I forgot why I got into this whole thing... I never wanted to make traditional "films"... Lost Highway was the the "film" I saw in 1996 that changed my life and made me want to make "films"... It excited me because it was like nothing else I had seen before...it was more like a dream... I want to live and work in dreams because reality suX...
So I was just talking to my friend who is a mega artist extraordinaire... I gave him a copy of the excellent short film "Maquina" I met the director Gabe Ibanez in Brazil... Maquina is very dream like and awesome... So as I was talking to my friend who will soon start making moving image thangs said "these are the kind of movies I want to make, where everything isn't explained" and just then I remembered why I got into this whole thing...
Because of Sundance and sales reps and distributors and all this and that I forgot why I started in the first place... Making regular films doesn't really interest me...I want to do something more...something different... something closer to a dream than a film...
Then I found this quote that I had at the start of my first feature film that I made in 2001 "Ophidian"... Here is the quote...
"Dreams are without proportion, without good sense, without truth; so is consciousness. Awake from dream, the truth is known: awake from waking, the truth is- The unknown" Aleister Crowley
Yeh so as I'm working on the script for my next film I remembered this... If your hellbent on sticking to traditional status quo film conventions ask yourself this... Whats the logline for your life? Your existence? The feelings that make you want to live forever or die tomorrow? Quantify, quantize and rationalize that.... If you CAN I definitely don't want to see your "films"
I will not simplify or dumb down my work because the masses do not have the emotional intelligence to comprehend it... I will keep saying what I have to say in my language... There are people out there who understand it perfectly...We are the extreme minority... We are the Strange ^^
So I was just talking to my friend who is a mega artist extraordinaire... I gave him a copy of the excellent short film "Maquina" I met the director Gabe Ibanez in Brazil... Maquina is very dream like and awesome... So as I was talking to my friend who will soon start making moving image thangs said "these are the kind of movies I want to make, where everything isn't explained" and just then I remembered why I got into this whole thing...
Because of Sundance and sales reps and distributors and all this and that I forgot why I started in the first place... Making regular films doesn't really interest me...I want to do something more...something different... something closer to a dream than a film...
Then I found this quote that I had at the start of my first feature film that I made in 2001 "Ophidian"... Here is the quote...
"Dreams are without proportion, without good sense, without truth; so is consciousness. Awake from dream, the truth is known: awake from waking, the truth is- The unknown" Aleister Crowley
Yeh so as I'm working on the script for my next film I remembered this... If your hellbent on sticking to traditional status quo film conventions ask yourself this... Whats the logline for your life? Your existence? The feelings that make you want to live forever or die tomorrow? Quantify, quantize and rationalize that.... If you CAN I definitely don't want to see your "films"
I will not simplify or dumb down my work because the masses do not have the emotional intelligence to comprehend it... I will keep saying what I have to say in my language... There are people out there who understand it perfectly...We are the extreme minority... We are the Strange ^^
thanks..dot StrangE I hope your friends like Maquina
ReplyDeleteWhere can I get a copy of this Maquina you speak of. I was watching your brazil play list the other night and it totally caught my attention.
ReplyDeletePS: You're totally one of my biggest heroes right now. So yeah.. def. keep doing what you're doing. I think you're starting a storm of new directors. The pay off might not be experienced in your lifetime, but at least you started something amazing.
Gabe: Hey Gabe is that you?! If so Hey! Awesome! My artist friend who loved your film is David Choe...He's had shows in Spain before ^^ Yeh everybody loves Maquina...its so otherworldly and unique...
ReplyDeleteAndroo: It's playing in film fests right now... Actually Maquina and WATS both won awards at the Fantasia Fest in Montreal... but ya know the director of it just commented... We could ask him ^^
Gabe Ibanez? I hope that's your name. I've been looking all over google for a site or somewhere where I could see more about your movie and possibly order myself a DVD, but I'm afraid I'm overlooking something here. If you could direct me to a site or something that'd be AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely have to keep an eye out for "Maquina" - sounds like an interesting little film.
ReplyDeleteLove the quote, btw (reminds me of something out of Strindberg's "A Dream Play")
Hi M dot, i've really been digging your recent posts. I totally relate to the whole masochist thang :) I think you pretty much described my existance as an indie filmmaker! - not that i'm complaining - I think that this is the best time EVER to be making films. As someone who has worked both inside (ugh!) and outside the conventional film industry, my take is that the system is broken.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of one of your youtube videos when you were talking about screenwriting books. My advice (for what it's worth) is to ignore arseholes like Syd Field and Robert Mckee - They are part of the whole spoon-fed,imagination-free, soul destroying status-quo!. Of course it does help to read this stuff - so that you know what NOT to do..
WATS RULES! - I downloaded it off stage6 and was completeley blown away! (just ordered the DVD off Amazon) Just wish that I could have seen it in the cinema :(
For me, film is sensory and the experience is everything. A lot of filmmakers seem to have had 'awe and wonder' bypass surgery - so i'm so glad that you are out there doing your thing!
It means a lot to this weirdo! :D
I forgot to give you this link. I think you'll like;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.moviemaker.com/articles/item/jim_jarmusch_2972/
All the best dude!
Y0 Randomfactor glad you liked WATS! Thanks for pickin up a DVD.... yeh I did like that link ^^ Thanks! Yeh I read like 40 of the standard writing books this year haha... I guess I know the rules now... Lets see how many I break... Yeh I kinda forgot who I was for a bit this year but I'm starting to remember at just the right time ^^
ReplyDelete:) - Sundance must have been a total headf**K!. I found out about you at the time of the festival and have been following your stuff ever since. I know first hand what the industry can do to people and it isn't pretty :( It's really cool to see people like yourself, Lance Weiler & Arin & Susan refusing to be beaten by all the inertia & negativity and trust me, we have tons more of that in England..
ReplyDeleteyes...i am gabe....in few weeks maquina is going to have a web whit a lot of images fromm the shooting and same interviews whit the people who didi it...and the posibility of buy acopy..
ReplyDeletenow we only have the tryler:
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp8WtjpsQdsgabelot
David Choe ? wow...
ReplyDeletehow is every thing ?
how is working WATS ?
what are you doing now ?
Sounds good Gabe... I'll let people know on my youtube channel about your trailer... Everything is OK with WATS...its out on DVD... but you know it is so new and different people either love it or hate it... I'm doing a couple music videos...One for the band Mindless Self Indulgence is what I'm doing now... I finished the rough draft of the script for my next animated feature...So I'll be re-writing and storyboarding for a few months....
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you!!! I really love your work and can't wait to see what you do next.
"Dreams are without proportion, without good sense, without truth; so is consciousness. Awake from dream, the truth is known: awake from waking, the truth is- The unknown" Aleister Crowley
ReplyDelete_________________________________
Ah yes, but how could you put Awaking from waking in a film? Now that would be really interesting.
PS: Crowley would be the last person to know anything about that.