Isabel Is Reaching the Top!
As
Isabel climbs the charts, getting ever closer to unseat our wonderful
JUSTINE, Jac is having daily work meetings with Danielle, who has become a regular member of our team. It's almost certain that he'll begin directing Danielle in
Jaula (Cage) very soon. Jac also had a very important meeting with Bea, he wants her to play the female lead in The Cage, that's a big reason for the meeting, apart from giving her what she earned so far with
The Passion of Isabel. Another issue of discussion in their meeting was be
Maleficarum II, which Jac is very keen on doing early next year. It means that he is very pleased with how
The Passion is doing so far and he has seen the potential for a
Training Danielle movie,
Cage and
Maleficarum II.
Ralphus Michael Max wrote: This movie is an absolute insult to film making. A total abomination. There is no plot, not a single line of dialogue as far as I can tell, and it goes absolutely nowhere to the very end. Uh oh. This is the movie that was supposed to be Pachamama's big comeback project, the movie designed to lure back GIMPers after the Justine backlash. I just got the DVD yesterday but haven't had time to look at it, but that news is rather surprising to hear. No dialogue at all? I know Jac has a heavy accent and English isn't Bea's first language, but that's still an odd choice. It still has a chance to be a successful movie if the visuals are strong, though. None of the early Blakemore silent loops had dialogue either, and they are revered even today. And certainly Bea is a very attractive woman who gets naked (even pussy fur this time!) and tied up and tortured. I don't think one early negative review should deter many people. I'm going to watch this one with an open mind.
I'm looking forward to Ralphus comments on the film, in the meantime I can say now, without a doubt, that
The Passion is already successful. And how do we rate success? We could rate the success of a film by the old profit margin proposition that says that if a film makes a nice percentage over its investment it is successful. From that perspective all of our films are successful! Or we could declare a film successful depending on how long it takes for the film to reach the coveted profit margin.
The Passion became a success the first day of its release because it dwarfed it's initial expense. However we rate the success of a film by how steady the cash flow is. In the case of
The Passion, it is successful. We never rate the success of our films by what people comment because we have too few comments on any of our films.
JUSTINE, a declared ‘flop’ by two or three comments, is a very successful film to this date and it will continue to be in the future. Is
The Passion more successful than
JUSTINE? That's too early to say. Right now
JUSTINE is on the top.
Maleficarum is our most successful film to date, bar none, but
The Passion is right up there now, sharing its own success with the very best.
Meanwhile the conversation over
The Passion continues in many sides, many sides:
Dr Yuya Would I get someone else to play Jac's parts if I were him? Ummm...yeah...absolutely with no questions. If I thought it could positively affect the business that I was running and attempting to earn my living and the living of others by doing so...I'd think itd be a no brainer to set aside whatever enjoyment I might be getting from playing the role and see the bigger picture. Enough have clearly voiced their disapproval of him as a villain by now for him to know taking himself out of the role is a positive change. Apparently though he prefers approaching the issue from the completely illogical perspective we are discussing here though...the "I like doing it so to hell with anyone else's opinion" perspective. So then...I guess it just is what it is. I have no expectations at this point he'll ever quit the role so I'd rather now just avoid future Red Feline stuff.
A response came from
CruxForum, where some of my previous quotes originate:
Ranger1 (CruxForum) Contrary to what 'Dr Yuya reported, I found Jan Jan (or Jac Avila whatever) to be most convincing in his torturer roles in Via Cruces of Jane (1), VC of Camille 3, 6 + 7 and 10. His performance in the 1 hour + epic "Red Room (Desperately seeking Red Feline)" was brilliant. He came across as being so used to inflicting endless cruelty of females sent for his brutal ministrations that he seemed almost detached from the agonies they suffer at his hands. And yet, he can still exercise creativity during sessions such as tying barbed wire around and into the head of his naked female victim (Jane von Detlefson) thereby replicating images many of us are familiar with as we have grown up. I am keen to purchase AND download several recent productions including Maleficarum as well as further VC Camille episodes 9, 8, 4, 5 and 1+2, among others. Alas, as a Macintosh user, I cannot utilise the VOD facility offered to others. This remains the only blemish on an otherwise uniquely creative and satisfying production and marketing company/s. As I lament my exclusion from VOD purchase and download facilities, I hope one day this access will be provided to all fellow Macintosh users.
