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  • #61
    Re: Project X

    Sure has a catchy soundtrack though -- I bet this toon is on Rush Limbuagh's iPutz right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKBUUXm0eow



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    • #62
      Re: Project X

      Originally posted by michaelb View Post
      You guys are missing the major point that can best be summed up as...

      Different strokes for different folks.

      The Tree of Life has an audience. Project X has an audience. The Lorax has an audience. The Film Industy is like investing in the stock market, it's all about diversity. The same can be said about television. The Big Bang Theory and Mad Men are both very successful, but made for different audiences.
      this is the total truth and I 100% agree.

      But sh*t is sh*t. The moment you aint saying nothing with your art is the moment it starts to suck. I don't care what great movie you can think of -- all of them have a certain perspective or worthy statement on something. Kids films, action blockbusters, Oscar winners -- ALL have some sort of depth, obviously in varying degrees.

      Shitty movies with the sole intention of dumbing-down/making a quick buck get made all the time. It's just how it is in this business. It's one thing to recognize it, and it's another thing entirely to defend it. And then pretend like I and others who actually look for some sort of depth in their entertainment don't get it.

      entertainment as a whole seems to be getting super-reductive over the last 5 years. which is unfortunate. It's either Tree of Life high-art-experimental Oscar-bait sh*t or it's crass-by-the-numbers Transformers/formulaic romance. Ah well.

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      • #63
        Re: Project X

        Originally posted by ATB View Post
        I assumed we were referring to the real film industry.
        Nice.
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        • #64
          Re: Project X

          No disrespect to other countries, but when you mention The Film Industry you don't really think of anything outside of Hollywood.

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          • #65
            Re: Project X

            Originally posted by ATB View Post
            No disrespect to other countries, but when you mention The Film Industry you don't really think of anything outside of Hollywood.
            Don't you mean that Americans don't think of anything outside of Hollywood?

            America is significant in feature films, sure .. but it is not at the top of the list of film making countries - in neither the 'number of feature films' made category .. nor in total ticket sales.

            Whether it tops the list in 'cultural significance' or 'craft' is dependant on the viewer.

            Mac
            (Hint: The largest English speaking nation on earth tops both lists)
            Last edited by Mac H.; 03-04-2012, 11:24 PM.
            New blogposts:
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            • #66
              Re: Project X

              Originally posted by ATB View Post
              No disrespect to other countries, but when you mention The Film Industry you don't really think of anything outside of Hollywood.
              Granted. I guess though if you're going to have a coversation about art versus business (not sure why that's on this thread, but I digress), you probably need to look at the world.

              Having said that, I suspect most films - worldwide - are made with profit in mind. Not all - cultural identity and artistic merit occasionally trump commerce - but most.

              Importantly, and on topic, I don't think there's any question why Project X was made.
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              • #67
                Re: Project X

                Originally posted by Tochirta View Post
                this is the total truth and I 100% agree.

                But sh*t is sh*t. The moment you aint saying nothing with your art is the moment it starts to suck. I don't care what great movie you can think of -- all of them have a certain perspective or worthy statement on something. Kids films, action blockbusters, Oscar winners -- ALL have some sort of depth, obviously in varying degrees.

                Shitty movies with the sole intention of dumbing-down/making a quick buck get made all the time. It's just how it is in this business. It's one thing to recognize it, and it's another thing entirely to defend it. And then pretend like I and others who actually look for some sort of depth in their entertainment don't get it.

                entertainment as a whole seems to be getting super-reductive over the last 5 years. which is unfortunate. It's either Tree of Life high-art-experimental Oscar-bait sh*t or it's crass-by-the-numbers Transformers/formulaic romance. Ah well.
                It has nothing to do with you not getting it, it has to do with people not recognizing someone else's perspective of it.

                Art is subjective. You can go into a museum and say something is great, while the person next to you thinks it is awful.

                Films are the art form of telling stories though moving pictures and sounds. While one may say The Godfather is the greatest film ever made, someone else can say Gone With The Wind. Who is right? And who is entitled to say that someone else's opinion about something that is completely subjective is wrong?

                There is nothing wrong with defending the fact that Project X has an audience. Even if it is a raunchy, the fact is that people enjoyed it for what it is. Plenty of films come and go and are quickly forgotten, but I'll bet people talk about Project X years from now the same way my generation talks about Old School.

