Log Cabin Plans

I'm sorry.. aside from the movie's effect itself.. The Natrual is NOT magical.. there are no FX to really dissect and .. well that's kind of my point. Alot of special features on the BIG films are about demystifying the next level special fx.

BUT for me some of the BEST special features have been about the actual movie.. or maybe a post film round table discussion. If you look at the View Askew model for “special features”, they are quite well done.

They have almost always (aside from Zack and Miri which was a disappointment) had a very very entertaining commentary track and on several had more than one.. leaving one for more a seriously tuned commentary.

But I would LOVE to have seen something with Kubrick on some of his films discussing them (that'd never happen but still). Or maybe interviews with Arthur C. Clarke on 2001.. what does it mean? maybe a round table of prominent sci-fi authors debating the films themes?

Its not ALL about bit special fx.. sometimes you just want to hear the stories behind it.. like Robert Rodriguez's book “Rebel without a Crew”.

Or I actually LIKE the fact that on “Remember the Titans” you can hear the two REAL LIFE characters reflecting on the movie adaptation.

as much as I respect Redford, Allen and Speilberg for their efforts in cinema.. I don't NEED to know how they filmed the mothership in Close Encounters.. but special features can be something else? what do they remember? the cast? the crew? how do they feel about the movie THIRTY years later?

What was the impetus behind Indiana Jones.. what other ideas did they have that never came about? The one CLIP they showed of Tom Selleck was one of the MOST interesting special features I've seen in the Indiana Jones series..

It's not all about de-mystifying a film.. if done right.. its about embracing it.. remembering it.. and thinking .. wow how HARD was that.. but look what we did!! I don't think SOME filmmakers get that and just see it as a way to just steal their methods.. when sometimes what we really want is just a little insight into how it went down.. look at the doc on Pulp Fiction for example.. was a great one.

and while it may go off the rails. the documentary “Empire of Dreams” for Star Wars.. and the “In the Beginning” for Episode I.. I never cared for how they did all the digital modeling.. but how the characters came to be.. yes. how the films's almost didn't get made? yes.

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Magician Mat Ricardo writes in regarding this morning's post showing a motorcycle (seemingly) pulling the tablecloth out from beneath a very long table's-worth of place settings: “Here's what I do – for 20 years-ish I've been finishing nmy cabaret act by putting the tablecloth back on the table, underneath all the stuff. Took me years to invent, and I'm the only person in the world performing this trick. Maybe I need to get out more, but what can I say – it's a living!”

You can see the gag around 2:15 in the video, but it's well worth watching the whole thing. I was gutted to learn that I missed Mat last weekend when I took the kid down to Covent Garden in London to see the performers, but I'm looking forward to catching his act next time we head down.

Mat Ricardo showreel

(Thanks, Mat!)