I often have long conversations with one of my co-workers about movies, even while on the clock when I should be doing something more efficient - out motto at work is "with a sense of urgency." He has good taste in movies. He judges every movie on how much of an emotional connection he gets to the film. For example, one of his favorites is Pieces Of April. He connected on an emotional level with Katie Holmes trying to cook a turkey dinner for her parents. I told him he needed to see Little Miss Sunshine, about a dysfunctional family that must pull through together on a road trip to a beauty pageant. He didn't understand it. The emotional connection for him wasn't there. To each his own, I guess.
Now I can respect his taste in movies because emotional impact is what every movie should strive for. What I don't agree with about my friend is how he comes to determine which movies he will see. He swears by his favorite film critic. he loves going on to metacritic.com and see what movies get the highest ratings. And his favorite film critic is Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal. If Mr. Morgenstern likes a movie, then my friend will probably consider seeing it.
Now I haven't really paid much attention to film critics in the past. You never really remember the movies you agree with them on. You just remember them tearing apart your favorite movies. It's just the way our minds work. We tend to remember the negativity more often than not. All I really know about film critics are Siskel & Ebert's TV show when I was a kid and the movie reviews I would occasionally read in Entertainment Weekly or Rolling Stone. But actually paying attention what they really had to say, well that was new to me.
So I decided to apply science to this predicament. I would figure out which critic is most suited to my taste so that I can have someone to turn to and determine what I should see (wink, wink). First, I would take 10 of my favorite movies and see how their scores stood up to mine. All 10 of my movies are what I would consider 100's (the scoring system on metacritic). I would take a handful of critics and add up their scores of my 10 and see who had the greatest total. I determined my top 10 by selecting 5 of my all-time favorites and 5 of my favorite movies in the last 5 years.
I started with Pulp Fiction, the movie I would consider to be my all-time favorite. If the critic didn't at least give that movie a decent score, then I probably wouldn't agree with them on most movies. Then, I found out that most critics hadn't reviewed all 10 of my movies, so I improvised my scientific experiment. I would take the highest 5 ratings of any of my 10 and compare the scores that way. So, essentially they might not have given Almost Famous(one of my top 10) a good score, but that wouldn't hurt them as long as they scored another movie of mine high.
After I added up all the score of my test critics, taking just the top 5 scores, I came to an interesting conclusion. The critic that had the highest score in my experiment is...drum roll, please!
Roger Ebert!
This was both exciting and a let down. exciting because Roger Ebert is the man! It was a let down because, it's Roger Ebert. I was hoping to find some obscure film critic from some newspaper in Bumfuck, Oregon to be my messiah. Roger is cool, but everybody knows Roger. But upon further introspection, I realized that Roger Ebert is the perfect film critic for me. After all, he loved Pulp Fiction, gave it a thumbs up. And any fan of Tarantino knows that film doesn't have to be perfect and grand. It can be small low budget b-film that entertains, even with it's many flaws. And Ebert wrote what I consider to be one of the worst movies ever made and he still went on to become a successful film critic. He can appreciate movies that most others wouldn't see.
My runner-up critic ended up being James Barardinelli of reelviews.net. From what I gather, he's an average person like you and me who became accredited (whatever that means) and now posts his movie reviews on his website. So there's hope for me after all.
and, for your information, my friends film critic, Joe Morgenstern scored the worst. Go figure!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
What is Cinema?
Book Review:
Syd Field - Going To The Movies
I was going to sum up this book with one sentence that appears on page 222:
"...Good structure does not create a good story, but rather that a good story is what creates structure."
I have a habit of posting 3x5 cards on my wall with these bits of wisdom on them. This is surely going up there.
For those of you who have read Syd Field's Screenplay, This book just elaborates what Mr. Field had explained already in his previous books. He just goes more in depth with how he came about with his brilliant bits of revelations. At the end of every chapter, I felt that Paul Harvey's voice should play like a greeting card message proclaiming, "...And now you know, the rest of the story."
Syd Field should give himself more credit for the hard work he's done and all that he's given us lowly screenwriters. He views himself stumbling upon these bits of information regarding structure much like the apple hitting Newton on the head and in the process discovering gravity. But as Ol' Syd pointed out in this book, Gravity wasn't sitting there waiting to be discovered - it was already there.
But alas, the book is about Syd Field's movie going experience. One that was brought home, personally to me, by the last chapter. When Syd recalled his own experiences seeing Pulp Fiction, Run Lola Run, Magnolia. These are the movies I also can recall very vividly. These are the movies that have inspired me to become a screenwriter. In a sense, I can see Syd Field coming to the end of his run. He is holding his baton out, beckoning me to take it and continue on. For it's in these moments where He and I overlap.
