Fuck Gus Van Sant

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JulianWells

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I wrote a film called Sex, Drugs, and Broken Jones over the summer. it's a school shooting film told through 12 different point of view, all on the same day, in chapter form. We were scheduled to start shooting October 24, the same day the script is set on, and now the same day Elephant opens. I just heard Elephant's full plot synopsis... "a columbine-like tragedy told form many different perspectives". So, the films not being made, and I quit film making.

Fuck you Gus Van Sant, for ruining my dreams!

Fuck Hollywood, too... independent film, my ass. He just wanted to win at Cannes, we all know it!
 
JulianWells said:
So, the films not being made, and I quit film making.
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Please tell me you aren't serious. Don't give up on your dreams just because an established filmmaker had a scarily similar idea as yours. Do what I do, take it as a sign that your ideas can fly in this business, your idea is commercially and artisticly viable, take heart at that.

Poke
 
it's tired idea anyway.. go watch zeroday..
everyone has had that idea and ran with it.
sheesh.. een michael moore got in on it.

Why not shoot it anyway and go for the gusto. If its good, people will flock to it even tho the predecessor was good or bad.
 
mediathreat said:
Why not shoot it anyway and go for the gusto. If its good, people will flock to it even tho the predecessor was good or bad.
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Exactly. I certainly hope the original post wasn't serious. If so, he wasn't a serious filmmaker in the first place...

- Mike.
 
Or maybe you can change the setting. Haven't seen any good Office Shooting movies lately. If you shift the setting to the work-a-day world, you won't have to change the characters much, offices are like high schools, only the cliques are smaller, and the sluts don't wear cheerleader uniforms on Fridays.

Poke
 
I haven't had the oppuritunity to see Zero Day, yet, it looks like it's only playing on the west coast right now, but that, Elephant, and Home Room are on my must-see list. Whenever we get them.

As for the office shooting thing, I wrote it as a school shooting because this is what I know. I'm still in high school, and we were making this to get the ball rolling for us. I've had a morbid fascination with Columbine, because I kinda got the spotlight after it. People stopped talking to me, etc...cliche story, I know. I just think it's better for me to make something i know a lot about, more than most people in my town. So it feels somewhat natural.

and no, i'm not a serious film maker. i can't be one until i make something i didn't make with a DV camcorder and a Dell. hence the project.
 
Well, go for it man. The only way to get to the level that you want to be at is to shoot movies, and so what if it is similar to these other films, it seems like every Friday there's a movie that is billed as "In the Vein of _________" or "_______________ meets _______________ in the middle of the ocean".

Poke
 
JulianWells said:
and no, i'm not a serious film maker. i can't be one until i make something i didn't make with a DV camcorder and a Dell. hence the project.
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Guess we have different opinions on what a serious filmmaker is then...
 
Compelled

I felt compelled to get in on this conversation - forgive me for butting in. - - - - - - JulianWells, dude - - make your film with crayons and scrap paper! It's still storytelling - and that's ALL FILMMAKING is dude - that's all.

We (as filmmakers) - what separates us from writers is that we tell our stories visually. I first starting making films with a polaroid camera when I was 11. I didn't have a DV camera and a Dell. And as for "and no, i'm not a serious film maker. i can't be one until i make something i didn't make with a DV camcorder and a Dell" - you getting that pissed at Gus Van Sant tells me you have some passion - and it appears to be directed at filmmaking. Just do your film better than he could ever. AND IT'S NEVER ABOUT THE TOOLS - it's the way you use them. Money or no money, studio backing or NO studio backing. The first artist to walk the planet only had burnt sticks and blood, and their art is still being seen and appreciated in caves all over France, and Spain! Talk about primative tools!

Make your film. Make it and tell one HELL OF A STORY JulianWells.

John.
 
looks damn good... first post. i've had that same idea julianwells. Many different people same day. It was an idea that lingered for a short time but still remains in my mind. I hope that soon i'll be able to start writing it and hopefully still be able to make it. You shouldn't just make it for marketable sake or be afraid that it will be compared to another film already made. I'm probably the least experienced person in this forums, so you can take my word or not. Just know that it takes cojones to build upon ideas with people telling you it won't succeed, and gives an unexplainable feeling to look at your finished product and be proud of it.
 
Fuck you Gus Van Sant, for ruining my dreams! Fuck Hollywood, too... independent film, my ass. He just wanted to win at Cannes, we all know it!

I've had a morbid fascination with Columbine, because I kinda got the spotlight after it. People stopped talking to me, etc...cliche story, I know.
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Interesting. I believe the Coumbine shooters were kids with low self-esteem who lashed out for no good reason, seeking pitty and attenion, blaming other people for their pathetic problems.
 
Every story has been done before, if a story is new it's generally a mix of several film genres and several stories just done in a slightly different way.
There are in fact only 8 different story types (ill list them if you really want!). I can understand the feeling of seeing something you're doing out there as it makes you feel there's no point, but there is.
Being a serious filmmaker all you have to be is serious about making films, if you are serious then you will do it no matter what. You dont have to be successful or famous we ALL start at the bottom.
All you need is the passion and drive to see it to the end and create what you want
Good luck mate :D
 
I'm not so sure I can accept every story has been done before. While it may be naive to think otherwise, it's at least open-minded.

Off the top of my head, some recent
films of innovative themes and/or approaches...

Pi
Timecode
Memento
Russian Ark
Gigli (never before had such a catastrophe hit the silver screen- they were going for something new)
 
Just remember that just because a story doesnt appear on screen doesnt mean it's never been done before.
Sure you can come up with original ideas but theyll still borrow certain elements.
Memento is a good example because it's one that defies general script rules of sticking to correct structure. That's not to say though that a story about someone with no memory investigating his wife's murder has never been done.
 
"approaches"

...and like I said "just off the top of my head." However, as I come up with original material, you wont find me posting it here - I'll be writng it as script, which is what I've been doing.
 
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