Cannes Sunset

Cahal Milmo in The Independent provides a thorough look at the career of this year's Palme d'Or winner Ken Loach.

J. Hoberman from The Village Voice gives an overview of what exactly went on during cinema's brief days on the Riviera. Was Babel really the "quintessential film" of the festival?

The LA Times via Kenneth Turan looks at the slighted, the neglected, and what could have been in Cannes. Did the jury miss the sensual, the visually poetic, the politically taboo? Or the magical fantasy with an impeccable sense of atmosphere and mood within a world of strange and wonderous creatures?

Matt Dentler at indieWIRE puts the fork in it and gives his own take on it all as well as his top 7.

While, Mike D'Angelo makes it political and then tries to reconcile The Pianist as a David Lynch kind of movie and The Wind that Shakes the Barley as a Wong Kar-wai type of flick.

I have a suspicion Anne Thompson was right when she surmised that the jury locked over the choice of Volver vs. Babel and went for the consensus pick.

The ScreenGrab @ Nerve provides the last word on the importance of Cannes for American cinema.

Kenneth Turan puts it all in perspective when he quotes a line Godard uttered in Wim Wenders' Room 666: "The Hollywood dream is to make one single film and show it everywhere in the world." Cannes makes sure that won't ever happen.

The Original Hollywood Bad Girl

Ava Gardner is a screen legend, but what you don't know about her may shock you. The Guardian reports on the lastest biography of the big star, cover girl, and tabloid sensation with intimate detail: "Asked by a reporter what she saw in Sinatra - a 119lb has-been - she replied demurely that 19lb of it was cock."

"As a starlet she set the social pace: boozing, swearing, taking her pick of men; ahead of her time. Her acting break came in 1946 with The Killers with Burt Lancaster. Rarely has anyone been more sexual on screen doing so little; she gave Lancaster an erection during a screen kiss, to the hilarity of the crew."

Later, she was doted on by "macho, dangerously sentimental drunks" the likes of Ernest Hemingway, John Ford, and John Huston.

"Before boredom set in she was sustained by the banter and loose intimacy of movie sets. MGM loaned her out for too many bad films and her studio contract meant she earned less than contemporaries. She chose European exile over Hollywood and, in spite of her liberal values and lack of racial prejudice, moved to Franco's Spain (with its advantages of a muzzled press). She was barred from Madrid's Hotel Ritz for peeing in the lobby. By then life was an exhausting round of insomnia, booze, forced gaiety, mood swings, tantrums, and being driven around by a chauffeur while consuming an entire thermos of gin in the back of the car. "

Unsurprisingly, this Virginia tobacco farm girl's life ended sadly as she tried to come "to terms with the illusion of her independence as it turned to loneliness" while living her last days in London childless.

Yet, she could probably still boast: "I haven't taken an overdose of sleeping pills and called my agent. I haven't been in jail, and I don't go running to the psychiatrist every two minutes. That's something of an accomplishment these days."

And, even today.

The Great Summer Blockbusters of Our Youth

This Cinematical.com post by Erik Davis quickly raised my eyebrows as he began to discuss his "ultimate summer movie going experiences." We are practically the same age and I was wondering how his summer's of cinema would stack up to mine. Well, ultimately, they didn't.

It is amazing, or maybe not so amazing, how we could have such a completely different exposure to the movies throughout the years. Obviously not so amazing, but that is what is so great about the movies. It is our common conversation in this day and age besides politics and religion.

To be influenced by Adventures in Babysitting at the age of ten is unfathomable to me. In the same genre, I would suggest Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. Christina Applegate was just a much more desirable babysitter at the time. Moreover, to see Jurassic Park at sixteen without acknowledging the decadence and depravity (use your imagination) that occurred as we watched it at a drive-in while sitting in a friends station wagon is to lose sight of the whole experience. True Romance was a little more my style at the time.

