keith calder

Want to know why generations of teenage girls love DIRTY...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:47:16 -0800

Want to know why generations of teenage girls love DIRTY DANCING?
Want to know why it’s one of the highest selling DVDs of all time?
Want to know why it can still sell out screenings around the world?

Because it’s really fucking good.

2012 Movie #39 - Dirty Dancing (1987)

For Valentine’s Day, Jess and I decided to see DIRTY DANCING at a theater here in London. this is probably the 4th or 5th time I’ve seen the film, but the first screening for over a decade. It’s also the first time I’ve ever seen the film projected in a theater.

I’ve always been a fan of DIRTY DANCING. Unfortunately, as a cultural phenomenon, “Dirty Dancing” has moved beyond the quality of the film, and now exists as a polarizing pop-culture item that people “love” or “hate.” This is a shame, as the film itself is of remarkably high quality.

So what the hell, I’m going to make the case for why I believe DIRTY DANCING is one of the great films of the 1980s.

THEME

DIRTY DANCING is incredibly dense with interesting thematic content. It contains interesting explorations of class relations, shifting family and cultural dynamics in the mid-20th century, the maturation of father/daughter relationships as a daughter becomes an adult, but mostly it’s a film about believing you can change your world and the importance of helping other people. These last themes are touched on by all of the interweaving storylines and major characters, and is the beating heart of the relationship between Baby and Johnny.

THE BABY/JOHNNY RELATIONSHIP

Baby and Johnny have a love story built on the belief they have in each other, and their ability to expand each other’s horizons. Johnny teaches Baby how to dance and how to express herself. He helps her take the path from timid teenager to strong expressive adult. Baby in turn gives Johnny the strength to push against the class driven glass-ceiling he feels restrained by. In the most basic and compelling sense, they complete each other. They are simply better people in each other’s company. We fall in love with Baby and Johnny for the same reason why they fall in love with each other, and this is the ultimate success for a dramatic romance.

BABY’S RELATIONSHIPS WITH HER FATHER

The second biggest driving relationship in the film is between Baby and her father. People generally attribute the Baby/Johnny dynamic as the cause for the film’s rabid female fanbase, but I think the father/daughter relationship has an equally strong appeal and elevates the film beyond just another teen romance. The film uses the events of the narrative and Baby’s character arc to reflect the universal relationship dynamic of a father realizing his daughter is not just a child to love but a person to respect. Baby leaves DIRTY DANCING as a truly realized adult in all her important relationships.

THE WRITING

The screenplay for DIRTY DANCING is exceptional. If you’ve been following my blog, you can tell that I have pretty strong beliefs when it comes to the power of a well executed dramatic narrative. DIRTY DANCING never lets its narrative tension slack, and every scene is a real dramatic scene, which has become a rarity these days.

When I describe a scene as a “real dramatic scene,” I mean something very specific. In his book “On Film-Making,” Alexander Mackendrick defines a dramatic scene as…

…one in which something happens: an incident or an event takes place, the situation between the characters is different at the end of the scene from what it was at the beginning. The equilibrium has been altered and there is some narrative momentum that drives the characters (and us the audience) to a new situation in the next scene.

It has been a sad trend these days that many scenes are just “stuff happening.” Events will occur, but they have no impact on the film’s narrative propulsion because they don’t actually change the character dynamics or situations from the start to the end of the scene. They don’t indicate to the characters or the audience a new situation that builds on the prior situation, and so we enter the next scene as a blank slate waiting for the next “stuff happening” moment. Boredom is born in “stuff happening.”

This idea of indicating narrative progression is hugely important when it comes to structure. It’s well explained in Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s NYU lecture on story structure that went viral in 2011.

We found out this really simple rule… We can take these beats… of your outline and if the words ‘and then’ belong between those beats, you’re fucked. You’ve got something pretty boring. What should happen between every beat you’ve written down is the word ‘therefore’ or ‘but.’

If you have “and then” between your scenes, it means that you aren’t writing using true dramatic scenes. You aren’t using your scene to build a changing situation in the world, and indication of how that changing situation effects the overall narrative progression of your story.

DIRTY DANCING is almost entirely structured using strong dramatic scenes. Every scene propels the plot and the characters, and this is what allows for such dense thematic, narrative, and character content in a brisk 100 minute running time.

