Last night, I saw Ponyo. My friends were late. But my intense anger aside (I HATE tardiness of any sort), it was an AMAZING movie. Amazing not only because of Hayao Miyazaki's ability to create a collective imagination but because of the experience before, during, and after.
Before the film, I had saved four seats for my late late friends. As the coming attracts started to roll, a woman with an adorable little boy asked if they could take two of the seats. I obliged, certainly too begrudgingly on my part. I had, apparently, forgotten what a blessing it was to watch a movie with a little kid. Through Where the Wild Things Are, Toy Story 3-D, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Princess and the Frog, he looked like his day was made. And the movie hadn't even started. When it did... WOW. Hand drawn and perfect, the movie captivated everyone. My late friend barely distracted me. Although, this might have to do with the fact that I literally waved her away when she asked what had happened in the first two minutes. However, I fell in love. The movie took us all on a ride, and hearing the kids throughout the theater react so happily to an animated film simply drawn and without gimmicks made my heart soar. The little boy next to me was so excited throughout the whole film. Sure, I saw that perhaps it didn't have much of a conflict, and certainly no climax. All he saw was Ponyo and Soske on a magical adventure through sea and land, with a wonderful mother (Tina Fey is SO COOL) and some lovely old friends (props to Betty White and Lily Tomlin for being amazing even as animated characters). By the end of the movie, all I could do was smile and continue to ignore my friend. The little guy next to me left with a smile on his face, happy to have seen Ponyo, the little goldfish turned girl.
After weeks of feeling less-than-confident in my chosen career path, I remembered why I want to make movies. I want little kids to see them. I want every theater to sound and feel like that one that I was in last night.
So I went home and wrote eight pages of Teddy and Gary for that little guy sitting next to me.
Today I wrote another eight for myself. It's so inspiring to know that there is room for imagination in this world, for stories for children that don't treat them as less-than-human, as unintelligent. Ponyo is not Miyazaki's best film, but it is one of the best films in theaters right now. And it inspired and uplifted me to actually write.
It feels so good to know I have a place in this industry waiting for me. Like little Ponyo, I know what I want and I've got the magic to get me there. I can write for kids; I pride myself on being able to write and speak to them as people. I'm so excited to continue work on my script. I understand how to write it now. It's catharsis for me. I told a friend earlier, Gary and Teddy's monsters have become my monsters. When I sit down and write about their journey to save Dad, it might as well be me writing about my journey of growing up, of finding a new relationship with my parents, of understanding what it means to be independent, despite feeling like a kid.
So thank you, Ponyo. Thank you, Mr. Miyazaki. In making me feel like a kid for a night, you helped me grow up in the right direction.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
In Response to Mr. Ebert, Part 2, but not really...
First things first: this was on the NY Times website this week:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/movies/09scot.html?_r=1&ref=movies
Sound familiar?
I'm not going to talk about elitist critics. I like Roger Ebert a lot, even if I find that article to be arrogant.
Instead, I'm going to agree, in part, with A.O. Scott, who believes Hollywood is being lazy. And explain why it's their fault, not ours as moviegoers. We will go see movies as long as something is playing in the theaters. That is a tried and true fact. However, Hollywood is struggling to make anything right now, let alone content that is new and exciting and interesting. So, even though I probably won't see District 9 or enjoy it as much as most critics and fans, congrats to its filmmakers for making something interesting, intelligent, and still flashy for just $30 million. You're awesome.
But to Mr. Bay who insulted me by showing up to Transformers 2, to the good people at Fox who raped Wolverine like they wanted their own Southpark Episode, and to Jerry Bruckheimer for going 3-D with nothing but GUINEA PIGS, I give you...
MY PROVERBIAL MIDDLE FINGER.
I loved you all at one point. Some of you still have my love, but you've got your heads too far up your respective butts to care.
