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Twilight New Moon Movie Review

jyates — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:39:42 +0000

New Moon: Introducing Team Jacob

For fans, the Twilight saga has become a sort of sporting event pitting one team against another. Team Edward was crazed upon the release of last year’s Twilight, and while New Moon is definitely geared toward “the other team,” there is more than adequate sexual tension and angst to satisfy both.

New Moon, the second movie/book in the series, centers on what happens when Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) after an event with his family threatens her safety. While the character tells Bella “You will never see me again,” Edward appears frequently through out the movie as a sort of ghostly consciousness trying to keep her from harm. Of course when she makes this connection, Bella goes looking for harm in order to see him.

While on her adrenalin search Bella rekindles an old friendship with Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), the rallying cry for Team Two. She brings him bikes to fix up so she can drive fast and loose enough to see Edward. However, on the way she develops a deepening connection to her friend and team Jacob holds its collective breath. Maybe this time she will get their man.

While Edward and Bella were the driving force in the first movie his disappearance for the greater part of New Moon does not kill this sequel. Instead we are given a new brooding monster (and his family) to love.

Originally, rumors circulated that Taylor Lautner would not be returning as Jacob in the second film. The producers feared he could not bulk up enough to visually play the part of the werewolf he becomes. However, Lautner was able to put on some very pleasing muscular weight. He worked hard for the part and his dedication shows in his acting. Viewers are not only rewarded by having the same actor back in character, but also by having one who could still be younger than Bella. New Moon gives a book-perfect Jacob.

While most film series have weak second installments I found New Moon to be better than the original. However, in the end, New Moon is still the sequel to Twilight. So don’t go to the theatre expecting some great dramatic work or art house film. That is never what these movies will be, but if you are going for a few laughs and some guilty pleasure, you just might enjoy yourself.

★★★☆☆

Discussion with Peter Docter and Bob Peterson

Philip Barrett — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:04:26 +0000

Up is still in my top three films of the year. Even now with it’s release on Blu-ray, the gut-punch still gets me and it’s still a marvelous film to watch. The Blu-ray is also no slouch in it’s pristine presentation of the film, it also features a nice batch of extras that go into great detail about how and why the film was made. In honor of this release, I was able to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion with both Docter and Peterson. Aside from being dressed in obscure outfits (Docter in a bunny suit, Peterson as Amelia Earhart,) both seemed to be very proud of the work they did. They should be as the film is incredible.

Who came up with the idea to cast Ed Asner as Carl?

Bob Peterson: Once Pete and I had arrived at the idea of doing an Old Man movie, the thought of Ed Asner came fairly early on. Good casting at Pixar is an exercise of balance. Woody in “Toy Story” could have been perceived as unappealing when he was jealous of Buzz if we had the wrong voice for him, but Tom Hanks brings such a natural appeal that he balanced any of Woody’s negatives. The same with Ed Asner. Ed’s soulfullness balanced his curmudgeon side. When Ed saw the small statue of his character when he came in to read for us he said “It looks nothing like me!!!” In a cranky (tongue in cheek) way. We knew from that, that Ed was the perfect voice for Carl!!

Other than the trip to South America, what inspired the story of UP?

Bob Peterson: Various things – the lives of our grandparents. For example, I had a grandfather who always wanted to go West from Ohio, but never got the chance. I had the foresight to videotape my grandparent’s home after they had passed 20 years ago. There are the side by side chairs – one soft and one hard which absolutely paralleled who the were as people. Many of our life experiences with our wives and children were put into play in the script, and of course living with our dogs gave us great insight into dog behavior!

Who or what was the inspiration behind Charles Muntz?

Bob Peterson: Charles Muntz in story terms is “Carl Fredriksen at the end of the line.” In other words, if Carl had made it to Paradise Falls without accepting others into his life, then he would have gone crazy, wallowing in his unfinished quest. Carl is represented by a square shape. So as far as shape language, Muntz is a “collapsed square.” He end up having more diamond shapes as if a square has collapsed upon itself. From real reference, we looked at the grand adventurers of the last century including Lindbergh. We looked at Howard Hughes, being a sort of inventor/adventurer. We also looked at photos of Errol Flynn and even the dapper photos of Walt Disney in the 1930’s with his pencil thin mustache.