                When I was in film school, Y Tu Mama Tambien came out the same time that xXx was in theaters. In my screenwriting class, every Tuesday, we'd go around and talk about the films we saw that weekend. Everyone in the class went on and on about Y Tu Mamba Tambien, but I was the only one who had viewed both. Classmates tried to chastise the fact I had seen some "Hollywood" piece of garbage. My answer was simple, I had seen both, and could appreciate both. As stated earlier, no one else from my class is working in the business anymore, both a reflection of how tough it is to make it, but also that being closed minded in a collaborative field will get you no where.

                And go check out the movie, you may be entertained....

                Best,

                MB
                twitter.com/mbotti

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                • #68
                  Re: Project X

                  Originally posted by michaelb View Post
                  It has nothing to do with you not getting it, it has to do with people not recognizing someone else's perspective of it.

                  Art is subjective. You can go into a museum and say something is great, while the person next to you thinks it is awful.

                  Films are the art form of telling stories though moving pictures and sounds. While one may say The Godfather is the greatest film ever made, someone else can say Gone With The Wind. Who is right? And who is entitled to say that someone else's opinion about something that is completely subjective is wrong?

                  There is nothing wrong with defending the fact that Project X has an audience. Even if it is a raunchy, the fact is that people enjoyed it for what it is. Plenty of films come and go and are quickly forgotten, but I'll bet people talk about Project X years from now the same way my generation talks about Old School.

                  When I was in film school, Y Tu Mama Tambien came out the same time that xXx was in theaters. In my screenwriting class, every Tuesday, we'd go around and talk about the films we saw that weekend. Everyone in the class went on and on about Y Tu Mamba Tambien, but I was the only one who had viewed both. Classmates tried to chastise the fact I had seen some "Hollywood" piece of garbage. My answer was simple, I had seen both, and could appreciate both. As stated earlier, no one else from my class is working in the business anymore, both a reflection of how tough it is to make it, but also that being closed minded in a collaborative field will get you no where.

                  And go check out the movie, you may be entertained....

                  Best,

                  MB
                  Take 'em to church! Old School is classic.

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Re: Project X

                    Originally posted by Mac H. View Post
                    Don't you mean that Americans don't think of anything outside of Hollywood?

                    America is significant in feature films, sure .. but it is not at the top of the list of film making countries - in neither the 'number of feature films' made category .. nor in total ticket sales.

                    Whether it tops the list in 'cultural significance' or 'craft' is dependant on the viewer.

                    Mac
                    (Hint: The largest English speaking nation on earth tops both lists)
                    BAM, dude! a +1 and a diet coke for you!
                    The question is : Do you work in the business?

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                    • #70
                      Re: Project X

                      ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED OF QUERYING YOUR ARTHOUSE DISASTER SCRIPT WITH NO RESULT?

                      FED UP WITH WORKING FOR LESS THAN GUILD MINIMUMS?

                      WORRIED THAT IF THE PRETENTIOUS TURD YOU WROTE FLOPS, YOU WON'T BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE TO HAVE ANOTHER PRODUCED? OR A THIRD TURD PRODUCED?

                      OR

                      Maybe you'd just like to exploit hard earned taxpayer money and make pretentious arthouse films nobody wants to watch, that are nowhere near as culturally significant to the current generations as they were in the 80's and 90's - because they're still being modelled on films from the 80's and 90's...

                      If this sounds like you, then look no further.

                      I give you...AUSTRALIA!

                      Where you -- yes YOU! -- the writer, will be paid 3% of the gross production budget as your MINIMUM fee - that's right, I said MINIMUM - and the film can turn out to be the biggest flop mankind has ever seen!!! No catch!

                      But that's not all...

                      Even losing millions in taxpayer dollars and millions in investors hard earned cash, you'll still be...

                      ...OK...wait for it...

                      YOU'LL STILL BE HIRED FOR ANOTHER DISASTER IN THE FUTURE! AND EVEN MORE SO CONSIDERED BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PRODUCED CREDIT!

                      So come on down! We're always looking for the next arthouse disaster!

                      Australia. "Who gives a f&ck about profitability?"

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                      • #71
                        Re: Project X

                        Coulda' been funny.
                        Shoulda' been funny.
                        But the "that are nowhere near culturally significant to the current generations"
                        lost me.

                        1/6 for the effort.
                        The question is : Do you work in the business?

