Chiwetel Ejiofor Quote of the Month: September 2011

With the exception of Redbelt (which I am not counting out of personal animosity), none of the films we have covered so far have exactly been chatty. Oh sure, Serenity has awesome dialogue, but I'm thinking chatty in terms of like a stage play. Ejiofor is such a poised, fiercely intelligent actor, such a film would be an ideal place to watch him do his thing.

Endgame is part of the "Masterpiece Contemporary" series from PBS. It's the story of how a series of secret discussions on a remote estate in the UK helped to bring peace to South Africa and end apartheid. Ejiofor plays Thabo Mbeki, head representative of the African National Congress during the talks. And that's what they are: Talks. Oh sure, we get some action and suspense here and there, but mostly we get Ejiofor sitting at a table and drawing us in with his words. It's all the more appropriate, then, that his introduction is as a speaker to some UK bigwigs as he pleads his case:

“My name is Thabo Mbeki, and I am a terrorist. No doubt, that is what you have been told. (opens jacket) No incendiary devices. No concealed weapons. I am just a man, as you are. Every day, the president of South Africa, under the mantle of his state of emergency, deploys thousands more of his troops in the townships, brutally crushing the rising resistance to his oppressive regime. Yet the United Kingdom is still one of South Africa’s leading trading partners. Every company, every financial institution which continues to invest there is a source of political and economic strength to P.W. Botha. If it is true that money talks, then let it speak clearly. Let your voice join ours when we say the bloodshed of our people must end. The time to shout ‘enough’ has come. The time for you to act is here."

Chiwetel Ejiofor Quote of the Month: August 2011

When John Singleton took a whack at remaking Shaft in 2000, it didn't impress a lot of people (myself included). The new film was too slick and too Hollywood, which stood in stark contrast to the gritty piece of New York art that Gordon Parks shot on location in 1971. And though the reboot had an able assist from king ass-kicker Samuel L. Jackson, the movie just couldn't capture that same magic.

Flash forward five years later and Singleton releases Four Brothers, which seems to have some of what his Shaft remake lacked: Run down buildings, freezing weather, and a couple of main characters who do nothing to hide their true nature as out-and-out thugs. Ejiofor, as the main villain Victor Sweet, doesn't get to do nearly as many physical beat downs as Mark Wahlberg does, but that's only because he's one of those villains who doesn't have to. He specializes in verbal intimidation and humiliation, and his introductory speech to his crew gives the audience of good idea of this.

Victor Sweet: "Out-of-town shooters. That's what I said. I remember hearing myself saying, 'Out-of-town shooters.' You know what? You don't pay a ho to fuck you. You pay her to leave. What you pay out-of-town shooters to do? You pay them to get the hell back out of town. That's why I asked for out-of-town shooters. What'd I get? In-town shooters. Someone decided to hire in-town shooters. You know what else I got for my money? In-town police. In-town trouble. Who's got to get in the ring with me on this?"

Chiwetel Ejiofor Quote of the Month: July 2011

Children of Men, by any measure, is one of the best Sci-Fi films to come out in the past ten years. It's also a lesson in how a book adaptation needn't be faithful in order to produce a great movie. I read the original book by P.D. James before the film came out and thought it was a moving story. The film took quite a bit of liberties while retaining the bare bones plot, but there's little arguing with the results.

Our protagonist Theo (Clive Owen) lives in a future where pregnancies have suddenly stopped and the human population is in the midst of it's slow shuffle to extinction. He is soon recruited by an old flame to help her radical group transport a refugee out of the country. Something goes wrong and they have to retreat to a safe house, where upon the refugee takes Theo aside and shows him that she's actually pregnant. Chiwetel plays one of the radicals, Luke, and arrives just after Theo finds out.

Luke: “When you’re ready, come inside. Everybody’s arrived.”

Theo: “She’s pregnant.”

Luke: “Now you know what’s at stake.”

Theo: “But, she’s pregnant.”

