Connecticut Casting Call

Feature Film Shooting in Connecticut Seeks Paid Background Actors

Who: Hollywood Casting Director Judy Bouley

Recently worked on Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman Film

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0099515/

SAG-AFTRA Low-Budget Feature Film

*SAG-AFTRA signatory status is pending

What: Casting Call for Background Actors to be Paid

Where: 2614 Boston Post Rd (RT 1), Guilford, CT 06437

When: Wednesday, September 12th

Parking: Plenty of Free Parking

Contact: featurefilmct@gmail.com

Hollywood Casting Director, Judy Bouley, who recently work on “Oblivion”

starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, is holding a casting call this

Wednesday, September 12th in Guilford, Connecticut, for paid background actors

for an independent movie filming in the Guilford, Connecticut area in September

and October. Seeking African, African American and Caucasian looking males

and females who are able to portray ages 18 to 70. All must be legal to work in

the U.S.

Auditions for SAG-AFTRA members will be held from 12 pm to 3 pm but

members are welcome between 12 pm - 8 pm. (Bring your membership card).

Non-Union actors are invited to attend auditions from 3 pm to 8 pm.

Casting call to be held at 2614 Boston Post Road (RT1), Guilford, Connecticut

06437. Wheelchair accessible. Plenty of free parking.

Those unable to attend the casting, please submit a current photo and contact

information to featurefilmct@gmail.com. It’s an honor to film in Connecticut.

Nit-Picking: Jurassic Park

*SPOILERS*

Jurassic Park is by far one of my favorite movies of all-time. When I saw this movie as a kid it blew me away, so much so that I wore out the VHS copy that I had of it. Yet, let’s all be honest with each other and point out that this movie does have it share of plot holes and moments where you’ll ask yourself “What?” and “Why?”. So, with that said let’s get right into it.

Let’s start with the actual cloning of the dinosaurs. In the movie it was made clear that there were gapes in the dinosaur genetic code that they took from the mosquitoes. This caused the scientist to go on and mutate the code and blend it with frog DNA.

Did you get all that?

Now, in the movie we also learn that all the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park were purposely made female. This was done so that there would be no unauthorized breeding in the park.

I can buy that.

Moving along, we have a scene late in the movie where Dr. Alan Grant, Lex, and Tim come across dinosaur eggs. Dr. Grant goes onto explain that “Some West African frogs have been known to spontaneously change sex from male to female in a single sex environment”.

Um, what?

So, you’re expecting me to believe that a group of very intelligent scientist, that want to control breeding, did not look into the habits of the frogs that they were splicing into the DNA of the dinosaurs? I mean this is a HUGE problem. Were they under the gun and just didn’t have the time to look into the frogs? Were some of their funds cut? This seems like a very important detail they should’ve known about.

Let’s keep going and talk about the whole T-Rex enclosure.

When we first see the T-Rex’s cage they try to coax out the giant dinosaur by offering her a goat to eat, which comes out of the ground. During this scene we can clearly see that the goat is on a ground leveled with the base of the enclosure.

Later on, during the scene where the T-Rex escapes; we can see that the dinosaur is walking on a ground leveled to the base of her enclosure. Now, once the T-Rex attacks the car with the kids in it and eventually pushes the car over the side, suddenly the ground that the goat and T-Rex were once on has disappeared and now in its place is a giant hole that goes straight down. What happened to the ground? Did it sink? Why is there a giant drop off all of the sudden? It makes no sense.

Let’s just say that giant drop off existed originally. There would be no way for the tourists to see the goat or the T-Rex. It would be a terrible design decision, almost as bad as a small thermal exhaust port, connected directly to the main reactor of a massive battle station (HA! Star Wars reference).

Focusing on just the T-Rex now, I want to talk about all the vibrations the dinosaur causes when it starts approaching.

Before the T-Rex escapes we see a cup of water vibrating in the car Lex and Tim are occupying. This gives them a heads up that the dinosaur is on its way.

