This is going to be the sloppiest, most rushed entry I’ve ever posted, but that’s because I’m so excited about what I just saw, I want to get the information to you sooner vs. later. I can edit after I publish, damnit.
There’s a show we have received several tips about– “The Lot”. We keep hearing about it because it has a desi contestant named Shalini Kantayya:
ON THE LOT, executive-produced by Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, will give aspiring filmmakers from around the world the chance to earn a $1-million development deal at DreamWorks.
Premiering on May 22 and airing twice a week throughout the summer on FOX, this reality-competition series features a cast of undiscovered filmmakers who will compete to win the support of the show’s viewers, as their fate will be decided by a weekly audience vote…
Every week, the hopeful filmmakers will produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, dramas to romance, action to horror. They’ll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer — professional writers, cast and crew, and maybe even Hollywood celebrities. [link]
I usually don’t get home until about now, so I knew I wouldn’t get to watch it and that’s why I promptly forgot about it– until tonight, when I was channel-surfing because I’m sick and on the couch. Once I heard that of the 15 finalists, five would be featured tonight, I stuck around to see if the brown girl would be in the ring…and she was.
Despite being high on codeine and everything else in my virus-wracked system, I sat up for the first time all day because THIS GIRL IS TALENTED. No wonder they plucked her out of a pool of 12,000 applicants from all over the world.
I’m not typing that because she’s brown– she had the BEST FILM OF THE NIGHT and Michael Bay, the guest judge who directed “Transformers”, agrees with me.
Here’s the thing: there’s but a wee two-hour window in which to vote for true awesomeness (dial 1-88-Thelot-05 or click the next link to show your love online). You can vote as many times as you’d like (handy “Vote” button is highlighted in yellow) AND you can view Shalini’s 3-minute clip yourselves– I think once you do, you’ll be cheering her on as effusively as I am, though you won’t sound like a frog while doing it.
career “dreams” to be a lawyer?? Gosh you are an outlier.
then surely you must be disappointed to know that sexual, or any other kind of, contact was not an option that night?
Not even some foot play?
ak,
kyongo-hana.
HMF, it actually was a dream, ever since i was a child. but then i got to law school and absolutely hated it, and almost dropped out. i only stuck it out because i had no other career options. then i decided to do a tax law degree and i’ve sort of moved away from the typical law jobs i abhor, and into a realm that actually excites me and isn’t leaving me starving. so i guess it worked out. but yeah – law as a dream career – no idea what, or whether, i was thinking.
gentlemen, i am not an inherently violent person. did he deserve the foot play? most definitely. but the law student in me resisted the possibility of being charged for assault. also, i found the withholding of sex (and other forms of communication) to be far more painful in that instance.
ak, you’ve silenced the male constituency with your response.
I think it should be noted that this thread didn’t end up in a ‘hot-or-not’ controversy…and we’re past 150 comments now…and the girl is good-looking (had to throw that last one in there).
rahul, are you challenging the logic of my decision? or just surprised that that even was the logic?
Anyway, not to discount this girls chops, but the choosing 50 out of 12,000 or whatever it is, is not any kind of big deal really. A friend of mine was on the review committee for a few major film festivals, most of what they get is liquid shit, just some kid with a $300 handicam taping himself lipsynching a rod stewart song. The ratio is probably more like 50 selected out of 200-300 quality films or something like that – which is still applaudable, no doubt.
No, not challenging anything at all! I was just joking that most males will concur that any withholding (that must me a tax lawyer joke, right?) is far more painful than a kick to the head.
just being cheeky, rahul – of course i know it’s far more painful – that’s why i did it! a guy cannot make that kind of a comment and expect to get away with it lightly. thankfully, i don’t have to use that method often, but it’s always there as an option, isn’t it?
I wonder why guys don’t try manipulation by withholding more often. I mean, granted women are more resistant to this sort of thing, but it might work.
I want one of you to try it and report back here with your results.
I do it every day. It’s a miracle I get from home to work without being mauled.
Oh! she’s too dark to be pretty, n’est ce pas mon ami poonjabi?
-duck-
I do it every day.
