R.I.P Chris Marker

 This Sunday we sadly lost artist and filmmaker, Chris Marker. Marker was a key figure in the French New Wave film movement in the 1950s and 60s. Best know for his films La Jetée and Sans Soleil, both pf which experimental in their use of narrative and aesthetics. La Jetée is told entirely through still images and was remade by American/British filmmaker Terry Gilliam as 12 Monkeys in 1995.

 Marker is a figure of importance to students of film not only as a filmmaker but as an essayist. I have been personally influenced by Chris Marker as a filmmaker. In fact in college I made a ten minute film based on his works.

 Marker was a remarkable man, but he was also a reclusive one. He rarely did interviews and there are very few photos of him.

 He died on July 29th 2012, his 91st Birthday, in Paris. He remains one of film history's greatest arthouse filmmakers and one of it's greatest enigmas.

 R.I.P.

New Blog

Don't freak out over the title,I'm not closing this blog down or stopping writing posts for it, I'm still going to be using this at my usual infrequent style.

 Those who know me know that I'm a relentless cinephile. I've just finished a two year media course at college and I'm hopefully moving on to study film at university in September. Something I've been contemplating doing for a long time is setting up is setting up a second blog exclusively for film reviews. The other week I decided that in this threshold between college and uni and I have off, I'd do something productive and finally went ahead and made my film blog.

If you follow this like, It will take you to it: http://atpeterblakemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/       

I post on that a lot more frequent than I post on here, about three times a week. I hope you read and enjoy it, and keep on checking this blog out, too.

3 Minutes of Fame.

In the latter half of this January, I signed up for the First Light project, which is a lottery funded project that gives thirteen to nineteen year olds involved in making their first short film.

I know, I've made short films before. I'll be honest, I pretty much only enrolled as an easy way of filling my Work Experience quota for college. I was getting bored of emailing production companies and getting no reply. And I'm too awkward and shy to use a phone.

It sounds bad, but I probably gained more experience and skills than I would have if I was just some runner on a set, making coffee for people. I can already make basass coffee.

The project lasted for 8 weeks, with 7 hours every Saturday at FACT, Liverpool. If you don't know FACT is an Art Gallery, Cinema and all around awesome place, that you have no excuse not to visit if you can.

The sessions were led by filmmaker Jacqueline Passmore and fine-artist Adam Cain, who passed on their knowledge and experience, as well as their amiable dispositions

I was part of a group who collectively produced a short film called The Guardian. I won't bother with a synopsis, because frankly, I'd rather you just watched the film. The link to which is at the bottom on this post.

My main contribution was acting... yeah, that thing I said earlier about being shy and awkward, that still stands. My idiosyncrasies don't allow me to feel comfortable in front of a camera unfortunately. But I did it anyway, the same reason I've acted in other films before; because I can't say no if I think it could compromise the making of a film. Dedication to the medium.

Acting is horrible, if you didn't know. It makes you really self-conscious and forgot how to do basic things like breath and walk. Which is why when you watch the video you'll see it looks like I have a limp.

I did however enjoy everything that comes from being a star: getting complimented by strangers on my acting and not having to queue for nightclubs. Well I don't know about that last one, I don't go to clubs, but I imagine that's what would happen now.

So in conclusion: This was awesome, acting is horrible and fame is sweet. And the film's only three minutes long, so I'm entitled to another twelve.

It's Not Easy Being Me: My Affinity With Samantha Brick

On April 3, Daily Mail columnist Samantha Brick wrote an article titled: ''There are downsides to looking this pretty': Why women hate me for being beautiful' this article begotten so much ridicule and anger that the general response to the name Samantha Brick went from '...Who?' to 'Who? Oh her, yeah, stupid bitch'.

Here it is if you want to read it (I suggest you do): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2124246/Samantha-Brick-downsides-looking-pretty-Why-women-hate-beautiful.html?ito=feeds-newsxml ,

Read it? Cool. Ready to hear me rip to into her on an unprecedented scale? Well you're expectations might be about to take a blow.

You see, I actually empathise with Mrs Brick, as I too am far too attractive for my own good.

Many a time have I been short 5 pence when I'm in the shop and the busty brunette behind the counter lets me get away with it.

On several occasions the bus driver charged me for a child, when I'm clearly not one.

And the guys in Subway will always give me extra fillings (Not an euphemism).

And I know why this happens, it's not because in the sea of malice there are still pockets of kindness and good will. Not at all. It's because they all want to get in my pants.

And who can judge them? Not me, I know I'm too beautiful for them to help it. And neither can you, after all why are you reading this? I have no notable intelligence and I certainly can't write worth a darn. You're here because you want to understand me better. Understand my political views, my social views and my spiritual beliefs. And by learning this you can try to articulately lore me into bed.

And I'm not shallow, or self centred or solipsistic. I wouldn't even consider my self to be overly attractive if it wasn't for it being that I so obviously am.

I don't pat myself on my back for being this stunning. I'm aware it's luck. I didn't order my slim physique or untameable brown locks. Beauty is a lottery, and I hit the jackpot.

But being good looking, like Samantha Brick so touchingly expressed, is not without it's plights. When you're beautiful, the rest of the world has trouble with being inferrer to you, and they take it out on you.

My male friends never want to go out with me because they know that my charm, charisma and knock-out good looks will have a magnetic affect all females in the bar and their mediocre faces wont even pull the fat chicks.

