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Jerry
Goldsmith R.I.P. 1929-2004
Note* this page has not been updated in three years
12/26/05
Just
returned from Grizedale England (Cumbria) location scouting/pre-casting
for "Sword and the Sorceress" aka "Age of Emptiness " Dec 6-20 through a Grizedale Arts residency program.
Here are the Results from trip.
APPLE PAGE
2007 Updated news coming soon
NY Lincoln Film Center Screenings
Film Comment Articles and Best of Selects
Sketch, Site, Filler and Union Gallery UK showings and in person panels
Bradford Widescreen Fest UK showings and panel
2/13/06 "Sorceress" script Published in Otherzine Magazine
1/12/06 Reflections, StarWars Mock, Lost in the Thinking, etc on multiple "Best of 2005" lists including Film Comment Magazine, Filmmaker Mag, Film Threat, DVDTalk, LA Weekly, Greencine, Ain't It Cool News, Senses of Cinema, and so on.
2/10/06 "A Time of Darkness" New Interview with Film Fury Magazine. and old interviews/articles with Tablet Magazine and Film Threat
7/30/05 Reflections
screens (twice) at the prestigious Lincoln Film Center in
NY, nearly blows out the THX sound system and stirs up heated discussions among the NY cinefiles, one of whom nearly threatened a lawsuit because of hearing damage after the screening.
8/27/05 UK Screenings of various shorts at ArtsSheffield "Spectator T " and "Hyperscism" events Sept to Dec 2005, ran for 3 months. in Sheffield, London and Manchester England.
7/26/05 Played L Ron Hubbard in Craig Baldwins' latest
5/21/05
OPENING
NIGHT OF REVENGE OF THE SITH IN HOLLYWOOD
On
Assignment from
Wild and Woolly Video Packard is commissioned to
write an extensive REVIEW
OF SITH and invited
to hang out with some celebrities at the Gala Premiere. See
the exclusive Media
Photo's of the event.
5/15/05:
CULTSTITCH
REVIEWS "LOST IN THE THINKING"
Almost
a year ago I received an email from Damon saying that he was
going to New York and was hired to film something for a gallery.
As he put it, and I'm paraphrasing here from memory "There
will be loads of sex with young British elvin girls."
and "I've only got eleven days to shoot and edit the
film, the same amount of time Spielberg had with Duel."
Then... Nothing.
A few weeks later, my friend Kevin heard from Damon that his
computer crashed. Obviously he didn't make the deadline, I
thought... And with him penniless and no computer, the aspect
of something from Damon seemed even further than before.
A month or so ago, I got an email from him that his new film,
Lost in "The Thinking" was completed. Hell yes,
I sent Damon my $10 and a week later...
What can I say? I must have watched the film twenty times
already and kept thinking "How and the hell can I describe
this?" That's quite a statement when considering I've
seen everything else of his.
---excerpt
from Matthew Reel's review Read
The Full Version
"GRIZZLY
REDUX" reaches #1 rental at Wild & Wolly Video for 2 weeks
5/14/05:
ROE screens in Beijing and shows at a Drive-In
in West China also a cocktail bar in London to drunken Brits.
5/12/05:
Star Wars Mockumentary screens in Northhampton England, Frederick,
MD and Cinespace in Hollywood CA. all in the same month
1/12/05: See famed artist Rick Trembles Cartoon Review of Reflections
4/24/04: Even the Daughter of the King of Saudia Arabia has seen Reflections
Reflections, Grizzly Redux, Mondo shorts collection and Lost in the Thinking all available for download at Greencine.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archived
news,
June 2004, "FROZEN
TEARS II: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF D. PACKARD"
book launch in London. (see link for details)
New
ROE Picture
Gallery
OLD ARCHIVED
NEWS--(8/16/03)
REFLECTIONS
WINS TOP PRIZE "GOLD PUBLIQUE" FOR "MOST GROUNDBREAKING
FILM"AT MONREAL'S FANTASIA
FEST
it's official the
French
LOVE Reflections!
Additional
awards to date: "Best of Fest"
Seattle Underground Fest,
Berkeley Film & Video Fest,
Michigan Independent Film&Vid fest,
Envision Fest NY,
Cleveland Psycho-image Fest,
Dark Celluloid ConFest Toronto,
Andy Warhol Underground Fest, Montauk,
Dolby Digital Sound-Image Fest, N. CA,
Bjork-Pop image Indie WorldFest Iceland
"ROE
contains contains some of the most FURIOUSLY original sequences
that I have seen in years, from any country, any budget and
any genre, and that says a lot coming from the amazing volume
of films we screen. Keep up the INCREDIBLE work Damon!"
----MITCH
DAVIS, co director of FanTasia Fest
other
archived news from 2003-2004
Oliver
Stone's Office Responds
to Reflections
and
Ridley Scott's assistant
orders Reflections and Star Wars Mock
and
Victor
Salva (Jeepers Creepers) orders a DVD copy of ROE
via Bijouflix
STAR
WARS MOCKUMENTARY
REVIEWS are coming in
REVIEW I -Sci-Fi
Journal
REVIEW
II -Filmthreat
REVIEW III--AllnerdReview<--a
MUST read review!
REVIEW
IV -Cultstitch
REVIEW
V -Live4Metal<--another
MUST read!
REVIEW
VI
-CultCuts
Magazine
REVIEW
VII-SHOCK Magazine
REVIEVIII
Montreal Mirror<--- good
one
REVIEW
VIIII-Hackers Source Magazine
REVIEW
X --CA Hour Magazine
REVIEW
XI --Bijouflix<--excellent
write-up
New Disney Hall, Downtown L.A. Screened
Jan 2004
Partial Screening History
Michigan
Independent Film Fest,
Berkeley Film & Video fest,
Cinema Du Park Montreal,
Melbourne Indie Fest, Australia
Features at the 5, PA
BecksIncredibleFest New Zealand
Midnight Special BookStore
DUTV and C-Level, Downtown
L.A. in Chinatown
Spontos Gallery, and many others
update (10-15-03)--STAR WARS MOCK
WINS "BEST MOCKUMENTARY" at
MIFF Fest
update (11-11-03)
STAR WARS MOCK WINS
 "GRAND
PRIZE" at Berkeley
Film & Video Fest
Check
out some of the discussion going on all over the net about
ROE and SW on hundreds of message boards and websites, here
are some links to specific board discussions.
FilmThreat1
FilmThreat2
Mobius
BrainsonFilm
OriginalTrilogy
HorrorView Forum <--you
gotta see this one!
EXAMPLE of
the kind of emails I get DAILY..!
Other
Cinema includes "Dawn
of an Evil Millennium" (1988) to their DVD
compilation "Experiments in Terror"
Interviews,
reviews and more
Crimson
Celluloid
Australia's first Horror'zine
Interview with Damon
Packard
by David Nolte
December 2002
(11
months after completion of film)
FOOTNOTE
UPDATE 8/21/2005*
Keep
in mind this interview was 3 years ago, not too long after
completion of the film. At the time response was sparse and
quite negative (see
negative response section) At
this juncture (nearing late 2005) I can probably finally say,
that is no longer so. In fact, honestly response has been
quite overwhelming, and continue's so on a daily basis. If
I had saved all the emails and phone messages (to date) there
would be enough to fill all the pages in a small phone book.