It's encouraging to know there's a connectedness in all cinema as it grows greater and greater with every passing year. It's just waiting out there for me to discover their truths as they fall from the sky like frogs. And like frogs falling from the sky, they can only be understood in their proper context.
The other bit of wisdom I found in this book are the words, "So what?"
When Syd was facing his inner critic he would take out a sheet of paper and call it the Critic's Page. Then he would write words like "These pages are no good", "I've read this before", and "You suck". I added that last one because that's what my inner critic tells me quite often. At the end he would write "So what?" And he was able to continue writing. The whole process was quite cathartic for him.
Then talked about the movie Magnolia and how people trashed it. But somehow, Syd liked it, as I did to. He would answer the critics. "It's too long." So what? "It doesn't make sense." So what? Frogs falling from the sky?" So what? If it works, it works.
So come on everybody out there in MovieLand. Let's all say it together. SO WHAT?
Syd Field - Going To The Movies
I was going to sum up this book with one sentence that appears on page 222:
"...Good structure does not create a good story, but rather that a good story is what creates structure."
I have a habit of posting 3x5 cards on my wall with these bits of wisdom on them. This is surely going up there.
For those of you who have read Syd Field's Screenplay, This book just elaborates what Mr. Field had explained already in his previous books. He just goes more in depth with how he came about with his brilliant bits of revelations. At the end of every chapter, I felt that Paul Harvey's voice should play like a greeting card message proclaiming, "...And now you know, the rest of the story."
Syd Field should give himself more credit for the hard work he's done and all that he's given us lowly screenwriters. He views himself stumbling upon these bits of information regarding structure much like the apple hitting Newton on the head and in the process discovering gravity. But as Ol' Syd pointed out in this book, Gravity wasn't sitting there waiting to be discovered - it was already there.
But alas, the book is about Syd Field's movie going experience. One that was brought home, personally to me, by the last chapter. When Syd recalled his own experiences seeing Pulp Fiction, Run Lola Run, Magnolia. These are the movies I also can recall very vividly. These are the movies that have inspired me to become a screenwriter. In a sense, I can see Syd Field coming to the end of his run. He is holding his baton out, beckoning me to take it and continue on. For it's in these moments where He and I overlap.
It's encouraging to know there's a connectedness in all cinema as it grows greater and greater with every passing year. It's just waiting out there for me to discover their truths as they fall from the sky like frogs. And like frogs falling from the sky, they can only be understood in their proper context.
The other bit of wisdom I found in this book are the words, "So what?"
When Syd was facing his inner critic he would take out a sheet of paper and call it the Critic's Page. Then he would write words like "These pages are no good", "I've read this before", and "You suck". I added that last one because that's what my inner critic tells me quite often. At the end he would write "So what?" And he was able to continue writing. The whole process was quite cathartic for him.
Then talked about the movie Magnolia and how people trashed it. But somehow, Syd liked it, as I did to. He would answer the critics. "It's too long." So what? "It doesn't make sense." So what? Frogs falling from the sky?" So what? If it works, it works.
So come on everybody out there in MovieLand. Let's all say it together. SO WHAT?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Death To Creatures Of The Night
I just got back from watching Skinwalkers. It's not as bad as the critics pan it out to be. Which leads me to one conclussion. Critics don't want to see another vampire or werewolf movie. To them, they hit there peak with American Werewolf in London or Interview With A Vampire. This is tough news for me because I'm writing a screenplay about a vampire. And it doesn't matter how original or invigorating my idea is (one critic described Skinwalkers as having a few clever twists to add to the genre), it's still not good enough. Critics don't want to see it. At least I still got fans of vampires and werewolves movies. They'll come out to see the movie. Maybe not on opening weekend (Skinwalkers - .75 million. Good enough for 17th place), But they will still see the movie. When it comes out on DVD, that is. It's ashamed how the movie business works. But that's the ultra-independent DIY in me speaking.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Bourne Romance
To celebrate the opening of The Bourne Ultimatum this week, I went out and bought the previous two movies. That was only because my friend was supposed to let me borrow them and didn't come through. But, hey, they're worth the 10 bucks a piece.
I've only seen both movies once. The first one, Identity, was barely recognizable. There was a lot I had forgotten. It even makes me wonder why they felt a sequel was justified. But I think the franchise didn't really take off until the second movie, Supremacy. That's when I truly realized we had a James Bond in the making. Each movie was able to develop the character further, quite successfully.