The real problem, my friends, is this: the idea that people in Los Angeles are making movies for the rest of us is about as crazy as a schizophrenic on shrooms trying to give someone sane directions through a haunted forest at night. They are so disconnected from reality that they have only strategy and business, not creativity, to govern their movie-making sensibilities. And honestly, the film business model is so screwy that even that is unreliable (a la Terminator, thank you Mr. A.O. Scott).
Producers and writers are put through a fraternity system before being allowed to make anything for audiences that by the time they have their chance, they are nothing but jaded shells of the creative, bright people they once were. How can we expect a 35-year-old man who has spent the past 10 years of his life acting as someone's bitch from behind a desk to be making movies that are relevant or beautiful?
I know this is my own youth and arrogance showing, but I WANT MY CHANCE NOW, DAMN IT.
Hollywood isn't rocket science, and I'm bored. If I take their path, I will continue to be bored until I cannot create anything but the same trite and true formulaic crap like Transformers 2 that currently dominates the film scene.
If we as audiences, as young film makers, as creative minds oppressed by capitalistic cultural forces (wow, I'm sounding like a crazy hipster kid now), do not step up, then we are to blame. So let's act now before people like Mr. Ebert and Mr. Scott are correct. Let's do the Dylan thing and kill our idols (NOT LITERALLY, of course).
Let's take back the film industry designed for us! Let's become Spielbergs and jump the walls instead of drowning in agencies!
Let's dispel the Hollywood hierarchies that these fatty producers fought so hard when they first came to town.
Remember, film is a mass medium. It's ours to control. It is a democracy, much like the theater used to be. And remember, Mr. Shakespeare wrote for the masses to become immortal. Not for the elite. Let's write for our own people, for our own generation. Let's make the movies we want to see instead of just going to see what the boring, jaded, disconnected folks in Hollywood are making.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/movies/09scot.html?_r=1&ref=movies
Sound familiar?
I'm not going to talk about elitist critics. I like Roger Ebert a lot, even if I find that article to be arrogant.
Instead, I'm going to agree, in part, with A.O. Scott, who believes Hollywood is being lazy. And explain why it's their fault, not ours as moviegoers. We will go see movies as long as something is playing in the theaters. That is a tried and true fact. However, Hollywood is struggling to make anything right now, let alone content that is new and exciting and interesting. So, even though I probably won't see District 9 or enjoy it as much as most critics and fans, congrats to its filmmakers for making something interesting, intelligent, and still flashy for just $30 million. You're awesome.
But to Mr. Bay who insulted me by showing up to Transformers 2, to the good people at Fox who raped Wolverine like they wanted their own Southpark Episode, and to Jerry Bruckheimer for going 3-D with nothing but GUINEA PIGS, I give you...
MY PROVERBIAL MIDDLE FINGER.
I loved you all at one point. Some of you still have my love, but you've got your heads too far up your respective butts to care.
The real problem, my friends, is this: the idea that people in Los Angeles are making movies for the rest of us is about as crazy as a schizophrenic on shrooms trying to give someone sane directions through a haunted forest at night. They are so disconnected from reality that they have only strategy and business, not creativity, to govern their movie-making sensibilities. And honestly, the film business model is so screwy that even that is unreliable (a la Terminator, thank you Mr. A.O. Scott).
Producers and writers are put through a fraternity system before being allowed to make anything for audiences that by the time they have their chance, they are nothing but jaded shells of the creative, bright people they once were. How can we expect a 35-year-old man who has spent the past 10 years of his life acting as someone's bitch from behind a desk to be making movies that are relevant or beautiful?
I know this is my own youth and arrogance showing, but I WANT MY CHANCE NOW, DAMN IT.
Hollywood isn't rocket science, and I'm bored. If I take their path, I will continue to be bored until I cannot create anything but the same trite and true formulaic crap like Transformers 2 that currently dominates the film scene.
If we as audiences, as young film makers, as creative minds oppressed by capitalistic cultural forces (wow, I'm sounding like a crazy hipster kid now), do not step up, then we are to blame. So let's act now before people like Mr. Ebert and Mr. Scott are correct. Let's do the Dylan thing and kill our idols (NOT LITERALLY, of course).
