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One Of Us continues our showcase of emerging artists with our Showcase of Jordan Cobb’s short film ‘Special Delivery’.

Continuing our interview from earlier, Jordan opens up about the film.

It (‘Special Delivery’) came about in my senior digital filmmaking in the fall semester. Our first real assignment of the class was to do a three-five minute silent short. I was kinda nervous about it, cause at that point, I had done dialogue work. I loved silent pieces, Charlie Chaplin and the sort and I loved and respected those but I couldn’t think of doing a whole silent production, maybe a scene or such of the kind but not a whole script so I had to think quick. Then I thought about, hey this seems fun, interesting, and can be knocked out in an afternoon.

Well I did and I had a wonderful cast, I had to reshoot it actually the next weekend for a couple pick ups and well my teacher, who was also my advisor at UCA, suggested it for the better and well it turned out good. Of all the works I done, this is honestly my favorite. My first work, Magical Circumstances, I admit is far from my best. I wish I could do that over, and I feel like I might in a longer way given the plots I come up with, I usually have work as either shorts or feature length ones.

Special Delivery was also a fun set, I shot it at the university, around it, and at my own house. I lived at a duplex at the time so I used both back and front doors for the delivery scenes. The cast was fun to get along with and between takes we would just screw around and talk about what else we’re working on or what movies and shows we seen.

Tell me about the process – from writing to shooting to editing.

Well I honestly focus first on the idea. What do I feel like is worth telling? What story would I want to see as a watcher or a reader? I have a wide range of things I wanna do and see because I have a huge range of things I love and love to watch. Once I get my idea I get to writing, drafting, revising, all the steps in writing. Storyboard too, which is honestly tedious as hell when doing it yourself. Also watch a couple films of certain TV episodes that help out with your what writing. Inspiration comes from anywhere.

Shooting, I’m in the zone. I talk to everyone on set, I want a nice, friendly environment, but sometimes on set to get things done, you will have to be a bit of an asshole, you need things done when they need to be done because you’re already working such long hours on location or on a built set, you have to make sure you get things moving. I’m also very open to my actors wanting to try anything they want to, within some reason of course, cause I want them to feel good about being on set and working. I absolutely love being on a film set, that’s the biggest thrill in the world to me.

When I edit, I try my best to obviously stay with the best takes and how I think it looks in my head via storyboards but I often go against myself and choose different shots, angles, takes because I think it fits right into the story I’m putting together. Often not getting what you wanted helps, cause it might be better than what you intended. Also I sometimes go for what’s visually cool. Sometimes you just wanna go for that. Editing I think I love most after being on set because Its just me, I’m putting all the puzzle pieces together, and having a ball doing it.

What did you learn as an artist

What it means to be collaborative, now I thought I already knew that before I got into film school but it taught me how well groups and contacts are important, you get business that way, through the right people. But also how great art can impact people, movies can have various impacts and meanings to so many people. It did to me but seeing it first hand on the sets, it was really eye-opening. I’ve also learned how to truly be a better person because of it and to enjoy what I’m doing.

what do you really like/are proud of about it

I like how it all came together. I love that we had actual rain to help out with. I’m proud of all my works so far, well safe for my first short, Magical Circumstances, which I wish I could do over. But pertaining to this, everything. I honestly find this to be my best work.

what perhaps didn’t work as well for you

I will say as much as I love I didn’t have to use a rain machine, the rain was trouble because I was using school equipment and they charge out of pocket if anything is ever damaged and at the time of making that, I was a film school senior student, so I was broke as shit. Also the “cocaine” was a bitch to get together, I used powered sugar cause, yeah. It was kind of difficult to handle. If I had to do it again, crushed up B-12 vitamins. The weather as a whole didn’t work, it was constantly cloudy, had to work extra hard for the right look of it. Again I mentioned, my first short, I’d do that again in a heartbeat, maybe even really extend it into a feature length.

Check out ‘Special Delivery’ below and let us and Jordan know what you thought about it. You can check out more of Jordan’s work on Youtube and follow him on Twitter.

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Imagine, if you will, a man, with uncannily perfect teeth, who finds himself in a war against unstoppable alien invaders. Imagine he manages to kill one only to die himself in the explosion. Now…imagine he wakes again at the start of that day, to find that anything that kills him, only leads him to reset again at the beginning….

Ok, sure it’s a mix of “Groundhog’s Day”, “Starship Troopers” and any give militaristic sci-fi FPS video game, but director Doug Liman and stars Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, and Bill Paxton, still manage to mash them up in a slick melange that we think very well might be one of the best popcorn films of the summer.

