Wednesday 29 May 2013

The Great Gatsby

So, The Great Gatsby. The loooooooong-awaited, super-hyped Great Gatsby. It actually proved to be everything I was (dreading) expecting.
First, it definitely is a Baz Luhrman movie, no doubt about that, with some of the things he does that I love. The extravaganza, of course. I love how he recreates these extravagant red-velvet-and-feather atmospheres. The directing style, too, is everything Baz Luhrman has been known for. The extensive use of in and out zooming, the shiny red-light, the fast-forward. And last but not least, the costumes from Miuccia Prada are obviously incredibly beautiful. And, well, everyone has been speaking about it.
But then, when costumes steal the show, it is never a good sign, is it? Because even though I had pleasure watching it, I can't deny I was a bit disappointed.
First, what with the voice over? True, the best thing about this novel is the text (definitely neither the story, nor the characters), but film is another medium. And it would have been great to see how Baz Luhrman takes the higher road and skips the narration. (And please, Baz. No more words fading in and out on screen...)
But mainly, I am still eagerly waiting for Baz luhrman to rock my world and take my breath away the way he did with Romeo + Juliet. Despite the enormous budget, talented team and glittery cast, the movie is not as groundbreaking as it could have been. The thing is, with the Great Gatsby one expects extravaganza and grandiose. And that makes Baz Luhrman's rendition, despite the collaboration with Jay Z, almost too literal.
I would have loved to see him recreate Gatsby in a different world, say Wall Street just before Lehman went bankrupt. That would have given bones and substance to quite a pale story.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Prints


I love fine art but have always considered it a museum item or a lavish luxury for billionaire collectors. So, I never thought I could find myself considering buying some. Until Sunday, when I visited the London Original Print Fair, where one of my friend was exhibiting. There, walking at awe throughout the smart prints, I realized that there was something in-between the home-printed pics in RIBBA frame and the stern minimalistic look of collector blogs.
Smart, exciting, sometimes old sometimes new, meaningful or pointless fun, it finally made me understand how buying art, selecting something that resembles us or that we want to say, can make us feel more accomplished. A new road to happiness. (Also, not as expensive as expected: though some skyrocketed up to £50,000, you could find cool stuff around £300 – an okay investment for something that will brighten up your days for the rest of your life)
Some galleries excited me more than others, and I’ll make sure I pay regular visits in the future. Here they are:

Rebecca Hossack: http://www.r-h-g.co.uk/

Monday 29 April 2013

Space invaders...


Not long ago, I attended a choreography workshop with Suzanne Thomas, who made us work on the performance's space.
She stressed how movie clips and TV have shaped our view of dancing: the importance of staying on the camera's viewpoint and of not disturbing the audience's attention from the singer have led to more static and uniformed performances.
She wanted us to use the whole space, and see how placing dancers in different locations, facing different directions could make us tell different, textured stories. It was amazing how the same moves could have different meanings.
For example, just placing two dancers next to each other, and one a bit further apart makes you wonder about their relationships. Are the first two in love? Will the third one join in or not? Or having all dancers face the wall, back to the audience, then make one of them turn, can create a kind of surrealistic experience.
Definitely worth taking into account, next time I have a play or dancers to direct...

Tuesday 23 April 2013

20 pounds


The brief was: a journey; Who, exactly got inspired by a journey around pubs? I am not sure, but it is a deeper story than what you could think... I was co-writer and editor on this one...

The story: A couple finds a 20 pounds note, and tries to find the right place to spend it... here it is

HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU - the Musical


Last week was the busiest and most emotional week of the year. With two performances of my musical, I was running everywhere, working with my tema Amy, Delia, Veneta, Marco and Nikolai on the latest changes. 
I was the writer, director, co-producer, and I was also a dancer - so quite stressful!

The show went so well. And the venue was full full full.
And the actors asked to be on my nest show, which is all that matters to me, really. 

