Download or read book Me and You and Memento and Fargo written by J.J. Murphy and published by . This book was released on 2007-03-15 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the last twenty-five years, an enormous burst of creative production has emerged from independent filmmakers. From Stranger than Paradise (1984) and Slacker (1991) to Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003) and Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), indie cinema has become part of mainstream culture. But what makes these films independent? Is it simply a matter of budget and production values? Or are there aesthetic qualities that set them off from ordinary Hollywood entertainment? In this groundbreaking new study, J.J. Murphy argues that the independent feature film from the 1980s to the present has developed a distinct approach of its own, centering on new and different conceptions of cinematic storytelling. The film script is the heart of the creative originality to be found in the independent movement. Even directors noted for their idiosyncratic visual style or the handling of performers typically originate their material and write their own scripts. By studying the principles underlying the independent screenplay, we gain a direct sense of the originality of this new trend in American cinema. Me and You and Memento and Fargo also presents a unique vision for the aspiring screenwriter. Most screenwriting manuals and guidebooks on the market rely on formulas believed to generate saleable Hollywood films. Many writers present a "three-act paradigm" as gospel and proceed to lay down very stringent rules for characterization, plotting, timing of climaxes, and so on, while others who appear to be more open about such rules turn out to be just as inflexible in their advice. Through in-depth critical analyses of some of the most significant independent films of recent years, J.J. Murphy emphasizes the crucial role that novelty can play in the screenwriting process.
Download or read book Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema written by John A. Dowell and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2017-12-06 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When evil clowns menace the screen, do we scream or laugh? When zombies converge to tear a victim limb from limb, do we cringe and hide our eyes, or shriek “What??! Play that again!!”? What about those instances when these seemingly opposite reactions happen at once? This is the phenomenon known as sLaughter. Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema: Sidesplitting sLaughter presents the first focused look at the moment in audience reception where screams and laughter collide. John A. Dowell and Cynthia J. Miller bring together twelve essays from an international collection of authors across the disciplines. The volume begins with an examination of the aesthetics and mechanics of the sLaughter moment, then moves closer to look at the impact of its awkward frission of humor and horror on the individual viewer, and finally, broadens its lens to explore sLaughter’s implications for the human condition more generally. The chapters discuss such box office hits such as A Clockwork Orange (1971), Fargo (1996), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Cabin in the Woods (2012), as well as cult classics such as The Toxic Avenger (1984) and Dead Snow (2009). Engaging and thought provoking, Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema will be of great interest to scholars of both humor and horror, as well as to those working in reception studies and fans of cult cinema.
Download or read book Memento written by Claire Molloy and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-28 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book introduces Memento as an important independent film and uses it to explore relationships between "e;indie,"e; arthouse and commercial mainstream cinema, independent film marketing practices and online fan communities. The book also locates Memento within debates around key film studies concepts such as genre, narrative and reception.
Download or read book Slicing Spaces Performance of Architecture in Cinema written by Gul Kacmaz Erk and published by Common Ground Research Networks. This book was released on 2023-05-26 with total page 557 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As suggested in the title, Slicing Spaces: Performance of Architecture in Cinema, this project slices through the multifaceted layers of film space. The text investigates how architecture performs as an altruist, proving that environed space is not merely a backdrop in film scenes, but an active performing character. The performance of architecture varies depending on what the filmmakers wish the viewer to feel, whether it is fear, compassion or joy. Considerations take an interdisciplinary approach, not solely observing film and architecture but also studying the likes of urbanism, politics, philosophy, history, psychology, art and design. The substantial spectrum of opinions from contributing authors allows the reader to absorb the diverse relationships of architecture in cinema, inviting the reader to form their own opinions on the topic and inspiring a new way of thinking. Slicing Spaces explores the interconnected relationship between architecture and film via distinct approaches to spaces of the city, confinement, actuality, the psyche and the imagination. Diverse views on cinematic architecture are probed, such as the psychological ramifications of film architecture, the portrayals of the city as a character and the potentials of exploring fantastic places in film. Overall, the book focuses on the authoritative contribution of architecture to the realm of filmmaking. It uncovers a path to look at lived spaces of architectural design from an alternative perspective, be it interiors, buildings or cities. Utilising the architectural ingenuity of drawings and graphics, the collection takes the reader on a visual journey as well as one through narratives.
