The Stub

   Patrick O’ Shea of Southernman Films from Cork has written and directed this two minute short horror film for the Zone Horror/Fright Fest. ”Cut!”, the 2008 Horror Short Film Competition based in London. See details here. The competition is nearly too good to resist for short filmmakers, as it offers great prizes and is encouraging entries from amateur filmmakers or anyone with a “passion for horror”!

‘The Sign’ was filmed in the forestry of Watergrasshill over the course of two days with a cast and crew of eight people. Without giving too much away, the film centres on a young couple who wander into the woods but get more than they bargained for. You can check out the Southernman Films site here.

A small town modern fairytale that goes one step too far.

Directed by: Craig Gillespie.

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Bianca the doll.

What’s it about? Lars (Gosling) is an introverted man who is unlucky in love until he announces that he has a new girlfriend. The girl in question turns out to be a blow up doll which he has ordered from the net, but in his deluded state, Lars is sure she is the real deal. What initially seems to be an embarrassing situation improves however when the townspeople decide to support Lars and his new girl Bianca.

Surely one of the reasons behind this film’s success has to be Ryan Gosling’s excellent performance as Lars. With his air of innocence and his awkward approach to the world, Lars is a character who easily provokes sympathy in the viewer and someone that I found myself rooting for. His old-fashioned dress sense and his decision to use a baby blanket as a scarf may indicate a pathetic individual but Gosling portrays Lars as a thorough gentleman trying his best to cope with his shyness and anxieties. The other important aspect of this movie, then, is the setting, which itself plays a pivotal role in the film’s plot.

The setting for this film is a small town, somewhere far north in Canada. It lives up to the small town stereotype with everybody knowing everyone else, and where church on a Sunday is a place to meet and greet the neighbours. The town as a whole has an endearing charm, reminiscent of a time gone by when people lived life at a slower pace. A few decades ago in Ireland this lifestyle wouldn’t have seemed so unusual but today it seems strangely foreign which, when you think about it, is a sad reminder of how so many of us are living life in the fast lane. Certainly, few of us are now members of a community who would pull together the way Lars’ friends and neighbours do when he creates this delusion for himself. Only his brother, Gus, represents the more typical modern reaction to a man who is sure he should marry a blow up doll. Not surprisingly then, Gus is the least likeable of the lot, as he disrupts this fairytale image. In fact, Lars and the Real Girl does indeed feel like a fairytale for much of the time and has a comforting affect like that of a nice bedtime story: Lars meets a woman who isn’t real but it’s ok because one by one the people of the town learn to accept Bianca and make her feel welcome, even winning over Gus in the end. Read the rest of this entry »

After much deliberation, it seems that the new ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ film is definitely going to be shot in Ireland.

The new ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ movie, starring Scarlett Johansson in the title role, is going to be filmed here with production beginning in the late summer, or so it seems. There was much uncertainty surrounding the story when it first made headlines around February, and the Irish Independant had claimed that the Irish Film Industry was “on its knees” and unable to support such a movie. But now the tide has turned again and filming is set for Ireland with three weeks set in Scotland also. The battle scenes will be filmed here with help from the Defence Forces. The film will be directed by Philip Noyce ( ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’, ‘The Quiet American’ ) and it is written by Jimmy McGovern.

Just pointing ye to the new ‘Rock with your Cork out!” site in my blogroll, which is the official site for an up and coming documentary on the Cork music scene. Go click!

‘RA Child’ is the work of Niamh Parker, a Youghal native, who wrote the screenplay and is also the producer behind this film, the first for her production company ‘Cailin Rince’. The upcoming movie has been gaining attention in the press with papers such as the Evening Echo reporting on it. The Youghal Online website also has an article on the topic; according to them the film focuses on serious issues such as drug and alcohol addiction and even bi-polar depression. The story is somewhat based on Parker’s own experiences and hopes to serve as a reminder of such problems within Ireland. Yet it’s also a “music driven” piece: Aslan and Damien Dempsey have already provided songs for the soundtrack.

At first glance, the official site for the movie, www.rachild.com does not paint a picture in any way similar to Youghal: it more obviously points to Cork City and to the North of Ireland, so it will be interesting to see how much of Parker’s own experience shines through. She has been careful in her selection of director, finally opting for Phil Alloco who gained recent star status for becoming one of a handful of short-listed directors chosen by Steven Spielberg for his new TV series ‘On the Lot’. Check out Phil’s IMDB profile here. It should be exciting to see this movie made so close to home. The casting for the movie seems to be planned for next month (May).

In the lead up to the new Jones movie, I’ve been posting a few Indy related pieces. Thought this might be fun seeing as these movies all have well known scenes…so here we go; this is my top 10, in no particular order. Leave a comment saying whether you agree or not. Potential spoilers here too for the few who’ve never watched Indiana Jones.

1. Boulder chase (Raiders of the Lost Ark): Well you can’t really miss this one, it’s been parodied so many times. This classic booby trap was a close call for Indy.

2. Adios Satipo! (Raiders): Satipo the guide (a young Alfred Molina) thinks he’s so clever running off with Indy’s precious stone until he’s literally pinned to the cave wall on his way out…eughh.

3. Gun versus Sword (Raiders): A scary looking swordsman gets ready to slice n’chop, facing Indy in typical duel manner. Indy, having no time for all this swordplay pulls a gun and puts a quick end to the fight.

