Response to the Terence Tirade (Re: "Letters", PCR # 164),
Did Terence follow-up calling Spielberg a satanic hack with a king of crap reference to Tarantino, then an artistic whining about being a "real" director. Well, I do find inspiration from all of these directors and others (which would include the Wachowskis and Scorsese.) I don’t look at Tarantino and Kevin Smith as great creators of the film medium - they are mediocre, but their strength is their ability to write engaging, fluid dialogue. Spielberg has never been a cutting edge director, but is the master at telling an entertaining story -- an art that he has applied to several different genres.
Because I appreciate commercial films and artists doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy "the inaccessible ones". A director has a diverse role in the filmmaking process. Can you compare the detail-oriented and arrogant Lucas to the freelance approach that Levinson takes? I enjoy "Jackie Brown", but the story is not Tarantino’s. Because I can’t stand Kevin Smith’s two-shot doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the conversation.
People who make references to certain movies may not understand the line between the writing and the filmmaking process. Because I like the documentarian style in "Stroszek" doesn’t mean that I hate the CGI in "The Matrix". A very one-dimensional perspective - I love art, therefore I hate the mainstream. If the medium is so important to your judgment, then why would you make that decision from a trailer: “’Cabin Fever’ is horseshit and ‘28 days later’ is great.” Well, I guess the moral of the story is that Spielberg makes “bad” trailers.
By the way, when I stated that "The Matrix" was not BASED on a comic, I simply meant that the comic came later. "The Invisibles" may have been one of many INFLUENCES or REFERENCES for the movie, but isn’t Superman a story of a messiah saving the world and isn’t Neo...oh nevermind.
Thanks,
Brandon Jones
To Terence: (Re: "Letters", PCR # 164--N)
Re: "As for up-and-coming filmmakers being inspired only by Woody Allen and Quentin Tarantino, that's crap!"
Well, not exactly ONLY by Allen & Tarantino, but I'm constantly puzzled by my generation, who grew up during the '70s/'80s sci-fi/horror boom. Logic dictates that the filmmakers in their '30s today would have been influenced more by Craven, Coppola, Lynch, Lucas, etc. I consider filmmakers in their '30s today the ultimate artistic traitors (my lousy generation). What I see nowadays are a bunch of sub-standard, often talky filler films, such as "Swingers" and "Reservoir Dogs" - filmed plays. Filmmaking (obviously) is more than people talking to each other. Take a director like Carpenter (who himself was influenced by Eastwood & Leone) his anti-heroes were men of few words (Kurt Russell in "Escape/NY" and "The Thing"). Personally, I'm more comfortable with the less is more theory in the dialogue dept. when applied to genre films ("Road Warrior" is another good example; I think Mel has only 19 lines). Filmmakers such as Spielberg & Lucas often get the quantity of dialogue "just right" (Raiders, Star Wars); there was neither too much nor too little of it. You'll notice that filmmakers, like DePalma, Landis, Dante, etc. who were making genre pictures in the '70s and early '80s, were heavily influenced by and paid homage to the films/TV shows they loved when they were growing up, such as Hammer horror, The Twilight Zone/Outer Limits TV shows, King Kong, etc. - and it showed in their films.
Now take Tarantino (or Woody Allen) on the opposite end of the spectrum, who have characters babble endlessly about French cheeseburgers and how they don't believe in tipping. It's just a bunch of clever, snappy dialogue that frankly wastes the viewer's time. If I want to see people talking to each other for hours on end without anything else visual going on, I'll watch "Dawson's Creek" or "Felicity", which are basically soap operas, which is what a movie with an overabundance of dialogue becomes: a artistically devoid soap opera. What I've observed over the years on TV and in indie films is an over-reliance on dialogue (guess because it's cheaper and easier to shoot dialogue than having to do visuals), and what you basically end up with is a talking heads production, devoid of any visual sequences. There are way too many of these type of productions going on right now (esp. on TV), and I can't help but wonder where the writers and directors get their inspiration; it's definitely not from Lynch or Romero, who like most great filmmakers have an amazing visual style.
Re: "'Cabin Fever' looks like horseshit."
Aside from articles in Fangoria magazine, I have not been exposed to any "Cabin Fever" media. I did read an article on director Eli Roth and his influences were the exact same as my own, so I can relate to him. I do admit "Cabin Fever" resembles "The Evil Dead" quite a bit, but I'll reserve judgment until I see the movie.
Re: "Satan himself, the hack king, Spielberg."