Not to long after this scene there is another scene where Dr. Ian Malcolm is in the back of a Jeep Wrangler. He starts to hear the T-Rex approaching and sees a puddle of water on the ground is vibrating. Yet, at the end of the movie where our heroes are surrounded by Velociraptors, the T-Rex is able to sneak in and save them without anyone noticing he’s coming.

Now, maybe they were all too busy in trying to survive that they didn’t notice, but you’re telling me that the raptors didn’t sense a larger predator was coming and didn’t get the hell out of there?

Also, how did he get into the lobby? In the movie I did see plastic where he’s emerging from. Maybe there was an unfinished wall or something.

Staying at the end of the film; there is a scene where Lex is trying to get the park back online while Dr. Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler are holding a door shut, keeping the raptors out. We see Dr. Sattler struggling to reach a gun with her foot, but she is having no luck. The other person in this scene is Tim, who is doing NOTHING to help. He’s just jumping up and down with his hands on his head as Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler struggle to keep the raptors out and Lex tries to get the park’s network back up.

You would think that Tim would pick up the gun and give it to Dr. Sattler … nope he just watches as the raptors try forcing their way into the room. I mean he does eventually give Lex moral support but getting the gun would have been more helpful.

Lex does eventually get everything back online, which allows the locks to be used again, which brings me to my next point. Are all the locks in the visitor center electronic? Why aren’t there any backup locks that aren’t electronic? You know locks that would be useful if the power goes out and the dinosaurs escape their enclosures and try to eat you. I mean come on.

Then there are the locks or lack there of in the cars. Why is it so easy for tourist to jump out of a moving car and enter dinosaur habitats? Wouldn’t you think if they can move a car without a driver, dispense of a goat remotely, and create dinosaurs, that the cars would have locks controlled by the control room? I mean John Hammond says “We spared no expense”, but let’s be real. I think you sparred some expenses when it came to park security and research.

Do you know how many lawsuits they would have if regular tourists just jumped out of the cars? Honestly who in the hell built this park? It’s just one giant death trap.

Getting back to Lex, the “computer genius”; if this girl is so smart why in the hell did she shine a light on the T-Rex, attracting her to their car? She’s the reason the T-Rex attacked them and if her brother died it would’ve been all her fault. Maybe it was just her being scared and not thinking, but even if I was scared I wouldn’t be turning on a flashlight and attracting the giant, meat eating dinosaur. I’d probably be hiding under a seat or something.

I can continue and point out numerous mistakes the movie has but they aren’t necessarily that interesting. The points I brought up above are the ones I feel are the more interesting ones to read about.

Now, don’t let this nit-picking keep you from seeing Jurassic Park. Like I said at the start, Jurassic Park is a great movie and everyone should see it.

Jason's Mask is Wrong on Box Set

I was at Best Buy the other day and came across a DVD box set of all the Friday the 13^th movies.

The first thing I noticed about this set is how wrong they got his hockey mask on the front.

How hard is it to actually get the mask right? All you would have to do is actually watch one of the movies! I mean the mask never looked like that in any of the Friday the 13th movies.

Now, that I got that off my chest, when are they going to release a blu-ray box set for Friday the 13th? I know you can get the first three on blu-ray individually, but I want them all ... in a box set.

Just one thing though, makes sure if you're going to put the hockey mask on the front (they probably will) you HAVE to get it right.

Nit-Picking: Spider-Man 3

*SPOILERS*

The Amazing Spider-Man will be hitting theaters on July 3^rd, rebooting the series, so, I thought it was only right to go back and nit-pick the worst film of the original Spider-Man trilogy – Spider-Man 3.

I liked the Spider-Man movies, mostly Spider-Man 2. Yes, Spider-Man is a little dated now and doesn’t really hold up as well as Spider-Man 2, but it’s still a fun movie. Yet, Spider-Man 3 was a huge disappointment. I mean what happened?

After the fantastic Spider-Man 2 I was, like many, pumped to see where the third one will take us. They seemed to understand how to direct and write these movies and I had a lot of faith that they could give us something just as or even more memorable than Spider-Man 2. I was wrong.

