I don't really care how much the latest superhero film took at the box office, although I'd probably know if you asked me. When I watch a film the main thing I am looking for is a good story. I like it when I look up at the big screen and can see a part of me staring back at me. More than anything, I am still looking for Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder in every film I see.
You ever leave a place and wonder if it really exists? You look back at the time you had and you wonder; "are those people really real? Do they exist when I'm gone?" -- you leave New York and you leave it with an exact picture, and you're certain the picture will never change. You leave with a feeling - a bittersweet feeling of love, hope, sadness and life. The feeling sticks-- you feel it and you feel it and you feel it. You capture New York in a very specific way. But what about the people who remained there? For them, that moment was fleeting. Maybe they never really felt it at all. They carry on; meetings in Manhattan, brawls in Brooklyn and quitters in Queens; but the picture you have of New York on your wall doesn't change.
You remember getting lost on Canal Street thinking it was Grand Street, and there was a girl waiting for you by the Williamsburg Bridge but you were standing by Brooklyn bridge thinking, where the hell is she?
You dream of New York actors. In New York, they give it their best shot. Call time is 8am but they're there at 7.30 with a brain full of questions. You're shooting in Central Park in the middle of December and they're saying "I love movies!" whereas anywhere else in the world they say "It's cold outside."
I miss being alone in New York City. When you're alone in New York City, the whole world is with you. The big, screaming lights of Times Square tell you a thousand stories; and then you head downtown and you know exactly who you are. In New York, you're always going somewhere, meeting someone, leaving someone. You wanna go back, but you're desperate to know; New York, do you remember me? New York has seen so many people are they're all so friggin' interesting that you wonder how it could ever remember you. But you hope it does and you hope it does and you hope it does.
And this guy said "I love hanging out with you," and this girl said "you changed my life," and this crazyo said "I gotta tell you everything about what happened last night, because who else would I tell?" - but New York carries on, and now the crazyo is telling other crazy things to other crazy people. You remember the sound of sirens, the smell of coffee and the weird, crazy magic that only New York knows, and you hope and pray you'll be going back soon.
Have you met the maniac who sweeps into your mind in the middle of the day when you're busy writing your script about a tax accountant who becomes an Olympic athlete? You're hard at work, throwing down words onto the page------ and then this maniac comes along and says in your ear "I have a great idea, you should write a film about two people who invent a flying car made out of chalk, and then they turn into zombies, yeah!"
All of a sudden, you get really excited about your genius idea-- and become convinced that it is going to be your masterpiece. You get out your notepad and throw down three pages of zombie gold before realizing it's terrible, godawful.
So you go back to your film about the tax accountant. But your energy is gone for the day. You feel depressed. You watch a re-run of Friends and quit writing for the next three weeks.
It is always good to get new ideas. But you need to be careful they are real ideas, and not just the maniac who is trying to stop you from doing the hard work. Generally, if you're focusing on one idea, you should really do everything to stay with it. If you're in the middle of writing a scene and you suddenly get an idea for a masterful sequel to 'Waterworld' then it's probably the maniac. Ignore him, or ask him to come back after the first draft of the tax accountant script is done.
2. Which got me to thinking about Marilyn Monroe -- so I watched this about six times in a row.
"Goodbye Norma Jean Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled They crawled out of the woodwork And they whispered into your brain They set you on the treadmill And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind Never knowing who to cling to When the rain set in And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid Your candle burned out long before Your legend ever did
Loneliness was tough The toughest role you ever played Hollywood created a superstar And pain was the price you paid Even when you died Oh the press still hounded you All the papers had to say Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
Goodbye Norma Jean From the young man in the 22nd row Who sees you as something as more than sexual More than just our Marilyn Monroe"
3. I've been catching with the work of previous interviewees of KITFR. The film that Lawrence Sher shot; 'DUE DATE,' now has a trailer- which excites me GREATLY!
Joe Leonard's debut feature 'HOT I GOT LOST' is now available on DVD. He also has been busy since our interview working as an editor on Glee; and he was also on the editing department for 'EAT, PREY, LOVE.'
4. One of my favorite books, 'ON THE ROAD' by Jack Kerouac is being made into a film, and I don't know how I feel about it. It stars an actor called Sam Riley as Sal and Garrett Hedlund as Dean Moriarty. I am not familiar with either of the actors. The female parts are taken by more recognizable names and; if they HAVE to make this into a movie, then I think they are good names to have attached: Kirsten Dunst as Camille, Kristen Stewart as Marylou and Amy Adams as Jane.
5. A few days back I wrote about the lack of Ginger Rogers in modern film. I feel just as strongly about Katharine Hepburn. She was so powerful, so strong, so talented, so so beautiful -- and this was back in the 1940's -- where is Hepburn now? Where is the spirit of Katharine Hepburn? Where are the powerful roles? Where are the dynamic women? We're writing more roles for the 'sexy' woman and the 'Mother' and the 'girl next door' than ever before. Our films would be so much more original, diverse, truthful, and exciting -- if writers would do more than just write their girl next door fantasies. Women are as crazy, fucked up, nonsensical and capable as men; and that should be represented in film.
