tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36845215.post172593078650810968..comments2024-03-24T11:56:43.208-07:00Comments on Showbiz David: Big Toppings: Kelly Miller Shuns Texas Mud ... Walker Resists Tiny Fine for Tragic Tent Collapse .. New Flick Toasts Quad King Miguel Vazquez ... Student Circus Pioneer Paul Pugh Dies ... And More on the Inside! Showbiz Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08921904778000552196noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36845215.post-8813645907844832652016-03-07T13:41:23.194-08:002016-03-07T13:41:23.194-08:00Hi David,
I always your comments and keep them com...Hi David,<br />I always your comments and keep them coming.<br />If Walker is fussing at that little amount of money being fined how do you put a price on two wrongful deaths.<br />I bet that family has a law suit in the millions for that.<br />In an interview on Cole Bros Johnny Pugh said if you get a local hurt you better move out of this country as they are going to get there pound of flesh.<br />I got to know Boom Boom Browning though the years through R H Bubba Voss who also was on the 1955 Ringling band as well as Beatty Cole.<br />I later years he was on indoor shows and could he play those drums.<br />He played to the end and I have a few of his tapes to hear what he sounded like and that is great circus music.<br />Harry in TexasHarry Kingstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13362053177536772325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36845215.post-39500250779712777542016-03-07T11:53:18.874-08:002016-03-07T11:53:18.874-08:00David...
Thanks for the reply.
My comments w...David...<br /><br /> Thanks for the reply.<br /><br /> My comments were provided to correct what I felt were a couple of inaccuracies stated in your review of the film. Always interested in anyone's opinion regarding the film. I find that the level of knowledge of trapeze certainly affects opinions of the film. My intent was to create a film that would engage a general audience and offer a humanistic POV of trapeze performers and their lives - centered around a great trapeze flyer.<br /><br /> I contemplated narrating the film. I discarded that idea fairly early on in favor of Miguel providing on-camera transitions.<br /><br /> You are correct that at the start of filming there were mentions on the website of an editor, cameraman and a talented musical group that was tentatively considered to produce the music. I quickly discovered that as a result of my personal concepts of the film, it would be best if I handled the actual editing and most of the camera work. Time, artistic preferences and funding were all considerations in this decision.<br /><br />During the editing process, I was ably assisted in the technical aspects of inserting music, dissolves, etc. by Jake Gorst. Jake offered many excellent suggestions during the editing process. Jake works out of New York and the editing process consisted of my editing segments and sending them to him via Vimeo. This was an extremely time-consuming process. As the desired deadline to complete the film approached, it became obvious that only way to finish the film in a reasonable time frame was to engage someone here in the LA area (where I live) and then work side by side with this person to implement my edits quickly. A fellow by the name of Brian Kotowski was engaged to assist in completing the film during the last year of production. There was never a mention of a writer on the website.<br /><br />Now - the sequences filmed at Cirque and Le Reve. In both sequences, I felt it vital to show what the Vazquez brothers do present day at these venues. I felt it was imperative that I depict the great measures of safety that are implemented at these shows. During the brief clips involving the guys checking their respective safety inspections, the audience is given rare views of the backstage areas of both shows. Additional sequences involving rehearsals of Cirque's "Flying Men" (not trapeze") and Le Reve practice rescues in the event of equipment malfunction high, high over the arena. Permission to film at Cirque took over two years and I'm pleased with what was filmed.<br /><br />I very much enjoyed making the film. It was a great privilege to meet and have the opportunity to interview some of the greats of circus and circus history experts like yourself.<br /><br />Phil WeylandPhilip Weylandhttps://www.facebook.com/LastGreatCircusFlyernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36845215.post-23223009853032664922016-03-07T07:43:19.140-08:002016-03-07T07:43:19.140-08:00Phil,