I even had a message from someone at NASA, saying they were
passing the DVD around.
1) Upon seeing your film REFLECTIONS
OF EVIL I guess the obvious first question is ARE
YOU DERANGED???
DP: Good heavens no. That was just a character.
2) What exactly did you hope to achieve when you started the
film and did you meet your goals?
DP: It was mainly a statement about how I feel about this
time, (fear, hostility, anger, people ready to explode at
any minute for no reason, puppet-tabloid-media
propaganda, corporate-ruled armageddon, intestine-clogging
junk foods, over-saturated burn-out muddled dumbed-down bland
multi-plex apathy, etc) As for the film itself I'm basically
disappointed in it, not necessarily how I feel about it, but
the 'general' reaction (or lack thereof) of how other's have
reacted to it. And I don't want people to get the wrong impression
and think this kind of material is my 'forte', because it
isn't! Looking
back, the strongest regret is certainly not cutting the film
shorter and faster and taking the extra time to fix and refine
certain things, but It's too late now...I blew it.
And I blew it on a much larger scale in an overall way which
is difficult to sum up in words, for one thing I should know
better, I've been making films for over 67 years and this
is not the mark of a veteran. Certainly the opportunity to
make a feature with any kind of a budget will never arise
again.
In another state in succinct insanity I look at the film now
unable to answer what or why it is I shot what I did, it's
a blank memory. What the hell was I thinking? I hate these
kind of movies, this isn't what I'm into! Why would I make
this film? What the hell is wrong with me?! And certainly
as for the outcome after completing the film--as far as 'meeting
my goals', heck no! Was temporarily having delusions of grandeur,
hoping it would ultimately lead to something bigger and better,
hoping it just might pave the way to newer projects. Hoping
it would get a much stronger reaction from a wider group (either
negative or positive) as opposed to a completely large scale
muted response. These are always the kind of sanguine fantasies
one has on the brink of completing a new film, I've been through
it time and time again. Unfortunately the reality is always
ultimately dispiriting. And this is a pretty strong potential
example of just how self-deluded one can become in their own
work, although ultimately that really has to do with which
version of reality one is experiencing.
Never
imagined I would need to spread over 29,000
DVD's around at tremendous cost over a course of 2
years, mailing envelopes day and night full time, hiring people
to pass out DVD's daily, going from A-Z in various celebrity
address lists, production directories, (both local and international)
agency directories, magazines, newspapers, reviewers, producer/director
directories, countless film festivals, video stores, film
schools, special events, horror/sci-fi conventions, galleries,
distributors, bookstores, film meetings, websites, cafe's,
music stores, constantly RELENTLESSLY psychotically leaving,
sneaking, spreading, hurling, passing, plopping, tossing DVD's
everywhere, exhausting every penny I had left and getting
very little reaction over-all. I mean what the hell is wrong
with this world are people brain dead!?? I suppose I'm
the one who's brain dead for being so inept in wasting so
many DVD's, but then it was either do it or don't, you know
how that go's.
I
mean, how many days in the week does a person find a copy
of Reflections of Evil sitting on top a paper machine in Pacific
Palisades or ATM in Malibu or inside a vending machine at
UCLA film school, or being passed out for free by homeless
people at screenings, or see someone wearing a giant Reflections
of Evil sandwich board walking around Beverly Hills giving
away dvd's, or on the arm-rest of your chair inside a theater
or in the bathroom stall at a studio, or in the prop truck
on location, or on your car windshield, or stacked next to
periodicals, or handed to you by the security guard at the
entrance of an extremely upscale Beverly Hills community,
or sitting on the paper machines outside Dreamworks, or on
the steps at Zoetrope, or in an alley behind Samuel French's,
or suddenly showing up in the mail one day out of the blue?
Grant it, the film is not everyone's cup of tea and maybe
some have taken offense but it's not "Blood Beach Zombies
2" we're talking about.
If
anyone bothered to watch more than 10 minutes regardless of
what they think or how baffled they are they should at least
realize the DVD is not a Dianetics CD-Rom advertisement or
something. (well, maybe about 30 seconds in one small scene
at the beginning but thats a different matter) Still in general
this is a pretty unique and amazing film to be found laying
around free for someone to pick up. Of
course I have come to feel after this grandiose experiment
in guerilla marketing, shoving my film aside it probably simply
would not matter how "brilliant" or "incredible"
a film is, (all subject to various interpretations anyway)
If it is left / passed / sent around to people for FREE they
will instantly interpret it as junk!
Now
there are some exceptions to that, and I always thought I
would give the public the benefit of the doubt to decide on
their own, which seems to be a mistake. I'm not too sure people
are capable of forming their own opinions. Not meaning to
sound bitter or harsh but how else can one interpret the results
of such an experiment? The other thing which astounds me is
how utterly apathetic and dismissing people are, you simply
would not believe how many people (and we're talking everyone
from hard-core film buffs to indie film supporters / collectors,
etc) will simply refuse taking a free DVD in complete disinterest.
Had them passed out at all the special events and screenings,
particularly cult/indie/horror, obscure 60's & 70's films,
it doesn't seem to matter what audience we're talking about,
at least 97% of them WILL REFUSE taking a free DVD. This is
no joke, I have observed it quite extensively in the last
9 months.
Another
thing I have increasingly discovered is just how many of these
DVD's left around for people to pick up have been tossed in
the garbage. What may be most disturbing is WHO I've discovered
is throwing them out, being theaters and places who are ardent
supporters of independent (and cult) cinema. Yet their tossing
hundreds in the garbage. In fact someone just recently told
me that USC film school had discarded all of the DVD's I left
around, I can only guess UCLA did the same thing. (that alone
is 250 copies tossed in the garbage by film schools no less?!)
Now, I realize it's their right to do this, but I still find
it quite tragic in a way. I mean, is this the state of extreme
apathy and hostile ignorance in the world today? I suppose
one only needs ask that question to him/herself, but personally
speaking I would never ignore a DVD of someone's independent
film laying around. I suffer the same flaws as everyone else
but still generally at least try not to instantly ignore or
dismiss things and people.
This
whole 'marketing' approach was a massive experiment, and it's
left me drained of hope. Most (with a few rare exceptions)
seem to be either apathetic, ignorant, dismissing or unable
to decide how they feel about something without the collective
approval of peers, solicitation or advertised hype.
Of course I was sending it to every film festival and such
each month, going through all the 'normal' channels, but I
had to go way beyond those boundaries and try and get it into
as many people's hands as possible. Both movie-lovers and
film industry people.
Hope
I don't sound bitter or angry, because I'm not that kind of
person, just relaying the results of a marketing experiment,
be it naively assumed or not. I'm just relaying the facts,
not being pessimistic. This was a marketing experiment, think
of me as Dr. Pretorius in Bride of Frankenstein conducting
a massive study on humankind.
