"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Monkey]

Welcome Cliff!!!

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Piss on screen shot zealots all you want, but I think that shot at Josh is unwarranted and should be reconsidered.

I don't.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

Dave Klein wrote me a detailed accounting of his involvment with the new CHASING AMY transfer, which I've posted (with his permission) in that thread at AVS:.......

Incidentally, Dave has just been invited to join the ASC, a great honor! Congrats, Dave!

Vincent

It indeed is , and for local fans looking to rub shoulders and pose questions to some of the best D.P.s in the business, might I recommend attending the Open House normally given every Feb. For example, this was the spiel for last year’s event –

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) will host their annual open house here on Saturday, February 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Mole Richardson (925 North La Brea Avenue, Hollywood). The open house is held in conjunction with the ASC Outstanding

“The open house is a unique opportunity for current and future filmmakers, fans and journalists to meet the ASC award honorees and nominees from around the world, along with other members of our organization in an informal environment,” says ASC President Daryn Okada.

Participants in the open house are expected to include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Jack Green, ASC (UNFORGIVEN, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY); International Achievement Award recipient Donald McAlpine, ASC, ACS (MOULIN ROUGE!, ROMEO + JULIET); Career Achievement in Television Award recipient Robert F. “Bobby” Liu, ASC (LOU GRANT, FAMILY TIES); and Presidents Award recipient Isidore Mankofsky, ASC (SOMEWHERE IN TIME, THE BURNING BED).

Other participants are expected to include ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nominees. Nominees in the feature film category are Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (Revolutionary Road and The Reader), Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF (Slumdog Millionaire), Chris Menges, ASC, BSC (The Reader), Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Wally Pfister, ASC (The Dark Knight). The nominees in the episodic television category are Nelson Cragg (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Ousama Rawi, CSC, BSC (The Tudors), Stephen Reizes, CSC (Flashpoint), Gale Tattersall (House M.D.), and Glen Winter, CSC (Smallville). Nominees in the television movie/mini-series/pilot category are Oliver Bokelberg, BVK (My Own Worst Enemy), Michael Bonvillain, ASC (Fringe), Jon Joffin (The Andromeda Strain), Kramer Morgenthau, ASC (Life on Mars), and David Stockon (Eleventh Hour).

ASC is also scheduling a series of seminars with the nominees on a first come, first serve basis:
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. — Regular Series Nominees
12:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. — Pilot/Movie of the Week Nominees
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. — Special Achievement Award Honorees
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. — Feature Film Nominees
For more information about the open house and parking, please contact the ASC at (323) 969-4333 or visit www.theasc.com. (Note: participation based on availability)

*Screenshot scientists* are also welcome to attend and, based on their experience , they can, in person, teach every member of ASC in attendance how to shoot motion pictures and follow the film through the digital intermediate process for the best presentation possible, esp. to procure a highly valued Tier 0 rating on some provincial PQ threads.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

My team has been very much in the loop. Gordon is an incredibly deserving recipient. While his darker work may be difficult to bring to data, he's an extraordinary gentleman, and dream to work with. We could not have brought The Godfather(s) back without him, nor would we have wished to.

RAH

hah!
Gordi may be a gentleman now but, seems that back during his active cinematography days he was quite the ‘candid’ character.
Listen to the videoclip of Caleb’s toasting……or should I say ‘roasting’ of Gordon during the Awards Dinner on Sat. night via the AMPAS link I posted yesterday.

Gordon, I know that you either read this thread directly or else read vis-à-vis my post(s) that RAH has e-mailed you in the past, so if you’re listening now -
Here’s a BIG Congratulations to you from all of us at Blu-ray.com

Well done ………and you personally remind me of Leon Shamroy , or at least what I’ve read about him (before my time).

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

(and please don't get into a "his not at M$" anymore bullshite... go debate the arguments, rather than piss on the messenger, insider or no)

Sounds very noble shark but, reality has shown repeatedly over time that “debating” some people over there is about as productive as “debating” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about the Holocaust.

[Jeff Kleist]

I sent you something too Cliff

The only insiders really left on the forum at that point were Microsoft plants - amirm, sspears, etc. and they all left swiftly after the end of the format war, leaving nothing in place to bring back the old, knowledgeable membership.

