Film School

Sounds like you chaps have had an interesting night.

This week, it's micro-budget indie to the EXTREME. These chaps from jolly old England made Cosmos on a minuscule six hundred dollars. SIX. HUNDRED. A guys go out into the countryside for a night of looking at the stars . . . and find something else, instead. We discuss!

How much time or importance should we invest in planning/learning/theory, and how much time should we invest in hands-on execution? Planning can be an endless endeavor which leads to never finishing anything; but then again, you can dive into creating something without enough preparation and burn out. So . . . BOTH would seem to be absolutely necessary. So, where does the rubber meet the road? What is the proper intersection of planning and execution? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends Scorsese's The Irishman, which is on Netflix, and Ira recommends the Swedish/Noomi Rapace original version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which is on Amazon Prime.

There aren't many sci-fi films that can approach 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tarkovsky's Solaris does . . . and it might even surpass it, at least for the two of us. This week, we're talking about the famed Russian director's expressionistic, emotional, hypnotizing dive into science fiction. His mechanism: an alien planet that seems to understand the people in our lives that we've lost and miss the most . . . and gives them to us. We discuss!

What is the difference between a professional and an amateur?

We can all agree that the two aren't the same thing, so what differentiates them? And if we are an amateur and want to be a professional, *HOW* do we do that? Josh and Ira discuss what the difference is for them, and how they've worked on 'going pro' in their own lives.

Also...Josh recommends the 2012 Teeange Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series which currently has Season 1 available on Netflix, and Ira recommends The Anarchists on HBO.

Are you stealing?

This week, we watch the Berlin-made, one-shot sensation Victoria. And yes, the did actually shoot the entire two-plus hour film in one take. It's a love story, a poem to a drunken night out, AND a heist/thriller. We discuss how well it weaves in all those things together. Enjoy!

Can you tell a story about a lesson that you, personally as the storyteller, haven't learned yet? Or, put another way: what are the dangers of NOT writing what you know? Can the process of storytelling teach you that lesson, or provide you with that insight? And what happens if it doesn't? How does that affect your audience? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends the book Letter to a Stranger edited by Colleen Kinder, and Ira (+ Liz) recommends Andy Weir's novel Project Hail Mary. Yes! We actually recommend two BOOKS this week instead of films or TV shows. Look how cultured we are :)

I am your MOTHER!

Man...this movie brings the noise. Toni Colette stars in the debut feature from newly minted scare-master Ari Aster. It's a film about family trauma, grief, and how those two forces can rob us of our own agency. Also: it's really freaking scary. We watch, discuss, and break it down!

You're just not feeling it. You want it. You know you can do it. It might even be close . . . but you just can't finish. You can't work on it, or when you do, you hate what you've done. WHAT IS THIS? WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN??? Josh and Ira have gone through it just like you. In fact, they still do! All the time! They share their thoughts, tips and hacks to get your butt back in your chair, churning out work that you love.

Also, Josh recommends The Infinite Man on Tubi.

The water before you is somehow special...

Shane Carouth exploded onto the indie scene with the time-traveling Primer, and then kinda disappeared for a while. He roared back with our movie this week, the mind-bending Upstream Color, which, like his first film, was made on an absolutely tiny, shoe-string budget. Perhaps not the instant classic that Primer is, it nonetheless has a lot to offer. We discuss!

In the world of hiring out work, everyone wants to spend less money, get the best quality of work, and get it in the least amount of time possible. Of course. But, here's the thing: of time, money, and quality...you can only ever get two at the same time. And here's the other thing: it's not just the world of hired work, it's kind of everything. We discuss!

Also: Josh recommends Ethan Hawk's documentary film Seymour, An Introduction about the amazing pianist Seymour Bernstein (currently on Tubi), and Ira recommends the HBO Max documentary series 100 Foot Wave about Garrett Macnamara's hunt to surf the largest waves in the world.