Also
I want this message to go out to all the young aspiring filmmakers
out there. The apparent result is; if you make a film and
want to really get it out there, (and have a little extra
money to do so) don't even bother because, A. people won't
care, and B, they will just toss the DVD's in the garbage
and C. the more brilliant and uncompromising the film is,
the more the derision and lack of response you can expect.
Remember Coppola's worst fear's during the making of Apocalypse?
Well, that will be the result.
Besides
that, creative filmmakers are a dime a dozen these days, you
can be the most brilliant filmmaker on the planet but it has
virtually nothing to do with the real world of film directing,
not anymore anyway. I remember many years ago fearing the
dreaded arrival of this time we're now officially in. Too
many voices, too much going on, the excitement and originality
is over.
That
is the only structure I can give you
for the entire universe
is predicated on love
creating itself
Well,
after 26 months of spreading the film around I can tell you
absolutely nothing significant has come of it. But don't get
me wrong, I am extremely appreciative and flattered by all
the positive response it has rec'vd by all the true (intelligent-open
minded-knowledgeable) fans of independent/underground movie's.
The response however can be more likened to the results of
sending several hundred DVD's out there, not 29,000, where
did the other 28,000 DVD's go, did they fall into a black
hole? I would estimate I had a grand total of about 75-100
responses in sum. Negative, positive, baffled, kind, whatever.
That leaves (approximately) 28,900 unanswered DVD's.
(update 10/31/05 ok maybe 900 responses at this point)
3) I must say that certain sequences stayed with me long after
watching them, in particular the episode concerning you in
your mom's house at night, this was genuinely frightening.
I describe the film as a kind of schizophrenic urban nightmare,
do you think this is accurate?
DP: Sure.
4)
What problems did you encounter whilst shooting?
DP: Everything you could imagine, which is typical making
any film. After doing it for so many years you come to expect
these things, but with all the increasing senseless rules
and restrictions and red tape it gets more difficult every
year. I don't think there was a single location we weren't
chased off by Security on. It was ridiculous, I had to keep
sneaking back with the actors, shoot and run like a military
operation. No time to even set up a tripod in most cases.
They damn near arrested me on several occasions, and I wasn't
very pleased with having to put the actors through all that.
Fortunately they (actors & crew) were extremely good sports
about it. But if it wasn't for the constant aggressive lawbreaking
there would have been no movie, plain and simple. And I can
say that for just about every film I've made.
5) You've achieved a great deal on a minuscule budget which
parts of the film are you proudest of and which would you
change?
DP: For change's I wish I had spent more time getting the
looping more accurate, I wish I had focused harder on having
a sound person always on the spot. I wish I had cut the film
shorter, faster, maybe even eliminated the vomit intro, all
the blood splats and bleeped out all the profanity. I wish
I had compromised to the extreme making the film far more
palatable and palpable for wide audiences, complying with
all current audience demographics. In short, made the film
'family friendly' and accessible for all. I would have liked
to please Peter Bart and Peter Guber.
6) I heard something about you being sued by Spielberg and
banned for life from Universal Studios (I've been there too,
it's no great loss to be banned!), what's the deal there?
DP: I was banned from Universal for bringing a 16mm camera
inside. Universal had their eyes on me and decided I was really
up to something no good, they had me on camera and approached
several times asking what the hell i was doing.
I was there by myself, harmlessly shooting inserts when the
entire security staff flanked by Sheriff deputies swarmed
in, damn near arrested me. They sat around for 3 hours deciding
'my fate', (jail or freedom) asking questions like "why
were you filming children?" Mind you this was in the
park, not the lot, with hundreds of other people walking around
with video cameras. (and many months before 9-11) Things have
changed since the days when a 17 year old Spielberg could
walk on to the Universal lot every day and take over an empty
production office, or Columbo could sit down and charmingly
talk to a young child sitting alone at a table. Although there
was one time (when watch peddling in the area) I walked on
to the Universal lot and simply waived to the guard.
7) You've been making experimental films for quite a few years
now, who are your filmmaking influences? What kind of film
would you make if you were presented with a decent budget?
DP: Probably a feature version of "Apple";
an elvin-sword and sorcery fantasy, which can partly be described
as Lord of the Rings on psychedelic drugs. A sweet, soft,
quiet sensual, magical, adventurous fairy tale. Most of the
"Reflections" crowd would probably hate it. I've
always loved fantasy, especially that short wave of mythic
organic-looking fantasy films which came out of the early
80's (Dragonslayer, Excalibur, The Dark Crystal, Krull, etc)--my
favorite probably being The NeverEnding Story--which was in
essence the last of the 'creative early 80's fantasy wave'.
However I still feel there has not really been a great film
in this genre. Jackson's Lord of the Rings in my book does
not fit the bill, as I would much rather see a newer more
daring, wild and inventive effort. I'm not saying that I could
do it, but certainly it's something I would like to make an
indelible contribution to. It's a very difficult genre to
tell stories in. Take films like Andre Rublov, Crouching Tiger,
Laputa: Castle in the Sky, The NeverEnding Story and combine
them into something new and this is the closest analogy I
could offer.
Influences?
Admittedly Spielberg. But this was mainly the Spielberg of
the 70's & early 80's back when things were still exciting
and possible. (don't even get me started on that) But he wasn't
the only one, early influences were along the lines of John
Carpenter, Ken Russell, George Miller, John Landis, Ralph
Bakshi, John Boorman, Billy Friedkin, Donald Cammel, DePalma,
Bob Fosse, Coppola, Hitchcock, Welles, and many others. More
recent influences could be Lars Von Trier, Sergio Solima,
BD Clark, George Wendkos, John Huston, Gualtiero Jacopetti
Franco E. Prosperi and many others.
8)
What kind of response have you received from people who have
seen REFLECTIONS? What's the strangest reaction/most gratifying
and/or scariest?
DP: In general--for the most part NO
RESPONSE. Just complete
SILENCE. This is the thing that always drove me crazy, I had
to send tens of thousands of DVD's just to get what response
I've had. Not sure what the most gratifying or scariest would
be however I do think the FUNNIEST reaction had to be from
Sylvester Stallone when he was on the phone with his son talking
about the film (see celeb response section) "That poor
Curtis, Packard must have paid him 100 bucks..it's really
sad.."
9) You have committed to celluloid one of the greatest vomiting
sequences I've ever seen, well done.
DP: Thanks, I'm not sure why I even shot that.
10) Can you tell us what the significance of incorporating
the 9-11 footage in Reflections was?
DP:
It seemed to me to fit perfectly with the theme of Fear,
propaganda, anger, hostility, war, conflict and it's connection
with "Bob's world" of his street experiences and how they
grow more extreme. That is the individual's battle's, conflicts
and psychotic maelstrom's of rage are a metaphor for larger
events.
Since Bob begins by stirring up the negativity and hostility
surrounding him, when that "negativity shockwave" grows more
powerful, it eventually even causes 9-11 and all the spiraling
events to happen--right up to the present war. It's all Bob's
fault!! In the sequel I could explain this.
