September 30, 2004
What does my business card say?
Richard told me that my short film is my business card. It should say Nick Carr, XXXXXX. Laugh maker? Scare master? Tear generator?
So who is Nick Carr, and what kind of films does he want to make?
I want to make genre films, and do them well. I've always loved the very best of any genre, beit horror, sci-fi, crime, or mystery, and at same time appreciate the worst. It's tough though to pick a single genre, because I want to do them all. For example, I currently have a sci-fi flick, a gangster flick, and a horror flick that I'd like to write, and each of them strikes me as being equally promising. When people say "What kind of movies do you want to make?" I say "good films", but I should really reply "good genre films."
Howard Hawks seems to be this sort of versatile director - able to do comedy, crime, sci-fi, mystery, and westerns. Robert Altman is similar, though he takes genres in a direction I wouldn't want to go by redefining them as something else. Gosford Park is more than a straight-forward mystery, and The Player is more than an Alfred Hitchcock suspense thriller. How can I work within the boundaries and still produce something new?
Nick Carr
Genre Virtuoso
Posted by nick at 03:34 PM | Comments (1)
When the ending comes first
I hearby announce my absolute hatred of almost any film that begins with the ending first. The only film of the sort I can think of at the moment is Swordfish, which starts with the big explosion which it then works its way up to again.
The reason I declare war on this is because I see a ton of newbie screenwriters use it as a simple device to make up for lack of story or plot events. For example, about 50% of my last screenwriting class all began their movie with some sort of explosive or crazy ending, then settled in for a shitload of exposition and boringness leading up to that ending. Such writers are often under the delusion that the audience will be so intrigued by the beginning that they will want to keep watching, but I think this feeling lasts about 10 minutes max. I mean, you can start a story with ANYTHING you want. A planet exploding, a building falling down, a woman getting raped and murdered, whatever - then say, this is how what you just saw happened. But it's tedious. And as we don't know any of the characters or plot yet, it's just an unneccessary tease. The ending should not be shown at the beginning, because honestly, why the hell are we sitting through the movie?
Now, there are a few possible exceptions. For example, if you start by showing an ending that is conceived initially as being one way, but after the entire movie, we realize that it is the other way, that is clever. As Tyler Durdan once remarked, see how far cleverness gets you. But at least it's interesting on first viewing (and tedious on just about every subsequent viewing). You can also begin with ending that's not really the ending at all - Pulp Fiction, for example.
But on the whole, people begin with an ending because either they consciously or unconsciously don't believe their story has the strength to stand up on its own, and thus begin with what should be the crowning moment of their story. The worst is when you finally get back to that moment after an hour and a half, and its lost all power.
Posted by nick at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
I watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. Man, never realized that was Bogey on the cover in the beard and cowboy hat. It was a great film for the most part, and it touches on a very basic human sentiment: greed. In the film, Bogart and two others go gold mining in the mountains of Mexico. They strike it rich, but Bogey ultimately lets greed get to his brain. He begins to rabidly suspect his fellow miners of plots to take his gold, and it ultimately leads to his doom.
This in turn led to a great idea, which I will keep to myself, which would essentially combine this with Reservoir Dogs. Lots of tension, lots of basic human emotions, and a great ending. It's funny, because the ending to the short film is what I assumed would happen in Sierra Madre, and didn't. And honestly, I wish it had, because I think it's better than what happened. It's funny when one piece of art inspires you far more than what the actual art accomplishes. NOT to say that I am superior to John Huston. Never would say that.
There were a few shots in the film that I really was intrigued by. When the Mexicans approached the camp with blades unsheathed, for example. Also, when the Mexican whore walks by and your eye is simply forced to look at her. Oh, and it was totally surprising when the seemingly nice prospecter was buying drinks, then suddenly smacked Bogart in the fact. Excellent stuff.
But I really like the idea I got out of this, and it might just turn out to be my short film. We'll see ...
Posted by nick at 01:48 AM | Comments (0)
September 28, 2004
Grad School vs. A Short Film
Tough decision. I just had lunch with Richard, and he thinks that grad school is ultimately not worth it for me. There are two types of people in the world - those that need school, and those that don't. Some people can't get along without out, while others thrive without ever setting foot in the classroom. Where do I stand on this spectrum?
I've never needed school to do any of the things I've done. In all reality, it's only been to serve as a crutch when it comes to film stuff - I've made it to some arbitrary stopping point after which I can't do anything unless it has the authorization of a prestigious film school backing it. What am I actually going to learn at film school? Some technique, some practical skills, make some connections, and come out with a thesis. Not that any of this should be downplayed, but it's not necessary.
The thing is that if I don't go to school, this is it right now - the beginning of my life. I am in an open sea filled with millions of fish all competing to be the big shark that eats the rest. And only few will actually succeed at it.
When am I happy? When I'm making movies. When am I unhappy? When I was required to make a film within the system of school. School to me seems like it will be a bunch of easy answers - how to write Oscar-award winning scripts, how to make a perfect film, etc. - when in reality, it will just some time away from this.