This alone would make DIRTY DANCING an impressive screenplay. What makes the writing exceptional is that you never notice this expert craftmanship! Hell, I’m always looking for this stuff, and it took me a few viewings to realize how well crafted the script is. You never feel the invisible hand of the author forcing the story along. The scenes exist as natural moments between characters, where you believe they are making decisions and experiencing the world exactly in that moment. As a result, the audience also lives within the moment of every scene.

THE DETAILS

It’s certainly not enough to have a brilliantly structured and told story. Having a strong dramatic structure definitely helps make a film compelling to watch and avoids the cardinal sin of boredom, but it’s not like most people look back on a film they loved and say “it was amazing how every scene had narrative propulsion.”

The things you consciously remember and love about a film are the details. The iconic shots, the memorable marriage of dialog and performance, the shocking peripeteia (reversal of circumstances; turning points), the powerful scene or sequence, or the twist ending. The moments and the details.

The red pill or the blue pill? Indiana Jones shooting the swordsman. Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. Darth Vader reveals he’s Luke Skywalker’s father. Gene Kelly singing and dancing on a rainy street. “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” Slim Pickens riding the bomb. “I Fart In Your General Direction.” Johnny lifting Baby above the water of a Catskills lake. “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”

DIRTY DANCING draws us in with its expertly conceived narrative, and hooks us eternally with its exquisite details.

What I’ll Take Away: Everything.

2012 Movie #38 - The Grey (2012) I’ve liked most of Joe...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:41:00 -0800

2012 Movie #38 - The Grey (2012)

I’ve liked most of Joe Carnahan’s prior work, but THE GREY is by far my favorite of his films. The marketing is a bit misleading. This isn’t really a movie about Liam Neeson punching wolves in the face. It’s a brutal atheist existential survival story in which Liam Neeson punches wolves in the face.

The filmmaking is excellent throughout, and my one minor quibble is that the film does have a tendency to structurally separate its narrative moments from its character moments. Rather than naturally interweaving character and theme into scenes that continue to propel the narrative, I think the film occasionally allows too much slack in the narrative tension to allow for character building moments. My favorite films tend to find a way to do all of these things at the same time. That said, it’s really a minor quibble, and I would highly recommend seeing THE GREY.

What I’ll Take Away: Dermot Mulroney is becoming more and more interesting as he gets older. I could see a major comeback for him in the near future. But with regards to the filmmaking, I’m really impressed by Carnahan’s ability to juggle naturalistic and iconic camera choices within the same scene.

2012 Movie #37 - Underworld: Awakening (2012) The movie...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:00:06 -0800

2012 Movie #37 - Underworld: Awakening (2012)

The movie certainly had a lot of energy.

What I’ll Take Away: High contrast visuals with lots of bright specular highlights do not look good in stereoscopic 3D.

2012 Movies #32-36 - Howling, REC 3, The Great...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:07:00 -0800

HOWLING film poster

REC 3 film poster

THE GREAT MAGICIAN film poster

ELECTRICK CHILDREN film poster

NUIT BLANCHE film poster

2012 Movies #32-36 - Howling, REC 3, The Great Magician, Electrick Children, Sleepless Night

For the last few days I’ve been in Berlin attending the European Film Market. For people who haven’t attended a film market, it’s an industry convention for international film companies. There are booths and offices where foreign sales companies, national film commissions, and various other entities pitch their product or services to distribution companies and film producers. The three largest film markets are Le Marché du Film (during the Cannes FIlm Festival), the American Film Market, and the European Film Market.

The majority of activity at a film market involves “pre-sales” which refer to licensing distribution rights for a film that hasn’t been made yet and “post-sales” which refer to licensing distribution rights for completed films. For companies to see the finished films, film markets have a series of screenings that’s a bit like a film festival just for film executives. So a foreign distributor will go see a new finished film at a market screening, and then contact the foreign sales company to make an offer. The foreign sales companies also screen promo-reels or have other materials for the films that are in “pre-sales.”

For me, film markets are a great way to catch up with my international film industry colleagues, and to attend market screenings so I can see films early and to educate myself on upcoming foreign filmmakers.

I saw ACE ATTORNEY and WRONG at EFM, but I realized that I probably shouldn’t be blogging my thoughts on what I see at EFM, as these are all films that are currently in the marketplace looking for distribution. Unfortunately I didn’t think about this until after I had already written about ACE ATTORNEY and WRONG, but I decided to just give a simple list of other films I saw at EFM in 2012.