Spider-Man 3 was just all over the place and because of this there were a lot of things that just didn’t make any sense.

Let’s begin with Flint Marko/The Sandman and his run in with the particle accelerator.

In the beginning of the film Flint Mark is running away from the cops and ends up falling into this particle accelerator filled with sand, which is being used in an experiment at the time.

The Scientists running this experiment notice that there is a weight change and they pass it off as it being a bird. Really? How about you go out there and check if it’s a bird. Are they really this lazy? Are you telling me that they don’t have security cameras out there just incase someone jumps a puny fence and finds their way into their testing ground? What the hell?

So, Marko is in the accelerator and, of course, they start the experiment. Marko ends up turning into sand. Yes, his body and clothes all turn into sand, but this locket he carries around with him that is perfectly fine. *sigh*. You’re telling me that his bones and organs are affected by the accelerator but a small locket it not? In what universe does that make sense?

Moving on, let’s focus in on Harry Osborne/The New Goblin. Harry has the pumpkin bombs that his father, Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin, had and he uses them to fight, obviously. That’s all good and dandy until the screenwriter realizes he wrote himself in a corner and starts to make these bombs do a host of different things.

In the beginning we see Harry attack Peter and he throws these pumpkin looking things at him. They only appear to be some sort of knife; then at the end these same things are thrown and they blow up to kill Venom. I could be wrong, these things could be two different pumpkin bombs that Harry has, but why do they look all the same? If they are different why not make them look different? If I was The New Goblin I would not know which pumpkin thing cuts or which one blows up.

And why when one of these pumpkin bombs blows up near Harry it only scars him? Then, when it blows up the same way near Venom it obliterates him? Is there a way to up the damage with these things? I don’t know … it’s probably just sloppy writing again.

Now, after Harry ruins his friendship with Peter and scars his face, his butler just decides to tell him a secret. At the end of the movie the butler tells Harry that his father was killed by his own glider. This is another case of the writer not knowing how in the hell to make Harry good again so they throw that in, which makes no sense.

You’re expecting me to believe that his butler watched him risk his life in trying to kill his friend and said nothing? What kind of person is this? Is he in Harry’s will and knows if he dies he would get something? It just doesn’t make any sense that the butler would wait this long to tell him. It just boils down to sloppy writing again.

Now let’s move onto Venom. What happened with Venom? Why is Venom saying “I”? In the comic books Venom always says “We”, because it’s both him and Eddie Brock in there. The symbiote is a being that feels just as betrayed as Brock does when it comes to Peter Parker and they both want to get revenge, which makes sense when they would say “We”. Yet, in Spider-Man 3 they never say “We” and Brock just says “I”. This annoyed me, a lot.

Next, why does Eddie Brock want Peter Parker dead so bad? I mean he was humiliated because he provided a false picture himself, he did it to himself. Maybe, he was pissed that Parker was interested in Gwen Stacey and he liked Stacey? But we never see them establish some sort of romance, they’re only briefly on screen together. In the comics Venom is a better villain because he has more of a reason to hate Peter Parker in this movie he’s really there to be there.

Another thing that annoyed me about Venom is how they bring the symbiote into the story. It just so happens that a meteorite just falls into Central Park right next to Peter Parker and Mary Jane. The symbiote then crawls from the rock and attaches itself to Peter’s scooter. Well, how wonderful is that? An alien being lands on the planet right next to the guy who has superpowers already? Couldn’t we be more creative about this?

Those are the big problems that Spider-Man 3 has. Some of them might seem small, but anything that starts to make you think “what” well that’s not a good sign. Of course these aren’t the only problems the film has. You might ask “what else is there?” Well let’s list them.

-         The symbiote making Peter Parker act like a complete idiot, fool, and ass.

-         Killing Venom

-         Giving the Sandman more screen time than Venom.

-         Not really completing Sandman’s story.

-         A script that has way too much going on.

-         Three villains.

-         Mary Jane.

