The Oden Opinion

Alright kids.  I'm back on YouTube and looking for subscribers.  You guys interested?  I sure as heck would be if I were you.  Check me out at my channel link here.  I just posted a YouTube video on there today as well.  You can check that out here.

Solitude: Creature Design

Solitude, a feature film that I have discussed before on this blog, is still in pre-production.  Starting July 9th, we will start principle photography on the film.  Our goal is to get half of this film in the can by mid August, then finishing the rest of it in January due to wanting winter surroundings in the scenes.  A creature is being created for this horror feature, created by Livingston Oden and being brought to life by our head in special effects, Darla Edin.  Below are a few conceptual designs of the creature.  Each drawing is what will be seen on film this summer, only showing part of the creature to give you a taste of whats to come at the end of the film.  Tell us what to think by commenting and check out our website for the film at: Solitudefeaturefilm.com.  You can also visit out facebook page by clicking here for updates.

If you would like to contribute to our film in some way, they is a donate page where you can give a few dollars to make this film a proud member of the horror genre.

Check Out The Solitude Feature Film Site.

Hey gang.  Been a little bit since I've been on here but been busy with life in general.  We just created a new and improved website for the film we will be filming over the summer.  If you would like to check it out please go to:  www.solitudefeaturefilm.com. 

We're also taking donations through PayPal if you would like to donate a few bucks to help us make this movie bigger and better.  You can find that page for donating by clicking here  We're cutting the movie in half, filming the first part of it this summer and the rest of it over the winter.  We believe it will make the film better in the long run.  Check out the site and stay tuned for more updates.

Independent Film Needs A Budget

Taylor Olson, a friend of mine and I, Livingston Oden, are developing a film called Solitude.  Solitude is a tribute to horror films of the last 75 years.  Most of the story takes place in present day but we follow the story of a family across a 75 year period, all taking place on a piece of property outside the town of Solitude.  On this property, an evil presence terrorizes the family and the people of the town.  The main character, James, soon finds out about the property after his mother passes.  He reads diaries, journals, police reports, rummages through drawings and photos.  Everything he learns from these items tell a story.  Each story is a short film based on an event that took place on the property and will look as if it were filmed in the time frame.  All of these stories will flow together to make a feature film.

We're currently in pre production, but we need help in order to get a budget.  We launched an Indiegogo campaign a day ago, which is in need of some attention.  The Indiegogo campaign link is at the bottom of this article.  We, the filmmakers, are far from popular when it comes to the mainstream.  Lately we've seen campaigns from popular actors and directors launch a kickstarter in order to gain funding for their pet project.  Most recently was the Kickstarter campaign for the feature film Veronica Mars, a popular television series that went off the air a few years ago.  Within a day the campaign reached its goal of two million dollars, and still had 29 days to go to gain much more funding.  This is all possible due to the fact that they have fans and an audience to give them this opportunity.  We don't have millions of fans.  What we do have is the dream to create something that we think many would love, something thats different than what most see in the theater today. 

Taylor Olson and I both graduated from film school a year and a half ago and both of us have had a hard road to travel to get work.  Like most people in this country, we have struggled to climb the latter of the industry we're most passionate about.  The issue we have in reaching the top are the obstacles that have been placed in front of us, but that's not stopping us in reaching the goals we'd like to achieve.  What we're asking is a little help.  I believe that we can reach the budget and beyond if we can get the word out on our project.  If we can get the chance, we know we won't let you guys down in making a project that would make us and everyone involved proud to be a part of.  You can see more information on our project at either our website for the film here, or you can visit our facebook page here.

Here's our Indiegogo campaign:  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solitude-feature-film/x/3132990

Lynne Ramsey: A Director Walks Away

Director Lynne Ramsey was a no show for the first day of shooting on Jane Got A Gun, an independent drama produced by its star, Natalie Portman.  I'm sure the majority of everyone in the mainstream audience has no idea who Lynne Ramsey is, nor would I expect you too.  She's a 1995 film graduate from UK's National Film and Television School.  She's made several short films but gained critical acclaim from an independent film starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly called We Need To Talk About Kevin.