Pictures and video soon - editing now - but in the meantime, here is a quick "documentary" we made about the show - click on this link

Dancing in the streets of Buenos Aires



Chance encounter in the streets of Buenos Aires last spring. We danced in the street of La Boca. Click here to see the video



5-minutes videos - a focus on storytelling


Last week, I attended the ideastap event about creating 5-minutes videos. Many thanks to Paul Mason for his time and precious avice!
He's a reporter, so, as a playwright and director I wasn't sure I would gain much, but I did! 
What I loved about the session what how Paul made it very simple and "organised" to create a 5 minutes video. He started by emphasizing the idea of structure, explaining that any video needs a set-up, development and crisis resolution. Then he divided plain paper into 10 rows.... one for every 30 seconds of video. In each one, we worked out what we'd show every 30 seconds, and what type of footage we'd use. The idea: tell a story, and keep the viewer entertained with different type of footage. 
Definitely handy for my last documentary project. Thanks Paul!

François Truffaut on directing



I was going through the "The Four hundred blows*"'s DVD yesterday, when I came upon an interview with François Truffaut himself, and here he explains what he thinks is the way to become a director.
"Do not become an assistant directors - assistants are being sent shopping when something interesting is happening on the set. Instead, watch movies. There are movies I must have seen more than 16 times. Once you know a movie by heart, then you can start understanding how it was created. I consider Renoir a master, and I always relate to him when I am stuck about how to direct a scene".
There. On the other end, Danny Boyle suggests to get a job in the maimstream. I guess there's no one way.

*It is a literal translation of "Faire les 400 coups" which in French means being naughty and free and wild when you're a teenager. So pretty much spot on. 

Writing plays - What I learnt from my last one and why moodboards are key


With my latest play - How much I love you - out in 2 weeks, now is the time to take a step back about what I learnt during the process of writing and directing it: 
-There's no such thing as seeing it performed. Spending time with actors, hearing them say your words out loud, answering to their questions, definitely makes you spot how your writing can be improved. So, readings are extremely important. But mainly, it is about taking what you wrote out - even if it's not as perfect as you would like it to be - and letting other people bring it to life. 
-As filmaker AnneMarie jacir puts it: rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. I have 6 versions of this play on my computer, and kept editing it while working with actors
-moodboards: something that is extremely important. Even though we work with words, I find working with moodboards infinitely valuable. Moodboarding each characters for example helps define their personality: how would they dress for a walk in the park? which Hollywood actor would best fit the role? What does their office look like? Empty and clean, or with expensive art on the walls? It also helps so much when it comes to speaking with actors

Friday 22 February 2013

Chance encounter


It was Valentine's day, and I bumped into Valentina (yes). Her bouquet is a slap in the face to anyone single... (I wish I could put a :) here)

Wednesday 13 February 2013

The Lion King is Hamlet

We are adapting shakespeare at school. That's the brief: adapt Shakespeare. How cooler and scarier can it be?

So, with all this creative license, Crystal decided to adapt The Lion King, which apparently is actually an adaptation of Hamlet. And I thought Disney had uncovered some very old legend from Africa.... 

She needed a queen, and as is the case when some of my classmate need someone OLD, she thought about me. 

So I spent last Monday acting like a queen.

Being an actress is wonderful. You get free coffee, a lot of attention, and it's ok to be outrageously made-up. Also, I got to spend the day dressed in Dior, Karen Millen and white fox fur.* (as queens do) 

The only thing is, you kind of have to look good. And in the end, we had to take portrait pictures, for the movie's poster. I figured it's be good red carpet training, for when I am a famous director. I think Caroline tried any angle she could think of, to get a good pic of me. On a chair, from below, three quarters...
In the end, she whispered: "Don't worry, I'll use photoshop"

I was impressed by the cast. She had brought together some very talented actors. It is always disturbing to see how all those skilled actors are willing to work for free. Having them in my movies seem almost like stealing them.**

...

*The girl in charge of production has a very trendy mum
**So, I still spent the day trying to convince most of them to act in my Musical

Monday 28 January 2013

Ah, being 19 again...