Of course, but I mean in a situation where there is a possibility of sex in the first place…
Are you saying it sex to be me?
hema, I think that would be hilarious. I also kind of wonder if it really wouldn’t help the cause? 🙂
i wonder, it, too. but perhaps it might not be as painful to some women for it to be effective enough all the time? i generally think whether two people will have sex depends on the both of them, but when, in general, is left up to the women. this is mostly because men want sex all the time (although some women are also up for it as frequently). i could be wrong, but i think this disparity means that the tool is not equally effective going both ways. also, men would lose out – so it’s more self-punishment than anything, really.
is this serious? this girl’s movie was trite and terrible, and her first one was worse. “be yourself” — even that dumb woman judge pwn3d her for that hackneyed nonsense. let’s be discriminating and not just back random indian people with no talent, eh? how bout it!
she said the tool is not equally effective going both ways. he he.
Rahul you beat me to the Beavis and Butthead joke…
rahul, as i typed it, i knew it could be mis-interpreted. thanks for not disappointing.
Oh, I’ve never disappointed. If you know what I mean.
clearly, you are proof positive of the subject of the most recent post.
It might be true that bigger ain’t better, but just because I’m better doesn’t mean I ain’t bigger. Don’t they teach modus ponens and techniques of argument in law school?
they do, but i was going with the general result indicated in the study that women just don’t care about penis size – so you wouldn’t disappoint, regardless. ok, actually, you might disappoint in non-penis related aspects, but that’s another discussion. but sorry to have implied anything negative about your size – i hope it did not result in any ‘anxiety.’
What? Me? Anxious? Never!
…
Why should I be? Did somebody tell you something I should know about? Ok, why are you smirking then? Huh? Huh?
I lobby for this as an appropriate organization technique for all parts of life.
For example, in today’s nightly news, Charlie Gibson (or Katie Couric, for the 2 people who watch her) can start: We first begin our worldwide coverage with penis related news. And when all the heavy stuff is done, can go “In other non-penis rated news, …”.
Her movie was the best out of the five. Could any of us have done better with similar constraints and pressure? Could you? I think you’re being excessively harsh.
In a non-penis related comment, I have to say that I finally managed to get my browser to show Shalini’s video, and much as I wanted to love it, found “Dough” far more creative and funny. Also, I missed the comedic aspect of her short, it seemed more like a documentary.
IT was a documentary, not a comedy. The theme was “The First Time” and not a particular genre.
I disagree. She did an amazing job considering they had 5 days to put it together, including writing, shooting, editing, etc. Plus, they weren’t given any money for a budget from network. Let’s see you try and do the same. Yeah, I thought so…
h8r!!
Rahul, is there something we should know?
Man, I hate blockquote. It keeps unblocking my quotes!
Oh, you don’t wanna know what kinda shit they teach in law school…
the penis- vs non-penis-related division would really make things much easier for some guys, huh? a good demarcation as to when to tune out during the news, or in other situations, as the case may be…imagine if people on dates were so open?
i did like dough and her short the best. however, i could have done without the comedian’s ‘if you don’t like your bride, we can burn her’ comment – i wouldn’t even use that on a desi audience, much less a non-desi one…but i thought hers was the best technically made film, and pretty good on the substance, as well.
Camille, no girl should venture out unprotected onto the big bad web without a reliable quote blocker.
Oh, I didn’t get that at all from this page, especially as all the others are comedies. As for the other three, I found Meet the Finkelsteins the lamest. Blind Date was similarly inane, with the most obvious rom-com ending ever. Broken Pipe Dreams had the hilarious red thread/blue thread moment but unfortunately no payoff at all to the goldfish or the ring setup.
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/5/29/physicsLabSquatterBannedFromCampus
Shalini K. came to my college to present “A Drop of Life”, which I thought was brilliant. I wasn’t thrilled about her comedy short, but I’m considering the reality-show competition constraints.
As for the whole side thread about whether women or men artists have it easier – I think it’s nonsense, the idea that men have it harder in creative fields, especially when men are often disproportionately rewarded with more fame and success. Yes, of course narrow gender expectations are harsh. Can’t disagree with that. However, my parents are definitely NOT cool with me diverging from a math/science oriented career path, and I don’t think many parents of daughters in my community in NY who are. And I’m almost completely disinterested in marriage/relationships…I have no plans of seeking dependency on a partner, and I know that I am taking an uncertain path with these factors combined.
