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watch Mixed Messages - 2011 Festival Cut

Good writing man. I appreciate the simplicity of the concept. I don't know why people are knocking the acting, the people doing the voices were superb imho. And I think you're smart to cut the cursing. It wouldn't add anything. I don't know why so many filmmakers find it necessary use cursing all the time.
Brian
 
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Thanks Brian. If I had thought of it during the I would have scrapped 99% of the F-bombs, but we got carried away. That happens when improvising and just running with it. Cheers.
 
oh c'mon. I love cursing. people curse. i curse all the time. i curse when i'm by myself. i curse at god. i cursed when i dropped my lens. i cursed today when i got a box from ebay with things missing. i don't understand the outrage at cursing.

its like premarital sex. everybody is opposed to it. everybody does it.
 
F you, Aveek!! Hah, there's no outcry against cursing. and I definitely think under the circumstances in MM that the guy WOULD curse, so it makes sense, but from past shoots the F-bomb flies all over the place and it makes for lazy writing. This isn't the best example, but INCEPTION was intense and people were in life and death situations and at each other's throats at times, but from what I can recall, no one dropped the F-bomb. Doesn't mean it wouldn't have worked, but as an exercise in writing, there are other ways of getting around using it.

My first short and first feature are loaded with profanity. Doesn't mean I couldn't have found ways to cut back on it, in fact I'm sure there was. But sometimes you just gotta say FUCK IT!!!!
;)
 
the reason they don't curse in some big budget movies is that if you curse it won't get tv play in the US (canada's okay with it). In the movie The Expendables, which is about violence and killing people, there were only a few curses, which don't actually have to be bleeped on US TV. It was ridiculous. It's okay if somebody is trying to kill me in a movie. But it's not okay if I curse back at him for trying to kill me :D. I find it hilarious.

My motto is, write dialog the way people talk. If I'm writing gangsters, they're going to curse. If I'm writing a nice conversation between parent and child, it's going to be full of roses :)
Just my two cents. As usual, I'm an expert on nothing. so don't take me seriously.
best,
aveek
 
Could be fun to have one gangster swear his head off while the other one has sworn off swearing. The contrast of one guy dropping the F-bomb all over the place while the other one gets on his case about it might add some contrast and some possibilities for comedy. Just a thought.

I'm picturing one of the guys swearing while the other one plugs his ears. "Are you done?"
 
Personally I don't think cursing is ever additive. All it does is limit your audience. In fact I think it's a weak substitute for authenticity. People in fact shouldn't talk in a movie the way they do in real life. Real life tends to be cold, brutal, and dull so movies should be stylized or idealized version of our sucky, boring little lives.
My two centavos.
 
brianluce said:
Personally I don't think cursing is ever additive. All it does is limit your audience. In fact I think it's a weak substitute for authenticity. People in fact shouldn't talk in a movie the way they do in real life. Real life tends to be cold, brutal, and dull so movies should be stylized or idealized version of our sucky, boring little lives.
My two centavos.
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FU, Brian. :lol:

It all depends on the story being told and who the target audience is. I'm only speaking as a movie watcher, but to omit movies with colorful language would be pasteurizing film.

Hoping your sense of humor is intact. ;)
 
This bit from a seasoned professional addresses the topic

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Writing-Plays-Screenwriting-677/2010/5/Cursing-screenplays-question.htm

Would be hard to shoot a prison flick without a fuck. :P
Shawshank Redemption racked up 36 F-bombs and 2 dozen shits.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/parentalguide

* and INCEPTION
Profanity
8 hells, 2 uses of ass (both used with "hole"), 8 damns.

I think Inception could have easily been peppered with more Fucks and shits, but Nolan chose not to and it was still a gripping film.
 
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I thought Jeff should drop the cursing, not because im against cursing, but it didnt seem natural coming from the actor. If i hear some one swearing their head off " F this, F that, f you" i just dont like them and tend to think they are morons. Stephen Hawking could be sitting in front of me talking about physics stuff i could never possibly understand and if he was using 'fuck' every other word i would think he sounded like a moron. The actor didnt LOOK the part of a moron or a bad ass, i didnt think the amount of curing was necessary
 
Speaking of cursing, when I watched Kevin Smith's presentation in front of the Sundance crowd about Red State, it was cringe-worthy and I felt embarrassed -- and I was watching it on YouTube. He kept swearing and sounding as crass as his movies are and it just felt like I might have well been watching some college douche blabbing about his new film he made with his friends. I'm all for sincerity and being genuine, and apparently that's who Smith is in real life, so he was true to form and good for him. But personally I much prefer tuning in to someone whose vocabulary exceeds mine any day; there's something to be said for elegance, intelligence and wit in a public forum.

I've seen Jake Johannsen and Emo Philips live and both had the audience in stitches/tears and both didn't utter a single swear word. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy or appreciate listening to Eddie Murphy or George Carlin, either. I like them all for different reasons.
 
Cool!

Hi Jeff, Congratulations your film was the highest rated this week and is now on the homepage at http://www.youtube.com/onceaweekfilmfest

Please subscribe if you have yet to do so.

The direct link can be found here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83VvzXVLxGo

Also, we can be found on twitter and facebook, please follow and spread the word as we'd like to see the festival continue to grow.

http://twitter.com/#!/onceaweekfilm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Once-a-Week-Online-Film-Festival/134351336588810

Thanks so much for the submission! It's a really funny film and should do well on the festival circuit. If you have other films you'd like to submit in the future please don't hesitate.

Regards,
Mark Thimijan
Director ~ Once a Week Online Film Festival
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In other news, stickers have been printed and shipped. DVDs should go out next week. :)
 
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