Don’t believe me? Well, you gotta listen to Beau, Elliott, Ashley and Chris give you the sweet deets.

Have you heard? There’s this new Colombian television series about a terminally ill chemistry teacher who cooks methamphetamine with a high school dropout.

Sounds familiar, right?

Well, in the wake of the end of the critically-acclaimed and enormously popular AMC show Breaking Bad, a Spanish-language version is set to premiere sometime in near future. Referring to the metastasizing of cancer, Metástasis, like Breaking Bad before it, will follow creatively-named Walter Blanco, played by Diego Trujillo and his former student, Jose Miguel Rosas (Jesse), played by Roberto Urbina, as they create a meth empire while trying to survive Colombian drug cartels, narcotics agents and their dysfunctional families. Distributed by Univision, Metástasis is set to air in 2014 on UniMás, although no premiere date has been announced. Here’s the trailer, for reference.

After watching the trailer, it’s obvious that this remake is lifting entire scenes from the original series. Everything from Walter’s confession on camera to him running around in a panic in his underwear is featured in this extended television spot. While Walter and Jose are shown predominantly throughout, viewers also get the chance to see the Spanish-language versions of Skyler (Cielo) and Walt’s brother-in-law, Hank (Henry).

Yes, the trailer shows off the Spanish series’ more dramatic scenes from the first season, but the best stuff is obviously the breakfast scenes. Watching Walter trying to convince his son, Walter Jr., to eat vegetarian bacon brought back so many memories of the original series. Remember that one time when the White family sat around eating breakfast? Good times.

However, the two things that bother me about the trailer are the production value and the fact that it has the look of a telenovela. I guess I can forgive the production value. Not everyone has the backing of AMC, but the acting is a whole other matter. You have scenes that are copied from the American version, but the majority of the actors appear to be overacting in almost every clip. Breaking Bad excelled not only because the acting and writing were so good, but because showrunner Vince Gilligan and his team weren’t afraid to be subtle and quiet. Much can come across in a scene where nothing is said. Telenovelas are anything but subtle and it shows here. While Trujillo’s Walter matches Bryan Cranston’s seriousness, Urbina’s take on Jesse come across as a spoiled pretty boy rather than a meth addicted slacker.

Outside of the multiple similarities, Metástasis features a few notable changes. For instance, the much beloved RV, nicknamed the “Crystal Ship” by Jesse, has been replaced by ancient looking school bus, and Saul, not only a sleazy lawyer, is also the host of a popular late night talk show called Cuéntele a Saúl.

Despite my cautious misgivings about the trailer, I am interested to see how they handle some of Breaking Bad’s most popular characters. Drug kingpin Gustavo Fring and hitman Mike Ermantraut were not featured in the trailer. If this show can capture the cold calculating nature of these two, then I’ll be more than willing to give the series a shot. Gilligan, who acted as consultant on Metástasis, gives me some hope that the original source material will be treated with respect. Or it could be hilariously bad, which is also acceptable.

What do you think reader? Does this Spanish-language version of Breaking Bad pique your interest? Let us know in the comments below!

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This week Earth 616 is strangely uncommunicative so the gents from the OTHER universe, Richard and alternative Chris, take over the show. But of course you still get all the great stuff you usually expect from a Digital Noise episode: viewer mail, great reviews, and of course a…GIVEAWAY!

This week the boys take a look at the end of a favorite series (Warehouse 13), the best new midnight movie to come along in probably a decade (Cheap Thrills), the goofiest slasher film to come out of the glorious gory 80’s (Sleepaway Camp), a Criterion release of a John Wayne/Howard Hawks classic (Red River) and oh, so much more. Hell, we even watched the Syfy Channel’s Independence DAYsaster just to show you we’re serious. Check it out.

Please do consider using our links below to make all of your Amazon purchases! Much appreciated!

How to Win This Week’s Giveaway

1) Follow @oneofusnet on Twitter

2) Tweet at us with your name for the silly HK fantasy/martial arts film that would be about some of/any of the staff at oneofus.net

3) Add #Journeygiveaway

4) We’ll select our favorite and contact that winner via Twitter (open to US residents only)Follow Digital Noise on Twitter and make sure to review us on iTunes.

You knew we had to do it again!

The boys from Inside the Locker, OneOfUs’ weekly nerdy sportscast, will be broadcasting live with full coverage of game one of the NBA finals!

