James Cameron

The most successful filmmaker of our time started somewhere: XENOGENESIS.

As a guest at a recent taping of The Jay Leno Show, I heard James Cameron talk about his earliest experience in the world of film.  The episode aired last night at 10.

After years as a machinist and truck driver, he claims to have maxed out his wife’s credit card to make a short film  in his living room.  The film was inspired by the recent release of Star Wars, in which Cameron recognized a world that reflected many of his own ideas.  The short is both amateur and inspired, a machinist’s take on the sci-fi genre.  Even though the human element is underdeveloped, the old-school robot fight is almost exciting, and foreshadows Cameron’s creation of THE TERMINATOR.

Xenogenesis got him “a gig” working for Roger Corman, the most prolific B-movie producer of all time.  His first feature directing gig was a gem: 1989′s PIRANHA PART II: THE SPAWNING.  The film was basically a JAWS ripoff involving a mutant strain of killer fish that originate from a sunken fighter ship.  I recommend the article Bad Acting, Boobies and Blood… James Cameron’s First Film. Then his first script, THE TERMINATOR, was produced.  And the rest is history: ALIENS, T2, TRUE LIES, TITANIC and AVATAR.  Those are just the highlights.

To learn that he was at one time a very normal person encourages those of us who have big dreams and humble realities.  But wouldn’t machining be fun too?

New Media

Where is entertainment technology going?  It is the question of questions in this industry.  The major studios were built to control their markets, but digital distribution is evolving uncontrollably.  Studios have begun to jockey for a position at the front of the wave in order to reap from the new media, and they all know that streaming content is the future.  Check out the pro-viral docu-stat-video below.

Fox’s answer to the entertainment media crisis:

A division of Fox Television Studios, 15 Gigs produces and distributes webisode series(es?) via Hulu and YouTube.  It also serves as a concept incubator, allowing shows to find their voices (and audiences) before graduating them to standard TV platforms.  But most importantly it establishes Fox’s place in the digital space (race).

It produces and distributes webisodes of original programming: currently TEASE (about strippers), WHEN NINJAS ATTACK (an amateur ninja gameshow), THE SKINNY (cynical, irrelevant news), SLACKER PI (slackers plus action), SINGLEDOM (slackers in Hollywood), THE ICEMAN CHRONICLES (who-done-it comedy) and BLACK 20 (funny, with no continuity).  The shows are clearly meant to hit the “connected” audience (read: tween slackers).  15 Gigs probably spends less on marketing than on office supplies: it’s all digital, basically following Twitterers, linking with bloggers, friending Facebookers, doing whatever people do on MySpace, etc.

It’s a good start, like Sony’s Crackle, but it has a ways to go.  I’m sure we will see more from the slower studios in the coming months (or years).  But by that time 15 Gigs may have evolved into something of real value.

Best Actor

Sunday night at the Golden Globes, Jeff Bridges won Best Actor for his performance in CRAZY HEART.  In other words, Sunday night at the Golden Globes, George Clooney did not win Best Actor for his performance in UP IN THE AIR.

Nuff said.