05/29/2002 Entry:
"My First Movie - edited by Stephen Lowenstein"

My First Movie contains interviews with approximately 20 directors, all discussing their experiences making their first movie. The sibjects range from the famous (Oliver Stone, The Coen Brothers) to the less famous (Mira Nair, Pedro Almodovar.) The films range from Blood Simple ($800M budget, 35mm, full crew) to Pepi, Luci, Bom (no budget, Super-8, whenever time permitted.) Despite the differences all the interviews are fascinating to read. This is a really fun and interesting book.

Throughout all the interviews, I don't think anyone agrees on anything. If there is one theme that comes through its that any director should find the way they work best and work that way. Everyone comes from a wide variety of backgrounds and training, and their ways of work are wide-ranging and cover the whole map. I loved hearing how the different directors worked on the set, interfacing with actors and such. Having such a wide variety of opinions and mechanisms put forth really torpedoes the idea that there is any one set way which is right to work. They all pretty much say that you just have to figure out whats best for you and do it. Also, many of them say that a first film should really be about getting it done and learning from it. Its for experimentation and finding your feet. Several people say that the most important thing about a first film is that you do it.

I was of course most inspired by the people who flew by the seat of their pants with no training and managed to get through somehow. This is especially true of the Kevin Smith piece. I mean, whatever you think of his films, here is a guy who just grabbed a camera with almost no training at all and just made a movie for the hell of it. I think that is so great, and his piece was really the most inspiring for me. I also really enjoyed the Mira Nair piece. I've never seen any of her films, but just reading about the hell she went through getting financing, then the stories of her crazy shoot really made me admire her. This is someone who is going to get what needs to be done done on her own terms.

I kind of poked through the book over a month or so. One of the first pieces I read in the book was The Coen Brothers' one and yet one partof their interview has haaunted me. They talk about the typical thing - straight out of film school, they go seriously into debt on this film, have no idea if it will ever work or whatever. Then they talk about how there is a really limited period of time in your life when you can do that, and right out of college is perfect because you have absolutely nothing to lose at that point. No car, no family, no house, no job. You can just focus on this and if it doesn't work out, then oh well. You can start your life at that point. They talk about having friends already in Hollywood making real money at real jobs who wanted to help out but they already had so much invested in that whole life that they couldn't just drop it all. Man, that is so true and really kindof depressing giving where I am right now. I mean, it would be somewhat disastrous for me to lose you know 50K to credit card debt at this point in my life. You spend all your life acquiring this life and then you realize how little freedom you have to leave it behind should you so choose. Its kind of chilling and really made me evaluate a lot of stuff I had kind of taken for granted before. It sounds weird you know, "an interview with the Coen Brothers caused me to evaluate my life," but its true. Is that pathetic? I have no answer.