While Docter was on hand as well, he didn’t answer the questions we gave him. Nor did he answer the question my partner in crime Shane MacDonald of Eye Crave Network, but Bob Peterson was. Shane was gracious enough to let me use his question for this piece, so if you could, give him and his site a visit. I promise he won’t steal your girlfriend.

When you release the final film is it like watching your kids go off into the world? You’ve shaped it, guided along, then you have to let them go and see how they do.

Bob Peterson: Yes. It is interesting watching the movie for the first time at our Wrap Parties with our crew. We don’t ever get to see our movies like a regular audience member because we lived through the creation of the film and see the memories brought forward by each shot and movement we see. When I look at my 14 year old (who I don’t want to grow up and go to college!!!) I see her as a 3 year old at the pumpkin patch, the the 5th grader at the spelling bee.Those memories are there. When our movies leave us we hope we’ve given them enough love and sense to do great things in the world!!

Up is available now on Blu-ray and DVD, but quite honestly, grab the Blu-ray. Better deal, and it comes with a DVD of the film that has some nice extras.

A Brief Interview With ‘In Memorium’ Director Amanda Gusack

John Cooper — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:30:49 +0000

I recently sat down and watched Amanda Gusack’s In Memorium, and found it to be just as enjoyable as Oren Peli’s smash success Paranormal Activity. You can read my review of the film right here. I also had the chance to briefly interview the screenwriter/director about the state of In Memorium and the possibilities for a wider release on DVD. Check out the interview below!

John: First of all, I just want to say that I really enjoyed In Memorium — a lot more than some big budget horror films I’ve seen in theaters recently. What you’ve accomplished under immense constraint is pretty remarkable.

Amanda: Thanks so much!

Why the paranormal? Why ghosts? What took you toward this subject material?

There’s so much in our minds that we don’t understand. I believe we all carry around a level of fear based on the fact that, despite our best efforts, we ultimately have little control over the world around us. We know enough to be aware of that fear, but I don’t believe, on a deeper level, we know how to cope with or minimize it.

In my mind, ghost stories give us something concrete to attach our fears to; something primal that we can contextualize–to run from or fight (and on that level, conquer)—and at the same time, enable us to acknowledge the vaguer, less explicable dread that we all experience from time to time, but don’t often verbalize.

What led you to make the decision to shoot the film in your house? The claustrophobic little hallway really lent itself to the climax of the film, as did your sliding glass doors.

Thank you. The script was actually written to the layout of the house. We’d just moved in, so we had a location, and I thought: Movie [cue silly string, noisemakers and barking dogs]!

What happened with the release of the film? It obviously played some festivals to acclaim, but did you have your sights set on any distribution that didn’t come together?

The industry is a tricky nut to peel. In my experience, it’s like lining up a stack of barred doors and trying to unlock them all at the exact same time—with only some of the keys. We tried everything we could back then and just couldn’t make it to the other end of the hallway.

Have you seen Peli’s Paranormal Activity? What?s your reaction to a film that very clearly has many similarities (both obvious and subtle) with In Memorium? For the record, yours does quite a bit right that Activity doesn’t.

I’ll plead the fifth on that for now, but thank you for the compliments.

Is there any chance that In Memorium could go on to bigger and brighter pastures considering the success of Peli’s film?

I can’t tell you how much I’d love to get it out there for people who’ve been asking. We’re definitely working on it.

To date, all of your films have been self-written. Do you have any projects on the horizon that people should know about?

I’m writing a few things now. Not sure which ones, if any, will manifest beyond paper, but I’ll let you know if something noteworthy expands into light and sound.

Thank you for your time! Keep up the good work. Really appreciate you sharing your film with us!

Thanks so much for the great review and kind words, John!

[Exclusive Interview] Norman Reedus on The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

JackGiroux — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:58 +0000

After all these years the Boondock Saints sequel is finally coming out. After years of rumors and all the die-hard fan’s heartaches, it’s now actually making it’s way to the big screen. In light of this, here’s what one of the film’s stars Norman Reedus had to say about the original, the sequel and what can be expected.

How was Comic Con?

Norman Reedus: Comic Con was nuts! I mean when we got on stage there was a lot of screaming people and the line for our panel was like a mile long.

Did you know before how die-hard some fans are? There are some insane ones.