But, maybe I should explain. I didn't have the typical movie going experience. But, then again who does? I saw Monty Python's The Meaning of Life at age seven when I was brought along by my mom's bestfriend's husband, his thirteen year-old son, and my dad. I don't think my dad quite knew exactly what he was getting into. I convinced my mom to let me and my younger brother watch A Nightmare on Elm Street when I was about eleven. I never had a nightmare and went on to watch plenty of horror flicks. I still don't really understand the appeal of the whole horror genre.

By the time I got to Batman, Independence Day, There's Something About Mary, and Saving Private Ryan, the formulaic terrifying, awe-inspiring cinematic experience was long over. Those films might have been entertaining, but they were mostly just stiff, laughable, full of lame bathroom jokes or trying to convince me that war could be just a "neat learning experience." None of which I bought at the time or thankfully even today.

Anyway, in keeping with the spirit of it all, here are my top 5 ultimate summer movie going experiences from days long gone by:

- Star Wars: This wasn't just a movie. It was an era. A whole new phenomenon. It defined a large portion of my early childhood. I don't even remember the first time I saw it. But, I remember the whole universe it created, the fantastic action figures, and the Star Wars birthday cakes of my early years.

- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: This was fun at the movies with a capital f. Raiders of the Lost Ark set everything up perfectly. It was brilliant fun for an eight year old kid. This was life larger than ever. 'Short Round' was just the kind of sidekick you wanted along for the adventure into an exotic realm with a beautiful American singer by your side. From the daring escape from the get-go to the plane crash high in the snow-capped hills to discovering one of the sacred Sankara Stones to riding along on elephants through the jungle, the banquet at the Palace of Pankot to tearing a heart out, the mine-train sequence and the recurrence of the whip vs. pistol gag; this was a great adventure and you never had to leave your seat in the theater.

- Back To The Future: This brought action and adventure to suburban America. You could've been Marty McFly. Your parents certainly could've been George and Lorraine McFly. All you were missing was ol' Doc Brown. And, maybe the Claudia Wells/Elisabeth Shue character. Maybe, the flux capacitor and a DeLorean too.

- Ferris Bueller's Day Off: I was in the 4th or 5th grade and it was one helluva fantasy. I was born in Chicago and so I thought this was the way to live. What a great life. I wrote "Save Ferris" on my notebook, but my bestfriend decided to wait until the movie caught on among my classmates.

I think that is about it. I could list number 5 as Home Alone, but that was more about the circumstances rather than the actual movie. The days of video had truly dawned and I started to catch up on the history of cinema. Luckily, I was exposed to more and more movies from around the world. What an amazing education. I had traveled a good part of the globe, but seeing movies from different places in different ages opened up a whole new perspective on life. This was so much more of an education than any teacher in high school could have ever provided. I wish I would've seen a lot of those later films up on the big screen, but those dreams will have their day.

POSTSCRIPT: If push came to shove and I had to pick a fifth film (since I don't want to leave you with just four), I would have to say Der Himmel Uber Berlin aka Wings of Desire. Besides the old great filmmakers, this was my transition toward international cinema. That, and Cinema Paradiso. There, that is six, satisfied?

Film Translations and Movie Adaptations

Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation wasn't the first and certainly will not be the last word on the work of a screenwriter bringing someone else's work up on to the big screen. It has been reported that Jeffrey Eugenides, the original writer of the novel that turned into the film The Virgin Suicides, was not particularly happy that he was denied a screenwriting cred when Sofia Coppola used almost every bit of his dialogue when writing her screenplay.

Many of our favorite screenplays that we credit our favorite screenwriters with writing actually come from original material that started out with long forgotten names. Sidney Howard did not write Gone with the Wind, but Margaret Mitchell did. Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein, and Howard Koch did not write Casablanca aka Everybody Comes to Rick's, but Joan Alison and Murray Burnett did. Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler did not come up with the idea for Double Indemnity, but James M. Cain did. William Goldman did not write All The President's Men, but Woodward and Bernstein did. Stanley Kubrick did not write 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Arthur C. Clarke did. Francis Ford Coppola did not come up with the idea for The Godfather, but Mario Puzo did. Bo Goldman did not write One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but Ken Kesey did. Tom Stoppard did not write Empire of the Sun, but J.G. Ballard did. Etc. Etc. The list goes on and on and on.

