A look back on 2010

THE FILMS THAT MADE ME EXCITED!

I saw a mere 16 films in 2010. I actually saw 30 feature films and countless short films, but Hulu.com, Netflix.com & Red Box, do not count for me. After all, I wait to see the films I’m sure are going to be bad/boring/dumb on DVD.

Don’t we all?
I must be in a movie theater, eating popcorn and sipping soda, beer or wine, extremely excited and anticipating greatness, for a film to be part of my film review. I also include film festival films and film festival producers, cause that’s how I roll.

And finally, to the point!

JANUARY
1. Bass Ackwards, Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Linas Phillips. Starring Linas & Davie-Blue Bacich. Produced by Thomas Woodrow

FEBRUARY
2. Shutter Island, Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Mark Ruffalo

MARCH
3. Hot Tub Time Machine, Directed by Steve Pink. Starring John Cusack, Rob Coddry & Craig Robinson
4. The Myth of the American Sleep Over, SXSW Film Festival. Directed by David Robert Mitchell. Starring Nikita Ramsey, Jade Ramsey, Amy Seimetz. Produced by Adele Romanski
5. Audrey the Trainwreck, SXSW Film Festival. Directed by Frank V. Ross. Starring Anthony Baker & Alexi Wasser. Produced by Adam Donaghey
6. Alice in Wonderland, Directed by Tim Burton. Starring Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham Carter

APRIL
7. Clash of the Titans, Directed by Louis Letterier. Starring Sam Worthington & Liam Neeson.

MAY
8. Iron Man 2,Directed by John Favre. Starring Robert Downey Jr. & Gwyneth Paltrow

JUNE
9. Eclipse, Directed by David Slade. Starring Kirsten Stewart & Robert Pattinson.

JULY
10. The Kids are Alright, Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Starring Annette Bening & Julianne Moore.

AUGUST
11. Inception, Directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

DECEMBER
12. Burlesque, Directed by Steve Antin. Starring Christina Aguilera & Cher.
13. The Social Network, Directed by David Fincher. Starring Jessie Eisenberg & Justin Timberlake.
14. Tron: Legacy, Directed by Joseph Kosinski. Starring Jeff Bridges & Garrett Hedlund.
15. True Grit, Directed by the Cohen Brothers. Starring Jeff Bridges & Matt Damon
16. Black Swan, Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Starring Natalie Portman & Mila Kunis.

As you can see, I saw most of the 2010 films in December, over the holidays, when I had time off from production, post-production and development.

Reviews for the top 5 films and my top 5 films coming soon!

Happy New Year.

Holidays 2010

2010 is coming to an end and I cannot believe it.

I feel as if this year went by at 85mph.

So many film festivals. So many films. So many plane tickets. So many couches. So many filmmakers and so much fun.

Congrats to The Off Hours cast & crew on the fabulous Sundance 2011 news!

I'm happy to say that I had some time off this holiday season and saw some incredible films.

I started off with Burlesque and The Social Network.

I ended with Tron and True Grit.

The last one on my list is Black Swan. I'll see that this week and have film reviews up for all five this coming New Years weekend.

January 1st I'll have my list of all films I've seen in 2010.

I'll also tell you which ones are my favorites, why and which ones I think the Oscars are going to agree with me on.

Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Cheers! JS

Thanks Giving Holiday

Every Thanksgiving is spent with my dad in Utah.

I have two dinners, every year. The first is in the early afternoon with the Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. My dad and his family are originally from PR. Now, my cousins are all married with children and my aunts and uncles are all grandparents. The house is full of everyone and you can always count on the football game being on, plenty of rum for the spiced egg nog and a case of PBR.

The second is with my dad's girlfriend, Kathy's family.
Kathy and her family are Irish decedents and they most certainly look like the dark Irish. There is always dozens of bottles of wine being passed around the table. The meal is the type of meal that would make Martha Stewart smile.


Because I'm in Utah, there is plenty of snow to boot. Not to mention I've counted 6 Christmas trees, in windows, near my dad's house alone. It's November 26th people!




Anyway, my dad and I spent the day in Park City today, scouting about. We had a great dinner at Squatter's where I had an amazing Malbec from Argentina and my dad tried the Evolution.
He said, "this beer will take me from ape to manhood". Pretty funny pops.

I have exciting news, coming soon. Happy Thanks Giving.

Fall means Halloween

I'll be in Seattle for Halloween, planning a party with my Seattle housemates. Looking forward to the chilly festivities, unlike Los Angeles, where it has been 80' the past two Halloweens.

If I was back in D.C., I'd be attending as many of these screenings as possible.

http://http//www.filmthreat.com/festivals/27033/

Looking for costumes.

In pre-pro on JUNK

I'm in pre-pro on JUNK in Seattle WA.

I wrap out November 5th. I'll be back in LA that week and starting prep on Floating Bridge, also filming on location, in Seattle.

I won't have time for words or writing. xoxoxoxo

The latest & greatest

Annie Goes Boating is screening, in S3D, in London at the Raindance Festival 2010
Take a look-http://www.raindance.org/site/index.php?id=518%2C6302%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0
Really exciting news for the cast and crew. Congrats all.

Your Lucky Day has reached 365K viewings on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/14017511
Congrats to the cast and crew. We are looking forward to the next, Dan Brown project for sure!

Some Boys Don't Leave screens at the Calgary International Film Festival 2010
http://www.calgaryfilm.com/2010/schedule/film/1470/
Nice job, cast and crew!

My favorite short on Vimeo is Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, you must watch this
http://vimeo.com/14190306

Summer Vacation

My short summer vacation has come to an end. I spent it here, in Playa Del Rey, CA. where I live. This is a paradise. Hidden behind miles of protected Marsh in West Los Angeles,

I spent the days on my bike; in my rollerskates; in the ocean; on a beach towel with a cocktail and sleeping.

Like any filmmaker, I found myself antsy, restless and longing to get back to work.

I'm back to work. I just arrived in Seattle, WA. and my office is set and ready for the next feature film. It's cold here. Not like Playa Del Rey, CA., but just as beautiful. Seattle is a city built on the Puget Sound. Amazing bridges, trees, clouds and fresh air. Fall is upon the city of Seattle, which is forcing me to miss my summer of 2010. All summers. As much as I love work.

Summer is never like it was when we were in high school, Junior high or Elelmentary school. It was 3 months of freedom, play, adventure and learning in the outdoors. I never wanted my summer to end as a kid. The thought of going back to school made me frustrated, angry and sad.

The end of summer reminds me that I miss my childhood friends, pets and neighborhoods.

No school for three months. Only books and magazines that I want to read. The dollar movie theater, candy, backyards, rope swings, tree houses, my dog, Bubba, my bike, Michael Jackson and Def Leopard. The smell of summer rain on hot summer roads. The smell of fresh cut grass. The sounds of fireworks on the 4th of July. The hug from my mom when she got home from work. Her calls to come home for dinner to my sister and I as the sunset on our suburban street. Crab apple war in someone's yard. Camping in Yellow Stone National Park. Learning to fish for the first time. Roasting marshmellows on a camp fire. This list goes on and on.

Summer always had to end. School always had to start. Fall leaves always fell. Frost always left a blanket and Halloween always made school fun again.

The summer of 2010 is my 36th summer on planet earth. I am so thankful for this summer, where I live and what I do for a living. It's funny how we grow up. I didn't realize I had until this summer. I'm thrilled my 36th summer is over and that I'm going back to work.

When I was 10, I would have thrown a crab apple at you if you told me I would one day be happy that my summer was over. And that apple would have hit you directly in the mouth.

xoxoj