Mike Giuffrida

Back in 2017, “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” was released. It was as highly anticipated as any movie in the franchise for one reason – the return of the saga’s biggest hero, Luke Skywalker. Image source: themarysue.com However, very shortly after opening day, the fandom had experienced a divergence in the Force. This schism proved to be extremely volatile. Each day that passed, thousands of fans went to social media to either exclaim either their distaste or love for the film. While there was a middle ground, it was a minimal patch. Mike Giuffrida . Rian Johnson, the director of the movie, was central in dividing the fandom. He took what many fans loved about the series and turned it on its head. The effects were varied. Probably, the biggest blow was the role of Luke Skywalker, who many fans had waited decades to see. Mike Giuffrida . Image source: comicbook.com Luke didn’t fight, as many fanboys and fangirls had hoped for. Instead, he chose to project himself...

Some of the most iconic films in history centered around virtual reality (VR). Having another world opens up limitless possibilities in storytelling. Here are three films centered on VR that have made their mark on cinema history. Mike Giuffrida . Image source: alienationmentale.wordpress.com Tron : When “Tron” first came out, critics were divided, not knowing what to make of it. But as time passed, this visual spectacle became a cult classic and earned its place as one of the most recognizable films of all-time. Not only did “Tron” push the envelope of science fiction, but it also pioneered so many filmmaking techniques still studied and used today. Mike Giuffrida . The Lawnmower Man : While not as big a hit as the other two films on this list, “The Lawnmower Man” is still recognized as one of the pioneering VR films in the post-“Tron” era. Based on the book by Stephen King, this sci-fi suspense thriller portrayed VR as a power-giving entity that allowed the film’s antagonis...

More than a hype -- Mike Giuffrida Image source: theverge.com Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D for short, is the pioneer of not just tabletop gaming, but role-playing games or RPGs in general. It has been around since 1974, reached much popularity in the ‘80s, but is not seeing an unprecedented era of success. Indeed, more and more people are playing the fantasy game in the late 2010s and there’s no sign of the hype dying down anytime soon. Mike Giuffrida . One of the main reasons for the resurgence of D&D is its role in the popular Netflix series "Stranger Things." The otherworldly setting of the entire show mimics the so-called “Underdark” of D&D lore. The first season of the series even begins with the child protagonists playing D&D in one of the boys’ basement. Mike Giuffrida. Moreover, the rise of the digital age has helped with D&D geeks broadcasting actual or live plays of the game on streaming services such as YouTube and Twitch. Studies...

The greatest films from a true American legend -- Mike Giuffrida Image source: time.com For over 50 years, Martin Scorsese has been a fixture in Hollywood. Before he made his directorial debut with the stunning “Taxi Driver,” Scorsese had been studying with the best and brightest, honing his craft at film directing. Responsible for so many of the greatest and grittiest movies known to man, Scorsese hasn’t shown any signs of stopping. Mike Giuffrida . Goodfellas : Often compared to “The Godfather” in terms of cinematic scope and influence, “Goodfellas” is a sprawling adventure into the life of a player in organized crime. With golden performances from Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta, “Goodfellas” features the story of the mafia in incredible brutality. Seldom are films directed this perfectly. Image source: amazon.co.uk The Departed : Mike Giuffrida. Not too many people know that “The Departed” is actually an American remake of the Hong Kong thriller “Infernal ...

I’m Mike Giuffrida, and I love everything about stage and film. I love talking to relatives, friends, or even strangers about them, and I love blogging about them. Image source: businessinsider.com For today, I’ll be discussing a previously (in my opinion) underappreciated part of filmmaking – set design. Yes, while there have been people who see just how great movie sets of epic classics were, casual audiences didn’t give set designers enough credit. In the past 30 years however, everything has changed. Set design has become a character of sorts in film. Take for example Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. In all three films, there were sets that simply blew everyone away. Without the sets, audiences would have had a hard time believing that the story was taking place in Middle Earth. But as it stands, everyone who saw had a hard time taking themselves out of Middle Earth. And that’s just one example. More recently, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has featured m...

I’m Mike Giuffrida and I’m taking film and acting classes. Last week, we had one of the most interesting sessions since I started going to school here. Our professor, who also happens to be a renowned cinematographer discussed two films that changed modern cinema forever. First off, he mentioned Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” and how the history of film could be halved before and after this masterpiece came out. “The Godfather” not only defined an era, it also stood head and shoulders above any film created before or since. Our professor mentions only two other films that come close, “Citizen Kane” and “Gone with the Wind.” However, unlike “The Godfather,” both “Citizen Kane” and “Gone with the Wind” aren’t nearly as beloved, and haven’t stood the test of time with film going fans.                     Image source: mentalfloss.com The second movie our professor mentioned was “The Matrix.” He mentioned that the Wa...

