Here you can watch my entire film "Black & White"

http://youtu.be/mJx9z7RbVKQ

I wrote and directed this film on interracial dating. Enjoy!

 

Def going to watch it shortly.... but I thought you wanted to present this at Indie?

Regardless, congratulations on completing your project, Playboy! :freehug:

 

Thanks. Please post your thoughts (good or bad) here when you are done. I appreciate all the feedback. And I did present it at indie film festivals, one in NY and one in LA. It did well. I am now signed with a new agent to direct TV commercials. Working on a $10 million budget horror script next but that wont be ready for a few years. It's in development right now. Commercials is where the money is at and I need to save so i can move to LA permanently. Was trying to get a DVD deal with Amazon but they wanted to take too much of a percentage so I figured I'd just put the movie out there on YouTube for the world to see. I have learned alot about this industry since I began making this film and there really is no money to be made with indie films. Not without a theater release. It's all good. I now know where the money will come from until that next film deal. Anyway .... enjoy!:smt023

P.S. to check me out on IMDB go here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5375527/

my official website is www.amichaelrayproject.com

 

The Review

With very few movies which are centered on themes of interracial romance between black men and white women, I was intrigued when Michael Ray decided to put together this movie. A newcomer in the film industry, Ray wishes to provide the audience a hot and steamy fire which can expand beyond the borders of the core audience. But, I noticed that the movie was nothing more but a fizzled out flame, barely flickering with excitement. A movie marred with so many technical issues and poor direction which could have been something good for the new millenium to enjoy.

It starts off with the central character, Will, played by Ben Foster, an accomplished business entertainment executive making $90K a year and living a successful life -- except his luck with women, and this is where the problem begins, both in story and the overall production of the movie. The actresses overall were mild to D-average in their acting, except in certain parts where they are most convincing. The main thing I like in a movie when it comes to a cast of characters are those individuals who are likeable, but none of them really stood out, not even the “Wigger Ghetto Chick” who probably the most character development of all. Even with exploring the backstory of this character, Tessa, there’s still no convincing in how she truly learns from her past mistakes. The rest were fairly one-dimensional and were a “rush-n-gun” sequence of events, not knowing much more about them.

And this leads to my second complaint: the cinematography and direction. I felt that for anyone to follow this movie, you’d have to smoke 2 grams of marijuana and pooping at the same time to remotely follow up on everything and quickly determine what is relevant to the central story and what is not. And then the quirky fuzz footage grew of an annoyance rather than an artistic style. Switching between camera angles, distorted coloring, and all the other elements combined with poor audio hampered what could be a potentially decent movie.

Overall, Black & White is a less than average movie and while I know it may seem hard for a newcomer like Michael Ray to get this sort of criticism, I will say that there is one redeeming quality overall: the heart of the project. But while so much was put into it, it didn’t translate to a successful movie that could otherwise be something of this millennium's Jungle Fever, minus the negative stereotype of interracial romance between black men and white women. Then again, after watching the whole movie, I felt lost and in disarray. But still, it’s worth noting that it’s not an unwatchable movie and Ray does have some potential. I’ll cautiously hold on to this fact as Michael Ray produce more projects. But this is a rough beginning and there is always room for improvement.

 

Hey morning star thanks for that review. I have to correct one thing you said...the lead actor is NOT Ben Foster (a very famous WHITE actor)...his name is Ben Forest (an up and coming comedian here in NY who had never really acted in a drama before, much less been the lead in one).

...Just wanted to clarify that typo...


Anyway, I appreciate all criticism, good and bad, as long as it's constructive. You are a very astute film watcher and I am glad you picked up on many things. The actress who played Tessa (Juliana Aiden) is AMAZING and I wish we could have had more time to explore her character, but my cinematographer (who was working for a fraction of what he normally gets paid since he is a friend of a friend of mines) would literally take his equipment and leave at 9pm on most shoot days since he almost always had another shoot in Jersey that same night. There was a night where we had to shoot 3 crucial scenes in about 15 minutes because it was 8:45pm and he had to go. That was INSANE (but we got it done, and thankfully all those scenes included Juliana who is a powerhouse of a method actress and always nailed her scenes on the first take).