11)
Can you mention a few words about the sound FX mix in the
film, obviously sound is very important to you, did you take
the film to a post house or handle the mix yourself?
DP:
Did it in Final Cut Pro, collected a whole new library of
Lucasfilm sounds in the digital world this time. I've been
into creative sound design since the early 80's and have always
gone to great lengths (in the analog world) to get the highest
quality and interesting sounds in all my films starting in
1982. How many 14 year old Super8 filmmakers in 1982 do you
suppose were collecting state of the art Lucasfilm sound FX?
(ok, ok ain't i just too bitchin', sheesus this ego thing)
Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, Randy Thom, Gary Rydstrom, these
were the pioneers. Unfortunately these days (and for the last
10-15 years) people take quality sound for granted, it wasn't
like that in 1980 or '81, it was a brand new thing. Remember
those days? It's all over now.
12) What's the daily life of Damon Packard like?
DP: Ever since completing Reflections, the attention has not
stopped. Calls every day from producers, meetings, festivals,
offers, ..and actually I'm just kidding!!
In actuality at the moment pure nothingness.
13) Any new projects on the horizon?
DP: I'm absolutely dying to begin a new project but there
are several things preventing this. One, I've exhausted my
money. It takes lots of money to make films. This film was
made through the once-in-a-lifetime miracle/stroke of luck
of receiving {information
withheld} The money is blown for good. Two, as
much as I don't want to feel this way I can't HELP
but feel overly-unmotivated or excited about plunging into
another self-financed mini-budget film given the inevitable
outcome. Why? Well after the general poor reaction / lack
of reaction I've had from Reflections--after sending/spreading
thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands
and thousands and thousands of copies around to everyone you
could possibly think of alive or dead, it doesn't exactly
leave me glowing with excitement and enthusiasm to go through
all the trouble of making another film, and believe me at
the end of the day it's just a hell of a lot of work and time
and devotion that go's into getting a film made. It gets increasingly
difficult to justify going through all that overwhelming trouble
for no specific reason, especially when the outcome time and
time again is always the same...nothing.
NO
RESPONSE: The Movie
coming soon
Now
don't get me wrong, if I had the money I'd be hard at work
as we speak, but I don't. And as far as I'm concerned one
should create art to please themselves, if a large or small
portion of the world loves it or hates it, if festivals ignore
it, that's fine. I shall continue trying to make films as
best I can. It's certainly not as if I was naive enough to
expect this film would realistically "result in something"
let alone the mass-muted response factor, which is (unfortunately)
always expected and common. I knew that from the outset before
even shooting a frame of film, I've been at this for many
years now, the story is always the same...no response.
However
it was to a lesser extent the further you go back in time,
and in the current climate of the film industry, I mean jeez
forget it. I don't know if there was ever a particular "climate"
that I would have ever fit into but honestly I can't
help but feel it's all over, the old days are gone. The excitement
is gone, the parties over Oskar. If we live in a time where
film schools and independent film organizations are throwing
out DVD's of someone's epic film, I hold out little hope.
in
(((70mm
6 track dolby stereo)))
I
mean come on don't you remember how exciting going to see
the latest Star Wars or Indiana Jones film in 70mm used to
be back in the early 80's? Or how intelligent and well written
films were in the 60's & 70's, how much more interesting
the palette of actors and directors used to be. We now live
in a dead, exhausted, homogenized time of false advertising,
over-saturation of visual media, rigged fee's, fear and controlled
thought. If I had my 10 seconds on "IFC Rant" I'd
simply say, 'forget it..it's over. It's been dead for years.
There was a time where a person would go through hell to get
something amazing accomplished and it would really MATTER,
it would change lives, it would inspire. And amazing things
COULD actually get done, there were still BOUNDARIES to break.
These days it just doesn't seem to matter anymore, even after
you go through all the trouble of doing it, multiple times.
It's one thing to talk about something and never accomplish
it but now even if you accomplish it it doesn't matter! I
think the planet has now officially moved in the wrong direction,
instead of loosening up and becoming more open and creative
and allowing and understanding and forgiving and caring it
has taken the dark path on a course of self destruction.
There is no hope left, we are all dead.
Excerpts from POW magazine's interview July, 2002
Here's an interesting and revealing INTERVIEW
READ
THE EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE I had with the "SBCI Behavior Research Institute" regarding the subject of apathy and ignorance in the world
today.
add on 3-31-03
A
CSU professor asks, "why has the media not covered the
story of this film? In my opinion it is a cultural phenomenon,
no filmmaker I know has or probably ever will spread 29,000
DVD's around of such a work, especially at the risk of them
being discarded by discontented individuals and organizations.
I show your film to my students quite regularly, they love
it. And I know they are quite upset and appalled at the results
of your marketing campaign."
other
news 2003: Just Finished an acting gig playing a
SLIMEY
FATCAT STUDIO EXECUTIVE in
indie film
also
just finished playing a "DEMENTED
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY" in another
indie film
REVIEWS
New 2004
review by the SAN
FRANCISCO GUARDIAN
Reflections
of Evil (2002) Reviewed by Lawrence P. Raffel, Dec 2002
Monstersatplay.com
It's
not very often that you'll hear me say that I'm speechless
after watching a film for Monsters at Play, it should be a
rare experience indeed. One of those rare experiences is now,
because I am utterly fucking speechless after checking out
a copy of Damon Packard's epic film of mammoth proportions
Reflections of Evil. Speechless because of all of the utter
disdain I've been hearing people have had for this film ever
since it landed on my desk here at Monster Headquarters. Speechless
because I don't know what these people have been smoking,
because if Reflections of Evil is one thing and one thing
only... that would be fucking brilliant, plain and simple.
I may have noted in the past that certain films were difficult
to talk about because of either their complexity (or more
often than not because of their lack thereof).
Reflections
of Evil falls into the category of complex, and one of the
easiest ways I can describe it is to say that it's reminiscent
of earlier works from David Lynch or Ken Russell. Only the
truly adventurous and open-minded viewers will be ultimately
rewarded. Everyone else will toss the film aside as pure and
utter crap made by a talent less hack. You know what? I wouldn't
expect anymore from these people. These are the same people
who'll revisit Reflections of Evil 15 years from now and proclaim
its genius. Well, I'm here to tell you the real story NOW,
not 15 years from now, so deal with it! Linear story? Not
really. What we have here is something that appears to be
so off the wall and random that it's evident that there's
no way in hell it could have been that random. My description
of this film, no matter how utterly clever, could never do
the experience of this films audio and visuals any justice.
Right
now you're probably saying to yourself, "Lawrence, I get it
you dug the flick, but tell me... what's it about, why is
it so great? What the fuck happens in this film?" All I can
say is check it out for yourself. What I am gonna try to do
is give you some snippets of what happens so bear this all
in mind. There really is no beginning, no middle and no end
(the film's finale which isn't much of a finale to begin with
is labeled "to be continued..."). The actual experience of
watching this fine and unique film cannot be summed up in
a 1000 word review, even on Monsters at Play. The film itself
begins with an introduction by Tony Curtis (yup you heard
right), with some clever and hilarious dubbing Mr. Curtis
proclaims the genius of Damon Packard. The rest of the film
is filled with odd scenes including that of a man (Damon Packard)
roaming the streets trying to hock these cheap watches, stopping
periodically to watch people fight, sometimes fight himself
and eat, eat, eat (cakes, pies and sometimes marshmallow peeps).
