Accepted to The University of Iowa

It has been a dreary week for me given that my cat, Jack, ran away over the weekend; but things started looking up today. I received an email congratulating me for being accepted to the University of Iowa. After four long months of waiting for an acceptance letter, my answer is finally here. I'm going to University of Iowa! Enrolled in their Cinema program, I'll finally be moving into a dorm and living like a real college student. DMACC was fun I suppose. I had a lot of great professors, made the Dean's list, and got to live with my brother for the year in our awesome apartment which I'll miss; but I need to be on a "real" campus with people I can relate to and working on my major. Tom Hanks went to community college (I think), so I'm not worried about it.

This is a great success for my blog as well. The purpose was to follow me through film school, and now I'm actually going to film school. Unless you count the movie appreciation classes I've taken at DMACC. So lets hope I don't blow this opportunity. Less than two months of DMACC left, I can't let my GPA fall now. Funny thing is, I haven't even received the acceptance letter from U of I. The internet ruins all the best surprises! What a great start to a new month this would be if I had my Jack back.

Finally, today is April 1st, and you know what that means? Script Frenzy had begun! Only thirty days left to write a hundred page script, so get started!!! I'll be working on my screenplay to be recorded this summer.

This blog post is dedicated to the memory of Jack. Jack, if you're reading this, please come home!

2010 Movies in the Remaking

This year has become a huge year for remakes and it brings up the issue of whether movie remakes are necessary. A lot of remakes can't live up to the original because classics are classics for a reason. A timeless movie does not need to be remade because it is TIMELESS. But retelling a classic story so that it appeals to the modern generation could be refreshing and exciting to see how cinematography and graphics have changed. To determine how necessary it is to remake a classic film, we have to look at each of them individually. Does Hollywood really care to reestablish these classics or have they lost their originality and are looking to make money ?

'Clash of the Titans' is due to come out next month, 29 years after the original. Relative to how graphics have developed in that amount of time, it could be due for a remaking; however, any middle aged movie buff or older will still remember 'Clash of the Titans' coming out in 1981. Graphics have improved but that doesn't mean a remake is necessary. What is interesting about the "new" 'Clash of the Titans' is the change of plot (and this is judging by the trailer). The original was about Perseus (Harry Hamlin) who unknowingly ticks off Thetis (Maggie Smith) so Thetis punishes him by putting him in this random city where he falls in love with Andromeda (Judi Bowker). Andromeda was supposed to marry Thetis' deformed son, so Thetis gets even more pissed off and wants to kill Andromeda. Keep in mind it was all Thetis' fault for putting Perseus in a situation where he would meet Andromeda. So Perseus, for the love of the woman he just met, sets out to do a bunch of stuff so that he can save her. All while the king of gods, Zeus (Laurence Oliver), is going along with Thetis instead of smacking her and telling her to respect his authoritah! So my point is that this plot doesn't make much sense to someone like me who is of a younger generation. This is interesting because it appears that the remake has a less fickle Zeus played by Liam Neeson and Perseus (Sam Worthington) is on a quest to save humanity from the wrath of the Gods. These days, simple love stories are just not as appealing. And I find that very interesting, so that is why I'm looking foward to seeing the remake.

'A Nightmare on Elmstreet' was first released in 1984 and the remake is expected to hit theaters this summer. With the Halloween and Jason movies being brought back to life, it is no surprise that Freddie would come next. Jackie Earle Haley, who played Rorschach in 'Watchmen', will be playing Freddie Krueger. Why is this remake necessary? Same basic reason as 'Clash of the Titans'. There is a new standard for fear because teens just aren't as easy to scare as they used to be. Looking back at old Freddie Krueger movies, they are cheesy and boring and Freddie Krueger is a classical character who needs to be brought back to life and that is only possible if he is scary.

'Death at a Funeral' is an upcoming remake of a film by the same name... released in 2007. Why would they remake a three year old film? I'm seriously asking, because I can't think of a single reason. This remake is not necessary. It might be a good movie but that doesn't change anything because the original did pretty well.

Jeff Bridges returns to the game world of TRON as Kevin Flynn in 'Tron Legacy'. 'Tron Legacy' is a sequel to the 1982 'Tron' but many are considering it a remake because it targets younger generations regardless of whether they've seen 'Tron' which means the movies are not entirely dependent on each other. For its time, 'Tron' seemed like a much bigger impossibility; now the technology seems less than a decade away. This is a perfect movie for 3D!

'The Crazies' was recently released, 37 years after the original. The movie was shot not far from where I live so I felt inclined to see it and I did like it. Was it worth remaking? Well it is old and I've never heard of it, so sure.

