Jason Thompson's Blog

Slumdog Hole in the Wall

Just one of the many film concepts Danny Boyle considered and rejected. Others include Slumdog Catchphrase, Slumdog 321 and the ill-fated Slumdog Bob's Full House, which was a month into filming before the Indian Bob Monkhouse was killed in a cattle stampede.

Slumdog is a good flm, and I would recommend the opportunity to goo and experience it if you can. It works on many levels - love story, thriller, social comment on the urbanisation of the slums, the rise of gangster and drug culture, commentry on the abuse of orphans, and quiz show. And t's got a nice approach to subtitles that makes you forget around 20% of it is in foreign.

One of the things that engages me in a film, far more than plot or tension, is character. I have found that if I want to spend time with the people in a film, I'll enjoy the film. I'm a social person, and I think I just engage on this level more than others. That doesn't mean that the people in films  like have to be 'nice' - but they have to be three dimensional beliveable, fun, quirky, fascinating, intriguing or just plain interesting.

I think that's part of the reason I fail to engage with some fantasy films, like Lord of the Rings. I find the characters too dramatic and actorly - I can't believe in these people or feel bothered about them or their fates.

Other films I've seen recently and liked include Burn After Reading (I love Frances Mcdormand) and I Am Legend. I also thought Hancock was great, and it was Jason Bateman's performance in that and also the exquisite Junebug that got me into Arrested Development. I'm currently addicted to AD and it's largely due to it's characters - and it's off the wall, fast paced comedy. Great stuff, and unlike most other sitcoms, with a regular cast of 10.

I've got a pile of films that I still have to watch, including Roma by Fellini, Munich, 28 Days Later, several Hitchcocks, and a handful of Black and Whites starring Bette Davis.

Can anyone suggest a great character led film to add to the list of stuff I'll never get round to seeing anytime soon?

Birdbox in your soul

I have been photographing birdboxes this week. Strange thing. On Wednesday I was asked to photograph a presentation at a school in Morpeth. Some kids had won a Northern Gas environmental award for making birdboxes and I trooped along in the snow and snapped away at a bunch of shivering kids in a winter wonderland before fighting my aT home through the blizzard. Surreal. At one point ducks were involved. Now today I'm in a community centre in Gateshead photographing an arts project that at this point anyway involves kids making birdboxes. These ones are very nice and bright and colourful but a theme is beginning to emerge in my photo work and I'm expecting more birdbox jobs to come flooding in. What better way to spend Valentines Day? Maybe some of the birds will be lovey doveys? Oh some kids have turned up - I had better photograph them painting birdboxes. Cute or what?

 

Stoatally Amazing

I was moved to tears by this story about a mad stoat in someone's back garden, from the FRONT PAGE of the BBC web site. Could this possibly be a slow news day?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7875271.stm

2009 - what sort of a year will it be?

I must admit that I tend not to think ahead too much. I wish I did. I know that people who plan their futures are sometimes disappointed when it doesn't turn out the way they would like it to, but they also have the chance of planning in opportunities and making their own luck. I've mostly been the sort of person who just waits for things to happen, even though I've sometimes been good at capitalising on opportunities as they arise.

I generally have a good feeling about the next 12 months or so, but it means a few changes and fresh starts. In the Arts Forum for example, we've just appointed our first full time member of staff, and more about that in the future, but it opens up lots of possibilities for the organisation, and I'm very excited about what we can achieve in this little village of Newbiggin by the Sea. There are some wonderful and unique people, and I'm proud to be here and that they're part of the scene.

Some of my friends and family are going through challenging times, and making fresh starts, and I know it can be a very stressful and daunting time, whether it be related to relationships, house moves, health worries, business plans or family issues. All of these things on their own, but I know of more than one in my close circle who is going through several of these simultaneously, and it's a very trying time. I hope that I and other friends can help them through it. It's hard to get a sense of the shape of the road you're traveling on, and only when you look back from a distance can you get a sense of what you've really been through. It's a good job we don't know our futures, or we might not even try sometimes.

So over the months ahead, I am hoping fora stronger sense of positivity, and an ability to grab opportunities, support those who need me, and see where we're all headed. We may be leading separate lives, but we're all in this together, and we can achieve amazing things with the support of people who know what we're going through, and want to help us get there.

We might even enjoy the ride!

Homework: Write a comment that includes one thing you'd like tho achieve this year...