Let's take back the film industry designed for us! Let's become Spielbergs and jump the walls instead of drowning in agencies!
Let's dispel the Hollywood hierarchies that these fatty producers fought so hard when they first came to town.
Remember, film is a mass medium. It's ours to control. It is a democracy, much like the theater used to be. And remember, Mr. Shakespeare wrote for the masses to become immortal. Not for the elite. Let's write for our own people, for our own generation. Let's make the movies we want to see instead of just going to see what the boring, jaded, disconnected folks in Hollywood are making.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
In Response to Mr. Ebert, Part 1
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/08/the_gathering_dark_age.html
A friend sent me this article yesterday, and I thought about it long and hard. I'm obviously a little late in my response, but I don't spend all my time in the blogosphere either.
I don't think the American audience is dumber. I think they have too many options. SCANDALOUS you say in a time when I and everyone I know is struggling to find a film-industry job. But think about it long and hard. The idea of a 4-quadrant film is a fallacy. Everything has a genre. Everything has a brand. This immediately limits an audience. The reason people aren't going to see "The Hurt Locker" is because of the stigma attached to limited release. And because of the pretense that comes with a film that was released in major cities first. Trust me, I've been in the small towns that get it last. Why see a movie that was initially designated for "important" or "enlightened" folks living in segregated, crime-ridden major cities? Yes, there are still blockbusters, but even they fall into genres. To call Transformers 2 a four-quadrant film is totally false. It is meant for men and boys. Yes, I saw it, but I was not the target audience. I also saw "Up," and Lord knows I don't have a family of my own.
People are not dumber, but they are overstimulated. With so many choices and so few opportunities for real conversation left in the world, why wouldn't you go see the movie everyone else is seeing. At least the potential for connection is present afterward. And perhaps, with movies like "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" a chance to reminisce about childhoods that are no longer possible. I don't know a single child who play with action figures anymore. They are all playing with their Wiis an X-boxes. Perhaps online. My former neighbor, only eight, has a facebook! At least with big flashy movies based on our simple toys and complex imaginations, we have a chance to share with this younger generation something they have lost. Maybe.
And maybe we need to rethink our limited releases. Maybe Hollywood needs to stop thinking of Middle America as a cultural wasteland and give them a chance to see "artsy" movies or "obscure" movies first. There was so much I missed before moving to Chicago, cinema-wise, and so much I try to make sure my little sister does not miss. When that rich classmate comes back from having seen an art house film in "The City" (whichever major city is closest), no one in the class wants to see it because no one in that class wants to be perceived as elitist.
The fact of the matter is, there is no single movie in theaters right now that just anyone could go see. Except, maybe, Up. There was a time when people had more freedom, when there was less genre applied to Hollywood. Perhaps "Julie and Julia" could reach a younger audience if it hadn't been so adamantly pushed upon the women 25-50. And perhaps "The Hurt Locker" could reach my girlfriends back in western Illlinois - action-movie loving girls uninfluenced by the gross sexism that pervades major cities - if it had been presented to them before it hit Los Angeles and was branded a "guy movie." A WOMAN DIRECTED IT FOR GOD'S SAKE!
No, Mr. Ebert, young American audiences are not dumb. They are overstimulated. They have too many choices, so they pick the one that will allow them the most chances to relate. They pick the genre that fits into their lifestyle: the "comic book movie", the "video game movie", the "coming of age teen drama", or, my personal favorite, the "event film". They could make other choices, but those labels might be more isolating. The "Oscar film" or the "limited release" or the "indy drama" or the "mid-life crisis" or the "romantic comedy" don't sound like movies one can discuss with classmates in high school or college.
Next entry in response: why critics ARE elitist and how to read film criticism so it does not ruin your movie-going experience.
A friend sent me this article yesterday, and I thought about it long and hard. I'm obviously a little late in my response, but I don't spend all my time in the blogosphere either.
