Showing posts with label Kevin Smith. Show all posts
We are all searching for something.
Often in life we feel lost or scared or confused, but what we are is
directionless. We've stopped searching. As we stop searching we begin
to feel confined, isolated and afraid. We are out-of-sorts, and we
continuously wonder why.
It is because we are not in our
Element. It is because we have not remembered our Authentic Swing. It
is because who we are in actuality is not who we are pretending to be
in reality.
These are all topics I've hit on
before. Topics I've hinted at and mentioned. My posts on Zen and the Art of Teaching are all about this, in the broadest sense. Yet, I've
never tackled the issue head on. Partly, because it is still
undefined in my own mind. Partly, because I know that my ideas are a
collection of Ken Robinson's and Leo Babauta's and Kevin Smith's and
Steven Pressfield's and Joe Rogan's and John Green's.
The names I mentioned are just the tip
of the iceberg. Each of those individuals were inspired by others
stretching back through time. Rogan loves Graham Hancock and Hunter
S. Thompson. Kevin Smith is motivated by Wayne Gretzky and his own
Catholicism. Pressfield studied Indian cultures and religions.
Everyone is a collection of other people's ideas. It may be that
there is no originality whatsoever, only the ether. Only the Element
where all possibilities exist simultaneously and continuously. Where
our Authentic Swings can be remembered.
I am mixing different terms which may
be confusing to those trying to pay attention. Let me be clear:
There is something beyond our own
internal bodies. Something outside the clicking clock that operates
our organs. It goes by many names; heaven, yin and yang, the Field,
the Element, the Middle Path, Nirvana, consciousness, the ether,
Alpha and Omega. Arriving at a name is problematic because it has a
tendency to alienate those unfamiliar with this new name. Or it
causes suffering because of preconceived notions and biases.
I realize these problems exist. Help me
circumvent them. I am calling this consciousness outside ourselves
The Element. It is what drives us in our searching. It is both the
destination and the path. The Element is where we all wish to reside.
We have been there before. When we are
playing sports and get into the zone our bodies seem to become
extensions of our minds, reacting at our slightest will, and
sometimes, without our will at all. Almost on pure instinct. When we
are writing and the words seem to flow from our fingertips. The pen
flies across the paper, our fingers dance across the keyboard and
beauty emerges. We are in our Element when we are in love and when we
are at play. I know we have all been there before. The key is how do
we remain there.
How can we be in The Element at all
times? That depends on who you are. Are you an athlete, a warrior, a
writer, a lover, a singer or a saint? To put it another way, what is
your Authentic Swing? The path you will take is not identical, in
fact it can not be identical, to someone else's. Your path is based
on who you are and the experiences you have. It is individual and
personal. Yet, it is still The Element.
The Element is universal. It is calling
to all of us, and we are searching for it. The more we realize this,
the more we become aware of the cues. We begin to see what leads in
the right direction and what leads us astray. Awareness is the first
step towards The Element. You must open your eyes before anything
else can take place. Yes, the light is bright, but we must embrace
it. We lose our way not because The Element has shifted the path, but
because we choose to shield ourselves from the light.
Take the first step. Open your eyes.
This post spawned directly from my review of Red State. A better question is why? Why did one specific
movie review lead to this post which is far more broad in scope and
scale? I've seen many movies and none of the others inspired me to
write about the changing of an industry or consumer demand. So why
Red State?
Because Red State should change the
world.
I say should and not did only because
it seems to be taking a little longer than I, personally, would like
it to. This is because the movement is lead by a man who gave the
middle finger to entertainment media, and any time you choose to do
things in a non-traditional route it's going to take some time.
Here's what Red State did. When it
premiered at Sundance Kevin Smith promised an auction for the rights
to his movie, which is very traditional. Where Mr. Smith broke the
mold is when he allowed only one bid on the movie rights...his own
bid...for $20. Then he caused wave upon wave by saying that he didn't
need the traditional marketing/distributing companies and was
planning on distributing the movie by himself.
