Game Changers Part I

Found a trinity geek fest with a DGA salute to Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and J.J. Abrams all on one stage.

The Golden Boy, the Maverick and I guess the would be Newcomer.

Spielberg sometimes seems cagey when discussing his craft, and to my knowledge has never done a "DVD audio commentary" for any his films.

Because of this, I think he's one of the few who still value the power (and importance) of magic and illusion in filmmaking. (And said it himself that his participation in the Q&A was killing the illusion of moviemaking)

He says there should be no such thing as "trade secrets" and that everyone in the industry should share whatever great discoveries that they have found. I personally agree, but I feel that Steven was perhaps referring to technical process not artistic. Just my opinion.

Should artist feel a need to "explain" themselves? Perhaps not. But when it's in the interest of teaching, encouraging others and raising the bar of the medium for everyone, it's certainly good.

Not as super-insightful as I would like it to have been, but it's definitely a treat. Enjoy.

Pandora's Box Opened

Hollywood is truly the land of sharks indeed. Ha. Ha.

In 1975, I begged my father and mother (I'm dating myself....I was 4) to take me to see the first movie I remember. Steven Spielberg's, "Jaws".

This was the birth of the summer blockbuster. Others would follow. Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the 70's and 80's never, and I mean never did Hollywood imagine a film making several hundreds of millions of dollars at a time like this. Movies grossing ten, fifteen times it's budget. The concept of "movie franchise" was still undiscovered country.

James Cameron's "Avatar" grossed almost $1.5 billion dollars in almost less than a month of its release.

What kind of Pandora's Box (no pun intended) has been opened? What expectations of success are going to be expected in the future? Don't get me wrong, who doesn't love money? But is greed going to win out over....yeah, I'll say it: integrity?

Thanks to a friend, I discovered a great documentary called, "Dream On Silly Dreamer". A 40 minute documentary about the "death" of traditional animation at Walt Disney Animation Studios greatly in part to....yes, the blockbuster.

After viewing this, Hollywood and Disney executives would do well to revisit one noteworthy classic fable: "The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs".

If you search around "Dream On Silly Dreamer" can be found on the net in its entirety. But I recommend buying the the DVD.