Norman Reedus: Yeah, I have had experiences with people coming up to me with tattoos on their arms and some crazy stuff. I knew that we were in for quite a ride.

Yeah, those fans are in many ways similar to the Twilight crowd at Comic Con.

Norman Reedus: Yeah, both Boondock and Twilight were big ones this year. I didn’t see any of the Twilight stuff, but I did a film up here called Meskada and I met Tyler [Lautner] who’s one of the Twilight guys and he said to me, “Oh my god, Boondock Saints! I love that movie!” So I ended up giving him a sweatshirt. (laughs)

Did you actually ever think the sequel was going to happen?

Norman Reedus: I thought it would, but I just never knew when. I couldn’t see how it couldn’t happen since it has a big fan base.

When the first film was made was there actually ever talk of doing a sequel?

Norman Reedus: Yeah, of course. We all talked about it and we even talked about doing a third one while shooting this one. There was always talk.

Was it odd jumping back into character after all these years?

Norman Reedus: Yeah, it was really weird. I mean it’s like riding a bike, we were really excited to be there doing it. Especially for Troy since it’s his vision and his script — this is great for him.

What do you think fans will be most pleased with in the sequel?

Norman Reedus: Uh, I think in the first one there were some loose ends that were kind of left out. A lot of those things are now tied in. I keep getting asked a lot of questions about this stuff and I have to keep my mouth shut. (laughs) There’s a lot surprises — there’s going to be dozens of surprises.

It’s certainly tough to live up to some expectations and top a first film. Do you think the sequel will do that and be better than the first?

Norman Reedus: Better, it’s got all the same elements plus a hundred more. It’s stronger, heavier, the music is better and everything is bigger and better about it. It’s going to be better. I know that’s hard to say since I’m not a fan of sequels, but this one is actually better. There are new elements in this one. It’s still a Duffy movie, has the same sense of humor and the same vigilante attitude. It’s bigger and badder.

You have already been in a good sequel too — Blade II was pretty good.

Norman Reedus: Yeah! I thought Blade II was better than Blade… It’s funny, because I did Deuces Wild after Blade II and Stephen Dorff was kind of like my enemy in that movie. We would always be making jokes about which Blade is better. When Blade II came out it blew it out of the water. It made more money and was much cooler. Guilermo [Del Toro] is such a cool director.

Yeah, you also worked with him on Mimic.

Norman Reedus: I did. Mimic was my first film and he got me my first part. When he was going to do Blade II he said he wanted to have a meeting and he told me, “I know you like to do these weird little indie movies that nobody sees.” I was like, “what the f*** are you talking about Guilermo?” (laughs) Then he asked me if I would do it and he told me I’m Skud, showed me some sculptures, then I became Skud. I would do anything for Guilermo.

What do you think makes Boondock Saints different than most action movies?

Norman Reedus: Well, I think that the fan base — I think when people tell other people about a movie, especially since it didn’t really go to theaters, they feel as if they’re discovering something. It was like an underground hit and I’ve actually seen people pass it to friends. It’s the fans that allowed us to do part two and it’s the fans that made the first one big. They feel like they’re a part of it and they are.

As a director from a storytelling standpoint and visual sense, how has Troy changed?

Norman Reedus: He’s really been fined tuned since the first one; he’s really become a better director. He was a good director to begin with; he’s levelheaded and sees things from every angle. He’s matured, he’s ten years older and he’s been in this business. I think Troy has learned a lot of lessons and has tackled this one head-on.

You’ve worked with some pretty accomplished directors with Ridley Scott and Del Toro, would you say working with talents like that you learn something as an actor?

Norman Reeuds: Yeah, the thing with working with Del Toro is that he’s like a big kid. He’s behind the monitor always moving around shouting “pow, pow,” during the action scenes. He’s a lot of fun and the enthusiasm that he brings is great. Ridley Scott is a pro; you definitely learn something from him. You even learn from some of the bad ones.

Do you there’s any chance of a Boondock Saints fan being disappointed?

Norman Reedus: No, not at all. I think they’re going to be blown away by it and at the end of the movie they’re going to flip out.

The Men Who Stare At Goats Giveaway!

John Cooper — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:42 +0000

This is a great year for George Clooney. He’s got Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air on the horizon, as well as Grant Heslov’s The Men Who Stare At Goats. Both films look superb.

