Learn Something: The Insightful Interview
A great learning tool for any budding indy mogul is reading an interview with an established filmmaker. It doesn’t sound quite as exciting as I’d hoped, but anyone working in the industry, be it their first feature or fiftieth, has had a plethora of experiences, a few tips or insights to share, and hopefully one or two good stories. Scattered across the interwebs this week are several articles with screenwriters and directors. See what you can pick up.
Jay Fernandez of the L.A. Times speaks with two screenwriters in very different stages of their careers. First up is Brad Kane, a no-name writer who started out as a child stage and screen actor and now has two of the most popular scripts read in the industry in 2006. His examination of funnyman Richard Pryor’s tumultuous life has been picked up by the Weinsteins, while the Times Square of Kane’s youth (pimps and hos galore) is examined in a film to be directed by Trainging Day’s Antoine Faqua.
On the flip side is John Sayles, known just as much for his personal work as writer-director (Men With Guns) and as a hired hand on such bold named projects as The Spiderwick Chronicles and Jurassic Park IV. Fernandez discusses Sayles’ 16th feature Honeydripper (which opened this year’s IFP Market Week) as well as working with B-movie mega-producer Roger Corman.
Over at Filmmaker, Nick Dawson talks with up-and-comer Alfredo De Villa. After immigrating to Miami from Mexico at age 17, De Villa has worked his way up from dishwasher to DGA Best Latino Director award winner to feature film writer/director (and has held just about every job imaginable in between). He recounts how he worked his way up the filmmaking hierarchy, his most recent take on life in New York, Adrift in Manhattan starring Heather Graham, and the effects David O. Russel and Darth Vader have had on his filmmaking career.
For an extra dose of second-hand experience, go see the illustrious John Waters speak at Duke University tomorrow night at 8. You know he’ll have more than one or two juicy tidbits to share.
Learn Something, Brad Kane, John Sayles, Roger Corman, Alfredo De Villa, John Waters
