list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around A Beautiful Mind on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/A_Beautiful_Mind/201803/default.aspx Title: A Beautiful Mind
Year: 2001
Director: Ron Howard
Plot: The true story of prominent mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. is the subject of this biographical drama from director Ron Howard. Russell Crowe stars as the brilliant but arrogant and conceited professor Nash. The prof seems guaranteed a rosy future in the early '50s after he marries beautiful student Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) and makes a remarkable advancement in the foundations of "game theory," which carries him to the brink of international acclaim. Soon after, John is visited by Agent William Parcher (Ed Harris), from the CIA, who wants to recruit him for code-breaking activities. But evidence suggests that Nash's perceptions of reality are cloudy at best; he is struggling to maintain his tenuous hold on sanity, and Alicia suspects a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Battling decades of illness with the loyal Alicia by his side, Nash is ultimately able to gain some control over his mental state, and eventually goes on to triumphantly win the Nobel Prize. Based loosely on the book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind (2001) co-stars Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Christopher Plummer, and Judd Hirsch. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 155
Number of Lists: 72
Number of blog posts: 8
Number of discussion threads: 2
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 27 May 2009 23:44:24 GMTA Beautiful Mind2001Ron HowardThe true story of prominent mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. is the subject of this biographical drama from director <a href="/players/P____94983/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ron Howard</a>. <a href="/players/P____15959/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Russell Crowe</a> stars as the brilliant but arrogant and conceited professor Nash. The prof seems guaranteed a rosy future in the early '50s after he marries beautiful student Alicia (<a href="/players/P____14510/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jennifer Connelly</a>) and makes a remarkable advancement in the foundations of "game theory," which carries him to the brink of international acclaim. Soon after, John is visited by Agent William Parcher (<a href="/players/P____30614/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ed Harris</a>), from the CIA, who wants to recruit him for code-breaking activities. But evidence suggests that Nash's perceptions of reality are cloudy at best; he is struggling to maintain his tenuous hold on sanity, and Alicia suspects a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Battling decades of illness with the loyal Alicia by his side, Nash is ultimately able to gain some control over his mental state, and eventually goes on to triumphantly win the Nobel Prize. Based loosely on the book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind (2001) co-stars <a href="/players/P___235402/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Paul Bettany</a>, <a href="/players/P____27423/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Adam Goldberg</a>, <a href="/players/P____58832/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Anthony Rapp</a>, <a href="/players/P____57110/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Christopher Plummer</a>, and <a href="/players/P____32513/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Judd Hirsch</a>. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide155Tag Target (>10)72823http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81634tz4xy.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/A_Beautiful_Mind/201803/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/jlyluvsljp/archive/2009/5/27/42435.aspx Post By: jlyluvsljp
Post To: jlyluvsljp Blog
Post Date: 5/27/2009 7:44:24 PM
Body: i watched it in my high school psychology class and instantly fell in love with it it is such an inspirational movie this is definitely classified as my favorite movie of all time
]]>Wed, 27 May 2009 23:44:24 GMTjlyluvsljpjlyluvsljp Blog5/27/2009 7:44:24 PMi watched it in my high school psychology class and instantly fell in love with it it is such an inspirational movie this is definitely classified as my favorite movie of all time http://www.spout.com/blogs/lmstanley/archive/2009/1/5/39104.aspx Post By: lmstanley
Post To: lmstanley Blog
Post Date: 1/5/2009 2:26:31 PM
Body: I really enjoyed this film. It's captivating and intriguing from beginning to end. Russell Crowe does an amazing job in this role and is excellent paired with Jennifer Connelly. If you haven't seem this movie yet, I would highly recommend it.
]]>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:26:31 GMTlmstanleylmstanley Blog1/5/2009 2:26:31 PMI really enjoyed this film. It's captivating and intriguing from beginning to end. Russell Crowe does an amazing job in this role and is excellent paired with Jennifer Connelly. If you haven't seem this movie yet, I would highly recommend it. http://www.spout.com/groups/Coming_Soon/Holiday_DVDs_12_23_12_30_Wes_Anderson_Johnny/216/38864/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: spout
Post To: Coming Soon
Post Date: 12/26/2008 4:58:29 PM
Body: Did you get gift cards for Christmas? Here's how to spend them over the next two weeks. SkyPIlot's Top 3 December DVD Picks 1. Bottle Rocket is in the Criterion Collection! Watch the trailer. For those who haven't seen Bottle Rocket, it's a quirky slacker comedy/heist flick, like...Reality Bites meets Ocean's 13. No wait, is there really anything like early Wes Anderson (except later Wes Anderson)? This edition has loads of special features including eleven deleted scenes and the original 13-minute, b&w Bottle Rocket short from 1992. 2. Burn After Reading -- Watch the trailer. It won't convert any unbelievers into the Coen cult, but a lot of it's worth watching over and over again (especially the parts with Brad Pitt). 3. And it goes without saying that everyone should pick up one copy of The Dark Knight, a second copy to keep in your glove box, and a third to keep in your hope chest. Watch the trailer. Check out Kevin Kelly's DVD gift guide for documentary and box set recommendations. Dec. 23 DVD releases 1. The Johnny Depp Triple Feature -- It's just one of those cheapie 3-sets, like the ones you find at Target, but get a load of this playlist: Edward Scissorhands -- Watch the trailer. Wow, I was not ready for this when I was 9 years old. Benny & Joon -- Watch the trailer. Looks funny, sweet, and sad. From Hell -- Watch the trailer. In this gritty, hallucinatory murder mystery, Depp is an opium-addicted detective on the trail of Jack the Ripper. Dark stuff, but worth a look. 2. The Jake Gyllenhaal Triple Feature is definitely worth some consideration as well. Donnie Darko -- Watch the trailer. The movie that made befuddled teens everywhere watch a film commentary for the first time, Donnie Darko is charming, touching, and strange. Very good, but in my opinion the real gem of this set is the The Good Girl. The Good Girl -- Watch the trailer. In this very under-appreciated dark comedy, Gyllenhall is a sensitive teen obsessed with J.D. Salinger (what sensitive teen isn't?) and has a short-lived affair with Jennifer Aniston. Aniston is unhappily married to a pot-smoking John C. Reilly. Great minor role from Tim Blake Nelson. The Day After Tomorrow -- Watch the trailer. Bombastic and boring, but hey--two good films out of three ain't bad! Other new triple features: Gene Hackman (The French Connection, Hoosiers, Mississippi Burning), Tom Hanks (Bachelor Party, The Man With One Red Shoe, That Thing You Do!), Kevin Costner (Bull Durham, Dances With Wolves, No Way Out). 3. Hamlet 2 -- Watch the trailer. Steve Coogan is really talented, but the trailer doesn't quite sell me on it. Does anyone recommend it? 4. Death Race -- Watch the trailer. Jason Statham, as usual, is threatening and very watchable, but this fair car action thriller doesn't come close to matching the crazed, exhilarating original -- Death Race 2000. Watch the trailer to Death Race 2000. Dec 30 releases 1. Towelhead -- Watch the trailer. In this coming-of-age story, 13 year old Jasira has to deal with American racism and the romantic attentions of Aaron Eckhart (yikes!). It's written by the author of American Beauty, and it looks really good. 2. Strangers With Candy -- Watch the trailer. This is a big-screen prequel to the mind-bending comedy series that starred Amy Sedaris and a pre-fame Stephen Colbert. (He played the science teacher Mr. Noblet, remember?) 3. Ghost Town -- Watch the trailer. Ricky Gervais (of The Office and Extras) can see ghosts, and one of them is Greg Kinnear. I've heard some good things about this film. 4. Bangkok Dangerous -- Watch the trailer. This is the one where Nic Cage uses a boat propellor to cut off a guy's hand. 5. An American Carol -- Watch the trailer. Kelsey Grammar plays the Scrooge character in this spoof of the classic Christmas tale. 6. Babylon A.D. -- Watch the trailer. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Michelle Yeoh would kick Vin Diesel's butt. 7. The Love Guru -- Watch the trailer. Paul Moore saw this Mike Meyers vehicle, and Paul said that although it's not bad per se, we've seen all these jokes before in the Austin Powers series. Re-releases 1. Lost in Translation (limited edition) -- Watch the trailer. Includes deleted scenes, a conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola, plus the "City Girl" music video from Kevin Shields. 2. Atonement (limited edition) -- Watch the trailer. Includes some making-of featurettes and commentary from director Joe Wright. I haven't seen this one yet. 3. A Beautiful Mind (limited edition) -- Watch the trailer. I still haven't seen this one yet either! Includes deleted scenes with commentary from director Ron Howard, plus feature commentaries from Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldman. 4. History of Ninja, Volume 1 -- Ten ninja movies on three discs means over 15 hours of "entertainment." Contents: Ninjitsu, Ninja, Ninja Hunt, Purple Hood Ninja, Purple Hood Ninja 2, The Hero of Swallow, Ninja Power Force, Ninja Kids Phantom Force, Golden Ninja Invasion, and last but not least, Cyber Ninja. I like how you can just switch around the words in the titles to get ideas for new ninja movies: Phantom Cyber Force, Golden Hood Hunt, Ninja Kids Invasion, Golden Hunt of the Purple Cyber Swallow. If we're lucky, those will appear in History of Ninja, Volume 2. By the way, Cyber Ninja reminds me of Dr. Ronald Chevalier, author of all ten Cyborg Harpy trilogies. Watch Dr. Chevalier's tips on inspiration.