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| He also protested |
This is a review for some but new
information for others: Companies spend way to much money marketing
movies. For a film like Red State, that had a $4 million budget,
marketing costs would have probably been in the $10-15 million dollar
range. I'm dead serious. A distributing company would have spent more
than twice the cost of the movie just to advertise it.
The worst part is that niche-films
rarely have the audience to make up for those kinds of cost at the
box-office. Then they are deemed a failure when they don't make more
than $20 million dollars in a weekend. This happens all the time.
(Most recently to Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd).
Mr. Smith realized this and did the
only sane thing...he told everyone else they were insane.
Why should he subject his movie, his
artwork, to another declared failure when he could do it a different
way and be more financially successful?
The crazy thing: He already has his
money back. Every single cent that Red State makes on VOD (video on
demand), on DVD/Blu Ray or at select theaters is profit. Before Red
State was even released to a general audience, it had recouped it's
cost.
How did Mr. Smith do this? He kept
costs low and took the film around to select theaters where his own
fans paid a premium to see the film and his Q&A.
I know, baffling concept. A director
went around and showed off his work to people he knew were fans.
Instead of paying millions and millions of dollars to get a few extra
asses in seats opening weekend, Mr. Smith just said, "No thanks,
I don't need to do that."
It worked because Mr. Smith understands
something that others don't. Different movies work for different
audiences in different places. Putting every movie through the same
cookie cutter doesn't work.
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| Harry Potter 7 premiere |
Here's the top ten highest grossing
movies of all time. A pretty good barometer of what is "popular"
in the United States.
- Avatar
- Titanic
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Toy Story 3
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Alice in Wonderland
- The Dark Knight
All pretty predictable. No real
surprises. Now here's a list of the top ten rentals from Netflix.
Also a pretty good barometer of what is "popular" in the
United States.
- Crash (2004)
- The Blind Side (2009)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- The Bucket List (2008)
- The Departed (2006)
- The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Gran Torino (2008)
WHAT!?! Not one of the highest grossing
movies is on the Netflix list. Are people insane? Don't they realize
the superior quality of Transformers: Dark of the Moon?!? It made
over a billion dollars!
That's about all the proof I need to
know that different movies work for different audiences in different
places. Movie theaters are great for watching things explode or
seeing the crazy visuals of Avatar, but that doesn't always translate
when people are at home.
Red State was never going to be in the
Top Ten Box Office numbers, but a distributing company would have
marketed it the same way; by throwing copious amounts of money trying
to attract more and more people. By choosing a desired "target
audience" and overplaying the generalities they believe that
audience wants.
Sex to young men. Romance to young
women. Goofy antics of middle-aged people to middle-aged people who
don't have goofy antics. Intellect to...never mind, no movie gets
marketed as an intellectual experience.
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| I like unrealistic women |
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| I like unrealistic men |
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| I like unrealistic versions of myself |
Red State should change the world of entertainment. People should look at what Mr. Smith has done and realize that different movies can be distributed in different fashions. Fans will pay to see movies they want to see, but even more so if it is available in a fashion they are comfortable with.
What's more comfortable than having a
movie streamed directly to your computer, Xbox, or PS3 and watching
it from your own couch? Not much in my book.
Different movies play to different
audiences in different places. Mr. Smith tailored the distribution to
best fit the people he thought would enjoy Red State. He listened to
the people whom he respects, his own fans.
Another baffling concept. Listening AND
responding to the people who are actually interested in your work.
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| The best Web 2.0-ers. Look at those ears. |
That's Web 2.0. Skipping over the
unneeded middle men and going directly to the source. Being
responsible to the fan by communicating directly with the fans.
Mr. Smith took advantage of all the
different mediums now available to us as consumers. Red State can be
watched on iTunes, Xbox, PS3 or YouTube. It can be watched by anyone
who wants to watch it in the comfort of their own home. And it should
change how the world consumes, interacts and views entertainment.
