elaine, 26, film student always, and the last to leave the theatre.

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March 6th
10:22
Via
"

Film school was so theoretical, and there were so many rules that really fucked me up. There was one rule in particular they were always teaching, and it was right out of good old Syd Field’s book Screenplay. And it had a lot to do with ‘theme.’ The theme of the movie is always this leads to that. ‘Jealousy’ leads to ‘downfall.’ One thing leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to the end. Everything is set up in a logical, well-thought-out manner.

But I couldn’t do that; I was just unable to break down a movie that way. It messed up for years. I couldn’t even get out of the gate, because I couldn’t make anything work. I would get hung up on semantics and minutiae. And because I’m such a rule-follower, when I first started out this killed me because it was so theoretical.

"
—  Paul Feig (via synecdoche)
November 11th
21:19
Via

faketv:

John Huston is a badass. 

theatlanticvideo:

John Huston’s Banned 1946 Film About WWII Veterans

American film legend John Huston directed Let There Be Light for the U.S. Army Signal Corpsin 1946, documenting the treatment of psychologically traumatized soldiers at an army hospital after the war. The beautiful black and white cinematography might look like a Hollywood production, but the film states that “no scenes were staged. The cameras merely recorded what took place …” It’s a moving testament to the cost of war, which might be why the U.S. Army suppressed screenings of the film for over 30 years. The documentary finally resurfaced at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981, to critical acclaim.

This excerpt from the beginning of the film includes the narrator’s introduction and interviews with soldiers about their symptoms and experiences in combat. The full documentary is an hour long and can be watched at the Internet Archive.

I’ve watched this twice in film school for two different courses and it moved me to tears both times. Please watch it.

May 10th
07:16
"Three months traveling on foot, let’s say, which would be something like 3,000 kilometers, would have more value than three years in film school."
—  Werner Herzog. Thanks to byronic for bringing this interview to my attention.
January 29th
00:18

From the same director of that sexy macro music video. A commercial for EF Language Schools, this one for Paris (where I studied abroad!). Brought to my attention by Grace.

Directed by Gustav Johansson 
D.O.P: Niklas Johansson
Typography: Albin Holmqvist
Produced at Camp David

November 5th
10:39
Via

enarkos:

Me: I cant because Meryl Streep is coming to speak to the theatre students today!

Her: OH cool!!!! Thats the guy from Aerosmith, right?

Me:

September 9th
08:47
mutations:

funrunrecords:excessisease:

mutantminds:

The Black Paintings are a group of paintings executed by Francisco Goya in the later years of his life (1819–1823). They portray intense, haunting themes, reflective of the artist’s fear of insanity, and his outlook on humanity. In 1819, at the age of 72, Goya moved into a two-story house outside Madrid called Quinta del Sordo (“Deaf Man’s Villa”). Although the house had been named after the previous owner, who was deaf, Goya was himself nearly totally deaf at the time as a result of an illness he suffered when 46.  After the Napoleonic Wars and the internal turmoil of the changing Spanish government, Goya developed an embittered attitude towards man. He had a first hand and acute awareness of panic, terror, fear and hysteria. He had survived two near-fatal illnesses, and grew increasingly anxious and impatient in fear of relapse. These factors combined are thought to have led to his production of 14 works known collectively as the Black Paintings.  Using oil paints and working directly onto the walls of his dining and sitting rooms, Goya created intense, haunting works with dark themes. The paintings were not commissioned and were not meant to leave his home; it is likely that the artist never intended the works for public exhibition: “…these paintings are as close to being hermetically private as any that have ever been produced in the history of Western art.” Goya did not title the paintings, or if he did, he never revealed those titles; most of their names have been provided by art historians.



This is the cover of the Philosophy of Horror book we used in Horror Film class.

mutations:

funrunrecords:excessisease:

mutantminds:

The Black Paintings are a group of paintings executed by Francisco Goya in the later years of his life (1819–1823). They portray intense, haunting themes, reflective of the artist’s fear of insanity, and his outlook on humanity. In 1819, at the age of 72, Goya moved into a two-story house outside Madrid called Quinta del Sordo (“Deaf Man’s Villa”). Although the house had been named after the previous owner, who was deaf, Goya was himself nearly totally deaf at the time as a result of an illness he suffered when 46. After the Napoleonic Wars and the internal turmoil of the changing Spanish government, Goya developed an embittered attitude towards man. He had a first hand and acute awareness of panic, terror, fear and hysteria. He had survived two near-fatal illnesses, and grew increasingly anxious and impatient in fear of relapse. These factors combined are thought to have led to his production of 14 works known collectively as the Black Paintings. Using oil paints and working directly onto the walls of his dining and sitting rooms, Goya created intense, haunting works with dark themes. The paintings were not commissioned and were not meant to leave his home; it is likely that the artist never intended the works for public exhibition: “…these paintings are as close to being hermetically private as any that have ever been produced in the history of Western art.” Goya did not title the paintings, or if he did, he never revealed those titles; most of their names have been provided by art historians.

This is the cover of the Philosophy of Horror book we used in Horror Film class.

July 25th
18:16

Jay Rosenblatt’s Human Remains (1998)

I need to see this again. In my film production class, before we were allowed to even touch the school’s Bolexes, we were shown this film.

Human Remains is a haunting documentary which illustrates the banality of evil by creating intimate portraits of five of this century’s most reviled dictators. The film unveils the personal lives of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Francisco Franco and Mao Tse Tung. We learn the private and mundane details of their everyday lives — their favorite foods, films, habits and sexual preferences. There is no mention of their public lives or of their place in history. 

May 23rd
08:52

George Bluth Sr. (actor Jeffrey Tambor), CEO of Bluth Company, speaking at my commencement a year ago today. 

May 9th
20:09
Via
itsmejanessa:

I miss film studies already.

Oh God, flashback to sophomore year of college having recurring nightmares where my eyeballs are slit..Professor told us they found a woman with only one eye and popped a cow’s eye into her socket for the actual slitting, but still. BUT STILL.

itsmejanessa:

I miss film studies already.

Oh God, flashback to sophomore year of college having recurring nightmares where my eyeballs are slit..Professor told us they found a woman with only one eye and popped a cow’s eye into her socket for the actual slitting, but still. BUT STILL.

May 5th
18:15
GPOYW
I got an email from a friend in China saying that I was on the cover of my university’s Creative Arts newsletter. Oh. My. God. That’s me at far right holding a baby reel…
Oh college Elaine, there’s so much I want to tell you about life after commencement that sadly I cannot…

GPOYW

I got an email from a friend in China saying that I was on the cover of my university’s Creative Arts newsletter. Oh. My. God. That’s me at far right holding a baby reel…

Oh college Elaine, there’s so much I want to tell you about life after commencement that sadly I cannot…

May 4th
10:53
"Yes! This is the best possible advice. I tell young students: Take film courses, certainly. But cover the liberal arts. Take English literature, drama, art, music, and the areas Bordwell lists. Learn something about science and math. A physical anthropology course was my introduction to the theory of evolution, which is an opening to all of modern science. Don’t train for a career—train for a life. The career will take care of itself, and give you more satisfaction than a surrender to corporate or professional bureaucracy. If you make careers in that world, you will be more successful because your education was not narrow."
—  

Roger Ebert in The golden age of movie critics (via girlperson) (via zadi) (via caitlinhill) (via alittlevoice) (via itsmejanessa)

So I kinda want to go back to school…