]]>Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:58:29 GMTspoutComing Soon12/26/2008 4:58:29 PM Did you get gift cards for Christmas? Here's how to spend them over the next two weeks. SkyPIlot's Top 3 December DVD Picks 1. Bottle Rocket is in the Criterion Collection! Watch the trailer. For those who haven't seen Bottle Rocket, it's a quirky slacker comedy/heist flick, like...Reality Bites meets Ocean's 13. No wait, is there really anything like early Wes Anderson (except later Wes Anderson)? This edition has loads of special features including eleven deleted scenes and the original 13-minute, b&amp;w Bottle Rocket short from 1992. 2. Burn After Reading -- Watch the trailer. It won't convert any unbelievers into the Coen cult, but a lot of it's worth watching over and over again (especially the parts with Brad Pitt). 3. And it goes without saying that everyone should pick up one copy of The Dark Knight, a second copy to keep in your glove box, and a third to keep in your hope chest. Watch the trailer. Check out Kevin Kelly's DVD gift guide for documentary and box set recommendations. Dec. 23 DVD releases 1. The Johnny Depp Triple Feature -- It's just one of those cheapie 3-sets, like the ones you find at Target, but get a load of this playlist: Edward Scissorhands -- Watch the trailer. Wow, I was not ready for this when I was 9 years old. Benny &amp; Joon -- Watch the trailer. Looks funny, sweet, and sad. From Hell -- Watch the trailer. In this gritty, hallucinatory murder mystery, Depp is an opium-addicted detective on the trail of Jack the Ripper. Dark stuff, but worth a look. 2. The Jake Gyllenhaal Triple Feature is definitely worth some consideration as well. Donnie Darko -- Watch the trailer. The movie that made befuddled teens everywhere watch a film commentary for the first time, Donnie Darko is charming, touching, and strange. Very good, but in my opinion the real gem of this set is the The Good Girl. The Good Girl -- Watch the trailer. In this very under-appreciated dark comedy, Gyllenhall is a sensitive teen obsessed with J.D. Salinger (what sensitive teen isn't?) and has a short-lived affair with Jennifer Aniston. Aniston is unhappily married to a pot-smoking John C. Reilly. Great minor role from Tim Blake Nelson. The Day After Tomorrow -- Watch the trailer. Bombastic and boring, but hey--two good films out of three ain't bad! Other new triple features: Gene Hackman (The French Connection, Hoosiers, Mississippi Burning), Tom Hanks (Bachelor Party, The Man With One Red Shoe, That Thing You Do!), Kevin Costner (Bull Durham, Dances With Wolves, No Way Out). 3. Hamlet 2 -- Watch the trailer. Steve Coogan is really talented, but the trailer doesn't quite sell me on it. Does anyone recommend it? 4. Death Race -- Watch the trailer. Jason Statham, as usual, is threatening and very watchable, but this fair car action thriller doesn't come close to matching the crazed, exhilarating original -- Death Race 2000. Watch the trailer to Death Race 2000. Dec 30 releases 1. Towelhead -- Watch the trailer. In this coming-of-age story, 13 year old Jasira has to deal with American racism and the romantic attentions of Aaron Eckhart (yikes!). It's written by the author of American Beauty, and it looks really good. 2. Strangers With Candy -- Watch the trailer. This is a big-screen prequel to the mind-bending comedy series that starred Amy Sedaris and a pre-fame Stephen Colbert. (He played the science teacher Mr. Noblet, remember?) 3. Ghost Town -- Watch the trailer. Ricky Gervais (of The Office and Extras) can see ghosts, and one of them is Greg Kinnear. I've heard some good things about this film. 4. Bangkok Dangerous -- Watch the trailer. This is the one where Nic Cage uses a boat propellor to cut off a guy's hand. 5. An American Carol -- Watch the trailer. Kelsey Grammar plays the Scrooge character in this spoof of the classic Christmas tale. 6. Babylon A.D. -- Watch the trailer. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Michelle Yeoh would kick Vin Diesel's butt. 7. The Love Guru -- Watch the trailer. Paul Moore saw this Mike Meyers vehicle, and Paul said that although it's not bad per se, we've seen all these jokes before in the Austin Powers series. Re-releases 1. Lost in Translation (limited edition) -- Watch the trailer. Includes deleted scenes, a conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola, plus the "City Girl" music video from Kevin Shields. 2. Atonement (limited edition) -- Watch the trailer. Includes some making-of featurettes and commentary from director Joe Wright. I haven't seen this one yet. 3. A Beautiful Mind (limited edition) -- Watch the trailer. I still haven't seen this one yet either! Includes deleted scenes with commentary from director Ron Howard, plus feature commentaries from Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldman. 4. History of Ninja, Volume 1 -- Ten ninja movies on three discs means over 15 hours of "entertainment." Contents: Ninjitsu, Ninja, Ninja Hunt, Purple Hood Ninja, Purple Hood Ninja 2, The Hero of Swallow, Ninja Power Force, Ninja Kids Phantom Force, Golden Ninja Invasion, and last but not least, Cyber Ninja. I like how you can just switch around the words in the titles to get ideas for new ninja movies: Phantom Cyber Force, Golden Hood Hunt, Ninja Kids Invasion, Golden Hunt of the Purple Cyber Swallow. If we're lucky, those will appear in History of Ninja, Volume 2. By the way, Cyber Ninja reminds me of Dr. Ronald Chevalier, author of all ten Cyborg Harpy trilogies. Watch Dr. Chevalier's tips on inspiration. http://www.spout.com/groups/Coming_Soon/Time_Travel_Aliens_and_Biopics_New_movies_12/216/38083/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Coming Soon
Post Date: 12/8/2008 4:30:05 PM
Body: TIME TRAVEL: A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT Bad Guys Will Always Have Time Travel, so Good Guys Should Have It Too -- 5 Movies That Prove This Argument 1. Timecrimes (NEW) -- Watch the trailer. Read the review, listen to the interview. 2. Time Bandits (1981) -- Watch the trailer. My good friend Kevin (porcupine) loves this flick. That's good, because his parents named him after one of the characters. Would it be less cool if he were named after Kevin McAlister from Home Alone? Something to ponder. 3. Time Cop (1994) -- Watch the trailer. I remember this Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle was pretty violent and included some gratuitous nudity; I was only 13 when I saw it in '95, and that's all I remember. Are there fans who've seen it more recently? 4. Back to the Future Part II (1989) -- Watch the trailer. Remember how future Biff went back in time to give the gambling results book to 50's Biff, then 50's Biff became rich by never losing a bet at the horseraces? Who besides me wished they could do that? 5. And of course, there's the mo-fo'ing Terminator series. Man, I can't wait for Terminator: Salvation. Read the notes from the Comic-Con press conference. WHOA: KEANU REEVES, ROCKIN' IT 3. The Day the Earth Stood Still (NEW) -- Read about the press conference with Keanu and Jennifer Connelly. I won't lie, I'm excited for this one! Not only am I nuts about Jennifer Connelly, I also think Keanu could be fantastic at playing a non-human. (Just like how Swarzenegger was always best at playing a robot.) Recast the original, you might win a t-shirt. 2. A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- Really good movie from Richard Linklater. It's rotoscoped like Waking Life, but it has a story! It's funny and sad and paranoid (it's about narcs and drug addiction). The trio of Keanu, Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. make it a buddy tragi-comedy. 1. Point Break (1991) -- Watch the trailer. Time to watch it again. When Hot Fuzz came out, I'm so glad they paid homage to this lovable turkey. CHE & OUR FAVORITE BIOPICS Che (NEW) -- Read Karina's review and the Steven Soderberg press conference. This is not one of Karina's favorite biopics. Find out why Karina's review pissed off older bloggers. What are your favorite biopics? I asked some friends at Spout about their favorites, and one said, "Does Braveheart count?" Here are some others they listed: 6. Gandhi -- Watch the trailer. I dig that Ben Kingsley. I haven't seen this though, what do you guys think of it? 5. Into the Wild -- Watch the trailer. Haven't seen this one either. 4. Evita -- The musical with Madonna. I don't know if I could handle it. 3. A Beautiful Mind -- Watch the trailer. Haven't seen it. 2. I'm Not There -- Watch the trailer. Careful with this one, because if you don't know a lot about Bob Dylan's life, the film will just be confusing and frustrating. If you do know your Dylan, this is beautiful and a real heart-breaker. 1. Amadeus -- Watch the trailer. This one I need to watch again. I remember it as an interesting movie for anyone who feels like a Salieri when they meet a Mozart. GOOD MOVIES THAT COME FROM PLAYS 3. Doubt (NEW) -- Watch the trailer. Great cast, with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. 2. My favorite Shakespeare movies: for the comedies, Love's Labour's Lost and The Merchant of Venice. For the tragedies, I really like Titus and Roman Polanski's Macbeth. How about you guys? 1. Rope (1948) -- Jimmy Stewart is great in this thriller from Alfred Hitchcock. It all takes place in one apartment. WEIRD-ASS LOOKIN' ANIMATED MOVIE Delgo (NEW) -- Watch the weird-ass trailer. OTHER NEW MOVIES You know something juicy about these? Hit us with it!What Doesn't Kill You -- ..."makes you ugly." That's the saying, right? Stars Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo, who play old friends trying to dodge gangs and a detective (Mark Wahlberg) in South Boston.Nothing Like the Holidays -- Watch the trailer. Alfred Molina! Where God Left His Shoes -- Stars John Leguizamo, who's trying to find an apartment for his family on Christmas Eve, after they've lived in a homeless shelter for a few months. Dark Streets -- Watch the trailer. I love that guy Elias Koteas. While She Was Out -- Kim Basinger's a housewife fighting for her life out in the woods (looks like some young men are trying to get her).$9.99 -- Stop-motion animation, starring Geoffrey Rush.