As I recall, your strong voice in the openi...Phil,<br /><br />As I recall, your strong voice in the opening seemed to cast trapeze in a greater context of the American circus in general. It promised a kind of dramatic arc that did not come to pass. Blame my faulty expectations if you like. In fact, I wished you had narrated the film all the way through, your voice was that compelling.<br /><br />Tedious? As much as I enjoyed the highlights, such as Miguel’s quad at Monte Carlo, there were many things that left me unengaged. Example: watching one of the brothers backstage working props at Cirque du Soleil with a clipboard in hand, checking off things to do. Together, sequences such as this made the film seem overly long to me.<br /><br />As for your starting out with a writer, I may be wrong, but I thought on your website at the beginnings, you listed a composer and a writer, or maybe an editor whom I thought was working on a script, a fellow who had received acclaim for a film of his shown on PBS. <br /><br />I hope you achieve great success with the film, an obvious labor of love, and pull in great reviews. Keep in mind that a review is only one person’s opinion. And, trust me, I am not the Hollywood Reporter.Showbiz Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921904778000552196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36845215.post-59301711953955724512016-03-06T22:03:00.019-08:002016-03-06T22:03:00.019-08:00David -You have seemingly missed the point of my d...David -You have seemingly missed the point of my documentary "The Last Great Circus Flyer". In your short review you wrote - "... opening on a compelling note framed in a dramatic question: What happened to the great American circus of yore?". David -that certainly is NOT how the film begins.<br /><br /> In my voice-over at the beginning, I state by inference that I well understood what had "happened" to the circus - but what I didn't understand was why trapeze was not as well "regarded" as it once was. Nowhere was it said in any form as you write: "What happened to the great American Circus of yore?". The question I posed at the beginning of the film was regarding the diminishing significance and audience interest in trapeze over the last 30-40 years.<br /><br />Also - There was NEVER another "writer"on the documentary. The concept, direction and "writing" of the film was strictly mine. Certainly I had several people who assisted me with the technical aspects of editing, but they did NOT "write" any portion of the film. I was solely responsible for the content and the order the content appears in the film.<br /><br />You wrote: "If only film maker Phillip Weyland, who poses the question , had followed through on this grabbing premise."<br /><br />You criticize me for not following through on a "grabbing premise"? - a premise that was NOT even stated in the opening of "The Last Great Circus Flyer". It was never my intent to comprehensively address how circus has changed. You seemingly criticize me for not making a film that you would like to see... rather than one you saw. That's like being disappointed that "The Maltese Falcon" isn't about ornithology.<br /><br /> You wrote: "But instead, his central focus falls upon Vazquez family life, much of it tediously mundane."<br /><br />Which portions of the film did you find "tediously mundane"? Perhaps the discussions and interviews about the risks and tragedies that occur in the circus world? Or the discussion about jealousy in the circus? The backstage segments filmed at Cirque du Soleil and Le Reve? The interaction with Miguel Vazquez and young flyers at a practice session? The brief segment about how costumes were created? The segment where Miguel decided to stop flying...and why? The segment where Miguel visits the Circus Museum in Sarasota at "The Ringling"? The brief discussion of the "changing circus" as it primarily relates to trapeze? Miguel's interaction with his sons teaching them the art of trapeze? The discussion of the discipline that parents brought to the training of circus children in the past? The brief overview of the history of trapeze? The discussion about how some performers have various kinds of "fear" (including a fear of heights)? The elaborate parade and reception following Miguel's wedding in 1983? The segment at Circus Vargas showing 4 different trapeze performers doing FOUR consecutive triples in a row? The segment featuring Miguel's youngest son attempting to "fly'? The segments at trapeze schools depicting the passion and interest young flyers have for trapeze? The segments featuring trapeze greats Miguel and Tito Gaona discussing the past and present of "trapeze"? The Vazquez brothers attempting to complete a triple... one last time?<br /><br />I challenge you to find a documentary that focuses on the wide range of trapeze-related subjects that are addressed in this film by the living masters of trapeze.<br /><br />I certainly know that I can't please everyone when creating a film - so as a filmmaker - I try to "please" myself... by including in a film that which I think is important, interesting and meaningful.<br /><br />Philip Weyland<br /><br />Director - "The Last Great Circus Flyer"Philip Weylandhttps://www.facebook.com/LastGreatCircusFlyernoreply@blogger.com