Film Diary: Day 12

Finally got my second draft of my script done! Wooo hooo! Some deep thoughts and stuff from days 2 through 11:

     One of the fun things about making a film just for class is that I can totally use songs that everyone knows. Right? No one has told me otherwise, so Black Sabbath it is!(No copyright infringement intended and blah blah blah). I had a very specific vision for the opening/title sequence and listening to Led Zeppelin songs really helped in crafting that particular scene. Sounds cheesy, because ~classic rock~, but it worked for me. I'm not sure how I would have done this if I didn't have musical cues to work off of. It made everything so much easier, as far as visualizing and pacing goes. 

     The second draft was the hardest part of this whole process so far. After going to my professor with my original idea and getting it analyzed from another perspective, I had to go back and re-evaluate the whole angle I was going for with the story. It was hard to admit at first that my idea was not perfect. Initially, I felt the need to defend my story to the death. That was ego talking. I had to let that go and really look at the story as a viewer walking into a theater might. Easier said than done. I spent the last 9 days looking at my initial script and fighting the urge to throw my laptop across the room. Finally, I sat down and listened to the "soundtrack" I had put together for the film and barreled through each scene, eventually landing on the current incarnation of the script. 

     Panic. WHAT DO I DO NOW? CAST ACTORS? GET PROPS? PROBABLY SECURE A CAMERA FOR SHOOTING, RIGHT? This next phase is so scary. This is where the actual co-ordination and work comes in, which means relying on other people. Which means trusting people to show up on time and bring stuff and not flake out. Terrifying! Can't wait to actually film, though. Then I can start freaking out about editing. 

Until next time, 

R.

Film Diary: Day 1

     Been struggling for weeks writing what I believed to be the story for my first film. It's a daunting psychological thriller that I'm very excited about. However, I realized today that trying to write and direct a full-length feature with zero filmmaking experience (and zero budget) is like going from crawling to doing backflips. I decided to shelf it and work on something on a smaller scale. It's tough admitting that you aren't up for a project, especially when you're so passionate about it. 

     When I was sitting in Film class today and an idea grabbed hold of me. Hard. There really isn't some magical recipe for writing inspiration that I can share with you, unfortunately. It happens for everyone differently. For me, it's when certain films, music, and art that have been coagulating in my subconscious manifest itself in the skeleton of a story. It's very rare that I'm able to sit down and build on a story so quickly and thoroughly, but today was one of those days.

     I spent the last two and a half hours pumping out the script for a 7-minute dark comedy. It's a little silly and a lot stylized, but I'm proud of it. This feels like the beginning of something really special. I thought I would start chronicling it so I can have something to remember the experience by. 

Can't wait to share this little film with the world!

- Rara

A Typical Sunday: Hit By a Car, Pina Coladas, & Hard Work Paying Off

     Sundays are easily my favorite day of the week. Most of the time it's just my friends and I getting into drunk shenanigans at the pool, followed by impromptu house parties with activities deemed morally questionable in most civilized countries. Fuck civilization, however. No personal metamorphosis has started without muttering that sentiment under your breath as you roll out of bed Monday morning and walk into your shitty job that you still go to because you like food, shelter, and getting day drunk on Sundays.
   I just wanted a normal Sunday at the pool, but the Universe is like that asshole friend that picks you up from your house. As soon as you try to grab the handle to the Universe's car, he taps the gas pedal and laughs like a dick as you stand there, wondering why you still hang out with the Universe at all. But later that night you get wasted and the Universe drives you home, carries you up the stairs and tucks you into bed and the next day you're like, "The Universe isn't such a bad guy".
   ANYWAY, Sunday can also be a day of firsts. One Sunday was particularly fun and full of firsts for me:

1. First time getting hit by a car
     This is one of those weird instances where life imitates art. One of the first stand-up bits I ever wrote was about getting hit while biking in midtown Gainesville (a veritable cesspool of entitled bros driving Mustangs and clueless sorority girls on mopeds). This happened while I was riding on the sidewalk on my way back from the store. I was carrying a grocery bag over my shoulder and using one hand to steer. A red truck pulls up way too fast from a side street, looking for an opening to the main road. He's looking the other way and I have no time to get to my brakes. I had just enough time to think, "Wow, this is going to suck" before I collided with him. Luckily I was able to steer slightly in front of him and not directly into oncoming traffic.
   Strangely enough, I wasn't even mad when I felt the truck slam into me. It was just annoying. Adult life is full of bullshit that you don't want to deal with but have to, and traffic accidents are top of the list for most annoying things to deal with. The old guy that got out of the truck looked terrified. "Are you okay?" he asked me tentatively. I could see his black dog in the passenger seat, barking and going nuts, so I made the very zen decision to just let it go. My left knee was busted up and the palm of my hand hurt from where I broke my fall, but other than that I was fine.

2. First time getting drunk exclusively on pina coladas
     Walking around downtown with friends, handing around a water bottle full of homemade pina coladas. That is pretty much the perfect Sunday activity, bar none. And that's all I've got to say about that.

3. First time seeing my name on a festival poster
     While drunk on homemade pina coladas, my friends and I stumbled into an Irish pub to get some beers and play pool. As I walked in, I noticed the poster for The Fest 13, this epic music festival that happens every year in Gainesville. In addition to some of the most righteous rock n' roll, punk, metal, and alternative (for lack of a better word) bands, The Fest is also host to an excellent comedy showcase. This year I was determined to get into the lineup, which I did thanks to an aggressive email campaign wherein every month I was all, "Hey, here's a bunch of links to my stand-up! PLEASE LET ME BE PART OF THIS." It's pretty much the biggest highlight of my comedy career thus far, next to opening for Doug Stanhope back in April.
   As I scanned the poster full of familiar bands like Melvins, Descendents, Circle Takes The Square, and Asshole Parade, my soupy, drunk eyes fell on my name (next to comrades Amy Lawson and AJ Gil). It was the single coolest moment of my entire year, seeing my name on a poster for a festival that has come to represent some of the best nights of my life. It was a nice reminder that those long hours spent in front of a computer screen, obsessively writing and re-writing material, are actually paying off. Is this real life? Indeed, it is.

Rara Reviews: Adaptation (2002)

(Note: This is another assignment from my Movies as Narratives class. The review was intended as a piece for a scholarly journal, based on our major. I chose Adaptation because Charlie Kaufman is one of my favorite screenwriters and a constant source of inspiration for neurotic folk like me who just want to get our shit together.)

     The irony of writing about Spike Jonze’s magnificent film Adaptation is that much like the main character - screenwriter Charlie Kaufman - we find ourselves struggling to concentrate on just one aspect of the enigmatic source material. Adaptation is Kaufman’s third screenplay and it is perhaps his most ambitious, employing tried and true cinematic elements and plot devices through the filter of Kaufman’s cerebral vision to create one of the most original movie-going experiences in recent years.

     The story is based on Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, which chronicles her time in Florida with the eccentric orchid hunter John Laroche. However, Adaptation focuses more on Kaufman’s experience of turning Orlean’s book into a screenplay, switching between his struggle in the present day and that of Orlean (Meryl Streep) and Laroche (Chris Cooper) during the writing of The Orchid Thief. He adds fictional elements about Orlean and Laroche that abruptly switches the gears of the intended genre, creating that unmistakably surreal voice that Kaufman is best known for, and elevating it to virtuosity.

     Charlie Kaufman is a middle-aged screenwriter who has carved a career out of his ingenious scripts, yet his neurotic, obsessive thinking cripples him in his personal life. Nicolas Cage portrays both pessimistic Charlie and his clueless twin brother, Donald (who Kaufman jokingly credits as co-writer). The two performances are so convincing that we forget Cage is reacting to himself . One of the best examples of this is the scene in which Donald pitches the plot of his first script (a painfully predictable crime thriller) to an exasperated Charlie, who is torturing himself over the minute details of his own magnum opus. 
     Meryl Streep avoids the hoity toity glamour of the typical New York writer and gracefully conveys Orlean’s intelligence and sadness, almost as painfully aware of her tragic posturing as the audience is. Chris Cooper is casually magnetic as Laroche, whose toothless grin is so disarmingly charming that we mentally assign the underdog hero status to him almost automatically.