Contrary to popular belief, not a lot of actors can start getting into their roles at the drop of a hat. In reality there are lots of actors with a “switch”. Some of the actors I know are actually introverts who need time to internalize a character. While I consider myself more of an extrovert, I must admit that I also need to psych myself up before I face an audience or the camera. Here are some of the the acting exercises we do to get into character faster: Image source: Thoughtco.com Repetition Instead of the usual mirroring exercise where you try to imitate what the other actor is doing, repetition allows you to put a different spin on what he’s saying. It allows you to do so much with one line. If I start out as an overly confident version of Mike Giuffrida, we can go on without changing the line but this time with me being a hysterical character and my partner playing a criminal. It’s a good game that draws out your expressions. Feel the music Image source:...

Freddie Mercury is hailed as one of the best performers in music history. From his impossible vocal range to his larger than life stage presence, no other artist has ever come close to Mr. Fahrenheit himself. We’ve all heard of Bohemian Rhapsody, seen the Live Aid concert, and chanted We Will Rock You at some point. Only a man with such greatness can have such an impact on our lives. Here are some facts depicting just how phenomenal Freddie Mercury was as a performer. Mercury’s vibrato is irregular Classically trained singers modulate fundamental frequencies to make their tones more vibrant. A typical opera singer’s vibrato measures to about 5.5-6 Hz. Mercury’s vibrato is slightly higher than that. Image source: buzzfeed.com Mercury’s agility in shifting register While a lot of singers shift from one tone to another with great difficulty, Mercury does this with effortless ease. While he is naturally a baritone, Mercury primarily sang as a Tenor. He also made switc...

For us aspiring actors, there have been iconic performances over the years that we can’t help but admire. Some of us even go that extra mile and try to emulate these greats. I’ve come up with a list of our favorite performances since the ‘70s. Image source: businessinsider.com '70s: Marlon Brando in 'The Godfather' When one talks about iconic performances, no one in the era comes close to Bradon’s take on Vito Corleone, a role that is still relevant today, nearly 50 years later. For me, he beats out Robert de Niro’s performance in “Taxi Driver.” '80s: Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining' As Jack Torrance, Nicholson gave one of the most brilliant, and by brilliant we mean terrifying portrayals of man’s descent into madness. And Nicholson did it in a way only he could. ’90s: Anthony Hopkins in 'The Silence of the Lambs' With less than 20 minutes of screen time, Hopkins held the audiences and Jodi Foster in the palm of his hand. He also...

Theater acting and screen or movie acting are two different skills. One requires you to act in front of a live audience of hundreds of people with very minimal breaks while the other lets actors do a scene as many times as possible. But apart from logistics, what are the main differences between theater and movie acting? Image source: uarts.edu Theater acting requires thespians to exaggerate their facial expressions and their gestures to make it easier for everyone in the theater to see. Unlike the movies where you could have a camera zoom in to show the most delicate facial expressions, working in theater requires actors to adjust their expressions to the size of the audience. The audio level also changes between theater and cinema acting. Not all productions can afford to equip everyone with microphones. Some stages have microphones strategically placed in areas of the stage while some smaller productions use zero microphones. This means that theater actors have ...

Image source: wordpress.com I’ve always believed that there were two films in Hollywood history that defined and divided eras. The first was Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, “The Godfather,” and the second was the Wachowskis’ pride and glory, “The Matrix.” While it’s easy to see why “The Godfather” has the impact it has on the film industry, “The Matrix” isn’t given enough credit. “The Matrix” is a pioneering film of sorts, and probably the most stylish action movie ever made. It is science fiction, philosophy, fantasy, action, adventure, suspense, and thriller all rolled into a film shot with such grace and brutality that almost every other action movie that came out in the decades that followed strove to copy an element or two from it. Image source: empireonline.com The cinematography and color palette of “The Matrix” was so thick that it was virtually impossible to stylize any other film with a green-ish theme without calling it a copycat. Joel Silver, the...