So I was eagerly awaiting the third installment. And it didn't fail to entertain me. Although I was a bit let down on where it ended, the movie delivered on everything I expected. Great action. Great character development. A great movie.
Where I was let down was partly my own doing. They say every great movie is a great love story. I was wondering who Jason Bourne's love interest could be in this movie. His last girlfriend Marie was killed off and she was the catalyst for the last two movies. I wondered who it would be this movie. I had a brief thought that it could possibly be Nicky Parsons. She's been in the other two movies. She's a very minor character who has ties to Jason. I thought that would be a good idea.
Then when you watch the movie (This has nothing to do with the main plot line so there's no spoilers here) there is a brief scene in a diner where Nicky sits across from Jason and looks at him like a long lost lover. Then she asks him, "You really don't remember anything, do you?"
I knew I called that one right. So the rest of the movie I'm anticipating the Jason Bourne/Nicky Parsons story line that never comes. There's even a scene where Nicky has to dye her hair, like Marie had to do in the first one. But Jason doesn't help her do it like he helped Marie. And Jason just looks at her completely unattached. You can tell the thought running through his head is, "Not now. I can't deal with another relationship at this moment." Or maybe he was protecting her; not wanting her to end up dead like Marie. Either way, the storyline was dropped.
But The very end leads you to believe the powers that be know there is going to be another movie so we should set it up as such. When they end on Nicky Parsons watching television announcing Jason was still alive, she smiles. The ending I wanted was Jason appears out of nowhere to take Nicky in his arms and kiss her. But they already did that in the first movie and such an ending wasn't properly set up.
The Bourne Romance - The Jason and Nicky Story. That's the story I was anticipating and that's the movie I want to see.
I've only seen both movies once. The first one, Identity, was barely recognizable. There was a lot I had forgotten. It even makes me wonder why they felt a sequel was justified. But I think the franchise didn't really take off until the second movie, Supremacy. That's when I truly realized we had a James Bond in the making. Each movie was able to develop the character further, quite successfully.
So I was eagerly awaiting the third installment. And it didn't fail to entertain me. Although I was a bit let down on where it ended, the movie delivered on everything I expected. Great action. Great character development. A great movie.
Where I was let down was partly my own doing. They say every great movie is a great love story. I was wondering who Jason Bourne's love interest could be in this movie. His last girlfriend Marie was killed off and she was the catalyst for the last two movies. I wondered who it would be this movie. I had a brief thought that it could possibly be Nicky Parsons. She's been in the other two movies. She's a very minor character who has ties to Jason. I thought that would be a good idea.
Then when you watch the movie (This has nothing to do with the main plot line so there's no spoilers here) there is a brief scene in a diner where Nicky sits across from Jason and looks at him like a long lost lover. Then she asks him, "You really don't remember anything, do you?"
I knew I called that one right. So the rest of the movie I'm anticipating the Jason Bourne/Nicky Parsons story line that never comes. There's even a scene where Nicky has to dye her hair, like Marie had to do in the first one. But Jason doesn't help her do it like he helped Marie. And Jason just looks at her completely unattached. You can tell the thought running through his head is, "Not now. I can't deal with another relationship at this moment." Or maybe he was protecting her; not wanting her to end up dead like Marie. Either way, the storyline was dropped.
But The very end leads you to believe the powers that be know there is going to be another movie so we should set it up as such. When they end on Nicky Parsons watching television announcing Jason was still alive, she smiles. The ending I wanted was Jason appears out of nowhere to take Nicky in his arms and kiss her. But they already did that in the first movie and such an ending wasn't properly set up.
The Bourne Romance - The Jason and Nicky Story. That's the story I was anticipating and that's the movie I want to see.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Midnight In The Garden Of Savannah
I'm in Savannah, Georgia at the moment enjoying the fine weather and sunny beaches. Actually, I've been flown down here by my company to work. 52 hours of work a week for two weeks. I did have a couple of days off and was able to swim in the Atlantic Ocean for a bit, lay out on the Savannah beach and get an annoying sun burn on my back.
What is of interest to people out there in MovieLand is Savannah is the place where many movies are filmed. The most notorious being Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil. If you've seen the movie you know Savannah is beautiful. It's even more spectacular in person.
Let me be frank. the movie wasn't really that great. I don't know why my free time has been consumed with the movie. But I found it at Best Buy for $7.50 and picked it up. I enjoyed watching the movie and then seeing the actual scenery that was filmed in person. I can imagine the only thing better would be to see a movie actually being filmed at the time. No wait. Even better would be to see your own script being filmed live on location.
