Martin Scorsese

I have found conflicting reports on where the idea of Hugo came from but they all have the same premise. After years of blood and gore, Scorsese finally made a movie that his 12 year old daughter could see.  And what better movie than a book he and his daughter shared together.  Scorsese is an icon in the movie making industry, so for him to take so long to share his profession with his child shocked me.  I wonder what he was afraid of.  It’s possible that your children could be your worse critics.  I know mine are at 9 and 11 years old.    

My favorite part of the movie was in the beginning when they first showed the boys eyes in the number 4 of the clock.  Then I found a quote from a 60 Minutes interview with Leslie Stahl. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/martin-scorsese-on-hugo-a-very-personal-film/  “This is what got me really interested in making the film, the way he’s looking through the clock”, Scorsese said.  They are looking at a picture from the book Scorsese and his daughter shared.  It was a picture that hit home for Scorsese.  He was sick with asthma as a child, and could only watch the other children play outside.  Until I read about Scorsese and the making of Hugo, I didn’t know why I felt a connection to that scene, and the boy.  I shared similar experiences as a child.

For lack of a better word, my childhood was “sheltered”.  I wasn’t allowed to go outside to play with the neighborhood kids too often.  I didn’t go to friends houses and kids weren’t invited to my house.  I only remember going to 1 birthday party when I was young.  I also wasn’t allowed phone calls.  We moved around a lot, so keeping friends was difficult.  I was allowed out in the yard, but under strict supervision.  

My parents had an ugly divorce and my siblings and I were pawns in their game.  Although they divorced when I was 2 or 3, the game went on until I was about 14.  One of my earliest memories was being “kidnapped” by my father, a man I didn’t know.    When my mother got me back, I was hidden away and taught to be terrified of this man.  Terrified to be snatched away, by this supposedly horrible man.  When I finally met up with my dad, some of the stories I heard about him were true.  He loved to drink!  He was a great man and wonderful father.  My mother had me for the first 14 years of my life, but my dad had me for the next 25.  

I had it rough, but I wouldn’t change one moment of my life.  Those, sometimes horrific, life experiences have made me into the person and mother I am today.  It took me a little longer to get there, but it’s solid.  I am far from perfect, you can just ask my 9 and 11 year old critics.  

Emanuele Crialese

Emanuele Crialese’s career is the perfect example of the American Dream.  In an interview, http://www.newyorkcool.com/archives/2007/May/interview_Golden_Door.htm with Frank J. Avella, Crialese admitted that his “wanting to make this movie has a lot to do with my personal experiences being an immigrant hoping to change your life in America”.  He studied film directing at New York University as well as worked with some American producers.  

In the same interview, Crialese said that he was fascinated by the postcard (from early in the 20th century) “I saw propaganda already portraying America as the land of opportunity”.  I have a hard time believing that people of the time were so naive.  I understand that some people think that anything is possible, but huge chickens and rivers of milk are pretty far fetched.  Is it possible that the phrase “money growing on trees” came from the best American advertising ever?  

Immigrants of the time were either very brave or just plain crazy.  They had absolutely no guarantees.  First was no guarantee that they would even live through the voyage.  The second was not knowing what would greet them on the other side of the ocean.  Life must have been very difficult in their countries.  My father in law, who would have been 88, used to tell me stories of when his grandfather came to America from Ireland.  He was greeted by signs that said, “Irish Need Not Apply”.  It was very difficult to come to a foreign land and be hated immediately. Thank Goodness it only lasted 1 generation for the Irish.  

It was brilliant how Crialese showed two very different endings for the same family.  I think it also follows the theory of what you think is real becomes reality.  His portrayal of the old Italian woman was spot on.  Fortunata was not afraid of anything and was not going to take any shit from anyone.  Although she wanted to be supportive to her son, she knew her place was in Sicily.  On the other hand, Salvatore had a conviction that he was supposed to be in America, so it was going to turn out well for him.

I was very disappointed in the ending of the movie.  I would have liked to see how everything worked out for the family.  There is hope.  My favorite part of the interview is where Avilla asked Crialese what would happen in the sequel.  Crialese responds,  “I would love to make a sequel that is different completely in tone.  A comedy.  Salvatore drops Charlotte Gainsbourg because she can’t cook and he realized he can have many other women.  The two brothers become silent film stars...”  It would work for me.  This is something I would love to see.  A comedy would be drastically different and completely unexpected.  Clearly, from that comment, Crialese has a sense of humor and could pull it off.  I also like the idea that the boy who almost got turned away because he doesn’t speak, lives the American Dream by not speaking!  

