July 12, 2005
It looks like James is through with blogging, but at least he's going out with a good post.
He's thinking about making a new feature. I recommended to him, just as I did in one of the comments in a post below, and just as it was to me late last year, that he read Cassavetes On Cassavetes by Ray Carney before he gets too far into the development process. I finally picked it up back in April; for whatever reason, I haven't written about it until now, but it's the best book on filmmaking I've ever read. I wish I had its insights under my belt five years ago - all my films would have been so much better as a result, I think. It's interesting, too, how it changes my perception of Cassavetes' films; the only one I truly loved on my first viewing was Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, but now I don't think I could help but completely embrace everything he made, particularly Shadows and Faces. I have them on my Netflix Queue again, but actually, I think that the next time I get paid I'll just go ahead and order the Criterion box set. Some films are worth buying, even when you can't afford them.
I realize now that that's a paraphrase of sorts from Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which was better than I thought it would be. He's a perfect match for Roald Dahl's sensibilities, even if some of his specific choices aren't.
Posted by David Lowery at July 12, 2005 01:30 AM
Comments
Yes, C on C is an essential book. I re-read it just before shooting Dear Pillow and even tried some of his "methods" for directing (forcing actors to keep secrets from each other, for example). Of course, his "method" is not really one at all - he just directed from his gut, from his own contentious, contradictory personality. And, really that book and his films teach you that's what you have to do - direct only as yourself.
Posted by: Bryan Poyser at July 12, 2005 10:44 AM