]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:30:05 GMTSkyPilotComing Soon12/8/2008 4:30:05 PMTIME TRAVEL: A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT Bad Guys Will Always Have Time Travel, so Good Guys Should Have It Too -- 5 Movies That Prove This Argument 1. Timecrimes (NEW) -- Watch the trailer. Read the review, listen to the interview. 2. Time Bandits (1981) -- Watch the trailer. My good friend Kevin (porcupine) loves this flick. That's good, because his parents named him after one of the characters. Would it be less cool if he were named after Kevin McAlister from Home Alone? Something to ponder. 3. Time Cop (1994) -- Watch the trailer. I remember this Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle was pretty violent and included some gratuitous nudity; I was only 13 when I saw it in '95, and that's all I remember. Are there fans who've seen it more recently? 4. Back to the Future Part II (1989) -- Watch the trailer. Remember how future Biff went back in time to give the gambling results book to 50's Biff, then 50's Biff became rich by never losing a bet at the horseraces? Who besides me wished they could do that? 5. And of course, there's the mo-fo'ing Terminator series. Man, I can't wait for Terminator: Salvation. Read the notes from the Comic-Con press conference. WHOA: KEANU REEVES, ROCKIN' IT 3. The Day the Earth Stood Still (NEW) -- Read about the press conference with Keanu and Jennifer Connelly. I won't lie, I'm excited for this one! Not only am I nuts about Jennifer Connelly, I also think Keanu could be fantastic at playing a non-human. (Just like how Swarzenegger was always best at playing a robot.) Recast the original, you might win a t-shirt. 2. A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- Really good movie from Richard Linklater. It's rotoscoped like Waking Life, but it has a story! It's funny and sad and paranoid (it's about narcs and drug addiction). The trio of Keanu, Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. make it a buddy tragi-comedy. 1. Point Break (1991) -- Watch the trailer. Time to watch it again. When Hot Fuzz came out, I'm so glad they paid homage to this lovable turkey. CHE &amp; OUR FAVORITE BIOPICS Che (NEW) -- Read Karina's review and the Steven Soderberg press conference. This is not one of Karina's favorite biopics. Find out why Karina's review pissed off older bloggers. What are your favorite biopics? I asked some friends at Spout about their favorites, and one said, "Does Braveheart count?" Here are some others they listed: 6. Gandhi -- Watch the trailer. I dig that Ben Kingsley. I haven't seen this though, what do you guys think of it? 5. Into the Wild -- Watch the trailer. Haven't seen this one either. 4. Evita -- The musical with Madonna. I don't know if I could handle it. 3. A Beautiful Mind -- Watch the trailer. Haven't seen it. 2. I'm Not There -- Watch the trailer. Careful with this one, because if you don't know a lot about Bob Dylan's life, the film will just be confusing and frustrating. If you do know your Dylan, this is beautiful and a real heart-breaker. 1. Amadeus -- Watch the trailer. This one I need to watch again. I remember it as an interesting movie for anyone who feels like a Salieri when they meet a Mozart. GOOD MOVIES THAT COME FROM PLAYS 3. Doubt (NEW) -- Watch the trailer. Great cast, with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. 2. My favorite Shakespeare movies: for the comedies, Love's Labour's Lost and The Merchant of Venice. For the tragedies, I really like Titus and Roman Polanski's Macbeth. How about you guys? 1. Rope (1948) -- Jimmy Stewart is great in this thriller from Alfred Hitchcock. It all takes place in one apartment. WEIRD-ASS LOOKIN' ANIMATED MOVIE Delgo (NEW) -- Watch the weird-ass trailer. OTHER NEW MOVIES You know something juicy about these? Hit us with it!What Doesn't Kill You -- ..."makes you ugly." That's the saying, right? Stars Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo, who play old friends trying to dodge gangs and a detective (Mark Wahlberg) in South Boston.Nothing Like the Holidays -- Watch the trailer. Alfred Molina! Where God Left His Shoes -- Stars John Leguizamo, who's trying to find an apartment for his family on Christmas Eve, after they've lived in a homeless shelter for a few months. Dark Streets -- Watch the trailer. I love that guy Elias Koteas. While She Was Out -- Kim Basinger's a housewife fighting for her life out in the woods (looks like some young men are trying to get her).$9.99 -- Stop-motion animation, starring Geoffrey Rush. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/1/37819.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/1/2008 7:00:29 PM
Body: Kate Winslet’s performance as a concentration camp guard in The Reader has been the subject of much debate over the past week, though little of the discussion has actually concerned her craft. The argument lies in whether or not this specific performance should be considered for the lead or supporting actress category. Furthermore, if Winslet ends up in the latter, will it be due to “category fraud?” That is not a legal term and this is not a legal issue, but it is an important topic for this year’s Oscars. The significance of the matter likely extends even to Winslet’s ability to sleep at night, as she may fear the high possibility of her becoming “the biggest loser among actresses in the history of the Academy Awards.” Category fraud may be defined as an attempt to deceive Academy voters into believing a lead performance is supporting, or vice versa. Examples of category fraud seen in Oscar’s past may include recent supporting nominations given to Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Connelly and Cate Blanchett (for Training Day, A Beautiful Mind and Notes on a Scandal, respectively). Guy Lodge at In Contention and Dave Karger at Entertainment Weekly have both brought up the accusation regarding The Reader, not only for Winslet’s part but also for the Weinstein Co.’s general campaign for the film, which is pushing for supporting nominations all around for Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes and Lena Olin. The problem for Lodge and Karger’s complaint is that category fraud can’t be applied to the supporting categories, because despite the Academy’s irritating penchant for category-defining rules for eligibility in other areas, there is really no precise distinction made regarding the separation of lead and supporting categories. This probably goes back to the origins of the supporting awards, which began in the mid-30s seemingly to appease the demands of non-A-list actors. Since that time, the supporting honors have often been considered secondary (for their first seven years, their winners were given a plaque rather than a statue) and, due to the constant recognition of children, comedic actors and other potentially fleeting talents, this pair of categories is sometimes seen as a joke. It’s hard to even imagine how exactly the Academy could define lead versus supporting, if it actually wanted to. Going by star status is difficult, of course, though marquee billing has occasionally been a factor when differentiating performances in an ensemble piece. It is this reasoning that has some people preferring Winslet’s Reader performance as lead, because she’s the film’s highest-billed name. And yet there have been certain times when a fifth-billed actor like Maximilian Schell can be nominated for and even win the lead award (for another Holocaust court drama, Judgment at Nuremberg). Another idea might be to focus on character status. The lead category should be reserved specifically for the main character or protagonist. In the event of an ensemble, though, there may be multiple protagonists. So, for instance, one of this year’s supporting actor hopefuls, Robert Downey Jr., would technically be better suited for lead contention (for Tropic Thunder). Also, there are cases where multiple actors portray the main character, such as in Shine, Iris and even The Reader. The only way to fairly make a distinction, then, is with performance length. It’s hard to believe the Academy didn’t decide this thirty years ago, except that they didn’t appear to care enough about the supporting honors to make the effort of timing each performance in every film made. Even to do this solely for those films expected to be Oscar contenders is an extraneously tiresome effort. But it would indeed solve a major issue concerning the awards. As far as I can tell, there is nowhere to find a complete list of Oscar nominees’ performance lengths. Beatrice Straight is known for holding the record for shortest Oscar-winning performance at 5 minutes, 40 seconds, in Network, but she and other short-timers like Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Sylvia Miles (Midnight Cowboy) and Anthony Quinn (Lust for Life) were nominated in the supporting category. The more interesting questions are what supporting nominee gave the longest performance and what lead nominee gave the shortest. Anthony Hopkins is considered to have given the shortest Oscar-winning lead performance at about 16 minutes, in The Silence of the Lambs, and this fact goes to show that length isn’t a concern for Academy voters. Regardless of its importance to the race, though, where does Winslet’s performance in The Reader fall in terms of length? Steven Zeitchik at the Risky Biz Blog claims she only appears in roughly 50% of the film, which might seem incorrect if you’ve seen the film, because the actress’ performance does dominate the picture, enough to appear as if it’s longer. And that could be a problem with voters who might come away from the film remembering Winslet’s role as bigger. Adding heat to the fire, the International Press Academy just nominated Winslet for a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for The Reader. While not a well-respected organization or award (as In Contention points out, the IPA has bizarrely nominated two obvious adapted works, Elegy and Benjamin Button, for Best Original Screenplay), this news could nevertheless prove problematic for the actress’ campaigns. If some Academy voters similarly think to put the actress in the lead category for The Reader while other voters conform to the studios’ wishes by picking her for lead actress for Revolutionary Road, the two performances could cancel each other out (Academy rules say that only one of her performances may receive a nomination in a single category). So, now the only solution may be for the actress herself to make the rounds with her peers and convince them of either a single performance to nominate (Lodge thinks she has a better shot this way) or a distinction between her two Oscar-worthy roles. Because as Winslet admitted to Vanity Fair, “you bet your fucking ass” she wants that Oscar, and with the Academy not caring which way it goes, it’s up to her to make it happen. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:29 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/1/2008 7:00:29 PMKate Winslet’s performance as a concentration camp guard in The Reader has been the subject of much debate over the past week, though little of the discussion has actually concerned her craft. The argument lies in whether or not this specific performance should be considered for the lead or supporting actress category. Furthermore, if Winslet ends up in the latter, will it be due to “category fraud?” That is not a legal term and this is not a legal issue, but it is an important topic for this year’s Oscars. The significance of the matter likely extends even to Winslet’s ability to sleep at night, as she may fear the high possibility of her becoming “the biggest loser among actresses in the history of the Academy Awards.” Category fraud may be defined as an attempt to deceive Academy voters into believing a lead performance is supporting, or vice versa. Examples of category fraud seen in Oscar’s past may include recent supporting nominations given to Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Connelly and Cate Blanchett (for Training Day, A Beautiful Mind and Notes on a Scandal, respectively). Guy Lodge at In Contention and Dave Karger at Entertainment Weekly have both brought up the accusation regarding The Reader, not only for Winslet’s part but also for the Weinstein Co.’s general campaign for the film, which is pushing for supporting nominations all around for Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes and Lena Olin. The problem for Lodge and Karger’s complaint is that category fraud can’t be applied to the supporting categories, because despite the Academy’s irritating penchant for category-defining rules for eligibility in other areas, there is really no precise distinction made regarding the separation of lead and supporting categories. This probably goes back to the origins of the supporting awards, which began in the mid-30s seemingly to appease the demands of non-A-list actors. Since that time, the supporting honors have often been considered secondary (for their first seven years, their winners were given a plaque rather than a statue) and, due to the constant recognition of children, comedic actors and other potentially fleeting talents, this pair of categories is sometimes seen as a joke. It’s hard to even imagine how exactly the Academy could define lead versus supporting, if it actually wanted to. Going by star status is difficult, of course, though