Life Imitates Art - Tron Bike Realized for $55K!

Life imitates art. Witness a real-life Tron Light Cycle built by the creative geniues at Packer Brothers Choppers. For a cool $55,000 you can finally ride something to make the macho guys who ride superbikes feel inadequate when you pull up next to them...

"You call that a bike? This is a real bike, baby! Wheel hubs are so 20th century! Do you even have neon lights on that shit?!"

*Thanks to my brother-in-law, Francisco Rivera for the tip!

Candid Conversation w/ a Hollywood Power Couple this Weds. 9pm!

On the next Double Down Film Show we’ll be trading industry notes with a rare Hollywood power couple - Meena Payne and Sylvain White.

Meena Payne is Director of Development at Rainforest Films (Takers, Obsessed, Stomp the Yard 1 & 2, etc. ) and engaged to director, Sylvain White, who has helmed such films as Stomp the Yard and The Losers.

Each started out as a mere intern and then hustled and busted their butt to get to their respective positions on the studio backlot.

• How did they each go from intern to POWER player?
• What actually IS the development process?
• What should you always be VOCAL about as an intern?
• What are OPTIONS and how do they work?
• What is it like to be a COUPLE in the industry?

Tune in and take notes as they lay out their blueprints for perseverance and success in a rough and tumble industry. Plus they will candidly discuss the challenges and rewards of being a power couple in Hollywood.

The Losers Trailer

Real talk about real filmmaking issues that can make or break your career every week – only on the Double Down Film Show.

Filmmaking Reality Starts Here:

The Double Down Film Show

Every Wednesday, 9pm - 10pm E.S.T.

Call-in Number: (646) 929-1956

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PEEP THIS: Laugh Your Medieval Ass Off

James Franco, Danny McBride and Natalie Portman star in the new film, Your Highness from the director of Pineapple Express, David Gordon Green, which looks to be a new genre - the "Medieval Stoner Comedy".

What exactly is a Medieval Stoner Comedy, you ask? You gotta watch the trailer for yourself...and I'd suggest you don't do it at work or while drinking milk, 'cause it's that damned funny oh and raunchy, definitely very raunchy!

WARNING:
This trailer is Rated "R" for too many inappropriate things to name, so you'll have to "verify" your age to watch it.

Thanks to Dustin Chang from the Floating World film blog for tipping me off to the trailer!

Video Game (Not Movie) Smashes 5-Day Media Sales Record

Increasingly the world of video games and movies are merging with the latest video games now include more involved multi-layered storylines, lush "cinematography", even many big name actors as voice talent and now BIG BIG box office.

The NYU-Tisch School of the Arts (where I also work and teach film) has recently started a Game Center right along side their renowned and well-established film school - same floor even.

As a casual gamer I've been blown away by titles like Metal Gear Solid and the Call of Duty franchise (which I'm pretty sure I'm now gonna need therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder from just the few hours I've played so far. More than once I've had to turn it off and take a break from the intense action on-screen).

Witness this NY Times article which cites how Call of Duty: Black Ops has just set a world record for the biggest 5 day sales of ANY MEDIA - that's movies, music or video games by generating $650 million in worldwide sales in 5 days. That means no title of any genre has ever made more money faster and that's damned well worth paying attention to.

While I don't think a videogame will ever surpass the total box office of say a blockbuster movie like Avatar or Dark Knight in the near future. The day may not be far off as videogames are now learning to milk money from secondary markets like downloadable extras. (FYI- The previous record holding title was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)

The other figure worth noting here is the cost of the average game at about $50/unit and the amount of time spent engaged with that media - upwards of 20-30 hours for the most popular big titles.

Maybe time to change that big budget action script into a game script, eh?