YouTube asks people to film themselves for ‘Life In A Day 2020’ documentary

MANILA -- It's been a decade since they worked on the documentary, "Life In A Day," which stitched together footage from people all over the world to create a portrait of a single day of their lives. 

Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald and producer Ridley Scott, best known for his classic films "Alien," "Blade Runner," and" Gladiator," are again partnering with YouTube for a sequel --and they are asking for people's help. 

"Life In A Day 2020" is calling on people worldwide to film their lives on July 25, and submit them at this website. 

As with the original, the clips will be reviewed and those picked will be woven into a full-length movie, which is slated to premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival and on YouTube in 2021. 

Its director, Madconald, in a release, said: "I am thrilled, ten years later, that we are making 'LIFE IN A DAY 2020.'"

"In that time, how have we changed? How has our relationship to filming ourselves changed? And at this extraordinary turning point in history what are we hoping for in our future?" he added. 

You can check out the video of him calling for submissions below: 



The original "Life In A Day" also premiered at Sundance in 2011. It easily became one of YouTube's biggest participatory projects, with over 80,000 users submitting their entries. 

Of this planned sequel, Tabitha Jackson, director of Sundance, said: "Given the extraordinary current moment, I think it's the perfect time to premiere this for a new edition of a work that so powerfully demonstrates the power of cinematic storytelling to reveal and celebrate our shared humanity."

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Lady Gaga to play scandal-plagued Gucci wife in next feature film

LOS ANGELES, United States—Lady Gaga has lined up her next feature film and will play the wife of a murdered heir to the Gucci fashion dynasty, Hollywood media reported on Friday.

Gaga, whose first lead movie role in "A Star is Born" last year was critically acclaimed, will play Patrizia Reggiani, who served 18 years in an Italian prison for orchestrating the 1995 murder in Milan of her husband Maurizio Gucci, according to Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

Reggiani, dubbed the Black Widow in what was one of the most scandalous high society crimes in Italian history, was released from prison in 2016.

Ridley Scott will direct and produce the movie, the publications said. Representatives for Scott and Gaga, who was born in New York and has Italian heritage, did not respond to requests for comment.

The film will be the first for Gaga since she took her music career to the big screen in "A Star is Born," which brought her an Oscar for best original song "Shallow" and a best actress nomination.

No title or date for the film's release was given.

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Review: 'Exodus' is lavish yet lackluster

MANILA -- "Exodus: Gods and Kings" tackles a story that had already been tackled very well in previous films. The most famous of them all is the epic "The Ten Commandments" with Charlton Heston as the definitive Moses. Other filmmakers have tried to replicate this Moses story with different actors or even in animation, but the 1956 classic remains secure in its place.

This year, yet another attempt is made by director Ridley Scott with big star Christian Bale as Moses, a combination that is too promising to ignore. So despite the lukewarm to negative early reviews, I wanted to see and judge this film for myself.

We all know the story of Moses from the book of Exodus. He was a Hebrew who grew up in the Egyptian palace side by side with Pharaoh's own son Rhamses. When Moses' real origin was revealed, he was exiled. There in the wilderness, he obeys God's orders by way of the burning bush to return to Egypt to ask the new Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free from slavery. Only after God sent ten dreadful plagues did Rhamses relent. Moses led the Hebrews across the Red Sea and into the Promised Land of milk and honey.

This film is basically faithful with the biblical story, with the advantage of higher technology in special visual effects to create grander vistas and more realistic plagues. It tried to inject some scientific logic into the supernatural events, particularly the Red Sea crossing. However, the explanation for the turning of water into blood was quite a stretch. This Moses did not have a miraculous staff. The Angel of Death scenes were presented curiously just like the way it was done on "The Ten Commandments"!

The lackluster portrayal by the actors added to the coldness of the film. Despite his reputation as a good actor, Christian Bale did not make a very good Moses. He felt like he was going through the motions here, no passion whatsoever. Joel Edgerton was totally wrong as Rhamses. He looked ill at ease the whole film, and it was obvious from the posters alone! The presence of Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver and Aaron Paul in cast were wasted in small unremarkable roles.

Some people may expect this to be a religious film. However, the whole film felt soul-less, and this made the long 150-minute running time seem so unbearably slow.

The very way God was portrayed did not sit very well with me. God in this film was personified as an imperious young boy who was projected to be mercilessly violent and vindictive. There was no hint of compassion nor magnanimity here. Moses was even arguing with God. The film felt like it had an anti-God undertone, even atheistic, which was uncomfortable for me.

This is yet another disappointing biblical film debacle this year. To be fair though, I would not consider as bad as the total disaster that was "Noah." 4/10

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

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