I know what you're thinking? 'Oh Peter, if you're so aware of your demi-god like features; how do you explain you being single?' Well, it's really quite simple. No women thinks she's good enough for me. And despite this only being a half-truth, there's no way I can stop them from thinking this. Thus, I remain single. This is why I envy normal looking people, like you.

I hope this blog-post taken with Samantha Brick's heartfelt declamation helps you better in understanding what it's really like to be one of the beautiful people. If it helps think of us like the X-Men - The same as you... just genetically superior.

Russell Brand & Katy Perry Split.

  So, Russell Brand & Katy Perry have filed for divorce, you already know this of course; it's news, apparently. Does I care? No... no. not at all.
 But my apathy doesn't derive from spite, in fact I hope their divorce goes smoothly and they both end up happy in the future (preferably with different professions)

  "They never last these celebrity marriages" That's the general response, after a quick glance at Facebook and Twitter, even Huffington Post are marching in the celebrity marriage witch-hunt posting this question on their Facebook wall
But, with 40% of marriages worldwide ending in devoice, with 45% of British marriages and 50% of US marriages ending likewise, is it really fair to pick on celebrities for their poor success record?
 Also, given those numbers, do those of you who lavishly boasted your prediction of Perry and Brand's separation still seem as impressive to you?

 For your consideration; there are lots of successful celebrity marriages, need proof? Look at all four of the Beatles, four of the most famous men to ever grace our planet who all managed to find and stay loyal to their much sought 'one'.
 Yes,  John divorced early in his life, and Paul did later in his. But John and Yoko and Paul and Linda are some of the most sincere unions one's cognizant of.

 So 2011 is drawing to an end, and seen some pretty big devoices; Katie Price & Peter Andre, Katy Perry &  Russell Brand and Kim Kardashian & Whoever  it was that she married.
 This is my conclusion; their's nothing wrong with celebrities' marriages, it's that the people today who we consider to be celebrities, are actually just fame hungry media whores who marry to get their face in the paper, and divorce to get their face in the paper.
 So when Paris Hilton's next 10 day marriage ends and you wonder what went wrong, it was you, for paying any attention in the first place.                
 

Art and X-Factor

  For the first time in a good few years, I watched a full episode of X-Factor tonight. Not entirely by choice, and it was from behind a book. I almost did this a few weeks previous during the audition stage, but I couldn't make the full episode, because the unmerciful cackling of the audience and  multi-millionaire judges at the faces of the helplessly deluded contestants who are pushed on to stage by produces with no morals made my stomach turn. And the watchers at home who laugh a long are no better by my code.

 Tonight's episode - although not as bad - didn't do much at change the direction of the breeze in which my respect of humanity is blowing. The premise of the show wasn't hard to pick up, one by one fame-hungry talentless cunts preform already shit songs to a panel of  four of the most gormless shits I've ever seen. Including Gary Barlow who is basically the plot to Speed 3 where terrorists have planted a bomb in his larynx, which will explode if he talks in more than one tone. And also Louis Walsh who constantly has a glassed expression on this face, like an off-camera runner is holding up a que-card with a picture of a giant cock. As well as two other judges that are too boring to even lampoon. 

Before each of the dreadful display is a short VT where all they go on about how all their life they've wanted to be famous and self-congratulate themselves on how supposedly charismatic they are before they almost drown in their own tears about some uncle they ever met who dies years ago, an are going to capitalize their whole career on said relatives death. 

  Tonight's episodes was based around songs about heartbreak (how fuckin' deep). The problem with this, is that most of the people on the show are about 19 or 20 so couldn't put any soul into it - and before some dumb bitch  tells me that age doesn't mean anything; just because your boyfriend with a car dumped you when you were thirteen for someone his own age, doesn't mean that your life's over, so shut the fuck up. And why do they have to sing cover songs anyway? Why can't they they sing their own? Is it to much to ask for that they have, you know, a little talent? If that was the case, we wouldn't now have Olly Murs churning out shit like "Ooh, she let me sleep with her, I figured her figure's a sure sure winner,Plus, I've got to leave from the back I'm a skipper,You make my heart skip, skip, skip, skip, skip, skip a beat." Yep, fuckin' poetry that mate. Simon and Garfunkel would be jealous. With this, and the added bonus of non of them being able to play instruments, the judges still have the audacity to call the artists. REWIND!. How are they artists? They can't write, they can't play, some of them can barley sing. Where does art come into it? Bob Dylan, he's an artist. Jimi Hendricks, he's an artists. John Lennon. Jim Morrison. But on X-Factor, they wouldn't even get past the auditions, because they don't have, by conventional standards,  they don't have great voices, which on X-factor is not only the most important, but the only important element. Aren't you glad X-Factor wasn't around in the '60s? 

  So here's my final message; this goes out to anyone who's thinking about applying for next years show. If you can sing, and want to sing, but can't write or play; this in't the business for you. Act in musicals, or on Cruse ships. we already have enough singers, what we need is artists. And even if you can, great, but still don't apply, keep your dignoty.  

R.I.P Steve Jobs

 You've almost certainly already heard, but in case you haven't, tonight Steve Jobs CEO of Apple lost his fight with cancer, and died at the age of 56.
 Now I know some of you don't care, that's fine. But anyone who has ever made anything creative on a Mac, will agree with me here when I say that the power, speed and simplicity of these inspiring machines, washes away any frustration and worry, and allows for your creative side to flourish. Everything I've ever created that I could say I'm proud of, was created on a Mac. And for that Steve, I thank you. And for that, I will remember you. R.I.P.

                                       R.I.P STEVE JOBS (1955 - 2011)