Plot Points Shanghai Triad (1995)

Plot points are linear links that make up the chain of traditional Aristotelian 3-act dramatic Structure. This classic Structure worked well in Hollywood for almost a century now. Although young movie makers are forcing the limits of this Structure, plot points still rule the day as the tent poles that hold up of the circus of our dreams. Here are the plot points of Shanghai Triad (1995), as I see them.

Shanghai Triad (1995)

Starring: Gong Li, Li Baotian, Li Xuejian, Sun Chun, Wang Xiao Xiao
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Writers: Bi Feiyu (SCreenplay), Li Xiao (Novel)

...sound of water, choppy waves lapping against the boats...

ESTABLISHING SHOT: Country boy Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao), just arrived in Shanghai, is standing in the midst of the urban crowd, totally clueless as to what's going on around him. A picture of confusion, alienation and anxiety. A peasant-fish out of water.

INCITING INCIDENT: Shuisheng witnesses a murder committed by the Tang mafia clan in the warehouse to which he is taken by his uncle.

PLOT POINT 1: Shuisheng witnesses the gorgeous Bijou (Gong Li), Tang's capricious mistress, make love to Sony, the boss's right hand man.

MID POINT EVENT: Shuisheng's uncle and the gang's several other members die during a rival gang's (Fat Yu) unsuccessful attempt on Tang's life. Tang retreats to a remote small island, taking both Bijou and Shuisheng with him and thinking of revenge. [Transition to a DIFFERENT WORLD.

PLOT POINT 2: In a face to face confrontation, Tang reveals that he is fully aware of Sony's plans to assasinate him in the service of Fat Yu and the fact that Bijou slept with Sony.

3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Tang kills both Sony and Bijou, and takes Shuisheng back to Shanghai together with the small girl he met on the island to take Bijou's place in the future.

...sound of water, choppy waves lapping against Tang's boat...

About the Author:

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative CopyWriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

You can reach him at Writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copyWriting needs.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.Writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, Writing career, and client testimonials. While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited =>http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

Author:: Ugur Akinci
Keywords:: ugur akinci,Movies,Films,Hollywood,Structure,Screenplay,Writer,Editor,ScreenWriting,Writing
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Private Investigators on TV Spenser

Spenser (who had no first name) was the creation of author Robert B. Parker.

Spenser was a strange mixture in terms of sensitive and physical. He was a gourmet cook but also an ex-boxer, ex-serviceman and ex-Massachusetts State Trooper, he quoted poetry yet lifted weights. He liked really excellent food but would prefer to accompany it with a mug of beer rather than a fine wine. He was a romantic soul but happy to indulge in violence when necessary.

Spense r was born in Laramie, Wyoming. His mother died in childbirth and Spenser was brought up by his father and two uncles, all of whom were carpenters.

At the end of his above-mentioned colourful and mixed career, Spenser ended up in Boston as a private investigator. The location shooting in Boston was one of the highlights of the programme.

The television version of Spenser hit our screens in 1985 but came as something of a disappointment to fans of the novels. They considered that Robert Urich was unconvincing as Spenser, portraying him as rather smug, and that Barbara Stock playing Susan Silverman (Spenser's sometime psychiatrist girlfried) could easily have been replaced by someone else. However, Avery Brooks as Hawk, Spenser's best friend, was hailed as a great actor wasted on a secondary part. His car, a dark green mustang, was something of a hit.

The Susan love interest was replaced by DA Rita Fiori (played by Carolyn McCormick, in the second series when Susan left Spenser. However, by the third series, Susan was back.

The TV series had three runs over three years, then was pulled. A while later, four television movies appeared, with all the original cast in place. Unfortunately, these were, if anything, worse than the previous programmes and they weren't even filmed in Boston.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Private Investigators
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Author:: Michael Russell
Keywords:: private investigators,Spenser
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

It's been a while since the last sea adventure featuring the likes of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), his lovely fiance Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), and the charismatic swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). This time, director Gore Verbinski has given us more of the same, which is good, considering the original Pirates of the Caribbean Movie was such a blast.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest revolves around a mysterious key which leads to an equally mysterious Chest. Several key players (essentially every important main character in the Movie) has reason for going after said key and chest. Our main antagonist, at l east on the surface, appears to be one Davy Jones, who is ruler of the seas as long as the chest does not to fall into certain hands. Most of the Movie is about the adventures that Jack, Will and Elizabeth have as they seek to save their necks by capturing the chest and its contents.

