a while back, i read a book entitled the mind of the modern moviemaker by josh horrowitz. while the majority of this book reads as a refresher course on how not to go about the cinematic lifestyle, like the excerpts with the putrid mcg and equally awful john hamburg, occasionally small nuggets of worthwhile thought would manifest from thin air, most notably with david gordon green(who in all fairness was my main reason for purchasing the book)the terrible takes on film were met as equal by the shoddy, infantile (non)probing questions of the scribe. but again, nuggets of entertainment shone through, most notably in the stock questionnaire that followed the "more personal" interviews.
so...in honor of our first full year on air, and in a little better attempt to let you know from whence the beer cannes spawned, i have taken the time to fill out this inquisition and i urge all of my readers with blogs to do the same...i will be on the lookout.
what is the first film you ever saw?
i really haven't the slightest clue, but the first experience that i can still recall happened at the old castleton square mall cinemas, when they used to have the three screens in the mall, and it was watching the goonies, a film i still hold near and dear to my heart even though i haven't seen it since. last summer, mike scott and emily were going to accompany me to a screening of it down at the old artcraft theater in franklin and as we were on our way we hit a huge twenty minute traffic jam on 465 that would have made us late. as we turned away at the next available exit, my momentary disappointment lapsed under the thought that a higher power seemed to be telling me not to mess with my childhood memories.
what is your favorite film of all time?
a woman is a woman by jean luc godard has just about everything anyone could want in a film: action, secrecy, adultery, witty banter, bright colors, and musical numbers. it truly is a wonderful, wonderful film, so light and airy, yet very sneaky in its complexity. if i were you i would netflix it after you finish reading this. if it has any peer in the world of cinema, it is dazed and confused by richard linklater, which has everything i could want in a movie. netflix it too. as to which one is truly better...depends upon the day in which you catch me.
what is your favorite line in a film?
fuck you jobu...i'll do it myself. (major league)
what film made you realize that film was an art?
safe by todd haynes was a film that i rented when i was 15 or 16 because i was just getting into the whole arty thing as a way to impress girls and i had seen a review of it on siskel and ebert and i figured what the fuck...two hours or so later i began to understand that todd haynes was using this strange yet entertaining vehicle to make interesting points about the overall sterilization and homogenization of this country's tastes and mentality brought on by the overwhelming sameness of suburbia. and i was never the same again, i realized that i long to be challenged both emotionally and mentally by what i see.
what movie do you consider your guilty pleasure?
point break. a film about a quarterback punk/rookie fbi agent named johnny utah infiltrating a band of bank robbing surfers that features the holy trinity of trash movies: keanu, swayze, and busey. fuck yes! cowabunga!
who is your favorite movie character of all time?
woodruffson from dazed and confused. as portrayed by matthew mcconaghey, woodruffson exuded the laid back, 70's stoner ennui of a guy just a little bit too old to be at the party yet still trying to pull it off.
what is your favorite movie snack food?
beer.
who is your favorite director of all time?
whit stillman. a man, much like the goonies, who i am caught in limbo with, halfway hoping he never makes another picture because i saw how time rendered terrence mallick mediocre.
who is the most impressive filmmaker working today?
aaron katz and olivier assayas make films that seem like a vision of the moment we are in, as perceived by keen artistic spirits. they understand now.
what quality do the best directors share?
an understanding that a story is also told visually and that it must match the feeling created by sound(music, dialogue), that style is substance.
who is your favorite actor/actress of all time?
katherine hepburn made every movie she was in better.
who is your favorit actor/actress working today?
bill hader steals every scene he is in like he is the weenie king in the palm beach story. recently, as general custer in the new night at the museun sequel, he dropped this little gem on us: plan!?! we're americans...we don't plan, we do!
bill hader does.
who would you cast in a film about your life?
paul schneider, duh.
finish these sentences:
if you could remake one movie...i would never do that.
i never wanna watch a movie with...angelina jolie or spiderman
the perfect movie is...limitless.
thanks for a good year, we will try to do better this next...
cheers,
beer cannes.
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2 comments:
what is the first film you ever saw?
99.9% sure it was Star Wars, 1977.
what is your favorite film of all time?
Aliens
what is your favorite line in a film?
"There's a sport!" (Only Dave & Jay will get that.)
what film made you realize that film was an art?
