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Jay

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What do you think are the similarities between, and differences between, the films of Wes Anderson and the films of Noah Baumbach?

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I really don't even think they're that similar really, especially as Anderson's movies have only gotten more fanciful and disconnected from reality over time.

 

Baumbach tends to write rather sour stories about how upper class artist/intellectual type of people are selfish and cruel to each other in subtle and unsubtle ways.  Anderson tends to write bittersweet nostalgic stories of how people make connections with each other, it's a fundamentally more optimistic tone.  Anderson's films are also sort of a collage of clear influences that he distills down into his particular mannerisms, while Baumbach's style is more straightforward realistic docudrama (White Noise excepted, since it's an adaptation and a departure for him). They both have mannered writing styles for dialogue but mannered in pretty different ways.  I'd say that Darjeeling is the closest Anderson ever got to Baumbach's style.

 

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Interesting.  Darjeeling is the one Wes Anderson movie I haven't seen!

 

I've only seen three Baumbach movies (Marriage Story, then White Noise, then last night we watched Frances Ha).  While watching Frances Ha I was picking up some Anderson vibes and made me think of asking the question

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3 minutes ago, Jay said:

While watching Frances Ha

 

And Frances Ha is one of only a few Baumbachs haven't seen yet.  I am aware that it has a reputation of being a much brighter and happier movie than he usually makes, largely because of Gerwig.

 

So when I talk about his sour style I am basing it more on stuff like Meyerowitz, Margot, Squid/Whale, etc.

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On 03/02/2023 at 6:20 PM, Disco Stu said:

I really don't even think they're that similar really

 

 

Not similar at all. Couldn't be more different. I like Baumbach (not everything though) and I'm not a fan of Wes Anderson (even though he is a strong visualist).

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11 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Paul Rudd Says He Decided to Study Acting After Watching Scorsese’s ‘After Hours’

 

20 years later, he employed what he learned for a movie franchise that Scorsese hates with a passion. Fun, right?

 

20 years later?  20 years after 1985 is 2005.

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4 hours ago, Jay said:

 

20 years later?  20 years after 1985 is 2005.

Tell me you didn't read the article without telling me you didn't read the article.

 

It doesn't mention when exactly Rudd watched the movie, but it heavily implies that it was in the mid-1990s, after the success of Clueless.

 

Quote

Rudd says he walked away from that film with a newfound commitment to studying the craft of acting. That led to him turning down bigger film offers to spend a year working in theatre immediately after the success of “Clueless.” While his representatives were not thrilled with the decision, Rudd says it was an essential step in his artistic development.

“My agent said, What are you doing? My career was just starting,” he said. “But I had a real clear vision then of what I wanted and how I wanted to do it. I didn’t want to be considered a joke among actors who I really admire. I really wanted to learn how to do this right. I had a real focus.”

After cutting his teeth on the stage, Rudd returned to film work with a newfound confidence in his abilities.

“Certainly some of the movies were not as good as I’d imagined, but they were beneficial, each in their own way,” he said, before citing “Wet Hot American Summer” as an early project that changed the trajectory of his career. “Without that, I don’t know if I get to do ‘Anchorman,’ which was seminal. And I’ve gotten to work with Judd Apatow for years now.”

 

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On 03/02/2023 at 6:02 PM, Jay said:

What do you think are the similarities between, and differences between, the films of Wes Anderson and the films of Noah Baumbach?

 

A common feature is 'quirk', I suppose, although they solve it in different manners. One of the main reasons why I've never been able to connect to either of those two directors. On the other hand, Tim Burton is one of my favourite directors (also known as a master of quirk), so it makes no sense.

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On 03/02/2023 at 11:20 AM, Disco Stu said:

II'd say that Darjeeling is the closest Anderson ever got to Baumbach's style.

 

This is funny considering it's the non-Baumbach screenplay in between the two he cowrote with Anderson. 

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4 hours ago, Thor said:

A common feature is 'quirk', I suppose, although they solve it in different manners.

 

That's a good way of looking at it!

 

 

4 hours ago, Thor said:

One of the main reasons why I've never been able to connect to either of those two directors. On the other hand, Tim Burton is one of my favourite directors (also known as a master of quirk), so it makes no sense.

