Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Shapes of Fear: John Carpenter
From '76 thru '88, John Carpenter was on a creative roll few (if any) genre directors have matched. He is an A filmmaker that specializes in B content. While he was more of a 'director for hire' on Christine & Starman, the latter's weaknesses were somewhat counterbalanced by admirable qualities. The former being the only minor weak spot in that run. Beyond that, it's been hit & miss from 1992up until 1998, with the one true hit being In the Mouth of Madness. Curiously enough, the final film in his Apocalypse trilogy. But it wasn't until Vampires that he lost it. And if there were any doubts in people's minds as to whether or not he still had it in him -- Ghosts of Mars was the film that sealed it.
___________________________________________________________
The spirit moves John Carpenter again
By Mark Olsen
(L.A. TIMES)
John Carpenter needed a break. It was 2001, and his latest film, the outer space thriller "Ghosts of Mars," had just flopped — at the box office and with critics. Creatively stymied and just plain exhausted by Hollywood and the moviemaking process, the director decided it was time to step away from the camera.
"I'd always sworn to myself when it stopped being fun I'd stop, and it stopped," Carpenter said over a recent lunch of pasta and Winstons in Beverly Hills. "I was really burned out. And it doesn't help when your movie tanks."
Now, nearly 10 years on, Carpenter is back with a very different kind of ghost story. The 1960s set "The Ward," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Midnight Madness section Monday night, tells the story of Kristen ( Amber Heard), a young woman who is confined to a remote mental hospital where she and a small group of fellow patients are stalked by a dark spirit.
The project is one that is likely to be described as a "return to form," and Carpenter believes it might have something to do with his self-imposed respite from Hollywood. "It was needed time," he said. "I needed it badly."
Living under the long shadow of your own reputation can be a troubling proposition for any
filmmaker, and you might say Carpenter has spent large portions of his career haunted by his past. Though his resume is peppered with science fiction, action adventure and satiric titles, his reputation in the broader cultural consciousness has been that of a horror director, stemming back to his landmark 1978 effort " Halloween."
"I never got in this business, in cinema, to make horror movies," said Carpenter, whose filmography includes "Escape From New York," "The Thing," "Big Trouble in Little China," "Starman" and "They Live." "They arrived on my doorstep and I got typecast. Which was fine, I enjoy it, but I got into this business to make westerns. And the kind of westerns I used to see, they died. So that didn't work out."
He hadn't initially intended to direct "The Ward" either. In the middle years of this decade, Carpenter had begun to reemerge working in television, helming two episodes of the Showtime anthology series "Masters of Horror," an experience he said reminded him of the importance of having a good hotel on location and how much his feet hurt after long days on set. Although he'd turned down the movie, he nevertheless worked on developing the script with writers Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen, fine-tuning the project that would mark his return to features.
"We realized John wanted to be very careful about what he did next," said Doug Mankoff, president of Echo Lake Entertainment, who produced the film along with Peter Block's company A Bigger Boat. "This is a man who has painted on some very large canvases, and I think he wanted to really own this opportunity to paint on a slightly smaller canvas, to really focus on the story and the characters."
"I thought, maybe I'll try a little movie, not a big one, but a little film," said Carpenter of what appealed to him about the project. " 'The Ward' was perfect, in the sense it was a contained film. It's basically a story about isolation anyway, with a small cast, and that was perfect for me. And it was a different kind of movie than I had done, which was fun. I didn't have to go back to the same ground again."
The film, which features a distinctive cast of such young actresses as Lyndsy Fonseca, Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer, Laura-Leigh and Mika Boorem, shot last year in Spokane, Wash., on a relatively modest budget of around $9.5 million. Working on that smaller scale didn't restrict Carpenter's signature artistic choices, however — nobody shoots a young woman running down a hallway quite the way he does.
"Wide lenses, that's the secret," he said with a knowing laugh.
Much is riding on festival reaction to the film, which is still looking for distribution. Carpenter, who was due to be in Toronto for the movie's premiere but was required to stay in Southern California for jury duty, says he's happy either way. He's not spending too much time thinking about the future or what project he might work on next. Simply making "The Ward" turned out to be fulfilling enough, all on its own.
"I needed to be away from the movie business and rediscover what it was about cinema that I loved," the 62-year-old said. "And I found it."