I'm going to seriously think about this, but if I were to go to grad school next year, it would be mainly because a lack of prospects has led me there. At the end of the day, a great short film won't go ignored, and I can always hit up grad school in a few years. We'll see what happens, but some more experience under my belt would probably help me to determine just how necessary grad school is.
Posted by nick at 03:26 PM | Comments (2)
No Drew
No Nancy Drew script. At least, no work on a screenplay that would require a lot of my time. As it turns out, Simon and Schuster (publishers of the ND books) is owned by Warner Bros., and this year WB has been trying to revamp the series. I think they've pretty much failed, as it's not the next Harry Potter or anything, but part of the deal was they supposedly had a feature film in development. Ugh, it'll probably go to some lame teen actor like Hillary Duff. I might work on the script in my spare time just for fun, but it's more important to devote my time to original stories.
Also, it's time to really decide if I'm going to be applying to grad schools this year or not. The major problem is the GREs, which are much more difficult than I'd thought. I'd hate to go through the whole process now only to find that it was a few low scores that rendered all my work useless. If I took some time off, I'd could beef up my reel with a few shorts of quality, and that'd definitely be a plus. But then again, I'd be starting school at 24 instead of 23, and time is ticking...
Oh yes, and I got a weird call today. More on that later.
Posted by nick at 01:44 AM | Comments (1)
September 27, 2004
Nancy Drew
I got a great idea while I was with Karen at the Mets game tonight. She was talking about how much she loved Nancy Drew books, and I was surprised that no one had made a movie out of it yet.
There are three ways you could pull one off:
1) Brady Bunch style, old meets new
2) Totally revamped for the modern era
3) Told true to the book
And that's what I'd love to do - a high quality version that's true to the book and time period, yet gives a huge addition of character and background. Tell it with the colors that are used on the covers of the books, and with all the stereotypical characters that were in the books, like her friends, and her boyfriend, and dad the lawyer. Maybe even throw in some sex!
Regardless, I think you could pull off a Pirates of the Carribean if you treat the subject matter truthfully yet playfully, give it some depth and a good story, and have some great casting. A young Nicole Kidman for Nancy, for example, would be perfect. Strawberry-blond hair, as Karen told me. Cool idea, and I think I just might buy some Nancy Drew books tomorrow at The Strand.
Posted by nick at 03:45 PM | Comments (3)
The Beginning (but not really)
This, of all my many blogs, is the one that's for me alone. I tend to write for an audience regardless, but this will be an attempt to record my thoughts on ... holy shit, I'm already writing as if someone other than myself is reading it. I'm such a sell-out. Maybe it's unavoidable.
I just watched the intro film for Phillips Exeter Academy, and it really depressed me. Because I see all these young, idealistic young kids who are planning on making it big, and I felt that way too. OK, OK, I'm only 22, and I've actually come a long way, and I've got a long way to go, but it still bugs me that I'm in this sort of holding pattern at the moment. I'm not sure exactly what to do next. I should apply to grad schools, for example, but the GREs are killing me, I need three recommendations, it costs money, and I'm not sure if it's for me. Perhaps I should also take a year off, though I don't want to let time slip away like an idiot.
In the meantime, I'm trying to work on this screenplay that will take place in Salem. It's tough at the moment to tag it, but it's more or less a monster movie ala Jaws that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. I know what the monsters look like, but not where they come from or why they kill. Oh well, it's a start.
There are two films that I want my first to resemble: Jaws, or Psycho. Both low-budget, both simple stories, both with memorable characters (shut up about the stereotype problem!), memorable scenes, memorable dialogue, and memorable stories. So simple, and yet so effective. I want to pull that off, but mine are always so much more complicated. And a simple story requires a simple world. The world of a hotel, or the world of a small resort town. Maybe that's why all non-city towns in film are basically hicksville - because it's tough and complicated to capture that middle ground of America.
I've analyzed several of my favorite films, including Jaws and Ghostbusters, as having a trio of protagonists which serve as different functions to the group. Usually, it's more or less the brain, the hands, and the heart - the brain has the intelligence, the hands does the legwork, and the heart (usually the central character) keeps everyone moving forward. In my particular Salem film, it looks as if they main character was involved years ago in a deadly encounter in a supposedly haunted house. Ultimately, it's his desire to face his demons (literally and figuratively) that compel him to eventually hunt down the monsters and destroy them. I also have a brain character worked out to some degree, who will also provide comic release.
One of the few principles in the book Story by Robert McKee that I agree with is when he says that you should stick with a genre you love and be true to your passion - and I totally agree with this. While I would love to make Casablanca, or Persona, or The Apartment, they aren't really what I do best. I think genre films ala Howard Hawkes will eventually be the way I go with my career, and my goal is to be as versatile as he was - I mean, god, Rio Grande, The Big Sleep, Scarface, The Thing - so many different genres and yet doing each so effectively.
Thus, while I think I can pull off comedy, it's the suspense stuff that really gets me moving. And that's what I plan on this film being - a suspense film over straight horror. Sure there will be gore, but not excessive gore. And the monsters will be completely new, and hopefully scare the shit out of you. That, of course, remains to be seen. As it stands, if this can be written, I'm pretty sure I could shoot it all in Salem pretty easily. We'll see.
Posted by nick at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)