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Tag: Robert Redford

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Top 50 Favorite Romantic Films

Please Note:  "The House on Black Lake" has been adapted to screenplay. Go to Home Page to view romantic/suspenseful trailer.

 I am presently in discussions for marketing the screenplay of my novel.  As the visual representation of my story becomes eminent I have begun to consider what I find appealing in  films that feature romance.

My definition of " romantic" is : a passionate longing.  As with reality, the more thwarted the physical longing, dangerous, and evocative the setting, the more intense the romantic experience. With this in mind, I hope to create a visually  lush, sensuous, and dangerous romantic love story.

My favorites are in no particular order, although Casablanca, Gone with the Wind and Dr. Zhivago are universally accepted as the top romantic films of all time. I have tried to pick films of different times and genres to give a broad overview.

1. Casablanca

2. Dr. Zhivago

3. Ryan's Daughter

4. Mrs. Soffel

5. Bonnie and Clyde

6. A Summer Place

7. A Walk on the Moon

8. The Unbearable Lightness of Being

9. Reds

10. The Postman Always Rings Twice

11. The Last of the Mohicans

12. Titanic

13. The Graduate

14. From Here to Eternity

15. Queen Margot

16. An Officer and a Gentleman

17. Urban Cowboy

18. Out of Africa

19. Brokeback Mountain

20. The Big Easy

21.  Pride and Prejudice

22. Romeo and Juliet

23. Shakespeare in Love

24. Mountains of the Moon

25. The Age of Innocence

26. The Summer of '42

27. The Way We Were

28. Unfaithful

29. A Room with a View

30. Chocolat

31. Legends of the Fall

32. Gone with the Wind

33. Dirty Dancing

34. Dangerous Beauty

35. The Year of Living Dangerously

36. Love Story

37. The English Patient

38. Tristan and Isolde

39. Persuasion

40. Wuthering Heights

41. Swept From the Sea

42. The Phantom of the Opera

43. Dances with Wolves

44. Against All Odds

45. Body Heat

46. Splendor in the Grass

47. The Notebook

48. Revenge

49. The French Lieutenant's Woman

50. Atonement

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Top 25 Sexiest Romantic Alpha Male Film Actors

Please Note: "The House on Black Lake" trailer, filmed by award winning cinematographer Frazer Bradshaw, may be viewed on home page.

A producer recently asked me for my shortlist of actors to play the alpha male characters in my novel. As I pondered this "difficult" task I began to look over the males in film that made an impact with their masculinity and were also able to be vulnerable in expressing romance and passion. I came up with a very short list, then wrote down my choices of the top contemporary and classic actors that have filled this daunting task.

Ramey Sandeley is the hero of The House on Black Lake. He enters the book/film smelling of burnt flesh, fresh from branding animals with his own custom tools. He can ride a horse like a native, has been taught to hunt wild game in the Serengetti, is the heir to a fortune in land and real estate in Montreal, is highly educated, and a successful entrepreneur in his own right. To add to this cache are extraordinary good looks,  a strong, athletic frame, straight white teeth, and lustrous gold flecked dark hair. He is married to stunning red head, Ruth Sandeley, and the father of five children. I did not entirely make up this man, he does exist, although I did combine a few men I've met to make him just right. Ramey is in his forties, and like Dorian Gray has not yet begun to show his age.

I believe the right actor to play Ramey has likely not yet been discovered, but if I had to choose then these men could likely fill his custom shoes:

1.  Clive Owen

2. Eric Bana

3. Dylan McDermott

Rock god Georgie La Pointe is Ramey's cousin and has also inherited wealth, power, and influence. However, he is a a supreme narcissist who never dates a woman more than once, and grooms his hair by peering into the eyes of his admirers. Most notably he makes love to recordings of his own bellowing baritone. My first choice of actors are:

1. Johnny Depp

2. Chris Hemsworth

3. Daniel Craig

4. Tom Hardy

Many alpha male roles are filled by males who are only playing a part. They are poseurs, pretty boys, muscle bound oafs, or Peter Pan types. A true alpha spirit cannot be recreated, the drive lies in the soul of the actor. The top 25 sexiest, most romantic (true) alpha male film actors (in random order):