END OF ARTICLE
__________________________________________________________________
The two films Carpenter fans usually have at the top of their lists are either Halloween & The Thing. While I love Halloween, the tension and mood are both one upped in The Thing along with a startling sense of viciousness. Of all the scenes in this director's career, the one that is probably the most effective in terms of pure suspense would have to be the blood test scene. By this point of the movie, we have already seen the alien creature take on a variety of shapes and forms -- courtesy of then 22 year old FX maestro Rob Bottin. The camera set up in the blood test scene itself is very economical and spare in approach. Lensed by Dean Cundey, it allows the boiling pot of paranoia to pour over. There was already a rampant sense of paranoia running throughout the film to begin with. Trying to figure out who is infected at what point in the film makes for incredible replay value. An ingredient this film delivers in spades: setup & payoff. And the payoff in the blood test is about as gruesome & nihilistic as it gets in Carpenter's ouevre.
Another key ingredient to this film's effectiveness: the unknowable. While the character of Michael Myers would be exploited through a franchise of films, the shapes that the Thing forms still invoke mystery upon the mind. The only thing we know (and is also the string that ties it to the 1951 original) is that a Norweigan research team found it in a block of ice. Along with the spaceship from whence it came. With the forthcoming prequel on its way, I have a strong feeling that, even as a prequel, the dialogue will be peppered with exposition. I had always wondered how exactly the chaos played out for the unfortunate team of Norweigans. All Carpenter shows us is aftermath. Maybe it's just best to leave it that way.
I have yet to see The Ward and am in no hurry to. As a Carpenter fan, it pains me to say that. The reviews I have seen for it don't sound too promising. The last decade hasn't treated his films well either, with remakes of Assault On Precinct 13, The Fog & Halloween. I do have a sliver of hope that he finds great new material to mine. Maybe even have the revival that another 80's director, John Hughes, never had. But as time goes on, and directors from that time period get older (Landis & Dante included) I'm afraid his legacy will remain in the late 70's & 80's.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Favorite Horror Films Pt. 2
5. "You like this face?"
4. "12 cabins, 12 vacancies."
"Great party, isn't it?"
3. "I don't know what's in there. But it's weird and pissed off whatever it is."
"He's got something in his throat."
2. "Here kitty, kitty."
1. "In here, with us."
ADDENDUM
--Yep. 3 & 4 are ties. I also revised the first list I posted.
-- All of these films to me have one thing in common: they are able to create and sustain a mood throughout their duration that make most horror filmmakers today jealous.
--This was hard enough to do even with 10 (hence the ties). A top 20 would be somewhat easier. The rankings are interchangeable among the films selected. However, the films in this section of the list in particular rarely switch places with those in the other list.
Some very honorable mentions (technically making what was suppose to be a top 5, a top 20...):
An American Werewolf In London, Halloween, The Devil Rejects, Audition, The Changeling, Frankenstein, Dead Alive
4. "12 cabins, 12 vacancies."
"Great party, isn't it?"
3. "I don't know what's in there. But it's weird and pissed off whatever it is."
"He's got something in his throat."
2. "Here kitty, kitty."
1. "In here, with us."
ADDENDUM
--Yep. 3 & 4 are ties. I also revised the first list I posted.
-- All of these films to me have one thing in common: they are able to create and sustain a mood throughout their duration that make most horror filmmakers today jealous.
--This was hard enough to do even with 10 (hence the ties). A top 20 would be somewhat easier. The rankings are interchangeable among the films selected. However, the films in this section of the list in particular rarely switch places with those in the other list.
Some very honorable mentions (technically making what was suppose to be a top 5, a top 20...):
An American Werewolf In London, Halloween, The Devil Rejects, Audition, The Changeling, Frankenstein, Dead Alive
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Momentum: A PT Anderson Retrospective Pt. 1
OK...first off, I was a bit hesitant in even doing a retrospective on PTA. With only 5 films, there are barely any books dedicated to the director's work, which for better or worse is the big reason why I decided to go ahead on doing this retrospective. But perhaps an even bigger obstacle was: How in the blue hell do I even begin on writing about Magnolia or There Will Be Blood. Besides, the website Cigarettes & Red Vines has already done an astonishing job collecting interviews, press junkets, articles, etc. on each film. So I decided to comb through their archives as well as the DVD commentaries and other resources to present an assembled critique/analysis of the films. Hopefully, this masterclass will serve two parties: those who have yet to discover the director's work & those who are already familiar with the films and are looking for tasty little tidbits on them.
