Scandals and Screenplays

Last week we watched a film called "The Player." It was made in 1992, which gave it that great 90's vibe. The hair was huge. The dresses and suits were boxy and tacky. The cars looked like they would fall apart at any time. Ahh, memories of my childhood. However something I don't often see is a movie about the movies from the 90's. Things have changed quite a bit since Singin' in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard. The chances of "making it" in show business are becoming slimmer and slimmer, and "The Player" is a great perspective on just how cut-throat the business can be.

Tim Robbins is the lead. He portrays Griffen Mill, a studio executive in charge of screening scripts that come through from hopeful young screen writers. It's a tough job, because of the thousands of scripts that come through a year, only a select few will actually be chosen to be made into a film. Those that are actually chosen will eventually be chopped up and dumbed down for audiences to enjoy! Ahhh, the humanity. Where has authenticity and creativity gone? But then again, the purpose of films is generally to entertain us. The purpose of a documentary is to educate, so do we really want to see harsh reality at the theater? Honestly I have to be in the mood for it. Usually I just want to munch on my popcorn, laugh at the jokes, cry when the dog dies, and leave the theater with a good feeling because of a happy ending. Does that make me a sell out?

I think my favorite part about this movie was the perspective. As a viewer I felt (especially in the long opening shot) that I was simply a distant viewer who was fortunate enough to see what goes on backstage at a Hollywood studio rather than someone who has been thoughtfully involved in the development of the characters. They're doing their thing and we're just watching... and it's entertaining as hell. We are able to hear multiple conversations at once. It might seem confusing and difficult to understand at first, but it's more realistic.

Probably the most surprising part of the movie, oddly enough, was Whoopi Goldberg's character. It's interesting that the director, Robert Altman, uses dozens of real celebries in the film portraying themselves, but Whoopi Goldberg is your run-of-the-mill police detective. No glitz. No glamour. Just a sharp edge crude mouth. I liked it.

Productions and Prizes

The time is coming! Our film is in the works. Last class we spent a majority of the time planning specific aspects of our film, from camera angles to plot twists. I think we have a lot of surprising details in store. I’m not going to reveal too many of them to you, but maybe I’ll hint more and more each week!

Erik began telling us production details, and honestly it was a lot more complicated than I expected. His example was that if we were filming a shot on a public sidewalk with the Wendy’s logo in the background, then it would probably be fine. But if we were just one foot into Wendy’s property with their logo then we could be in major legal trouble. Erik recommended that we get permits and location agreements from certain businesses so that we don’t have any sort of issue. One of the locations we are considering filming is the summit of Pinnacle Mountain. I did some “investigative reporting” this past weekend and climbed the mountain with Destiny, and first of all I would like to say that it nearly killed me (ha-ha). I think I’m going to contact the Pinnacle park rangers and work out some sort of agreement if we decide to film there.

Our group has determined that our two main characters in our film will be Mariam and I. I’m pretty excited since I’ve always wanted to be an actor. I never had time in high school for drama and there just haven’t been any opportunities so far in college for me to really explore the world of acting. On a side note, I watched the Academy Awards the other night and I am now dying to watch The Hurt Locker! I think the fact that Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director is revolutionary in the film industry. So many young film makers, especially women, will have the courage to make films they would only dare to make before. I also feel that Sandra Bullock’s win was well deserved. Her performance was one of the most confident and genuine I have seen from an actress in a long time.

Honestly the thought of making a film is overwhelming at this point. I like our ideas so far and I feel confident with the team members who I’m working with, but it is all still so “up in the air” — another Academy Awards reference. George Clooney is a fox.

BLOW out.

Last week in class we watched a movie I had never heard of before called “Blow Out.” John Travolta was the main star, and because it was made in the early 1980’s he was still in his prime days of cool. Travolta is a soundman for cheap horror movies who records unintentionally records the sound of car crash late one night while gathering sounds by a pond. Inside the car was a gubernatorial candidate and a prostitute with whom he was set up with for scandalous purposes. Travolta is able to save the girl’s life when the car crashes into the pond, and soon discovers that he has just meddled in a series of complicated affairs. He is badgered by the police (which confuses the audience since he seems to be a hero). Several more confusing events continue to unfold from this point.

It’s interesting that we watched this movie because I think it goes along with the theme of my group’s film project—experimental. “Blow Out” was an unconventional film that challenged us to think from several perspectives. The film unfolds piece by piece as we discover underlying motivations and emotions that drive the characters to do what they have done. I think in our film we will use similar techniques, and maybe even leave our audience hanging with the pieces to put together for themselves. ”Blow Out” featured many interesting camera techniques that gave it a different feel from most other films. My favorite was a panoramic shot that continually spun around a room. It kind of made me dizzy, but not in a bad way. It makes the audience really pay attention and anticipate what could happen next.

Another reason this film was of particular interest to me is its political subtexts. The death of the governor can be compared to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Both were conspiracy theories, and I would even go as far as to compare Kennedy’s alleged affairs with Marilyn Monroe to the prostitute in the car with the politician. Travolta spends a majority of the movie putting the pieces together of what happened the night of the car crash—was it really a tire blow out, or perhaps a murder? He gathers evidence from the tabloids (a series of photographs) that when put with the sound he recorded shows that a gun caused the tire to blow out. It’s really ingenious.