Forget about the much debated influences that led George Lucas to write Star Wars. Or the derivation of Quentin Tarantino's oeuvre. Or even the mystery of the authorship of Good Will Hunting.

But, let us not forget about the work of William Shakespeare, losing sight of the literal translations, he brought us such gems as West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, O, 10 Things I Hate About You, Throne of Blood, and Ran.

Did you know Shakespeare wrote 635 screenplays??!!

That is not to say that what they did with the previous material is not great, it most often is.

That is also not to say that great original material does not exist, it most certainly does. But, we should also recognize that it is that much more rare (and that will have to wait for a later post).

So whose movie is it? Shouldn't we remember the earlier writers when we praise the work up on the screen? Where would we be without original material? And, does this explain why so many screenwriters are so quick to revise and rewrite earlier work? Is it just so good it needs to be put up on the screen? Is it just the safe, easy way out? Or, do they have a unique vision that only they can provide in order to translate a page turner into a real movie?

The Gloriously Dismal Art of Writing

Economics has been incorrectly labeled the dismal science. Even so, writing may be correctly considered the dismal art. Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Eugene O'Neil, and John Steinbeck were all legendary writers and legendary alcoholics. Many have met their ultimate fate while staring at a blank page. Writers struggle. Lucky for Shakespeare we don't know the depths of his depravity.

Kurt Vonnegut once said: "I am a monopolar depressive descended from monopolar depressives. That's how come I write so good."

Moreover, Douglas Adams stated: "First of all, realize that it's very hard, and that writing is a grueling and lonely business and, unless you are extremely lucky, badly paid as well. You had better really, really, really want to do it."

Writing demands mounds of motivation and determination, a way with words, an ounce or more of creativity, and a certain arrogance to get you through the moments of doubt and depression.

But, most of all, writers suffer. They must suffer in order to overcome. More often than not, your best writing will come when you just can't help but write something down. You need to be at the point where you have something worthwhile to say and you just can't help but let it out. This should be thought of, not as a detriment, but as a badge of honor. It is why it is more than appropriate that writing should be considered the dismal art. And, why it can be so satisfying.

This leads us to how to find the why in order to write.

Nature is often frequently cited as a source of inspiration. The Austrian poet Franz Grillparzer suggested that "art compares to nature as wine to a grape." Friedrich Von Schiller had a comparable perspective when he wrote:

"As noble art has survived noble nature, so too she marches ahead of it, fashioning and awakening by her inspiration. Before truth sends her triumphant light into the depths of the heart, imagination catches its rays, and the peaks of humanity will be glowing when humid night still lingers in the valleys."

Yet, inspiration can be found almost anywhere. A.A. Milne found it in his son's stuffed animals. One in particular is now known by the name of Winnie-the-Poo. Voltaire was inspired by the days he spent in exile in England encountering the novel ideas of one Isaac Newton. Ayn Rand found it in the New York skyline. The lovely but unattainable Beatrice was Dante's muse. In Greek mythology, Calliope is the muse of epic poetry. Best known as the source of inspiration for Homer's The Illiad and The Odyssey.

So look around, live a little, and write a lot.

But, stay off the sauce.

Quote Unquote

"My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement." - Patricia Graynamore

Never Too Early For Oscar

The 2007 Academy Awards may seem like a long way off for the casual viewer or even for the avid movie fan, but not for the studios or the hollywood insider. There are 279 days and 2 hours until Oscar strikes again. Anything can happen. Yet, this fact hasn't stopped David Poland from declaring this The Year Of The Director. Noted filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Milos Forman, Werner Herzog, Brian DePalma, Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh, Anthony Minghella, Steven Zaillian, Mel Gibson, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Bill Condon, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Philip Noyce, Marc Forster, among many others will grace us with the presence of their projects up on the silver screen this year.

Here is Poland's first Oscar chart of the award season detailing the race as he sees it.