I wanted to see the Bird Girl, the statue that graces both the movie poster and the book. But they've moved it out of the cemetery and placed it in a museum that was going to charge me ten bucks to see it. I didn't think it was worth that much at the time. Maybe later. Really, I was only going to look at it just so I can say I've seen it live in person. I did buy the book and a post card of the Bird Girl. So that will have to do.
I did stop at a shop that calls itself the official store of the Midnight book and movie. If I wanted to I could have walked out with a small statue of Bird Girl for a Hundred Bucks. Maybe next time, also.
I had an interesting conversation with the lady who worked there. She was one of those people who love to tell stories and had a ghost story to tell us relating to the nearby city we working in. When I told her I was from Kalamazoo she said it sounded like a song. So I told her about the old song with the same name, which she was familiar with. I asked her about the Savannah Art College because we were seeing a lot of buildings with their name on it. She city was behing taken over by the college. It turns out she was a graduate of the college along time ago. She got her degree and probably never left the city. She said she survived cancer twice and now was working at a tiny gift shop. I'm assuming since she went to college and works at a gift shop she never achieved anything with her art degree. And that she is a struggling artist who devoted her entire life to art with nothing to show for it. But she did seem very happy. I can only hope that after I've lived a long life, whether or not I have achieved any success in screenwriting, that I can be doing something I love associated with my passions in life and be just as happy as she seemed.
I was asked the other day by a good friend how much am I willing to put into this to achieve success in screenwriting. My answer was if I live the rest of my life writing screenplays and I achieve nothing, it will still be worth it because I am having that much fun reading screenplay books and watching and studying movies now. My answer reminds me of the old lady working in that gift shop. Maybe living in Savannah just being surrounded by great art is enough for her to be passionate about life. Just like how I would perceive living in Hollywood being surrounded by movies and artists passionate about movies would be.
What is of interest to people out there in MovieLand is Savannah is the place where many movies are filmed. The most notorious being Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil. If you've seen the movie you know Savannah is beautiful. It's even more spectacular in person.
Let me be frank. the movie wasn't really that great. I don't know why my free time has been consumed with the movie. But I found it at Best Buy for $7.50 and picked it up. I enjoyed watching the movie and then seeing the actual scenery that was filmed in person. I can imagine the only thing better would be to see a movie actually being filmed at the time. No wait. Even better would be to see your own script being filmed live on location.
I wanted to see the Bird Girl, the statue that graces both the movie poster and the book. But they've moved it out of the cemetery and placed it in a museum that was going to charge me ten bucks to see it. I didn't think it was worth that much at the time. Maybe later. Really, I was only going to look at it just so I can say I've seen it live in person. I did buy the book and a post card of the Bird Girl. So that will have to do.
I did stop at a shop that calls itself the official store of the Midnight book and movie. If I wanted to I could have walked out with a small statue of Bird Girl for a Hundred Bucks. Maybe next time, also.
I had an interesting conversation with the lady who worked there. She was one of those people who love to tell stories and had a ghost story to tell us relating to the nearby city we working in. When I told her I was from Kalamazoo she said it sounded like a song. So I told her about the old song with the same name, which she was familiar with. I asked her about the Savannah Art College because we were seeing a lot of buildings with their name on it. She city was behing taken over by the college. It turns out she was a graduate of the college along time ago. She got her degree and probably never left the city. She said she survived cancer twice and now was working at a tiny gift shop. I'm assuming since she went to college and works at a gift shop she never achieved anything with her art degree. And that she is a struggling artist who devoted her entire life to art with nothing to show for it. But she did seem very happy. I can only hope that after I've lived a long life, whether or not I have achieved any success in screenwriting, that I can be doing something I love associated with my passions in life and be just as happy as she seemed.
I was asked the other day by a good friend how much am I willing to put into this to achieve success in screenwriting. My answer was if I live the rest of my life writing screenplays and I achieve nothing, it will still be worth it because I am having that much fun reading screenplay books and watching and studying movies now. My answer reminds me of the old lady working in that gift shop. Maybe living in Savannah just being surrounded by great art is enough for her to be passionate about life. Just like how I would perceive living in Hollywood being surrounded by movies and artists passionate about movies would be.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Office Memo #1
They say you should treat your screenwriting career like a business. The sooner you can take it that serious enough, the sooner you'll be on your way to making the necessary steps to success. Well, I created an inter-office memo to myself to do just that.