marquee billing has occasionally been a factor when differentiating performances in an ensemble piece. It is this reasoning that has some people preferring Winslet’s Reader performance as lead, because she’s the film’s highest-billed name. And yet there have been certain times when a fifth-billed actor like Maximilian Schell can be nominated for and even win the lead award (for another Holocaust court drama, Judgment at Nuremberg). Another idea might be to focus on character status. The lead category should be reserved specifically for the main character or protagonist. In the event of an ensemble, though, there may be multiple protagonists. So, for instance, one of this year’s supporting actor hopefuls, Robert Downey Jr., would technically be better suited for lead contention (for Tropic Thunder). Also, there are cases where multiple actors portray the main character, such as in Shine, Iris and even The Reader. The only way to fairly make a distinction, then, is with performance length. It’s hard to believe the Academy didn’t decide this thirty years ago, except that they didn’t appear to care enough about the supporting honors to make the effort of timing each performance in every film made. Even to do this solely for those films expected to be Oscar contenders is an extraneously tiresome effort. But it would indeed solve a major issue concerning the awards. As far as I can tell, there is nowhere to find a complete list of Oscar nominees’ performance lengths. Beatrice Straight is known for holding the record for shortest Oscar-winning performance at 5 minutes, 40 seconds, in Network, but she and other short-timers like Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Sylvia Miles (Midnight Cowboy) and Anthony Quinn (Lust for Life) were nominated in the supporting category. The more interesting questions are what supporting nominee gave the longest performance and what lead nominee gave the shortest. Anthony Hopkins is considered to have given the shortest Oscar-winning lead performance at about 16 minutes, in The Silence of the Lambs, and this fact goes to show that length isn’t a concern for Academy voters. Regardless of its importance to the race, though, where does Winslet’s performance in The Reader fall in terms of length? Steven Zeitchik at the Risky Biz Blog claims she only appears in roughly 50% of the film, which might seem incorrect if you’ve seen the film, because the actress’ performance does dominate the picture, enough to appear as if it’s longer. And that could be a problem with voters who might come away from the film remembering Winslet’s role as bigger. Adding heat to the fire, the International Press Academy just nominated Winslet for a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for The Reader. While not a well-respected organization or award (as In Contention points out, the IPA has bizarrely nominated two obvious adapted works, Elegy and Benjamin Button, for Best Original Screenplay), this news could nevertheless prove problematic for the actress’ campaigns. If some Academy voters similarly think to put the actress in the lead category for The Reader while other voters conform to the studios’ wishes by picking her for lead actress for Revolutionary Road, the two performances could cancel each other out (Academy rules say that only one of her performances may receive a nomination in a single category). So, now the only solution may be for the actress herself to make the rounds with her peers and convince them of either a single performance to nominate (Lodge thinks she has a better shot this way) or a distinction between her two Oscar-worthy roles. Because as Winslet admitted to Vanity Fair, “you bet your fucking ass” she wants that Oscar, and with the Academy not caring which way it goes, it’s up to her to make it happen. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/the_american_dream/archive/2008/8/31/34594.aspx Post By: The_American_Dream
Post To: The_American_Dream Blog
Post Date: 8/31/2008 4:52:39 PM
Body: There is not a great deal to be said for this movie. And it is not because of the sex which is what I was afraid of. But I hoped that this one would, in its epic standing, that it would pull a large amount of material across time and people to make it interesting. Unfortunatly "Summer Palace" is really more than a let down to the point of almost being a waste. "Summer Palace" swings back and forth from what it gets made out to be. That being and political and sex charged drama spanning most of the dramatic periods in China's history. Well strictly speaking, it does that. This story of people does weave itself (or rather its characters) across distance and events rather completely. However, maybe only half way in or slightly more I was really wondering why I was supposed to care. Frankly, this is something that can be done very well and in a manner where I really do care. "A Beautiful Mind" is an example of a movie about people that really does span events and changes very well. "A Beautiful Mind" is perhaps not as politically charged as a modern Chinese drama is bound to be, but that is not the point here. "Summer Palace" really wants to tell a story about people and less about a time, this is what ramps it up to its 140 minute runtime, and it is really uninteresting. "Summer Palace" wants its audience to feel the trails and hardships, internal and external, faced by a small group over the corse of more than a decade. What is wrong with that? Nothing really, only that every time some little thing happens it takes several minutes of a character at sunset trying to work out why their friend stole a book from the library. Needless to say, you are in for far more of this kind of stuff when say someone throws them self off a building. There is also the pretense that this movie actually captures something about the time. Although it might, between dates, locations, stock footage, and an epilogue, there is not so much the emotion that one feels when there is actual empathy for the situation from the actors. "Across the Universe" encounters this, but makes up for it by being visually stunning beyond use of colors or focus (and also being very trippy). "Summer Palace" does in fact maintain genuinely good photography. However the constant recycling of formulaic shots does not make the movie any more interesting. With all this, what is there really to say is good? Well not allot. at the start, interesting camera moves and a heavy grit did grab my attention. But for its qualities, "Summer Palace" really falls short of expectations unless you came just for the sex (which is mostly buried under the afore mentioned lengths of sunset shots). "Summer Palace", perhaps grasping at the greats of historical fiction in film such as "Forret Gump", and the epic romance such as "The English Patient", does not impress. "Summer Palace" falls below the films of its county of origin as well, which often speak more volumes about China's history (as in "Hero") and create more connection between actor and audience (despite all the Kung-Fu hullabaloo). So I have to give this movie an overall negative review, not that I am the first it seems.
]]>Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:52:39 GMTThe_American_DreamThe_American_Dream Blog8/31/2008 4:52:39 PMThere is not a great deal to be said for this movie. And it is not because of the sex which is what I was afraid of. But I hoped that this one would, in its epic standing, that it would pull a large amount of material across time and people to make it interesting. Unfortunatly "Summer Palace" is really more than a let down to the point of almost being a waste. "Summer Palace" swings back and forth from what it gets made out to be. That being and political and sex charged drama spanning most of the dramatic periods in China's history. Well strictly speaking, it does that. This story of people does weave itself (or rather its characters) across distance and events rather completely. However, maybe only half way in or slightly more I was really wondering why I was supposed to care. Frankly, this is something that can be done very well and in a manner where I really do care. "A Beautiful Mind" is an example of a movie about people that really does span events and changes very well. "A Beautiful Mind" is perhaps not as politically charged as a modern Chinese drama is bound to be, but that is not the point here. "Summer Palace" really wants to tell a story about people and less about a time, this is what ramps it up to its 140 minute runtime, and it is really uninteresting. "Summer Palace" wants its audience to feel the trails and hardships, internal and external, faced by a small group over the corse of more than a decade. What is wrong with that? Nothing really, only that every time some little thing happens it takes several minutes of a character at sunset trying to work out why their friend stole a book from the library. Needless to say, you are in for far more of this kind of stuff when say someone throws them self off a building. There is also the pretense that this movie actually captures something about the time. Although it might, between dates, locations, stock footage, and an epilogue, there is not so much the emotion that one feels when there is actual empathy for the situation from the actors. "Across the Universe" encounters this, but makes up for it by being visually stunning beyond use of colors or focus (and also being very trippy). "Summer Palace" does in fact maintain genuinely good photography. However the constant recycling of formulaic shots does not make the movie any more interesting. With all this, what is there really to say is good? Well not allot. at the start, interesting camera moves and a heavy grit did grab my attention. But for its qualities, "Summer Palace" really falls short of expectations unless you came just for the sex (which is mostly buried under the afore mentioned lengths of sunset shots). "Summer Palace", perhaps grasping at the greats of historical fiction in film such as "Forret Gump", and the epic romance such as "The English Patient", does not impress. "Summer Palace" falls below the films of its county of origin as well, which often speak more volumes about China's history (as in "Hero") and create more connection between actor and audience (despite all the Kung-Fu hullabaloo). So I have to give this movie an overall negative review, not that I am the first it seems. http://www.spout.com/blogs/indieabby88/archive/2008/3/9/26013.aspx Post By: indieabby88
Post To: Bloggish review blog
Post Date: 3/9/2008 4:34:21 PM
Body: I'll admit that I'm a real sucker for interview shows. I've been a fan of "Inside the Actor's Studio" for years, so I was really looking forward to Professor Richard Brown's series of interviews with (mostly) well-respected actors, and for the most part, this disc delivered. I got "Leading Men," which contained interviews with George Clooney, Josh Lucas (huh?), Daniel Day-Lewis and Dennis Quaid.Clooney's interview provided a lot of interesting information about his background. I thought his description of his childhood and his idealistic journalist father really explained a lot about the kind of public figure the actor is today, and why he's taken on so many of the recent projects he has, like Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck. While he still seemed pretty self-important, Clooney's view that his stardom has everything to do with luck and ability, and less to do with arrogance was a great point of view to hear. It seems as though Clooney is very grateful that he's gotten to where he is today, and realizes that without the occurence of certain events, he might still be doing dozens of failed television pilots.Josh Lucas' appearance was very hard for me to understand. I know he's been working for a number of years now, but as far as I can tell, he hasn't done anything that noteworthy. Whenever I've seen Lucas in a film, it's a supporting (or barely noticeable) role in a good movie like "American Psycho" or "A Beautiful Mind," or a bigger role in a terrible movie (see "Sweet Home Alabama"). I'm not sure what made Lucas think he was entitled to seem like a "serious actor" when talking with Brown, but all he succeeded in doing was making himself seem more puffed-up than he has any right to be. I thought this one was a definite miss in the series.Day-Lewis, on the other hand, was the interview I'd anticipated the most, and the one that I felt had the most in-depth disucssion of the actual craft of acting. Method actors have always fascinated me, and Day-Lewis is really the method actor's method actor. This is the guy who, on the set of "In the Name of the Father" spent the night being screwed around with in a jail cell and interrogated by British Special Branch officers for several hours just to better understand his character. That's some hard core devotion right there.Dennis Quaid's interview was by far the most enjoyable. It was clear the crowd got a big kick out of seeing him talk to Brown, and Quaid, in turn, seemed genuinely pleased at the audience's enthusiasm. His answers seemed very straightforward and honest, and he came off as a very nice, genuine sort of guy. I get the feeling that Quaid is the kind of guy all the other guys want to have a drink with. His body of work hasn't been consistently great (there'll always be "Dragonheart," after all), but Quaid was so charming and willing to talk that I ended up not caring.