4. Meltdown (Raiders): With Indy and Mario tied to a pole, the Ark of the Covenant must defend itself and it does so in an unforgettable way, obliterating the Nazis with rays of light. The most iconic shot, however, is that of the evil Tohts head melting away layer by layer…shudder* He was ugly enough to begin with.

5. So Long Lao Che! (Temple of Doom): There’s lots of funny moments in the Jones trilogy but I think I like this the best..a cheeky Indiana waves goodbye to madman Lao Che before pulling shut the plane door…which clearly has Lao Che printed across it. Cut to Che himself going Mwah ha ha ha ha…The Jones baddies have the best evil laughs.

6. Beetlemania (Temple): Wilhelmina ‘Willie’ Scott, picking her way along a secret corridor, is already swamped in creepy crawlies of all sorts when Indy screams at her to search for a secret lever in the wall in order to rescue him and Shorty from their predicament. She sticks her hand in, only to be covered in yet more long legged insects…ugh.

7. Runaway Cart (Temple): Well, this is well-known…throw together a few mining carts, Indiana Jones himself and his sidekicks, a few baddies and a mine that looks like it might collapse altogether and you’re in for a roller coaster of a ride.

8. Snakes! (The Last Crusade): Indy’s fear of snakes is born when a young version of Jones himself, played by River Phoenix, falls into an entire crate of the slimy critters sending him into lifelong snake shock.

9. Invisible Path (Crusade): This is my favourite Indiana Jones moment. It’s definetely the most magical if you ask me. Jones takes a leap of faith only to find that his feet are safely on solid rock.

10. Cup of Life (Crusade): Cunning bad guy, Walter Donovan, lets greed get the better of him and drinks from what he believes to be the Holy Grail only to age rapidly finally disappearing in a cloud of dust. His disintegrating face is one of the best effects in the movie.

Soo that’s it; I’m surprised I’ve got three moments from Temple of Doom as it’s my least favourite Indy film..If you read this and have an opinion let me know!

Why make another Jones movie and will it be successful? The trailer just might have the answers.

There haven’t been anything quite like the Jones movies since Last Crusade, with the exception, perhaps, of The Mummy franchise (expect another addition to that next year under the title of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor). Both sets of movies work well, in my opinion at least, due to the exotic locations, which, even in today’s world of fast travel still seem so foreign and mysterious to many eyes. You could put the success of the Tomb Raider games down to this too. Give us a few ghostly temples, some booby traps and a few suspicious characters in tribal headgear and most viewers would be immediately intrigued. An older example would be Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. The characters may not have been chased by boulders but with Egyptian pyramids as a backdrop, viewers could not help but feel the suspense because, as we all know, any temple type building comes with a curse to protect it right? The above trailer has it all…temples, tribes, pits, forests, sand..you name it. There’s the ancient yellowed treasure map too. There are even a few Nazis, who seem strangely out of key with the rest of what I just mentioned, but sure; all the more reason to see it. It’s a sure thing that Spielberg and crew know what it takes to arouse our curiosity. Or mine anyhow..

The locations, however, cannot cover up Harrison Ford’s ageing face. Fortunately, though, Indiana himself has never been a character who takes himself too seriously. He was a winner, yes, but he was also a little awkward and didn’t pretend to enjoy his adventures a whole lot. With this type of personality Ford might just be able to pull off this older Indiana without resorting to embarrassing scenes. This is hinted at in the trailer too, when he goes flying into the wrong motorcar windscreen and shrugs it off  “Damn, I thought that was closer”.

So far it’s all good right? We probably could have done without the American flag flying in our face (a bit too cheesy for me), and I’m still out on LaBeouf, but there’s hope in the old hat yet. Coming next: the top 10 Indiana Jones trilogy moments. And of course a review next month. Ah yes, I’m gonna milk this just as much as Hollywood has.

The aptly titled ‘Man and Dog’ is underway in Cork and we have a very cute pic of its main attraction.

Below is a photo of Taz the dog, aka Davy the dog, aka Taz the dog. A little bichon frise dog with multiple talents, he actually plays two different characters in this tale of one man and his dog. The scenes were shot in Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork amid showers of hail. Never film outside in Ireland if you can help it, particularly not in the middle of April! Taz, however, has been very well behaved despite what they say about never working with children or animals. His only problem is showing off whenever another dog walks past. Tut what a diva! Quite a few  scenes have been shot at this stage but we are still on the lookout for a male actor for the second part of the film: See this post below. We’re hoping to have filming wrapped up by May. Until we have some more snippets to show ye, I’ll leave ye with Taz…

Just look at the top right hand corner of this site..ah hah!

Although I have an ever-growing Blogroll on the right sidebar, that is what it says it is…a Blogroll. A few sites listed there may also appear on my new Links page but it exists primarily to act as a connection between The Stub and other Irish (and international) blogs, particularly those related to film, culture and Cork.

The new Links page, however, is a list of all the best links for filmmakers (especially amateur filmmakers like myself) and for film lovers in general. I’ll be adding new links as I come across them so be sure to check back frequently!

We have one more role to fill on ‘Man and Dog’, an amateur short that’s already underway in Cork. We’re looking for a male actor who could play the part of somebody in their late twenties. The scene will take place in Fitzgerald’s Park, where a number of scenes have already been shot. If you are interested in the part or if you have any questions, please email me (Gemma) at thestubonline (@) gmail.com.

Please remember also that this is an amateur film so unfortunately there’s no payment but hopefully it should be good experience for everyone. Thanks!