Film - Creative Writing Post

So I was supposed to do this post quite a while ago but was so swamped that it slippped my mind. As a mini assignment for Creative Writing, we are to blog about a subject that we studied. I was assigned film...

I guess anyone is qualified to blog about this subject but I wont lie and say that I am a diehard film buff like some of my friends in the program. I love watching movies but that is pretty much it. I rarely watch them more than once and don't often analyze them afterwards. I will use this post to identify my top 5 favourite movies.

5. The Awful Truth - This is a really old 1930s romantic comedy film feature Carey Grant and Irene Dunne. It is not well known by much of our generation but is highly regarded and AFI selected it for preservation in the registry or whatever it is called.

Carey Grant is one of my favorite actors and is spectacular in this film, which is often considered his coming out party. This comes from an era for romantic comedies were actually good and not the worst movies of all time. Check this one out. You won't regret it.

4. Goodfellas - Suuuuper cliche I know but this is a really fantastic movie that cannot be ignored. Everyone knows the story but I think it is the set that really works best and the way it is shot is great.

De Niro is unreal and this is Joe Pesci's finest hour. Ray Liotta is great to before he fell off the face of the earth and ended up in films like Youth in Revolt...

3. The Godfather - Considered the best movie of all time by many, it comes in at number 3 on my list. I have seen it probably 50 times at least and it never gets old for me. It is really breathtaking and so perfectly cast, as many of the film's actors were unknown at the time but went on to become big stars (Pacino, Caan etc.)

The film where Michael shoots Sollazo and McCluskey is probably the best of all time, in my opinion.

2. Raging Bull - This movie is close to perfect. De Niro has been in a billion great movies but this is the very best.

The story of boxer Jake La Motta, the film is a character study and done perfectly. It is so dark and so raw and you fall in love with La Motta while loathing him at the same time. De Niro's acceptance speech for the best actor award was magnificent and Martin Scorsese is a genius.

What a movie.

1. The Godfather Part II - "I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart." For me, this is the most memorable line in the history of movies and this is the best film ever made.

It's awfully rare for a sequel to be better than the original but this is a rare case. The seamless movement between Vito's past (surprise, surprise its De Niro again) and the current story with Michael is just magical. De Niro in his prime, Cazale, Keaton and Duvall are brilliant, Strasberg is inspired as Hyman Roth and this is easily the best performance in the illustrious career of Al Pacino (honourable mention to his role in Dog Day Afternoon which almost made this list).

There you have it, those are my top 5 movies of all time. I'm sure many will disagree and there are tons more that could have made it...

So I guess I do analyze films after all...

Last Day tomorrow.

Today was our last full day of CreComm first year.

It's such a weird feeling and I am not sure if I should be happy or sad. Either way, its good to be done our Ad and PR exams. They went fairly well and certainly could have been worse.

Looking ahead to a summer of IPP, cutting grass and of course, partying.

The fun times start tomorrow at the Kingshead. 

Be there.

Or be square.

keith

Don Wittman Award

This evening I will be attending the Creative Arts Dinner to accept the Don Wittman Memorial Award for sports journalism.

The award is a major honour for me for a couple reasons. First off, it is for $1000 and I have no money right now so thats a huge help but more importantly, I get to recieve an award named after a real hero of the sports broadcasting industry.

My grandpa said he met Don Wittman in Saskatchewan back in the 60's just before Wittman came to Winnipeg to work for CBC.

Through the years, I can remember him having the mic for a number of really famous events in Canadian sports history. He worked on Hockey Night in Canada and did a lot of football but he was probably best known for his work on Track and Field at the Olympics.

Wittman's best call was, without a doubt, his famed "Saturday nights in Georgia" line after Donovan Bailey won the 100m dash at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Bailey shattered the world record and Wittman did an almost perfect job at encapsulating the joy being felt across our country.

Watching the video still gives me chills and it will be with great honour and also a heavy heart that I accept his award tonight.

Have a look.

Mike McDermott

Conventional wisdom holds that there are two kinds of people in life, those who dream, and those who do. Then there is Mike McDermott, who does both.

“Anyone can be successful if you take something you want and actually go out and do it, success is there for everyone to grab,” said the thirty-year-old skateboarder who went professional in 2008 with Ohio based Habitat International.

After living in Vancouver for several years and working for major skateboard companies like Supra Distributions, McDermott returned to Winnipeg last year to open Green Apple Skateboard Shop. While he calls this the logical next step on his “skateboarding odyssey”, McDermott admits that he didn’t always see himself ending up on this path.

He says he started skating at age 11 to copy his older brother, who gave him his first board. While the learning curve was steep, McDermott soon developed a deep infatuation with the sport.

“When I first started, I just wanted to learn how to ollie. I could barely stand up on the thing. I took small steps but eventually I realized I had a pretty heavy passion for it.”

The love affair was almost cut off once McDermott turned 18 though as he worked in a mailroom while taking classes in marketing.

“I kind of quit skateboarding to try and move up the ladder, I didn’t think I could take it any further,” he says.

 

After a while, he realized that playing it safe in formal education wasn’t his thing and made the decision that changed his life.

“I sold everything I had and decided that I had a goal. I wanted to try and become a pro skater,” he said with a grin.

McDermott says the process of becoming a professional in skateboarding is much like it is in any business, a lot of work.

“It’s all about making yourself known and building a resume. You have to get out there and meet people,” said McDermott, who added that it was a crazy ride, with skating basically becoming his whole life.

“I just kept skating and skating until the right people knew who I was. I mean, let’s just say there wasn’t a lot of sleeping. Lots of partying, but no sleeping,” he said, as if to confirm it wasn’t all work and no play.

On returning to Winnipeg to open the shop, McDermott says it wasn’t something he had always planned to do but rather it had manifested itself out of another one of his dreams.

“Sometime when I close up I just think ‘wow that’s really cool that I created this’ but then I realize it really created itself because I wanted to do it. I set a goal and now here it is. It’s that simple.”

Montage Fest

Today, instead of studying or watching the Habs game, I am going back to school.

I know what you're thinking, but there is a reason for this. I am going to the first CreComm Montage Fest.

Im pretty stoked to watch everyones work and see what they did and it's this kind of stuff that makes me proud to be in the program.

Everyone should be psyched about what they've done and I can't wait to see it.

Ps. Habs and Canucks win tonight.

keith

MSA Blog

For my IPP next year, I am doing a promotional/reporting blog on the Manitoba Soccer Association. 

As you may know (haha), I love soccer and I am excited to see how the blog goes. 

I am meeting with their reps tomorrow to further discuss the blog and see how we can make it really work.

Does anyone else have suggestions on how it could work best? Let me know.

keith

Beautiful Day

Just got home from a sweet round of golf at Tuxedo. It's a beautiful day and I want to head back outside so i'll keep this post short.

Two out of three wasn't bad last night.

I think the Caps and Canucks win tonight. Both by big margins. Bank it.

keith