It's always good to hear what you actually know to be a fact from someone else. If I say it, it sounds defensive and/or like simply the promotion of our work, if others see it and mention it in their comments, then it's not just promotion. In this case, when discussing Jac's acting, some see a wooden character where others see cruel detachment. Jac is a firm believer of
Less is Better as when Blake Edwards was directing Jack Lemmon in the drama
Days of Wine and Roses. Lemmon would play the scene and Edwards would say...
I want less[/i … the scene was repeated and again Edwards said I want less … it went like that for a while until dear Jack, tired of hearing the same admonition, exclaimed in anger [i”]you want less?! Less?! How much less? Nothing?!” Blake said
That's exactly what I want! Jack Lemmon went on to win the Oscar for that performance. Underacting can bring a lot to a character, there's nothing more eery than the detached performance of Tony Curtis while strangling his victim in
The Boston Strangler. A scene that was compared to Jac's performance in
BARBAZUL.
I personally believe that Jac is a very good actor, one that because he has to direct himself very often, chooses to play his characters with the kind of detachment that allows him to be an observer of the scene he's directing. His concentration falling on his co actors, particularly his women who must suffer at his hands. He had a conversation in NY once, with none other than John Sayles, who is an excellent director and actor. During that conversation, which was taped, because it was done for a French film festival, Sayles said that he tends to underplay his characters so he can concentrate on directing. I think that's a very valid point.
In movies like
Maleficarum, where a bunch of people are making money, where a crew of people are taking care of everything, from setting up the lights, to manning the camera, putting make up ... acting... Jac chooses who is going to be in the movie carefully. It is not like he has a big choice, he's not in Hollywood with thousands of actors auditioning for the same part, but he chooses when he can. But in a film like
The Passion of Isabel, Jac works alone with his actress/partner in mischief. It is a true labor of love and love has a lot to do with it. Love for the work, love for the part, love for the passion, love for his partner. The experience is very intimate, if there was a third person in it, it would not be possible. And that's that.
petelobo Dr. Yuya wrote: Apparently though he prefers approaching the issue from the completely illogical perspective we are discussing here though...the "I like doing it so to hell with anyone else's opinion" perspective. That's the artist's perspective, sir. If he were just one of the machines pumping out the stuff you also prefer not to watch, yes he'd make business decisions. But he essentially makes one movie over and over with different females experiencing the passion. He likes whipping and racking and piercing and crux. Those things are the main skeleton of all his non-Amy movies. When they aren't, it feels incomplete.
Maleficarum brought Amy to the ultimate production of his fantasy--then Marquis. Passion of Isabel is Avila with his new technical capacity, showing that the story still drives him--with a new woman. Just the two of them in the carefully-lit dungeon with the cameras and torture devices, keep her naked and for several weeks spend hours a day in there making a movie. My point was that, if any of those activities ring a bell for you, this is an experience that clearly was powerful for them, and it's technically skilled. Will Bia ever do it again? I doubt it. His usual pattern is a "training of" (Jame, Mila and others going back decades) followed by a major commitment on the part of the woman to exploring that space within themselves. This film was both for Bia. If I really think hard, I don't know that I could come up with many villains I thought was good in a gimp movie. (...).
Finally, there's obviously a trust relationship between the players in this sort of act. That's one of the frustrations of Kink stuff--everybody is professional and the relationship is usually like that between two gears in an engine. The relationship between Avila and his women carries this to an extreme that's almost voyeuristic. Using the camera, he loves her and kills her and puts it all in a postcard we can share. Just as Marquis de la Croix was his meditation on Mila, so POI is to Bia.
Very nicely put!
The Passion of Isabel was a powerful experience for both, and the fact that Bea arrived to the set on time every day to put herself through so much discomfort and pain for hours, attest to her dedication to the passion. It was commented that the last scene was thrown there. I don't know where that comes from, since each torture was carefully planned and carried through. However, the last sequence had to be done in less time that all previous ones and under some different kind of stress. The scene was ready to be shot when Jac's dad got very sick and was hospitalised. Jac had to go to his side, to a different city, and he stayed there for a week. His dad passed away then. It was very difficult for Jac to return to work and finish that last sequence.
In addition, the time Bea committed to the work was up. She had some urgent things to take care of, she could not take another couple of weeks to complete the film. The film had to be finish in a couple of days and it was done like that. I believe the scene is powerful and the fact that was done in continuous shots, mostly, lends a different feeling than all the previous scenes.
Jac's relationship to his partners in mischief is at the core of the films of course, and his love for them and what they do is the true essence of the work. The trust that must exist to make these movies is essential, without it, it would not be possible at all. That kind of rapport is beginning to take shape with Danielle. I would not discount totally the possibility of Bea repeating the experience either.
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