At least I hope it does.
"What? What the heck is Red State? It's not playing in any theater and I've never heard of it."
That's because Red State is being distributed differently, which will be the topic of my next post. It is now available through a variety of VOD (video on demand) options including, but not limited to; Sony PlayStation, Amazon.com, iTunes, Blockbuster.com ,YouTube, Microsoft: XBOX: ZUNE ,VUDU (the Walmart platform), Sonic/Cinema Now.
The movie will also be run in theaters around the country. Check the details for a showing near your area. Currently, it also is scheduled to play at the New Beverly in Los Angles weekly.
Don't like reading? Excellent, because we just finished a TalkBack Spoilercast on Red State.
Red State is a film written, directed and edited by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith). If you didn't know that already then maybe you should check out this post regarding the distribution, production, and controversy behind Mr. Smith's latest film.
The movie stars an excellent cast including Michael Parks as Abin Cooper, Melissa Leo as Sarah Cooper and John Goodman as ATF Agent Keenan. The supporting cast is also a talented group and you will probably recognize a few faces from TV or other movies.
Abin Cooper is a pastor modeled after the infamous Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church. His large, dedicated family fill the pews of his chapel located within his own house. He preaches a hyper-right wing platform about the wickedness of America, and how all sinners should be dealt with through righteous damnation (read kidnapping people and executing them on a cross).
After the abduction of a few local town boys goes poorly, the ATF arrives and all hell breaks loose.
There's your synopsis.
Let's not bury the lead anymore. Michael Parks is haunting, convincing, terrifying, bone-chilling, and propels the viewer through the movie. He's so damn good that Mr. Smith followed the Academy rules of distributing a movie in order to insure that Parks was at least considered. Mr. Smith also believes some of the other actors have shots at nominations (Leo and Goodman) but I'm convinced Michael Parks is the only one who is truly breathtaking.
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| coopersdell.com |
Don't get me wrong, it is a strong cast; and Goodman, in particular, does a fantastic job as lead ATF agent. Maybe it's just that Parks is so far beyond everyone else he's casting a shadow over the actor's otherwise good performances.
The strength of the cast is why I liked the film so much and why it earns one of my highest compliments: Red State is entirely re-watchable. This isn't a movie you can watch once and say, “I got it.” This is a movie you want to see a second time shortly after it ends because you're left saying, "Damn, did all that just happen?"
It doesn't fit the traditional mold for a horror movie, or any movie-mold for that matter. I missed the hey-day of horror during the seventies and eighties. All I ever got from the "horror" genre was copious amounts of gore and a couple of scenes with topless girls. So forgive my classification, but I don't think this is a horror movie. Does it have gore, you bet, but within the realms of the story. When someone gets shot in the face, their face comes off. Realism is all I got, and that was appreciated.
Perhaps, when Mr. Smith labeled this film a horror movie he was imagining what horror films used to be, not what they have devolved into. There are definite elements of the horror genre but at the end of the day I classify this as a drama.
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| coopersdell.com |
Regardless of how it's labeled on Netflix, it is a short film by any measure. At 88 minutes, the movie is tight and the pacing is well done. I've heard complaints that the speech by Parks' Cooper mid-way through the film is too long, but for me it was simply captivating.
The run time is also the films' Achilles' heel. Mr. Smith was proud of his editing skills during this movie's production. (He edited the film simultaneously throughout the movie, meaning he went to set-directed, and then came home and edited). Granted, that is a feat that is rarely, if ever, accomplished on a film this size. In all honesty, I would have loved to have more background on all the characters, but especially some of the supporting characters whose deaths often felt sudden and their character arc short-changed.
Is it perfection? No. However, Red State is a whole lot of fun, vulgarity and violence with a helping of Michael Parks. I can't overstate this guy enough...he's amazing. The movie is a great watch and probably a great re-watch for most everyone out there.
TalkBack Grade: B+
MPAA Rating: R