Couldn't Have Asked For Better

So, I don't know what you thought of the Oscars last weekend, but I was pleasantly pleased. Hugo and The Artist dominated that night, and rightly so. I didn't see The Artist till tonight, but I already knew it was going to be great! It was a great story that relied on the talent of the actors to tell the story and they did an excellent job. It's these kind of films that inspired me to get into film making in the first place! The kind of films where the actor actually has to be able to act and not just be a pretty face on the screen who appears scantily clad occasionally to distract us from realizing that this person is a crap actor and this is a crap film. Calamity Jane, Singing in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, West Side Story - these movies that I was slowly introduce to around the age of 8 are my inspiration. Now I'm not saying that I want to exclusively produce musical films, but it was the stories and the talent that drew me to the field. Where has it all gone? You used to have to be a triple threat to make it to Hollywood (singer, actor, dancer). Now you aren't even required to be able to act (see Kristen Stewart). The Artist gives audience members a taste of what real cinema used to be while also reflecting on a similar time period in history when the industry made a major change (this time for the better). It also goes to show that you don't need to overload a film with words, explosion, and sexuality to make it interesting. I was more interested in the story Jean Dujardin told as George Valentine simply through his body language than I was watching Channing Tatum cry over Rachel McAdams in The Vow. I've yet to see a film with a more deserving actor for the Oscar for Best Actor (except perhaps Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood). That's not to say that the previous winners didn't deserve it, just that Jean Dujardin performed the hell out of that role so it clearly belonged to him. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The French know how to do it best.

Have you noticed that the majority of Oscars for best performance frequently go to performers portraying a person in a biopic or a book?

Colin Firth in 2011, Jeff Bridges 2010, Sean Penn 2009, Daniel Day-Lewis 2008, Forest Whitaker 2007, Philip Seymour Hoffman 2006...All played historical characters or characters from a book. The last raw, original character developed by an actor who won Best Actor was done in 2001 when Denzel Washington won for Training Day. Since the year 2000, the only actress to win Best Actress for the performance of a character that did not previously exist in literature or history was Natalie Portman for The Black Swan. There's something to be said about that. Do you think it's harder or easier for actors to develop raw, fresh characters or preexisting ones? One could argue that the pressure to be accurate and faithful to the original source would make the preexisting character more challenging. On the other hand, though, a new character doesn't provide the obvious nuances or familiar, researchable history. One has millions of options for how to portray a new character- how does one know what the right character choices are? Both are pretty challenging, I'd say, but a fresh character would be a bit tougher to me. Even with remakes or revivals (film or theatre) you have previous performances that you could research if you need help figuring out a character- unless you want to own the character as your own version.

I wish there'd be more original films /screenplays being produced. Today about 95% (possible over/under exaggeration) of all films coming out today are based on books, remakes, stage shows, sequels, comics, historical figures. I guess as long as they're good it shouldn't matter right? I just can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something in my movie-going experience these days. The film industry plays it safe by producing familiar story lines because they know it will put butts in seats and make bank. Well, I must be the odd man out, cause I could go for a little unfamiliarity in my cinematic life. Give me something I haven't seen before! Isn't that what society used to want in their cinematic experience? The Artist made it seem that way...

Looking Forward to:

And this:

Oh and this!!

And finally, this is wicked awesome!!! I so want to be a part of this crew!