I think you're a little tough on Spielberg (and Scorsese). I'll be the first to state that he's not the same director he was in the Duel/Jaws/CE3K/Raiders days, but you have to admit when he was in his prime, he was absolutely incredible. With the exceptions of "Minority Report" (which really didn't seem much like a Spielberg film) and "Saving Private Ryan", he hasn't done a whole lot of noteworthy films since '82s "E.T." Unlike most people, I was bored by "Schindler's List" and couldn't stomach "The Color Purple", "Empire of the Sun", "Amistad", "Hook" (groan!), and his other drek. I also think Spielberg directed the worst film ever made: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (the definition of sacrilege)!
"I'm only 24, and as an amateur filmmaker myself, I'm inspired by great directors like Werner Herzog, David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and (god himself) Stanley Kubrick"
It's refreshing to learn that up-n-coming filmmakers are influenced by the right artists. In fact, most young filmmakers I know are surprisingly knowledgeable about filmmakers of bygone eras - I think that's fantastic. I'm guilty of believing that most of them are inspired more by MTV, "Dawson's Creek", and "The Real World" than Herzog or Kubrick (BTW, just saw "My Best Fiend" on IFC - hilarious!).
- Andy Lalino
Ah, Brandon.
(Re: Brandon's letter, above.--N) I could go on and on about this subject and I have before with Deadguy, but in the end, it is futile. But I think you can enjoy things like "The Matrix" and still enjoy something like "The Seventh Seal" as long as you can see that "The Matrix" is entertainment only and can't and never will be artistic. I'm fine with that. I watch a lot of bad horror movies like "Blood Feast" and others becuase I simply enjoy them -- they are entertainment, but I would never say they hold a torch to something that inspires me personally like a Herzog film. Too many up-and-coming directors are inspired by current directors that have absolutley no signature style. For example, how many movies nowadays can you really watch and pick out the Director without knowing beforehand? None. In the old days you could tell a Kubrick film from a Peckinpah film. Nowadays its all show and if you or any other up-and-coming Directors are inspired by the video game flash of "Matrix" or the overrated Wachowskis, then I fear for the future of movies. The few innovators are overlooked and pushed back more than they ever were in the past and if you ask most film students who their favorite director is they usaully (like lemmings) say Spielberg or Cameron. Why is that only disturbing to me? As for CGI, I'm sorry it has been only used correctly once, in my opinion, in "LOTR: The Two Towers" (Gollum, of course). So, in the end it's the idiots using it, not the effect itself.
As for "The Matrix" not ripping off "The Invisibles" main plot, well, I could fill an entire column with it. But for a quick explanation it goes like this:
1. Reality is fake and projected by aliens that control our thoughts. In the movie, it's robots or some crap.
2. The Invisibles, a group of terrorists, are the few who can see through this fake reality, i.e., Morpheus and his group.
3. The leader, King Mob, wears black leather coats, is bald, and studies a form of enlightened Kung Fu. Hmmm, Morpheus anyone?
4. Jack Frost is the outcast kid who is destined to be the messiah that will crush the illusion. Hmm....Neo?
5. Frost doesn't believe any of the fake reality bit and is asked to jump off a roof to show him that it is real. Gee, that sounds familiar.
For more on this go to this link: Recycling Bin 40 - The Invisibles and "The Matrix" (Apr 2001). I'm hoping it will change your mind. I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, I'm just trying to share info with you. As for the Director thing, I never will understand how someone can see the brilliance in "Paths of Glory" and yet praise "Saving Private Ryan". It would be like reading War and Peace and still being impressed with "Sgt. Rock". Huh?
To Hell with You All
Terence Nuzum
Nolan,
Every time one feels the urge to tune-in to "American Idol", they must internally fight the craving. Instead, reach for a VHS/DVD one may have archived in their tape closet, like: "Sisters of Satan", "Invasion of the Blood Farmers", or "The House on Sorority Row". And keep repeating to yourself:
TV bad. B-movies good...
TV bad. B-movies good...
TV bad. B-movies good...
Just read Ashley's column; we may have an emergency here. We need to counteract the effects of her watching "Daddy Day Care". I suggest 2 back-to-back viewings of Herschell Gordon Lewis' "Blood Feast", followed by "City of the Walking Dead". If rash persists, view the DVD version of "Hardware Wars" and the trailer for "Magic". That should do the trick.
Mike has a similar predicament after viewing "Down with Love"; give him 2 "I Spit on Your Grave's" and one "Tourist Trap" and call me in the morning.
- Andy Lalino
"...I like to watch..."
ZooTV
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