Meet the Cast! (Part I)
As promised, here are the up and coming cast profiles, along with some details on the characters they play, starting with myself:
Brian Schwartz (Captain Jack Mortensen): This upcoming project will be Brian Schwartz's first film in almost a year, since he has been attending SUNY Purchase majoring in Cinema Studies. His first job was as a cameraman on Donald Holden's (see next profile) Spanish film, "El Pepino Encurtido." A love of film inspired Brian to make his own movies, as well as learn more about the ones he loves so much. In his senior year of high school at NVRHS Demarest, he took Film Production under Mrs. Michelle Gannon.
His debut film, in which he directed and acted in a surprise cameo, "Spatial Geometry," was praised for its ability to turn the simple task of doing homework into something fun with clever acting, cinematography, camera set ups, and an over-the-top score. His next project was a small one, in which the filmmaker films five close ups of an object, disguising what it is, and revealing it in the final shot. He chose a shower curtain, which was not guessed until the final shot. Unfortunately, the film had to be deleted due to a shortage of hard drive space. His next film was a solo project that he directed and starred in, along with his two cats, Bob and Baby. In "Brian's Biography," incorporated his various interests into one set, as well as parallel action of his then sport, boxing. His next project in which he costarred was a difficult one. Instead of being allowed to work more freely, a topic was given for the next film, which put more restrictions on the film. Brian considers this film, "The Wasted Years of David Cash," one of his lesser efforts due to time constraints, cold weather, and an overly sentimental and even slightly cliched tone, despite top notch performances, a killer soundtrack, and a couple interesting scenes.
Brian felt down, but he was certainly not out. He made a stellar comeback with the "1-800 Commercial," a spoof of all those crazy commercials, in which he costarred and directed. The project was a long-time idea with friend Donald Holden (the two made an audio version some years ago), filled with laughs and injokes galore. Brian and Donald both consider this to be their personal favorites, and it is being shown as an example for future film classes when they get the assignment. His next film was just as good. Directing and providing a voice-over narration, Brian made his "Movie Theater Public Service Announcement" about a topic that is close to him – behavior in movie theaters, of which he feels there is a lack of these days. The film spoofs the rudest of rude movie-goers. For their efforts, the film was nominated for best PSA. Donald Holden and Michael Sohn won the "Best Acting" award among the class, and is also being shown as a good example of a PSA in future classes. The reward was not an Oscar, but a Nerds Rope. Brian's next film was more experimental. "Horror Film" showed the same film (a horror spoof) three times in a row, to different music each time, thereby creating a different mood for the film. It was nominated for best film but lost. Brian took a break from directing to film, edit, and cameo on Michael Sohn's masterpiece music video, "Hunger." Brian submitted some ideas to Michael, some of which were used. Together, they finished filming in just a few hours, and edited the film in just two. The music video is being shown in future classes as yet another good example
One of his proudest accomplishments came in the form of another long-time idea with Donald Holden. Donald created a vapid British rock star named Jarred Blunderstone, much to the amusement of Brian. The two decided to turn this into a mockumentary, a la "Spinal Tap." "Music Legends: Jarred Blunderstone" had Brian "interviewing" Jarred, played by Donald. It was a major success amongst close friends and family among Brian, but in the classroom, there were not as many laughs as hoped for. For a short time, this seemed like it was the end of his career, since the year was almost up. There was one more project to be made, however. In his Spanish class, he worked with three friends to make "Spanish Superheroes," a film that incorporated all the terms and vocabulary learned in the year, along with top-notch humor and editing (at least in THAT class). Brian took a small part to focus more on directing and editing. Since Brian is confessed to being a terrible Spanish student, he was indebted to his colleagues for their help. All of these projects were given an A or A+, and it seemed for sure that a legacy had come to a close...but their was one more surprise. He, along with one other student in his film class, was surpised to be awarded the 2004 Film Production Award for his collective filmography. Going on the stage and accepting the award made him feel that it was like "winning an Oscar." Sadly, there were no acceptance speeches (I'll write one later, how about THAT?!)
With his career over for the time being, Brian turned to help his dear friend and colleague Donald on a film of his own, that he would assist in the script, costar, and co-direct. "Evan Friday" was an idea long in the making amongst Brian and Donald's group of friends. Brian and Donald eagerly participated in the filming process, but unfortunately, an unwilling and stubborn cast has left the film unfinished, never to be seen.
In his upcoming film, Brian plays Captain Jack Mortensen, the leader of a small group of soldiers out to find a creature that is wreaking havoc upon history. Upon finally making another movie, he has said, "I'm so glad to finally be getting back into the director's chair again...not that I ever had one in the first place."
