S01.E08: Two Martinis

[Tara Ariano]

The final days of production arrive, so Shane makes a gesture that's a sign he is moving on from his You Tube persona, and Anna battles to maintain her own directing style.

[Primetimer]

Shane's mean-girl moment, Shader explains it all for you, and more from The Chair.

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[Gregg247]

These shoots only ran for 20 days?  For some reason, it seems to me like they had a "Lawrence of Arabia"-type shooting schedule; it just went on and on and on. 

 

I liked how emotional everyone was at the end.  You could tell everyone worked really hard on both movies and had been through the ringer together. The cheering and comraderie that was apparent on both shoots on the final day was my favorite part of this show so far.

 

Ah-na really grew as a director during the shoot.  In the beginning, she was completely unable to put into words what she wanted the actors to do.  By the end, she couldn't stop the unending flow of directions pouring out of her mouth.  She talked through the entire scenes as the actors were acting.  I once heard Robert Duvall say that an actor only wants 4 instructions from a Director: "Louder", "Softer", "Faster", and "Slower".  I didn't understand what he was talking about until seeing Ah-na try to direct.

 

Lauren finally removed her hat!  They must have been filming in a sauna.

 

(I get the feeling that next week is going to be awesome!) LOL

[Sarah D. Bunting]

I got the sense she was also nervous that Victor was back?

[Latverian Diplomat]

Oh Shane, you self-important, little drama queen, getting a not-that-aggressive buzz cut is not "shaving your head". The ghost of Persis Khambata would be poltergeisting the shit out of you right now if she didn't have much better things to do.

 

The editing could be very misleading, but wow does it look like Anna spent a lot of time on set talking about her process, and not, you know, the f*cking movie. It would be one thing (and a more interesting thing) if it looked like there was growth and learning going on, but a lot of it just looks like going in circles, mentally and emotionally. And it was still going on the very last day. That much is not a trick of the editing.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[absnow54]

It would be one thing (and a more interesting thing) if it looked like there was growth and learning going on, but a lot of it just looks like going in circles, mentally and emotionally.

I agree, the actual shooting portion of the documentary was pretty shitty. I'm sure Shane and Ahnna were plenty annoying, and obviously gave a lot of footage of throwing temper tantrum or being flaky and indecisive, but I didn't need to watch 5 episodes of Shane being unnecessarily rude to Lauren in different settings and Ahnna's producers bitching about overtime while she filmed people walking through a door 900 times. I think the actual purpose of the documentary was to make you hate the directors so much that you only wanted Corey Moosa to win. Which, by the way, can he be a write in vote?

[LotusFlower]

I got the sense she was also nervous that Victor was back?

Yea, he really does change the dynamic. I thought his reaction to Anna's "usurp" comment was ridiculous, and indicative of the problem. First off, sure, she might have technically misused the word since she's in charge and doesn't have to usurp anyone, but geez - so what? Talk about splitting hairs! She was just responding to their usual dynamic of discussion and collaboration. Secondly, he was all bent out of shape over the doc cameras capturing that moment. He and his brother seem really sensitive and overly concerned as to how they're going to be portrayed in the doc. Anna (and Shane) less so.

[QuinnM]

Wow, so interesting.  Victor is so defensive of the way that the triumvirate was going to be portrayed.  I'd love to hear from someone that worked on the last opus, Breaking Up At A Wedding.  Anyone remember to two best friends that directed one of the Project Greenlight movies?  They though they were the next Coen Brothers but in truth I'm surprised that Shia Leboef didn't cut one of them.  Is all the film that has been spent talking about no money for post production isn't a fore shadowing?

 

Shane, Shane, Shane.  It is interesting that even disgusting that my husband, Chris Moore, sees that there might be money in it.  Zachary is not impressed.  I can't wait for a free evening so I can watch.  I look forward to the Oscar winning performance by Drew.  I know he must feel forever grateful to Shane for discovering him and seeing all his talent.  I'm sure he'll mention Shane in his acceptance speech.

[FastLou]

Please tell me that Anna used that dolly track in the alley for more than a 5 second transition should t of a guy walking. The waste of time & money there is driving me insane.

I was stunned how much of my dislike of Shane was tied up in his hair. Discovering he also knew it was awful increased my respect.

His film is not remotely my taste but I feel he's been shown as a competent director. He hired good people, trusted them to do their jobs, and was decisive. I found his dynamic with Lauren interesting since it expects well outside this project. It reminds me of how some of my good friends will lash out at each other when things get rough because we know it's not truly personal and keeps us from hurting people we don't know as well.

Anna - I can't even get into how much she frustrates me. Time management on set is not optional. You may think each individual extension makes sense, but when you go over 12 hours on the easy days you completely lose the goodwill of your crew & producers for when it matters on the hard days.

By the way - I liked the episode title. It references the last shot of a movie, often called the Martini Shot.

[Surrealist]

Please tell me that Anna used that dolly track in the alley for more than a 5 second transition should t of a guy walking. The waste of time & money there is driving me insane.

I was stunned how much of my dislike of Shane was tied up in his hair. Discovering he also knew it was awful increased my respect.

His film is not remotely my taste but I feel he's been shown as a competent director. He hired good people, trusted them to do their jobs, and was decisive. I found his dynamic with Lauren interesting since it expects well outside this project. It reminds me of how some of my good friends will lash out at each other when things get rough because we know it's not truly personal and keeps us from hurting people we don't know as well.

Anna - I can't even get into how much she frustrates me. Time management on set is not optional. You may think each individual extension makes sense, but when you go over 12 hours on the easy days you completely lose the goodwill of your crew & producers for when it matters on the hard days.

By the way - I liked the episode title. It references the last shot of a movie, often called the Martini Shot.

 

 

I've seen both movies now, but I know there's a separate thread for that discussion.

 

Anyway, I didn't mind this episode.

 

I agree with you about Shane. The fact that Shane admitted his hair was crap made me respect him more. To Shane's credit, his cast and crew seemed genuinely happy to have worked with him. He had his moments of where he'd get pissy, but overall, I think his cast and crew felt comfortable with him. He was friendly to them and appreciated their help. 

 

While Shane had a couple of run ins with Lauren, there's a genuine respect between them. I think Lauren kept Shane on the right track (for the most part). She knew what she was talking about and knew what needed to be gone, even if Shane wasn't always getting it. I like Lauren.

 

I have gained some respect for Anna now that I've seen her finished film. She didn't do as horrible of a job as I was expecting based on her obsessive attention to detail, however, I think she should stick to screenwriting. That's obviously her strength and writing doesn't necessarily adhere to the kinds of deadlines required of a director. In this case, Victor is the more experienced director, but he's a bit of a jackass. I don't mind Phil too much. As I've said before, I get the impression that Anna and Phil are intimidated by Victor. In Victor's defense, at least, he knows how to move along and not do 1,242 takes of an actor flopping face first onto a bed.

 

I didn't quite get the impression that Anna's crew respected her as much as Shane's respected him. When it comes to working with Anna, I imagine it's like walking on eggshells. She doesn't fully trust her instincts and she overthinks the things that aren't necessary. I don't get how Anna doesn't understand how important not going over budget is. She, Victor, and Phil have made short films before, shouldn't she have gained time management and budgeting skills by now?

Edited October 27, 2014 by Surrealist

[Al Lowe]

Moosa making the calls for the wang search... can we send him a sympathy bouquet of some kind? That was heartbreaking.

[Jordan27]

Shane cuts his hair and looks like Zachary Quinto.  How ironically funny.