-         Casting Topher Grace as Venom.

-         Gwen Stacey. Why was she in this movie? She should have been the girl Venom kidnaps in the end. It would have given her more of a reason to be around.

-         The guy shooting spit balls at Peter in the classroom. What? His spider sense didn’t sense that? Come to think of it, he had no spider sense when Harry attacked him either. Maybe it’s because he has become so smug. Oh no, I’m making excuses for them.

-         The movie going over the top with its “silly” moments.

-         Harry’s creepy faces.

-         Peter’s hair.

-         All the scenes containing Peter dancing.

-         The scenes where anyone else dances.

-         Dancing.

-         The scene where we hear the audience clapping but when we see the audience they aren’t clapping.

-         Sandman punching a police dog. What an ass.

CHECK OUT NIT-PICKING: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES at http://jamesentertainmentedge.blogspot.com/2013/03/nit-picking-dark-knight-rises.html

Valenzuela And His Creation Baby Jones

Daniel Valenzuela is taking his love of animation and comics and creating something that is original, fresh and thoroughly enjoyable.

Valenzuela was born in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1980. His parents were immigrants from Mexico. His mother worked in a factory and his father was an amateur boxer. He lived with his family in Mexico for a few months and then they moved to South Chicago, where they lived for ten years.

“I grew up in a rough neighborhood,” said Valenzuela.

After living in Chicago the family moved to San Antonio, Texas, where his family still resides.

Valenzuela then moved to San Francisco, where he now lives, to attend art school.

“I moved here in my mid-twenties and fell in love with the city,” said Valenzuela. “It has a good energy,” he added.

Valenzuela never finished art school; he dropped out, but continued to peruse a career in comics and animation.

His love for animation started at a very young age.

“I started to pick things up with classic animation. My parents had a VCR and I would pause it to look what was happening in the middle, all of the little tricks,” said Valenzuela. “My father was obsessed with Golden Age Animation and turn of the century entertainment which I ended up falling in love with,” he added.

His father has had a large influence on his work. His main character, Baby Jones, is a caricature of my father.

“It’s an exact representation of what my father is like,” said Valenzuela. “And the little guy ended up consuming my life,” he added.

Baby Jones, is a very complex individual and can be best described in the description given by Valenzuela below.

“The unholy entity that has been with us since the beginning of time. Eternally trapped in a baby's body but blessed with a mustache that was handed down by the gods themselves. After gaining the title of Champion of the World, Baby Jones then dedicated his time to torturing humanity, time traveling and obsessing over the trappings of Pop Culture. 

His dead, hollow eyes are always watching.”

Baby Jones continues to keep Valenzuela busy; he is still self-publishing comics, which he started to do four years ago.

“My first comic was a horrible, sappy comic series titled, American Objects that sold 13 copies and I kind of learned the ropes along the way,” said Valenzuela.

Comics aren’t the only thing that Valenzuela has worked on. He does some random freelance illustration projects for small companies. He has also inked one superhero comic, which he won’t talk about.

“I did it for money, which was a huge mistake,” said Valenzuela. “I respect the work that DC and Marvel do, but it’s too machine like for me,” he added.

He also randomly contributes art work to various galleries around California.

Valenzuela keeps himself very busy and he keeps producing quality comics.

Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles

So, most of you will already know that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are returning to the big screen for Christmas 2013. The problem is that these won’t be the mutated turtles we remember from our childhood, they will be aliens from another planet … um, what?

Yes during a Nickelodeon event Michael Bay, the films producer, stated the following: “When you see this movie, kids are going to believe one day these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie,” said Bay. “These turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable.”

Are you *bleep*-ing kidding me. What the hell is going through this man’s head? You can’t just take the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and totally obliterate their origin story that we all know and love. Yeah, we love the origin story to Ninja Turtles, we would pay to see that story not some stupid turtles from space crap.

My head hurts.

After this news was released, of course, it was met with widespread negativity from fans. Bay then released another quote on his website.

“Fans need to take a breath and chill,” said Bay. “They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of 'Ninja Turtles' to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.”