2012 Movie #31 - Ace Attorney (2012) Under all the wackadoodle...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:00:05 -0800

2012 Movie #31 - Ace Attorney (2012)

Under all the wackadoodle aesthetic and tonal choices (I assume, mostly imported from the original video games and manga) is a solid narrative about an escalating series of interrelated court cases full of mostly interesting peripeteia. Unfortunately, the style and tone ruined any chance of me becoming involved in the story, or even understanding the story most of the time.

What I’ll Take Away: Ryo Ishibashi can bring gravitas and immediacy to any role.

How do you like those photographs? Trick question. These are all...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:11:32 -0800

How do you like those photographs?

Trick question. These are all oil-paintings on canvas. Pedro Campos has redefined what I think is possible in photorealistic painting. Unbelievable.

(via brandsixtysix)

2012 Movie #30 - Wrong (2012) I am definitely a traditionalist...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:33:26 -0800

2012 Movie #30 - Wrong (2012)

I am definitely a traditionalist when it comes to narrative filmmaking, but even I was often charmed and won-over by the surreal storytelling present in WRONG. I found the film at its most successful when it managed to satisfy the emotional and dramatic beats of a traditional narrative in ways totally non-traditional. This is especially true of the first 15 minutes, but when it verged off beyond that style I started to lose interest. That said, I suspect for someone with more anti-traditionalist tastes than me, the film is vastly more enjoyable.

What I’ll Take Away: It’s definitely worth watching a film like WRONG as an exercise in separating the power of form and content.

Game development studio DoubleFine and documentary production...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:28:03 -0800

Game development studio DoubleFine and documentary production company 2 Player Productions are launching a crowd-funded adventure video-game and multi-platform documentary series covering the creation of this game.

I’ve had the honor of talking with the 2 Player Productions team about this project, and I think it’s going to blow your mind. Clearly people agree, as they’ve already raised over $350,000 and they just announced it on Kickstarter!

Be part of something amazing. I honestly think this project has the chance of redefining what crowdfunding can do, reshaping how artists interact with their audience, and making an awesome adventure game at the same time. My only regret is that I didn’t think of it myself!

So head over to Kickstarter and be part of the fun.

I make sure to start every day as a producer, not a consumer. When you get up, you may start with a...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:00:05 -0800

I make sure to start every day as a producer, not a consumer.

When you get up, you may start with a good routine like showering and eating, but as soon as you find yourself with some free time you probably get that urge to check Reddit, open that game you were playing, see what you’re missing on Facebook, etc.

Put all of this off until “later”. Start your first free moments of the day with thoughts of what you really want to do; those long-term things you’re working on, or even the basic stuff you need to do today, like cooking, getting ready for exercise, etc.

This keeps you from falling into the needy consumer mindset. That mindset where you find yourself endlessly surfing Reddit, Facebook, etc. trying to fill a void in yourself, trying to find out what you’re missing, but never feeling satisfied.

When you’ve started your day with doing awesome (not necessarily difficult) things for yourself, these distractions start to feel like a waste of time. You check Facebook just to make sure you’re not missing anything important directed at you, but scrolling down and reading random stuff in your feed feels like stepping out into the Disneyland parking lot to listen to what’s playing on the car radio - a complete waste of time compared to what you’re really doing today.

It sounds subtle, but these are the only days where I find myself getting anything done. I either start my day like this and feel normal and productive, or I look up and realize it’s early evening, I haven’t accomplished anything and I can’t bring myself to focus no matter how hard I want to.

Some excellent advice on productivity and self-improvement from a reddit thread on fitness.

The Royal Mail have released their beautiful set of Roald Dahl /...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:27:42 -0800

The Royal Mail have released their beautiful set of Roald Dahl / Quentin Blake stamps. Available for purchase here.

A huge portion of the cultural life of my childhood was defined by Roald Dahl. I’ve read all of his children’s books, and suspect I’ve read a few of them more than twenty times each. Dahl’s story telling is deeply embedded in my brain, and I suspect pops up in a lot of my work.

(via Delicious Industries)

Art of the Title shows and discusses some of their favorite...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:22:35 -0800

Art of the Title shows and discusses some of their favorite title sequences that explore the “inner workings” of things.

If this is your first time going to Art of the Title, I highly recommend browsing through the site extensively. One of the great film blogs, the website focuses on the art of main title design.

2012 Movie #29 - To Catch A Thief (1955) By far the best aspect...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:02:44 -0800

2012 Movie #29 - To Catch A Thief (1955)

By far the best aspect of this film was the sense of fun and glamour achieved by actually shooting big segments of the film in the South of France. Looking back on the film with modern eyes, it’s clear that the real location photography is far more compelling than the faked studio segments. Although, this is a problem I have with a lot of films from this era.

