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This was written:

“This, thank god, is now law.” It has been corrected to say: ” … not law”.

This is in reference to outsourced video. Even with the “Exacting Standards of The New Cinema” (ESTNC) in place, nothing is outlawed. There is a direction to all “in-house” material, but it is not the rule of the house.

Keep up the good work!

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So, to answer yesterdays trivia question it was Extensions Seven: The Film.  We see DJM in his famous “lucky” shirt in the first part of the film and then he dawns the infamous sweater during the party sequence.  Extra bonus points for those that noticed the infamous sweater in E8 when the StoryTeller appears. Terribly interesting, wouldn’t ya say?  And how can anyone accuse me of being 50lbs heavier when I clearly still fit into those items from decades ago???

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The Next item is the OFFICIAL NTS Happy Birthday Wish to John Osbourne!

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Next up, The Haverhast

So inside this pot there will be a scroll.  On the scroll will be a list of all the winners of the coveted “Haverhast”.  This will also be the second year of “Honourable Mention” for outstanding performance. The new tradition of an actual prize includes responsibility.  The Winner will receive the vessel and it is to make an appearance in their next film.  It is recommended you use the year wisely and take lots of B-roll in the sad event you don’t make a film the following year.  From hence-forward Havehast recipients are to show, no matter how briefly, the Haverhast in their next work. People have questioned the taste of the vessel, be thankful that it wasn’t botched taxidermy or a puppy. It is my belief that this enhancement on the tradition of The New Cinema will help preserve its integrity and keep creators inspired.  Not for “old time sake” or even the legacy of the future, but for better living …. Now Today. Also, regardless of whether the recipient has a new film or not next year, they are to return it to TNGHbtS on the next Extensions Saturday. Last year we awarded the “Honourable Mention” (the first of its kind) to John Wallace for his part in Persephone Haverhast’s Bishop documentary.  This year the top candidates were “Timber”, “Cheryl and Julia Y”, “Derek J McClellan in The Unexpected Darkness of Tomorrow’s Eternity” and Sabitathica in “Casilda’s Song” And the winner of the Second Honourable Mention for Acting is: Sabitathica as “Sabitathica” in “Casilda’s Song”.

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Now as for “The Haverhast” this has been the most difficult year yet.  This is a very good thing.  Of course it would be easier to have one thing well-ahead of everything else, but that was not the case this year.  In some conversations I’ve had in recent days it has been brought to my attention the theme of “pitching something” was an unintentional theme throughout the evening.  Does that make E12 the winner?  Should it?  Many people considered “Vignettes Retold” the highlight of the evening.  Even though “The Search Party” wasn’t necessarily the most popular film it did meet All of the exacting standards of The New Cinema, but a Haverhast …. hmmm.

Definitely not in the running was Herr O’s “Das Piratenschiff”.  It was a lot of fun at the time, but the visuals ultimately cheapened the music we were hearing.  I hope Herr O considers a new version of this film to restore our associations with the audio. “Disney World”s disqualification is obvious. “La Escondida” from Visitor Blim has the makings of a winner … just not yet. “Code Name Vengeance Episode One” was extremely popular but disqualifies due to it’s painful brevity.  We all like a good teaser trailer … but this hurt.  If Persephone rallies for next year we could be looking at guaranteed Haverhast.

But lets get to it shall we?

The Winner of The Haverhast the Fifth goes to:

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David T Yezukevich for “The Unexpected Darkness of Tomorrow’s Eternity”

At first I was a little concerned about the “additional footage”. However, upon further scrutiny it is not egregious but finely serves the film.  As we steer the ship of The New Cinema into the future I’m sure we’ll be seeing less of this sort of thing, but, like in this film, if moves the story along nicely: so be it!  This was also “The Peoples Choice”

Q: Why didn’t “It’s Always the Same”, “Casilda’s Song” or “The Search Party” win?

A: Short answer: The Winner delivered the goods at a consistent and pleasing, if not horrific, fashion. I failed to mention the “tour de force” of acting done by the lead in that film as well. Not cheeky: horrific. Bravo.

Long answer: Like “The Search Party”, “It’s Always the Same” met the Exacting Standards of The New Cinema (ESTNC), that being: everything from the score to the cinematography being organic.  This, thank god, is not law. That said, “It’s Always the Same” was also extremely popular.  Super slick and diabolical.  The ideal viewing of the film would require at least three repetitions to “get it”. We “got it”.  But, respectfully, it still didn’t get “the Haverhast”. “Casilda’s Song” was a marvel to me.  It captured horror in a sly and beautiful way.  And the worlds first visual use of telepathy has forever changed me. So that’s it. More commentary may follow.  But it’s now OFFICIAL.

Start story-boarding now for Next Years Extensions Saturday!

Extensions Saturday 2015 will feature “The Carpet I and II” and “Extensions XIII: The Carpet III/Taipai 2005”

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We are getting closer to a decision. In the meantime, for bonus points, a trivia question:

Q: The shirt I’m wearing in “The Search Party” as well the sweater I wear in the DJM2014 footage of E12 were seen in what previous Rycortian film(s)?

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This is from Mr Y:

Later today I’ll be re-viewing the Works of this years Event. But I thought I’d share some initial impressions, still unbiased from the first take, still unbiased from the Programmes too (I’ll be viewing them later, Persephone had a look claiming “Haverhast privilege” but I am not ready to assess “the peoples vote” yet.

E12: It was great to have some consistent archival material prime for a re-visitation.  I felt as though the 2014 insight helped break up and refresh things while all the characters the protagonist spoke with kept it lively.  Ultimately I feel “the joke” I may have been trying to spring on folks (in 1997) was executed non-brilliantly which only gleaned the non-brilliant pitch at hand.

The Search Party: A truly chilling endeavour in New-Horror Art.  The soundtrack and monologue bear further scrutiny, if one is bold enough.  Not sure if the “thesis” came through, but I remain proud of the “atmosphere” it created.

It’s Always the Same: Frank has a gift, and his films are always a comfortable fit on E Saturday.  The super-slick production and original score were a marvel. Timber the dog is up for the “Honourable Mention” this year.  At times I thought it was a NIN or TOOL video and that was distracting.  Was it the repetition? I’m all for repetition, but … did it take too long to deliver the news?  This one will be going under the microscope later today …

Code Word Vengeance: Episode One: What a fantastic and lively return to the Simon Bishop story.  But it’s brevity was painful.  A true “teaser”.

Das Piratenshiff: Again Herr O stuns us with some clever graphics.  But I feel the other images that may have been “political” were not in keeping with our traditional fare.  I think Visitor Blim tried some experiments like this some years back.  O did show a great sensitivity between the visual and music, but, as someone involved in that music I wish it was associated with some other Pirates.

Disney: trailers are not going to take the Haverhast.  A few nice images though.

La Escondida: perhaps Visitor Blims most sublime submission.  However, tis more of a trailer.

The Unexpected Darkness of Tomorrow’s Eternity”: One of the strong contenders for the Haverhast.  This, too, will be under extreme re-view today.  My only question: too much outsourced video?  It’s a tough one. Regardless, stunning visuals and audio and without a doubt his family are in the running for “Honourable Mention”.

Casilda’s Song: Perhaps for the first time horror actually happened.  Another strong contender.

Vignettes Retold: a jolly good time had by all.

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So I heartily welcome further reflection and commentary.  Both Casilda’s Song and The Unexpected Darkness of Tomorrow’s Eternity delivered “The Scariest thing I’ve Ever Seen” …

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