Posts

Showing posts with the label comedy

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Boyhood, Snowpiercer and The Grand Budapest Hotel

Image
Snowpiercer, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Boyhood are on top of many critics' lists of best films for 2014 .  So I was curious to see what I could learn about how they made them.  I chose these three because they represented the best in their genre so far this year. The Action Film - Snowpiercer Snowpiercer - Trailer Making of (Part 1) - Camera, Lighting and Grip Equipment supplied by ARRI Rental from ARRI Rental on Vimeo . Snowpiercer - Trailer Making of (Part 2) - Camera, Lighting and Grip Equipment supplied by ARRI Rental from ARRI Rental on Vimeo . Highlights from the Twitch interview with director, Bong Joon-ho Twitch - Behind the camera you pulled together so many different talents. You brought in a lot of different people you hadn't worked with before...are you just making it difficult for yourself on purpose?  Bong Joon-ho - Fortunately I had quite a long pre-production period, enough time to discuss and prepare. My cinematographer was the same

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: The Big Lebowski

Image
The Big Lebowski | Ethan and Joel Coen | 1998 | USA | Format: 35mm  | 117 min I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like The Big Lebowski.  It's a funny LA noir with quotable lines and memorable characters.  The kind of legendary cult classic most filmmakers aspire to make.  And so, let's take a look at how it was made... The Big Lebowski Screenplay Screenplay analysis of The Big Lebowski by Screenplay HowTo Another screenplay analysis of The Big Lebowski by ShoreScripts Storyboards from the The Big Lebowski: The making of The Big Lebowski according to  Wikipedia : Development The Dude is mostly inspired by  Jeff Dowd , a man the Coen brothers met while they were trying to find distribution for their first feature,  Blood Simple . Dowd had been a member of the  Seattle Seven , liked to drink White Russians, and was known as "The Dude". The Dude was also partly based on a friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline (now a member of t

PRODUCTION TIPS: Pedro Almodovar's 4 Pointers on Directing Comedies

Image
Film fans are no stranger to the works of Pedro Almodovar .  He has established himself among the greats with his signature style composed of flairs for whimsical irreverence and melodramatic colors taken to a hysterical artistic level.  Although they might not seem to, they possess a certain gravitas because as ridiculous as the characters seem to act and are, they're still grounded with a sensual spirit and authentic emotions. Upon the release of his newest comedy in 20 years, I'm So Excited! , Almodovar wrote notes for The Paris Review (but first published by El País) on his process of making comedies and I distilled 4 points of advice filmmakers can use in making theirs. EVEN COMEDY THAT SEEMS SPONTANEOUS REQUIRES REHEARSAL. "Although we associate comedy with spontaneity, the comedies I’ve made to date—including this new one, I’m So Excited! —are rehearsed exhaustively during preproduction and afterward during shooting. Spontaneity is always the product of reh

PRODUCTION JOURNAL: An Oral History of Trading Places

Image
Trading Places | John Landis | 1983 | USA | Format: 35mm | 116 min  Business Insider gathered the recollections of director, John Landis ; writers, Tim Harris and Herschel Weingrod ; and, actress, Jamie Lee Curtis for what many consider one of the greatest Wall St. Movies ever made (I think they're right).  It's a fun and intriguing look at how a great comedy was made even though it seems like no one expected it to be a great comedy while it was being made.  However, I think that's more due to modesty because as you read their accounts, besides the fact that it seems like everyone was having a ball working on this, you pick up an essential element of their filmmaking strategy; they trusted their instincts even when the naysayers and higherups did not .  They were a talented bunch but without the confidence  and persistence to back it up it would have been a different movie. During the development of the film: TIM HARRIS, co-writer: There were these two