She Doesn't Quite Gotta Have It

Sometimes the only way to salvage anything from an otherwise wasted experience of watching a series is to talk about it (which can only get you into trouble) or compose a review (which nobody will read anyway so there's no risk). The Ten-Episode Netflix series based on Spike Lee's first theatrical feature She's Gotta Have it is an example of ideology over aesthetic. If there is an element of fun it may come from spotting references to Spike's other films, one appearance by the director as a bartender with a straight-haired wig like the one he had in Malcolm X, and a new younger actor taking on his alter ego Mars Blackman. The other two of Nola Darling's Boyfriends are buttoned down Jamie and vane preening Greer, neither of which we have much rooting interest in - not that the goal of winning Nola's heart is one that is necessarily something to vicariously thrill for. The new series is referred to as a comedy in this trailer by a YOUNG-looking Spike Lee, but I have to say I didn't laugh once. Many of the moments duplicated from the original lose the original charm and organic feel of the humor. The new series may have been released in 2017 but it is a reflection on 2016 with ongoing to celebrities that were lost that year, primarily Prince, and the rise of Trump with culminates in a fine music video segment. Easily found on youtube. That aspect of politics is a refreshing break from the more blog and hashtag variety of politics that the series centers around. The series was suggested by Spike Lee's wife and he considers it her vision. It is mostly written by women, and may even appeal to women as long as they are of the third wave feminist variety. Spike has mentioned being accused of seeing through "The male gaze" and this is supposed to be an exercise in proving otherwise despite a couple of strip club sequences that set up a sub plot about one of Nola's friends who wants a feature erotic dance spot but is denied it because her rear end is not large enough and so she endures painful injections to increase her buttocks. That falls under the category of satire that earns no laugh. If you have to explore the story, the original black and white feature can also be found on Netflix. The camera styles that marked Spike's debut feature, shot by Ernest Dickerson, is not evident in the perhaps more quickly shot series despite the fact that the feature likely had less money. The shooting is mere coverage, recording the events of the story or the conversations, in the most expedient manner. What's left is the monologues and constant onslaught of declarative statements laid bare. If Nola Darling winds up in jail, she will not call one of her boyfriends for help because she does not want him to get to feel like her rescuer. Granted, the target audience may lap it up, but the series was a slog for this old, fat white male. Respecting the style of so much of Spike Lee's work, I felt an obligation as to push on through the rant-filler and test my tolerance of Nola's self-interested blather. If this is the kind of content that the Post-Cosby, Post-Trump, Post #MeToo generation will call for, it might just mean I will spend less time and money watching movies or on-line content. No matter how expensive a nose ring may be, from a distance it looks like the wearer could use a Kleenex. Spike has been on record that one regret from his movies had been a scene of Nola in the original film getting raped by the "nice guy" type represented by Jamie. It might have taken that much to make people feel sympathy for Nola, who comes across as self absorbed and shallow in both movie and series. In place of this crime, there is a rude guy on the street who reaches out to her in flirtation and when rejected spews verbal abuse. Ironically, except for one scene of a hug repeated from several angles, there is little evidence that the show is directed by Spike Lee himself and he likely took the job so there would be one less person to hire. There is no feel of inspired storyboards or shot sequences. A woman could have easily been hired, or ten different female directors - one for each of the ten episodes - and none of them would have to be on the level of Julie Taymor or Jane Campion. The sets are decorated with artwork due to Nola's career as an artist and blatant historical faces like Malcolm X and so on mainly for the sake of direct-to-camera monologues that eat up lots of time, like, "I don't have to explain myself but here is a five minute explanation. . . ." Meanwhile, rather sitting through ten episodes of this series to see a cringe-worthy dance between characters who don't belong together and live in an alternate universe where everything is okay with Nola disrespecting her suitors in a far fetched coda, just watch the original Prince video of Raspberry Beret.

