FINALLY getting to post these
It's not an official post, but whatever.
I WAS intending on posting an entry as soon as I was back from digital film camp and everything, but that obviously didn't happen.
'Cause then work happened again.
Followed by HP7 Part 2.
Followed by HP marathon.
Followed by a convention involving Channel Awesome.
Which was all interspersed with my own laziness.
Those are my excuses, you can throw as many tomatoes at me as you want, just so long as you don't argue over how you should pronounce them or what type of food they are.
Meanwhile, I have a meme a certain Merle has been long expecting me to do... well, two memes actually.
I'll start with the more boring one.
You reply to this entry and I will apparently do the following:
1. Tell you why I friended you
2. Associate you with something. A fandom, a song, a movie, something like that
3. Tell you something I like about you
4. Tell you a memory I have of you
5. Associate you with a character/pairing
6. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you
7. Tell you my favorite user icon of yours
8. You have to do the same thing on your LJ
The other meme requires much more effort on my part, thanks to some elabourate cinema-related questions brought to you by my dear friend Merle.
1: What is your absolute favorite classic film?
This one will haunt me FOREVER, and I'm pretty sure if I ever come up with a decision I will tear my hat off and swear that that's not the final answer the very next day. At least it's not the age-old "What's your favourite film?" which is obviously never asked by someone who's a cinema-loving film student. Did you ever know that such a question is bloody HARD? It's like asking someone who their favourite child is. And the word "classic" is one of the most broad statements in the UNIVERSE that it could mean bloody anything. I will seek revenge on you, Merle, only to have you come up with the answer in two seconds leaving me to tear off my hat all over again and cry out in defeat. Could you have NOT given me some sort of mercy with this question?
I highly doubt I could narrow it down to one. I really do. There are classic films from the Golden Hollywood era that I love to bits such as Singin' in the Rain or Rear Window or You Can't Take It with You. Then there are the silent flicks like Modern Times or City Lights or... just any Charlie Chaplin film! Any British film like The Lady Vanishes or Scrooge or Murder, She Said. Then you have the European artsy ones such as... well, anything by Jean-Luc Godard! Then you have Kurosawa... geez, do you really expect me to pick ONE out of all of these? It's not happening, dear.
2: Who is your professional hero/filmmaking inspiration?
Oh this is much easier, thankyou. Most of my inspirations/idols make films I adore (naturally), while others it's 'cause of their philosophy, or just their style. Hitchcock is probably an obvious choice, but how can one NOT be influenced by the guy? I'm not sure if I got the whole "vision your shots before you film them" thing from him or not, but to say he's not an influence is like saying Shakespeare didn't help modernise the English language. Woody Allen's another one - the way he plays off of everyone, it... it's a sense of humour I can really relate to. I have this LOVE for directors poking fun/referencing the mechanics of filmmaking, possibly 'cause I would marry the mechanics if I could, but damn, it's AWESOME! And Allen does it so well, breaking the fourth wall, incorporating greek theatre into cinema, broadcasting a sex scene as if it were a boxing match, it's just brilliant! Orson Welles is probably another obvious choice, but again he's another one of those directors you can't deny is a huge influence (particularly in the cinematography department). I recall him saying that in order to be a good director, one has to be good in all fields of filmmaking, and while that's intimidating, I've been keeping that in mind a lot. One would argue maybe a little too much, but it's still an influence, isn't it. Charlie Chaplin... oh, if only he were around still! If you want a professional hero, I'd say Chaplin is the one - when I watch his films, I feel like I truly get his messages, I truly feel how he felt while telling his story. Every time I see a film of his, I feel like I could tell him about anything and he would understand, if only he were there to listen. He's probably the biggest idol of mine in the filmmaking universe next to Jean-Luc Godard, who does what Allen does in virtually every aesthetic manner. I've only seen two of his films, but reading about what he did, what he believed in... it's all exactly why I want to make films! Making them solely to express oneself, solely to give a new perspective, solely to create something hopefully different and inspiring, while still paying hommage to the classics from the olden days. It's beautiful. Roald Dahl is definitely my biggest literary idol, as Phil Collins and Beethoven are my biggest musical idols, as Angela Lansbury is my biggest theatrical idol. Wow... this came out much bigger than I thought. Kieslowski and Kurosawa are also notable.
3: Who is your personal hero/The individual in your life who you admire most?
In my personal life? I've never really met most of them XD Others I maybe shouldn't mention here. You're definitely high up there, though, Merle, I'll let you know :P
4: What filmmaker do you feel is absolutely overrated/not worth the hype at all?
This question is a lot bloody harder than I expected it to be, if only because most of the directors I don't really like either have done films I haven't seen (thus can't make a proper judgement), or are ones that almost everybody thinks sucks anyway. I may need to get back to this one, because I've genuinely never had it where a bunch of movies pissed me off, found out that they're all done by the same person, and hear others raving about them.