Image source: LosAngeles.CBSLocal.com    The words “actor” and “Los Angeles” have always been a great fit for each other, because where else is a whole entertainment industry built around but in this fabulous city? More than those overpriced clubs and bars where paparazzi and Hollywood A-listers can be found, here are some places in LA where aspiring actors might want to hang out in. First, networking. Acting classes and workshops abound in LA, and they’re a great venue to meet and work with other actors while improving one’s craft. Reputable institutions such as the New York Film Academy are worth exploring with its well-reputed teachers and course of study that will take one in the right direction. Different organizations also put on so many pre-scheduled networking events meant to connect industry professionals with those who want to penetrate the entertainment field. Apart from these, there are also local Facebook groups, alumni groups, and union webpages in...

Image source: clutchpoints.com The opening day of NBA player-signing and trading came with a huge bomb-drop as LeBron made his new decision to take his talents to Los Angeles and the storied Lakers franchise.   While this did not come as a surprise to many, it nonetheless shifted the league’s balance of power to the already-loaded Western Conference.   LeBron has proven in the last eight seasons that his mere presence is enough to carry a team to the championship.   At a time when team basketball and torrid, small-ball shooting is dominating the league, the King is still able to muscle his way through, so to speak.   As a result, not a few experts are predicting the Lakers to make it to the Finals as early as this coming season.   Of course, the West is a different creature altogether.   What has proven effective in past seasons for LeBron-led teams may not work in a stacked conference that features the reigning champs Golden State as well...

Hollywood had its roots as a thriving agricultural community, and when it was established in 1853, there was only a single adobe hut on land outside Los Angeles.   Today it’s the center of the movie industry in the United States, a part of LA in the western state of California. By the 1870s, an agricultural community was flourishing in the area, and crops ranged from grain to hay to subtropical bananas.   In 1887, a man named Harvey Wilcox decided to sell some farmland he owned, hoping builders would put up houses there.   His wife thought the name Hollywood would be great for the housing development, although it should be noted that no actual holly trees grew in the state and she merely liked the sound of the term. As there’s some disagreement around who first named the place Hollywood, another account states that the name was coined by H. J. Whitley, the Father of Hollywood, where he and his wife Gigi reportedly produced the name in 1886 while on their h...

  Vloggers have become one of the go-to sources of information and entertainment in the new millennium, as the internet is now more accessible globally and streaming has become the norm.   Social media is more powerful than ever, and people who’ve seen its potential early on are now reaping the rewards.   Topping the list of superstars basking in YouTube glory is the Swedish content creator Felix Kjellberg, better known to many as PewDiePie.   The 28-year-old vlogger is the most popular in the platform, having amassed over 64 million subscribers as of this writing.   His typical posts rake in millions of views, ads, and, in effect, have made PewDiePie a certified young billionaire. Of course, like many current YouTubers, Felix began uploading videos just for fun.   Now, he has made content creation a full-time career that has become the industry’s template for success.   It all began when the video platform opened the doors for paying its t...

  After a long layoff and some soul-searching in the relative seclusion of a Wyoming resort, rap star Kanye West is back with his eighth studio album “Ye.”   The sitcom-length release has polarized critics and fans everywhere, some claiming that it goes against the grain and is West’s most experimental yet, while others insist that it’s just a receptacle of over-the-top missives and carelessly constructed instrumentation . What’s sure is that the album gets everyone more focused on his music once more.   “Ye” is a much-needed breather from Kanye’s many ridiculous and even scandalous political claims and positioning in recent months.   Hearing the eccentric songs in the short album, makes us forget for a while his affinity with Trump, as well as of the other, politically incorrect remarks he has made on rappers, race, and society in general.   The tracks feel jagged and sound raw, banking on a slew of samplings and a cappella rapping, reminiscent of ...

The internet broke this July when a video popped up showcasing Firefly actor Nathan Fillion alongside other notable Hollywood stars playing as characters in the renowned Playstation 4 game Uncharted.   That Fillion actually agreed to doing a fan-made Uncharted short movie was something out of left field, yet one that just might change how the entertainment industry looks at video game adaptations.   After all, everyone into the game knows that its lead character Nathan Drake was, in every way, modeled after Fillion.   Also, a full-length movie adaptation of Uncharted is currently in the works which would star Tom Holland instead.   Fans everywhere are elated by the short film directed by Allan Ungar as, though short, it came across as authentic, complete with the signature moves, antics, and humor of the Nathan Drake we’ve grown to love in the console game series.   There’s even a sequence about three-quarters into the film that truly captures how Drak...