Download or read book The Creative Screenwriter written by Julian Hoxter and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master the craft of screenwriting—12 steps to bring your creative vision to the screen It can be difficult to find a modern resource that teaches you the nuts and bolts of screenwriting while also allowing you the freedom to creatively thrive. This guide distills the craft of screenwriting into 12 key elements, from developing your story to revising and rewriting, plus plenty of inspiration to create your own screenplay with confidence. Discover what to expect within the film industry and how it has evolved. Look behind the scenes at iconic films using a classic structure of screenwriting, along with experimental films from innovative writers that have transcended the rules and paved their own way to the silver screen. Then, get to the exciting part—writing—using a dozen tried-and-true rules of the trade. Each chapter is accompanied with an In the Writer's Room creative exercise, such as formatting your script, mapping sequences, and creating rich dialogue and characters, to deepen your understanding of what brings a screenplay to life. This screenwriting guide includes: Filmmaker's dozen—From loglines to creating a compelling character to root for, you'll find 12 fundamental but flexible steps to help you craft a powerful, creative screenplay. Topline terminology—Navigate the film biz like a pro with need-to-know Hollywood jargon, plus troubleshooting tips for any screenwriting hiccups along the way. Film archive—From William Goldman's The Princess Bride to Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit, discover emerging and timeless screenwriting techniques used in Hollywood blockbusters, micro-budget films, and more. Take your story from creative conception to complete script with this modern, 12-step approach to screenwriting.
Download or read book Screening the Crisis written by Hilaria Loyo and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2022-07-14 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The financial collapse of 2008 extended and deepened a prolonged, multilayered crisis that has transformed, often in unexpected ways, how we think about all aspects of social life. Amid these turbulent times, film studies scholars have begun to ask new questions and create fresh strategies in order to integrate intellectual and political work in ways that directly address our current predicament. This timely volume reconsiders the relationships between cinema and society at a time when neoliberal policies threaten not only civic culture but also nearly every aspect of human life. Screening the Crisis brings together established authors as well as brilliant young scholars in the field of film studies to explore the ways in which new tendencies in US cinema enhance awareness of the complexity of the problems facing contemporary society. The issues addressed include economic inequality, shifts in gender roles, racial conflicts, immigration, surveillance practices, the environmental crisis, the politics of housing, and the fragility of nationhood. These questions are explored through in-depth studies and contextualized analyses of a wide variety of recent films, genres, and filmmakers. With its ample range of topics and perspectives, this collection provides an essential reference work for those who want to research how US cinema has responded to the manifold interconnected crises that characterize our current times.
Download or read book American Independent Cinema written by Geoff King and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Edited and written by leading authors in the field, this book offers an examination of American independent cinema through four sections that range in focus from broad definitions to close focus on particular manifestations of independence.
Download or read book US Independent Film After 1989 written by Claire Perkins and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-27 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Looking beyond the directors and works that have branded indie discourse in the 1990s and 2000s, US Independent Film After 1989: Possible Films attends to a group of 20 texts that have not been so fully subsumed by existing critical and promotional rhetoric. Through individual studies of films including All the Real Girls, The Exploding Girl, Laurel Canyon, Jesus' Son, Old Joy, Primer and You Can Count on Me, leading cinema scholars consider how notions of indie practice, poetics and politics can be opened up to account for a larger body of work than the dominant canon admits. With particular attention to female directors, this innovative and comprehensive book explores the central tenets of indie scholarship while simultaneously emphasising the classifying processes that can limit it."--Quatrième de couverture.
Download or read book The three amigos written by Deborah Shaw and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-16 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first academic book dedicated to the filmmaking of the three best known Mexican born directors, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Alfonso Cuarón. Deborah Shaw examines the career trajectories of the directors and presents a detailed analysis of their most significant films with a focus on both the texts and the production contexts in which they were made. These include studies on del Toro’s Cronos/ Chronos, El laberinto del fauno/Pan’s Labyrinth, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army; Iñárritu’s Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel; and Cuarón’s Sólo con tu pareja/ Love in the Time of Hysteria, Y tu mamá también, and Children of Men. The Three Amigos will be of interest to all those who study Hispanic and Spanish Cinema in particular, and World and contemporary cinema in general.
Download or read book Poetics of Cinema written by David Bordwell and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2012-11-12 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together twenty-five years of work on what he has called the "historical poetics of cinema," David Bordwell presents an extended analysis of a key question for film studies: how are films made, in particular historical contexts, in order to achieve certain effects? For Bordwell, films are made things, existing within historical contexts, and aim to create determinate effects. Beginning with this central thesis, Bordwell works out a full understanding of how films channel and recast cultural influences for their cinematic purposes. With more than five hundred film stills, Poetics of Cinema is a must-have for any student of cinema.
Download or read book Slow Movies written by Ira Jaffe and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In all film there is the desire to capture the motion of life, to refuse immobility," Agnes Varda has noted. But to capture the reality of human experience, cinema must fasten on stillness and inaction as much as motion. Slow Movies investigates movies by acclaimed international directors who in the past three decades have challenged mainstream cinema's reliance on motion and action. More than other realist art cinema, slow movies by Lisandro Alonso, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Pedro Costa, Jia Zhang-ke, Abbas Kiarostami, Cristian Mungiu, Alexander Sokurov, Bela Tarr, Gus Van Sant and others radically adhere to space-times in which emotion is repressed along with motion; editing and dialogue yield to stasis and contemplation; action surrenders to emptiness if not death.