The sight of watching this man eat a cake with those exaggerated
sound effects is an unforgettable one at best.
He
winds up home in a spectacularly effective scene raiding a
hellish fridge and avoiding a nightmarish old lady... Geez,
as I write this I realize how fucking stupid it all sounds.
But it's not, believe me. With a shooting style that can best
be described as a cross between that of Eraserhead and Tetsuo,
this film comes across as a virtual visual feast. Heads slammed
against sidewalks, gratuitous vomiting and some of the oddest
characters you have ever seen, guaranteed. Time shifts from
present to the past to a trippy hippie breakdown. Now let
me stop here and tell you a bit more on how it was actually
filmed. Reflections of Evil is a combination of 16mm, Super
8 and Digital Video. Sound was re recorded after the fact
and the newly created audio track is quite aggressive (that's
all voices, effects and music that have been laid over the
film). Mixed within the actual footage shot for the film itself
are vintage movie clips, TV show clips and commercials...
are ya still with me here?
There
are some incredible set pieces that no matter how hard I try,
I just couldn't make you understand how spectacular of a vision
it actually is. Much of the finale takes place at Universal
Studios with Mr. Packard running from the "authorities" if
you will and taking an acid trip of a ride on the ET experience.
Oh, and did I mention the scenes of a "young Mr. Spielberg
on set", unbelievable to say the least. I dare you to count
the audio and video copyright infringements to be found within.
I double dog dare you! Now, this is not a perfect film by
any means. Because of Packard's impromptu filmmaking style,
some scenes do go on a bit too long. The film itself runs
a whopping 135 minutes, but oddly enough remains a fascinating
view throughout (if you have a lack of patience you may have
to hit the FF button a few times, we forgive you in advance).
It's evident that this man has some truly raw filmmaking talent,
so rare to find these days. Somebody give Mr. Packard the
millions he so deserves to make the film that he truly wants
to make. Apparently this film can be found on street corners
etc. around the LA area I believe. Or, you can order this
film online for a scant 10 bucks. Worth every penny. Video
quality varies considering the multiple sources, but it's
generally all for effect anyway. This is a cleanly authored
disc with no visible artifacting. Audio is presented in an
extremely impressive (and aggressive) stereo surround track.
The re created audio track was impressively put together.
Dogs barking or mismatched voices, even cupcake eating has
never been so disturbingly effective on film. Extras include
a teaser trailer and a few snippets of some of Packard's earlier
works. Bottom line here is that 10 bucks is a minimal investment.
Check it out and if you don't like it, just reuse the keep
case the DVD comes in and the DVD as a drink coaster. Personally,
I think that Damon Packard has something uniquely special
going on here that really speaks to fans of "real" independent
cinema. Support this guy and tell your friends.
|
|
LA
WEEKLY Sept. 20 - 26
Director-star-prankster
Damon Packard's apocalyptic comedy-horror film is full of
grotesque, Rabelaisian exaggerations and twists and turns
that defy prediction. You'll either be in stitches or ask
for a barf bag. Ostensibly a story about Bob, an angry obese
loser whose daily gorging on greasy food and sweets has shaped
him into a hideous, hunched figure peddling watches, the film
is really a manifestation of Packard's interest in stealing
or re-creating television footage from what he posits as a
more innocent era---the late 1960's and early 70's---and juxtaposing
it against the hellish violence of the present. Through Bob's
eyes we see the world fall apart at the seems as gang thugs
and vicious dogs menace him on the benighted streets of downtown
L.A.
All the while he's haunted by kaleidoscope remembrances of
his older hippie sister---flashbacks made to look like vintage
Dario Argento---as she joins a cult and overdoses on heroin.
Now she has returned as a wraith in order to be Bob's guardian
angel. Like many outsider artists, Packard's world-view is
at once corrosive and childlike, simplistic yet convoluted.
However unlike many outsider artists Packard is light years
ahead of the competition in both style and vision, it's his
single narrative drive that persuade and mesmerize you to
keep watching, often with jaw dropped at the scope of it's
sheer ambition. A self-professed Steven Spielberg admirer
and lifelong filmmaker,
Packard loves and admires the mainstream, but his purgatory
is to lurk on the periphery of Hollywood and make films with
perspectives as different from Spielberg's own childlike world-view
as imaginable.
_____
CAMPUS
CIRCLE Oct., 2002
I have become more than a little obsessed by this movie. Filled
to bursting with late sixties and early seventies film and
television stock video footage, random cutaways, over-amplified
sound effects, absurdist humor, unbearable levels of aggression
and hands down some of the finest examples of outlaw cinema
since Cassavetes, Damon Packard's REFLECTIONS OF EVIL is a
fractured window into the tortured reality of modern Los Angeles
life as witnessed by BOB, a corpulent, quasi-psychotic lost
soul wandering the cities phantasmagorical mean streets. Bob
is either the focus of or witness to an unending stream of
hate and hostility; he is relentlessly attacked by dogs, harassed
by the police, hounded by his nagging grandmother and consistently
unable to break even peddling the watches he buys at cost
from a downtown distributor. Bobs only solace is in consumption,
oral (junk food) and visual (vintage seventies era television,
a la NIGHT GALLERY), making him a schized-out, ADD-addled
Baby Huey from hell on a perpetual sugar high. Bob is also
haunted by the memory of his deceased sister, who, having
ventured off during a family outing to Universal Studios in
1971 (in which she comes upon a bizarre recreation of the
young Steven Spielberg at work), would eventually join a hippy
drug cult and later die from a drug overdose. In an attempt
to reconnect with her, Bob returns to Universal Studios. The
park mutates half way through his visit into a twisted vision
of the afterlife in which he boards a theme ride based on
Schindler's List (which includes Nazi guards jostling and
barking orders in German at park riders who are clearly oblivious
to the fact that they are extras in Packards film, incredible).
There Bob is finally reunited with his sister and the two
of them are scuttled off into the hereafter. At nearly two
hours and twenty minutes, REFLECTIONS OF EVIL is a twisted,
obsessive, one of a kind epic. There is so much here that
I can't even begin to throw any of my barstool psychoanalyzing
at it. Suffice it to say that the film skewers our media-weaned,
fame-fixated, stunted-in-adolescence generation in all of
its super-sized, self-obsessed, stadium-seated glory. Packard
makes no bones about being a victim himself, but doesn't let
that stop him from painfully, hilariously and relentlessly
striking back.
REFLECTIONS
OF EVIL
Directed by Damon Packard
***
Review by Gene Gregorits
In
my 15 years of publishing fanzines and reviewing strange films,
this is by far the most mind-boggling underground artifact
that’s ever shown up in my mailbox. In a letter which
accompanied this disc (a clip-art montage of old exploitation
film ads), Packard states that my reviewer’s copy cost
him $700 to produce, using a state-of-the-art duplication
process. Cute.