]]>Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:34:21 GMTindieabby88Bloggish review blog3/9/2008 4:34:21 PMI&#39;ll admit that I&#39;m a real sucker for interview shows. I&#39;ve been a fan of &quot;Inside the Actor&#39;s Studio&quot; for years, so I was really looking forward to Professor Richard Brown&#39;s series of interviews with (mostly) well-respected actors, and for the most part, this disc delivered. I got &quot;Leading Men,&quot; which contained interviews with George Clooney, Josh Lucas (huh?), Daniel Day-Lewis and Dennis Quaid.Clooney&#39;s interview provided a lot of interesting information about his background. I thought his description of his childhood and his idealistic journalist father really explained a lot about the kind of public figure the actor is today, and why he&#39;s taken on so many of the recent projects he has, like Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck. While he still seemed pretty self-important, Clooney&#39;s view that his stardom has everything to do with luck and ability, and less to do with arrogance was a great point of view to hear. It seems as though Clooney is very grateful that he&#39;s gotten to where he is today, and realizes that without the occurence of certain events, he might still be doing dozens of failed television pilots.Josh Lucas&#39; appearance was very hard for me to understand. I know he&#39;s been working for a number of years now, but as far as I can tell, he hasn&#39;t done anything that noteworthy. Whenever I&#39;ve seen Lucas in a film, it&#39;s a supporting (or barely noticeable) role in a good movie like &quot;American Psycho&quot; or &quot;A Beautiful Mind,&quot; or a bigger role in a terrible movie (see &quot;Sweet Home Alabama&quot;). I&#39;m not sure what made Lucas think he was entitled to seem like a &quot;serious actor&quot; when talking with Brown, but all he succeeded in doing was making himself seem more puffed-up than he has any right to be. I thought this one was a definite miss in the series.Day-Lewis, on the other hand, was the interview I&#39;d anticipated the most, and the one that I felt had the most in-depth disucssion of the actual craft of acting. Method actors have always fascinated me, and Day-Lewis is really the method actor&#39;s method actor. This is the guy who, on the set of &quot;In the Name of the Father&quot; spent the night being screwed around with in a jail cell and interrogated by British Special Branch officers for several hours just to better understand his character. That&#39;s some hard core devotion right there.Dennis Quaid&#39;s interview was by far the most enjoyable. It was clear the crowd got a big kick out of seeing him talk to Brown, and Quaid, in turn, seemed genuinely pleased at the audience&#39;s enthusiasm. His answers seemed very straightforward and honest, and he came off as a very nice, genuine sort of guy. I get the feeling that Quaid is the kind of guy all the other guys want to have a drink with. His body of work hasn&#39;t been consistently great (there&#39;ll always be &quot;Dragonheart,&quot; after all), but Quaid was so charming and willing to talk that I ended up not caring. http://www.spout.com/blogs/csprague/archive/2007/6/29/12579.aspx Post By: csprague
Post To: Bloggity Blah Blah Blog
Post Date: 6/29/2007 10:15:00 AM
Body: Usually, when we ask a person what they enjoyed about a film they will say they enjoyed the story, characters, or the surprise twist at the ending. Rarely does the average viewer take into account the cinematic elements that work to communicate all of those details in an intriguing or enjoyable way. Furthermore, it seems as though few films that we would agree have excellent stories or characters could also be poorly produced. These things tend to go hand-in-hand for filmic narratives simply because in order for a story to be good it has to be told well, which, for film, implies the proper use of elements such as the score, mise en scene, and cinematography, just to name a few. For example, A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard and released in 2001, relies heavily on these elements to tell a story and construct a compelling plot over a progression of time.A Beautiful Mind, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2001, was based on the book by Sylvia Nasar and adapted for the screen by Akiva Goldsman. This biography of John Forbes Nash is a compelling portrait of his mathematical genius and mental illness. The film begins with John Nash (Russell Crowe) in his early university years at Princeton while he is on a quest for an “original idea”. During this stretch of time we are introduced to the complexity of his mind as well as the flaws of his character. After Nash makes great discoveries in game theory, he is given a position at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he meets Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), a beautiful and bright student whom he falls in love with and then marries. However, what seemed reasonable earlier in the film as part of Nash’s world begins to approach paranoia and eccentricity. As his marriage, family, and career begin to deteriorate, Nash is finally diagnosed as schizophrenic and he must begin the slow and difficult journey toward mental health.The score for A Beautiful Mind works well to tell the story of Nash’s progression from genius to paranoia to determination. Composed by James Horner, it contains complex rhythms and layers of instrumentation, all working to convey the complexity of the character and the mood of his abstract world. A dominant theme in the film is numbers; their structure and yet artfulness. This is beautifully expressed through the music as it follows the standard conventions for composition, yet contains elements that pull out the extra-ordinary. This can be seen in the use of Charlotte Church’s vocal background, which conveys not only grace, but also a more mature timbre that seems to inspire awe quite well. As the story progresses, as with all scores for film, there are certain themes that continue to reemerge, but also there are variations to give a sense of the passage of time that has taken place. In some ways, as Horner describes, it is almost like a constantly shifting weather system. All of this working together provides a greater sense of emotion and continuity in the narrative story line.Another element of cinema that in necessary to conveying meaning and story in this film is the Mise en Scene. This is a French term that literally means “put in the scene”, but more generally refers to everything that is within the composed shot. Considering that this story takes place over about 40 or 50 years, there were a lot of details that had to have gone into considering the basic elements in costuming, set design, and even diagetic sound. What is most impressive is not only their ability to convincingly transform the world in which Nash lives, but also the aging of the characters; they had to go through about 9 stages of aging over the course of the whole film. This steady progression creates a high degree of verisimilitude or suspended disbelief for the audience and a sense of familiarity as the audience feels they have spent half a lifetime watching these characters age and mature.While the music and the design of the scene are important, the cinematography is crucial to how meaning is conveyed in a film. Specifically, for a film that is portraying the mental illness of the main character, which occurs internally, it’s all about perspective. The point-of-view shot is not only important for understanding the ideas and emotions of John Nash, but also of all the people that interact with him. However, it is interesting how this is done in such a way that at first the audience is part of the constructed inner world of Nash and is unable to discern fiction from reality. However, as the film proceeds, the viewers are slowly allowed into the reality of the other character’s perspectives and therefore the truth of Nash’s illness. This is achieved by coupling point-of-view shots; first what Nash sees, then the reality of what the other character sees. This can prove to be either humorous or scary depending on the situation, but contributes greatly to the viewer’s involvement in the film by being pulled into the world of a genius only to have that world disassembled. Because of the way it is shot, the viewer is more effectively brought into the full range of emotions that are experienced by the main character throughout the film, which makes the story not only more enjoyable, but more believable as well.While a viewer might state that the story was the best quality of a film, what they heard, saw, and experienced is really what shaped their idea of the perceived story. Cinematic elements such as the score, mise en scene, and cinematography are just three of many components that are part of constructing an effective narrative for film. Winner of four Academy Awards, A Beautiful Mind, masterfully utilizes these elements to present an intriguing story and a compelling plot. This film pulled these areas together in a way that brought the story to life and gave it the kind of depth and emotion that create a lasting impression.
]]>Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:15:00 GMTcspragueBloggity Blah Blah Blog6/29/2007 10:15:00 AMUsually, when we ask a person what they enjoyed about a film they will say they enjoyed the story, characters, or the surprise twist at the ending. Rarely does the average viewer take into account the cinematic elements that work to communicate all of those details in an intriguing or enjoyable way. Furthermore, it seems as though few films that we would agree have excellent stories or characters could also be poorly produced. These things tend to go hand-in-hand for filmic narratives simply because in order for a story to be good it has to be told well, which, for film, implies the proper use of elements such as the score, mise en scene, and cinematography, just to name a few. For example, A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard and released in 2001, relies heavily on these elements to tell a story and construct a compelling plot over a progression of time.A Beautiful Mind, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2001, was based on the book by Sylvia Nasar and adapted for the screen by Akiva Goldsman. This biography of John Forbes Nash is a compelling portrait of his mathematical genius and mental illness. The film begins with John Nash (Russell Crowe) in his early university years at Princeton while he is on a quest for an &ldquo;original idea&rdquo;. During this stretch of time we are introduced to the complexity of his mind as well as the flaws of his character. After Nash makes great discoveries in game theory, he is given a position at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he meets Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), a beautiful and bright student whom he falls in love with and then marries. However, what seemed reasonable earlier in the film as part of Nash&rsquo;s world begins to approach paranoia and eccentricity. As his marriage, family, and career begin to deteriorate, Nash is finally diagnosed as schizophrenic and he must begin the slow and difficult journey toward mental health.The score for A Beautiful Mind works well to tell the story of Nash&rsquo;s progression from genius to paranoia to determination. Composed by James Horner, it contains complex rhythms and layers of instrumentation, all working to convey the complexity of the character and the mood of his abstract world. A dominant theme in the film is numbers; their structure and yet artfulness. This is beautifully expressed through the music as it follows the standard conventions for composition, yet contains elements that pull out the extra-ordinary. This can be seen in the use of Charlotte Church&rsquo;s vocal background, which conveys not only grace, but also a more mature timbre that seems to inspire awe quite well. As the story progresses, as with all scores for film, there are certain themes that continue to reemerge, but also there are variations to give a sense of the passage of time that has taken place. In some ways, as Horner describes, it is almost like a constantly shifting weather system. All of this working together provides a greater sense of emotion and continuity in the narrative story line.Another element of cinema that in necessary to conveying meaning and story in this film is the Mise en Scene. This is a French term that literally means &ldquo;put in the scene&rdquo;, but more generally refers to everything that is within the composed shot. Considering that this story takes place over about 40 or 50 years, there were a lot of details that had to have gone into considering the basic elements in costuming, set design, and even diagetic sound. What is most impressive is not only their ability to convincingly transform the world in which Nash lives, but also the aging of the characters; they had to go through about 9 stages of aging over the course of the whole film. This steady progression creates a high degree of verisimilitude or suspended disbelief for the audience and a sense of familiarity as the audience feels they have spent half a lifetime watching these characters age and mature.While the music and the design of the scene are important, the cinematography is crucial to how meaning is conveyed in a film. Specifically, for a film that is portraying the mental illness of the main character, which occurs internally, it&rsquo;s all about perspective. The point-of-view shot is not only important for understanding the ideas and emotions of John Nash, but also of all the people that interact with him. However, it is interesting how this is done in such a way that at first the audience is part of the constructed inner world of Nash and is unable to discern fiction from reality. However, as the film proceeds, the viewers are slowly allowed into the reality of the other character&rsquo;s perspectives and therefore the truth of Nash&rsquo;s illness. This is achieved by coupling point-of-view shots; first what Nash sees, then the reality of what the other character sees. This can prove to be either humorous or scary depending on the situation, but contributes greatly to the viewer&rsquo;s involvement in the film by being pulled into the world of a genius only to have that world disassembled. Because of the way it is shot, the viewer is more effectively brought into the full range of emotions that are experienced by the main character throughout the film, which makes the story not only more enjoyable, but more believable as well.While a viewer might state that the story was the best quality of a film, what they heard, saw, and experienced is really what shaped their idea of the perceived story. Cinematic elements such as the score, mise en scene, and cinematography are just three of many components that are part of constructing an effective narrative for film. Winner of four Academy Awards, A Beautiful Mind, masterfully utilizes these elements to present an intriguing story and a compelling plot. This film pulled these areas together in a way that brought the story to life and gave it the kind of depth and emotion that create a lasting impression. http://www.spout.com/blogs/csprague/archive/2007/6/20/11482.aspx Post By: csprague
