Film, Illusion & Spectatorship, Part 2: Take me to a whole new world…but don’t show me how we got there.
In Part 1 we discussed how the typical Hollywood ending turns audiences off to movies with ambiguous endings. Now, in Part 2, we explore why audiences reject movies that remind them that they are, well, fake. The insistence on a certain type of realism, which in Hollywood comes down to slickness, truncates the audience’s imagination. [...]
Film, Illusion & Spectatorship, Part 1: Tie It Up With a Bow, Please.
Because I teach film in a high school setting, I have access to audiences – young, raw audiences. Every time we watch a film together, I get to monitor the reactions of about 150 people whose tastes have been primarily shaped by slick Hollywood standards. When they watch a movie, they want a blockbuster: they [...]
Chicago: All Stars!
Celebrated our return to Chicago this week with a few of our favorite things: FIERY FOOD: Thai food at Me Dee with the stars of Anxiety Acres (Mike Ayres & Heather Rush) FRENZIED FUN: An NYC Midnight 48-hr screenplay contest (Deadline Sunday at 12:00am EST) FINE ART FRIDAY: Our friend & fave artist Danny Hein took [...]
Short Clip of the Week
This week I’m sharing a webisode rather than a short film. Here, Film Fellas of Zacuto USA present webisode 8, “System of a Breakdown,” in which several independent filmmakers discuss the age-old question of how to make great art, get it seen, and make money doing so. This has been something that Julie and I [...]