Brian must bury his bitterness as he watches the Miami Heat battle the San Antonio Spurs in a match-up unseen since…well, last year’s NBA finals.

Join us here, tomorrow night (June 5th) starting at 8pm CST for what promises to be the worst play-by-play commentary yet, but it will feature lots of jokes, belches, and drinking.

Tune in here!

A generic plot about a man seeking revenge? Check. Loud unfitting music? Check. A copious amount of unnecessary slow motion? Check. Hero screaming multiple times into the camera? Check. Voiceover from an old British actor? Check. This pretty much describes every sword-and-sandal movie’s trailer since 300 came out in the early 2000’s, so it’s no surprise that these elements are the totality of what’s going on in the newest trailer for Brett Ratner’s upcoming film, Hercules.

Narrated by the seemingly immortal John Hurt, this most recent trailer for Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson as the almighty demi-god, covers the entirety of the movie’s plot. In this reimagining of the Greek myth, Hercules, after murdering his family, is forced to perform twelve labors for the gods in order to atone for his sins. Sometime later, he’s asked by the King of Thrace (Hurt) to help defeat an evil army of zombie-like creatures created by Hades.

Okay, right off the bat you know this isn’t a straight adaptation of the original ancient myth. The trailer spends a lot of time introducing characters that Hercules never interacted with during, or after his labors. Ratner’s Hercules is actually based on comic book writer Steven Moore’s Hercules: Thracian Wars. The graphic novel follows the club-wielding hero as he trains the Thracian military to be a force of complete ruthlessness.

I have not read the source material, so I have no idea whether this film follows Moore’s original work or not. What I can say is that this trailer is as generic and straightforward as any Ratner film usually is. The dialogue, action, slow motion and CGI are no different than any uninspired summer blockbuster. Honestly, this film looks like a spin(/rip)-off of 300: Rise of an Empire or Immortals.

How can you have a line like, “I only want to be a husband and a father” in a trailer? Cue horrible death of entire family. Is it possible for this trailer to be even more predictable? Look, I’d say some people are aware of the Greek myth of Hercules, but, sadly, not all are. Leaving the death of Hercules’ family out of the trailer could at least surprise an audience that knows next to nothing about the hero.

The battles look like a mix of practical effects and CGI, with a heavy emphasis on the latter. I have nothing against CGI in movies, as long as it is used well. The giant creatures and monsters look fine, but I noticed that there’s something not quite right about the CGI buildings and landscapes. It’s off-putting when you cut to a scene with Hercules walking around outside to a scene of him fighting with a green screen behind him. It just doesn’t work.

If there’s one good thing about the trailer, it’s Johnson himself. He looks absolutely dedicated to the role. His muscles certainly look dedicated. Looking the way he does, I can believe that The Rock can take on the Hydra, Nemean Lion and the Cretan Bull all at once with his arms tied behind his back. And that’s without the powers that come with being half-Olympian.

This will be the second film about Hercules to hit theatres this year. After the critical and box office flop of Renny Harlin’s The Legend of Hercules, I’m sure that Ratner and his team are already nervous about the film’s prospects this summer. With a $110 million-price tag, the film will need one hell of an opening weekend to be successful. In a season filled with superheroes, giant monsters, sorceresses and talking apes, is there still a place for a sword and sandals movie? We’ll find out when Hercules debuts on July 25.

What about you reader? Are you excited about the newest trailer for Hercules, or are you too preoccupied with other upcoming films? Let us know in the comments below!

We’ve all done it before. Every wrestling fan has, at one point or another, tried to postulate how they would “fix” World Wrestling Entertainment. While I will admit that the show is not terrible right now, it’s a far cry from high quality programming week-in and week-out. As merely a spectator who has watched wrestling from dozens of promotions for over three decades, I am only giving my humble opinion of the top ten things that the “Fed” needs to fix…

10.) Chuck the PG Rating

It has had its time and place. Unfortunately, it’s not helping when you’re hooking children, then they’re quitting the product by the time they turn 13-14 because of Cena, Hornswoggle/Torito, etc. That “embarrassment” factor needs to go.

9.) Bring Back the Brand Extension

I’d go back to separate Raw and SmackDown rosters. This would prevent the overexposure of certain superstars, while allowing those not getting TV time the chance to shine.