'The Karate Kid' is back with Jackie Chan playing Mr. Han, who replaces Mr. Miyagi from the 1984 original. This version takes place in China instead of Japan which means it should be called The Kung Fu Kid if it intends on being entirely accurate. Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, plays the kid, Dre Parker. Han is a very common Chinese name and Dre Parker isn't all that creative of a name either, but I wouldn't sell this one too short. It actually looks like a pretty good movie. It looks like they tried to change it up so that the movie's story concept and title are the only things similar to the 1984 original.

'Predators' is another upcoming movie that is more like a sequel than a remake, but because it plans on cleaning the slate of 'Predator 2' and the AVP movies, we can consider it a remake. The producers wanted to bring Arnold Schwarzasdfsger back into the series but from what I can see, that isn't happening. You can see from the title that it paradies the 'Alien' and 'Aliens' names. This is because, for the first time ever, the movie will take place on the Predator's planet. 'Predator 2' wasn't that bad or anything, but it would be nice to see a Predator movie that is as great as the first so the series can finally be as good as the Alien series.

There are a lot of other remakes coming out soon like 'RoboCop', 'Total Recall', 'Piranha', 'When Worlds Collide', 'The Wolfman', and so on. It is impossible to find a list of them all. 'Alice in Wonderland' has been remade for the fifth time and there is a rumor that 'The Thing' will have a third remake. Rumors of a 'Child's Play' remake have been spreading, hopefully they'll go deeper into the killer's past before he became a doll. The Three Stooges might have a come back with new actors taking over. The Spider-man series is starting over with Logan Lerman as Peter Parker. Good choice! As much as I love Tobey Maquire, starting the series over doesn't seem like that bad of an idea. Will these remakes live up to the classics? We'll find out.

Academy Award vs Reel World Awards

It seemed appropriate that I should watch the Oscars this year so I'd be able to write about it. The night of the Academy Awards I worked, so I TiVoed it. Thankfully I did, because I could barely get through the entire three hours without fast forwarding. So I'll keep this short. Here are my thoughts on the Academy Awards and who the Reel World recognizes as best.

'Music by Prudence' got the Oscar for best documentary short. Never seen it, but my question is who was that crazy red head woman who jumped on stage while the man who got the award was giving his thanks? She babbled on about nonsense and took away all of that man's time. Allegedly, she abandoned the film project due to creative differences and thought she was entitled to the award. On her way to the stage, the man's mother tried blocking the crazy woman with her cane. Every award show needs its Kanye.

Ben Stiller dressed like a Na'vi from 'Avatar' and he didn't seem happy about it. Nor did James Cameron. Ever notice how Na'vi looks a lot like Native?

They managed to sneak Michael Jackson into the memorial segment, but not Farrah Fawcett.

Sandra Bullock received the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. I've never seen 'The Blind Side' so I have no choice but to judge it based on some great advice that Patrick gave me. Never make a film about a white person helping a black person. So, I have no choice but to give the Reel World Award to Meryl Streep ('Julie & Julia') because she is awesome and in the only movie I've seen from that list of nominees.

'Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire' received many nominees and won a few Oscars. It also hereby receives the Reel World Award for Longest Name.

My biggest surprise was to see 'District 9' had received so many nominations. 'Avatar' and 'District 9' both connected aliens to some oppressed culture but the difference between them was that 'District 9' sucked. It was full of plot holes and flat characters but everyone argues with me because the graphics were good (for a low budget film) and it reflects something happening in Africa. Maybe it wasn't a horrible movie, but how can you consider it deserving of an Academy Award when there were so many far better movies? Reel World gives 'District 9' the award for Most Overrated Film.

'The Hurt Locker' was awarded many Oscars including Best Picture. This is a movie that I've never seen nor heard of but if it beat 'Avatar' then it must be pretty great. There is one thing that I stress when it comes to war movies. It isn't hard to make a war movie dramatic and filmmakers tend to take advantage of that. War is dramatic by itself so when I see a war movie I look for what is creative about it. TIME Magazine described 'The Hurt Locker' as "the perfect war film". Because I've never seen 'The Hurt Locker' there isn't much I could say about it. The film was released in 2008 and the producer apparently emailed the Academy begging them to nominate it instead of "a 500M film" aka 'Avatar'. Fair enough. As soon as I get the chance, I'll watch and review it, but for now I have to give the Reel World Best Picture Award to 'Avatar'. I'm sure James Cameron feels like the king of the world right now.

Here is a list of the Oscar nominations and winners.