It could also be a great year for you, because you stand a chance at winning goodies from The Men Who Stare At Goats!

We’ve got a bunch of cool stuff for you. One lucky winner will receive a “No Goats. No Glory” T-shirt along with a copy of the book that the film is based on, written by Jon Ronson. From what I’ve heard, the book is spectacular, so this is your chance to pick it up at the price of free!

In case you haven’t heard, the film centers around a reporter (Ewan McGregor) who meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a “former member of the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.” It’s also based on a true story, believe it or not.

To enter this contest, you must have a twitter account and be following @atomicpopcorn to enter. If you don’t have a twitter account please set one up here. Please log into your twitter account and tweet the following:

Win an awesome The Men Who Stare at Goats prize package. Thanks to @atomicpopcorn I will be a winner!

Only do this ONCE! Duplicate entries will be removed from contention. This contest will run through November 8th The winners will be notified via Twitter. This is for Residents of the USA ONLY. Sorry, out-of-towners!

And while you’re at it, check out the film’s website at http://www.themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com/.

UPDATED Contest – SAW VI Passes and Prize Pack

Philip Barrett — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:40:57 +0000

Saw is starting to become more of an event than a film, which is actually ok. Why shouldn’t there be a horror series that gets released every Halloween just to stay in the spirit of things? And hey, at least Lionsgate seems to put effort into these movies instead of make them cash-ins. With Saw VI coming, we here at Atomic Popcorn want to give you the hook up, of course that’s if you live in San Diego. Listen, the economy’s tight enough as it so we’re giving away free passes to see the film. That’s right, you and a guest can enjoy that cute li’l Jigsaw doll and his twisted games.

Don’t live in San Diego, and still want some swag? Well, we have you covered there well. We’ll be giving away six (6) prize packs that include:

-Saw VI T-shirt
-A syringe pen
-Saw VI Lollipop

Live in San Diego and curious to how do you enter? Well, just e-mail me here with your name, address, and “I WANNA SEE SAW VI” and tell me the craziest thing you’ve either received trick-or-treating or the wildest thing you’ve ever done on Halloween. Winners will be selected and notified within the next week so don’t waste time. Besides, I’d also like to continue to give you guys free stuff. I mean, you guys want it, right? RIGHT!?

Interview – Kristopher Belman

Philip Barrett — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:28:41 +0000

More Than A Game hit me a on a personal level. No, I didn’t spew hate all over it because it involves a Cleveland team nor did I walk out of the theater cursing Kristopher Belman for being a Clowns fan or supporting LeBron James. No, his film impacted me in the sense that I have been there and seen what basketball players go through thanks to the adventures of my father’s days as a basketball coach (he still coaches, so the adventure is far from over.)

It likely won’t have the same impact on other movie-goers, but the themes of brotherhood, family, and pursing your dreams should touch anyone. Belman’s crafted a film that uses basketball as a means to show all of these themes, and doesn’t require knowledge of the game to enjoy it. He also wisely chooses not to keep the focus all on LeBron James but rather Coach Dru Joyce and his journey with these young men. Too soon? Maybe, but the story and themes are there and Belman has knocked it out of the park.

Recently, I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Mr. Belman as we discussed how well made his film was, how much his film hit me, and of course, I couldn’t resist giving him grief for being a Cleveland Clowns fan. I even dressed in my Steelers attire for this particular interview, and as always, had my Terrible Towel with me.

But enough of this, onto the meat…

What as a filmmaker and not a fan of Cleveland sports attracted you to this story?

Originally, the thing that I was really drawn to was the friendships. It started out as a ten-minute class project for a class I was taking in college and I’d read about what these guys were doing on the court. I had read an article that four of the guys had played together since they were in fourth grade and they made a pact that they would go to the same high school together. And that’s pretty cool that these guys are thirteen years old and making a heavy decision together, especially because the school they chose wasn’t an obvious choice for them. Four African-American kids from the inner city going to a school that’s predominately white. It’s a private, Catholic school like ‘Wow that’s real interesting.’ Through further research I found out that the reason they went there was because it was their best chance of staying together. I thought that was a really mature decision for kids 12-13 years old to make. It’s really unbelievable. I was really drawn to that and thought the friendship aspect was unique. As a storyteller, I thought the most interesting thing was the friendship.