8.) New Booker, New Writer

It’s my firm belief that WWE needs to hire Paul Heyman as head booker AND talent relations. Furthermore, they should tap Freddie Prinze Jr as head writer. Say what you want about these two as people, but they have minds for this business and when they held similar positions in the past, the product was higher quality

7.) Burn the Divas Division Down and Start from Scratch

Understand, this is no knock against women in wrestling, quite the opposite in fact. The only ones I wouldn’t fire on the spot would be AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Paige, Emma, Naomi, Layla and Natalya. I’d bump up half of the women in NXT (developmental) to the main show. Hell, I’d have Trish Stratus come back and become a GM of sorts, trying her best to gain legitimacy for the WOMEN’S (not Divas) division.

6.) Split the Unified World Title

This is an absolute must, since that unification and the end of the brand extension is what led to the same people hogging up all of the TV time each week.

5.) Bring Back the Cruiserweight/Light Heavyweight Title

This might require unifying the IC and U.S. belts, or retiring the U.S. title altogether. But this would help guys like Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, Yoshi Tatsu and others who might not ever get a shot at the world title.

4.) Dump a Few Pay-Per-Views

Not the elite events, mind you, just the ones centered around gimmick matches. These would include TLC, Hell in a Cell, and Elimination Chamber. These matches used to be special because they would randomly pop up from time to time and we’d be in shock and awe watching. Now because they all occur on a predictable timetable every year, they don’t feel as special.

3.) No More Scripted Vignettes

Promos are to be ad-libbed by the superstars from here on out. Only the solid mic workers will be doing these. If you can’t work a mic without being fed a script, then you will be assigned a valet or manager to do the talking for you. It worked in the past and would work again.

2.)More Title Contenders

Specially, I mean there needs to be more POC and international faces with a legit chance at the world title. It seems like Alberto Del Rio is kept around just to say that WWE gave a World Title reign to a person of color. Seriously, Vince needs to get over his fear of a Black world champion and the company needs to get over its trepidation at having international talent not named Sheamus or ADR in the main event.

1.) John Cena Turns Heel

Sorry Make-A-Wish kids, but you can’t truthfully call the WWE the place where “anything could happen” when a Cena heel turn can never happen. This character is as stale as moldy cheese and needs repackaging, ASAP.

As stated, this isn’t a magic cure-all for World Wrestling Entertainment, but these steps, I believe, would fix many of the problems plaguing the top promotion in the United States. What are your ten things that you’d fix about the WWE?

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On this episode, prepare for culture shock as Sarah and Toshi are joined by their first ever guest and try to tackle an actual topic! Sarah’s good friend Allyson is visiting from the US for the first time, so what better opportunity to talk about the experience of visiting and living in Japan? We try to talk about what to expect and what you’ll want to know before you visit this happy little Pacific island nation, plus we talk about Supernatural.
Supernatural talk begins at 46:54

Notes:
This episode contains spoilers to Supernatural, of course.

If you live outside the United States and would be interested in having a podcast in the World of UScast series, please get in touch with us at oneofusnet@gmail.com.

Ready to be frightened?

As if current designer drugs weren’t terrifying enough…

What is it about someone telling you not to do something that our first question is, wait, what is it?

“Mech” according to the website www.don’tdomech.com is “hands down, the worlds most dangerous drug. I’ve never seen anything like it.” It can cause heightened senses of smell and touch, a substantial increase in strength and muscle mass, increased sexual arousal, and has been described by users as “steroids meet ecstasy”. Buuutttt….

On May 30th at 3:47am, a male, mid 20’s arrived into the Emergency ward delirious and complaining of severe stomach pains. When medical staff tried to treat him, he went into a fit of rage destroying expensive medical equipment. While trying to subdue him, four staff were seriously injured. Police on duty at Royal Melbourne Hospital were called to the scene. Bath salts and a speed overdose were suspected, but autopsy has confirmed Mech was present in his system. A jagged metallic structure was excised from his abdomen, the size of a softball. Doctors are still trying to determine what the metallic structure is made of.

Witnesses say the man seemed “possessed” and was speaking incoherently. The scene was described as “gruesome”. The victims body was said to be covered in open lesions. All four medical staff remain in stable but serious condition.

Now, before you go locking your kids up in their rooms, or alternately, tracking down your local drug dealer for a ‘taste’, know that this is indeed viral marketing for ……. something. It looks like sci-fi with a touch of body horror but is it a movie, a tv show, a comic book…what?

Don’t Do Mech – PSA from Mech Free Partnership on Vimeo.

Along with this PSA video, there’s a bunch of info up at the website but nothing that tells us directly what it’s actually gonna be. Perhaps you can figure it out. If you have any leads, leave ’em here in the comments. I’ll say this much, they’ve got our attention.

