The Closer She Gets -- Now on Youtube

Today is my mother's birthday.
She would have been 71 years old.
It's amazing to think about that.
71 years old.
She'd be a grandma. She'd  be lively. And she'd still be proud of her boys.

But that's not how the world worked.

Instead the time has come to officially release my award-winning feature documentary "The Closer She Gets", about my mother's battle with cancer.

The movie has screened at festivals like Slamdance over the years. It has been shared on DVD with folks who asked for it, or at private screenings. And now I'm going to put it out there into the world on YouTube.

I have to admit, this has been a difficult thing for me to do. This isn't a movie you watch in pieces. Or something you casually have on in the background while you're checking email. And I've been worried that people will watch it that way. That they won't take 90 minutes of their lives to meet my Mom and understand how wonderful life and love can be. And how terrible.

I hope that you'll set aside some time to watch it. To leave your comments. To know my Mom.
She was the most amazing woman. She taught me so much. And I wouldn't be half the person I am today if not for her love and support.

So grab some kleenex, and a warm blanket, and take a journey with us... I know you'll be glad you did.

 

UNTITLED Film Production 1 Project -- Craigoclassic 22

In fact it does have a title... sort of.
"Goodbye". Or is it "no time for Goodbye". That's probably a better one.
This was for film production 1. It was shot on 16mm reversal film. Anyone remember that?
This meant you shot it, they developed it and sent it back to you and that was ALL YOU HAD. No negatives, no reprints. You screw it up, it's screwed up. I still have this, and the other 16mm film prints in cases in my house. I haven't seen them in that format since college, which is too bad because they looked great (compared to the crappy video transfer here). Oh well.

I challenged myself to make a film that looked like it was sync sound, but we shot it with non-sync film equipment. There's some appearances of some of my college favorite actors, Nikki DeSalle and Mike Ford. Clearly influenced by Evil Dead, hopefully it gives you a bit of a creep out.

I remember the teacher saying I hands down had the best film in class. So that tells you something about how good the films were, I'd say. :)

I paid off my student loan so.... Here's the College films!

Yep Team, I paid off the student loan!
yahhhhhooooooooooo!!!!

So in honor of that momentous and 15+ year adventure, I'm going to post the rest of my college films here with a little bit about them. It might be one entry. It might be a couple entries. I'm not sure, but I stalled out posting the craigoclassic's and now it's time to finish. Because I'm SURE you are all waiting with baited breath.

I can assure you this. MOST of the films from my University of Iowa days are better than the home video style stuff from the first section of this series. Most of them. :)

Without further ado:

THE FOOT...










Okay, so ironically, the first one is a home video style. Ha ha ha.
It's silly. It's screwing around back in Dallas one summer during college. Chris Borden's memorable turn as a fierce assassin has given him a nickname for the ages. And the car chase... MAN this shit is crazy! It might be the best car chase ever filmed. I'm not kidding. The French Connection has got nothing on this.

And it also has many references to such hits as "Army of Darkness" and our favorite B Movie of all time, "ROTOR". Oh yeah. Get ready to get rocked!

(Okay, I'll do one post for each video).

JURASSIC PARK 3D... Hell Yeah!

I saw JURASSIC PARK in 3D at the Dome...
and I have to say:  HELL YEAH!

 


That is what summer blockbusters are all about. The f/x are Flawless even 20 years later. It still fills with wonder and terror. 

The 3D looked great. I'm glad they did such a good job on it. I would choose to see it in IMAX if I were to do it again, as the dome's curved screen and choice of 3d systems adds some weird ghosting at times. But still, it was really cool. The raptors and the t-rex were so real!

The sound was also great. Though as good as the sound was, it wasn't like the Northpark in Dallas, TX in 1993. When the T-Rex walked, the seats actually vibrated. You felt the air rush past your head. Man I miss that place.

It made me so happy to see it, to take that journey again. To believe in the power of movies, and the wonder of the world...

...and it also makes me a little sad to think how many of the great people that created it are no longer with us (the great Stan Winston and Michael Crichton), or have fallen so far in their accomplishments (Spielberg) (I'm sure some will debate this, but for me he hasn't made a great movie in so long. And there used to be nothing more exciting than the words "A Steven Spielberg film" on a poster.)

It's sort of like Richard Attenborough's character. I felt so sorry for him. His dream was so big and he wanted to give joy so much, but in the end nature (and life) has other plans. Even so, for 2 hours Dinosaurs lived in 1993. And for 2 hours they lived again tonight.

Awesome.