Dave Helman (Director)

Name: David Helman
Site: davidmhelman.com
Place of birth: Mission Viejo, CA
Current residence: Orange, CA
Title: Director
Education: BFA Chapman University in Film Production – Directing
Specializes in: Directing
Favorite director(s): The Duplass Brothers
Favorite movie(s): George Washington
Short bio: A Southern California native, David found his passion for filmmaking while attending Saddleback Community College and has continued to sharpen his skills as a storyteller at Dodge College. David has dedicated his career to creating a wide range of thought provoking yet kinetic films. Having worked on dozens of sets at many different capacities, he found his passion in crafting stories from conception to the screen.

His next film is titled “Secuestrado”.

Upon graduating from Emerson College, where he won numerous awards including Panavision’s prestigious New Filmmakers prize, Todd moved to Los Angeles. It wasn’t long before he was directing high concept music videos for major label artists. His most recent clip for Ben Lee, starring Tiffani Amber Thiessen, debuted on VH1’s Top 10 and spent 8 weeks on the Countdown.

His music video work led to a 6-month stint in China and Thailand, where he directed MTV Whatever Things, a more stylish version of “Jackass” with an all western cast. It became the most popular show on MTV Asia with an international audience of over 250 Million.

Back in the States, Todd has directed short films and TV shows with comic greats like Stephen Colbert, Richard Belzer, Lewis Black, Jeff Ross, Patton Oswalt, Colin Quinn, Jackie Mason, Laura Silverman, and Damon Wayans.

He has also worked on branding projects for national clients, including Sony Crackle, College Humor, Atom Films, Pepsi, Microsoft, Twix, Old Spice, Sierra Mist, Butterfinger, Philips, Nestea, Fender, Skoal Chewing Tobacco, Mountain Dew, Nestlé among others.

Todd’s personal project Mano-A-Mano caught the attention of the William Morris Agency, who quickly signed him for feature film representation. The short was also a selection of the 2008 South By Southwest Film Festival. In 2009 South By Southwest asked Todd back to premiere his new short Big Pussy which was subsequently selected to screen at the world famous Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.

Todd recently directed two Pilots. One for Comedy Central and Jimmy Kimmel’s Jackhole Productions the other for 20th Century Fox. He is currently writing three features and is most likely to be found at Benihana’s for their stellar seven-dollar lunch deal.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge began studying photography and art at an early age.

His work is defined by unique shot composition, moving camera shots, especially tracking shots and crane shots.

Wildly diverse & exciting independent music, film, art and ideas all day long.
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Tickets $25 General, $23 Students, Seniors & Military with valid ID, Kids 8 & under FREE! As always, 3 Stages are absolutely FREE, no ticket required.

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Based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Green Zone stars Damon as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, the leader of a squadron searching for WMDs. After three unsuccessful missions, Miller begins to question the intelligence given to them by senior officials. Speaking with the CIA Baghdad Bureau chief (Brendan Gleeson) and an embedded journalist for the Wall Street Journal (Amy Ryan), Miller discovers a source named “Magellan” is responsible for all of the misinformation that has led Miller in circles. Going his mission alone, with the exception of an Iraqi native (Khalid Abdalla) who serves as his translator, Miller begins his hunt for the source and the reason behind the war, much to the chagrin of Defense Intelligence agent Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), who executes every order he can give to try and stop Miller from discovering the truth.

Where the film truly excels is in its direction. Greengrass began his career in journalism for Britain’s ITV, where he filmed war zones much likes the ones seen in this film, and there is no doubt that this experience aided his filming of this movie. The director’s trademark handheld cameras once again work wonders, be it in a scene in which Miller’s team takes a house where major Ba’athist leaders are rumored to be meeting or in the incredible chase scene through the streets of Baghdad that occurs in the film’s climax, which is nothing short of a spectacular triumph.

Filled with both friends of the director and long-time collaborators, the film’s cast is incredibly strong, but almost to a fault. The movie’s focus on action is so tight that it becomes The Matt Damon Show, and while Damon is surely one of the best actors working today, the spotlight shines so brightly on him that it dims around everyone else. Most unfairly left out are the film’s central antagonist played by Kinnear and the special forces lieutenant played by Jason Isaacs, whose character has an unforgettable introduction only to become a generic soldier leading the hunt for Miller. The good news is, much like the Bourne films, by the time the third act rolls around you are so immersed in the story that you almost entirely forget about the other characters. It is only walking out of the theater that you may ask yourself, “What happened to Brendan Gleeson?”

That said, anyone who has previously watched a Matt Damon performance will not be surprised at how perfect he is in the role. Possessing the same moral fortitude as Bourne (a character Miller will undoubtedly be compared to) but lacking the physical strength and fighting abilities, the superhero element is taken out of the equation, leaving the audience with a human and relatable character. Miller has watched enough bullets fly and held enough faulty intel that by the time we meet him he is already sick of the bullshit and wants some answers.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the film is that, in lieu of having actors and extras dress up in fatigues, the men that surround Damon are actually trained soldiers who have spent time fighting in the Iraq War. This might not sound significant, particularly because the men get very few speaking roles, but where it counts is in the details. The tactics and movements of the team all feel real, and in one scene, in which Damon instructs a soldier to take down an Iraqi they are interrogating, you begin to wonder if they went through stage training and if that actor is going to be okay.

Many will go see this film expecting to see Jason Bourne Goes To Iraq and they won’t be disappointed, provided they are prepared to see Damon as a different type of character surrounded by the same level of energy and action. While we may now know for a fact that there were no WMDs in Iraq, Green Zone revitalizes the question that we still haven’t received an answer for.

Length: 115 min
Rated: R
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 2010-03-12

Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Khalid Abdalla

Directed by Paul Greengrass
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lloyd Levin
Written by Brian Helgeland

Reviewed by Eric Eisenberg : 2010-03-11 cinemablend.com

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