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A CAMELOT WEDDING
I’m not a fan of traditional weddings. It’s supposed to be the most special and happiest day of your life. The same night I proposed in Jamaica, I mentioned to Jacqui I did not want a formal wedding, and wished to do something more romantic, more unique, more fun.
“I thought we’d do…a period wedding,” I blurted.
She looked perplexed, but intrigued. “And what time period were you thinkin’ about?”
I wasn’t sure how this was going to sound, but I decided to just go for it. “A romantic time period…you know…with harpists and costumed dancers and jugglers, and a horse and buggy to bring you in, and hooligans to kidnap you in front of our guests, and you screamin’ for help, and a knight in shining armor to rescue you, and sword fights and duels and…” I stopped as it sounded too huge even to me, like a blockbuster movie.
She looked a little baffled. Well, more than a little. She smiled, and with no hesitation, she said, “Wow! Sounds amazing! What a great idea. Let’s do it!”
Category Archives: Filmmaking
HOLLYWOOD LORE: “Gimme A Bullet Hit Here…Like This!”
When you’re directing television, the most fun and creative challenge is adapting to the rapid transition of style/genre and meeting diverse personnel you encounter from series to series which can result in some of the most bizarre and hilarious adventures … Continue reading
HBO’s “GAME CHANGE”: McCain’s National Shame of Palin
On March 10th, HBO will premiere “Game Change” which will dramatize the 2008 election focusing on Republican nominee John McCain and his fateful choice of then-unknown Sarah Palin as his running mate. The stellar film cast includes Ed Harris as … Continue reading
SPIELBERG & WILLIAMS: The Divine Union of Film & Music
Forty years. Twenty-five films. Thirteen Oscar nominations for original score. In honor of my alma mater, The American Film Institute, and its “Master Class” celebrating the glorious collaboration between Steven Spielberg and John Williams, I salute them as the greatest … Continue reading
James Cameron’s SHRIEK before AVATAR!
(Excerpt from Guy Magar’s film memoir KISS ME QUICK BEFORE I SHOOT: A Filmmaker’s Journey into the Lights of Hollywood and True Love) Finally, I had found the financing for my first feature, SHRIEK. We started hiring a crew, casting … Continue reading
GREEN ZONE: Top Ten of the Decade
Regardless of what Oscars and Golden Globes tell us, it’s difficult in any one year to get full agreement on the best movie of the year, or even the best movies of all time as per the American Film Institute’s … Continue reading
The Good, the Bad, and the Hollywood!
Back in 1997, a headline news story made all film wannabes’ jaws drop to the floor. I remember the story became the stuff of legend and even managed to catch my attention though I was deep in production at the … Continue reading
WANTED: An American Hero – FOUND: Dancing’s J.R. Martinez
America loves its heroes. The ‘84 TV series Cover Up which I had directed had Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero” as the show’s theme song which was a huge hit tune in its time and still one of … Continue reading
Spielberg’s AMBLIN’ to Cameron’s XENOGENESIS: The Promise of Short Films
Everyone knows there is almost no commercial market for short films…so why make them? Every film regardless of its running length is a big investment in time, hassle, people, money, and dreams. The first film I made as a student … Continue reading
Cinematic Magic: IRIS
Magic! Movies have always been a magical world for me since I was a kid growing up in Egypt watching Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedies and The Ten Commandments which blew my mind. The magic continued when on my … Continue reading
