scattershot post #2

I feel so weird, skipping three full days of work to take finals. And part of a fourth.

I'm almost worried that I'm staying away too long, and my boss will realize I'm still just a student, and decide to say ixnay on cash moneys for the near future.

Oh well-- it's Friday morning. Right smack dab in the middle of the filming-schedule weekend. I don't have to think about work right now.

Although I might consider thinking about sleep.

I watched The Cameraman the other night and was quite impressed. Every time I see a new Buster Keaton film, it reminds me how he was absolutely one of the great comedians in the 20th century. His timing, his facial expressions (or lack thereof), his genius for physical comedy and stunt work-- honestly. Brilliant. The man is a pure entertainer.

He's paired up with Marceline Day, one of his longtime leading ladies, and here the chemistry is at its best. There's a true romantic center to this movie. But the real heart is in the laughs. Every scene in The Cameraman is entertaining, and several are truly hilarious. The poolhouse changing room scene is a classic.



I also watched the first half of The Conversation. It's a Francis Ford Coppola film, made right after he finished The Godfather. Accolades streaming his way, along with millions and millions of dollars from the huge box office-- he was the most powerful man in Hollywood. He could handpick his next project, anything under the sun. He could've made a film about a group of gang-raping nuns if he wanted.

He ended up with a strange little character piece about a surveillance P.I. (played by Gene Hackman) who's obsessed with his own privacy. The investigator's company eavesdrops and records a conversation for a mysterious client, and he becomes obsessed with figuring out the meaning of this conversation.

We watched it in film class as an example of good sound editing. It was well edited, and Hackman's performance in the movie was weirdly affecting. I'm intrigued, and I want to finish it.

Let's see. What else can I talk about?

Oh-- I don't know if I mentioned this:

'Flood'

...Yep. I'm legit, bitches.

One credit on an obscure movie that may (or may not) be released in theaters sometime next winter.

The Oscars are in February-- I'd better start getting ready.