Back To Screenwriting

Lajos Egri wrote a book way back in 1946 that consistently ranks in the top three of the most influential works on the art of dramatic writing. And that is exactly the title of his book. A sure fire way to rank in the top three is to take a contradictory position to the book placed at number one. And that is exactly what Lajos Egri does. Egri argues contra Aristotle (discussed here) that character is king. He also argues that writing for the theater, and thus the screen, has lacked the spirit of a destination. Sounding like a great praxeologist, he writes: "Everything has a purpose, or premise. Every second of our life has its own premise, whether or not we are conscious of it at the time. That premise may be as simple as breathing or as complex as a vital emotional decision, but it is always there."

Which leads us to what Egri emphasizes and Moses L. Malevinsky states in The Science of Playwrighting:

"Emotion, or the elements in or of an emotion, constitute the basic things in life. Emotion is life. Life is emotion. Therefore emotion is drama. Drama is emotion.

No emotion ever made, or ever will make, a good play if we do not know what kind of forces set emotion going. Emotion, to be sure, is as necessary to a play as barking to a dog."

Eric M. Vonrothkirch, an Amazon reviewer from Garland, TX, gives you a glimpse of what you'll find inside the book:

* Formulate your premise. Premise is a statement, idea, or conviction that your story proves true.

* Choose a pivotal character who will force the conflict.

* Dialogue should come from the voice of the character, not the writer.

* Orchestrate the other characters. The unity of opposites must be binding. Polar opposites must form a dialectic which creates a unified tension.

* Be careful to select the correct point of attack. Every point of attack starts with conflict.

* There are several types of conflict, such as jumping conflict, but you only want rising or foreshadowing conflict.

* No conflict can rise without perpetual exposition, which is transition.

* Rising conflict, the product of exposition and transition, will ensure growth.

* Characters must conflict--there must be some polarity.

* Crisis will lead to climax. Climax will lead to conclusion.

Here is a link to chapter 1.

As for the long lasting debate between character and plot, I'll stick with William Goldman and say "screenwriting is structure, structure, structure." Interestingly, he is not alone in having faith in this insight as others have been known to observe that writing is organization, organization, organization. Vibrant characters should be obviously obligatory from the outset, but without structure you've got nothing. At best, you've got a bunch of interesting people knocking heads with no place to go. And who wants to see that? Nonetheless, Lajos is worth a look.

A Return To Volver

Pedro Almodovar's new film Volver screens this Friday night at the Cannes Film Festival. A tale of "murder, incest, adultery, grief, dread..." One thing is certain, the poster is simply exquisite. It isn't even Penelope Cruz exclusively. A hundred different actors could have posed in that position (the performance is a different monster entirely). But, this image is the complete package. The brilliant red. The flowers. The sideward glance. The hint of blood. The contrast with the black eyes, the stern pink lips, the gold hoop earrings. Who wouldn't want to see the picture?

THIS is a one-sheet.

The way a one-sheet should be.

How the film turns out, we'll have to wait and see. But, I've heard good things.

Here is an advanced look with the Cahiers du Cinema review by Emmanuel Burdeau.

For a whole new perspective on the art of the movie poster visit The Avant-Garde.

H'W'D Update

Lest you think all the action is happening on the Cote d'Azur, here are a few of the latest projects from the cattle herd in la LA land:

- Guillermo Del Toro has been hired to adapt and direct “The Witches” by Warner Bros. Based on Roald Dahl’s book, the fantasy film is about an orphaned young boy who is sent to live with his grandmother, who is a mistress of magical arts. Alfonso Cuaron is producing the project.

- John Malkovich has signed on to star in “Disgrace” for Wild Strawberries Films. The drama based on a J.M. Coetzee novel and adapted for the screen by Anna Maria Monticelli is about the tribulations an exiled poetry professor faces with his lover in the upheaval of post-Apartheid South Africa. Steve Jacobs is directing the film. The project is being produced by Monticelli and Emile Sherman, with Julio DePietro and Wouter Barendrecht executive producing.

- Abel Ferrara has set up his project “The Last Crew” at Virtual Films and Wild Bunch. The drama will revolve around the criminal underworld of 1970s New York. Michael Pitt is starring. Fernando Sulichin, Chris Hanley, Jordan Gertner and Vincent Maraval are producing, while Jean Cazes is executive producing.