I don't think the American audience is dumber. I think they have too many options. SCANDALOUS you say in a time when I and everyone I know is struggling to find a film-industry job. But think about it long and hard. The idea of a 4-quadrant film is a fallacy. Everything has a genre. Everything has a brand. This immediately limits an audience. The reason people aren't going to see "The Hurt Locker" is because of the stigma attached to limited release. And because of the pretense that comes with a film that was released in major cities first. Trust me, I've been in the small towns that get it last. Why see a movie that was initially designated for "important" or "enlightened" folks living in segregated, crime-ridden major cities? Yes, there are still blockbusters, but even they fall into genres. To call Transformers 2 a four-quadrant film is totally false. It is meant for men and boys. Yes, I saw it, but I was not the target audience. I also saw "Up," and Lord knows I don't have a family of my own.
People are not dumber, but they are overstimulated. With so many choices and so few opportunities for real conversation left in the world, why wouldn't you go see the movie everyone else is seeing. At least the potential for connection is present afterward. And perhaps, with movies like "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" a chance to reminisce about childhoods that are no longer possible. I don't know a single child who play with action figures anymore. They are all playing with their Wiis an X-boxes. Perhaps online. My former neighbor, only eight, has a facebook! At least with big flashy movies based on our simple toys and complex imaginations, we have a chance to share with this younger generation something they have lost. Maybe.
And maybe we need to rethink our limited releases. Maybe Hollywood needs to stop thinking of Middle America as a cultural wasteland and give them a chance to see "artsy" movies or "obscure" movies first. There was so much I missed before moving to Chicago, cinema-wise, and so much I try to make sure my little sister does not miss. When that rich classmate comes back from having seen an art house film in "The City" (whichever major city is closest), no one in the class wants to see it because no one in that class wants to be perceived as elitist.
The fact of the matter is, there is no single movie in theaters right now that just anyone could go see. Except, maybe, Up. There was a time when people had more freedom, when there was less genre applied to Hollywood. Perhaps "Julie and Julia" could reach a younger audience if it hadn't been so adamantly pushed upon the women 25-50. And perhaps "The Hurt Locker" could reach my girlfriends back in western Illlinois - action-movie loving girls uninfluenced by the gross sexism that pervades major cities - if it had been presented to them before it hit Los Angeles and was branded a "guy movie." A WOMAN DIRECTED IT FOR GOD'S SAKE!
No, Mr. Ebert, young American audiences are not dumb. They are overstimulated. They have too many choices, so they pick the one that will allow them the most chances to relate. They pick the genre that fits into their lifestyle: the "comic book movie", the "video game movie", the "coming of age teen drama", or, my personal favorite, the "event film". They could make other choices, but those labels might be more isolating. The "Oscar film" or the "limited release" or the "indy drama" or the "mid-life crisis" or the "romantic comedy" don't sound like movies one can discuss with classmates in high school or college.
Next entry in response: why critics ARE elitist and how to read film criticism so it does not ruin your movie-going experience.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A Little Part of Me Died... Something Else Took Its Place
Two days ago, my little sister sent me an iPod in the mail, along with several gifts and books from my mother. I've never really cared to own an iPod, but she had an extra lying about, created a playlist for me, and sent it my way. The day I got it, I took it with me to the park. Usually, I like hiking to the sounds of nature, no headphones. I broke a personal rule and listened to some music. Next thing I know, I was breaking another rule and RUNNING up a hill. I don't run unless I'm being chased. But I jogged most the mile and a half trail. When I finished, I felt amazing! I had so much energy the rest of the day. So, I tried again yesterday. Same thing. So much energy. Today, my legs are incredibly sore, but it feels so worth it. The energy seems to still be there.
Perhaps I need to find another rule to break. Mike is in town this week, so it should be easy. We like to go on adventures and make mischief.
I also did something out of character on Friday and left my house for a party. I suppose it was fun to see my friends, but I still just hate parties. I can't explain it, and I don't care to either. I went to a friend's show at Crane's Tavern as well. It was great. Well worth the stress of leaving the house to go into Hollywood on a Friday night. I'll be going to more in the future.
What a strange weekend. Here's hoping today continues the pattern.
