1/10/20 Living in Oblivion

"Day for Night" by Truffaut was a light hearted take on the film making process. It followed the director's struggle for vision, the actor's inter-relationships, and even the crew members experiences. One memorable scene is the filming of a cliche scene where a cat laps the leftovers from the lover's breakfast. Just like real film-making, the cat does not corporate.

Then around mid-80s to 2000, others film making movies started to appear. They mostly centered around the eccentric and "funny" people in the film biz. Most of these were uninteresting. They include, "The Player","Boogie Nights", "State and Maine" and "Get Shorty" The film sets scenes from these movies did not reflect what I experienced when I was on set. I think there was still a desire not to break the magic of Hollywood.

"Irma Vep" was a french movie that had promise. It was the making of a vampire movie where the main character film makers were determined to it in a fresh way. Unfortunately, the story decides to show a situation that immediately descends into chaos. Nobody, including the director, really wants to make a movie. The movie centers concentrates around the main character would doesn't say or do anything for the whole movie. She wonders around meeting other crew members who do not seems to be doing anything either. There is a feeling that the crew had union permanent jobs they didn't actually have to do anything. Maybe this is how movies are made in France now but, this is not what I experienced.

An American independent movie I liked called "The Big Picture". Even though only a few scenes took place on set, it gave you sense of the types of people you meet in the film business. Its parodies were spot on.

One of my favorite movies about movie making is called "Stranger's Kiss". Even though it is little known, it seemed to be pitch perfect in its story. It is about a director who is directing a boxing picture. The director seems to know that the story is cliche but he is determined to get the most out of it. The movie follows him as he perfectly manages every aspect of the movie and all the issues that arise. He is the ultimate manager who keeps everyone on his side and keeps things moving. Anyone who knows the film making process knows what a feat this is.

"Living in Oblivion" has a wider scope. It includes the whole crew. There are nice touches throughout the whole movie. For example, the second assistant camera violates the cardinal rule of banging the sticks in front of the actors face. The movie follows the actors, the director, and the crew giving them time to show their experience on set.

This movie is another example of a One-hit-wonder director. For as insightful as this movie is, all of the director's other movies seem very thi and do not quite gel.

Interesting to note that the main pompous ass character in the movies is reported to be based on Brad Pitt's behavior on the director's first film.