6. I was talking with an actress friend last night about how homosexuals are portrayed in cinema. Has there ever been a gay character who was gay but had a normal storyline? As far as I can see, if gay characters are in films they usually fall into these catagories: a) Their sexuality is a central point of their story, or b) They are camp and feminine (if male) and you can spot their sexuality merely by witnessing their first line of dialogue. In every film you watch; there will be numerous straight characters who are going about their lives and struggles; and of course, many smaller characters are assumed straight. But when a homosexual character is involved, it is always 'part of their story.' Therefore, films tend to suggest that all gay people have to deal with or care about, is being gay-- but surely as writers and filmmakers, we can do better than writing in this way?
7. The film 'SPEED' is insane. They spend over an hour saving these people on a bus; then after everyone gets off the bus, it plummets into an airplane which is moving towards the runway. There's a giant explosion and, I'd assume, hundreds of plane passengers dead. Even if there are no passengers; it still has a pilot and crew - so as many people will die as were on that bus. But nobody seems to give a shit and Keanu and Bullock just start flirting. What's that about?
8. Another thing about 'SPEED' - Jeff Daniel's character is called HARRY, which is also his name in 'DUMB AND DUMBER.' So whenever I watch Speed, I imagine that it's actually Harry from 'DUMB AND DUMBER' who has somehow managed to make people think he's a bomb expert. It makes the viewing experience HILARIOUS! Another hilarious thing is when Dennis Hopper says to Keanu Reeves "don't try and grow a brain!" Looking at Keanu's career recently; it looks like he took the advice to heart.
9. I am SO excited about upcoming interviews that will be here on Kid In The Front Row soon.
10. It's been six years since 'ELIZABETHTOWN.' Aside from a Pearl Jam documentary that he's currently shooting, I really don't know when we're going to see another feature film from Cameron Crowe. Whether you liked his last movie or not; this is the guy who brought us 'SAY ANYTHING,' 'JERRY MAGUIRE' and 'ALMOST FAMOUS.' He had numerous struggles trying to get his new flick 'DEEP TIKI' made and now that it's dead-- I don't know what's going to happen. I sincerely hope he gets to work on something new soon though.
I would love for you to take this 'Ten Random Film Things' idea over to your own blogs and run with it.....
It's nothing but a little lamb steak with goo on it. Oh i'm sorry Johnny, it isn't lamb - it's veal. Don't tell me, I've been eating it for years. Oh I ought to know, it's my favorite dish. It's lamb It's veal Lamb It's veal I tell you it's.. It's.. for a buck..? A buck Okay.
I just watched 'It Had To Be You' starring Ginger Rogers and Cornel Wilde. I absolutely loved it. But I also felt a sadness, as I often do when I watch movies from this era.
Ginger Rogers really takes you on a ride in this film. She is full of boundless energy, a natural sparkle and comedic grace in a way rarely seen on screen. It was rare back then in the 40's, but even more so now. When I think of Jimmy Stewart, or Jack Lemmon; although we'll never replace them, we'll never get near them; occasionally we get someone like Tom Hanks who, on his better days, can carry the torch in some way.
But where is Ginger Rogers? Where is that essence that she brought so naturally and so perfectly to the silver screen. Where is it in modern movies? Where is it in the world? Where is it in your life? My fear is that it's missing, and I think we need to find it.
I must admit, I am partial to falling in love with the likes of Paulette Goddard, Jean Arthur, Ingrid Bergman; etc, but this isn't just that-- I'm not just crushing on another black and white movie star. I am concerned about the soul and spirit of Ginger Rogers; it's something we need, especially in the movies -- but I don't see it any more.
The innocence, the mischievousness, the joy, where is it? I think that's it, most of all, the JOY. Look at Ginger in 'It Had To Be You' - she is firing and bouncing and jumping and running and leaping her way all through the movie. It's beyond compelling, it's beyond having fun, it's beyond good acting. It's this intangible thing that you can't quite put your finger on. It's a magic that shined throughout her career; and tonight, I noticed it more than ever in 'It Had To Be You.'
What I am getting at is that feeling you get when you watch Ginger Rogers on screen. You can't help but be swept away in the moment; you're right there in 1947 with her character; and it is one giant sea of pure joy. The problem with films these days is, perhaps, not that they don't make them like they used to, but that they're not even trying.
"Ned.. RYERSON. "Needlenose Ned"? "Ned the Head"? C'mon, buddy. Case Western High. Ned Ryerson; I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing! Ned Ryerson; got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson-- I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple times until you told me not to anymore? Well?"
But what about the people who remained there? For them, that moment was fleeting. Maybe they never really felt it at all. They carry on; meetings in Manhattan, brawls in Brooklyn and quitters in Queens; but the picture you have of New York on your wall doesn't change.