This manner of hype normally indicates a goofy waste of time,
fit only for screening at some similarly-hyped downtown underground
film festival where the majority of the accepted entries are
"yuk yuk, har har" gore setpieces, punk rock videos,
and smartass student films. But then I watched my $700 DVD,
and although grueling, Reflections of Evil is shockingly amusing,
and so surprisingly brilliant in many ways I was aghast that
this guy was just sending his DVD's around for free and getting
the poor reaction he claims. I would periodically ask myself
"how could something so brilliant get such lack of notice?!"
If you do manage to make it to the end, you’ll have to
agree that the film’s aftertaste is indescribable.
Nearly 2 and _ hours in length, Reflections of Evil is a dark,
intense, maddening, vomit-encrusted, yet whimsical Tinseltown
spoof. An exhausting romp through the streets of downtown
Los Angeles and Hollywood, following (when so inclined) the
exploits of Bobby, a vagrant fat man trying to sell watches
when not messily scarfing down handfulls of junk food. (a
statement about consumption of junk food in America?) We see
him harassed by street people (none of whom seem to be actors),
homeowners, homeowners’ dogs, drug dealers, junkies,
hostile blacks, and police. His encounters with the general
public are unnervingly realistic, with constant shouts of
"I'll fuckin KILL YOU" and "KILL THAT FUCKIN
DOG". Among the film’s many digressions and uncontinuitous
muck-ups are a hilarious goof on a 22 year old Steven Spielberg,
near-constant inserts from old 70’s films, and long,
gliding shots of a beautiful female ghost. Almost like the
justifiably criminalized Bumfights in reverse, Packard apparently
paid half of LA’s seriously threatening skid row to menace
him in broad daylight and it's a sight to behold. There’s
one montage of numerous black street people vomiting blood
on the sidewalk set to The Carpenters which made me laugh
extra hard. (also something sad and haunting about the reality
of this)
The film’s (and Packard’s obviously) obsession with
all aspects of the 1970’s is overbearingly obvious in
Reflections, and it makes for an even weirder experience.
Weirdest of all is how well he explains the 70’s element
at the end. Obviously, this was a very personal story for
him to tell, stemming from his childhood love of the movies
and television shows of that era. It’s frequently brought
up to the 90s and 00s too, with sharp looking with Natural
Born Killers-like morph effects (used effectively, which surprised
me) and TV coverage from the World Trade Center attack featuring
babbling John Ashecroft.
I like that Reflections is way too long, because it achieves
it’s atmospheric post-punch partly due to your weariness,
like most films which run over two hours. In this case, that
punch will definitely be felt more by Southern California
residents or ex-residents. Even if you haven’t lived
there in twenty years, Reflections brings it all back with
such vivid vileness, you’re left feeling like you’ve
had too much to drink and too much to snort at the Ruby Room
just off Hollywood Boulevard and missed the last bus back
to Glendale. I must be sick, because that feeling makes me
smile. I lived in Los Angeles for over two years, and watching
Reflections was like taking a drug soaked stroll down memory
lane. I always found the LA area, and SoCal in general, to
be a dangerous and extremely lonely place. The death-vibe
of LA is seductively strong, reeking of drug addiction and
defeat and pure, unadulterated malaise. This may make it interesting
as a nightmare rest stop for thrill seekers and voyeurs, but
it’s by no means a place for the easily spooked or easily
wounded. I observed LA from a pedestrian’s point of view,
which is a vastly different version than most car-owners of
the city might have.
In the end, I can’t decide if I miss LA or not, but Reflections
of Evil plays like a cross between Sunset Blvd., COPS, Jackass,
Miracle Mile, After Hours, and Gaspar Noe’s I Stand Alone.
(Are you baffled yet? Good. So am I. That just means you’ll
have to see this for yourself.) It’s a half-tribute/half-attack,
with a score stolen from other films. Reflections unabashedly
paints the right kind of portrait of the right kind of Hollywood,
that being the real one. If you’ve ever wondered what
it’s like to laugh, shiver, and puke at the same time-I
certainly have-then here’s your film.
Comments
from the Director of the Seattle Film Festival
about the screening
Hi,
Damon, Actually, I had to go run some errands for the second
half of the screening, but a good 70-75 minutes into it everyone
seemed thus far entertained and absorbed by it all! I was
quite pleased, needless to say. Especially as about half or
a little over half of the seats in the theater were filled
for the show! The only thing that disappointed me about the
screening was the fact that I hadn't been in the office all
day and discovered that you had graciously sent a box of DVDS
to be handed out at the screening. But I have thinking of
a list of local people who would greatly appreciate the film,
so I'm in the process of honoring your original
intention to some degree.
Also, a funny side note on the screening: Your soundtrack
is so powerful that at one point it got so loud, it sounded
as if godzilla were stomping around inside the theater (I
was out grabbing a bag full of popcorn in the lobby at the
time ). It was the scene of traffic just before your character
Bobby falls flat on his face on the asphalt! The projectionist
was in the next room in the office filing and she streamed
out wide-eyed in a panic to turn it down slightly as the whole
place was rocking -- I was laughing hysterically! -- and so
were many in the audience, I think! -- and those who weren't
laughing looked baffled or startled! Overall, a success! Also,
I mentioned your website to the audience before the picture
began.
Hope all is well in sunny L.A. Sunny L.A. sounds nice about
now...think it's time for a vacation. Thanks again for submitting
your truly UNDERGROUND and offbeat film! Keep in touch and
let us know of any future films you make!
Best,
Marc Burgio
This
was a response Dave at Bijouflix sent to Jim Belushi's assistant
(read
her & Mr. Belushi's response to receiving some copies
of Reflections)
Dear
Dena,
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dave Coleman.
I am one of the principal owners of BijouFlix Releasing, a
company specializing in distributing hard, obscure and cult
movies for enthusiastic customers worldwide.
Mr. Damon Packard has kindly forwarded me your below email.
While it is most unfortunate Mr. Belushi feels threatened
by Mr. Packard's guerilla marketing technique, I want to personally
assure you that though unorthodox by Hollywood standards,
Mr. Packard's intent was in no way designed to make Mr. Belushi
feel anything but entertained had he chosen to watch the free
DVD.
In an era of celebrity stalkers, terrorists here and abroad,
and a heightened sense of risk shared by all, we can certainly
understand Mr. Belushi's feelings of apprehension. In fact,
this is the sub-text in no small part to Mr. Packard's picture.
However threatening receiving free movies may be to Mr. Belushi,
I can sincerely vouch for the legal sanity of Mr. Packard
in large part, and if that is found, lacking by a court, definitely
for his creative genius.
Mr. Belushi was in no way the only person to receive personal
copies from Mr. Packard. In fact, such noted celebrities as
John Landis and Henry Rollins actually went on record with
favorable quotes for the picture after having received the
DVD from Mr. Packard at no charge. There were many others
but these were to just name a few.
