Hey there, Cinemaniacs! Ealan here with a…delayed Hidden Movie Club newsletter. But then again…maybe this is the new format? Maybe it was a good thing after all?
First off, if you caught today’s HMC: Double Take live stream, you heard that I goofed big time: I totally forgot to watch Idiocracy! Wow…perhaps it was going to happen eventually in the archives of HMC, but wow did it make me feel a bit… 👇
But Derek was obviously a champ and answered all the questions I had about the film, as well as some hella good trivia about Mike Judge’s prophetic little film that almost didn’t get made.
But here’s the best part! The live stream has already been recorded and is now available at the click of a button below! 👇
So despite the fumble, maybe a Wednesday newsletter is good? So that the YouTube link is available to those who couldn’t make the stream? Yeah! That’s it! 😂
At least in my neck of the woods, this evening is the last chance to see The Birdcage at a theater for the 30th anniversary, courtesy of Fathom Events.
I hope to be attending a screening myself, though I will be going solo since my wife isn’t interested. 😅 I have never seen it, so I’m stoked to see this not only to support the LGBTQ+ community, but because I love Robin Williams!
So set your calendars for next Tuesday June 16th at 4PM PDT/7PM EDT for our discussion on The Birdcage!
And speaking of Robin Williams, we chose a film from early in his career to tie into The Birdcage for the next HMC: Double Take episode – Good Morning, Vietnam!
Derek hasn’t seen this one in quite some time, and I haven’t seen it at all! And I know this one isn’t wall-to-wall laughs, so I’m ready for some emotions to flow through me, since I have loved dramatic roles from the likes of Robin Williams. I have a feeling I’m going to kick myself for not having seen this classic gem yet.
So set your calendars for Tuesday June 23rd at 12PM PDT/3PM EDT as Derek and I discuss Good Morning, Vietnam!
AI and Script-to-Screen
Lastly, I wanted to bring up something that I posted on Threads a few days ago (so be sure to follow me for more little nuggets like this):
Are you aware of how many films are perfect carbon copies of the original script or screenplay? Besides the known directors who are sticklers for their actors to say exactly what’s on the page (The Coen Brothers and Tarantino, for example), the percentage is virtually 0…a big fat goose egg.
Why is this? Because during production, it is basically a mad house, organized chaos, if you will, dealing with the inevitable setbacks that come along with productions that can involve hundreds, if not thousands of those on the crew, actors, PAs, producers, directors, etc.
Some directors love to collaborate, bouncing ideas off of each other until the story really starts to take shape. Even Christopher Nolan is known to have an open mind about certain things, which seems backwards with someone who always seems to have a clear vision of what he’s trying to create.
But that’s just it: the script is never the final word on what a film should be. Many in the industry claim that when making a movie, it’s made 3 separate times: during pre-production, production, and editing.
Studios executives, producers, directors, etc, can only plan ahead so much before life finds a way to intervene, especially when filming is outdoors “on location.” Mother Nature always wins. She doesn’t give a shit about your shooting schedule. 😂
And therein lies the beauty of filmmaking: the flaws, the mistakes that turn into gold, the improvisational moments that couldn’t have been thought of during the screenwriting process, the unforeseen circumstances that force a level of collaboration that ultimately creates a work of art. Or the occasional film that never survives its pitfalls and never gets finished.
Films made with generative AI always look a little off, or fake, and can never truly reach the level of art that a film can achieve because they’re missing the human element. They’re missing the most crucial step in the process – the middle, when chaos meets discipline meets Murphy’s Law, and something comes out of it that almost never resembles the original script.
So that’s why generative AI films will always fail. They could still get made, sure…but audiences won’t connect with them, because they are literal script-to-screen versions of someone’s story. And 9 times out of 10, the original script is just “okay.”
I understand there are brilliant, well-renowned screenwriters out there, and I wish I received even a fraction of their paychecks.
But it’s the unknown that ends up making a film memorable. The portrayal and mannerisms of Jack Sparrow that no one but Johnny Depp knew about…
the hockey mask lying around on set that was only meant to be used for lighting purposes that became Jason’s iconic look…
This shot in Mad Max: Fury Road that wasn’t in the script at all, but was randomly thought one day by Charlize Theron and director George Miller while on the sand dunes, and ending up being one of the most iconic shots in the entire movie!
Long story short, can we please keep art made by humans? Because human art is the best art, period. The unpredictability is where the magic happens, and no algorithm could ever replicate that.
And there you have it, Cinemaniacs! Please watch The Birdcage however you can this week, and join our discussion on it next Tuesday! Have a great week, everyone!