(Last) Week in review Septemer 21, 2008

Sorry for the late update this week, it's been a very busy few days!  I'm preparing to shoot a scene for my fundamentals of directing class this Sunday, and soon after will be working on my first "real" project that I'm developing here at USC.  Here is my weekly journal from last week:

Journal Selections September 15 – 21, 2008

This week I began to grow restless.  By now I’ve begun to feel that the review of the fundamentals has begun to drag on a little long and I’m ready to make a film!  I must say I’m actually very tired of “myself:” writing and reflecting on my own life experiences seemingly without end.  Of course, these experiences ultimately influence and shape my voice and my work, but I’ve just grown tired of telling my autobiography in various exercises.  I’ve tried to spicen this up by doing reflections on the very idea of memory and the impossibility of recreating or “touching” the past.  I’ve had an increasingly hard time getting in touch with and understanding my own life.  The more I try to dive within myself, the more I discover mystery at every turn.

Interestingly, my trepidation as to what to actually shoot has also increased: as I’ve spent so much time preparing, I’m intimidated about making my first project a great one.  We’ve been instructed to experiment and to not worry too much about technical aspects, etc.  But with only two major projects this semester, I want to make the most of them and not take them lightly.  I’ve also felt that I wish I had been given more guidance on how to gradually build and prepare for the projects, because much of my time the last several weeks has felt devoid of direction.  Still, I’m excited about the next few weeks.  My editing project has gone well, I’ve had auditions for my directing scene, and I’m going to really try to push myself on the projects coming up.  I’m just excited that the time to start making work is finally arriving.

I’m always trying to see as much quality film and television as I can.  It keeps me inspired and “up-to-date,” though I love seeing old work as much as new.  I’ve been somewhat unimpressed with JJ Abram’s new series FRINGE.  The first episode had its moments, but felt rushed in a way.  The second episode didn’t hold my attention despite the gruesome opening.  It just doesn’t have the same “it” factor that LOST has, it doesn’t feel as personal or as vital.  It also feels a bit derivative: almost like an X-Files meets LOST.  I was immediately turned off by the new HBO series TRUE BLOOD, which seems to have very little sense of itself or of how to walk the line between serious and tongue-in-cheek.  Either I don’t get it, or it’s poorly directed.  I was disappointed because I would have been primed to fall in love with an HBO vampire series.  Their new dramas just haven’t been as strong.  After falling in love with MAD MEN (and getting to see the creator Max Weiner speak about it at a campus event), I can’t help but worry that HBO has lost some of its taste.  At least ENTOURAGE never fails to entertain.

I caught a screening of the new film THE DUTCHESS on campus the other night, and enjoyed it.  The art direction and cinematography are beautiful, and the story is surprisingly modern.  I wasn’t fully satisfied with the ending, and felt a sense of detachment creep in towards the later half of the film, but strong performances hold it together.  Ralph Fiennes is an incredible actor, even in an as insidious and understated performance as this one.

The best thing I've seen lately was Woody Allen's newest VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, which was just a perfect balance between a serious meditation and a smirky absurdist's take on love (especially the free kind). 

A large group of us gathered at Joe’s on Thursday night (after the Dutchess screening), and Joe played a few films “in the background,” one of which was DAYS OF HEAVEN.  I made a comment that once one knows the film intimately, every frame will make you cry.  I was only slightly exaggerating.  The new criterion edition DVD is a beautiful transfer of one of the most breathtaking films ever made.