The Movie provides plenty of action/adventure, and the visual effects really do seem to get better with every passing blockbuster. This summer has had its share of impressive visuals, and Pirates is not left behind. The adventure scenes in the beginning do seem, however, a bit cookie-cutter and necessary only to advance the plot, but the Movie never lets down its high-charged pace is able to regain that fun-flare that made the first Movie so original and enjoyable.

The plot does have it's moments which keep it from being entirely predictable, and a lot of that stems from interesting developments in the relationships between some of the main characters. This adds another dimension that viewers can only enjoy to see explored. Other than that, the screenplay is as witty as its predecessor, if not as original in storyline and settings. However, given the level of originality of the first Pirates Movie, that is to be forgiven. Of course, enough can't be said of the performance of Johnny Depp, which is every bit as fantastic as that in the first Movie.

If there are ever flaws in the screenwriting or direction, the producers know that they can always count on the crowd-pleasing antics of Depp's eccentric Captain Jack. The joy he portrays in the character translates to Moviegoers and it should go without saying that the entire feel of the Movie rests squarely on his shoulders. Thankfully, he doesn't have to do all of the heavy lifting by himself as there are good all around performances around him, most notably by Keira Knightley. Given her seemingly renewed enthusiasm in playing the role, we can only feel happy that the writers gave her role as much screen time as they did and feel equally thankful that she delivers. Knightley brings a certain high-quality classy sexiness to her role that makes it hard to imagine anyone else playing it. Bloom is fine as Turner, but nothing special.

Hats off to the crew in general. The Movie is a worthy successor, and though I'm not a fan of cliff-hanger endings leading up to third installments, this one offers enough kinks to keep us guessing (and looking forward to) where the story takes us next.

Read more reviews and other Movie articles by Vincent St. James at http://thecollegeguys.com

Author:: Vincent St. James
Keywords:: Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley
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Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (Season 3) DVD Review

Nominated for 19 Emmys and 5 Golden Globes, including Best TV Series - Drama, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman experienced the rare double victory of audience loyalty and widespread critical acclaim. Premiering in mid-season (January 1993), the hour-long CBS original series illustrated American frontier life like few other shows before it. Like the smash hit Little House On The Prairie, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman vividly portrays the hardship, struggle, and community kinship endemic to the era. One of the first Western-themed shows to cast a female doctor (as the star of the show nonetheless), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman enjoyed a successful five-year run, marked by two highly-touted made-for-TV Movies

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman follows the exploits of Dr. Michaela Mike Quinn, a female doctor living in 19th Cent ury America when that sort of thing was unheard of. Working for years as an assistant in her father's New England medical practice, the death of her father prompts Dr. Mike to answer a want ad for a doctor in the thriving American frontier town of Colorado Springs. When she arrives, the town is taken aback, having expected she was a man. But Dr. Mike quickly endears herself with the townsfolk and expands her family by adopting three orphan children - Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (Erika Flores/Jessica Bowman), and Brian (Shawn Toovey). As the show progresses, she eventually marries local Byron Sully (Joe Lando), and the final seasons focus on the lives of their nuclear family. Sporting an assorted cast of loveable, and sometimes eccentric, characters, the town is never short of excitement or drama

The Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (Season 3) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere The Train in which Sully tries to convince Mike that it would be in their best interest to move somewhere else if the railroad comes through Colorado Springs Other notable episodes from Season 3 include A First Christmas in which a Jewish family that moves into town experiences prejudice and discrimination, and Bone of Contention in which the discovery of dinosaur bones sparks a controversy between local Indians and a paleontologist who wants to host an excavation on sacred Indian ground