As to the idea that receiving "junk mail" or the
like as qualifying for stalker status, I wonder: does Mr.
Belushi also consider the Penny Saver, AOL and the Los Angeles
Times subscription department stalkers? After all, they have
doubtlessly contacted him as many if not more times than Mr.
Packard, who by the way assures me from this point forward
to cease all contact with Mr. Belushi until such time Mr.
Belushi wishes to contact him (perhaps to offer Mr. Packard
a free DVD in return?).
In conclusion, we have always been big fans of Mr. Belushi's
work, and this is why I suspect Mr. Packard sent the DVD to
him. Given the labyrinthian conduits that prevent Mr. Belushi
and most other "managed" stars from ever seeing
a creative project save what is offered by their agent(s)
and manager(s) -- an all too typical fate -- we hope Mr. Belushi
will understand that the offer to entertain him was sincere
and not fanatic in nature.
With profound apologies,
Dave Coleman
And This is What an Apology Gets You!
Apparently Belushi emailed
Dave Coleman (at Bijouflix) back with some angry words and
Coleman struck back here is the transcript of their conversation:
Dave,
I saw it and I didn't like it. I considered it harassment
that you sent it to my home address multiple times - these
things are usually sent to agents. It creeped me out to receive
this type of mail at home - I try to keep my home address
as private as possible. I didn't like the movie and I didn't
like your wise-ass letter. I'm a supporter of independent
and cult films being in many of them myself. This marketing
approach is going to hurt you in this town, not help you.
I'm pissed off. Knock it off and please do not respond to
this e-mail.
Jim
Belushi
Mr.
Belushi,
Forgive me for responding when you asked me not to, but since
this is still (barely) a free country with free speech (and
I don't intend to defer to you in telling me what to say anymore
than I do Mr. Bush and his like), I want to reiterate:
I nor anyone at BijouFlix sent you the flick. We had
no prior knowledge of Mr. Packard having even sent it to you
was when your assistant emailed him and he forwarded it to
us! So as I tried to make clear to you: we did
not send you the flick, WE DID NOT SEND YOU THE FLICK, we
DID not SEND you the flick: Mr. Packard did. As
a favor. For your amusement. As for your privacy, you
would be far better off concerned with the Total Information
Awareness proposed by Mr. John Poindexter under the new Patriot
Act, which will nullify all of our collective rights to privacy,
even celebrities such as yourself. Under it, the federal
gov't. will know every credit card purchase you make, every
web site you visit, every email you send, every phone call
you make, every... point is, worrying about Mr. Packard sending
you a free movie is akin to worrying about a rain drop during
a time of flood, but again, Mr. Packard has assured me you
will never hear from him again. And might I add:
you have my promise to not hear from me again, either! Again,
my apologies for the actions of others and for my apologizing
for them in an attempt to bring a little understanding to
what was and is a misunderstanding. A little humor helps
when tensions are inflated, but when it's disparaged as you
have done, no one benefits. Thanks for your unsolicited advice
about what will help and hurt us "in this town."
I think your statement speaks for itself in terms of what
you define as a cult movie and what you define as being an
independent film in contrast with our own, in that we could
care less what "this town" this of us. With
apologies for bothering to apologize at all,
Dave Coleman
P.S. I do NOT have your private address nor any of your
private info. Frankly, Mr. Belushi, I wouldn't want
it even if you gave it to me, as I do not value having my
own known. That said, I again wish you would accept
at least Mr. Packard's apology for having offended you even
if you are not gentleman enough to accept my own.
P.S.S. Unlike yourself, I live in an open society.
Feel free to email me anytime, even when you hate the flix.
CLICK
HERE for
Chad's relay of celebrity calls he rc'vd at work during the
mass DVD campaign of 2002 (sorry
I still have to re-do this link, nobody ever says anything
about it so i haven't bothered)
Hello
there. My name is Ryan ********. I'm a film student at CSU
Long Beach (Spielberg's alma mater--although I don't recall
him actually setting foot on campus, and let's be honest,
Schindler's List can't be admitted as your thesis film because
it wasn't made while he was in the program--but anyway...)
I picked up a copy of Reflections of Evil which had been left
outside the widescreen film festival on campus. I must admit
that I, much like most of the other people you have encountered,
did not give it much credit, but being an avid fan of horror
and cult films, decided that anything with the word 'evil'
in the title might be worth a view, but still I didn't think
much of it in the beginning.
The first time I sat down to watch the film, I was with some
friends, and we were in no frame of mind to actually pay attention,
we just wanted a laugh. And we got several. I was left so
bemused by the first five minutes of that dvd that I can't
even explain it to you. The opening bit with the Tony Curtis
footage... hilarious. And the subsequent mattress ads... needless
to say I was rolling on the floor. But upon a second viewing,
while I was alone, and afforded the opportunity to get somewhat
further into the film (we had turned it off prematurely the
first time), I started to get a real sense of uneasiness.
I got as far as the cupcakes before I was drawn away by unforseen
circumstances. While I was thoroughly irritated with the sound
effects from the cupcake scene (an opinion which I have changed
my mind about recently), I was still feeling a very interesting
vibe from the movie that was somewhat magnetic.
Part
of this mystique had to do with the fact that this was a free
movie left by a tree in a parking lot. Who made this? Why?
How did something so seemingly INCREDIBLE get put on dvd and
have a rather ingenious cover art to boot? Why (aside from
serious licensing contravention's) has this film NOT rec'vd
any distribution?? This was what brought me back a third time
to the film. This time, with the one friend I have who could
sit through the whole of the film. About twenty or thirty
minutes in, my friend Matt decided that ROE was a solid two
star film. Another thirty minutes later, it had graduated
to three stars. Another half hour, four. And eventually, it
had earned a full five stars. I must tell you that very few
movies get five stars. The last film that earned five stars
was Battle Royale or Clockwork Orange. Yes, we had concluded
that your film was on par with, if not superior to Battle
Royale. I hope you realize what a compliment that is. I think
the magic of ROE is that it doesn't seem worthwhile until
you witness the whole thing. As you watch, it seems as though
the film is meandering, but after a hour and some, you start
to realize that there is some real genius at work. The extended
running length is daunting (we had remarked at the time that
it was an "endurance challenge"), but something kept us up
into the wee hours, mesmerized. And we were richer for having
done so. While I know for a fact that much of the film's scenes
could be tightened and cut down (or out completely), I'm not
sure that they should. There is a certain type of impact that
you make with ten minutes of dog barking that most filmmakers
are afraid to attempt.
I will probably never see another scene like it. Upon viewing
the entire picture, I understand what you had intended and
I realized how well you accomplished it, and I think you did
it brilliantly. I can see how viewers could be critical of
this motion picture, and really, who can blame them. It's
not for everybody. Another friend of mine who told me that
he hated it also admitted to sitting through the entire thing.