A few exceptions to this are maybe... well it depends on who you talk to. Most that may fit into this category are split when it comes to overrated critique and audience hype... but I may argue that Christopher Nolan really shouldn't be put on the pedestal so much. I'm not a Batman fan, so maybe I shouldn't say in that regard, and while several parts in The Dark Knight were interesting (and horrifying) and all, it was still veeeery Hollywood superhero movie conventional, as in it was all about the action, all about the explosions, all about the car chases, still lacking in any interesting female characters, there are probably various other things, but the point is, it was no innovation by any means. He studied some more depth for the main characters, well good for him, but that doesn't make him a genius. Inception, yes, it's an incredible concept, and I loved the film, but he failed to elabourate on the subject I felt. If you're dealing with dreams, some of the rules, some of the methods were way too... concrete. Dreams are abstract, concrete does not work very well for them usually. This may all be nitpicking, and I may be wrong in that people are actually worshipping Nolan's feet, but from what I've heard, no, he's not a bloody genius filmmaker just 'cause he decided to do a more in-depth superhero series or focus on the dream concept. It HAS been done before you know.
Really, I think most of my experiences with this are with just films, though this entire question for me is usually the other way around. A lot of film students seem to think Godard is overrated while I love his work just from reading about it. I guess I just bend that way or something.
5: What, if any, current or recent TV shows do you watch and how regularly?
Oh god. You're talking to the person who never touches a television anymore except to see the Academy or Tony Awards, or to watch Jeopardy! during suppertime. XD
No, most if not all of the shows I watch are already off-air or on reruns. Probably the only shows still dishing out episodes that I've watched are Futurama, Robot Chicken, and The Simpsons, but I do not watch them enough to be able to use them to answer this question. Probably the most recent show I watched regularly was Avatar: The Last Airbender, but that's done now, too, so... bloody hell, how come I can never properly answer any question you give me? >.>
However - I know this is perfectly devillish of me - I'm sort of secretly hoping Rowling eventually gives the rights to make a Saturday morning cartoon version of the HP series, if only to see how much they screw it up. I would sadistically/masochistically watch it every week XD
Oh, and I do watch Saturday Night at the Movies still, if that counts. Mind you, like, once every four months, but still.
So beware if you comment, 'cause this meme applies to that, too:
• Comment and ask to be interviewed.
• I'll ask you five burning questions.
• Post your answers in an entry of your own.
• And so on and so forth.
Happy commenting.
I WAS intending on posting an entry as soon as I was back from digital film camp and everything, but that obviously didn't happen.
'Cause then work happened again.
Followed by HP7 Part 2.
Followed by HP marathon.
Followed by a convention involving Channel Awesome.
Which was all interspersed with my own laziness.
Those are my excuses, you can throw as many tomatoes at me as you want, just so long as you don't argue over how you should pronounce them or what type of food they are.
Meanwhile, I have a meme a certain Merle has been long expecting me to do... well, two memes actually.
I'll start with the more boring one.
You reply to this entry and I will apparently do the following:
1. Tell you why I friended you
2. Associate you with something. A fandom, a song, a movie, something like that
3. Tell you something I like about you
4. Tell you a memory I have of you
5. Associate you with a character/pairing
6. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you
7. Tell you my favorite user icon of yours
8. You have to do the same thing on your LJ
The other meme requires much more effort on my part, thanks to some elabourate cinema-related questions brought to you by my dear friend Merle.
1: What is your absolute favorite classic film?
This one will haunt me FOREVER, and I'm pretty sure if I ever come up with a decision I will tear my hat off and swear that that's not the final answer the very next day. At least it's not the age-old "What's your favourite film?" which is obviously never asked by someone who's a cinema-loving film student. Did you ever know that such a question is bloody HARD? It's like asking someone who their favourite child is. And the word "classic" is one of the most broad statements in the UNIVERSE that it could mean bloody anything. I will seek revenge on you, Merle, only to have you come up with the answer in two seconds leaving me to tear off my hat all over again and cry out in defeat. Could you have NOT given me some sort of mercy with this question?
I highly doubt I could narrow it down to one. I really do. There are classic films from the Golden Hollywood era that I love to bits such as Singin' in the Rain or Rear Window or You Can't Take It with You. Then there are the silent flicks like Modern Times or City Lights or... just any Charlie Chaplin film! Any British film like The Lady Vanishes or Scrooge or Murder, She Said. Then you have the European artsy ones such as... well, anything by Jean-Luc Godard! Then you have Kurosawa... geez, do you really expect me to pick ONE out of all of these? It's not happening, dear.
2: Who is your professional hero/filmmaking inspiration?