I don't think it's fair to lump Stacey Spears in with Amir. Yes, he helped develop VC-1 and worked there, but the person I've talked to is certainly no Amir

And Amir bashing? Really? Two posts after somebody decried the trashing of indiders even if you disagree with them?

Amir trashed plenty of insiders in his day, and used his insider knowlege of who people were who were posting anonymously to taunt them and pull back the curtain a bit. While Blu-ray insiders were greatly limited by what they could say and do by their employers and the bounds professional conduct, amir had a license to kill (which was eventualy taken away from him, after he'd poisoned 90% of the wells in Hollywood). Amir lied, and lied, and lied, and twisted, and manipulated and threw crap grenades. And now I think he's working at some streaming-related startup as well (I don't know for sure, it's hazy)

Streaming is most viable in the form that people like Comcast almost certainly want it, that is local server hubs tha push it out (the video game OnLive streaming system would almost certainly work like this in practical application). That's a big reason why they're after Uni and were after MGM, to give themselves a huge library of titles to put on-demand, AND to go for this high-dollar day-one PPV angle.

IMO screwing with the theaters is a biiig mistake. While tossing in the $30 PPV rental 8 weeks after theatrical might be practical, especially for large families, they need to be very careful with which movies they choose to do that with, and how close they are to theatrical release.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Eternal_Sunshine

Yeah, Amir bashing. What you still don't want to acknowledge is that there was a very substantial difference between BD insiders like Penton and Paidgeek and main HD-DVD insider Amir: they told the truth and he lied, repeatedly, on purpose, spreading FUD left, right and centre.

That sums it up perfectly in one sentence.

Unfortunately though (for new or uninformed members....or those suffering from selective memory loss), on the internet, unlike in real life, people are seldom held accountable for their past indiscretions.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by blindcat87

Yes, welcome Cliff. Would love to have another industry insider posting here.

And hi Penton, haven't had anything relevant to post, but I'm always reading and keeping up with your latest great info, commentary and of course mad youtube skills.

Yesterday, I posted one, which I think is a goodie , on RAH’s Insider’s thread.
Check somewhere near the top of the last page over there.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Cliff

Wow, I had no idea that all of this was going on over here. As the original author of the stuff over at AVS, I have to say that I have been simultaneously not surprised/completely floored by the ever-increasing resistance to learning anything over at AVS. As a forum, they used to house a lot of great insiders and first-hand knowledge, but somewhere along the way, they allowed their arrogance to just completely sully that benefit. Pretty much anyone with a modicum of actual experience has long since been run off by the villagers with their digital torches.

What they don’t seem to get (and I’ve tried to warn them over and over again- including the mods –AND THE OWNER, David Bott-) is that AVS’s credibility within the industry now stands at pretty much zero. They went from being a wonderful site that studios read, reacted, and occasionally even responded to, to garnering nothing more than an eyeroll and a groan at the mere mention of ‘AVS’ from pretty much every studio person I know.

I’ve said it before, but AVS’s problem was that they bred and encouraged (through silence and lack of action) a community where it was more important to be ‘right’ than to be ‘correct.’ I’ve had people tell me I was absolutely incorrect about things I was in the room for (despite me stating that I was ‘in the room’ when said decision was made). I know a few of those people have made their way to Blu-ray.com, but hopefully the death of the format war has mellowed them out a bit.

I’ll continue to post here and leave AVS behind if you guys want me to. I feel like, given their arrogance and genuine lack of interest in learning anything beyond the limit of their own opinions, they don’t really deserve the participation of guys like Penton Man, Vincent, or myself. Some of the guys over there (including what I consider the Illuminati behind AVS’s slow suicide… AlexBC, eric.exe, Kram Sacul, Xylon, and a couple others I won’t mention by name because I think they’re members over here) don’t seem to be able to better themselves through an increase of knowledge and respectability, so they accomplish it via bringing other people down. They’re just too busy trying to play ‘gotcha’ and prove good and knowledgeable people wrong and I have neither the time nor the temperament to engage in that.

And for those who wonder, I’m a Blu-ray special features producer.

Bolding ^ by moi.
A classic song for a classic post. I think Cliff’s boots just started walkin!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRkovnss7sg

Welcome Cliff!
Don’t hesitant to contribute your thoughts here, which I guarantee, will be appreciated by intelligent, unbiased folks.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I don't think it's fair to lump Stacey Spears in with Amir.