 Now typically I wouldn't write about someone like Lynne Ramsey.  Word around the street is, she's a egotistical director whose very difficult to work with.  I don't normally write things like that because it sounds a lot like gossip, but when it comes from several different sources it tends to be true.  Why I am writing this you ask?  Well for a couple reasons.  One!  I'm someone who graduated from film school a year and a half ago whose aspiring to be a director.  Someone who leaves their crew high and dry on the first day of filming after everyone spent months planning on making a film, is just plain wrong.  No matter how stressed, angry, mad, bitter, or even stubborn you are, you just don't walk away.  Its like if Christopher Columbus decided to jump ship in the middle of searching for the new world, leaving the first mate in charge with no charts, compass, or any kind of navigation to find their way as he paddles back home.  You just don't do that.  Two!  As someone wanting to be in the business, it angers me when someone is given an opportunity and they flush it down the toilet.  I would love someone to call me and tell me, Hey, you wanna shot?  I would give it my all.  Lynne Ramsey took that and basically walked away.  I know there are two sides to every story and her side hasn't been told yet.  But whatever her side of it is, I seriously don't think it will be a valid reason to bail on everyone working on the film. 

After she didn't show, Jude Law left the role he took over after Michael Fassbender left due to a conflicting schedule from another film. 

Scott Steindorff, a producer on the film, had this to say about Lynne to Deadline:

“I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast.  I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in, and a replacement is imminent.”

Gavin O'Conner, director of Warrior and Miracle, has stepped in to fill Ramsey's position and will begin as early as tomorrow.

In all honesty I hope that Lynne Ramsey gets no shot at doing another film in Hollywood.  At the moment, I'm in the process of doing my first feature.  It's not an easy task to create a film, it does take a lot of planning and dedication.  It also takes a crew of people to help you and a cast to bring it all to life.  I wish I did get a hand out to help in my project, but life isn't always so giving.  Hopefully I'll make it, but until then I'll just have to watch as others kill the opportunities given to them.

If anyone is interested in my project, please go to www.facebook.com/solitudefeaturefilm.

The Bible: Trending in Film.

Lately, news has struck on the coming of biblical films that are set to be filmed in the next couple years.  The first in the line of bible themed stories is Noah, a Russell Crowe starring vehicle based on the Ark building savior of all life on earth.  Of course the first real beginning to this spiritual road starts with the television docudrama airing on the History channel, simply named The Bible.  Produced by Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, The Bible is a collection of the most popular stories ranging from Moses to the life of Jesus.  News broke yesterday of Ridley Scott's plans on a retelling of Moses and his journey to free his people and bring Gods law to the land, and the possibility of Christian Bale in the lead role has brought much more attention to the project.  Warner Bros. is also planning a film on the life of Moses with the working title Gods and Kings.

So what brought on the sudden trend of stories told from the Bible to be made into feature films?  Its been decades since we've seen a film in theaters based on any story in the Bible.  There have been made for television mini-series that did little to peak the interest of the masses, and the Bible seems to be least popular today than it was twenty years or so ago.  If you look at the best selling book of all time though, you'll see great tales of action, suspense, drama, and love.  Every story has a great lesson to learn and a beautiful message to be told.  Anyone would be a fool not to dive back into those stories and put a modern touch to a beloved chronicle of the makings of a religion.

The History Channel has been doing well with telling stories of our history, all beginning with there first miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.  Now, The Bible, a docudrama that premiered a couple weeks ago, is setting ratings records and showing everyone that there is still a massive audience for these kinds of stories.  Every ten years or so we walk into new territory or dust off what we once loved.  The dawn of the comic book movie broke records at the turn of the century and is still going strong, maybe the Bible is next in line, but its still to soon to tell.

New Art.

I've recently picked up the welder and torch again, slowly building things and making a small inventory so I can sell the things I create.  My first creation, a rose made from left over scrap metal from a 55 gallon drum and a wire shelf.  What do you guys think?

 

 Check out my website at LivingstonOden.com and also go to www.facebook.com/solacefeaturefilm to check out updates on my first feature film.