To: Myself
From: Myself, CEO & Chairman of your career
Date: 7/05/07
Subject: Morning Habits
We'd like to thank you for your commitment and dedication to screenwriting. We feel your accomplishments in the not-too-distant future will have a positive effect financially for our organization. We'd like to take this opportunity to challenge you to remain steadfast in our company policy.
It has recently come to our attention that you have been "sleeping in" instead of rising early enough to perfect your craft. Although your alarm clock is set at 4 a.m. eastern/standard time, pressing snooze for an hour and a half and awakening at the last possible minute before being taken away to your other job is counter-productive and goes against your better judgments as a screenwriter. Please make all necessary changes to keep your account in good standing with our firm.
To: Myself
From: Myself, CEO & Chairman of your career
Date: 7/05/07
Subject: Morning Habits
We'd like to thank you for your commitment and dedication to screenwriting. We feel your accomplishments in the not-too-distant future will have a positive effect financially for our organization. We'd like to take this opportunity to challenge you to remain steadfast in our company policy.
It has recently come to our attention that you have been "sleeping in" instead of rising early enough to perfect your craft. Although your alarm clock is set at 4 a.m. eastern/standard time, pressing snooze for an hour and a half and awakening at the last possible minute before being taken away to your other job is counter-productive and goes against your better judgments as a screenwriter. Please make all necessary changes to keep your account in good standing with our firm.
Monday, July 2, 2007
The Bathroom Reader Of Screenwriting
Book Review: Zen And The Art Of Screenwriting Vol. 1 & 2
It's not that these were awful books full of toilet humor or anything like that. It just happens to be the time that I chose to read this books. I needed something screenwriting related to read while taking a massive a dump only a man can be proud of (I ripped that off of John From Cincinnati). These books were the perfect opportunity to do so. The insights were usually only a couple of pages long and offered plenty of good food for thought. The interviews were also informative. Not Like, "Holy-shit, I need to know this stuff!". But more in retrospect of your favorite movies and authors. The first volume was published in 1996, with volume 2 in 2000. So most of the interviews from author William Froug are with the legends of screenwriting and seem to be a bit dated. So anybody looking for fresh perspectives on the industry today might do better with a current copy of Creative Screenwriting.
Another problem I have with the book is the misinterpretation with the title. There is no chapter on Zen philosophy and how it relates to screenwriting. But that's fine. I understand it was just a clever title. I pretty much try to pattern the titles of my blogs in a similar fashion. Hell, the title "Philosophy Of Screenwriting" was inspired by these books. I just wish they had picked something else so I could use the title for a true journey into Zen and screenwriting. But I digress.
So these books, along with Joel Engel's "Screenwriters On Screenwriting", have become my choice for bathroom reading. I have a few other books by Engel and Froug that will later take their place on top of the magazine rack in my bathroom full of old Playboy's and men's magazines. If it has to be all screenwriting all the time, then I need to keep my priorities straight. So that Playboy will have to wait. Right now, my current bathroom reader is "Screenwriters: America's Storytellers In Portrait." Hey, what do you know? It's got pictures. Who needs those Playboy's after all.
It's not that these were awful books full of toilet humor or anything like that. It just happens to be the time that I chose to read this books. I needed something screenwriting related to read while taking a massive a dump only a man can be proud of (I ripped that off of John From Cincinnati). These books were the perfect opportunity to do so. The insights were usually only a couple of pages long and offered plenty of good food for thought. The interviews were also informative. Not Like, "Holy-shit, I need to know this stuff!". But more in retrospect of your favorite movies and authors. The first volume was published in 1996, with volume 2 in 2000. So most of the interviews from author William Froug are with the legends of screenwriting and seem to be a bit dated. So anybody looking for fresh perspectives on the industry today might do better with a current copy of Creative Screenwriting.
Another problem I have with the book is the misinterpretation with the title. There is no chapter on Zen philosophy and how it relates to screenwriting. But that's fine. I understand it was just a clever title. I pretty much try to pattern the titles of my blogs in a similar fashion. Hell, the title "Philosophy Of Screenwriting" was inspired by these books. I just wish they had picked something else so I could use the title for a true journey into Zen and screenwriting. But I digress.
So these books, along with Joel Engel's "Screenwriters On Screenwriting", have become my choice for bathroom reading. I have a few other books by Engel and Froug that will later take their place on top of the magazine rack in my bathroom full of old Playboy's and men's magazines. If it has to be all screenwriting all the time, then I need to keep my priorities straight. So that Playboy will have to wait. Right now, my current bathroom reader is "Screenwriters: America's Storytellers In Portrait." Hey, what do you know? It's got pictures. Who needs those Playboy's after all.
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