There's magic in that film. Anyway, I wanted to compliment
you on a job well done. Just by watching, it's evident that
enormous amounts of effort went into the making of this movie,
and I think it has all been worth it. You've truthfully done
a fantastic job and I wanted to congratulate you, since I
understand compliments are rare, and sincere compliments are
almost nonexistent. I also wanted to commend you on your DIY
filmmaking and distribution schemes. As a filmmaker I recognize
that you put in some effort, and you didn't play by the rules
of permits and copyright laws, etc. Awesome. There's so much
of that crap that drags down not only the production, but
your spirits and energy as well. The rules are set forth in
order to keep a very elite group of people in control of the
media, and let's be honest, they are the last people on earth
who should be in control of the media. That's why it's so
inspiring to see someone like you go out, make a film, and
distribute it, all without the help of studios and corporations.
It may have been a rough process, but you didn't whore yourself
out, which is good. It ads a purity to the film which shines
through in every aspect. Like I said, if everybody tried to
play by the rules, movies like this wouldn't get made. I'm
a strong advocate of all things DIY, and it's really empowering
to see a film like Reflections of Evil. If you had a budget
and studio backing, I fear that your film would get watered
down and lose it's charm somewhere in the bureaucratic mess.
Freedom is expensive, but it's satisfying in the long run,
I think. Let me know if I'm off base... Anyway, thanks a lot
for getting Reflections of Evil out there. I think it's a
truly great work, and I look forward to anything you may create
in the future. I graduate in May, and I live in Long Beach,
so if you want help with any part of your future projects,
let me know. I have some experience and I'll work for free.
Keep up the good work.
____________________________________________
When
I was given the chance to own this film I was under the impression
that it was a horror film from its title. At first I was very
confused watching the opening credits and then this man just
throwing up, then selling watches.ÊIt was not what I expected.
As I watched on I started to really get into it and I must
say that it is one of the most emotionally express fullÊworks
of artÊI have had the pleasure to view. In other words......
I loved it!ÊDamon Packard has a good style mixing the humor
with sadness and throwing that spontaneous blood spill into
theÊingredients. I am a song writer/singer/guitar player in
a band known only as the Units Of America, I was wondering
if you would mind if I wrote a song about this film, using
the same title. this film oddly moved me in ways I can not
explain. visit us at www.unitsofamerica.com respond if you
have the time.
see you later, Adam
--------------------
"My
Letter to in70mm.com lamenting the loss of 70mm prints"
The
old days are gone. One dang things for sure, if I am EVER
in the position, (as a Director) I would go so far to pay
for my own 70mm prints in a release situation, not unlike
James Cameron.
Let's face it, the powers running the film industry these
days could care less about such things, in fact nobody care's
about anything any more. The truly exciting days of cinema
and the theater experience are LONG dead and over. We're left
with commercially redundant, emotionally hollow products instead
of movies. Flash cuts, rap music, MTV editing and a bevy of
characterless, flavor of the moment hipster talent in place
of what used to be great actors. I hate to sound so extremely
pessimistic but I can't help but feel it's all over, the glory
days are gone. The planet is dying, not with a bang, but an
apathetic distillated whimper.
Packard
Has An Opinion Regarding
Jackson's Lord Of The Rings Trilogy
(The following was posted on
the IMDB.com site)
I
felt compelled to write my feelings about these films, particularly
after reading the endless roster of raving comments on the
IMDB. Really the average earth humans' sensibilities about
films these days astounds me. Am I the ONLY voice in the universe
who was miserably bored to death with this? Oh, no question
Jackson does a decent job with the VISUALS and the camerawork,
(well, sort of) The production value's are SUPERB (costume's,
set design, locations, etc) The casting is mostly well-suited,
save a few goofy looking elves and that placid King Denethor's
son. Although without Ian Mckellen I'm not sure we'd have
much. There are some spectacular moments, such as the final
epic "Helm's Deep" battle of Two Towers (extended
version) In my opinion by far the most impressive section
of the entire 3 films, and there are nice images and shots
spread throughout which do well capturing the organic ambiance
of the fantasy realm. Although Jackson's shooting style gets
somewhat annoying with it's redundancy of close-ups, reaction
shots, sweeping louma-crane and helicopter pass-overs.
But for the most part, lets face it, this is sheer tedium.
Uninspired banality, wooden acting and stilted dialogue beyond
any stilted-dialogue-movie ever made.
I never really fancied that a faithful adaptation of Tolkien's
books would necessarily make a great film. The story is too
spread out, complex, filled with beautiful language and prose,
landscapes and characters which may be magnificent as a series
of novels, but do not necessarily translate well in the world
of film. I don't know why people cannot grasp the basic concept
of books are books, movies are movies, they work in different
ways, and not all books translate well into movies.
And
as great as these books are we're still dealing with a story
written some 50-60 years ago with concepts and idea's we've
seen explored on film a million times already (Dragon creatures,
talking tree's, dog-beasts, snarling demon-warriors, epic
battles of sword wielding army's, never-ending close-ups of
characters with concerned wide-eyed face's,) Sheesus Chriist
I was in complete agony. I mean COME ON it's time for something
NEW and different! Doesn't ANYBODY out there have the ability
to write something with the intelligence and ambition of Tolkien
yet with FRESH NEW idea's?
What is so damned fascinating about sitting through 4 hours
of ultra-stilted dialogue and gravely concerned facial expressions?
They could basically re-title the films "Stilted Dialogue
and Concerned Facial Expressions: the movie" Just because
it's based on the mega-sacrosanct ((Tolkien)) doesn't mean
it's going to be so damned brilliant, let some new voices
shine on the screen, or how about more contemporary adaptations
of fantasy novels? Now don't get me wrong, I love fantasy,
the Tolkien novels are wonderful classic works, which is why
I felt compelled to write this. I'm NOT claiming I could do
any better or even hold up a candle to the writing skills
of a master like JRR. And for all my carping about "stilted
dialogue", I'm well aware this is basically the only
way to communicate in the fantasy genre, still I would point
to the writing in films like "Ladyhawke", "Excalibur"
and "Salome's Last Dance" as a better example. Frankly
given the chance I'd probably make the same mistakes, so who
am I to complain? I'm just providing my honest feelings about
these films, not saying I could do any better!
In any event, I just wish someone would do something really
interesting and uncompromising and different with the fantasy
genre. With the severely opposing interpretations of reality,
tastes and sensibilities other earth humans are experiencing
in this time period, I can say with certainty I'LL never get
a chance to make one so all i can hope for is another refreshing
vision. Sadly I fear it will never come.
(The following are notes from rather upset individuals
responding directly by email to the IMDB posting}
The
Internet gives every one a voice to speak their mind. But
your voice
about Two Towers SUCKS ASS... here is my voice.. FUCK YOU!!!!!
*--Sydney
After reading your review below, I have only one question
for you...
What is it like to live a life so barren and devoid of thrill
or imagination?"
"you sir, are an idiot, and should wiped off the planet
like Sauron"
Not
only are you the shadow
that is dancing on the wall, but you are the hand that makes
the shadow,
and you are the light.
Click
on this link to see more of Packard's movie reviews. Also,
the Reflections of Evil page is up on the IMDB, post your
comments, reviews.
other informative links, www.rense.com,
www.coasttocoast.com,
www.rumormillnews.com
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