For more visit Script_Radar.

And, The Screenwriting Life has a helpful breakdown of April script sales by genre.

Cannes: Now More Than You'll Ever Need

The Cannes Film Festival started off with a bang with the usual snarky critics (that irresistable combination of sarcasm and cynicism only found in "sophisticated" cineastes) downgrading the latest popular fare. This year's victim being the Da Vinci Code.

The Independent Film Channel has a live webcam of the red carpet so you don't miss one minute of excitement. Here is a list of the official selection. The competition for the Palme d'Or includes a few films that should arouse the interest of Hollywood's eyes and ears such as Pedro Almadovar's Volver, Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu's Babel, Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, and Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation. These films and more will be judged by a jury of artists led by the illustrious Wong Kar-Wai and will include Elia Suleiman, Helena Bonham Carter, Lucretia Martel, Monica Bellucci, Patrice Leconte, Samuel Jackson, Tim Roth, and Zhang Ziyi.

French director Patrice Leconte had the most interesting thing to say on the jury proceedings: "I just hope that our choices don't fall into that category that I call the 'stairway syndrome. ' When the co-renters in a building cannot decide on a color, in the end they choose something neutral like beige. I hope that the Palme d'Or winner will be colorful."

But, Wong Kar-Wai would not miss a point to wax poetic either: The jury is sometimes like a mirror. It is our decisions, it is our selection and it reflects not only the film, but also ourselves. So it's subjective like all mirrors, they are sometimes distorted. Makes things look prettier or worse, so I hope today this Jury will be as clear as possible as a mirror. So in case there is an angel looking in, there won't be a monkey looking out.”

The Cahiers du Cinema gives you a look at the selection process for those curious.

If you haven't yet arrived at the airport in Nice, several journos have you covered as they blog from a cafe across the street from the Palais des Festivals. David Gritten covers the scene for the Daily Telegraph. Xan Brooks has you covered via the Guardian. And, Simon Houpt from the Globe and Mail gives you his candid perspective.

The New York Times covers the show casting aside the purists and the scenesters while acting as the cognescenti.

The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, and the Guardian (podcast included) are all offering carpet-to-carpet coverage.

The best place, besides the blogger gossip of course, to find the real scoop is perhaps the official site.

Cannes: Now More Than Ever

I don't know where all the negative press about the Cannes Film Festival is coming from. But, it surely is as relevant to today's world as it ever was. Probably even more so in this globalized marketplace.

Here is one rebuttal to the numbers in question.

Here are a few of the Palme d'Or winners to refresh your memory (not to mention the glitz and glamour of the Croisette that the Sunset strip will never top):

2005: L'Enfant
2004: Fahrenheit 9/11
2002: The Pianist
2000: Dancers in the Dark
1996: Secrets & Lies
1994: Pulp Fiction
1993: The Piano & Farewell My Concubine
1991: Barton Fink
1990: Wild At Heart
1989: Sex, Lies, and Videotape
1988: Pelle the Conqueror
1986: The Mission
1984: Paris, Texas
1980: Kagemusha & All That Jazz
1979: The Tin Drum & Apocalypse Now
1976: Taxi Driver
1974: The Conversation
1970: M.A.S.H.
1967: BLOW UP
1966: A Man and a Woman
1962: The Payer of Promises
1960: La Dolce Vita
1955: Marty
1949: The Third Man

The list certainly stands on its own against the Academy Award winning films for Best Picture. N'est-ce pas? Add the competition and it looks even better. Even Crash (2005) haters can get behind this one. They feel the pain of worthy adversaries. Imagine Friendly Persuasion beating Kanal & The Seventh Seal (1957) or The Payer of Promises beating Eclipse & Trial of Joan of Arc (1962). If beating Andrei Roublev & Easy Rider (1969) or Under The Sun of Satan beating Wings of Desire (1987). Not to mention Wild Strawberries (1957) missed out on a Palme d'Or and so did Les 400 Coups (1959) and A Bout de Souffle (1960) and Stranger Than Paradise (1984). Talk about fierce competition.