Oh this is much easier, thankyou. Most of my inspirations/idols make films I adore (naturally), while others it's 'cause of their philosophy, or just their style. Hitchcock is probably an obvious choice, but how can one NOT be influenced by the guy? I'm not sure if I got the whole "vision your shots before you film them" thing from him or not, but to say he's not an influence is like saying Shakespeare didn't help modernise the English language. Woody Allen's another one - the way he plays off of everyone, it... it's a sense of humour I can really relate to. I have this LOVE for directors poking fun/referencing the mechanics of filmmaking, possibly 'cause I would marry the mechanics if I could, but damn, it's AWESOME! And Allen does it so well, breaking the fourth wall, incorporating greek theatre into cinema, broadcasting a sex scene as if it were a boxing match, it's just brilliant! Orson Welles is probably another obvious choice, but again he's another one of those directors you can't deny is a huge influence (particularly in the cinematography department). I recall him saying that in order to be a good director, one has to be good in all fields of filmmaking, and while that's intimidating, I've been keeping that in mind a lot. One would argue maybe a little too much, but it's still an influence, isn't it. Charlie Chaplin... oh, if only he were around still! If you want a professional hero, I'd say Chaplin is the one - when I watch his films, I feel like I truly get his messages, I truly feel how he felt while telling his story. Every time I see a film of his, I feel like I could tell him about anything and he would understand, if only he were there to listen. He's probably the biggest idol of mine in the filmmaking universe next to Jean-Luc Godard, who does what Allen does in virtually every aesthetic manner. I've only seen two of his films, but reading about what he did, what he believed in... it's all exactly why I want to make films! Making them solely to express oneself, solely to give a new perspective, solely to create something hopefully different and inspiring, while still paying hommage to the classics from the olden days. It's beautiful. Roald Dahl is definitely my biggest literary idol, as Phil Collins and Beethoven are my biggest musical idols, as Angela Lansbury is my biggest theatrical idol. Wow... this came out much bigger than I thought. Kieslowski and Kurosawa are also notable.
3: Who is your personal hero/The individual in your life who you admire most?
In my personal life? I've never really met most of them XD Others I maybe shouldn't mention here. You're definitely high up there, though, Merle, I'll let you know :P
4: What filmmaker do you feel is absolutely overrated/not worth the hype at all?
This question is a lot bloody harder than I expected it to be, if only because most of the directors I don't really like either have done films I haven't seen (thus can't make a proper judgement), or are ones that almost everybody thinks sucks anyway. I may need to get back to this one, because I've genuinely never had it where a bunch of movies pissed me off, found out that they're all done by the same person, and hear others raving about them.
A few exceptions to this are maybe... well it depends on who you talk to. Most that may fit into this category are split when it comes to overrated critique and audience hype... but I may argue that Christopher Nolan really shouldn't be put on the pedestal so much. I'm not a Batman fan, so maybe I shouldn't say in that regard, and while several parts in The Dark Knight were interesting (and horrifying) and all, it was still veeeery Hollywood superhero movie conventional, as in it was all about the action, all about the explosions, all about the car chases, still lacking in any interesting female characters, there are probably various other things, but the point is, it was no innovation by any means. He studied some more depth for the main characters, well good for him, but that doesn't make him a genius. Inception, yes, it's an incredible concept, and I loved the film, but he failed to elabourate on the subject I felt. If you're dealing with dreams, some of the rules, some of the methods were way too... concrete. Dreams are abstract, concrete does not work very well for them usually. This may all be nitpicking, and I may be wrong in that people are actually worshipping Nolan's feet, but from what I've heard, no, he's not a bloody genius filmmaker just 'cause he decided to do a more in-depth superhero series or focus on the dream concept. It HAS been done before you know.
Really, I think most of my experiences with this are with just films, though this entire question for me is usually the other way around. A lot of film students seem to think Godard is overrated while I love his work just from reading about it. I guess I just bend that way or something.
5: What, if any, current or recent TV shows do you watch and how regularly?
Oh god. You're talking to the person who never touches a television anymore except to see the Academy or Tony Awards, or to watch Jeopardy! during suppertime. XD
No, most if not all of the shows I watch are already off-air or on reruns. Probably the only shows still dishing out episodes that I've watched are Futurama, Robot Chicken, and The Simpsons, but I do not watch them enough to be able to use them to answer this question. Probably the most recent show I watched regularly was Avatar: The Last Airbender, but that's done now, too, so... bloody hell, how come I can never properly answer any question you give me? >.>
However - I know this is perfectly devillish of me - I'm sort of secretly hoping Rowling eventually gives the rights to make a Saturday morning cartoon version of the HP series, if only to see how much they screw it up. I would sadistically/masochistically watch it every week XD
Oh, and I do watch Saturday Night at the Movies still, if that counts. Mind you, like, once every four months, but still.
So beware if you comment, 'cause this meme applies to that, too:
• Comment and ask to be interviewed.
• I'll ask you five burning questions.
• Post your answers in an entry of your own.
• And so on and so forth.
Happy commenting.