Paramount wants to make some under-$100K movies

Read all about it at Filmmaker Magazine blog.

Dear Mr. Woods,...

Dear Mr. Woods (so that this letter will be slightly less weird, since we are both around the same age - within 10 years I think - I'll just call you Tiger from this point on, hope that's OK),

You've got both a personal & media problem at the moment, but, you probably should not quit golf, in fact, it is probably a good idea to get back into the game as soon as possible. Since your infidelity issue is probably not directly related to your work/golf, there is no good reason to let your work & the game suffer because of the other problem.

About the whole cheating on your wife thing: serious problem, but ultimately a matter to be resolved between you & your wife & kids. And beyond that, to be resolved by/within yourself, since ultimately you are the only one who can make radical changes to your behavior (and as shown by your mastery of a very difficult sport, I am sure you are more than capable of getting unwanted habits under control - after much work).

In fact, instead of giving up golf or taking a long break from it, you might want to take a break from sex, re-evaluate your relationship with it, and perhaps find healthier alternatives to cheating if you decide to go ahead with being a married man (of course in this current marriage that may not be entirely up to you). The other alternative is to become single, have as many girlfriends as you want (and of course honor your commitments & obligations to your current - perhaps soon to be X wife & the children).

Back to this whole issue of golf & sex/infidelity. The two do not have much in common. You've got a problem managing your private life, but you are an excellent golfer - so, while you work on repairing the damage in your private life, it may be helpful to continue with what you are very good at - golf.

That's just my take on it. Good luck with everything, don't beat yourself up too much about past mistakes - as humans everyone is vulnerable - as long as you fully own/accept your past mistakes & attempt to live better in the future, I am sure you & others will be able to forgive you.

I think that's about it Tiger. Get back to golfing, simplify your personal life/work on any past/recent mistakes, apologize & make amends to everyone that you feel is owed that, and take good care of yourself & your family - don't worry, do those things & things should work out well for you. You'll be back on top of your game & living a simple & happy life soon, if you do the required work.

- Sujewa

Hitler is disappointed by Tiger Woods

New article on making movies in Brooklyn

At New York Press, check it out.

New film blog

Started a new film blog - for all kinds of interesting movies from around the world (not just DIY or ultra-indie, broadening the horizons a bit), check it out.

WHALE update

Click on the pic for an update on Amir Motlagh's film Whale.

I very much like the craftsmanship on that movie - shot well, scored well, edited well - and done mostly by a one person crew (Motlagh himself), I'd like my next movie - fiction feature (Brooklyn Fantastic) - to be that well made - tech wise.

- S

Remaining Date Number One December screenings cancelled

Due to low attendance for the first week of screenings (2 screenings last week) & the large amount of time that would be required to do additional publicity work to increase the attendance level, I've decided to cancel the remaining 6 December screenings of DNO at Aeon Logic.

On the bright side, DNO DVDs will be available this month. So, anyone who wants to check out DNO will be able to do so on DVD.

Thanks!

- Sujewa

4 features/DVDs in 6 months: Date Number One, Unlimited Dreamtime, Indie Film Blogger Road Trip, Brooklyn Fantastic

Date Number One screenings are happening this month in Brooklyn & the DVD will be out this month. After that, I will make the film I shot & edited (mostly) as a 2 Week Film Project - Unlimited Dreamtime - available on DVD (January 2010). That same month will see Indie Film Blogger Road Trip - my '09 feature doc about blogging - on DVD. Following that, Brooklyn Fantastic will be completed & made available on DVD on or by May 2010 (still need to shoot 1/2 of that film & edit it). Those are the release plans for the next six months; December 2009 - May 2010.

Brooklyn Fantastic blog updated

Check out latest post here.

