Obama on 60 Minutes

Paris at dawn

This is one of my favorite short films of all time and should be required viewing for all film pros and aficionados. It was shot in 1976, already astonishing for its time, and the title of the film is at the end. The caption at the beginning reads: "The film you are about to see was shot without any editing or speeding up".

I could say much much more, but I'll let the film speak for itself:

When you're done watching it—and not before—go visit the imdb trivia page here. And if you understand a little French, you can see the making of it here.

Why we're going to have a President Obama

If I were a political strategist for John McCain, I'd be extremely worried right now. Running a campaign against Hillary Clinton is a best case scenario for McCain because Hillary Clinton's sullied past is sure to polarize a lot of conservatives to vote against her, even if they don't really care about voting for McCain. Plus, Clinton and McCain are evenly matched in experience, so swing voters will probably vote for the one most aligned with their political beliefs.

But a campaign against Barack Obama? It's a nightmare—the slogans will be things like old vs. new, traditional vs. fresh approach, anti-same-sex marriage vs. pro-same-sex marriage and, the clincher... pro-war vs. anti-war. Since public sentiment has swung away from the war in Iraq, Obama is sure to lead that bandwagon all the way into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The youth vote is not to be dismissed, either: Obama represents a newer generation of politicians not mired in the tired dialectic of the 60s and 70s, but looking forward to a new future... younger voters want a candidate who inspires them to use politics to make a significant change in their lives. What they want, plainly put, is new blood and new ideas.

I haven't even mentioned the fact that Obama swept three more states today with a whopping 2:1 delegate ratio. And the next three states—the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia—are also very favorable Obama states, so his momentum is now hurling forward like a freight train... one day not long from now, perhaps we'll all wonder if Hillary Clinton ever seriously stood a chance against Obama at all.

Al Gore didn't run for President this time because his political advisors told him Hillary Clinton's campaign was unbeatable. I wonder what Gore's advisors are thinking now...

(In proofing this post, it occurs to me I never mentioned the black vote... which, of course, would be disingenuous to say that had nothing to do with Obama's campaign. Seriously, though—it didn't even occur to me!)

Chris Matthews on Barack Obama

Integrity in our politicians? Preposterous!

80,000 votes

After 15,000,000 Democratic votes yesterday and, by a popular vote tally, Obama lost by only 80,000 votes.

That's a difference of only 0.53%.

Obama is no longer an underdog... he's a contender.

Strike is almost over... (phew)

It looks like the WGA & AMPTP are really close to putting this nasty strike behind them:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Negotiators for Hollywood studios and striking writers have agreed to terms of a new contract that could be presented to union leaders in days and, if approved, end their three-month-old labor clash later this week, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

While the outlines of an accord were reached over the weekend, the two sides still need to hammer out contract language before a deal is submitted for approval to the governing boards the East and West Coast branches of the Writers Guild of America, they said.

Those sources, who were briefed on the status of talks but were not authorized to speak publicly about them under a media blackout, said negotiators hoped action by the WGA boards on a deal could come as early as Friday.

An endorsement by WGA leaders presumably would be accompanied by a decision to call off the strike, but if the WGA boards were divided, the walkout might continue pending a ratification vote by rank-and-file members.

One source said the big breakthrough in the latest round of talks, which began January 23, came on the key sticking point of how much writers should be paid for advertising-supported Internet "streaming" of television shows.

That source also characterized the writers' agreement in principle as an improvement over the terms of an earlier, separate contract deal for Hollywood directors that helped pave the way for studios and the WGA to resume bargaining after weeks of stalemate.

"They reached agreement on the major terms, and now its a question of reducing it to (contract) language, which we're all hoping goes well and continues in the same spirit of progress that the talks have experienced so far," he said.Link.

This is fantastic news. Obvi.

As for how good the deal is? Time will tell... stay tuned.

P.S. I got handed about a month's work to do in 2 weeks so you won't see me updating very much for a while.

Everyone wants to be a Director

Common knowledge:

1. Everyone wants to make movies.
   
2. Everyone wants to be a film director.

Here's the problem:

1. Films depreciate in value over time, like cars.
   
2. Film libraries, however, appreciate over time, like houses.

Furthermore:

1. Film directors are employees.
   
2. Film producers are employers.

And as we all know:

1. Employees are dependent on an income stream.
   
2. Employers create, and thus have more control over, income streams.

Finally:

1. Film directors make movies.
   
2. Film producers own movies.

This is why:

1. I direct my own movies because it's a life dream.
   
2. I own my movies to retain control over how my movies make money.

But don't forget:

1. We are still in a war over how best to monetize digital entertainment.
   
2. As content proliferates across the internet, the rules over digital ownership must adapt.