Can you guys believe Spring is almost here? Well, whether you do or not IT IS!!! And, I have to say that I’m pretty excited about the new season.
Why? Other than having two films in post production and one to be finished very soon I’m excited about the learning process that we’ve been in and how it has helped us mature as artist. We’ve hit a few road blocks recently that would have seemed to knock us off course, but quite the opposite has happened. We are still on schedule with what we have planned and have not derailed. Although the desire to be an artist and doing what you love has its consequences the way you respond to them reflects whether your desire can become a willingness. So many have the desire but, the willingness isn’t there. Desire starts the plight, willingness completes it, and this is what we’re learning.
With that said we want you to be on the lookout for recently completed projects. Including my latest film. It’s such a familiar topic!!
-Lantz-
Now that we have a production company we feel obliged to list our favorite movies of 2011. It looks as though we agree on our first four films, albeit the difference in order.
Lantz Steven’s Top 5:
- Drive
- Melancholia
- Take Shelter
- Hanna
- X-Men: First Class
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Dylan Herin-Soule’s Top 5 - or so, and will probably most likely be updated, changed, and or deleted:
1. Melancholia
So my idea was to write a film about the end of the world, a planet crashing into ours in which nobody survives, and most certainly not John Cusack. Along comes Lars von Trier and makes Melancholia, and my plans - as well as the whole world - are destroyed.
Still in my opinion this was the strongest film of the year and spoke volumes about the human condition - which is sorta my bread and butter. From the extreme uneasiness of a wedding reception, which put knots in my stomach, to the beautiful finale that literally had my mouth agape in awe, this is a film that definitely deserves top place.
2. Take Shelter
When I first saw Jeff Nichols’ debut feature Shotgun Stories I knew this was a director to keep my eye on, and so I did and his next feature was Take Shelter, and while I feel this was a more straight forward tale, I still hold to the belief that this guy knows what he is doing. There’s a lot of understated performances here, a quiet, but there’s something coming, and it’s important, life changing. Michael Shannon is incredible in this, he is someone who is very aware of himself even when he isn’t always sure of himself; and he brings with him the kind of intensity that I love, one that can’t be ignored no matter how hard people try.
There’s also something to be said about the script. It seems to hit all the right notes, and has a lot to say about fear, having a family, and losing everything you work so hard for.
3. Drive
I had mixed feelings on this one. It’s a film that knows its sleek and sexy, and it’s that self-awareness that sorta bothers me. At the same time what makes it so great is the fact that almost every element comes together so effortlessly and so well. It’s a film that even when getting into your crappy ‘98 Chevy Malibu, driving down the highway at a whopping 70mp, the feeling that at any minute your tires could fall off the rims, window down, music thumping and you still feel cool as shit. It’s not because you “are” cool as shit, it’s because the movie you just watched was.
4. Hanna
Usually it’s hard to overcome a ho-hum script, and you’re more apt to find a script overcoming lousy direction, but in Hanna’s case I was more heartbroken that the ending wasn’t better because everything else in it was absolutely fantastic. It had so much ambition, so much character that when it is all said and done you would be hard pressed to find an ending worthy of it. The score by The Chemical Brothers was probably also my favorite of the year.
5. Jeff Who Lives at Home
The Duplass Brothers always seem to remind me that films don’t have to play hard to be great. It’s their gentle nature, their openness, their truthfulness that make me come out of the theater feeling all warm and fuzzy. With Jeff Who Lives at Home it’s no different.
It’s about a man who is easily distracted because he knows he is meant for more, who sees the signs but doesn’t quite know how to read them. At the same time it’s also about a family that doesn’t really seem to fit together, of a distance that understandably has formed between them because of it.
When you start off with a man recording himself describing why he identifies so much with M. Night’s Signs as he sits on the toilet, you know you’re in for a treat.
-Dylan and Lantz
I believe it’s important to set goals, have deadlines, which is exactly what Lantz and myself sat down and did tonight. We have a lot of ideas and hopes, but we also understand our limits - although we try not to think about that too much ;D
So, we figure to start the year off right we would create a little timetable for our company. Things we want to finish, and new projects we want to start. We went as far as six months, and to be honest we have a full plate that will only get fuller as the months pass by, but it feels good to have something set, something to work towards. We have a ways to go before we get to our destination, but damn if we won’t be giving it our all. We will be pushing ourselves harder than ever before this year, putting our best foot forward and just maybe with a little luck we will get something out there that makes an impact!
So, here’s to the new year! To new projects! To the future!
Cheers!
-Dylan McNuggets 
Not that anyone actually reads our tumblr yet, but what the hey! Just a little update on what we’re doing. The website is pretty much ready, but the content isn’t, and we wanna start things off right. We have a few projects that should be done very soon, and once they are our site will go live. That will give everyone something to look at while we’re at work on our new stuff, but we plan on being very busy these next few…well, for a long time!
This is the Official A Place Pictures Blog. The unofficial one doesn’t exist, so there shouldn’t be any confusion there. We’ll basically be updating with any news, set photos, tidbits and insights into our projects. Maybe some nonsense every now and again, but we’ll try to refrain.
We’ll keep it light, and at the same time heavy. We’ll give you the information you didn’t even know you wanted, but you will once we give it to you.
-A Place