No sure exactly what this is supposed to mean. Did so on a conscious level? I have no idea. It probably wouldn't have been until after we made Consternate. I didn't used to think too deeply about film. I think it's over-analyzed. I usually don't want to think too deeply about films I really like.
what movie do you consider your guilty pleasure?
Not saying. "Roadhouse", "Point Break" and other GREAT GUY films are NOT guilty pleasures for me. My guilty pleasures are ones I don't admit to telling other guys I watch because I actually FEEL guilty about watching them. So while I can think of at least one, it's staying a secret. (I know Dave's though.)
who is your favorite movie character of all time?
Han Solo / Indiana Jones. I put them together cuz I always felt like they were the same character. That's from having both movies come out when I was a kid. (And damn Spielberg, Lucas and Ford for raping my childhood with Indy IV!)
what is your favorite movie snack food?
popcorn (with carrots sticks!)
who is your favorite director of all time?
Peter Jackson.
I don't tend to think about directing at all unless I think it's really BAD. Then I'm pissed that the director "broke the spell", usually for the rest of the film.
who is the most impressive filmmaker working today?
Dunno. Again, I don't care enough to keep up with who the creative crews are unless they REALLY suck.
Peddie's answer is interesting on this one. It made me think on something that has been bugging me in our CGI-dominated SF universe. At least Lucas (early Star Wars days) and other pioneers in special effects had to deal with technical limitations in directing. I believe we're beyond that point now. But the directing in special effects seems to be getting WORSE. Why is that? You would think that without the limitations on camera work the opposite would be true. Maybe NOT having limitations on directing pushes directors away from what our brains recognize as "realistic"? Vox once wrote that a lot of the problems with shitty CGI is that the effects are defying the limitations of real-world physics. Our brains recognize that and that it looks "wrong". That's probably accurate.
what quality do the best directors share?
Showcasing actors and getting the best out of them. Everything else is secondary. Even if it's a freaking cartoon! If I don't care about the human behind the pixels, the film sucks.
who is your favorite actor/actress of all time?
Anthony Hopkins. He shows depth when doing nothing.
who is your favorite actor/actress working today?
same
who would you cast in a film about your life?
Jim Sturgess. He doesn't have my dashing bent nose, but he's close enough for Hollywood.
finish these sentences:
if you could remake one movie... Watchmen, with a new director and the caveat that I get to turn it into a 12 part series. Just like the book. A lot of wasted potential there. And no damn slow motion.
i never wanna watch a movie with... inflated but ultimately unmet expectations.
the perfect movie is... The Dark Knight.
what is the first film you ever saw?
Return of the Jedi, is the first film I remember watching.
what is your favorite film of all time?
I have a problem with this question being loaded! I have films that I can watch everyday like Star Wars 4-6 or films I have great memories of like Eliminators. So, what does is mean? Or maybe The Last of the Mohicans.
what is your favorite line in a film?
Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill! (major league)
what film made you realize that film was an art?
Consternate, because that was the first film I began to see what it was to make something come together. More then just images on a screen, but blood, sweat, and hard work really makes you believe there is something more to a picture.
what movie do you consider your guilty pleasure?
13th warrior. That movie should have been better with director John McTiernan, Written by Michael Crichton, Antonio Banderas and Vladimir Kulich as bad asses.
who is your favorite movie character of all time?
Duke from GI Joe. Thats who I wanted to be when I was a kid and how America's should be anyway.
what is your favorite movie snack food?
Popcorn
who is your favorite director of all time?
Stanley Kubrick
who is the most impressive filmmaker working today?
Aleksandr Sokurov with Mother and Russian ark is their any debate on a 1 take full length film with score in the movie preformed live.
what quality do the best directors share?
"an understanding that a story is also told visually and that it must match the feeling created by sound(music, dialogue), that style is substance." (Troy Myers)
I have nothing to add...
who is your favorite actor/actress of all time?
James Stewart are you kidding. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Who knew government could look so good.
who is your favorite actor/actress working today?
Gary Oldman because he makes everything better.
who would you cast in a film about your life?
Sean Astin. "Goonies"
finish these sentences:
if you could remake one movie...That would be like painting over the Sistine chapel with flat black paint.
i never wanna watch a movie with...general public ever again. They suck and talk too much!
the perfect movie is...nothing, and impossible.
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