| Cinebitch |
|
Dear Cinebitch, “Epic” movies seem to be quite the trend these days with The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Kill Bill etc. Is the serializing of stories going to be a growing trend? If so , is it because people are telling longer stories or are the movie makers taking time to tell a story more completely? What’s the deal??? Will they be allowing for intermissions soon so we can pee?? Anonymous Sweet, sweet Anonymous, I have to admit I was a bit confused by your question. It seems to me you may think epic films and serialized films are one in the same. They are not. Epic films often times take a historical event or mythic figure and add some awesome costumes and HUGE sets to create an entire world for the audience to drink in. They do not necessarily have to be more than one film. Classic examples of epic films include Ben Hur and Gone with the Wind which were only one film, as we all know. The serialized film CAN be an epic but does not have to be. Lord of the Rings is obviously an epic film as well as a series, but is Harry Potter? I say no, Harry Potter is only a series. Oh
my god!!!!!!!! I have made myself dizzy from this conversation.
I feel like I am nothing more than a circle talker, like my grandmother.
Once I asked her if she had seen my dad lately and she replied,
“I haven’t seen him since the last time I saw him.”
I was like, wha? And then I kicked her out of my car for not making
sense. I had had enough! My
friend at Colombia College, Del Harvey, agrees with me: “When
a film company can sell an audience on the concept of a “franchise”
film, they can see a big ol’ crop of Mama Dollars and Papa
Dollars lying in future harvest for years to come. This trend
was most recently started by Star Wars and The Godfather.
Which is why Coppola is the smartest of the Big Three directors
to come out of the ‘70s; he pulled the plug on his franchise
after picture number three. Lucas has done six in a row, and
they’re getting worse every time. Spielberg allowed
the studio to do Jaws four and maybe even five, who the hell knows
for sure?” Jeff, a gentle yet sarcastic soul who works with me, told me he believes epic fantasy movies are more popular nowadays because the world sucks. With all the sad things in the world people just want to drop some cash to escape from the pain of living. Jeff is sweet and cute and I love him. I think there is something to his theory and so I tickled him when he said it. That is the Cinebitch way so you might want to think twice before you say anything cute in front of me. The lovely Linette Lao of Ypsilanti is more like me when she says, “I don’t know what to say. I have no interest in any movie that’s not a self-contained story in one movie going session. I have a tiny attention span maybe, but I also think as a moviegoer, I’ve committed $9 and a certain number of hours, no more than 2 and a half, and the filmmaker should deliver the movie in that time! I’m also confused—what is a sequel? Versus a serial? Sequels are more acceptable to me than serialized movies, but I never expect them to be good. So I avoid both. I haven’t seen any of those movies in the question. I had fun at the bar with you!” Ok, I added that last part so you guys would believe I don’t actually drink alone at bars. People really do enjoy my company, I swear. I cannot sit through a long-winded film like the Lord of the Rings movie in the theater but I can watch it on DVD with about 450 breaks in the middle. I am sure it is a decent film but the sitting with strangers for that long just gives me hives. Sugar lips Anonymous, I hope this was helpful. Well, honestly I don’t give a shit if it was or not because that’s how I am. Hope the world is sunny and happy for my Cinebitch readers. Thank you for tuning in. Love?
|
P.S. Send me questions right now! I am sick of asking! Don’t make me come to your homes. |
 |
| INTERVIEWS |
| MUSIC 10 Local Bands You Need To See Rock Photography of Doug Coombe The Bluegrass Festival Great Music Rip-offs Tony Rice Not-Guilty Pleasures Mastodon |
COLUMNS |
| REVIEWS |
| PLUS: |