Movie Blogs: A New Way for the Audience to be Involved?

Although I am a new user when it comes to putting posts on the blogosphere, I am no stranger to blogs themselves. I frequent them quite often, looking up news, rumors, and topics within my field of interest: film. And only now, as I am an actual participating member of the blogosphere have I come to realize that technology and the internet have come so far as to allow the general public to actually become much larger participants in the sharing of information, more so than they used to be. (I know it's kind of an obvious fact, but it's one you don't really think about, and instead usually just accept) People are able to create their own blogs and share any information they discover about any random topic, such as movies (an obvious example by now, in my case). This has allowed the general audience to make movies a much greater part of their lives by having the ability to discuss with others and learn from each other. Now there are sites like Ain't it Cool News, WorstPreviews, and SuperHeroHype, which allow people from all over to post about the latest movie news and rumors, and share new sneak peeks at what is to come in the entertainment industry. So I thought what I might do is comment on posts by writers reporting about recent info regarding movies to come, and try engaging them on this topic of the audience's participation. The first article comes from the site Ain't it Cool News, written by the west coast editor Drew McWeeny, aka "Moriarty," and it is called "Moriarty Wants To Know Why Ray Winstone Has Magic CGI Pants, And Suspects He Knows Who To Blame!" The article looks at recent news about changes made on the American version of the Indiana Jones 4 trailer. The second article comes from the Variety site, written by Marc Graser, a senior writer, and Tatiana Siegel, a writer. It is titled "Reynolds, will.i.am join 'Wolverine': Taylor Kitsch to play Gambit in Hood's 'Origins.'" This article is reporting on recent news of the cast for the new Wolverine movie.

"Moriarty Wants To Know Why Ray Winstone Has Magic CGI Pants, And Suspects He Knows Who To Blame!"
Comment:
Thank you for the constant updates, as all these changes are news to me. When I had watched the Indiana Jones trailer for the first time, I thought I was seeing the final product, and I was a bit worried because it did seem fake in some places, and maybe a little bit overdone. Even though I wasn't able to catch what exactly was wrong with it, at least there are others who did, and they were able to share what they found. I'm still excited to see the hero with the fedora and whip come back, but the older side of me is worried and cautious about it. These pictures reveal more sinister actions at work, and I agree that it's the MPAA's doing. Censorship sometimes seems so bad here in the U.S. Things were fine as is, the trailer wasn't hurting anyone by having guns, and taking them out just seems to cheapen the value that it had. Even though this is probably only being done for the trailer, I still fear the possibility that they might do something like carry this on to the actual final product, or if not that, then the DVD (Reminds me of the Han Solo shooting first issue in Star Wars). I realized, considering how this information came through a forum, and then posted to a blog, that the internet has really become THE tool for finding the latest information when it comes to stuff like movies and entertainment. And the fact is, it's a tool that everyone can have a part in. I imagine that, as you do use it as a means to find some information for your posts, you are in support of this. But I was just wondering, what are your thoughts on the fact that anyone can now report on the latest happenings in the industry, especially since you are a writer and editor of the site? Do you think this is going to replace things like magazines as the source for the latest info, despite the fact that not all the sources will be the most reliable on the internet? Thanks for the updates, I'll be checking back again to find out the latest on what's happening with Indiana Jones.

"Reynolds, will.i.am join 'Wolverine': Taylor Kitsch to play Gambit in Hood's 'Origins'"
Comment:
This is definitely interesting information regarding the upcoming Wolverine movie. I honestly thought that the movie would remain a rumor, or an idea that wouldn't happen, but the fact that more people are being cast has proven me wrong. I still remain unsure of how this movie will turn out. Wolverine may have been the most successful character of the X-Men films, but the third movie was terrible, and it leaves one unsure as to whether or not this film can make up for what's already happened. The fact that there are so many characters in this movie also raises concerns, because it always seems difficult to handle a film with too many characters. It feels like this film is trying to fit in characters that people wanted to see before, but couldn't (i.e. Gambit). Also, this talk about how there might be a spin off of this movie, based on the Deadpool character. This reminds me of the time when there was consideration of making a spin off to Halle Berry character, Jinx, from the James Bond film, Die Another Day. There has been no word since the films release of making that spin off. It seems to have slipped away between the cracks. Now, this is not to say that the film is going to be awful, and fail, and nothing will come out of it. For all we know, it could be a huge success (it probably will make money, whether it's good or bad, just because of the characters in it), and there may actually be a spin off film. But the fact is, these things have happened before, and it has not always been successful. So I don't keep my hopes up. Something I was wondering is, your information about these new cast members shows up on blogs all over the internet, and I'll bet that at least some get their information from your magazine and website. What are your thoughts on this, of other people sharing information they may have received from your site? And if they didn't, and found it by some other means and post it up, how do you feel about this, about the fact that many now can report on the latest news and rumors in the entertainment industry? Do you support it, or do you see it as competition, or is this the motivation for having a website with all the articles? Thank you for the work you do, I always look forward to what you present that's new in the entertainment industry.