Stacey is, and always has been a stand-up guy.

[Penton-Man]

Heads-up doctorossi, Vincent P. and also those of similar cinephile sentiments as tomorrow tonight is the television premier of No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos. Two other cinematographic greats, who like Gordon Willis are/were Masters.

Check your local listings……………
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Heads-up doctorossi, Vincent P. and also those of similar cinephile sentiments as tomorrow tonight is the television premier of No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos.

Awesome, Penton! Thanks a million! I wasn't even anticipating a broadcast deal for another few months. The PVR will be set.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Stacey is, and always has been a stand-up guy.

Couldn't agree more. Stacey has contributed so much to home video behind the scenes and continues to offer considerably to the Blu-ray format with his outstanding test disc and video expertise.

Welcome to the fold Cliff, glad to see you here!!

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Josh was a red warrior, besides Penton didn't say anything bad about him really.

(want proof btw? read back issues of Home Theater magazine where he laments the death of HD DVD in one column, then takes the BDA to task in another)

He's mellowed of course, but we all know he wish Toshiba had won...

It wasn't even that he was a red warrior, just the way he interacted with us inferior non pro critics at sites like AVS/Highdefdigest.. Of course it doesn't hurt that his reviews are pretty craptastic.. Go read his Traffic review (DVD quality yet 3 stars on HD DVD)...

Every once in a while he gets something right, I gave him credit

[Esox50]

Penton,

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-M...-Blu-ray/7189/



-Esox

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Esox50

Penton,

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-M...-Blu-ray/7189/



-Esox

Can't wait for this one...fun movie.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Awesome, Penton! Thanks a million! I wasn't even anticipating a broadcast deal for another few months. The PVR will be set.

I’ll see if I can get James to stop in here to say word or two on his film…..if I can pry him loose from Ghost Whisperer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460644/)

In the meantime, this will have to suffice as a prevue………
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joanna-...nning-director

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I don't think it's fair to lump Stacey Spears in with Amir. Yes, he helped develop VC-1 and worked there, but the person I've talked to is certainly no Amir

Well, Amir's in a class of his own. I only mention Stacey Spears because he appeared as an insider right in the thick of the format war and added a pro-VC-1 voice on the board (which, given the environment, was quickly twisted into other contexts, but I'll allow that wasn't his fault).

On the whole, though, I have no problem with Stacey Spears - just a problem with the company he works for and its methods.

Amir trashed plenty of insiders in his day, and used his insider knowlege of who people were who were posting anonymously to taunt them and pull back the curtain a bit.

What's funny is that the one time he tried to "out" an insider, he didn't get his facts straight and guessed wrong (at least, I'm pretty sure he did).

All water under the bridge at this point, but some of us have long memories of that rather unpleasant time on those forums.

[sharkshark]

Yes. Unpleasant. And I'm being put into a position once again defending other people's posts, so I'll not fall for that again. I've commented before about my views regarding these so-called lies, and a cursory search will find how well those discussions worked out.

Suffice it to say, I think that pissing on ANY insider, regardless of past conduct, is dumb. So be it...

And, re: Penton's comments, if Gordon really does read this wee bit of the interweb, tell him I use his prince-of-darkness masterpiece, GF2, as my ultimate torture test whenever I calibrate a set...

When are we going to get Zelig on BD, huh? Let alone Annie Hall...

Oh, and according to the famously reliable IMDB, he was a bloody camera op at the Beatles' Shea Stadium!!! Man, I'd LOVE to hear stories behind THAT little gig.... Has the sound of screaming subsided in the last half decade?


Oh, and I'll gently open up a small can of worms here... Why are the majority of Insiders here still posting anonymously? Penton, certainly by now you've shared a tremendous amount of your life (be it photos of your coyote companions to your dinner engagements at the Playboy mansion), why remain coy about your actual position at Sony pictures? Security? Company policy? Bemusement? (Honest, non confrontational question, not trying for a "gotcha", really...)

[Monkey]

"so-called lies"

blatant lies.. nothing "so-called" about them when it came from Amir M.

[sharkshark]

Hey, Monkey...take the hint, and put down your torch and pitchfork...