 

I hear what you're saying, the section of quirkiness in Burton's films are very different from what's examined in Anderson and Baumbach's

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 06/02/2023 at 10:31 PM, Jay said:


The Odeon chain here already does this with its so-called 'Premier' seats which are more expensive than others in the screens for the supposed superior viewing/audio experience they provide. Hmmm.      

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Very sad news about Bruce Willis. He's quite young to have something like this diagnosed.

 

"Bruce Willis Diagnosed With Dementia After Retiring Due to Aphasia"

 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/bruce-willis-dementia-aphasia-retire-1235525599/

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Steven Spielberg Is ‘Very Happy’ He Rejected ‘Harry Potter’ Director Offer: ‘I Sacrificed a Great Franchise to Be With Family’

 

Quote

“There were several films I chose not to make,” Spielberg continued. “I chose to turn down the first ‘Harry Potter’ to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up. So I’d sacrificed a great franchise, which today looking back I’m very happy to have done, to be with my family.”

 

I wonder what really went down here. What I read over the years is that Spielberg was set to direct an animated version w/Haley Joel Osment as Harry, and the film would have combined aspects from several of the books. Which it goes without saying would have ended the film series right then and there as fast as you could say "Tintin".

 

Unsurprisingly, Rowling was aghast with this idea, and for whatever reason (he originally said he turned it down b/c it wasn't a challenge for him), Spielberg ended up not doing it, much to the relief of Warners I imagine, who no doubt didn't want to be in the position of telling The Baseball Cap no.

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38 minutes ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

Steven Spielberg Is ‘Very Happy’ He Rejected ‘Harry Potter’ Director Offer: ‘I Sacrificed a Great Franchise to Be With Family’

 

 

I wonder what really went down here. What I read over the years is that Spielberg was set to direct an animated version w/Haley Joel Osment as Harry, and the film would have combined aspects from several of the books. Which it goes without saying would have ended the film series right then and there as fast as you could say "Tintin".

 

Unsurprisingly, Rowling was aghast with this idea, and for whatever reason (he originally said he turned it down b/c it wasn't a challenge for him), Spielberg ended up not doing it, much to the relief of Warners I imagine, who no doubt didn't want to be in the position of telling The Baseball Cap no.

What a bad idea to do an animated movie combining plots from different books. It almost sounds made up

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17 years after the box office disaster of Lady in the Water, Shyamalan is returning to Warner Bros.

 

M. Night Shyamalan Signs Multi-Year First-Look Deal at Warner Bros, Sets ‘Trap’ At Studio

 

I hope they give him a DC movie (Justice League Dark? Zatanna? Constantine?) or a Harry Potter spin-off.

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59 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I hope they give him a DC movie (Justice League Dark? Zatanna? Constantine?) or a Harry Potter spin-off.

 

God, no. I do, however, hope he continues his great streak in recent years (most recently with the wonderful KNOCK AT THE CABIN) with original and ingenious genre films, only with the extra opportunities a higher Warner Bros. budget allows.

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2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

17 years after the box office disaster of Lady in the Water, Shyamalan is returning to Warner Bros.

 

M. Night Shyamalan Signs Multi-Year First-Look Deal at Warner Bros, Sets ‘Trap’ At Studio

 

I hope they give him a DC movie (Justice League Dark? Zatanna? Constantine?) or a Harry Potter spin-off.

Maybe this means that he can work with JNH again, if the reason he hasn’t recently was budget related.

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8 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I'd like to see an alternate universe one day where Tintin became a huge live action franchise that defined pop culture during the 2000s, while an animated Harry Potter movie that mixes the plot of several books and was directed by Spielberg was barely a hit, never got a sequel and was mostly forgotten (despite having some diehard fans on the internet).


Would quite like to have seen this myself. I have affection for Tintin stemming from reading the books as a kid and really enjoyed the movie, and have never liked Harry Potter much. 

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27 minutes ago, Mr. Who said:

Maybe this means that he can work with JNH again, if the reason he hasn’t recently was budget related.

This would actually be the only good thing, that I see about this.

I don't expect any remarkable movie by M. Night anymore, but maybe he might inspire JNH again for a great score like he used to.

