Seeing Joaquin Pheonix getting into the skin of Arthur Fleck really woke me up. I’ve had a ton of auditions and a lot of opportunities since moving to New York, and I feel like the chains i keep on myself is why i haven’t broken out yet with a booking. Listening to how they shot Joker also woke me up to what I am doing wrong.
Phillips let Phoenix do pretty much whatever he felt.
Hearing about how the bathroom scene came about is the epitome of this. Joaquin felt, and went with it, and Phillips allowed him the space to. How amazing is that.
I’ve never done that. I haven’t been able to.
I’ve never had material that demands me turn it on that high.
All I have done so far is perform.
I have yet to feel. I have yet to meet material that brings that stuff out of me.
That’s what my focus is on going into 2020
Getting to experience The Lighthouse also woke me up to a reality in this business I guess I didn’t full appreciate until after having saw it.
The business is betting on these theme park movies and these remakes to drive the audience back into the theatre.
When I saw the lighthouse the place was pretty much full.
The entire place was engaged and entrenched in this story told by just two men and a handful of seagulls.
It got me thinking that I don’t think we have changed more so than our habits have, and so advertising dollars follow and then naturally-film investment follows.
That’s why all we are getting is a string of theme park movies followed by these new directors telling their own stories from their own experiences, like Jordan Peele etc.
What, then, if we just make good movies with compelling characters, a rich story and not cut corners (meaning only using CG when you absolutely have to)
Then, I think, we could get them back to coming to the theatre. But we have to give them a reason. They don’t want all flash, they want to connect. They want to share these experiences that we all have, and the movie theatre is supposed to be an easy (relatively cheap) place to go to be transported. The lighthouse did that-
We must aim higher, and it’s going to be harder.
That means it’s worth it. ——————————————— The most important thing is that you enjoy your life. That’s all that matters.