Download or read book Rhapsody on a Film by Kurosawa written by Leonard Ginsberg and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Akira Kurosawa's most popular films, Yojimbo (1961) tells the story of a vagrant samurai who outsmarts two gangs warring to control a small town in mid-19th century Japan. This plot a lone hero who challenges both potent rivals struggling to control a place has proved remarkably adaptable. Recent film settings include the American southwest, New York, the coast of Ireland, Viking Iceland, and outer space. The rivals include drug dealers, police, witches, and seals, the hero a hit-man, a psychopath, a senior, an orphan. These films track the basic plot or veer off in unexpected directions. They provide an evening's delight or arouse enduring intellectual engagement with a wide variety of disciplines. Rhapsody on a Film by Kurosawa explores this cultural complex. Films discussed include American Beauty (1999), Donnie Darko (2001), The King of Masks (1996), Memento (2000), Ponette (1996), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Se7en (1995), and The Witches (1990). Other sections discuss possible origins of the plot in the work of Dashiell Hammett and Shakespeare, a Yojimbo hero who emerged in the final days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the relation of Yojimbo to Kurosawa's cinematic career. Rhapsody on a Film by Kurosawa is the author's first book.
Download or read book Acting Indie written by Cynthia Baron and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-29 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book illustrates the many ways that actors contribute to American independent cinema. Analyzing industrial developments, it examines the impact of actors as writers, directors, and producers, and as stars able to attract investment and bring visibility to small-scale productions. Exploring cultural-aesthetic factors, the book identifies the various traditions that shape narrative designs, casting choices, and performance styles. The book offers a genealogy of industrial and aesthetic practices that connects independent filmmaking in the studio era and the 1960s and 1970s to American independent cinema in its independent, indie, indiewood, and late-indiewood forms. Chapters on actors’ involvement in the evolution of American independent cinema as a sector alternate with chapters that show how traditions such as naturalism, modernism, postmodernism, and Third Cinema influence films and performances.
Download or read book Directory of World Cinema American Independent written by John Berra and published by Intellect Books. This book was released on 2010-05-01 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With high-profile Academy Award nominations and an increasing number of big-name actors eager to sign on to promising projects, independent films have been at the forefront in recent years like never before. But the roots of such critical and commercial successes as The Hurt Locker and Precious can be traced to the first boom of independent cinema in the 1960s, when a raft of talented filmmakers emergedto capture the attention of a rapidly growing audience of young viewers. A thorough overview of a thriving area of cultural life, Directory of World Cinema: American Independent chronicles the rise of the independent sector as an outlet for directors who challenge the status quo, yet still produce accessible feature films that not only find wide audiences but enjoy considerable box office appeal—without sacrificing critical legitimacy. Key directors are interviewed and profiled, and a sizeable selection of films are referenced and reviewed. More than a dozen sub-genres—including African American cinema, queer cinema, documentary, familial dysfunction, and exploitation—are individually considered, with an emphasis on their ability to engage with tensions inherent in American society. Copious illustrations and a range of research resources round out the volume, making this a truly comprehensive guide. At a time when independent films are enjoying considerable cultural cachet, this easy-to-use yet authoritative guide will find an eager audience in media historians, film studies scholars, and movie buffs alike.
Download or read book Being There and the Evolution of a Screenplay written by Aaron Hunter and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2022-08-25 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Being There and the Evolution of a Screenplay provides an insightful look at the drafting of one of Hollywood history's greatest scripts. Being There (1979) is generally considered the final film in Hal Ashby's triumphant 1970s career, which included the likes of Harold and Maude (1971) and Shampoo (1975). The film also showcases Peter Sellers's last great performance. In 2005, the Writers Guild of America included Being There on its list of 101 Best Scripts. Being There and the Evolution of a Screenplay features three versions of the script: an early draft by Jerzy Kosinski, based on his 1970 novel; a second by long-time Ashby collaborator and Oscar-winner Robert C. Jones, which makes substantial changes to Kosinki's; and a final draft written by Jones with Ashby's assistance, which makes further structural and narrative changes. Additionally, the book features facsimile pages from one of Kosinski's copy of the scripts that include handwritten notes, providing readers with valuable insight into the redrafting process. For each version, Ashby scholar Aaron Hunter adds perceptive analysis of the script's development, the relationships of the writers who worked on it, and key studio and production details. This is both a presentation of the script of Being There, and a record of the process of crafting that script – a text that will be of interest to film fans and scholars as well as writers and teachers of screenwriting. Evolution of a Screenplay is the first book of its kind to so amply demonstrate the creative development of a Hollywood script.
Download or read book American Independent Cinema written by Yannis Tzioumakis and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-07 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comparative analysis of key Islamic ity platforms and their debates
