San Diego Comic-Con 2012 has come and gone and the most memorable thing for me wasn’t a costume I saw, merchandise I bought, the standing in line for hours or even a panel featuring my favorite TV stars. My favorite thing did not even take place at the San Diego Convention Center but across the street at Petco Park, home of the Padres. But instead of peanuts and Cracker Jack, I was being chased by zombies at The Walking Dead Escape!
Pacific Grove, CA is nestled in the Monterey Peninsula on the Central Coast. If you are in Pacific Grove, you are within walking distance from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Lover’s Point, Toasties Café. Time slows down in Pacific Grove, which is affectionately called P.G. by locals. The Victorian style buildings and ocean view provide a cozy atmosphere that whispers to its residents and visitors, “It’s ok, you are home now.”
Because of this beautiful locale, filmmakers have periodically dropped in to add some P.G. flavor to their films. Perhaps the most notable of these are “Turner and Hooch” and some scenes from “Play Misty for Me”.
And now we have even more films to look forward to that are set in the Pacific Grove area. Independent filmmakers Cristiana DiPietro and Matthew Kalamane have started the Monarch Film Festival, named after the Monarch butterfly, which P.G. is famous for. The festival was created to bring the art of Cinema to Pacific Grove, as well as to present the Northern California area as a unique and welcome place to shoot and showcase films.
The Monarch Film Festival has gained momentum in the last few months. The project was fully funded on Kickstarter, and is on track for a November 2012 unveiling.
If you are interested in attending or submitting a film of your own, you can find out more at http://www.monarchfilmfestival.com/
So says the latest IHS Screen Digest reports. 33mm film use is down dramatically over the last two years due to the increasing quality and affordability of digital equipment.
With digital cameras, there is no need for camera operators to stop “rolling”, saving time on sets where budgets continue to increase and feet of film equal dollars wasted. Also, the cost of silver, a key ingredient in the manufacture of celluloid, has gone up from 5 dollars an ounce to 25 dollars for the same ounce this year.
Production is expected stop at most facilities in major markets by the end of next year, and globally by 2015.
Have no fear though. The average movie viewer will not be negatively affected by this change. Our Blu-ray players have not been able to play 35mm film rolls since we got them.
Before we get into the article, let me take a minute and apologize for my sad pun of a title. To be fair, you should all be thanking me because I could have used a pun involving the word “quiver” and I think we all know that would have gone horribly awry.
Anyway… 2012 is officially the year of the archer. By the time autumn rolls around guys and gals alike will be clamouring to get their hands on a bow and arrow and take aim at a target. Preferably a stationary inanimate object, and not, say, their sibling or spouse. But either way, chances are a good portion of the population will be ready to draw back that string. Continue reading