Brian Schwartz (Captain Jack Mortensen): This upcoming project will be Brian Schwartz's first film in almost a year, since he has been attending SUNY Purchase majoring in Cinema Studies. His first job was as a cameraman on Donald Holden's (see next profile) Spanish film, "El Pepino Encurtido." A love of film inspired Brian to make his own movies, as well as learn more about the ones he loves so much. In his senior year of high school at NVRHS Demarest, he took Film Production under Mrs. Michelle Gannon.
His debut film, in which he directed and acted in a surprise cameo, "Spatial Geometry," was praised for its ability to turn the simple task of doing homework into something fun with clever acting, cinematography, camera set ups, and an over-the-top score. His next project was a small one, in which the filmmaker films five close ups of an object, disguising what it is, and revealing it in the final shot. He chose a shower curtain, which was not guessed until the final shot. Unfortunately, the film had to be deleted due to a shortage of hard drive space. His next film was a solo project that he directed and starred in, along with his two cats, Bob and Baby. In "Brian's Biography," incorporated his various interests into one set, as well as parallel action of his then sport, boxing. His next project in which he costarred was a difficult one. Instead of being allowed to work more freely, a topic was given for the next film, which put more restrictions on the film. Brian considers this film, "The Wasted Years of David Cash," one of his lesser efforts due to time constraints, cold weather, and an overly sentimental and even slightly cliched tone, despite top notch performances, a killer soundtrack, and a couple interesting scenes.
Brian felt down, but he was certainly not out. He made a stellar comeback with the "1-800 Commercial," a spoof of all those crazy commercials, in which he costarred and directed. The project was a long-time idea with friend Donald Holden (the two made an audio version some years ago), filled with laughs and injokes galore. Brian and Donald both consider this to be their personal favorites, and it is being shown as an example for future film classes when they get the assignment. His next film was just as good. Directing and providing a voice-over narration, Brian made his "Movie Theater Public Service Announcement" about a topic that is close to him – behavior in movie theaters, of which he feels there is a lack of these days. The film spoofs the rudest of rude movie-goers. For their efforts, the film was nominated for best PSA. Donald Holden and Michael Sohn won the "Best Acting" award among the class, and is also being shown as a good example of a PSA in future classes. The reward was not an Oscar, but a Nerds Rope. Brian's next film was more experimental. "Horror Film" showed the same film (a horror spoof) three times in a row, to different music each time, thereby creating a different mood for the film. It was nominated for best film but lost. Brian took a break from directing to film, edit, and cameo on Michael Sohn's masterpiece music video, "Hunger." Brian submitted some ideas to Michael, some of which were used. Together, they finished filming in just a few hours, and edited the film in just two. The music video is being shown in future classes as yet another good example
One of his proudest accomplishments came in the form of another long-time idea with Donald Holden. Donald created a vapid British rock star named Jarred Blunderstone, much to the amusement of Brian. The two decided to turn this into a mockumentary, a la "Spinal Tap." "Music Legends: Jarred Blunderstone" had Brian "interviewing" Jarred, played by Donald. It was a major success amongst close friends and family among Brian, but in the classroom, there were not as many laughs as hoped for. For a short time, this seemed like it was the end of his career, since the year was almost up. There was one more project to be made, however. In his Spanish class, he worked with three friends to make "Spanish Superheroes," a film that incorporated all the terms and vocabulary learned in the year, along with top-notch humor and editing (at least in THAT class). Brian took a small part to focus more on directing and editing. Since Brian is confessed to being a terrible Spanish student, he was indebted to his colleagues for their help. All of these projects were given an A or A+, and it seemed for sure that a legacy had come to a close...but their was one more surprise. He, along with one other student in his film class, was surpised to be awarded the 2004 Film Production Award for his collective filmography. Going on the stage and accepting the award made him feel that it was like "winning an Oscar." Sadly, there were no acceptance speeches (I'll write one later, how about THAT?!)
With his career over for the time being, Brian turned to help his dear friend and colleague Donald on a film of his own, that he would assist in the script, costar, and co-direct. "Evan Friday" was an idea long in the making amongst Brian and Donald's group of friends. Brian and Donald eagerly participated in the filming process, but unfortunately, an unwilling and stubborn cast has left the film unfinished, never to be seen.
In his upcoming film, Brian plays Captain Jack Mortensen, the leader of a small group of soldiers out to find a creature that is wreaking havoc upon history. Upon finally making another movie, he has said, "I'm so glad to finally be getting back into the director's chair again...not that I ever had one in the first place."
posted by Brian Schwartz at Tuesday, April 26, 2005
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