Second -- I plan on posting Pts. 1-3 this month and Pts. 4-6 in November. That schedule is subject to change. I'll be doing another Director Retrospective in January.
And finally, I do have to rant a bit. It's bizarre seeing all the comments online calling him the next Kubrick, Altman or Scorsese. I can't help but stop and roll my eyes. His films may have the STYLE of those directors and of course invite the comparison as far as style goes. But the director has written all of his films so he is already different than those directors. If ever there was a more idiotic way to label a filmmaker, it's "THE NEXT" (Fill in the Blank). It's trying to put a familiar name on something new. It's not the way to look at art. PT Anderson is the first PT Anderson. And that's that.
____________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
Paul Thomas Anderson was born June 26 (one day before my birthday), 1970 in Studio City, California to Edwina & Ernie Anderson. His father was a late night horror movie host known as "Ghoulardi". Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he got into filmmaking at an early age. He attended a number of schools: Berkeley, John Thomas Dye School, Campbell Hall School, Crushing Academy, and Montclair Prep. He briefly attended New York University, but would drop out of it.
Anderson became apart of the VCR generation along with Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater. These independent mavericks were trained not so much in the classical way but by watching zillions of films. With currently only 5 films under his belt, Anderson has become regarded as one of the great writer/directors of his generation. The fact that he made his first feature at 25 is all the more intimidating. There's a reason why Paul Thomas Anderson has such a small body of work. You have to wait for one of his films because he takes time to craft something like There Will Be Blood. He's not a director who feels the need to put out a movie on a yearly basis (take note, Woody Allen). & I think the body of work speaks for itself. I'd much rather wait till 2011 or even 2012 for The Master or whatever it turns out to be, than for him to rush it.
THEMES & INFLUENCES
His films depict suburban alienation on an intimate level. A theme tackled by Steven Spielberg in Close Encounters & E.T. as well as Tim Burton in Edward Scissorhands. In a response to the question of "Do you think of yourself mainly as a writer, director or filmmaker"? Anderson responded: filmmaker. "Because I think I direct in a way that's technical and show-offy. And that's not generally said about writers that direct. With those sort of writers who direct, like Woody Allen or David Mamet, you don't usually think of them as applying alot of cinema- in the Scorsese or Oliver Stone kind of way- to their movies." Being technical and show-offy is a major criticism the director's detractors love to bring up. This director is of course not going to please everybody with his films. But you would be hard pressed to find a director who finds a better balance of subtelty and audacity in their work.
His primary influences stem from three directors: Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme. What struck me the most was when PT cited Demme as such a major influence on his work. One would not think to look for it to begin with. But what does stick out with this connection is both director's distinct use of music. Demme is known for shooting The Talking Heads 'Stop Making Sense' concert film as well as the 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs and his follow up film Philadelphia. Both films have distinct sequences in which the music underscores the mood the filmmaker is trying to create -- whether it's Q Lazarus' Goodbye Horses or Bruce Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia.
Anderson's camera is constantly on the move in a good number of his films. Scorsese, whose been influenced himself by the moving camera of Jean Renior and Max Ophuls, is cited amongst many filmmakers of the 90's as a major influence.
In terms of ensemble narrative, both Boogie Nights and Magnolia owe a lot to the late Robert Altman. Anderson for me became a gateway drug to Altman. It's like going up to a film geek and saying "Wow, how can someone juggle 9 stories so well?" And then their response being "Oh yeah? Wanna see someone juggle 20?" Without films like Nashville and Short Cuts, we would not have a film like Magnolia. But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's time to zip back in time to PT's humble beginnings.
THE DIRK DIGGLER STORY
So it's 1987 and some guy named Paul Thomas Anderson decides to pick up a camera and make a short little 32 minute film. What's so incredible about it? He's 17 years old when he writes it.