The thing that worries me here is when he says “complex back story”, because lets face it Bay and his team are not the best with coming up with stories. I would give you examples but if you’re reading this you probably already know what I’m talking about. (Mainly the Transformers movies)

So, if they are making the turtles complex expect a confusing, convoluted story that makes no sense and crushes everything we grew to love about the series.

You might say I’m overreacting, but I don’t think I am. I’m tired of people taking franchises and ruining them. Making the turtles aliens is NOT a good idea. I know they want to give it more weight and make it more believable. Yet, having them mutate is much more believable than believing that there is a planet out there that is populated by giant turtles. I mean, where do Splinter and Shredder fit into all of this?

Just give us the TMNT story we want. It's not broken so don't try to fix it.

Strange Happenings at Old Bristol House

By James Drzewiecki
Staff Writer

BRISTOL — Voices, knocking and strange lights are common in a home located at 443 Burlington Ave. and the family wants answers.

Jamie Perchiano moved his family in four years ago and ever since then they’ve been experiencing what they believe to be paranormal activity.

"We just started hearing random noises, like knocks and ticks," Perchiano said. "I spoke to my landlord about it, and he had told me that the house is over 300 years old. He then explained to me that there was an underground tunnel used for slaves."

The tunnel underneath the house runs the entire perimeter of the foundation. In the tunnel Perchiano has found several different items, including animal bones, broken plates and even a shoe.

All these things intrigued Perchiano, but one thing that does bother him is when his 4-year-old son, Aidan, is bothered by whatever is happening inside the house.

"My son has been waking up every night," Perchiano explained, "that’s why my wife and I decided to call a paranormal team from Seymour and we did an investigation. They checked out the basement, they checked out the tunnel and we left a voice recorder in my son’s room."

The voice recorder did pick up some strange things, according to Perchiano who played a tape where sounds like a very strained voice saying "Aidan" can be heard.

The owner of the house, Brian Milano, lived there with his parents years before the Perchiano’s moved in. He didn’t have many experiences in the house, but he did have one that really stood out.

"I do remember seeing an image in the corner of a room," Milano said.

Milano explained how his mother, Marilyn, would always talk about the house having a ghost, but she wasn’t scared of it and believed it to be friendly.

The house, known as Rausley Upson Place, according to the records, was built circa 1830 and stands on what was once a part of the Upson family farm. The land was owned by Asa Upson, who never actually lived in the house. Asa died from a fit in 1807, about 27 years before the house was built.

Following Asa’s death, tragedy seemed commonplace in the Upson family. A year later, Asa’s grandson, Job Upson, cut his own throat, according to Congregational Church records. No one knows where exactly Job died, but because his death was deemed a suicide, he wasn’t allowed to be buried on consecrated ground.

"Most of the members of the Upson family at the time were buried in the Old North Cemetery," said Jay Manewitz, the historical research librarian at the Bristol Public Library.

"I could find no documentation that Job was buried in that cemetery or any other one in Bristol," he said. "I’m wondering what could have been the cause of the suicide. Maybe Job received a much smaller portion of Asa’s estate than he felt he deserved. This, of course, is speculation on my part."

Job’s death wasn’t the last in the records. Asa’s two sons, Samuel, age 12, and his infant brother, Samuel A., both died of typhus fever.

"It’s possible that their spirits inhabit the Upson property," Manewitz projected.

The tunnel beneath the house is believed to be tied to the underground railroad, but there is no evidence that the house was a station on the fabled route used by slaves eluding capture.

Yet, the Upson’s Congregational minister, Leverett Griggs, was an abolitionist.

"It would not be surprising if some members of his congregation felt as strongly as their minister concerning the issue of slavery and actively supported runaways," Manewitz said.

It’s a long and interesting history tied to the land, the house and the Upson family, a history, the Perchiano family, hopes will shed some light on whatever is happening in their home.

"I just want answers," Perchiano said bluntly. "I want to know why and who’s getting in contact with my son?"