Below is a list of episodes included on the Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 44 (The Train) Air Date: 09-24-1994
Episode 45 (Fathers and Sons) Air Date: 10-01-1994
Episode 46 (The Cattle Drive: Part 1) Air Date: 10-08-1994
Episode 47 (The Cattle Drive: Part 2) Air Date: 10-15-1994
Episode 48 (The Library) Air Date: 10-22-1994
Episode 49 (Halloween II) Air Date: 10-29-1994
Episode 50 (A Washington Affair: Part 1) Air Date: 11-05-1994
Episode 51 (A Washington Affair: Part 2) Air Date: 11-05-1994
Episode 52 (Money Trouble) Air Date: 11-12-1994
Episode 53 (Thanksgiving) Air Date: 11-19-1994
Episode 54 (Ladies Night: Part 1) Air Date: 11-26-1994
Episode 55 (Ladies Night: Part 2) Air Date: 12-03-1994
Episode 56 (A First Christmas) Air Date: 12-10-1994
Episode 57 (The Indian Agent) Air Date: 01-07-1995
Episode 58 (The End of the World) Air Date: 01-14-1995
Episode 59 (Pike's Peace) Air Date: 01-28-1995
Episode 60 (Cooper vs. Quinn: Part 1) Air Date: 02-04-1995
Episode 61 (Cooper vs. Quinn: Part 2) Air Date: 02-04-1995
Episode 62 (What is Love?) Air Date: 02-11-1995
Episode 63 (Things My Father Never Gave Me) Air Date: 02-18-1995
Episode 64 (Baby Outlaws) Air Date: 02-25-1995
Episode 65 (Bone of Contention) Air Date: 03-11-1995
Episode 66 (Permanence of Change) Air Date: 04-08-1995
Episode 67 (Washita: Part 1) Air Date: 04-29-1995
Episode 68 (Washita: Part 2) Air Date: 04-29-1995
Episode 69 (Sully's Rec overy) Air Date: 05-06-1995
Episode 70 (Ready or Not) Air Date: 05-13-1995
Episode 71 (For Better or Worse: Part 1) Air Date: 05-20-1995
Episode 72 (For Better or Worse: Part 2) Air Date: 05-20-1995

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (Season 3) DVD.

Author:: Britt Gillette
Keywords:: dr quinn medicine woman season 3 dvd review
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Digital Special Effect Makeup vs. Physical Makeup in Movies

The special effects work of John Knolls special effects team has certainly raised the bar in believability of a fictitious character. His Industrial Light and Magic team created Davy Jones for Disneys Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest. In this sequel, Bill Nighy is the actor who portrays Davy Jones movements and voice. He wears a dark grey motion capture suit, and two motion capture cameras were used as opposed to the 16 needed in the past. The process of Computer Generated Imaging (CGI) then morphed the actor into a convincing depiction of a cursed pirated who because he lives underwater, he literally becomes a creature of the sea.

This special effects makeup of this film was fascinating to watch and it really does trick your eye into thinking Jones is real. But does this mean that special effects artists need to trade in their brushes for a computer mouse any time soon? The answer is thankfullyno!

There will always be a need for makeup artist to a pply their special skills to film, television, or theatre. There is one living character on the Flying Dutchman, actor Stellan Skarsgrd, who plays Bootstrap Billhe had wonderful live barnacles protruding from his face.

By the other side of the coin Michael Chiklis was transformed into Fantastic Four super hero The Thing through a time consuming and detailed process.

Sixty pounds (27 kg) of latex, it was hellish. said Chiklis. But he did the project because of the potential the movie had to being a franchise. It's employment potentially for 10 years. It gets your name out there in an international context that puts you on all those lists that you must be on as an actor in order to get Movies green lit. Thats why he was willing to go through the hellish process of being the hulking Thing for the film.

Then on the other hand, I understand that Bill Nighy was disappointed that he didnt have to wear the pirate costume for any of the film shooting. Just the grey motion capture suitso he didnt have to endure the heavy makeup appliances or masks required in the pastbut it didnt let him play act in costume as if he were Davy Jones either. This is testament to Nighy's acting abilities, because he gives a terrific performance as the character.

Although Industrial Light and Magic will always strive to wow audiences with the newest visual effects, the basic need for the human factor helps ground the movie experience. E.g. the whole last three Star Wars Movies were visually incredible but fell far short of the first three films that had real characters, actors in suits and makeup interacting with each other. Otherwise we have a movie that is not much more than a video game, lacking our own ability to control the plot.

I think makeup special effects wizard Rick Baker put it best when he said I still think a marriage between the two techniques is the best way to go. They each have their strong points. Baker is absolutely right! Its important to move forward and push techniques to new limits and respect the place that both technologies have in this field. So as with most professions the integration of computer knowledge creates advantages with a mixture of honing in on physical skills of makeup effects. Baker also says I do all my design work on the computer now. Its like my favorite tool. I can do so much more and it frees me up so much more because I can save it anywhere down the line, so Im not afraid to screw it up. Perfecting bloods, latex appliances, and skin blends will have a place within the movie making world. Thank goodness there are many movie makers who simply cant afford expensive visual effects in the first place.