Unusual Place to Watch a Movie in NYC

New blog project - a list of indie film screenings at alternative venues (not movie theaters) in NYC. Check it out, submit info. on any relevant screenings that you know about.

http://alternascreeningsnyc.blogspot.com/

Date Number One screenings at Aeon Logic Art Gallery, NYC - December 2009

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12/8 Update: Dec 9 - 30 screenings cancelled

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DATE NUMBER ONE
a comedy about several first dates
a film by sujewa ekanayake
December 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 30
Every Wed & Fri of December (except Fri 12/25)
7 PM (doors at 6, opening act at 6:30)

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Aeon Logic Art Gallery
4 Malcolm X Boulevard
(Malcolm X & Broadway, Bed-Stuy, nearest subway: Kosciuzko Street on the J line, map)
Brooklyn, New York 11221

347.787.4626

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$5
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Event website: http://dnonyc1209.blogspot.com/

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About Date Number One:
A writer,
A ninja,
A woman who is working on saving the world,
and a guy who works at a bookstore
searching for love in
DATE NUMBER ONE
http://datenumberone08.blogspot.com/
A movie by Sujewa Ekanayake

Date Number One, a comedy about several first dates, is made up of 4 different stories: Story 1 - Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Story 2 - Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, about a ninja who goes on a blind date (ninja is played by John Stabb Schroeder from the DC punk band G.I.), Story 3 - A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, and Story 4 - The Superdelicious French Lesson, about a first date where a character learns a little bit of French in an unusual way. The movie has been discovered to be: "Witty" (GreenCine Daily), "Funny" (The Chutry Experiment), and "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy" (Hollywood Is Talking).
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Starring John Stabb Schroeder, Julia Stemper, Jennifer Blakemore, Shervin Boloorian, Dele Butler (formerly Dele Williams), Steve Lee, Kelly Ham AKA Kelly Ryan, Subodh Samudre, Jewel Greenberg
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Not Rated * 90 Minutes * yummy
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SCREENED AT: Goethe-Institut - Washington, DC (World Premiere, May 2006), Northwest Film Forum - Seattle (May 2006), Capital City Microcinema - Kensington, MD (June, October 2006 & March 2007), Sangha - Takoma Park, MD (July 2006), Pioneer Theater, New York City (August 2006), Warehouse Screening Room - Washington, DC (November 2006), The Armory - Kensinton, MD - 1 week run (July 2007), Jackie's - Silver Spring, MD (May 2008), Aeon Logic Art Gallery - Brooklyn, NY (February 2009)

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"Date Number One is quite funny...twentysomethings and occasional thirtysomethings looking for romance recall Richard Linklater's philosopher slackers and Jim Jarmusch's minimalist attention to conversation...also a subtle, thoughtful film...might be understood as the anti-Crash depiction of life in the city...depicts a comfortably multi-ethnic community...I'd happily recommend it."- Chuck Tryon, media professor & blogger,The Chutry Experiment blog http://chutry.wordherders.net/archives/005873.html
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"I found the characters and the premise sexy, sexy, sexy."- Jerry Brewington, Hollywood Is Talking blog, on Story 3 of Date Number One http://hollywoodistalking.com/Blog/508/
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"...witty...often inventive...and, even better, airy: characters are given time and space to spell out their views...views that never bear the artificial markings of a Hollywood screenwriter's compulsion to reduce them to sound-bites."- David Hudson, Editor, GreenCine Daily blog http://daily.greencine.com/archives/002353.html
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"FIVE really entertaining, fully realized romantic interludes...a shamefully rare achievement"- Tom Kipp, Seattle audience member,former film reviewer for Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger http://diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-with-seattle-audience-member.html
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"Heartfelt...poignant...I loved it!"- Jon Moritsugu, award winning filmmaker
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"...somehow, someway, in the end, the love of the characters, the positiveness of the film, and Sujewa’s disregard for conventions wins you over. The act of making this film wins you over. There is only a positive through line in this film, and that is rare to see, especially when dealing with characters in their late to early thirties."- Amir Motlagh, director of the popular '04 Atom Films' short Still Lover & upcoming feature Whale
http://stilllover.blogspot.com/2006/10/date-number-one-review.html
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Date Number One website & blog:
http://datenumberone08.blogspot.com/
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Event Contact: Sujewa Ekanayake, 240-354-3394, wilddiner@aol.com
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Thanks!

Final poster design for the Date Number One shows in December

Hope you had a warm & fuzzy Thanksgiving

If not, this might help a little:

Making of "Generation Kill"

Saw the HBO miniseries Generation Kill yesterday, enjoyed it (1/2 road trip movie & 1/2 war movie), here's a NY Times review & the making of video:

Carter at Anthology on Tue 11/24

Get all the info on the NYC indie film Carter & its screening on Tue 11/24 at Anthology Film Archives (& after party) here. A Carter trailer:

CARTER Festival Trailer from Ryan Balas on Vimeo.

