Emirates Goes Online to Find the Cast for its Short Film

by Josh Lew on

Emirates Airlines is celebrating its new L.A. to Dubai route by making a film. I’m not sure if the airline’s execs actually expect people to see the film, titled The Exposure of Tom King, or if it is merely a gimmick to drive people to their web site for advertising purposes. The only company who has pulled off a successful foray into film is BMW, which tapped top directors to make shorts for their The Hire series starring Clive Owen.

Tom King probably won’t approach that level of quality. But regular people will have a shot at appearing onscreen. That’s because Emirates will be casting the film using web cams. Anyone can go to the movie’s web site and submit a clip of themselves. But there will be no free trip to L.A. if you are selected to be in the film. The production will utilize bluescreen technology so that the cast can act from their home via web cam. The backgrounds for the film have already been shot. You can check it out for yourself, or even audition, from now until October 26th.

Cities on film – five travel writers share their favorites

by Jeremy Kressmann on

My favorite movie of all time is City of God, a violent but highly-stylized drama about the slums of 1960’s-era Rio de Janeiro. As much as I like the film’s plot and characters, what stands out most is the way director Fernando Meirelles imbues the film with a distinctly Brazilian “feeling” in its style and narrative construction. I feel literally transported to Rio every time I watch it, swept up in the city’s percussive rhythms, bright, sunwashed colors and dense humid jungle air.

The film buffs over at Film in Focus share similar opinions on the way certain movies can immortalize a place. They recently asked some well-known travel writers, including Rolf Potts, Pico Iyer and Tony Wheeler to discuss this very question, sharing five of their favorite city-specific films. There were some clear winners, with certain movies shining through on several lists, including Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (Tokyo) and the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy romance Before Sunset (Paris). Aside from Tokyo and Paris, the writers called out several films set in New York among their favorites including Saturday Night Fever (Brooklyn) and Do the Right Thing.

What are some of your favorite movies that immortalize a destination? Leave a comment below to discuss.

Starring Brad Pitt … and Southern Alberta

by Martha Edwards on

Drive an hour outside of the city limits of my hometown of Calgary, and you’re apt to come across some of the most beautiful scenery you’ve ever seen. From rolling foothill’d prairieland to towering, ragged mountaintops that are so high they block out late-afternoon sun to vibrant desert hoodoos, we seem to have it all (well, except for warm winters and beaches — I wish.) So it’s no surprise that Hollywood comes here often to shoot movies which call for wild, expansive, breathtaking scenery.

Ever see Brokeback Mountain? How about The Assassination of Jesse James? Legends of the Fall? Though none of these films are actually set in Alberta, they were all filmed here, under the endless prairie sky. And in each case, the scenery plays a starring role in the film — how can it not?

I’m embarrassed to admit that it took seeing it in the movies to make me realize how gorgeous this part of the world is. Being a habitual city-dweller, it’s hard to see much beyond pavement and rooftops and headlights. It took seeing it through someone else’s eyes to realize that not far from my own doorstep lies pure, divine heaven on earth.

Best destination flicks this year

by Martha Edwards on

I rarely see movies, so when I do make the trek to the theatre or the video store, I try to make sure it’s a good one; For me, good means well-written, well-acted and somehow intellectually stimulating. I love seeing good films about other places in the world — they don’t need to be travel-related, per se, but I love destination films. So I’m pretty chuffed that someone has come out with a list of the Top 10 travel-inspiring flicks this year. Here’s what made the list:

  • Once, set in Ireland
  • Lust, Caution, set in Shanghai and Hong Kong
  • Enchanted, set in Manhattan
  • Atonement, set in Britain during WWII
  • The Darjeeling Limited, set in India
  • Into the Wild, set throughout the continental USA and in Alaska (I’ve seen this one, by the way, and I loved it)
  • The Assassination of Jesse James, set in the midwest, but actually filmed in the beautiful Canadian foothills (where I live) (Incidentally, this film stars not only Brad Pitt but also an old-school trunk from my house that one of the producers picked up at our garage sale! I haven’t seen the movie, but humor me — does the trunk steal the show or what? Ok, I digress.)
  • Ratatouille, set in Paris
  • Elizabeth, The Golden Age, set in historic England
  • The Bourne Ultimatum, set in several different countries.

Like I said, I’ve only seen one of these, so I can’t really comment, but maybe you can?

Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival Spans the Globe

by Kelly Amabile on

Want to voyage around the world and back? The offerings at next weekend’s Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival promise to transport viewers to all corners of the globe. Opening night begins with Sleepingwalking Through the Mekong, a rock ‘n’ roll documentary that follows California combo Dengue Fever as they tour Cambodia. The musical journey focuses on the “historical reality of artists under the Khmer Rouge regime.” The three day festival, held at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, includes films about the digital revolution in China, sexuality issues in Iran and the genre of African horror movies. In conjunction with the museum’s new exhibit H2O = Life (that opens today) the festival will showcase several films related to water, including pieces that examine water-related issues in India and Mexico.

Several films explore aspects of cultural tourism: Grito de Piedra (Scream of the Stone) depicts a Bolivian miner and his son, who is a tour guide to the silver mines in Potosi. Once the source of great colonial wealth, these destitute mines have been re-opened as a tourist destination. And Nomadak Tx showcases nomadic peoples around the world, while following the journey of two Basque musicians who play a tandem percussive instrument (the txalaparta) during their travels to remote locales.

If you can’t catch any films next weekend in New York, be sure to check out the festival’s extensive travel schedule. The annual event is the longest-running premiere festival for international non-fiction media in the United States.