That fact harkens makeup artists back to the days when makeup artists have to use their problem solving skills and creativity to create physically realistic effects. This is the fun in special effect making. Creating something that audiences say to themse lves wow! or gross! or just smile.

Article Citations

Interview with Creature Creator, Rick Baker From Rebecca Murray, Your Guide to Hollywood Movies. http://Movies.about.com/cs/interviews/a/baker050304.htm

Michael Chiklis a bigger Thing in Fantastic Four, By Christy Lemire http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/bigger-thing-michael-chiklis/2005/07/10/1120934121205.html

J.M. Jeffrey is the founder of http://www.goremaster.com an online community dedicated to special effects makeup artists and fans of all levels.

Author:: J.M. Jeffrey
Keywords:: special effects makeup, makeup artists, Movies, science fiction, Action
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Star Trek and Persistence: The Making of a Short Film!

During my junior year in high school, my best friend told me he was making a parody of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. What was really cool about this short project was that I would play a version of Khan and do my Ricardo Montalban impersonation. But much to my excitement, the material never happened, as those involved later graduated, as did my buddy and I would a year later.

Space Cadets, my short Film, would never die, as wouldn't Captain James Kirk, if he and his crew were caught in a same situation on a reality show. After high school, I pretty much bumbed around taking odd jobs before I finally enrolled in a small (but expensive) college as a Communications Major. Since I was raised in a Catholic home, my mom encouraged me to attend a religious youth group that met every Sunday. The members that preached the word of God also acted in skits, and before I knew it, I was acting in those skits as well. It took a year before I introduced the members a skit I had written based on the original Star Trek series, but with a Holy-twist: Jesus vs. Khan. They liked it, but the skit, some felt, was long, and to design the bridge of the Enterprise would have been too costly for a church budget. Again, my dream of playing a villain from a popular series was closed out.

One day I was channel flipping on my Television when I saw what was a home made, video spoof of James Bond. I thought this was the coolest thing since cable was invented. When the program was over, a screen appeared with a number for anyone who wanted to do his or her own program. The way it works is that I would take a class in learning to run a camera, shoot a scene, and then edit my program, all for free! What excited me more was that any program I created would appear on this particular channel, public access Television. Well, I called that number, but it took about two to three months before I took my first class. I graduated, thank you, thank you, and d irected subjects for other producers and acted in several spoofs. In 1995, I felt the time was ripe to make Space Cadets! I had created my first screenplay and showed it to my friend Scott John, whom I had acted for his programs. After looking over the script, he phoned me and said, Jose, this is too long.

My script was about 50 pages. John told me to consider how difficult it was to make any video based on sci-fi, especially when it came to designing the props, the costumes, etc. He should know: he did a version of Doctor Who that took months and labor. He recommended that I trimmed the script down, maybe to twenty pages. But I felt that every page could be done. I wish I had listened to him.

What begin as a spoof of Star Trek turned into a version of Kevin Costner's Waterworld, which had premiered in theaters that summer. In fact, this was the nickname I gave my short Film. And soon all the volunteers of the cable station would peak in the editing room and ask, So Jose, how's Waterworld coming out? They mocked and laughed as my production took from spring to the end of the Christmas holidays to make.

During a fight scene between two actors, one of them accidentally hit his head against a wall when he was thrown against a stack of chairs. When he got off the floor after I yelled, Cut, he had lost some of his memory! I rushed this guy, who had done stunts for other Films, to the hospital. The following day he recovered, thank goodness, and he repeated the same stunt the following week! As month passed, I was burning grudges with the Director of Program at the cable station, and the volunteers were upset with me for using up the editing room. Everyone was soon advising me to put Space Cadets! in the can. They wanted me to quit. But whenever I had faced discouragement, I pictured myself having a conversation with William Shatner and telling him my nightmare on Filming this parody. And I fantasized that he had encour aged me by saying, Finish Space Cadets!

In 1996, I had moved far away to attend (a bigger and less expensive) college, leaving Space Cadets half way done. I actually didn't finish the Film until I returned for Spring Break of that year. When it was over, Space Cadets premiered on public access Television on April 1st, my birthday! And what was also special about that year was that Star Trek was celebrating its 30th anniversary. Ironically, in the ST episode Space Seed, 1996 was also the year that Kirk had discovered Khan and his people frozen in a space ship! Go figure on this one!

