I had said awhile ago that I would start using these "six word short stories" as headlines, but I've decided to adapt them to movie reviews instead.  Much easier to read, and more rewarding to write.  So, here's the first:

Cassandra's Dream (Woody Allen, 2007, **** / ****)
Unsatisfied brothers lose lots for naught.

Stardust (Matthew Vaughn, 2007, ***1/2 / ****)
Adult fairytale from Neil Gaiman's head.

Pinocchio (Disney, 1940, ***** / *****)
What more is there to say?

Gatherers - Need Pictures!

[Reposted from the Gather 'Round the Mic page.]

Greetings all -
January's here, and as thought, the picture is nearing completion (audio has yet to go in, but the picture is locked). As I prepare materials for attempting to hit the film festivals, I need photos! As I was filming, taking stills really wasn't in the cards, but I know there were cameras flashing throughout the weekend, and I've seen several of them on your respective pages.

So here's what I'm asking - pick three or four of your favorites, and email me (tylerwvr@gmail.com) hi-res copies. I would grab them off of MySpace pages, but thanks to MySpace's super-duper compression, they leave much to be desired.

Thanks, and a happy new year!

Tyler

... if you couldn't tell from my exuberance from the past few days...

Anyhow, it's hit a remarkable 250 views in just over 24 hours, and I want to keep that going. If you like what you see, and want to help, please link, embed, tell friends, tell enemies, do what you do. I'm my own marketing team, and I'd love to get the extra help!

Here's the trailer:

Gather 'Round the Mic - The Trailer


Cheers in advance,
Tyler

What's with those weird six-word sayings in this guy's headline?

That's me pretending to be you pretending to actually read headlines.

I may be a few years too late (a little under two according to publication date), but on Wired Magazine's website, they have a fantastic article called "Very Short Stories." Authors such as Frank Miller, Alan Moore, William Gibson, and Darren Aronfsky contributed "six word short stories," and the results can be viewed at the link provided.

Hemingway started this micro-phenomena when he wrote what he considered his best work, the following six words: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for MySpace. Feel free to contribute.

And yes, the first one ties in with my day job. Bono really needs a fact checker.

Perhaps this is a bit off topic for a "film" page blog. One might generally expect something about my upcoming projects or updates on material covered in documentaries.

This is somewhat film related, so I'll just say it. I'm sick of hearing about the damn iPhone.

I can see its usefulness from a "Web 2.0" movie marketing avenue. Hell, all of my "films" have gone the YouTube route.

That doesn't change the fact that I'm fed up with every site covering every minutiae of iPhone-itude. I don't care about cases. I couldn't care less about the "App Store." I couldn't care less about 3G vs. whatever it's battling.

Last I checked, and I could be somewhat mistaken in this age of tiny portability, Apple made computers. You know what I would like to see fixed? The flaw in my iMac 20" (and others) that prevents my Panasonic DVX100A from being recognized. I would love it if stuck pixels became a thing of the past.

iPhone users and abusers - just keep it in your pants.

I'm going to leave you with David Lynch on the iPhone:

Hello all,

I just posted my new trailer for the Mary Ferrell Foundation's recently released book, The Last Investigation by Gaeton Fonzi.

Here's the trailer:


Here's the book description:
Gaeton Fonzi's masterful retelling of his work reinvestigating the Kennedy assassination for two Congressional committees is required reading for students of the assassination and the subsequent failure of the government to solve the crime. The Last Investigation is a compelling post mortem on the House Select Committee on Assassinations, as well as a riveting account of Fonzi's pursuit of leads indicating involvement by officers of the Central Intelligence Agency.

--

It's a fantastic book - a hard-boiled crime novel in the vein of Chandler - that's actually true. So check out the Mary Ferrell Foundation MySpace page, and enjoy the trailer!

Cheers,
Tyler

My recent short documentary, Withheld In Full - Morley V. CIA told the story of former Washington Post reporter Jefferson Morley's 10-year investigative journey into the life and operational work of CIA officer George Joannides. He has been in court since 2003, suing the CIA for their files on Joannides.

Last February, the CIA was ordered to comply with the Appelate Court's decision to release the Joannides documents. They promised a response by April 30th.

Their response - more stonewalling. Morley's article for the Washington Independent sums up today's proceedings.

This is just another example of 45 years of struggle on the part of independent researchers to find some semblance of closure to a past tragedy that has irrevocably altered our present.