Post To: Bloggity Blah Blah Blog
Post Date: 6/20/2007 10:35:00 AM
Body: I have never been to a Film Festival before, so I was pretty fresh to the scene at Water Front in Saugatuck, MI this year. It was a small, quiet resort town, mostly untainted by hype or the onslaught of cinephiles. There were just a lot of people, anywhere between the ages of 1 and 80, who simply came out to enjoy the films and maybe meet a few other film-lovers. The festival itself flowed pretty smoothly (except Fed-Ex some how managed to misplace several films, which then had to be shown in digital instead of celluloid; much to the film-purists chagrin), which is pretty incredible considering it is a completely volunteer-run festival. Even the promotional media that they showed before films seemed well-done, and were at the very least clever and humorous. The first film I watched while I was there was The Go-Getter, a film by Martin Hynes; his second after a film he made in 1999. The Go-Getter stars Nick Offerman, Jena Malone, William Lee Scott, Zooey Deschanel, and Lou Taylor Pucci. The main character, Mercer, is played by Lou Taylor Pucci who, although he had a bit of a shaky start, pulled off a pretty convincing character through which I was reminded of the strange transition between adolescence and adulthood with all of its awkward and scary moments. The film follows Mercer on a crime-initiated road trip after the death of his mother. At first, I was a little unsure of how the movie would unfold. The first half hour took a little too long dwelling in abstract character development that didn’t really give the audience much with which to work. I think the initial frustration is the lack of information that would ordinarily accompany opening sequences and give the viewer some footing from which to understand the rest of the narrative. In this case, that information is given in very small pieces as the film progresses, through new characters and flashback, we begin to put together the back story of why Mercer (and the viewer) are on this crazy trip. This isn’t a new concept in terms of narrative structure, although I would say the rate at which information is communicated is a bit slower and even delayed in this film.The Go-Getter opens with a suburban establishing shot and follows a kid (Pucci) on a bike from a birds-eye-view until he arrives at the high school. If I remember correctly this is where the voice over narration begins. Mercer says something to the effect of “then I realized how to not be stuck.” It reminded me a lot of the opening of American Beauty or Ordinary People; wide shot of a middle class neighborhood that gradually moves in with a voice over narrator who pulls you into their world. They are isolated people in the midst of a crowded existence.Upon his revelation of “ how not to be stuck”, Mercer sets in motion a plan to steal a car and begin a road trip. Of course, at first we don’t know what he is doing, he simply skips out of school and goes to borrow his friend’s uniform. When he shows up in uniform at a carwash, you can only assume that he is there to steal a car. Its interesting how they use the Point of View shots here, they show pretty much everything from inside the car with Mercer, until he pulls out into the road, then we switch to the perspective of the person whose car was stolen. The carwash attendant is freaking out and we never see the reaction of the person who just lost their car. Its an interesting piece of set up, unless you have already read the synopsis and you know that this person will eventually befriend Mercer and their anonymity will be part of the intrigue between them.You would assume it’s a coming of age kind of flick, but you don’t see any character growth until about half way through when Jenna Malone’s character is introduced. Or perhaps during Mercer’s first stop at a Pottery Studio, where he smokes pot and starts spilling his guts over the dinner table about his Mom dying and how he just wants to find his brother since its been 9 months and he thinks Arlen should know. This is the first time we really see any emotion from his character that even hints at why he has begun this journey.Even if the narrative and characters were a little shaky from the beginning, I still enjoyed the production quite a bit. The cinematography was great. They played with contrasts in artificial and natural light and incorporated the landscape into the different segments of the journey. The writing didn’t seem so great when the film started, there were a couple of initial exchanges that seemed a little forced or cliché, not at all thoughtful. In fact, I was pretty sure the main character was going to annoy the hell out of me the whole time. Luckily enough he became likeable, or at least I could have some allegiance to him considering the subject matter. I also enjoyed the soundtrack although some songs became slightly redundant. What I liked best was that the film embodied all of the characteristics of an Epic Journey narrative. It seemed to have this intention all along, but it didn’t really come into the full style until later on. As the main character becomes more adamant about his mission to find his brother the narrative seems to take shape, like a hero embarking on an epic journey. We get a lot of information about Mercer through his conversations with Kate, the girl whose car he stole to begin his journey. And through their, and several other, interactions we get flashbacks that fill in the blanks of who the main character really is. The transitions into and out of flashbacks were very good in that they were seamlessly oriented around an object or a natural break in the frame. They used light a lot for these as well. One of the best parts of any Epic journey is the characters and worlds that the hero encounters along the way. For Mercer, the pot-head pottery guy, the woman in the pet-shop who makes him help out with their community-service project, the crazy-sexy girl he used to know in junior high, the pornographer, and Kate at the other end of the cell phone, contribute not just as catalysts towards his goal but also as agents of change who participate in the process of peeling back the layers of his character and revealing to him some important ideas about life, death, and who we can be in the world. One of my favorite moments is when Kate and Mercer are talking and she asks “Doesn’t anyone know anybody anymore?” which digs into the real question of the film. Is it possible to truly be known? Or will we always be strangers no matter how close we become? For Mercer and Kate, this question presents itself and then slips into irrelevance as they continue down the path of acquaintance. …because the answers to these questions might very well be “yes”, but that is hardly a good enough reason not to try. The second film I saw at The Water Front Film Festival was Vanaja, the story of a young Indian girl who goes to live in the house of her landlady and ends up being raped by the landlady’s son. The story is told with humor and yet maintains a balanced perspective between the childhood-esque and the difficult issues that surround being a low-caste female in the Indian world. The director did a great job creating a believable world and representing the caste and patriarchal systems that are in place to keep people in their place. The narrative flowed pretty smoothly in a linear fashion and was accented along they way by beautiful dance sequences as performed by the main character, Vanaja, who was played by Umila Ramachandriah. Vanaja leaves her home and her drunken father at the age of 15 to go and live and work for the landlady of the town. Her ulterior motive is to have the landlady teach her how to sing and dance well. This is not an easy task as the landlady is extremely stubborn and stern with everyone, but she eventually relents and begins to teach Vanaja. The story develops more when the landlady’s son returns from the University in America to run for political office. He is, unfortunately, a very arrogant and self-centered young man who ends up raping Vanaja and then blackmailing her into silence. She becomes pregnant and the truth is finally revealed to the landlady who tries to make her have an abortion. In desperation, Vanaja’s father hides her out in the country with some friends until the child is born. When it is, she is asked to give him up to the landlady. This story is not really a surprising story line, it seemed predictable at times, yet was not boring. I remember feeling as though it was a little long and very depressing, but that’s what happens when you watch something that doesn’t come from the Classical Hollywood machine. I am used to being entertained and filled with warm fuzzies after good triumphs over evil and the hero gets the girl. But what I have found in most foreign film is that often good doesn’t triumph over evil, and love doesn’t always find the main characters. This doesn’t make the film bad, its just makes it harder to watch. Vanaja is actually a very good film. The acting, production, soundtrack, and design were all well done and in a way the narrative does come full circle so as to make the viewer feel some sense of relief on behalf of the main character. Yet, its not what the traditional American audience would expect and so, it is easy to write off. But don’t, give it a chance and at least try to enlarge your sympathies for what life is like for the rest of the world.The third, and final, film that I saw at Water Front was American Fork, by director Chris Bowman, produced by the same guy who also did the cult-classic Napoleon Dynamite. American Fork stars Hubbel Palmer as the very large and extremely naïve Tracy Orbison who works at a run-down grocery store and struggles with his weight and inability to pass his drivers license exam. Also in the cast is William Baldwin who plays Tracy’s acting coach Truman Hope (a washed up community theater actor who I could swear recites monologues from other films, specifically A Beautiful Mind). Tracy, like most people, is just looking to find his niche, the one thing that will make him stand out and give him something to live for. At first, he believes that acting is "the thing" and he sets out to become the best he can be. Unfortunately, because of his insecurity, naivety, and eagerness to please, he allows his acting coach to use him, which makes for some major disappointment. With acting out of the picture, Tracy turns to befriending some of the local troubled teens. Once again, eager to make a difference and too easily convinced of their intentions, he finds himself in some compromising situations. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, his sister starts dating his old acting coach and they try to do an intervention in his life based on false accusations about his character. At the center of all of this are the constant jokes and angry remarks about Tracy’s weight. One sequence, probably at one of the lowest points of the film, the narrative crosscuts between Tracy’s sister with Truman Hope and Tracy binge eating everything in the refrigerator. It’s almost painful to watch and yet is a reminder of the destructive things we do to deal with our pain. This is one the only movies that I can think of currently that addresses eating as an addiction and not simply a coping mechanism, especially for a male.American Fork has a lot of strong points including casting, writing, acting, production design, and soundtrack. All of these things pull together a tight narrative that keeps you emotionally involved, not bored or distracted. As a viewer, you are either laughing hysterically at the awkward escapades or wanting to cry from depression, after all it is extremely frustrating to watch a person get walked all over for two hours. There isn’t really anything remarkable about the production except the fact that it is seamless and unnoticeable, which, unless there is something intentionally going, is the point of continuity in production. The use of several kinds of lighting at home, work, and in other settings plays on what is done in the light versus in the dark; out in the open or in secret. The truth about all of the characters was that while they might pick on Tracy for his weight, they all had something to be guilty of that they were trying to hide or that controlled them as a false identity. American Fork, for me, was an interesting and entertaining film with compelling characters and a quirky storyline; I’m hoping it does well in the future with further release.
