Tag: greg deliso

Nothing But Star Wars

starwarsbill


I’m a Star Wars kid.  That’s not a fan club membership title, it’s simply a term brought into the lexicon by the unabashed popularity of Star Wars.  If you grew up loving Star Wars, you’re a Star Wars kid.  The first generation of Star Wars kids saw it in the theater in the summer of 1977, the second generation (me) saw the Special Edition in the theater in 1997, and then the three prequels that followed in 1999, 2002, and 2005.

A discussion about which versions are good, and which are bad, and which are pure, etc., is a valid and interesting one, but it’s better left in the hands of Trey Parker & Matt Stone, RedLetterMedia, Smug Film’s own Harry Brewis, and the makers of The People vs. George Lucas.

I’ve always wanted to write about Star Wars, but the problem is, everything has already been said about Star Wars and then some.  Has George Lucas become The Empire in some kind of Animal Farm ironic switcheroo?  Maybe.  Probably not.  Are the three prequels terrible?  Kinda, yeah.  Should Jar Jar Binks be hung in effigy and burned? I guess, but no.  Are the Special Editions evil?  No.  Was Greedo shooting first evil?  Yeah, but we all already know why.

As I get older, what fascinates me about Star Wars is its hold on the cultural zeitgeist.  As an atheist, I’m interested in the idea of the Bible: a book written by God that has lasted thousands of years and not only stayed relevant but has been taken as truth by some.  Star Wars is only 37 years old, and will hopefully never be taken as truth—but, Star Wars is priming itself to be the touchstone artistic achievement of our time.
Continue reading Nothing But Star Wars

An Interview with Chris Wilcha, Director of ‘The Target Shoots First’

target
Chris Wilcha (Center, Glasses) in The Target Shoots First.

Chris Wilcha made one of my all-time favorite documentaries, The Target Shoots First.  I feel really cool for having seen it since it hasn’t been released yet, and I saw it by borrowing a VHS version from a friend who knows him—which is how I connected with Chris for this interview.  

The Target Shoots First is a collection of footage shot by Chris while he was working at Columbia Music House in the early 90s, which he guides you through with his own narration.  It sounds simple, and it is, but the story that unfolds is unassuming and profound.  It’s like Office Space, but for real, and a lot more personal.  Like many films of the 90s, it explores the life of a post-college twenty-something, and how they fit into the workforce as a Gen-X’er.

The entire movie should be available online sometime soon. When it is, we’ll link it here.
Continue reading An Interview with Chris Wilcha, Director of ‘The Target Shoots First’

Rest in Peace, Harold Ramis

haroldfilm


Since we started this website, I’ve always felt like I was on a mission. A mission, despite the fact that, at the end of the day, nothing anybody says about art matters at all.  Art is an individual experience—even in a group, it’s an individual experience.  I can’t convince you of anything, and you can’t convince me.  And it should be that way.  But right now, fuck all that.

Ghostbusters is high art.  Ghostbusters should be thought of the way the Mona Lisa is—as this sacred, unachievable thing forged from genius—because that’s exactly what it is, and it’s been my mission to explain that concept.  There are only about a dozen great movies, and these movies are untouchable.  They are perfect in every way, and they represent the ultimate synthesis of story, performance, writing, color, music, and all the myriad elements that come together to make whatever is on screen at any given moment the perfect thing.

People don’t give a fuck about art.  They like things all willy-nilly and just regurgitate whatever fucking nonsense someone says about why Raging Bull is brilliant.  Fuck all that noise.  Movies like Ghostbusters are advanced.  They do all of the artistic shit Raging Bull does, but for the purpose of entertainment, of making you soak into the movie.  That is beautiful, that is advanced, that is transcendent, and that could only happen a dozen times in about a century because it’s insanely hard to do.

And Ghostbusters isn’t even his best movie.
Continue reading Rest in Peace, Harold Ramis

An (Imaginary) Interview with Spike Lee

spikelee
I’ve also done an (imaginary) interview with Steven Spielberg.  That one is cool too.

White people hate Spike Lee and I have no idea why.  When I was in film school, they brought in this huckster guy to talk to us about producing, and he mentioned Spike Lee, and then, as an aside, he made sure to tell us that he doesn’t think Mr. Lee is talented.  Things like that happen all the time and I don’t get why.

When I was seventeen, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing was my favorite movie, if you can believe it.  At that time I was exploring American independent and foreign ‘cinema’. They say the best way to be an atheist is to read the bible. Well, the best way to love real movies like Back to the Future is to watch French movies and American indies. However, in small ways, Do the Right Thing holds up for me. It’s definitely Spike’s most complete movie—it has arcs and a brilliant ensemble.  The compositions and camera movements are mind-blowing, and it does a great job of making you feel like you’re on the block. It’s alive and adventurous—it’s filled with music and color and jokes and fun—not to mention, some very touching human moments. In fact, the only thing it really lacks is clarity. It’s so much of a hang-out movie that you end up having to accuse it of loitering. But, I’ll always have an affection for it, and I’ll never call it a bad movie.
Continue reading An (Imaginary) Interview with Spike Lee

John D’Amico, Greg DeLiso, and Jenna Ipcar on Philip Seymour Hoffman

capote


John D’Amico: 63 roles in 23 years of acting. Where do you even begin? He absolutely hummed as Lancaster Dodd in The Master, as Lester Bangs in Almost Famous. He has about a million solid movies you kinda forget about until you look at the long scroll of his filmography. How about State & Main? That was a very fun one, uplifted by his ability to be both campy and deeply believable at the same time. He elevated otherwise listless projects like Pirate Radio and Patch Adams—Jesus, he was even good in Patch fucking Adams! Watching Hoffman, even in a bad movie—hell, especially in a bad movie—you feel his talent almost as a physical presence in the room, a rush of light illuminating himself and everyone else.
Continue reading John D’Amico, Greg DeLiso, and Jenna Ipcar on Philip Seymour Hoffman