     This is perhaps the most accurate portrayal of the creative process of any writer. Kaufman (the character)  is not rich or glamorous or even very popular. In fact, he is not any more successful than the characters he writes about. Kaufman deconstructs three major archetypes of writers throughout the film: the respected big-city journalist, the optimistic and artless novice, and the experienced yet tortured veteran. Adaptation is a must-see not only for experienced writers, but those who aspire to hone their craft with authenticity. It is a brilliant portrait of the nature of artists and their struggle to bring their visions to life. As Donald Kaufman muses in one of the most surprisingly cathartic scenes, “You are what you love, not who loves you”.

welcome to my bloggy wog

Rara Imler was born and raised on the beautiful island of Guam. She is the firstborn of three diabolical hellspawn, who will probably one day be acolytes of the Antichrist prophesied in Revelations. 

Her first stage performance was in the 4th grade, in a play about forest animals. She played the gripping role of “mischievous bunny”. Since then, Rara has found many occasions to show off. She danced (badly) for over a year with the Danzjazz Company, earned her purple belt in Aikido, and was briefly the vice president of her high school drama club.  

She dropped out of high school in junior year to pursue being a total shit head. Eventually, she took her GED test and stopped being such an asshole. She continued participating in productions for local theaters and the University of Guam. The roles she is most proud of are Dr. Emma Brookner in a stage reading of The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer, an apostle in Jesus Christ Superstar, and a kit kat girl in Cabaret.

But her proudest achievement is her recurring role as “drunk karaoke singer” at various adult establishments. Rara has been performing stand-up comedy for two and a half years. She majors in Film Studies at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. She sincerely hopes this biography comes off as totally legit and not at all written by her.

pictured above: Rara Imler in her natural habitat.

Rara Reviews: The Host (2006)

(The following review was for my Movies as Narratives class I took in the Spring. The goal of the assignment was to write a review for a general audience, hence the cheesier phrases like genre-bending romp'. Some minor edits were made post-deadline.) 

Dissecting The Host

     In Bong Joon-ho’s The Host (2006), the carelessness of an American military doctor leads to a mutated monstrosity swimming up from the Han River, causing a state of panic so severe that South Korea is transformed into a military-controlled dystopia. It is part monster movie, part not-so-subtle commentary on the American military industrial complex. Whether it shows us images of the terrifying creature that carries its prey off to the vast sewage system beneath the Han, or injects slapstick comedy in the midst of otherwise dramatic scenes, The Host never fails to entertain.

     It would be selling this fantastic film short to try and categorize it into one particular genre. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times described it as “[a] carnival of horrors and a family melodrama… a rethink of those 1950s cine-quickies in which mondo ants, locusts, wasps, crabs and snails and one seriously ticked off amphibious reptile go on the rampage, visiting punishment on a hapless, guilty humanity.” Another part of The Host’s allure comes from the gorgeously crafted scenes by cinematographer Kim Hyung-ku, who foregoes the all-out gore dynamic of traditional horror films, instead creating scenes where the focal point is the characters’ reactions to the chaos that the monster creates. The strongest scenes by far are when the creature displays its tenacity and intellect to its already horrified victims, blending instinctual violence born out of nature with almost comical timing (much to the characters’ terror).

     Quirky family dynamics play a strong role in The Host. There is the good-natured yet flustered grandfather (Hie-bong Byeon), the slacker sons (Hae-il Park and Song Kang-ho), the bronze medalist daughter (Doona Bae) and the precocious granddaughter (Ah-sung Ko). The standout performance comes from Song’s character Gang-du, who is both charming and maddeningly frustrating as the clueless but loving father of Hyun-seo (Ko). “Above all, though, it is the story of how these slapstick figures rise painfully to the level of competence, and beyond” remarks Stuart Klawans in his review in Nation.

     This is Bong Joon-ho’s third feature film. It has received wide accolade, including Best Film at the 2007 Asian Film Awards, Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Baeksang Film Awards. This genre-bending romp is a true original and worth repeated viewings on the big screen. Don’t take my word for it, though. Get out there and dissect The Host yourself!