In his famous interview with François Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock details the power of placing two images beside one another: [Pudovkin] describes an experiment by his teacher, Kuleshov. You see a close up of the Russian actor Ivan Mosjoukine. This is immediately followed by a shot of a dead baby. Back to Mosjoukine again and youContinue reading “the power of juxtaposition”
Category Archives: film
looking for the launchpad
In an interview with Marc Maron, Matthew McConaughey described looking for “a launchpad line” to access a character: That line is not an attitude. It’s a part of his constitution. It’s an encyclopedia on that guy and that belief. It’s like The Wolf of Wall Street. The way I was able to riff on thatContinue reading “looking for the launchpad”
where’s the fun?
I’ve been writing novels since I was fourteen. None of them have ever seen the light of day and I sincerely hope they never will. While I’ve always wanted to write books that people read, most of my early efforts had one goal: fun. As other kids were playing Xbox, I’d come home from schoolContinue reading “where’s the fun?”
fuck it…
I read an interview with Anthony Hopkins last year, in which he talks with Brad Pitt about his favorite two-word prayer: I once asked a Jesuit priest, “What is the shortest prayer in the world?” He said,“Fuck it.” It’s the prayer of release. Just say, “Fuck it.” None of it is important. The important thingContinue reading “fuck it…”
why editing is important
A few years ago, I was working on a film set. I started a conversation with one of the camera operators, who claimed that editing is one of the most useful skills a person can possess. The editor is responsible for putting the whole film together. As this camera operator said, “The writer tells theContinue reading “why editing is important”
joshua chamberlain 