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Re: film production

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Mr.K,

I would never argue that high costs always make good movies and as you say it is quite often the opposite as studio movies have to appeal to all those millions of wealthy 13 year old Americans.

Necessity often forces innovation. I grew up on Truffaut and I think that he made several early and brilliant movies like "400 Blows" with "borrowed" film stock, equipment, and certainly no constructed sets. Even with the virtually unlimited resources of Soderbergh and the undeniably higher production values, I much prefer the surreal, poetic quietude of Tarkovsky.

As I am not in the entertainment business myself, I could declare that "The Seven Samurai" and "Battleship Potemkin" are the greatest movies ever made without fear. But that is not possible in the major studio climate where financial success is everything. When it was a hot property, nobody around Town could criticize "Blair Witch" because of the incredible cost to profit ratio- though I consider it wobbly, amateurish trash. And look at the sequel which cost 10X as much. The Industry is so often criticized in the right-wing press as being irresponsibly left-wing, but internally it is the most intense capitalistic, free market culture on the planet; next to Mainland China.

It is interesting why movies and the tickets are so costly. I didn't appreciate the complexity of film-making from a sheer engineering and organizational standpoint until I got to know the process as a close spectator. You may hate James Cameron's movies- and I am way out of those demographics myself, but I can tell you that he is a fascinating and complex personality who does have a certain genius for engineering, indelible image-making, and organization. His current project is so incredible that when finished, I think will open a new epoch of film-making potential technically.

I should mention that I have not spent one cent, red or otherwise to see any of the movies I mentioned either. Nor do I own a television set.

K


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  Kimber Kable  


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