Contemporary Film:

1. Mel Gibson - If you look back at his body of work (especially early in his career) he is a master of sexy maculinity mixed with aching vulnerability

2. Laim Neeson  - same with Mel, but bigger than life

3.  Russell Crowe - hit or miss, but he does deliver when required, i.e. "Gladiator"

4. Heath Ledger - his best was yet to come

5. Clive Owen - "Camelot" brought it all together

6.  Gerard Butler - "The Phantom of the Opera" and "300" were enough for a lifetime

7. Eric Bana - "Troy" was the beginning, but his potential has only been touched

8. Daniel Craig - A dark and brooding blonde is beautiful to behold. He can nail a seductive look like no other

9. Richard Gere - Sexiest kisser of all time

10. Ian McShane - Now nearly into his seventies and still killer sexy and romantic in a cruel sort of way

11. Tatum Channing - the most alpha/romantic of younger actors

12. Robert Redford - "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Three Days of the Condor", and "The Way We Were" make him an icon of the sexy alpha romantic and he still delivers, now into his 70's.

13. Dominic West - "The Wire" established him as the quntissential "bad boy", "300" placed him on throne of sexiest villain in film.

14. Brad Pitt - More pretty boy than true alpha, but he is cast in the role more than any other actor

15. Denzel Washington - The perfect combination of vulnerability and tough male sex appeal.

Top Ten Classic Film Actors:

1. Cary Grant - Smooth, sexy, romantic, but still strong and alpha in a classy way

2. Steve Mcqueen - Daniel Craig takes on the  legacy of this golden man

3. Clint Eastwood - Gorgeous in his younger days and that steel gling melted to raw passion with the right woman

4. John Wayne - "The Duke" is an iconic legend of powerful masculinity mixed with integrity

5. Gary Cooper - Both laconic and boldly masculine

6. Robert Mitchum - They don't make men like him anymore

7. Clark Gable - He was the original "man's man and ladie's man"

8. Spencer Tracy - Both romantic and domineering

9. Gregory Peck - He owned his masculity completely, with no need to give more than he desired or was required

10. Marlon Brando - a beautiful specimen, boldy sexual and animalistic with a dark river of vulnerability and a sadness about him that made him riveting as an actor

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Anastasia Blackwell Attends "Horsewhisper" Buck Brannaman's Clinic

Note: "The House on Black Lake" has been adapted to screenplay. To view provocative cinematic trailer filmed by Sundance winning cinematographer Frazer Bradshaw, go to Home Page.

I recently attended a horsemanship clinic led by Buck Brannaman. Buck is well known as the figure the novel  The Horsewhisper was based on. He also worked as stunt double for Robert Redford  in the movie of the same name. In addition he is the star of indie movie audience favorite "Buck", a documentary about his extraordinary life.

When I attended the Sundance Film Festival this year I met a woman on a shuttle bus who informed me that scenes in "Buck" had been filmed on her ranch. She advised me I must see the film, then take one of his clinics. Years ago, after a dangerous ride nearly took me over a cliff I developed panic attacks whenever I rode. I considered myself a fairly expert rider but the attacks led me away from riding, although it had always been a passion of mine. So, I took her advice and viewed the film (which I loved), then signed up for a clinic when I returned home. I believed that if there was anyone who could cure my affliction it was Buck.

The clinic was help on gorgeous Stonybrook Ranch, in Stonybrook, North of Sacramento, California. The owners and other partipants were wonderful, and I found Buck to be very kind, charismatic, strong, focused, and clearly a master of horsemanship. I felt completely confident and competent under his tutelege, and look forward to riding some wild horses. And if I should fall off, then I'll just get back on a wilder one!

The following are pictures with me in clinic with Buck. To learn more about Buck Brannaman, or to schedule a clinic, go to his website at http://www.brannaman.com/.