Another month, another interview and showcase of an upcoming artist. This time, film maker and writer Jordan Cobb, who studied Digital Filmmaking at the University of Central Arkansas.

Check out the interview and then come back to One Of Us later in the week when we display Jordan’s short film ‘Special Delivery’

I have a Bachelor Arts degree in Digital Filmmaking with a minor in journalism from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, one the few film school programs in the United States to do feature length films. I did visual effects work on one, Sympathy Pains, the second one about a terrible comedian who goes through the same pains of pregnancy as his wife while trying to get his career off the ground. Very fine movie.

Jordan is very clear about his influences and very eloquently demonstrates them.

I’m influenced by a lot of various styles and people but if I had to boil it down to about say five, they’d easily be Martin Scorsese, Joss Whedon, Mitchell Hurwitz, Woody Allen, and Christopher Nolan. Oh wait Edgar Wright, I lied six. Their styles to me speak the most to me with what they do with the camera, how well they write and translate a script onto screen, and just how well they craft every single detail together. I’m just blown away by them and well cliche as it does sound GoodFellas is my absolute favorite film. The Incredibles, Black Swan, Blade Runner, Airplane, Blazing Saddles, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Lady From Shanghai also have a hand in my madness. I’m a HUGE noir and black comedy fan.

I’m also inspired by shows like Breaking Bad, Community, Mad Men, The Simpsons, The Drew Carey Show, Arrested Development, and the DC Animated Universe but also characters as well. Spider-Man, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Walter White, The Doctor, Han Solo, Captain Picard, and most importantly Batman influence me so much, how different these characters are and what they each represent and how they are just bound for longevity is great cause to me it shows that there are many things you can do with them and as much as we are influenced by people, I think we’re all influenced as much by the characters people play.

What kind of things interest you in terms of exploring?

I’m interested in exploring anything. I know it sounds cliche to say, but honestly if there is any script that interests me, I wanna try and take a stab at it. As for themes, noir. Noir might be my favorite genre ever. I also love ambiguity and superheroes and just pure human nature. I don’t wanna be stuck to just one thing or certain theme, I wanna take a stab at anything that gets my interest.

Why are you creative?

I honestly think its cause I love storytelling. I read Harry Potter and I think, “Wow, this was so great, I love how creative this feels. I wanna make something like this.” I like making things. I love creating stories, making worlds come to life. From a young age, I had so many ideas in my head, I didn’t know how to really express them. I acted them out, Batman fighting Dr. Doom with my old action figures. Creativity just makes me feel alive too, its great to feel that way. I can write it down and imagine its coming together so perfectly. I mean in high school, like when I started, I just watched a lot of Night Court reruns on TV, and I love Night Court, and I thought writing a feature film adaptation of that would have been my big ticket. I think I still have a few of the handwritten script pages myself today.

What do you do to unwind.

Scotch. I like to drink a nice scotch on the rocks to help get me relaxed, a few good slices of pizza, couple episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and Buffy, I’m happy. Talking to my friends and girlfriend helps too.

Currently working on?

Well right now I’m working on the Write A Movie With Us project here on One Of Us. I’m also working on getting a short comedy about my unemployment search made called We’ll Call You, it is slightly based on some my own experiences, and will most likely be the first production of JoWoCo Productions, my independent film production company that I have started, we have a website and Facebook page. I’m writing the second draft of it right now. I’ve got a few other stories I’m working on, trying to think of a good TV pilot. Mostly Breaking News, my personal favorite idea I’ve ever had with a journalism drama that’s like what if Breaking Bad had Lois Lane trying to save the Daily Planet by staging crimes with the help of criminals to drive up publication numbers and that gets out of hand.

where do you see yourself in ten years?

I honestly see myself still making movies, maybe in television, I’d love to work in TV as well given our great golden age here and the many ways to get a show out there to the masses. I honestly can’t see myself doing anything other than this, well besides journalism.

‘Special Delivery’ will be featured right here on One Of Us and Jordan will give us his own unique insight and overview on the film and production. You can find JoWoCo on Facebook and Twitter.

Showcase: Jordan Cobb’s ‘Special Delivery’

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

‘Metástasis’: Meet Walter Blanco

Digital Noise: Episode 46: Which One is the Alternative Universe?

ITL NBA Finals Game 1 Commentary!

‘Hercules’ Trailer Reaction: Screaming His Way to a Theatre Near You!

Wayward Podcast: Come On Over

What is Mech?

Interview with Filmmaker Jordan Cobb