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7 hours ago, Jay said:

Well she is 88.  Our Johnny aside, almost anyone at her age has retired long before.  From my late elderly neighbor who died in his mid 90's, he said each year at his age is like 10 years of aging.  Respect that she lasted as long as she did.  JW is superhuman so a different category altogether.     

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Guadagnino is also a JP fan.

 

Luca Guadagnino Praises Steven Spielberg’s Use of ‘German Expressionism’ in ‘Jurassic Park’
"He influenced me in the way I’m not afraid of clear cinematic gestures," Guadagnino said of Spielberg.

 

And it's not because of fond childhood memories, as he was 21 when the movie came out.

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On 18/02/2023 at 2:24 AM, karelm said:

Well she is 88.  Our Johnny aside, almost anyone at her age has retired long before.  From my late elderly neighbor who died in his mid 90's, he said each year at his age is like 10 years of aging.  Respect that she lasted as long as she did.  JW is superhuman so a different category altogether.  

It is really almost a miracle, that JW's eyes are still in such good condition, so he can actually read and write notes. Not mentioning him standing at the podium for 3 to 4 hours at some days.

It's really almost unbelievable. And wonderful.

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3 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Guadagnino is also a JP fan.

 

Luca Guadagnino Praises Steven Spielberg’s Use of ‘German Expressionism’ in ‘Jurassic Park’
"He influenced me in the way I’m not afraid of clear cinematic gestures," Guadagnino said of Spielberg.

 

 

 

German Expressionism? Jurassic Park? :blink:

 

I guess Guadagnino never watched a Tim Burton movie.

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2 hours ago, AC1 said:

 

German Expressionism? Jurassic Park? :blink:

 

I guess Guadagnino never watched a Tim Burton movie.

 

Indeed. I don't see much German expressionism in JURASSIC PARK, really. Burton would be the much better example. 

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10 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

It is really almost a miracle, that JW's eyes are still in such good condition,

 

And his ears, too! I find that even more stunning. I know / have known people in their 90s in good health, and the most common trait is a very noticeable decline in their hearing abilities. That someone in his 90s can conduct an orchestra and supervise recording sessions (whatever kind of help he might receive from younger people) is something I would never have believed (not that conducting live concerts is less amazing).   

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The "German expressionism" part was mostly IndieWire being clickbait-y. Guadagnino's explanation is more focused on how Spielberg is a "maximalist" of "grand cinematic gestures":

 

Quote

“He influenced me in the way I’m not afraid of clear cinematic gestures,” Guadagnino said. “If you think of the Spielberg signature shot, moving towards a character who is approaching a mystery outside of the frame with a light crowning him from behind and the music rising, that’s a very clear maximalist gesture, and I humbly think that’s influenced me.”

He continued: “That moment in ‘Jurassic Park’ when the kids are chased by velociraptors in the kitchen. There you find the very idea of cinema as the place of mystery, dream and nightmare that comes straight from German expressionism.”

 

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On 19/02/2023 at 5:47 PM, Score said:

 

And his ears, too! I find that even more stunning. I know / have known people in their 90s in good health, and the most common trait is a very noticeable decline in their hearing abilities. That someone in his 90s can conduct an orchestra and supervise recording sessions (whatever kind of help he might receive from younger people) is something I would never have believed (not that conducting live concerts is less amazing).   

 

He stayed away from things like Tomorrowland.

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Ever wanted to produce a huge, successful Hollywood blockbuster? Here's Bruckheimer's 7 rules to achieve that:

 

1. Start with a popular property, and stay true to it.
2. Hire strong screenwriters.
3. Pick the right director.
4. Shoot it practical.
5. Build on the characters.
6. Get Lady Gaga to write your song.
7. Keep the faith that audiences will go to theaters.

 

Source: https://www.indiewire.com/2023/02/jerry-bruckheimer-7-step-formula-top-gun-maverick-1234811110/

 

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On 22/02/2023 at 3:12 PM, Edmilson said:

1. Start with a popular property, and stay true to it.
2. Hire strong screenwriters.
3. Pick the right director.
4. Shoot it practical.
5. Build on the characters.
6. Get a great composer - but they're all dead! - John Williams to write your score.
7. Keep the faith that audiences will go to theaters.

Fixed.

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