The other thing I liked about it too was that you didn’t focus just on LeBron James, which is what I thought when I saw the trailer. I understand you gotta market it like that.

That’s actually one of my fears now. LeBron’s a double-edged sword now. He’s definitely going to bring people in, but my fear is that we won’t bring in the non-sports fans. I really feel that there are people who don’t like basketball that could really relate to the themes in the film y’know? I’ve screened the film in Singapore and London where basketball isn’t appreciated. I remember a lady in Singapore saying ‘I didn’t understand what was going on on the court at all. But I loved the film. I cried when these themes of brotherhood came up.’ To me that’s speaks volumes of the themes. Y’know, you just related to what your dad went through and you could see that. Because there’s six characters in the film, I feel like there’s a character everyone can relate to. I hope everyone is excited by the idea of LeBron but I hope it doesn’t limit us. I really want non-sports fans to see this too.

The thing for me was that it wasn’t about LeBron, but Coach Dru’s journey with these characters and how he was the assistant for a while and then he became the head coach. I just wondered if that was your intent to have it with Coach Dru as the main character and the five players are his supporting cast.

I’m glad you say that, I’m glad you picked up on that. Coach Dru really was the main character in the film, and that wasn’t the original intent. That’s something that evolved as I got further along in the process and got to know the boys. Originally I wanted to focus on the five players as one of the main themes. But as I spent more and more time with the team and the coach, I realized how important those boys where important to him and how important he was to them. It was kind of incredible really because he didn’t start chasing his dream ‘til he was in his mid forties. The film really is about dreams, and y’know his boys and their dream for the championship. The fact he was able to achieve his through them is really incredible. He didn’t come up as a basketball player, he had to learn through books and what not. That was pretty amazing, the things he was willing to go through to achieve those dreams. It evolved over time and it wasn’t the original intent.

Well the same thing with my dad. In his basement he had shelves, just bookshelves upon bookshelves about coaching basketball and videos.

Really? Just learning it all? That’s great. I think whatever you’re doing, it’s the person who says “I know-it-all” or they’re done learning, I think that’s when you fail. Coaches have to keep doing that. As a filmmaker, hopefully I’ll never stop learning. Otherwise I’ll have to retire and lose the passion or whatever. But that’s cool, that’s very true.

I’m a filmmaker too so I know what you mean.

Oh great, see? Yeah, you’re always learning. I think there are some filmmakers out there that think they’re done learning and that’s when they get full of it.

Every project, you gotta learn something. At least that’s how it is in my experience.

Yeah, exactly. I hope so, I hope we all do.

So did Coach Dru ever yell at you?

(laughs) I’m trying to think. (pause) I don’t think so. You know what? There was a policy where if you swore on the court you had to do push-ups and I think I might’ve sworn once. I don’t think he made me do them, but he jokingly threatened push-ups. And I realized I had to clean-up my act at that point. Coach Dru’s just not the yelling type. He’s very inspirational. As you see, one of my favorite scenes is half-time at the National Championship game. You expect an inspirational, giant rah-rah speech. But he went in there, it was almost like a sermon in a way. It was very reflective and I think that’s the reason they won the game. He broke it down to the off the court things that where important and I think that’s what resonated with those boys. So, he’s no the yelling type but he definitely gets his messages across.

So did he grant you a lot of access to the team?

I did once they gave me the green light. Originally, I joined the team and they weren’t necessarily keen on the idea of having me around because it’s a high school team and they want to keep things low profile. Y’know, camers around the school they weren’t sure it was a good thing and they didn’t know what to do. And so I told them ‘Hey, this isn’t about LeBron (who was becoming an emerging star) and I’m just trying to get an A on my project. I’m from Akron and I’m doing a homework assignment.’ They thought that was cool and so Coach Dru gave me access to one practice. So I came and I was immediately blown away by these characters. Obviously the things they were doing on the court were phenomenal but I was blown away by these characters and I had to come back. I went home and I listened to the footage and heard him tell the guys practice was at 7 A.M.. Ok, I’m going to show up at seven and see what happens. So I just roll in like I don’t belong there and no one says anything to me. Practice comes and goes and I filmed several hours and I’m like ‘Ok, I’m going to come back tomorrow too.’ So I showed up again and it was just a weird thing where they never gave me the green light but they never gave me the yellow light either so I saw it as yellow and I tend to run the yellow light when I’m driving so I just went with it. After months and months in they accepted me as one of the guys on the team but couldn’t play basketball for anything and I was cool with that. So the access at that point it was kind of self-imposed and they said ‘Alright we trust you, and we’re going to let you be a part of this.’ I think it’s because they knew I didn’t know what I was doing. I had the camera, I wasn’t sure, I was always messing with focus, I didn’t know what I was doing originally. So it was my first semester with the camera and they sensed that about me so honestly, sometimes we’d be in the edit room and ‘Ah, hold on that shot longer’ or ‘My gosh that shot’s out of focus you don’t know what you’re doing. I get really angry, but I realized those same things that were detriments where the reason I was allowed to be a part of it. They didn’t see me as a threat. They probably never thought they’d even see the footage let alone see it cut together like this. So it really allowed them to be who they are and natural.