]]>Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:35:00 GMTcspragueBloggity Blah Blah Blog6/20/2007 10:35:00 AMI have never been to a Film Festival before, so I was pretty fresh to the scene at Water Front in Saugatuck, MI this year. It was a small, quiet resort town, mostly untainted by hype or the onslaught of cinephiles. There were just a lot of people, anywhere between the ages of 1 and 80, who simply came out to enjoy the films and maybe meet a few other film-lovers. The festival itself flowed pretty smoothly (except Fed-Ex some how managed to misplace several films, which then had to be shown in digital instead of celluloid; much to the film-purists chagrin), which is pretty incredible considering it is a completely volunteer-run festival. Even the promotional media that they showed before films seemed well-done, and were at the very least clever and humorous. The first film I watched while I was there was The Go-Getter, a film by Martin Hynes; his second after a film he made in 1999. The Go-Getter stars Nick Offerman, Jena Malone, William Lee Scott, Zooey Deschanel, and Lou Taylor Pucci. The main character, Mercer, is played by Lou Taylor Pucci who, although he had a bit of a shaky start, pulled off a pretty convincing character through which I was reminded of the strange transition between adolescence and adulthood with all of its awkward and scary moments. The film follows Mercer on a crime-initiated road trip after the death of his mother. At first, I was a little unsure of how the movie would unfold. The first half hour took a little too long dwelling in abstract character development that didn&rsquo;t really give the audience much with which to work. I think the initial frustration is the lack of information that would ordinarily accompany opening sequences and give the viewer some footing from which to understand the rest of the narrative. In this case, that information is given in very small pieces as the film progresses, through new characters and flashback, we begin to put together the back story of why Mercer (and the viewer) are on this crazy trip. This isn&rsquo;t a new concept in terms of narrative structure, although I would say the rate at which information is communicated is a bit slower and even delayed in this film.The Go-Getter opens with a suburban establishing shot and follows a kid (Pucci) on a bike from a birds-eye-view until he arrives at the high school. If I remember correctly this is where the voice over narration begins. Mercer says something to the effect of &ldquo;then I realized how to not be stuck.&rdquo; It reminded me a lot of the opening of American Beauty or Ordinary People; wide shot of a middle class neighborhood that gradually moves in with a voice over narrator who pulls you into their world. They are isolated people in the midst of a crowded existence.Upon his revelation of &ldquo; how not to be stuck&rdquo;, Mercer sets in motion a plan to steal a car and begin a road trip. Of course, at first we don&rsquo;t know what he is doing, he simply skips out of school and goes to borrow his friend&rsquo;s uniform. When he shows up in uniform at a carwash, you can only assume that he is there to steal a car. Its interesting how they use the Point of View shots here, they show pretty much everything from inside the car with Mercer, until he pulls out into the road, then we switch to the perspective of the person whose car was stolen. The carwash attendant is freaking out and we never see the reaction of the person who just lost their car. Its an interesting piece of set up, unless you have already read the synopsis and you know that this person will eventually befriend Mercer and their anonymity will be part of the intrigue between them.You would assume it&rsquo;s a coming of age kind of flick, but you don&rsquo;t see any character growth until about half way through when Jenna Malone&rsquo;s character is introduced. Or perhaps during Mercer&rsquo;s first stop at a Pottery Studio, where he smokes pot and starts spilling his guts over the dinner table about his Mom dying and how he just wants to find his brother since its been 9 months and he thinks Arlen should know. This is the first time we really see any emotion from his character that even hints at why he has begun this journey.Even if the narrative and characters were a little shaky from the beginning, I still enjoyed the production quite a bit. The cinematography was great. They played with contrasts in artificial and natural light and incorporated the landscape into the different segments of the journey. The writing didn&rsquo;t seem so great when the film started, there were a couple of initial exchanges that seemed a little forced or clich&eacute;, not at all thoughtful. In fact, I was pretty sure the main character was going to annoy the hell out of me the whole time. Luckily enough he became likeable, or at least I could have some allegiance to him considering the subject matter. I also enjoyed the soundtrack although some songs became slightly redundant. What I liked best was that the film embodied all of the characteristics of an Epic Journey narrative. It seemed to have this intention all along, but it didn&rsquo;t really come into the full style until later on. As the main character becomes more adamant about his mission to find his brother the narrative seems to take shape, like a hero embarking on an epic journey. We get a lot of information about Mercer through his conversations with Kate, the girl whose car he stole to begin his journey. And through their, and several other, interactions we get flashbacks that fill in the blanks of who the main character really is. The transitions into and out of flashbacks were very good in that they were seamlessly oriented around an object or a natural break in the frame. They used light a lot for these as well. One of the best parts of any Epic journey is the characters and worlds that the hero encounters along the way. For Mercer, the pot-head pottery guy, the woman in the pet-shop who makes him help out with their community-service project, the crazy-sexy girl he used to know in junior high, the pornographer, and Kate at the other end of the cell phone, contribute not just as catalysts towards his goal but also as agents of change who participate in the process of peeling back the layers of his character and revealing to him some important ideas about life, death, and who we can be in the world. One of my favorite moments is when Kate and Mercer are talking and she asks &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t anyone know anybody anymore?&rdquo; which digs into the real question of the film. Is it possible to truly be known? Or will we always be strangers no matter how close we become? For Mercer and Kate, this question presents itself and then slips into irrelevance as they continue down the path of acquaintance. &hellip;because the answers to these questions might very well be &ldquo;yes&rdquo;, but that is hardly a good enough reason not to try. The second film I saw at The Water Front Film Festival was Vanaja, the story of a young Indian girl who goes to live in the house of her landlady and ends up being raped by the landlady&rsquo;s son. The story is told with humor and yet maintains a balanced perspective between the childhood-esque and the difficult issues that surround being a low-caste female in the Indian world. The director did a great job creating a believable world and representing the caste and patriarchal systems that are in place to keep people in their place. The narrative flowed pretty smoothly in a linear fashion and was accented along they way by beautiful dance sequences as performed by the main character, Vanaja, who was played by Umila Ramachandriah. Vanaja leaves her home and her drunken father at the age of 15 to go and live and work for the landlady of the town. Her ulterior motive is to have the landlady teach her how to sing and dance well. This is not an easy task as the landlady is extremely stubborn and stern with everyone, but she eventually relents and begins to teach Vanaja. The story develops more when the landlady&rsquo;s son returns from the University in America to run for political office. He is, unfortunately, a very arrogant and self-centered young man who ends up raping Vanaja and then blackmailing her into silence. She becomes pregnant and the truth is finally revealed to the landlady who tries to make her have an abortion. In desperation, Vanaja&rsquo;s father hides her out in the country with some friends until the child is born. When it is, she is asked to give him up to the landlady. This story is not really a surprising story line, it seemed predictable at times, yet was not boring. I remember feeling as though it was a little long and very depressing, but that&rsquo;s what happens when you watch something that doesn&rsquo;t come from the Classical Hollywood machine. I am used to being entertained and filled with warm fuzzies after good triumphs over evil and the hero gets the girl. But what I have found in most foreign film is that often good doesn&rsquo;t triumph over evil, and love doesn&rsquo;t always find the main characters. This doesn&rsquo;t make the film bad, its just makes it harder to watch. Vanaja is actually a very good film. The acting, production, soundtrack, and design were all well done and in a way the narrative does come full circle so as to make the viewer feel some sense of relief on behalf of the main character. Yet, its not what the traditional American audience would expect and so, it is easy to write off. But don&rsquo;t, give it a chance and at least try to enlarge your sympathies for what life is like for the rest of the world.The third, and final, film that I saw at Water Front was American Fork, by director Chris Bowman, produced by the same guy who also did the cult-classic Napoleon Dynamite. American Fork stars Hubbel Palmer as the very large and extremely na&iuml;ve Tracy Orbison who works at a run-down grocery store and struggles with his weight and inability to pass his drivers license exam. Also in the cast is William Baldwin who plays Tracy&rsquo;s acting coach Truman Hope (a washed up community theater actor who I could swear recites monologues from other films, specifically A Beautiful Mind). Tracy, like most people, is just looking to find his niche, the one thing that will make him stand out and give him something to live for. At first, he believes that acting is "the thing" and he sets out to become the best he can be. Unfortunately, because of his insecurity, naivety, and eagerness to please, he allows his acting coach to use him, which makes for some major disappointment. With acting out of the picture, Tracy turns to befriending some of the local troubled teens. Once again, eager to make a difference and too easily convinced of their intentions, he finds himself in some compromising situations. Just when you think it couldn&rsquo;t get any worse, his sister starts dating his old acting coach and they try to do an intervention in his life based on false accusations about his character. At the center of all of this are the constant jokes and angry remarks about Tracy&rsquo;s weight. One sequence, probably at one of the lowest points of the film, the narrative crosscuts between Tracy&rsquo;s sister with Truman Hope and Tracy binge eating everything in the refrigerator. It&rsquo;s almost painful to watch and yet is a reminder of the destructive things we do to deal with our pain. This is one the only movies that I can think of currently that addresses eating as an addiction and not simply a coping mechanism, especially for a male.American Fork has a lot of strong points including casting, writing, acting, production design, and soundtrack. All of these things pull together a tight narrative that keeps you emotionally involved, not bored or distracted. As a viewer, you are either laughing hysterically at the awkward escapades or wanting to cry from depression, after all it is extremely frustrating to watch a person get walked all over for two hours. There isn&rsquo;t really anything remarkable about the production except the fact that it is seamless and unnoticeable, which, unless there is something intentionally going, is the point of continuity in production. The use of several kinds of lighting at home, work, and in other settings plays on what is done in the light versus in the dark; out in the open or in secret. The truth about all of the characters was that while they might pick on Tracy for his weight, they all had something to be guilty of that they were trying to hide or that controlled them as a false identity. American Fork, for me, was an interesting and entertaining film with compelling characters and a quirky storyline; I&rsquo;m hoping it does well in the future with further release. http://www.spout.com/blogs/thefilmpanelnotetaker/archive/2007/5/5/8335.aspx Post By: thefilmpanelnotetaker
Post To: thefilmpanelnotetaker Blog
Post Date: 5/5/2007 8:01:00 PM