10 Thoughts on Directing Movies

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Be the first to say it is "just a movie" or "First World Problems" to get that nonsense out of the way. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/movie-director-6.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. With money tight, is it worth paying hundreds of dollars for a directing workshop without exploring the information and tutorials available for free on-line and on DVDs ? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.instagram.com/lilyinapad/?hl=en _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is it true that "Once the script is right and the casting appropriate, ninety percent of the director's job is done" is has the job just begun? Some films and many TV shows use directors only as guests and already have the script in place and the cast already attached or established. The director may have to initial each page of a script to ensure it is all shot. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://67.media.tumblr.com/b78ca5314f53b8754bff183a55a92311/tumblr_mh95s3iewL1rovfcgo1_1280.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Is Wernor Herzog right in saying that "storyboards are for cowards" or is Roger Corman right that especially directors starting out with respect for everyone's time should prepare storyboards and/or pre-vis? Does it matter that a storyboard "implies a cut" or is it up to the director to decide the psychological use of the frame, a move, and the displacement impact of an edit? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.tribute.ca/images/videos/ruba-nadda-inescapable-6016-300x226.jpg 5. Do you aspire to the Auteur Theory or is Peter Farrelly right that, "If you come off like you think you are Stanley Kubrick, the crew will make your life hell" so it is better to tell them to save you and you know nothing? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/film-director-quentin-tarantino-is-photographed-for-shortlist-on-7-picture-id173215132 6. What part of a director's duties could be delegated before the directing credit feels fraudulent? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Martin_Scorsese_by_David_Shankbone.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. How do you honestly develop a reputation for a style or even competence without establishing a vision in advance? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://static1.purepeople.com/articles/3/13/44/43/@/1348944-la-realisatrice-jane-campion-62eme-950x0-2.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Is important to have a social issue as your masthead or is the language of directing itself enough to draw fans? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.trbimg.com/img-56567b8c/turbine/la-ca-mn-conversation-spike-lee-chi-raq-interview-20151129 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Is it better to work independently or join a union, paying for workshops between clocking set hours as PA/AD, third AD, second AD, and First AD, giving yourself years to climb a theoretical ladder to Director? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Sofia-sofia-coppola-562139_395_480.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Will you have time to schmoose and drink with the right person to get a job, or will you be focused on developing your craft? And must you be a musician or actor or stand-up comic as a prerequisite for directing or is that the advice you will get from a director who is a musician, actor or stand-up and wants to psyche you out? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Francis-Ford-Coppola.jpg

Run, Don't Walk, from The Blog

I don't know whether this blog should just be used for my "four pages" each morning a la The Artist's Way, except that people would be reading it so I might censor myself a bit. I just don't like the idea of spending time on something that is meant to just vent and to never be of any practical use.

But I know I have to spend that evergy on getting my screenplays solid and that means another pass for almost all of them through the laptop and through my thoughts and excreted out the printeer. If I can get my perfectly good printer to communicate with Windows 7.

I'd feel sorry for anyone actually trying to follow my blogs.

Last month I got to shoot most of video footage for a play's multimedia material.
Good experience to goose me back into the rhythm of shooting. I have to be careful not to let life beat out the filmmaker in me. I need to have my ass kicked once in a while to even take note of a time and location and commit to that. Things end up working out. Many of my own projects have been compromised one way or another - maionly by the idea that everything HAS TO be done within an allotted time, which is the case with every project. I have to ensure that in my own projects the script is respected and actors learn their lines because otherwise the lines read flat and there is less probability of the actor truly bringing more to it. The labor is the memorization. They have to be willing to do that labor. Now I've seen some actors pretty much commit themselves to someone's dialogue and build from there.

I've thought about writing a one-man show for one of the characters I've created, but the actor wants a teleprompter. That's kind of a heartbreak. And he'd rather have the play be more about himself, which is a no-go, really. I don't think I'll be writing anything based on anyone else's ideas, aside from specific adaptations of books I like. Working from anyone else' idea or life sets up a paradigm where it is all about "getting it right" according to someone else. Mind-reading interests me as a topic, but not as something I would have to do.

I also have to be especially careful about whatever I am eating. I can have great bursts of energy peter out so easily because of the type two. I have to beat that and lose weight, whether the work of weight loss is tedious or not. And that means a slightly new life. Not something to sneeze at.

Also, I have to refrain from watching so much TV on-line. I'm into No Ordinary Family, starring the guy from The Shield and Wired, as well as Julie Benz who was Rita on Dexter another favourite show. Nice touch on their anniversary episode where Benz' character at a restaurant changes reservation order with someone with the last name of Morgan. As in Rita and Dexter Morgan. I's details like that I apparently need to have grafted onto my brain instead of spending my time fine-tuning and perfecting the screenplays that are the reason I am in Toronto and alive.

So the last thing I need is this blog to update every now and then. Still not getting enough hours at work. Had a glimmer of hope that maybe the new company I'm with might inherit the last site I was supervisor at and maybe then I'd have a more clear say in how to ditch a troublesome guard who had been told showing up on time and leaving only when relieved was optional. Returning to a set site might be an improvement over the current situation, but I would also have to get rid of that problem even before committing. The same principle also applies to a film. Never accept responsibility over anyone you can't get rid of.