So how long was it between their high school career and when you started interviewing them again?

I did interviews all throughout my journey with them. And at the end of the day, the interviews I was able to get toward the end where just so much more emotional and I think because so much time had passed. The interviews you’re getting out of them are not just factual, but they’re emotional. It’s not talking about growing up without a father, it’s taking about what it was like growing up without a father. It was my last year with them, they were in high school and graduated in 2003, I went back and interviewed them all in the fall of 2007. So about four years. It was interesting because at that point they had a life perspective and they have a maturity. It goes back to that speech I referenced where Coach Dru says ‘what you guys have now you won’t understand until later in life.’ He was right in a sense, and they were able to expand on those ideas and reflect on them. Four years had passed, and I think it was meant to be that kind of time.

Let’s get back to how this was marketed as “The LeBron James Show”. Did you have to fight with anybody and say ‘we can’t have it like this?’

The marketing aspect of it? Not really, y’know I had mixed feelings about it. Overall I’m happy to be working with Lionsgate because they really do great jobs with specialty films. They know how to take a film like a Tyler Perry film or a Saw movie and really hit the audience and really pull that in. So I was excited working with them. It’s almost how I direct when I finally worked with the crew. Once I partner up with someone, I’m going to trust them. When I have a DP shooting for me, I’m going to trust them. He knows what he’s doing. I have input, we’re doing to back and forth, but at the end of the day he’s there because I don’t know how to light. He’s there because I don’t know how to do this. I’m going to put that trust in him and I take a long time making that decision to bring that person on, but once I do, this is what they do. That’s how I felt with Lionsgate. I’m not gonna go in there and fight about how they market the film, I trust them and I think they’re doing a great job and that’s how I am with my editor and DP.

What about when you were trying to get it made?

Yes and no, it was a fight to finally get financing so there it was tough to get someone to believe in the vision I had. I spent two years literally taking the same meeting. And the meeting was always the same result, ‘Hey, we’d love to cut you a big check about your LeBron footage’ or ‘we’d love to pay you to direct the LeBron portion of the movie but we’re not interested in those stories, they’re not marketable.’ The Coach Dru character, at this point I knew he was the main character but people saw that as the biggest mistake ever and said ‘you can’t market him.’ I literally had two years of that meeting and that was tough because I’m out of college at this point, student loans are kicking in, I’m working at a coffee shop and I don’t think about taking that check. But at the same time, you start getting a little bit depressed because you think ‘This is the industry I’m trying to get into and these people are telling me the story’s not good enough?’ Like, that hurts. When you come out of college you’re very impressionable, so it hurts a little bit. That was the fight, but when I finally paired up with someone, I met a man named Harvey Mason, Jr. who wasn’t in film. He was a music producer and he also coached his son in basketball and he really related to the stories. And I didn’t have to fight with him because he said ‘you know what, film’s not my world. I wanna support what you’re doing, I think you’re doing it the right way already and I wanna give you the means to do it right.’ And he was really hands-off in a way, and at that point it was fine. And LeBron and all those guys, they always respected the fact that it was the same story. LeBron never wanted it to be more about him. He loved the fact that the same thing I set out seven years ago was the same thing that’s on the screen now. I think they respect that a lot.

This was originally a school project. Did you actually shoot ten minutes and turn it in as a project?

Yeah, I turned it in as a project. I got a B+.

