Subscribe To This Site
Jeremy LaLonde's Blog
|
I think I’m getting better. There’s a line in my upcoming short, “Hoff’s New Direction” where one character asks another, “Who do you love more, the man or the artist?” Now that I write this I’m pretty sure I’ve stolen this exact line from Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway”… oh well… they say that good artists borrow, but great artists steal so there’s that…
But my point I was about to get to is that in our industry I’m not sure there’s much of a distinction between the man and the artist. Or at least the progression goes both ways. I’m starting to become a bit of a grown-up, I think. I’m getting married this summer and I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for this relationship I wouldn’t be who I am today, I wouldn’t have grown in the direction I’m growing. The choices I make are better, I think. More refined. I notice that I don’t waste a lot of time, I know when I’m working on something that’s not good a lot quicker now. I know that even in my writing I have more confidence in the idea and don’t feel like I have to be overly expositional or on-the-nose with dialogue. I think a lot of that just comes from experience with actors, knowing how they can communicate with a look what it takes me a monologue to do. More self trust or something.
Projects
The grant is off for “The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard”. A friend of mine that lives in L.A. has forwarded the script onto a production company there that specializes in low-budget productions geared towards my kind of project, so we’ll see what comes of that. I found a short script I wrote awhile back and I’ve been humming and hawing about whether I want to try and do another Bravo!FACT with it or not… with a big editing project at work, the upcoming wedding, two shorts about to start going into festivals, I don’t want to spread myself too thin… perhaps in the fall if nothing with Paul Shepard happens in the mean time. Also I got an e-mail this morning from a friend asking me if I’d be interested in directing their short, which is interesting to me since I’ve never directed anyone else’s writing before (excluding theatre). I haven’t gotten the script yet, and all that’s happened is I’ve responded to the e-mail, so it’s in the very early stages.
The February Film (and other stuff) List
So I mentioned a blog or two ago that I would start listing all the films I watch in a week. I think I’ll do it by month, it just makes it a little easier for me. Plus sometimes I’ll get busy and not watch anything in a week, where other times I’ll go nuts with it. So this will even it out a bit. I’ve mentioned before that I keep a film journal, so I’m just going to through in some excerpts from my entrees:
“Notes on a Scandal” – If nothing else Patrick Marber knows how to write about the human condition. The acting is beautiful and the story engaging.
“Madagascar” – I was watching my nephews and it’s their new favorite film. It’s a bit episodic, but it’s cute enough for a kids flick. Very curious to see where they go with the sequel.
“Gilmore Girls: Season Five” – Emily (my lady) and I watch these with dinner when we can. I never thought I’d ever watch this show, but it’s pretty good – and gets better with each season. It’s the right kind of quirky. "Music & Lyrics” – The Valentine’s Day selection. For the kind of film that this is aiming to be it was well done. Funny, charming, etc… Nothing amazing, but it wasn’t trying to be.
“Love in the Afternoon” – Mmmmm. I like me some Eric Rohmer. If you like human condition types films this is a fantastic one. It’s a very minimalist film, but it connects with me quite a bit. Chris Rock just remade this so I’m curious to see how that turns out.
“Friends With Money” – While I like all the actors involved in this piece and I think it’s written well in terms of dialogue and character I find it lacks something. It’s kind of morally ambivalent without having a point, or at least letting me in on what it is. Worth watching though.
“All About My Mother” – I’m still getting to know Pedro as a filmmaker. His camera is personal and knows where to be at all the right moments. This film flows with a lovely pace and structure.
“Closer” – Re-watched this film as a style point for a film I’m writing. I’d love to see the play version of this. The acting is just amazing in this film. It has a really powerful structure in deciding what to show us and what parts of the story to skip over. This reminds me a lot of a previous Nichol’s film that I love Carnal Knowledge. If you loved this, see that.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” – This film sets it’s tone right off the bat and never derails from it. The absurdity of war and a child’s dream like sensibility are a great pairing. It’s a film that’s as beautiful in moral as it is in visual.
“Dreamgirls” – This film was only OK. I dug the music, but found that it went on and on in parts. I thought Jennifer Hudson’s singing was fine but acting was laughable. Her award, let alone nomination, baffles me.
“United 93” – This is quite the film. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. It never really tries to get to know any of the characters, it just watches people. It’s an honest film about people stuck in a horrible situation. I think it’s amazing.
“An Inconvenient Truth” – The best part about this film is that you never feel like you’re being lectured at, which is nice when you’re discovering out that you’re destroying the world. Check it out, Ebert was right when he said that everyone owes it to themselves to see this film.
“Water” – This was my final film in gearing up for the Oscars. It’s a great story about a little known subculture in India. Deepa’s made a beautiful little film here about big ideas.
OK. That was my movie watching for February.
Until next time…
Do you have questions or comments about what you've read in Jeremy LaLonde's blog, or on the rest of the site? Then click here to send us your thoughts, ideas for content or any other feedback. We'd love to hear from you!
Return from Jeremy LaLonde's Blog March 4th 2007 to the Jeremy Blog Archive
Return from Jeremy LaLonde's Blog March 4th 2007 to the WILDsound Filmmaking Feedback Events home page