The point of my last sentence was to say that I know that I am taking risks. I don’t think I have it “easier” because I’m female. Please, check your (whoever argued the point I’m disputing) privilege.
Whoops, I meant, “in my community in NY are”.
My pleasure, HRH- don’t know what he was thinking, but he’s always thinking.
Y’all, the other big change besides a few women making gazillions is that most people are living longer, so even women who do stay home to raise kids– for hormonal and other reasons, or mostly, alas, because kids are very funny and great entertainment — there’s gonna be more women hitting the big time in what was called old age in the bad old days…
So anyway, I think Shalini is better at social causes and high drama than comedy, apart from those aqua-turquoise fremes.
Glass Houses, you can commission me to write your biography.
The power of reading is so overrated these days. I was speaking about social barriers to entry, particularly in the desi community, read, oh i dunno, any of the messages above?
How many times have you heard the story of a woman that ‘wasn’t interested’ but then they ‘met that one guy’….? Either way, read #70
In addition, I’d like to add another dynamic in the crazy world of video and filmmaking. Film is a highly, highly collaborative artform. To produce anything remotely worthwhile, it necessitates the meeting and support of many minds.
Women have a clear advantage in that, they can use their sexuality to gain many favors. This is something women do in every walk of life, but it’s quite enunciated, and “milkable” in the world of film, where the quality of your product depends on the effectiveness of your crew.
Remember the line from “K-19: Widowmaker” – The captain says to his crew, “I am your captain, you are my crew. Without me, you are nothing, without you, I am nothing.”
One look at this gal, and it’s clear that it’s not completely outside of her toolset.
Does she know the difference between 2:3:3:2 and 2:3:2:3 cadence? maybe she does, but chances are not. But she can woo a good post-supervisor who does. (Either she or someone else better know it, if she uses the DVX-100B to shoot) Does she know the diff between a cardoid and super cardoid pickup pattern? Or the difference between a DCT-based codec and wavelet based codec? How about setting up an HDV workflow (which requires a conforming process) vs a DVPRO-HD workflow (using P2 cards or firestore drives)? All this is important if she’s ever done or wants to do an HD project.
She has titles for her films, but is she intimately familiar with AEP? masks, rotoscoping, keyframing, etc..? I don’t want to assume, but chances are…
I’m not ensuing she sleeps with her entire crew – but i’ve known many a female filmmaker that have gotten locations, actors, post services.. all for zilch, zip, nada, not spending a dime. While guys have to slog for this stuff, many women can parasail through it.
This advantage is not to be discounted either.
HMF, is that you? I almost feel like you’ve been impersonated by a troll.
Well. There’s only two possibilities…
you’ve respected at least some of my commentary in the past, and see this is as some silly, not-connected-to-reality observation.
or you feel all of my commentary is “not-connected-to-reality” and ‘trolling’ would be a step-up.
Either way, I do believe this phenomenon is not be discounted here. I went to a Columbia University film panel, where an MFA student was discussing how she had one of the best titler’s do her titles for free. I thought to myself, that she looked like Kristen Kreuk, had absolutely nothing to do with that?
HMF, I’ve never been questioned by the so called nosy aunts and uncles. I’m also not saying they’re super liberal, quite the opposite in fact, they’re just respectful of the natural order of things and don’t meddle. I don’t know what happens when they’re questioned because I never hear of it. Again, I guess I’m just one of the lucky ones.
liberal = questioning the status quo.
status quo in marital sense = ‘meddling’
hence,
liberal (in a desi marital sense) = not meddling
You are. You should walk up and down a busy highway just to see if you can make it through unscathed.
HMF your points regarding aspiring female directors is largely on point…my cutie pie director pals get TONS of stuff for free from camera rentals to locations…but a caveat; there are quite a large number of gay men in power in Hollywood so that evens the field a bit. You seem to be quite deep into cinema. Here’s a Night anecdote for ya…Bruce Willis’ agent Arnold Rifkin wanted Night kicked off as director of the sixth sense but Night had a pay-for-play with disney..unbelievable given that Night had zero clout at the time.