Tim Burton Takes Us Back to Wonderland

In my poll for most anticipated movie of 2010, 70% of voters said 'Alice in Wonderland' so I jumped at the chance of seeing it before everyone else so I could write a review. Unfortunately, three hours before the movie's first midnight showing it had already sold out and a line was beginning to merge outside the theater. The same people in this line were the people I saw waiting five hours on the opening night of 'New Moon'. I was not there to see 'New Moon' fyi! But the line was occupied with many... um... Synchronized Nonconformists. It is amazing how much money Tim Burton has made for Hot Topic which is very sad because I love Tim Burton even though he is indirectly responsible for the fall of real punk. All blame aside, Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' is very fun and exceeds expectations.

Alice is played by Mia Wasikoasdfa. Remember her from 'I Love Sarah Jane' and 'Amelia'? Nor do I. Johnny Depp plays supporting actor as the Mad Hatter... Why is Johnny Depp playing supporting actor? It's okay, because he steals the show. Put him together with Helena Bonham Carter and you have yourself a classic Tim Burton film. Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, and Alan Rickman make up a really good cast of Wonderland creatures. I did not mention Michael Sheen, despite how well he did as the White Rabbit, he plays a character in the Twilight saga and that calls for a "shame on you, Michael Sheen"! I said it to Anna Kendrick in my review of 'Up in the Air' so it is only fair.

Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' is a very interesting chapter in the original 1865 mind-boggling story, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. It takes place when Alice is 19 years old and must return to Wonderland. There was one huge distinction between Tim Burton and the original Dodgson tales. Tim Burton didn't make this movie CRAZY enough. Sure, it is crazy, but a lot of it makes far too much sense. True, it is a movie and there has to be a plot and throwing in random stuff would be superfluous however this is Alice in Wonderland and when it comes to Alice in Wonderland, one should be snorting Windex before they're able to make any sense out of what the characters are talking about. This, however, is not a problem. If Tim Burton wanted to, he could have made this movie more Wonderlandesque. His vision of Wonderland is truly marvelous, perhaps not as breathtaking as it could be, but Burton couldn't have made this movie at a better time. RealD (3D) is new big thing and Wonderland is exactly the kind of place that RealD should be used for. It takes you into Wonderland and livens up the outspoken characters. Tim Burton was right to go all out with the special effects.

In conclusion, for its stunning scenery, creativity and for being such a fun film- I give Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' a wonderful 76 out of 100. Most anticipated movie of the year, yes. But will it be the best? We'll see.

Let the Frenzy Begin!

Here is a fun challenge: Write a 100+ page script in 30 days. Seems like a bit of a stretch, especially for someone like me who has been working on an unimportant screenplay for 3 months now and has only written 20 pages. Gimme a break, I've been busy! Anyway, this is the task that the annual Script Frenzy challenges you with. So are you in or not?

I first heard about the Script Frenzy a year ago when my good writer friend, Laura Fast, told me about it. Intrigued, I made an account but never went ahead with it. This year might not be any different, but I thought I'd expand the Script Frenzy awareness onto my readers (that's you even if you've only been on my blog for 10 seconds). Let me tell you a few things about the Script Frenzy.

You have all of April to work on your script (it can be a screenplay, graphic novel, stage play, whatever!) and as you complete your work, you upload proof to your Script Frenzy profile so people can see your progress. To be considered a winner and receive the official Script Frenzy certificate, you must complete 100+ pages in that time limit of 30 days. Failure is NOT an option... just kidding. I don't know what the certificate might be worth to you but it could go on a resume or cover that hole in your wall which you created from having a bad case of extreme writer's block.

So now I've interested you. What do you do? Well first, go to the Script Frenzy website. Make a profile and add me as your writing buddy if you'd like. Then you have 30 days starting now to come up with an awesome idea before the frenzy starts. I have my idea but it might be a little too awesome to rush through. I recommend that when the frenzy starts, you just write like a crazy person and save the revisions for later. Need help coming up with an idea? I'll post some random ideas on my Twitter this month, so follow me.

I realize that a certificate from Script Frenzy isn't that great of a reward for completing a seemingly impossible task so I'll make it a little more interesting by throwing in my own reward. If you choose to participate in this competition and are able to complete it by their rules and regulations... I'll give you an official The Reel World of Zachary Hayes certificate!!! Let me tell you why I'm being so generous. Creativity is a hard thing to come by. People need to get out there and just be creative without worrying about how it will benefit them. Therefor, I will give you a reward to encourage you to be creative without benef...uhm...So let the frenzy begin (in 30 days)! Here is that website again: http://scriptfrenzy.org/