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                        • #72
                          Re: Project X

                          Originally posted by Hilario113 View Post
                          It will make back it's budget by sunday night. Regardless of your thoughts on the content, in this biz that's all that matters.
                          That's true. And, yet, intelligent people can both acknowledge this and have a reasonable discussion about things like conscious intent and subconscious cultural messages in movies.

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                          • #73
                            Re: Project X

                            Originally posted by christopher jon View Post
                            Apparently silly fun and teenage fantasies are not an option for the done deal elite.

                            Bunch of grumpy old men you are.
                            I'll direct you to my response to Hilario. BTW, Borat is probably my favorite comedy of the last ten years. I also loved the Jackass series. Nothing wrong with ball punching, poo smearing, naked wrestling gags in movies in my book. At the same time, messages are all around us. Sometimes it's interesting to discuss them.

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                            • #74
                              Re: Project X

                              Originally posted by michaelb View Post
                              It has nothing to do with you not getting it, it has to do with people not recognizing someone else's perspective of it.

                              Art is subjective. You can go into a museum and say something is great, while the person next to you thinks it is awful.

                              Films are the art form of telling stories though moving pictures and sounds. While one may say The Godfather is the greatest film ever made, someone else can say Gone With The Wind. Who is right? And who is entitled to say that someone else's opinion about something that is completely subjective is wrong?

                              There is nothing wrong with defending the fact that Project X has an audience. Even if it is a raunchy, the fact is that people enjoyed it for what it is. Plenty of films come and go and are quickly forgotten, but I'll bet people talk about Project X years from now the same way my generation talks about Old School.

                              When I was in film school, Y Tu Mama Tambien came out the same time that xXx was in theaters. In my screenwriting class, every Tuesday, we'd go around and talk about the films we saw that weekend. Everyone in the class went on and on about Y Tu Mamba Tambien, but I was the only one who had viewed both. Classmates tried to chastise the fact I had seen some "Hollywood" piece of garbage. My answer was simple, I had seen both, and could appreciate both. As stated earlier, no one else from my class is working in the business anymore, both a reflection of how tough it is to make it, but also that being closed minded in a collaborative field will get you no where.

                              And go check out the movie, you may be entertained....

                              Best,

                              MB
                              It's weird that people consider movies as something not worth thinking critically about, yet movies are clearly put together with a purpose in mind. They don't just spontaneously happen. With that said, the general population is too busy doing other things so I can understand them not looking at a movie critically.

                              But when screenwriters act like a movie can't be looked at objectively, I just shake my head and say 'whaaa?!'

                              dude, trust me... we all know that art is subjective. Not everyone likes the Godfather, or Gone with the Wind. But to pretend like Godfather can just be easily appreciated like Project X is just beyond reductive.

                              even if you don't like the Godfather, one can break that movie down and understand why people like it, and why it works as a great film.

                              In fact, I don't even know why you brought up the Godfather. It's a totally different genre, a super-old movie in comparison. It makes no sense in your argument. I'm not comparing Project X to Citizen Kane. It's ridiculous to even imply that. I'm saying...does Project X even compare to classic comedy (if it is a comedy) about getting smashed/having a good time with friends?

                              If it does, great. If not, f*ck it.

                              Old School, even back then, was a good movie at best. Some moments were super hilarious. Some not so much. I will say I haven't watched it in years, so I could be wrong. But I can still understand that it had moments of brilliance, and it had heart (something that a lot of movies seem to lack as of late). and it was a somewhat fresh concept. and Will Ferrell is a comedic genius. You're getting some bang for your buck.

                              what exactly about Project X should I admire from a storytelling perspective? Are there any comedic geniuses in it? What is the movie trying to tell me? Are there any brilliant moments? at least more than one so I can say I got my money's worth?

                              go ahead. I'll wait.

                              and you're totally right about certain people not making it in the business. Maybe they were close-minded art house freaks. Or untalented. Or no work ethic. Or maybe they realized that they don't belong in an entertainment world where dumbing-it-down is increasingly becoming business as usual, and decided to do more constructive things with their time.

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                              • #75
                                Re: Project X

                                Originally posted by michaelb View Post
                                You sound like the kids I went to film school with years ago. None if them made it.

                                I don't get how people fail to see that not every film is for everyone. So many people I know have enjoyed this film because it was just what they were looking for.......fun.
                                A cigar is never just a cigar.

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