Luke: “Yeah, I know. (pause) It’s a miracle, isn’t it?”

"Ten": The First Shot

So, here we are: The first shot. And, true to form, I didn't pick an easy one.


The very first shot of the film after the opening credits will be a slow zoom up the skyscraper. That shot will dissolve into another slow zoom up to the window of the Office. That's the shot we're working on today.

Originally, I thought we might be able to pull this off with stop motion. I even created a dolly platform to measure out each shot as the camera moved forward. This didn't turn out so well, however, and I decided to go with straight video.

This would involve mounting the camera and rig on wheels and slowly moving in to the Governor. At the same time, the elevator doors would open behind him. The gears I had previously shown didn't work too smoothly, so I had to redo this setup so that it worked at the push of a button (or rather, a LEGO axle).


After a number of tries and a rearranging of lights, I finally got my shot. I haven't the video to show you, but enjoy these behind-the-scenes shots of the set.




Next time: The Meeting

"Ten": The Gamechanger

The title of this week's update has two meanings. First off, I am going to depart my rigid weekly schedule of postings. Things get bust and sometimes I don't have the time to make a Saturday update every week, so I'll instead be posting whenever I have something to post (whatever that might be). Rest assured, the next post really will be the First Shot.

The second is a discovery I made just last night. I had just done some test shots and processed them in Power Director with some unsatisfactory results. Whenever I converted the video to Black and White by lowering the color saturation, the video turned splotchy and wholly unacceptable. Then I started playing around with the camera and found, lo and behold, an option to shoot in Black and White. I'm pretty sure I had already checked before for this option and didn't find it. For whatever reason, it was easier to find this time around.

So, things are looking up. Stay tuned for info on the First Shot any day now... except Saturday.

Next time: The First Shot

Chiwetel Ejiofor Quote of the Month: June 2011

This month, we once again return to the realm of David Mamet. What I have stated previously about Mamet remains true: Mamet dialogue is not natural dialogue. It may be catchy and it may be memorable, but it is not what I would call natural.

The degree of how his style makes an imprint on a script varies from film to film. Back in 2007, I highlighted the film Heist for February's Delroy Lindo quote. Of that film, I only have good memories of an exciting and clever crime film. And as evidenced by the use of the film for Delroy, it had it's share of great dialogue too.

But then there are films like Redbelt, where the style goes to ridiculous levels and impedes any enjoyment of the film itself. Now normally, these monthly posts are to highlight a great line of dialogue by the actor chosen for the given year. In Ejiofor's case, who stars in the film, I'm sure he's given some great lines. I wouldn't know as I stopped watching 20 minutes in.

So instead of showcasing a great line, I'm going to show how Mamet's style can border on the ridiculous. First, let me present a skit from the MST3K episode "Prince of Space" that will put a smile on any science fiction fan's face.



Clever, huh? I can't imagine what a pain in the ass it was to write that scene. Now let's look at an early dialogue scene from Redbelt between Mike (Ejiofor) and Gini (played by Cathy Cahlin Ryan):

Gini: "Joe still inside?"

Mike: "No, he just left."

Gini: "Left?"

Mike: "Yeah, maybe he went to the club."

Gini: "What happened to the window?"

Mike: "Isn't he on at the club?"

Gini: "Um, that's funny."

Mike: "Weren't you going to the mountains?"

Gini: "Why would he go to the club?"

Mike: "Isn't he working tonight?"

Gini: "The club? No. No, no, no. He hasn't worked at the club in months. Listen, uh, I have to tell him something. Okay? Tell him."

Mike: "Why?"

Gini: "Why what?"

Mike: "Why hasn't he been working there?"

Gini: "Yeah, I know. Listen, I gotta get home."

Ack! Unfortunately for Mamet, he can't blame such conversations as this on Time/Space distortions. Too bad. It would have made for a more interesting film.

That is two bad Ejiofor films in a row. For July, I promise a good one. Until then.