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Movies Featured At Sundance Film Festival 2011

Following are the 200 indie movies chosen by The Sundance Festival to be shown January 20-30. Most are sold out for the entirety of the run, but tickets can be found if you show up at box office before 8:00 on the day of the show, or get a wait list number of an individual film two hours before showing. Except for the most popular movies, or ones in smaller venues, it is usually possible to get into movies. There are also very interesting discussion panels, and some of the most memorable experiences I have had have been in restaurants, bars and on the street. Robert Redford usually shows up at his restaurant, Zoom, in Park city and is very open to discussing his passions with patrons.  Hope to see you there!!

http://sundance.slated.com/2011/buzz

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Sundance Film Festival 2011

I plan to attend The Sundance Film festival this year to support indie film makers and meet with industry professionals. The festival is held every year in Park City Utah. This year the festival is scheduled for January 20-31. Last year  two film maker friends had their movies shown and were recipients of awards that furthered international exposure. Not only are there great films, informative seminars, and an abundance of actors, producers, directors on hand, but there is also incredible scenery and great skiing.

More about the festival at www.sundancefilmfestival.org.

From Sundance Website:

HISTORY

In 1981, Robert Redford gathered a group of his friends and colleagues in the mountains of Utah to create an environment designed to foster independence, discovery, and new voices in American film. That spring, ten emerging filmmakers were invited to the first Sundance Institute Filmmakers/Directors Lab where they worked with leading writers and directors to develop their original independent film projects. In the remote natural setting and removed from the pressures of the marketplace, each emerging artist was encouraged to take creative risks and to craft a film true to their own, unique vision. In 1984, the Institute's activities expanded to include development programs for theatre when the Utah Playwrights Conference became the Sundance Playwrights Lab.

Since those first Labs, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent film, theatre, and music artists. The programs of Sundance Institute include the annual Sundance Film Festival, held in and around Park City, Utah, each January. Widely considered the premier platform for American and international independent film, the Festival has introduced audiences to some of the most original stories of the last three decades including Reservoir Dogs, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Splendor, An Inconvenient Truth, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Cove.

Through year-round support and a series of Labs and Fellowships for screenwriters, directors, and producers, the Institute's Feature Film Program has supported more than 300 feature films, including Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's HOWL, Cherien Dabis' Amreeka, Cary Joji Fukunaga's Sin Nombre, Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know, and Walter Salles's Central Station. Documentaries ranging from Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Trouble the Water to Laura Poitras' The Oath to Ross Kaufman and Zana Briski's Born into Brothels are among the 500 films that have been supported by the Documentary Film Program, which offers grants from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund along with a series of Labs in editing and storytelling.

With a series of Labs and retreats that provide a creative environment in which to develop new work with dramaturgs and full casts, the Theatre Program has supported the development of more than 200 plays, including Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge, Tracey Scott Wilson's The Good Negro, Stew and Heidi Rodewald's Passing Strange, and Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening. The Native American and Indigenous Program hosts screenings, panels, events, and workshops throughout the year designed to foster community and the exchange of ideas among Native American and Indigenous filmmakers. Connecting filmmakers with musicians, the Film Music Program's Composers Lab allows accomplished musicians to explore composing for film while introducing filmmakers to the importance of music in film. The Creative Producing Initiative encompasses a year-round series of Labs, Fellowships, and events focusing on nurturing the next generation of independent producers. Our work in the arena of Short Films recognizes the importance of this groundbreaking form in the world of cinema and has long been established as a place to discover talented directors.

Sundance Institute also continues to support film and theatre artists beyond their participation in our Artist Programs through a commitment to building audiences for their work. In order to create a record of cultural history, the Sundance Institute Archives preserves the organization's history and documents the creative processes of the artists we support. The Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA provides a ground-breaking educational archive devoted to the collection and preservation of independent cinema. The Alumni Initiative cultivates connections with our alumni to foster a continued relationship between the Institute and the artists who have developed or shown work through the Institute's programs. The Art House Project is a collaboration with art house cinemas in cities around the country to create specialized screening programs of Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival-supported films for local audiences and our Community Programs are a series of Utah-based activities that offer many free and open to the public events for more than 25,000 Utah residents each year.