In the words of Murrow, good night, and good luck.

Hello friends,

I posted this over on the Mary Ferrell Foundation's MySpace page, but felt I should also post it here, as I feel this is an extremely worthwhile cause:

--
Dear friends,

The prosecution of Dr. Cyril Wecht for alleged misuse of his coroner's office has, after six weeks of testimony and more than two weeks of jury deliberations, ended in a mistrial. One jury member was excused due to stress, and later told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "I kept looking for this big criminal scheme. I couldn't find it." The jury foreman said he went into the case with an open mind, "But as the case went on my thoughts were this was being politically driven."

The quick decision by the prosecution re-try the case, coupled with the lack of seriousness of some of the charges, has led many to wonder about the politics behind the prosecution. Dr. Wecht has been an outspoken opponent of the government on many issues, including though hardly limited to his Kennedy assassination work.

Dr. Wecht's son Ben has put out an appeal for a letter-writing campaign to keep new charges from being filed and stop the re-trial. Ben's emailed appeal is reproduced at the bottom of this page.

The Mary Ferrell Foundation is sending its own letter to prosecutor Mary Beth Buchanan - email us and we will add your name to this letter (printed below). Please respond quickly, as we intend to send this letter within a few days.

For more information on the Wecht case, please visit our feature on the case.

__

Letter from the MFF to U.S. Attorney Buchanan

The Honorable Mary Beth Buchanan
United States Attorney
United States Attorney's Office
Western District of Pennsylvania
U.S. Post Office & Courthouse, Suite 400
Seventh Avenue and Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Dear. Ms Buchanan,

We are writing to urge you to cease the prosecution of Dr. Cyril Wecht. After weeks of deliberation, the jury was unable to reach a guilty verdict on a single count. The government has had its day in court and, in the words of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it's time to stop. We respectfully ask that you reconsider an apparent decision to retry this case and spend more taxpayer money pursuing an unfounded case against Dr. Wecht.

Those of us who have met Dr. Wecht find him to be a man of outstanding civic-mindedness and integrity. He put his reputation on the line during his tenure on the House Select Committee on Assassinations in the late 1970s, and has put his expertise and knowledge to great use since then. The renowned programs and reputation of the Cyril H. Wecht Institute for Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University speak for themselves.

There are undoubtedly far better uses of your office than continuing to pursue this case - one which has led even jurors to question the motivation behind Dr. Wecht's prosecution.

One way to remove these questions would be to admit that the case against Dr. Wecht was found to be unproven, and bring the tarnishing of his name to a close.

Sincerely,

Rex Bradford, Senior Archivist, Mary Ferrell Foundation
Tyler Weaver, Executive Director, Mary Ferrell Foundation
Randolph Benson, Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies
Michael J. Cain, author, The Tangled Web

__

If you would like to be added as a signatory to this letter, please send us a message with your name and occupation.

Best,

Tyler Weaver
Executive Director
The Mary Ferrell Foundation
www.maryferrell.org

Hello all,

I’m generally reticent to ask for favors, but in this case, I’m going to.

I’ve just put the first episode of my recently-released documentary series, Withheld In Full on Current TV’s website, putting it in consideration for airing on their television channel.

A big part of that "in consideration" is votes. So, I’m asking for yours. It does require an account on Current TV’s website, but if you like my work, please take the time to do so. Plus, it’s a fantastic website and resource for those intellectually honest among us.

The video can be viewed and voted on at this URL:
http://current. com/items/88865490_withheld_in_full_episode_1_morley_v_cia

This could be a great boon for the Foundation, Mr. Morley’s story, and my own work, so again, please take the time to give me a vote.

Cheers,
Tyler

Hello all,

I'm proud to let you all of you know that the first episode of my new documentary series for the Mary Ferrell Foundation is now online!

Withheld In Full - Episode 1: Morley V. CIA tells the story of Washington Post reporter Jefferson Morley and his decade-long investigation into a career CIA officer named George Joannides. Morley has been embroiled in a lawsuit against the CIA due to their refusal to disclose important records about Joannides - a blatant violation of the 1992 JFK Records Act.

For more information, including audio interviews, court documents, and a collection of Morley's writings and relevant primary resource material, please visit the Morley V. CIA page at the Mary Ferrell Foundation.

Hope you enjoy!

Best,
Tyler