Jose Guzman is an actor and director of Space Cadets, A Star Trek fan Film, which can be downloaded at http://www.shortFilmfanatic.com

Author:: Jose Guzman
Keywords:: star trek, star wars, Modivation, Success, Film, Films, Inspiration, Humor, Television, Movies
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JFK The Mob and Coffee The flavor of Chicago Filmmaking

Why have your morning coffee at a chain? When you can have a taste of the Mob at Caffe Palermo. Housed in a building formerly owned by Al Capone, the Chicago Mob boss himself. You will find posters of Blackstone, the Vito Brancato PBS film about the original plan to assassinate JFK in Chicago. A plan originated by Sam Giancana, retribution for the Kennedy administrations stance on organized crime. Chicago natives Vito Brancato and Producing partner J. Kenneth Ezra have a big stake in this little Mob coffee shop. Why? Because its authentic. In these modern times of computers, internet, and plastic surgery what a breath of fresh air to walk into a Coffee Shop where former owner Al Capone kept a business. With a cute Italian mommas homemade cannolis and fresh espresso its tucked away in the notoriously Mob influenced cities of Cicero and Berwyn, Illinois. If youre lucky, youll have your order prepared by the filmmaker himself, when hes not filming.

But it goe s further than that; these producers seek authenticity in their film ventures as well. Blackstone was a short film produced to basically put the street rumor into reality. Once some media outlets heard about it, they insisted showing it as is on PBS. J. Kenneth Ezra producer says his pride wasnt broken when asked to release it. Ok, we make this short film, its based on a lot of research and some uncorroborated first hand accounts close to the action. But we insisted that this is just a short. Plus Brancato is a perfectionist and would rather have the full length feature film to show Nonetheless, PBS loved the realism and obvious truth in the characters, even if we will never know if Giancana really put the hit into action. However, information to confirm such findings is surfacing. In her upcoming book, JFK and Sam: The Connection between the Giancana and Kennedy Assassinations, Antoinette Giancana claims her father, the late Chicago Mafia boss, ordered President Joh n F. Kennedy's assassination. Can you get closer than that to the story? Then how did Vito Brancato and J. Kenneth Ezra get this information. Ezra uses his hands to explain, Being in Chicago, you are around a lot of people that know a lot of people that heard from a lot a people some things. Other than those people recently released information may corroborate the story.

Brancato calls Blackstone historical fiction - real characters and events woven with fictional ones to give his story an eerie sense of possibility. For even more realism Brancato intercut archive footage of Kennedy at the Blackstone Hotel in the fall of '62 during the film's climactic scene. I can remember growing up on the north side of Chicago, my grandfather and his old Italian buddies in their black pants and white dress shirts, sitting in front of the corner store trading stories from the old country, recalls Brancato.

Why the coffee? Well, Ken has combined coffee and Movies also. Ken is so committed to authentic films he played the part of groom and volunteered to work the craft-service table on the set of After Freedom, winner of the Pasadena Film Festival audience award. Director Vahe Babians beautiful real story about Armenians adjusting to life in Los Angeles. If its true, real and authentic, I want to part of it. Even if I have to literally serve coffee to everyone on the set. Being part of Brancatos film continues my journey of authenticity

Blackstone will be Brancato's third feature. It is a fictional tale of a botched assassination attempt on JFK in Chicago prior to that fateful day in Texas. Brancato hopes to parlay the potential success of Blackstone into King of the Bandits, which he labels a legitimate epic, a cross between The Godfather and Braveheart. Bandit is the incredible true story of Sicilian freedom fighter Salvatore Giuliano who rose to national prominence and influenced Italian and American politics following World Wa r II.

J. Kenneth Ezra has worked his way up to Producing a package of 10 Movies. In the remake of the independent The Right thing (see trailer at www.razorfilms.com), his partnership with director and writer Brancato gives us an authentic modern viewpoint in the Chicago Mob scene. Blackstone gives us a historical viewpoint into the Chicago Mob influence. And King of the Bandits an old country authenticity.

Good luck guys, How do you say it authentically fellas? Ciao!

Get a taste of the Mob at Caffe Palmermo 6510 W. Ogden Avenue Berwyn, IL 60402. Call your local PBS station to find out about Blackstone at pbs.org Or visit http://www.razorfilms.com

J.Kenneth Ezra & Vito Brancato can be reached at info@razorfilms.com

Author:: J. Kenneth Ezra
Keywords:: Mob, Mafia, Filmmaking, Movies, Movie, Chicago, Al Capone, Producing, Giancana, JFK, Chicago Mob
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