So this may be a little disjointed. These were shower thoughts.
I went through film school, never having an answer to who my favorite filmmaker was. That was I did not care who made the movie as long as it was a good story. And I wasn’t following any writers because I knew it didn’t matter what the writer wrote. The production house would change their story. But as I got older, I noticed a trend. With my limited free time, my husband and I have found ourselves watching a lot of Guy Richie movies. And I look back and most of the films from college and I thoroughly enjoyed his films.
Although I couldn’t answer that, I now understand why I can answer it. I absolutely love how he is the writer and the director for most of the films he works on. I love his storytelling and his nuances. All the hidden clues he has throughout his films.
Right now we’re watching the Gentleman series. I LOVED the movie. The show follows the same story line. However, I was surprised to find out that I could differentiate the episodes he directed from those directed by other people.
I’ve never been one to follow someone’s body of work, especially with film. Which is odd since that’s what I choose to study in college. If anything, I follow authors. They have full control of the story released where filmmakers have far too many cooks in the kitchen that either things are forgotten, removed or someone adds way too much salt to the dish.
I think this is also why I’ve stopped going to the theater. Movies and shows seem to be more organic on streaming services. I’m not sure how true that is, but they seem closer to the filmmakers’ vision compared to a big box office release. We don’t see many directors coming out with a director’s cut for their Netflix film. In my mind, it’s because they released the film they wanted audiences to see.
When I was at FSPA last month, I was talking to a teacher from a rival school. Their students are notorious for creating well done films. One exercise they do with their students is to create a short emulating their favorite filmmaker. It got me to thinking, was there any party of a Guy Richie film I could show my students? Which then made me think of how heavily I would have to censor the dialogue or get parents to sign off on allowing their children to hear F bombs drop every other word. Which I don’t understand how that’s a problem since they do it anyway during class.
But now I have plans for the summer. Watch movies and see if I can find pieces to show that won’t offend their fragile little minds.