Body: Tribeca Talks – Alfred P. Sloan Foundation presents: Prodigies, Nobelists and Penguins: Science and Stereotypes in the Movies – May 5, 2007 (Left to right: Sidney Perkowitz, Darren Aronovsky and Billy Shebar)Panelists:Darren Aronovsky (DA) – Filmmaker, The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, PiBilly Shebar (BS) – Screenwriter, Dark MatterModerator:Sidney Perkowitz (SP) – Professor of Physics at Emory University (SP) What do you think of how Hollywood portrays scientists in film?(BS) I’ve seen portraits that go either way, but things have gotten better and better. There used to be a lot of films with mad scientists, but we’ve gone beyond that. Dark Matter is about post-Tiananmen Square Chinese students in the U.S. facing a lot of scholarly pressure. The film looks at cosmology. It’s an interesting moment in history. I researched cosmology and found that “dark matter” itself is an unsolved problem. The film is about a mentor/student relationship where the mentor studies the cherished model of science and the student sees this model is on its last legs. Filmmakers must make an effort to get the science right.(DA) I like mad scientists like Dr. Frankenstein. People have gotten savvier with science. There was a difference between researching the science for Pi than for The Fountain. Pi was pre-Internet. The Internet makes it easier to do the research and get the science right. In Pi, the protagonist Max, a mathematician, could fall into the cliché of the mad scientist. He’s doing extremely focused, disciplined work. Mad scientists don’t come out of science fiction, they come out of pure fiction.(SP) What about the idea of obsession in science fiction?(BS) As a writer, there is an attractive side to obsessiveness.(DA) There’s a sense of alchemy with scientists because they’re dealing with a secret magic that can change the world and the universe. I like to research the science and bring it to a fictional place by combining science and mysticism. I’m curious about films that are more traditional like Dark Matter. Hopefully, the intellectual quest comes through.(SP) I’ve been an advisor to Chinese students and they seem to face a lot of pressure. In Pi, the protagonist’s pressure is internal, while in Dark Matter, the pressure comes from the outside world.(DA) I have a friend who’s a marine biologist quit to do production design. Why? Because, academia put film competition to shame.(BS) Writers and scientists both feel pressure.(SP) Some films about real mathematicians who go mad such as A Beautiful Mind. Can you comment on why mathematicians seem to have more intensity that what’s good for them?(DA) There’s a fine line between insanity and genius. I don’t know why it’s math people. Maybe because they’re speaking a different language than us.(BS) There’s a sense that the degree of abstraction borders on insanity.(SP) How do you decide how much fiction to mix with science?(BS) In 1991, there was an event at the University of Iowa where a Chinese physics major killed five people. Dark Matter is a fictional film that was inspired by this incident. A lot of the relationships in the film parallel real people. “Dark matter” seemed to be the perfect metaphor for an invisible foreign science student.(DA) What I think is cool and interesting to an audience. In high school, I was in a class about math and mysticism. I grounded Pi in stuff that’s so true to it. In The Fountain, it’s about longevity. Great ideas came out in the research. Find facts that tie into the story. Some of our grandkids may live to 200 if our world still exists.(SP) Comment on some really good and also the worst science-based or science fiction films.(BS) I loved The Wild Blue Yonder by Werner Herzog. It’s a hybrid documentary/film with undersea footage.(DA) Don’t know. It’s so huge. Entertainment Weekly last week had its top 25 sci-fi films/tv from the past 25 years.(SP) Gattaca was really great and the worst was The Core.(SP) Do you have any predictions about science-based or sci-fi movie trends?(DA) Environmental destruction is going to be everywhere. More movies about cloning, mixed reality/psychedelics. Movies about different levels of consciousness. What James Cameron does next is kind of going back to Isaac Asimov.(BS) Movies about neuroscience; the connection between the brain and the mind.Audience Q&AQ: Do you feel in today’s marketplace, what’s defined good about movies are the celebrities. Would Pi have the same impact today that it did in 1998? What advice do you have for science filmmakers?(DA) YouTube. There are more opportunities now so much more than in the Pi days. It’s a full-time job to get your film out there. If you make something really good, people will react to it. It’s not all about celebrities. Do something that’s your own and believe in it.Q: Do you recommend or insist to your actors to do their own research on science?(DA) The Fountain was co-created with a neuro-scientist. He would write primers (sort of like Cliffs Notes) to give to the actors. We had a huge library of information. Hugh Jackman went to see a monkey get brain surgery. It was emotional and effective for him. Wikipedia is also amazing.(BS) There’s nothing like a carefully written book on a subject. I’m also a believer in personal interviews.(SP) You’re not going to get emotional stories from the Internet.Q: Are there any organization that hook up screenwriters with scientists?(SP) AFI, National Academy of Science, Sloan FoundationQ: Is Dark Matter available on DVD?(BS) We’re in discussions with distributors for a theatrical release, but there have been issues around the Virginia Tech incident. It’s a bit sensitive to release a film about a campus killing, even though we made it before the incident.Q: Will we see more people of color in science films?(SP) Scientifics reality changes in culture. In the U.S., most scientists are white and makes and this is reflected in the movies. One of the few African-American scientists I’ve seen in the movies unfortunately was in the movie The Core. Originally posted on:The Film Panel Notetaker - Miss a panel discussion? Don't worry! We took notes for you.
]]>Sun, 06 May 2007 00:01:00 GMTthefilmpanelnotetakerthefilmpanelnotetaker Blog5/5/2007 8:01:00 PMTribeca Talks – Alfred P. Sloan Foundation presents: Prodigies, Nobelists and Penguins: Science and Stereotypes in the Movies – May 5, 2007 (Left to right: Sidney Perkowitz, Darren Aronovsky and Billy Shebar)Panelists:Darren Aronovsky (DA) – Filmmaker, The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, PiBilly Shebar (BS) – Screenwriter, Dark MatterModerator:Sidney Perkowitz (SP) – Professor of Physics at Emory University (SP) What do you think of how Hollywood portrays scientists in film?(BS) I’ve seen portraits that go either way, but things have gotten better and better. There used to be a lot of films with mad scientists, but we’ve gone beyond that. Dark Matter is about post-Tiananmen Square Chinese students in the U.S. facing a lot of scholarly pressure. The film looks at cosmology. It’s an interesting moment in history. I researched cosmology and found that “dark matter” itself is an unsolved problem. The film is about a mentor/student relationship where the mentor studies the cherished model of science and the student sees this model is on its last legs. Filmmakers must make an effort to get the science right.(DA) I like mad scientists like Dr. Frankenstein. People have gotten savvier with science. There was a difference between researching the science for Pi than for The Fountain. Pi was pre-Internet. The Internet makes it easier to do the research and get the science right. In Pi, the protagonist Max, a mathematician, could fall into the cliché of the mad scientist. He’s doing extremely focused, disciplined work. Mad scientists don’t come out of science fiction, they come out of pure fiction.(SP) What about the idea of obsession in science fiction?(BS) As a writer, there is an attractive side to obsessiveness.(DA) There’s a sense of alchemy with scientists because they’re dealing with a secret magic that can change the world and the universe. I like to research the science and bring it to a fictional place by combining science and mysticism. I’m curious about films that are more traditional like Dark Matter. Hopefully, the intellectual quest comes through.(SP) I’ve been an advisor to Chinese students and they seem to face a lot of pressure. In Pi, the protagonist’s pressure is internal, while in Dark Matter, the pressure comes from the outside world.(DA) I have a friend who’s a marine biologist quit to do production design. Why? Because, academia put film competition to shame.(BS) Writers and scientists both feel pressure.(SP) Some films about real mathematicians who go mad such as A Beautiful Mind. Can you comment on why mathematicians seem to have more intensity that what’s good for them?(DA) There’s a fine line between insanity and genius. I don’t know why it’s math people. Maybe because they’re speaking a different language than us.(BS) There’s a sense that the degree of abstraction borders on insanity.(SP) How do you decide how much fiction to mix with science?(BS) In 1991, there was an event at the University of Iowa where a Chinese physics major killed five people. Dark Matter is a fictional film that was inspired by this incident. A lot of the relationships in the film parallel real people. “Dark matter” seemed to be the perfect metaphor for an invisible foreign science student.(DA) What I think is cool and interesting to an audience. In high school, I was in a class about math and mysticism. I grounded Pi in stuff that’s so true to it. In The Fountain, it’s about longevity. Great ideas came out in the research. Find facts that tie into the story. Some of our grandkids may live to 200 if our world still exists.(SP) Comment on some really good and also the worst science-based or science fiction films.(BS) I loved The Wild Blue Yonder by Werner Herzog. It’s a hybrid documentary/film with undersea footage.(DA) Don’t know. It’s so huge. Entertainment Weekly last week had its top 25 sci-fi films/tv from the past 25 years.(SP) Gattaca was really great and the worst was The Core.(SP) Do you have any predictions about science-based or sci-fi movie trends?(DA) Environmental destruction is going to be everywhere. More movies about cloning, mixed reality/psychedelics. Movies about different levels of consciousness. What James Cameron does next is kind of going back to Isaac Asimov.(BS) Movies about neuroscience; the connection between the brain and the mind.Audience Q&AQ: Do you feel in today’s marketplace, what’s defined good about movies are the celebrities. Would Pi have the same impact today that it did in 1998? What advice do you have for science filmmakers?(DA) YouTube. There are more opportunities now so much more than in the Pi days. It’s a full-time job to get your film out there. If you make something really good, people will react to it. It’s not all about celebrities. Do something that’s your own and believe in it.Q: Do you recommend or insist to your actors to do their own research on science?(DA) The Fountain was co-created with a neuro-scientist. He would write primers (sort of like Cliffs Notes) to give to the actors. We had a huge library of information. Hugh Jackman went to see a monkey get brain surgery. It was emotional and effective for him. Wikipedia is also amazing.(BS) There’s nothing like a carefully written book on a subject. I’m also a believer in personal interviews.(SP) You’re not going to get emotional stories from the Internet.Q: Are there any organization that hook up screenwriters with scientists?(SP) AFI, National Academy of Science, Sloan FoundationQ: Is Dark Matter available on DVD?(BS) We’re in discussions with distributors for a theatrical release, but there have been issues around the Virginia Tech incident. It’s a bit sensitive to release a film about a campus killing, even though we made it before the incident.Q: Will we see more people of color in science films?(SP) Scientifics reality changes in culture. In the U.S., most scientists are white and makes and this is reflected in the movies. One of the few African-American scientists I’ve seen in the movies unfortunately was in the movie The Core. Originally posted on:The Film Panel Notetaker - Miss a panel discussion? Don't worry! We took notes for you. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
Number of films tagged: 12478

Number of people who tagged: 338

Number of times used: 1480

]]>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:28:29 GMT124783381480Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/friendship/MemberTagFilms.aspxfriendship
Number of films tagged: 6791

Number of people who tagged: 154

Number of times used: 979

]]>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:08:37 GMT6791154979Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/brilliant/MemberTagFilms.aspxbrilliant
Number of films tagged: 179

Number of people who tagged: 137

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]]>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:28:43 GMT179137285Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/action/MemberTagFilms.aspxaction
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]]>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:44:27 GMT177105207Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/drama/MemberTagFilms.aspxdrama
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]]>Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:39:11 GMT347167267Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/suspense/MemberTagFilms.aspxsuspense
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]]>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:28:43 GMT12966189Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/genius/MemberTagFilms.aspxgenius
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]]>Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:26:43 GMT2275696Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/twist/MemberTagFilms.aspxtwist
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]]>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:08:15 GMT324354Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/psychological/MemberTagFilms.aspxpsychological
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]]>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:37:13 GMT484174Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/teacher/MemberTagFilms.aspxteacher
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]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:24:37 GMT12254084Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/baby/MemberTagFilms.aspxbaby
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]]>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:39:51 GMT4183888Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/based-on-a-book/MemberTagFilms.aspxbased-on-a-book
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]]>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:52:06 GMT17337278Tag