Film School 101: Laying Down the Law

Marco Duran — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:05:51 +0000

We’ve all gone to the movies and said “I can make a better film then that.” Personally, I’ve said that more than most, being a part-time film critic and part-time filmmaker. But how easy is it really to make the Next Great American Film? Truth is, not all that simple. To say that the stars and the planets have to align in order to make a great film is not that far from the truth. There are many, many things that can derail a film. You could hire the wrong actors, the wrong cinematographer, the equipment could fail – heck, the Craft service table could have non-refrigerated mayo and give everyone food poisoning. However, I am of the belief that we make our own luck and that having the proper knowledge will increase our chances at success. Therefore, over the next few weeks I will be dissecting many movies to tell you what ingredients you need to make a great film. I will take them apart and show you in as much detail as possible, a great film and what makes it great. That being said, I have to give a few caveats up front.

It is very rare for any film to be purely and solely one genre. Let’s take the thriller/suspense genre for example. In the following paragraphs, I will define what I consider a thriller, but please keep in mind that you may consider some of my examples mysteries (The Silence of the Lambs) or action/adventures (The Bourne Series) or film noir (The Third Man) or sci-fi/fantasy (Alien) or crime (North by Northwest) or horror (Psycho) or political (Clear and Present Danger). On top of this, films can be categorized by as many as three or four genres at once. Alien can also be under horror. The Bourne movies can also be under espionage. However suspense/thriller ideas and motifs are just seasoning, additives that can be (and should be) sprinkled over any crime/mystery/sci-fi/etc. story, just as any crime/mystery/sci-fi/etc. should have suspense and thrills.

So let me define what makes up a thriller/suspense movie for the sake of furthering this discussion of the distinction between genres. To do so, I turn to the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. In 1962, Francois Truffaut interviewed Hitchcock for five days. During that time Hitchcock explained it thus: “Suspense bears no relationship to fear. Instead, it is the state of waiting for something to happen” In further discussing what makes for good suspense he said, “…if you have a scene where two characters are conversing in a café, and a bomb suddenly goes off under the table, the audience experiences surprise. On the other hand, if the audience sees the saboteur place the bomb, is told that it will go off at one o’clock, and can see a clock in the scene, the mundane conversation between two cafe patrons now becomes one of intense suspense, as the audience holds its collective breath waiting for the explosion. Fifteen minutes of suspense, as opposed to fifteen seconds of surprise. It was therefore necessary that the audience be as fully informed as possible.”

Therefore, a suspense/thriller is a story where an audience is waiting and anticipating something to happen. We are held, suspended, waiting for the other shoe to drop and we are thrilled with the prospect. This is in contrast, although not in direct opposition, to a mystery film because a mystery is a story where something has already happened and we need to find out who did it or why they did it. In a mystery, the viewer is often a step or two behind the detective, aware of all the evidence collected to solve the mystery but missing one crucial piece to complete the puzzle. In a thriller/suspense film, the viewer is often a step or two ahead of the protagonist. We need to know that there is danger, how severe the danger is and where it happens to be lurking so we can yell at the screen “Don’t go in that dark alley!” Movie genres are almost as subjective as movies are themselves. You may not agree with one of the movie/genre parings I made. Oh well. I bring this up because I will be referencing many films and I don’t want you to get hung up on my categorization of When Harry met Sally as a comedy with some drama when you think it’s a drama with some comedy. As they taught at my church, “In the non-essentials, liberty.” Sometimes we’ll just have to agree to disagree, okay? I’m also going to be going on the assumption that you know the basics of storytelling and its terms – e.g. protagonist = hero; antagonist = villain. If there’s something you don’t understand, well, you’re on the Internet. Look it up.

Let me stop here and declare that if you are able to write a solid story, it will mean you’re able to work in all genres. Write a good story and it will take a fairly large amount of bad acting, directing, lighting, camera work, etc. to keep you out of the limelight. Story is king - always keep that in mind.

For now, we will be going over characters, plot, music, conventions vs. clichés and endings. I say “for now” because I want this column to be something that is fluid and organic. I want to get input from you. If you have any questions for me, anything you would like me to cover in more detail, anything you may think I’ve missed please let me know as this column can only improve with a steady bit of dialogue from you. In any case, drop me a line and we’ll see you here next week.

Film School 101: Protagonists