Machan review at Sri Lankan Film Critics blog

While searching for stuff on Machan found this blog - Sri Lankan Film Critics - check it out.

National Economy

Interesting web page - National Economy - check it out.

Clip from My Dinner With Andre

Saw Machan (awesome) :: View review quote & link

Just saw the Italian/German/Sri Lankan illegal immigration & sports adventure comedy-drama Machan (not in the best possible viewing formats, and it has not been made available in the US yet, so, will post US release info when I find it) - liked the movie a lot; flick's got a lot of surprisingly funny & achingly sad moments that come out of nowhere (anyone who knows a bit about recent events in Sri Lanka will feel some pain in one unexpected scene in act 3) - altogether an excellent story of the modern times. Anyone who wonders about illegal immigration should see this movie (also, the question not discussed in the movie is why people will try anything to get out of some countries & perhaps some ways those countries can improve life for their citizens so that they won't vote with their feet - but that is another story for another movie). Anyway, check out Machan when you get a chance, here is a review quote from View, a UK site:

"The Good

Pasolini's direction gives the film a documentary-like realism that works well; he also gets extremely naturalistic performances from a terrific ensemble cast made up of non-professionals and first-time actors. De Chickera and Dias make a likeable central duo and there's strong support from Mahendra Perera as local crook Ruan, who comes up with a few last-minute solutions when everything seems lost.The script is excellent, balancing moments that are laugh-out-loud funny with poignant, moving and emotionally resonant scenes that touch on the themes of family, male pride and the men's desperate hunger for the opportunity to work and support a family.

The Great

This is, in many ways, a sort of Sri Lankan version of The Full Monty, with an unlikely group of men undertaking something they know nothing about in order to regain a sense of self-worth. As a result, there are several wonderful scenes and the final act is delightful."

Read the rest at the View.

Also, the Sri Lankan slang word "machan" would best translate to America as "dude" or "bro" - a term of friendship (usually).

I'll have to add Machan to somewhere near the top of my "favorite movies of all time" list - up there with Amelie & Mystery Train.

- Sujewa

Found official website for Machan (but no US release plans mentioned)

Here's the site that seems to be the official website for Machan (being released in Europe & Asia, but I do not see any US release plans there yet).

Machan might be the next Slumdog Millionaire or The Full Monty

So says reviewer Shoard in Guardian (i think the flick opens in the UK tomorrow) - read the brief review here.

The Fabulous Picture Show discusses Machan

Machan trailer (in German)

Machan review link

About a new flick about a group of people from Sri Lanka who impersonated a handball team to slip into Germany illegally - sounds very interesting, looking forward to checking it out - here's the link to the Guardian review of the flick.

Does the universe care about the agnostic or is salvation only for the believers? An answer here.

Many teachers & advocates of various religions want you to believe that benefits may come to you from the universe (all of creation, or all of existence, or all of existence personified by a god figure or gods) if you were to believe in their path & commit to living by their recommended guidelines.

No way to know if any of them are telling the truth since we (humans) do not know - yet - for certain exactly what the universe is (what it is made of, how various parts relate to each other, origin, etc.) & how humans may or may not be significant to the universe/all of existence.

However, the following is true:

- each human is a part of the universe/existence - definitely physically, & maybe in other ways if any other ways exist

And thus, the following may be true:

- since each one of us is a part of the universe, and all manner of life has shown self-interested behavior (behavior aimed at the preservation or for the benefit of oneself) - it is possible that if the universe is sentient (aware of itself in a human like or beyond/greater than manner) & is able to behave - ultimately - as one organism - that it may, in fact, care about each human or is aware of each human (and might even assist humans) - since humans appear to be one of the most interesting & capable aspects of the universe (at least on Earth).

Since, at the moment, the above item cannot be verified, if it is useful for an agnostic, I think it would be fine for them to establish the creative device of a "personal relationship" with the universe. As long as they are also aware that it may just be a self-created mental device/tool & that they probably should not gamble on things because of the existence of that idea/practice within themselves.

- Sujewa