Woody Allen

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2008 movie Vicky Christina Barcelona.  I was shocked to see it was by Woody Allen, because I haven’t heard much about him since his big scandal.    In researching him and this movie I found great interviews, quotes and stories.  To my surprise, he has become quite an icon in the film making world.  

http://collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/8878/tcid/1  has an article written by a man named Frosty who had the honor of being in a press interview with Allen about Vicky Cristina Barcelona.  When Allen was confronted with the idea that people think this has been his sexiest movie yet, he downplayed it.  “It just so happens that this story requires a certain amount of sensuality.  There is a kissing scene, a scene between the two girls that is brief, and there isn’t really a lot of sex in the picture.”  I must disagree with Allen.  You can’t put sex and sexy in the same category when talking about sensuality.  This movie did require a certain amount of sensuality, but I think the entire film was oozing with it.  Most of the movie was leading up to sex, having sex, or the aftereffects of sex.  Just because we didn’t see the act, the implication was there.  

There are several ways you can portray a menage a trois.  It could be perverted and dirty, or it could be very appealing and sensual.  I think the cast made the difference, in how it came across in Vicky Christina Barcelona.  Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were a perfect match for the passionate, dysfunctional couple, Juan and Maria Elena. Their passion alone was sensual as well as animalistic.  Scarlett Johansen, although quite sexy herself, was a perfect contrast for the crazed couple.  Christina brought the sanity and normality that Juan and Maria Elena needed.  

I think many would find a ménage á trois relationship faux pas, as it violates social acceptability.  I find irony in the fact that 20 years ago, Allen entangled himself in a relationship considered tactless, perverted, and socially unacceptable as well.  I remember thinking at the time he was a dirty old man.  After reading that he and Soon-Yi Previn are still together after more than 20 years, I am questioning how judgmental I was before I began to research him. Quite possibly, they are meant to be together.

http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/now/woody-allen-mia-farrow-scandal-20-years-later-215205490.html is an update on the scandalous situation, as of last year.  It’s dis heartening and sad to see that there is still tension in Allen’s family dynamic, due to his marriage.  

In writing this blog, I have learned that I still have work to do on myself in my judgement of others.  I realize that having thoughts on other’s actions is normal human behavior, but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.  One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou, “People do what they know, when they know better they do better”.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePodNjrVSsk

Billy Wilder

In researching Billy Wilder, I found an enormous amount of information.  Any person who has their own “quotes” page on brainyquote.com http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/billy_wilder.html  must have something interesting to say.  As a matter of fact, anyone who has been on this earth for 96 years has important knowledge to pass along and we have a duty to listen.  Billy Wilder passed on his life experiences and knowledge in a very witty and entertaining way.  

I found video from an appearance he made at the American Film Institute in 1986. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfTZvjv7JrY  In the short excerpts I watched, I found him very informative and extremely funny.  He was quick witted and had a sense of humor that could only come from many years on earth.  For example, he was once asked if it was necessary for a director to know how to write.  His response was “No, it is not necessary for a director to know how to write, however it helps if he knows how to read.”  His entire interview was filled with exceptional information, with humor splattered throughout.  

In the same excerpt, he was asked by an audience member if he ever had any creative battles with executives.  His response was, no, they knew he was reliable.  “I work on schedule, I show up, I don’t snort (not in front of them anyway), I don’t drink, I’ve never missed a day”.  I love that he added the “don’t snort”.  This joke compelled people to pay attention and actually hear what he was saying.  They then heard his point, which I agree with.  It takes a certain kind of person to be successful.  It’s the kind of person who doesn’t make excuses.  They are dependable, honorable and they do what is expected, especially if they are being paid.  I think the work ethic of his generation is something to be admired.  As a whole, I think we have lost some of that drive and determination in America.  

One of my favorite Billy Wilder quotes from brainyquote.com  was “An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark - that is critical genius.”  This may have been true when he quoted it, but I don’t believe it holds true today.  There is such a thing as “1000 imbeciles” and that’s all they are, just a group of imbeciles. In 2013, there are many more followers than there are leaders.  I think it is vastly different today than in Wilder’s generation.  If a movie gets a bad review in the media, it is taken as truth, instead of people forming their own opinions about it.  The extreme medias (Fox News and MSNBC), social medias and the online world are filled with opinions of imbeciles.  We live in a world today that if you see it more than twice, it must be true.  

The Billy Wilder generation has so much insight and experience to share with the world, if people would just take the time to listen and then form their own opinions.