Representing Home: Showing Life on Guam through Film

Can anybody go to a place and say they can represent it and show it to the rest of the world? That's what happened a few years ago in a little island in the Pacific called Guam. Film makers from the U.S. wanted to go and be the first to make a movie on the island and show it to the rest of the world. A movie named Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon. Did they achieve their goal? Well, the fact is the movie flopped. Not much of the world has seen the film. But the people of Guam did, and they did not like it. Not only was it a bad movie, but it also was a bad representation of Guam. Instead of showing what Guam really is, it came out looking like stuff from a "Welcome to Guam" tourist video. But a new possibility is on the horizon. Two film makers, Don and Kel Muna, brothers and natives of Guam, are finishing up a film they shot called Shiro's Head: The Legend. And the advantage they have over Max Havoc is that they're locals. By being from Guam, they can better represent it, because they can show the people, the life, as it is from a first hand perspective, and share it with the world.

Max Havoc's attempts at showing Guam involved shots of beaches, hotels, and landmarks of the island. They wanted to take a story and make it take place in Guam. They were just taking advantage of the scenery. Even the local people in the movie only had small parts. The main characters in the story were not from Guam, only visitors. One of the characters in the story that was "from" Guam was played by Carmen Electra. Sorry to any that are fans of her, but she is definitely not a local girl. The result of all of this? Guam was just a background for a run of the mill action movie. And, sorry to say, the movie was bad, very bad. I was there when they had a big screening of it on Guam, so I can say that it was bad with confidence. (And the big screening was on TV, not a theater. Yet another sign of how bad it was.)

The Muna brothers are taking a much different route. Sure, it is a story that takes place in Guam. But unlike Max Havoc, this film is Guam. The actors are all from Guam; they are 100 percent locals. The lives of the characters they play are that of people from the island. The result is actors from Guam, playing people from Guam, taking place in Guam. The result? Guam. What the Muna brothers have done is gone out and given a much more accurate portrayal of the island, no matter what the story is. It will give a more genuine experience of what it means to live on Guam, and be from Guam, than any movie out so far. Although the film is not yet finished, I have seen the teaser trailer, and even in that little teaser I saw more of what is Guam than I saw in all of Max Havoc.

The film makers that made Max Havoc were not from Guam, and so they can't entirely be blamed for not showing all of what makes the island what it is. Guam made for a good location for their movie and they wanted to use it. But this goes to show that if somebody wishes to show someplace to the world and is not from there, the picture painted will not be the best one. But that's why there are film makers out there like the Muna brothers. They come from the island, and they know the island, and so they can create a painting of the island that can do it justice. They know all the little nuances of island life, the little things that cannot be found in a tour guide of Guam. With that knowledge, they can show it to people and give everyone a better idea of what Guam really is, and who the people really are.

What this comes down to is a matter of, "if you want to get things right, you gotta do it yourself." Who knows better about a place and can best show it to others than someone native to that place? Where Max Havoc failed in doing so, Shiro's Head can succeed. It's not possible to say how the movie will do in theaters as it hasn't been completed yet, but one thing is for sure. It will show a much more accurate representation of what Guam is to the rest of the world. The Muna brothers are natives of Guam, proud of their island, and they love it so much that they want to see it shown to others the right way. They want people to see Guam for what it really is, and not as how a failed action movie would show it.

In this digital age, anyone can be a film maker. All they need to do is pick up a camera and they can instantly start making movies. With an opportunity like this, people need to go out and share life, and their home with others. It's a great way for cultures to interact and learn from each other. This doesn't just apply to people from Guam. Everyone can be a part of it, and in the process the world can come much closer together. To all those that want to be film makers, go out there and start making movies. Share something new with the world.