Life-management tips I learnt from my 19 yo classmates

Be on facebook. All the time. Use capital LETters randomly.
Iphones are too expensive and Samsung rules. 
Everybody 3 years older is OLD.
It's ok not to pick up your phone if you're supposed to be at school. If you are hanging out with your friends tired, take some time off and come back when you feel better!
Take acid and watch a movie. Then, you will "know the structure of the world"(sic)
Do follow your school's twitter
Speak about penises and add LOL just after.
Talk enthusiastically about all your school projects. 
Don't forget to mention how X didn't lift a finger LOL.
Make movies about consumerism, schizophrenia, depression, how the mind works... Not about mafia or revenge.
Stalk your friends on facebook. It's called friendship. 
What, Google +?
Discover sex and get a lot of it.
Don't come out yet.
Go less and less to school. 
Eat more and more liquid stuff until your diet stabilizes at 2 pints per day. 
Buy gifts for your friends with your parents' money. 
Be more mature than expected.
Be less mature than expected. 

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Tarantino is bold

It's all about Tarantino these days. Though those who have seen it already say it's not that good I can't wait to see Django Unchained and I keep reading as much as I can about Tarantino until the 19th of January. So, this list of Tarantino's boldest moments made me laugh... I agree with the Melanie thing, but still unsure that it is a good idea for him to be in his movies... I don't think he is in Django.

Saturday 12 January 2013

Art is theft*



For Christmas I received a book about the creative process: Steal like an artist. It is Austin Kleon's collection of advice - 10 of them, beautifully presented - on how to be creative. Stuff he learnt the hard way, and wishes he had been told when he was 19, basically. It's interesting because it doesn't only apply to the art world. Definitely useful for brand valuation too. 

The two things he says I loved - and agree with! - were:
-Steal like an artist. In my school, they call it "research, research, research".  Good to know that even in the art world talent is nothing without hard work. 
A few quotes about that: 
"Steal from anywhere than resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination" Jim Jarmusch
"What is originality? Undetected plagiarism" William Ralph Inge
"The only art I'll ever study is stuff that I can steal from" David Bowie
-The second thing is that apparently being angry and curious is a good thing (that's hidden in the book, you need to read it through too see that). Being angry pretty much all the time, I say this is a good thing (James disagrees)

He also suggests to write fan letters to the artists you love, so I am going to write to Lena Dunham.

Another book about the creative process, more detailed, is Julia Cameron's The Artist Way. Basically, it's the creatives' self-help bible. It's not only that she used to be Scorsese's wife or wrote for Miami Vice**. She also worked a lot with blocked artists and created a "path to become unblocked". 
She had two great tools, the morning pages and the artist dates, that are detailed here. Yes, it looks all spiritual and hippie but it works!

*It is not me who says that, it's Picasso. 
**1 episode - apparently she then made enough money to independently finance her movie "God's Will"...

Friday 4 January 2013

An afternoon with Mike Figgis



Not long ago, a girl at LCC organized a lecture from Mike Figgis, who happens to be her uncle, to raise money for her major project (note for later: that girl is smart, and it is a good start to be the daughter of someone. Would my doctor uncle interest anyone?). 

I didn't know the guy (on my defense, he describes himself as "getting down the Hollywood food chain"), but managed to sneak in anyway. He spoke about his life, and gave good advice on directing. So here are the few things I learnt from him:

-Learn how to use a camera, "it is your brush" (also known as: There is a love affair going on between the actors and the camera crew and you want to be involved)
-Get music education
-Understand light. Take a day off, go out and make some shots then look at them
-My favorite: No comfort food at lunch time during shooting. Noone can focus after fish and chips
-And the one, truest and scariest: you are not here to be loved. Sometimes, you will need to be diva, and you will be loathed for that. 
Now, having been fed with the "two brains is better than one" and "we're all in this together" philosophy during my business years, I find this very hard to make mine. I should write later on that. 

And finally, a quote he started with:
"I thought: it can't be that difficult. It wasn't".