Anderson had a connection with the industry from the beginning. His father was Ernie Anderson, who did voice overs for ABC. So it makes sense that he would use an experienced actor like Robert Ridgeley in his short. PT's influence for the whole short fell into two categories. In terms of the format he was looking to do something akin to Woody Allen's Zelig and Spinal Tap -- a mockumentary of sorts. Content wise, it's about the rise and fall of a pornstar named Dirk Diggler. The original approach to Boogie Nights was to expand the mockumentary. It's a good thing his maturity as a filmmaker allowed for him to expand it in many other directions as opposed to strictly the mockumentary format.
Even looking back on the Dirk Diggler Story, it's interesting to see how many things are ported over to Boogie Nights. There's the whole "You Got the Touch" scene of Dirk Diggler massacring the song. The most striking thing is the content that Anderson is tackling as well as the advanced sense of dark humor and sarcastic wit he has at the age of 17. It's important to note -- the visual acrobatics PT's films are known for are obviously not present here.
CIGARETTES & COFFEE
Created at the Sundance Lab, Cigarettes & Coffee is a much more accomplished piece of filmmaking. The narrative weaves around three stories taking place. The first deals with two friends, one in trouble, the other being the wiser (played by Phil Hall); the second: a young couple on their honeymoon; the third: a shady hustler. The way Anderson spins these threads into a collective whole is still rough around the edges. His canvases would become alot more polished and expansive as his career goes on. When screening the short at the Sundance Film Festival, producer Robert Jones approached Anderson about expanding it into a feature.
SO NOW, WHAT THEN?
Right now this artist is more or less dipping his toe in the water. Feeling out certain beats & rhythms to ideas & motifs. What works? What doesn't? He would end up diving straight in with his debut feature. But I'll save that for Pt. 2.
Second -- I plan on posting Pts. 1-3 this month and Pts. 4-6 in November. That schedule is subject to change. I'll be doing another Director Retrospective in January.
And finally, I do have to rant a bit. It's bizarre seeing all the comments online calling him the next Kubrick, Altman or Scorsese. I can't help but stop and roll my eyes. His films may have the STYLE of those directors and of course invite the comparison as far as style goes. But the director has written all of his films so he is already different than those directors. If ever there was a more idiotic way to label a filmmaker, it's "THE NEXT" (Fill in the Blank). It's trying to put a familiar name on something new. It's not the way to look at art. PT Anderson is the first PT Anderson. And that's that.
____________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
Paul Thomas Anderson was born June 26 (one day before my birthday), 1970 in Studio City, California to Edwina & Ernie Anderson. His father was a late night horror movie host known as "Ghoulardi". Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he got into filmmaking at an early age. He attended a number of schools: Berkeley, John Thomas Dye School, Campbell Hall School, Crushing Academy, and Montclair Prep. He briefly attended New York University, but would drop out of it.
Anderson became apart of the VCR generation along with Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater. These independent mavericks were trained not so much in the classical way but by watching zillions of films. With currently only 5 films under his belt, Anderson has become regarded as one of the great writer/directors of his generation. The fact that he made his first feature at 25 is all the more intimidating. There's a reason why Paul Thomas Anderson has such a small body of work. You have to wait for one of his films because he takes time to craft something like There Will Be Blood. He's not a director who feels the need to put out a movie on a yearly basis (take note, Woody Allen). & I think the body of work speaks for itself. I'd much rather wait till 2011 or even 2012 for The Master or whatever it turns out to be, than for him to rush it.
THEMES & INFLUENCES
His films depict suburban alienation on an intimate level. A theme tackled by Steven Spielberg in Close Encounters & E.T. as well as Tim Burton in Edward Scissorhands. In a response to the question of "Do you think of yourself mainly as a writer, director or filmmaker"? Anderson responded: filmmaker. "Because I think I direct in a way that's technical and show-offy. And that's not generally said about writers that direct. With those sort of writers who direct, like Woody Allen or David Mamet, you don't usually think of them as applying alot of cinema- in the Scorsese or Oliver Stone kind of way- to their movies." Being technical and show-offy is a major criticism the director's detractors love to bring up. This director is of course not going to please everybody with his films. But you would be hard pressed to find a director who finds a better balance of subtelty and audacity in their work.