Changing of the Guard?

Anne Thompson, Risky Business Anne Thompson, of The Hollywood Reporter sees the recent success of the studio's indie units resulting in the execs having more clout in determining what makes it onto the screen. However, David Poland gives a brief look at the problem with dependents at his MCN blog.

Add to that Filmmaker Magazine's article on The 10% Solution and the news that longtime super-agent John Ptak has left CAA to form his own consulting firm in order to advise folks on both sides of the game as well as secure private equity funding for productions and you have one big mess.

One thing is clear: whoever figures it all out stands to make a ton of dough. And, hopefully some great movies. The guard may not be changing, but the role of the guard surely is.

But, then again when has it not? The question is whether you are going to sit on the sidelines and let the cash slip through your fingers just like the days of the advent of radio, or television, or video, or the internet, or...

A Little Theater In Oceanside Has All The Answers

Who knew all our problems were so easy to fix? We are well on our way back to the movie palace era.

Forget downloading movies over torrents. Forget piracy in China. Forget outdated pricing. Forget buying a ticket for one movie and seeing another (I can't even believe people do this, do you really think Tom Cruise cares?). Forget DVD's and home theater set-ups. Forget the fact that everything is marketed to a teenage audience when the demographics tell a different tale. Forget a lousy, noisey experience at the theater.

The answer is: BEER.

Disclaimer: Lest I be misunderstood, I applaud the effort and hope to see more effort being made to secure a pleasurable viewing experience at the theater. I would even suggest providing the opportunity to see classic and even experimental films on the big screen once again. I would also suggest maintaing the silence during the show with the only exceptions being laughter and gasps in horror. But, yea, you might want to think about addressing the other issues too. Please turn your uncertainty into experimentation.

American Masters

John Ford and Francis Morrison. Oh, wait, I mean John Wayne. Yea that is it. These two American masters had a much more complicated relationship than anyone ever imagined. Once upon a time John Ford was a successful director who just happened upon a young UCLA grad working a summer job as an assistant property man on the Fox lot. And, the rest, is as they say: history.

The Duke stalls, Ford roars ahead. The Duke picks it up and they both ride to fame and glory. Ford falls, and the Duke picks him up.

Underneath it all is a complex relationship with questions of politics, responsibility, perspective, and the dynamics of personality all brewing beneath the surface.

PBS and American Masters looks at John Ford/John Wayne this Wednesday, May 10th, 2006.

The Good Old Days in Today's Dollars

Florence Lawrence, aka "The Biograph Girl," launched the star system when she left Biograph Studios for IMP when Carl Laemmle, who later founded Universal Pictures, agreed to give her a marquee identifying her by name on screen and in advertising. Salaries predictably began to rise and studios have been cursing and crying ever since:

1912: By the end of the year Lawrence was the highest paid actor, making $250 per week. $4,949.47 in 2005 dollars.

1913: Mary Pickford signed a contract worth $500 a week. Approximately $9,554.95 today.

1914: Pickford re-signs for double her weekly fee worth $18,662.02 adjusted for inflation.

1915: Pickford doubles up again and receives $36,845.05 in 2005 dollars weekly compensation.

1916: Charlie Chaplin banks $10,000 per week ($182,401.26). Plus a $150,000 ($2,736,018.91) signing bonus.

1919: Fatty Arbuckle becomes the first star to be guaranteed a million dollar yearly salary. $12,299,270.97 in 2005 dollars. A sum that surely came in handy during the subsequent witch-hunt that destroyed his career and personal life.

But, damn were those studios raking in the dough in those days. Paying Miss Pickford $36 g's a week! And Roscoe signs for $12 million! Yes sir, those were the good ol' days. I wonder how many execs still curse cute little Canadian Florence Lawrence's name.

The initial figures were published in William Goldman's Adventures In The Screen Trade.

Interestingly, Steven Soderbergh is now calling for a salary cap for actors.

And, now studio execs via Entertainment Weekly seem to be questioning the relative worth of some of the current stock of high-priced talent.

La plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.