tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post8703535940214223869..comments2024-03-24T13:26:57.317-07:00Comments on Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: THE SLIFR MOVIE TREE HOUSE v.2011 #4: CHURCH OF THE MULTIPLEXDennis Cozzaliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-91758309983144193402012-01-20T09:24:35.535-08:002012-01-20T09:24:35.535-08:00Thanks Steven, and thanks for the shout-out. I wil...Thanks Steven, and thanks for the shout-out. I will give Lena a chance one of these days - I've got a queue devoted to Criterion releases, so Tiny Furniture will be Netflix'd one of these days... You're right about the different reasons and I guess what I have in mind is less the Big Hollywood crowd (whose mission seems to be putting a lie to the notion that conservatives hate whiney, aggrieved interest groups since they ARE a whiney, aggrieved interest group) and more individual moviegoers who resent Hollywood's smug generalizations and condescension towards ordinary life and ordinary people - something I think the anti-elitisms of the left and right have more in common than they know...<br /><br />Glad to hear they'll be more down the line; I thought these individual pieces were one-offs. Kudos to Dennis for opening up this great conversation.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-78786544109339174352012-01-19T22:19:32.115-08:002012-01-19T22:19:32.115-08:00Joel, Thanks for this incredibly thoughtful respon...Joel, Thanks for this incredibly thoughtful response. Among other cool things, it led me to your thrilling, gorgeously laid out blog: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/p/video-gallery.html<br /><br />Lena Dunham: She's no Maya Deren, but she has a distinct voice and (so far) makes her movies with her own two hands, so I will definitely advocate for her full pardon when the revolution is in full swing. heheh.<br /><br />Re: Your political comment; As with government, disillusionment about mainstream movies is bipartisan and equally intense on both sides, but for generally different reasons. On the right, the grievance tends to be with political correctness and moral relativism. On the left, folks decry Hollywood's simplistic pandering and lack of subtlety. What both often have in common is the assumption that the mass audience, voting with its wallet at the box office and with its words at test screenings and focus groups, shares a heap of the blame.<br /><br />I've got something to say about that, but I'll save it for my next turn in the Tree House, since it ties right into Jason's and Jim's comments. Stay with us.Steven Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533736956366847765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-73224349484828363722012-01-19T18:42:43.103-08:002012-01-19T18:42:43.103-08:00F*cking fantastic (in case Dennis considers this a...F*cking fantastic (in case Dennis considers this a family blog) - I agree with almost everything on display here, particularly the fed-up tone.<br /><br />(Minor exceptions? I don't think a rejection of the top-down film model should necessarily be tied to liberal/progressive values - a lot of conservatives, particularly more liberterian ones are disillusioned with Hollywood too, some for dumb (imo) reasons, some for decent ones. Also, I'm skeptical - agnostic might be the better word, since I haven't seen Tiny Furniture yet - on Dunham, given some of her face-palm statements on Nick Ray and The Godfather.)<br /><br />As far as the future of exhibition, I don't think the multiplexes are going to convert to this model anytime soon. Rather, I suspect that the future of good movies lies on the internet. Is something lost in streaming to the computer screen, putting programming in the hands of the individual user? Well, sure (something's gained as well) but I'd argue it isn't anything that wasn't lost decades ago when the video age began. I do think, if this practice - streaming non-Hollywood projects - grows more popular a public space for exhibition can be opened up. But the default home for outside-of-the-box movies will, I suspect, remain virtual.<br /><br />Another issue is the wedge driven between art and entertainment by both mainstream movies and indies (something critics like Richard Corliss have noted, although his approach, to slum with the spectacles, doesn't help any). There have always been masterpieces that would not connect with a wider audience (I love Weeasekthakul, but I suspect he would fall into that category even with better exposure). They certainly need to be cherished and celebrated by vigilant viewers.<br /><br />However, there used to also be masterpieces that DID connect with a wider audience and thus served several functions at once: maintaining the cinema's position as a popular art form (by keeping that mythic quality alive), serving as a gateway for curious cinephiles into the wider possiblities of the art form, and keeping the border between "film art" and "the movies" from growing too thick.<br /><br />As I alluded to under Jason's piece, I think part of the problem is that Hollywood does not cultivate younger talent other than to hire a commercial director here or an executive's nephew there to direct some by-the-numbers studio project according to a stylistic blueprint. (Amazing how much aesthetics have calcified in the 40-50 years since the New Wave, isn't it? Fast cuts and close-ups are now as tiresomely limiting as the slow-moving masters and continuity editing they replaced. And what's with the monochromatic color-coding you find on virtually every movie or TV show these days?)<br /><br />What I would like to see is more people taking advantage of cheaper technology, broader access to funding (see Kickstarter), and free distribution (via the Internet) to craft and promote features that, on the one hand, push aesthetic boundaries, and on the other, exemplify more classic, popular values (the old-fashioned storytelling, the atmosphere, the mood you note has been lost) in order to show that Hollywood can be beaten at its own game for a fraction of the cost. It's certainly something I hope to check out more (email me at movieman0283 at gmail if you have any particular recommendations in this direction) and to work towards myself in the coming years.<br /><br />Great stuff, Steven - keep up the good work.<br /><br />P.S. Thanks for reminding me why I used to read White, before his contrarianism became too predictable, and why I still harbor some fondness for him despite it all.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.com