "Pulp Fiction" anybody? But because "Basterds" truly deserves to win.

Don't get me wrong. "The Hurt Locker" is a very good movie. I was a bit uncertain going into it with all the hype, but it surprised me as a highly engaging film. There have been a great deal of films made on the Iraq war, but "Hurt Locker" isn't just a good war film, it's just a damn good film. The characters are well drawn and the film finds it's strength in it's long, suspenseful setups. It's a very well crafted movie, and stands alone among other war films in that it has no agenda politically, one way or the other. It sticks you in the middle of the action and let's you feel for it's character's as opposed to trying to make a point.

But is it really the BEST movie of the year? Well, it's always hard to really say, but I don't believe so.

And neither is "Avatar". Perhaps the most overrated picture of the year, could also very well come away with the gold tonight. And it rightfully has it's place in history. It will change the way (special effects) films are made, much like "Star Wars" did in it's era. Maybe not quite to the same extent, but in it's own way. I myself, was blown away by the new 3-D process, and the way that it made you feel so integrated into the movie.

But come on...I know it's been discussed to death on the internet, but special effects aside, "Avatar" is nothing more than a cliche rehash of older anti-imperialistic stories, that feels like it could be the plot of a disney movie. (Oh wait...) My eyes were dazzled, but my brain was left wanting more. Had I cared about it's characters, instead of the thinly drawn, cardboard cut-outs that they were, and it's situation, this movie could have truly moved me, made me care about it's world. Instead, it was a wonderment to take in, but nothing more than a fascinating roller coaster ride. Which isn't meant to downplay it's spectacle. "Avatar" was realistically one of the best thematic experiences I've had in the theater. If only the story could have carried more weight, than I would be cheering it along to it's victory.

My New Blog Home

Hey all,

it's a brand new decade, and that means a fresh start.

I figured my first order of business had to be starting up an official blog page here, since my myspace page had been my blog home for so long, until it's recent decline in popularity. Facebook and Twitter have since taken over the cyberspace, while Myspace is slowly going the way of the dinosaur.

And frankly, it was time for a real blog. And so that's what I've done.

So here it is, for you to enjoy: The "Official Micah Knapp" blogspot.

What am I going to blog about, you might ask?

Well, I'm not limiting to one thing only. A blog is a place to give yourself a voice. A soapbox. And I'm going to take full advantage of that. Not that I'm going to abuse it, like a great percentage of internet bloggers. No my friends, this isn't a place for angry discourse, nor is it a place where I am going to jam opinions down your throat.

This is a place where I am going to discuss and review film, document my life and experiences, and keep you up to date on the movies that I'm currently working on.

For those that don't know me, I am an Independent filmmaker, based in Bellingham Washington. What are my films about?

Well, we'll be talking about that very soon...