I've always said to people (and one of my idols, famous filmmaker David Fincher who directed Fight Club, Se7en, etc. has a similar quote) that directing is 80% problem solving. Actors getting sick/injured, equipment breaking, police not allowing you to shoot at certain locations, managers of restaurants/buildings, etc. not allowing you to shoot there on certain days or hours, the weather not cooperating, the budget not being big enough, not having enough time, juggling actor's busy schedules. Making a film is like forming a giant army, seeing what everyone is best at and making a huge attack knowing lives will be lost and hopefully some will survive. Nothing goes according to plan, no matter how many weeks/months/years you put into it. The director's job is to somehow get the film made despite that 90% of what you thought was gonna happen did NOT happen and on the day you must figure out another way to get it done.

I could make all the typical excuses (we only had 8 days to shoot it, most of the actors were just out of acting school and many had never done a film before, we had ZERO money in our budget, our lead actor never knew his lines, was always 2 hours late to set and was unable to perform most dramatic moments since he is only comfortable with comedy and thus had very little chemistry with his super talented female lead who was acting-wise like placing Michael Jordan with a high school kid on the basketball court, etc. etc.) but I know at the end of the day the audience doesn't care, they just want a good film to be made. I wish I could have had a better crew and camera equipment. I wish we had more time, better actors. I wish I didn't have to edit my lead actor's performance not based on which take was the best acting but which shots do not show he is reading his lines from a script we are holding for him just off camera ....But I did what I could with what I was dealt and also tried to add my signature visual style to it. I just NEEDED this story to be told. I am proud of what I did, perfect or not.


I am honestly mostly intrigued by people's opinions on how the film made them FEEL at the end, which woman they think he chose, as well as their opinions on my visual style and the music in the film. It was made to be a visual and musical experience as well as a storytelling one. Not to sound grandiose or arrogant or narcissistic, because I have only made one film, BUT I have many scripts lined up for future films and I know what my visual style will be in ALL of them. I am truly trying to re-invent the way films are shot/cut together and the way stories are told. I wanted parts of this film to feel like an R&B music video with the montages and everything. I hope that effect/feeling was evident.

 

RE: Michael Ray

The ending of the movie didn't really make the lead character seem all the more developed since, he didn't learn from his mistakes. Based on his lasting moments in the movie, it'd be pretty obvious that he'd stick around with the Polish woman until she bleeds him dry and then it'll be another calamity all over.

Also, since you've mentioned the "R&B effect" as the style you're going for, I wasn't quite thrilled with it since it made the already jumbled story all the more disjointed and distorted from a visual standpoint. If you wish to convey a story and yet still hold some level of artistry in the process, then do it when it's most appropriate and not in random areas where you think it would reach the viewer. None of the parts in the movie, maybe except for the phone monologues between the central character and his friend effectively performed decently. But for flashbacks, it could have been done better.

I applaud you though for trying something different and perhaps this project could be used as a reminder of what worked and what didn't.

 

I saw Ms reply and my mind automatically went with him typing 'is that a threat' based on the thread title.

As is usually for lil Ali, I have nothing constructive to add here.
I just have jokes.

I crack me up. A lot. My humor is stupid but I think my heart is healthy.
Except for all the pork fat, booze, and cigarettes.

 

Don't forget the Ahi Poke Blue Waffles.

 

My thought as a deaf person: It looks interesting, but I wish there were subtitles . I'd love to watch, but I wouldn't understand a word.

If you're cool with it, my email is nicole89marsh[at]gmail... I'd love to see a script. Probably read it then watch the movie so that it'd make more sense to me. If not, that's cool too, I could understand why .

 

Blarg I say, blarg

I think lesbian ex gov dried up snatchy like thing would be more tempting and you could not get me to touch it.

 

Really now? I'm very willing to drive down your will by making you give into your desires.

 

I will bring my comments on the sites you mentioned. I also mentioned it in your Youtube thread.

 

I hope to see that flick again and buy a DVD copy in the distant future.

 

Now we know your name. :smt045

 

So what? As if I kept it a secret.

 

I never knew about it. But you have the name of a heroic cowboy.

 

Thanks for the comments and opinions everyone!

 

YouTube won't let me watch it on my iPad. Also, if its available on DVD anywhere, post a link. I'll buy a copy. If I could buy a box of Cheerios, I can support you.