His primary influences stem from three directors: Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme. What struck me the most was when PT cited Demme as such a major influence on his work. One would not think to look for it to begin with. But what does stick out with this connection is both director's distinct use of music. Demme is known for shooting The Talking Heads 'Stop Making Sense' concert film as well as the 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs and his follow up film Philadelphia. Both films have distinct sequences in which the music underscores the mood the filmmaker is trying to create -- whether it's Q Lazarus' Goodbye Horses or Bruce Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia.
Anderson's camera is constantly on the move in a good number of his films. Scorsese, whose been influenced himself by the moving camera of Jean Renior and Max Ophuls, is cited amongst many filmmakers of the 90's as a major influence.
In terms of ensemble narrative, both Boogie Nights and Magnolia owe a lot to the late Robert Altman. Anderson for me became a gateway drug to Altman. It's like going up to a film geek and saying "Wow, how can someone juggle 9 stories so well?" And then their response being "Oh yeah? Wanna see someone juggle 20?" Without films like Nashville and Short Cuts, we would not have a film like Magnolia. But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's time to zip back in time to PT's humble beginnings.
THE DIRK DIGGLER STORY
So it's 1987 and some guy named Paul Thomas Anderson decides to pick up a camera and make a short little 32 minute film. What's so incredible about it? He's 17 years old when he writes it.
Anderson had a connection with the industry from the beginning. His father was Ernie Anderson, who did voice overs for ABC. So it makes sense that he would use an experienced actor like Robert Ridgeley in his short. PT's influence for the whole short fell into two categories. In terms of the format he was looking to do something akin to Woody Allen's Zelig and Spinal Tap -- a mockumentary of sorts. Content wise, it's about the rise and fall of a pornstar named Dirk Diggler. The original approach to Boogie Nights was to expand the mockumentary. It's a good thing his maturity as a filmmaker allowed for him to expand it in many other directions as opposed to strictly the mockumentary format.
Even looking back on the Dirk Diggler Story, it's interesting to see how many things are ported over to Boogie Nights. There's the whole "You Got the Touch" scene of Dirk Diggler massacring the song. The most striking thing is the content that Anderson is tackling as well as the advanced sense of dark humor and sarcastic wit he has at the age of 17. It's important to note -- the visual acrobatics PT's films are known for are obviously not present here.
CIGARETTES & COFFEE
Created at the Sundance Lab, Cigarettes & Coffee is a much more accomplished piece of filmmaking. The narrative weaves around three stories taking place. The first deals with two friends, one in trouble, the other being the wiser (played by Phil Hall); the second: a young couple on their honeymoon; the third: a shady hustler. The way Anderson spins these threads into a collective whole is still rough around the edges. His canvases would become alot more polished and expansive as his career goes on. When screening the short at the Sundance Film Festival, producer Robert Jones approached Anderson about expanding it into a feature.
SO NOW, WHAT THEN?
Right now this artist is more or less dipping his toe in the water. Feeling out certain beats & rhythms to ideas & motifs. What works? What doesn't? He would end up diving straight in with his debut feature. But I'll save that for Pt. 2.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Favorite Horror Films Pt. 1
(a response to Speedy McFlash)
...because a top 5 just ain't cuttin' it these days. 1-5 will be posted next week.
6. "They're coming to get you Barbara."
"No more room in hell."
7. "Show me the way to go home..."
8. "I'll swallow your soul."
9. "...you'll see devils tearing your life away."
10. "........"
...because a top 5 just ain't cuttin' it these days. 1-5 will be posted next week.
6. "They're coming to get you Barbara."
"No more room in hell."
7. "Show me the way to go home..."
8. "I'll swallow your soul."
9. "...you'll see devils tearing your life away."
10. "........"
Maybe it's in the trunk
At the age of 9, Scary Stories was a book I ended up borrowing constantly from the library & would eventually end up owning. I already had my fill of EC Comics (I'll expand later) and was looking for more short stories. Alvin Schwartz crafted some truly eerie and unnerving tales. The book was basically a compendium of tales born out of urban legends and folklore. But what left the biggest impression was Stephen Gammell's artwork. His images will creep under the skin of even the most hardened horror fan. According to wikipedia, the book is seventh most challenged 2000-2009 by the American Library Association for its religious viewpoint and violence.
While EC Comics kickstarted my love for the horror genre, Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark cemented it.
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