What’s I’ll take away: Shooting a fun sexy movie in the summer in the South of France is an incredible idea that I should steal.

Available as a Kindle ebook for only 99 cents on Amazon, I have...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:51:40 -0800

Available as a Kindle ebook for only 99 cents on Amazon, I have to highly recommend John August’s short story SNAKE PEOPLE. It’s a quick-moving, mind-bending, soul-disturbing yarn that I suggest devouring in a single sitting.

John is the esteemed screenwriter behind Go, Charlie’s Angels, and Big Fish. He also runs what I consider to be the best screenwriting blog in the world and co-hosts my favorite filmmaking podcast.

"I was addicted. Not to success. I was addicted to trying my hardest. That’s the reward in..."

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:46:27 -0800

“I was addicted. Not to success. I was addicted to trying my hardest. That’s the reward in itself. It’s what life’s about. The struggle. It’s the only way you can be proud. You can’t be proud of luck.”

- Ricky Gervais: On Fame

2012 Movie #28 - Chronicle (2012) So, that’s a...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:21:00 -0800

2012 Movie #28 - Chronicle (2012)

So, that’s a found-footage superhero movie.

What I’ll take away: Perhaps it’s a generational thing, but I just don’t get the appeal of forcing a found-footage aesthetic onto a story that doesn’t fit it. It just results in distracting narrative gymnastics trying to justify the incorporation of cameras into every scene, often with the side effect of the shot not capturing the key story and emotional beats of a scene. That said, I thought the three lead actors were all fantastic.

2012 Movie #27 - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) Journey...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:11:00 -0800

2012 Movie #27 - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

Journey 2 is vastly superior to the first film, but unfortunately that’s not saying much. Clearly the go-to method for breathing life into a tired franchise is casting The Rock, and I can’t argue with the results. He revitalized the Fast and Furious franchise with Fast Five, he’s done it here with Journey 2, and I suspect he’ll do the same with GI Joe: Retaliation.

The film suffers from a bad case of stuff-happening syndrome, never really engaging the audience with the story or characters. The highlights are when the plot takes a break, and we’re left with The Rock and Luis Guzmán bringing their fun charisma to the screen.

What I’ll take away: the lovable confidence of The Rock and lovable worry of Luis Guzmán make them ideal casting for a buddy comedy. I would love to see a buddy-cop movie with The Rock and Luis Guzmán.

Stunning fruit and vegetable oil paintings by Dennis...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:45:08 -0800

Stunning fruit and vegetable oil paintings by Dennis Wojtkiewicz.

Eda Akaltun created these alternate cover illustrations for the...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:42:00 -0800

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

DRIVE

THE ARTIST

THE DESCENDANTS

THE HELP

Eda Akaltun created these alternate cover illustrations for the BAFTA Awards program featuring each of the five Best Film nominations (THE ARTIST, THE DESCENDANTS, DRIVE, THE HELP, and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY).

drawnblog: Such a rare and beautiful find - gorgeous...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:45:09 -0800

drawnblog:

Such a rare and beautiful find - gorgeous illustrated storyboards for the animated trailer to Billy Wilder’s Irma La Douce.

(via Cartoon Brew)

Amazing amazing amazing! One of my favorite things about the Internet is when it allows incredible works like this to be uncovered and shared.

Most Popular - January 2012

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:05 -0800

These are the five most popular recent posts on my blog for January 2012. Because I’ve drastically increased my posting frequency this year, for the sake of the occasional reader and new visitors I will make a digest post like this each month. You can see all digest posts at the most popular tag page.

HR Giger’s LEGO Alien
A beautiful recreation of HR Giger’s Alien creature made with LEGO. I assume this was the most popular post because it’s a beautiful recreation of HR Giger’s Alien creature made with LEGO.
The Big Filmmaking Book List
My initial list of recommended books for film lovers and aspiring filmmakers. I’ll keep reading filmmaking books in 2012, and will blog about each book under the “film books” tag.
Quick RT - A Simple Rotten Tomatoes Interface
A short introduction to Quick RT, the simplified Rotten Tomatoes interface I developed.
The Bigger Pictures: What Happens When We Find The Line As Viewers?
A link to Drew McWeeny’s excellent article on why filmmakers should be more responsible when portraying rape in film, and my thoughts on the topic.
A Note From Ti West On Piracy
Links to Ti West’s letter regarding piracy, and my response regarding the impact of piracy on filmmaking and the types of films that get made.