Marta

The real Marta
1927-2011

Jakob's granddaughter was present the night Jakob was taken in 1938. She never saw him again. One of her greatest wishes was to be reunited with her grandfather. At the age of 84, she has finally made that journey to a place where there is no mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Sold Out in Five Days

The screening for Under Jakob's Ladder is still two months away. And we've already sold out the 7:00 pm screening of the movie at the Manhattan Film Festival. In five days, no less. Wow.

We've sold out shows before. Just not 2 months ahead of time. In fact, it seems that it over-sold. (The festival's going to have to figure that one out.)

In any case, the Manhattan Film Festival emailed to tell us that there was nothing scheduled after our screening. Would we agree to open up that slot with a second screening of our movie?

We didn't say no.

So, the bad new is this. If you wanted to come to the 7:00 show on Monday, July 25th, sorry, we're SOLD OUT.

But, there's good news. You still have another chance to buy tickets for the 9:00 show.

Tickets are STILL available for...

Click here to get your tickets
Date: Monday, July 25th
Time: 9:00 pm
Price: $12

Or go to our website at: http://www.cubecity.org/tickets.htm

[Photo by holisticmonkey]

Tickets for JAKOB Screening

Tickets for UNDER JAKOB'S LADDER at the Manhattan Film Festival are now on sale...

Date: Monday, July 25th
Time: 7:00 pm
Price: $12

Click here to buy your tickets...

Or go to: http://www.screenbooker.com/events/view/113/t09c7ht948

Out of Frame

"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame
and what's out." -- Martin Scorsese

In other words, what's shown is important. And what's not shown can be just as important.

Think of Jaws (1975). For most of the movie, you never see the shark. The shark stays outside the camera frame. But, it works really well. It's actually scarier this way. You see the girl swimming. You see her reaction. You know what's going to happen.

There are lots of ways to convey what's happening on screen without actually showing it. Sometimes music is helpful. (Again, think of Jaws.)

Or sound effects. Walt Disney knew this when he killed off Bambi's mother. He doesn't actually show her death. But that single gunshot tells us everything we need to know. And it's a pretty traumatic scene.

Sometimes our imaginations are the best tool in a filmmaker's pocket.

[Photo by gr jones]

JAKOB Coming to NYC

For those of you who haven't heard yet...

Mark your calendars for the end of July. Because our feature film, UNDER JAKOB'S LADDER, will be screened at the Manhattan Film Festival. The dates of the festival are July 22-31.

We still haven't been told the exact date that our movie will be shown. So, stay tuned... we'll let you know.

To visit the Official Website of UNDER JAKOB'S LADDER, go to: http://www.underjakobsladder.com.

Or connect with us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/underjakobsladder

[Photo by Spacing Magazine]

Essential to the Phone Call

When writing a screenplay, it's important to write only what's essential to the story.

This can be a challenge. Probably because we are used to our day being sequential. Take, for example, our morning ritual. We wake up each morning. We get out of bed. We eat (or don't eat) breakfast. But in a story, is it really necessary to relate all these steps? The answer is... No. Unless, of course, they are key to the plot.

Screenwriter John August mentioned this in a recent blog post... How in the movies, phone conversations are cut to the bare minimum; to the point where nobody actually takes the time to say "goodbye". The person just hangs up the phone. Why? Because the typical way we say goodbye on the telephone would take up valuable screentime. And usually, saying goodbye does not affect the plot of the movie.

Avoid the unnecessary. Condense time. That's the magic of the movies.

"Nobody will ever notice that. Filmmaking is not about the tiny details. It's about the big picture." -- Ed Wood

[Photo by Matti Mattila]