just as i suspected. sponotti, in the july issue of asc, talks extensively about mann's love the smaller chip size, deep depth of field and neo-realism of digital cinema. i just don't think he could be further off the mark. why would anyone want to make movies look as flat as possible? i thought the wrestler did it well for a docufiction, and it had great effect. but a period piece? come one now. albeit, butch cassidy used modern music to take the western genre somewhere else but they balanced it by using that aged photo montage and connie hall's images are just golden and filled with longing and reminiscing. and the the latent zoom thing... after galactica, it's just annoying. does anyone seriously like the jittery camera anymore. it's just been done. why our our cinematic innovators replicating ideas from five years ago? mann is making 'vice' all over again, and it breaks my heart. in all seriousness, i think a lot of these washed-up directors are in a money grab right now. just trying to make big movies cheap and just cash those checks. i really don't think they love it anymore. could they? does spielberg or scorscese? i just don't know. i don't know if they CAN.
on a positive note, ms. bigelow is making movies again. she had a stint doing tv stuff but she's back to the silver screen and i really think 'the hurt locker' looks like a good ride. shot on 16mm, it's based on a true story of army demo guys who, in 2004, we taking down up to 50 ied's a day. yes, a day. sounds like a great story and honestly, i love where kathrine puts the camera. her pov thing really worked for me in 'point break' and 'strange days', one of my guilty pleasure movies. and, forget the rest, she's always telling the story and she always loves her characters. all of them. she doesn't judge them. they all, even the small ones, have something to say and a role in the narrative. wouldn't it be hysterical if 'hurt locker' did better numbers (in budget ratio) then 'avatar'. god i would really, really love that.
i'm guessing transformers numbers are going to be right around $135 million for the five day total. we'll see how much disposable income americans have left in the coffers because, for a movie that has the biggest explosions of all time, it would have done $170 million two years ago.
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DIRECTING A $5,000 DOLLAR MOVIE LESSON #67
casting is 70% of the process. don't cast for type, cast for depth and range. get an actor who really wants to explore the part and every scene will be going somewhere. and sometimes, that's all you can ask for.
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