Perhaps I need to find another rule to break. Mike is in town this week, so it should be easy. We like to go on adventures and make mischief.
I also did something out of character on Friday and left my house for a party. I suppose it was fun to see my friends, but I still just hate parties. I can't explain it, and I don't care to either. I went to a friend's show at Crane's Tavern as well. It was great. Well worth the stress of leaving the house to go into Hollywood on a Friday night. I'll be going to more in the future.
What a strange weekend. Here's hoping today continues the pattern.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Damage: Controlled
Tuesday, the temp agency didn't call yet again, so I went to the hair salon. About four weeks ago, I went in while I had that wicked little eye-infection, so I could not see what they were doing to my hair. I ended up with a cut that was practically a flat-top on the top with really long sides. I had to let it grow a bit before cutting it again, and it was finally time. Now, it looks fabulous! I feel human again!
Hair is an amazing thing. Mine often determines my mood. And I think, once I'm employed full-time, I will be coloring it again. Anyone down with dark brown?
In other news, Sunday begins the three months of visitors! This month: Mike, then Jordan. Next month: Mom and DoDa. October: Andrew. Hooray!
Hair is an amazing thing. Mine often determines my mood. And I think, once I'm employed full-time, I will be coloring it again. Anyone down with dark brown?
In other news, Sunday begins the three months of visitors! This month: Mike, then Jordan. Next month: Mom and DoDa. October: Andrew. Hooray!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
I Get It! and other notes
Last night I watched Office Space. I feel like I've finally been let in on the biggest inside joke ever.
I didn't realize how bad the recession was until I poured my Lucky Charms today. The marshmallows have downsized. They are mini charms, and the two-colored ones lack the cute little details in favor of colored swirls like the generic cereal version.
Yesterday, four chubby little kids came in to eat at Barney's. If I have children (hopefully not), I hope they are portly until about the age of seven.
Mike comes to visit in a week! Jordan comes in just over two! SO EXCITED!
That's about it for today.
I didn't realize how bad the recession was until I poured my Lucky Charms today. The marshmallows have downsized. They are mini charms, and the two-colored ones lack the cute little details in favor of colored swirls like the generic cereal version.
Yesterday, four chubby little kids came in to eat at Barney's. If I have children (hopefully not), I hope they are portly until about the age of seven.
Mike comes to visit in a week! Jordan comes in just over two! SO EXCITED!
That's about it for today.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Coffee Talk
Low on coffee because I am too lazy to go grocery shopping, I ground together two types of beans: a Nicaraguan dark medium roast and a French dark roast. Add just a tiny bit of French vanilla creamer, and I achieved coffee bliss.
Last night, I went and saw Funny People with my friend Chris. While it had its flaws, it was charming. Certainly it was a movie I would watch again. Jason Schwartzmann can be such a pretentious POS, but in this scenario, it was absolutely perfect.
We saw the movie at the AcrLight in Sherman Oaks. Walking through the shopping center, it was awesome to see people out on a Friday night dressed in jeans and t-shirts. It was casual, comfortable, and a total return to normalcy. Perhaps not all of Southern California is full of crazy people dressed up for no reason but to get drunk and sweat on a dance floor.
There was a glimmer of hope earlier this week in regards to finding a job. Those of you who are praying folk, continue to do so. A job full time job would be awesome.
Last night, I went and saw Funny People with my friend Chris. While it had its flaws, it was charming. Certainly it was a movie I would watch again. Jason Schwartzmann can be such a pretentious POS, but in this scenario, it was absolutely perfect.
We saw the movie at the AcrLight in Sherman Oaks. Walking through the shopping center, it was awesome to see people out on a Friday night dressed in jeans and t-shirts. It was casual, comfortable, and a total return to normalcy. Perhaps not all of Southern California is full of crazy people dressed up for no reason but to get drunk and sweat on a dance floor.
There was a glimmer of hope earlier this week in regards to finding a job. Those of you who are praying folk, continue to do so. A job full time job would be awesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)