FOUR ESSENTIAL BOOKS TO READ FOR ASPIRING FILMMAKERS

As I've said before, I used to work at Barnes & Noble. I didn't go to college really, or attend any formal filmmaking classes or seminars. Instead, I used my employee discount and studied during my half hour lunch break. THE POOR & HUNGRY was written at the Barnes & Noble over on Winchester Avenue, right off to the side of the Cafe. All I needed was a yellow legal pad, a cup of soup, and a scone.

I read everything I could get my hands on: biographies, how-to-books on guerrilla filmmaking, magazines, scripts, etc. And to the best of my ability, I tried to watch three or four movies a week... mostly movies that were made before I was born. Occasionally I'd get into a particular filmmaker and then try to se each and every film that he (or she) ever made. I remember a Robert Altman festival that spanned over a few months. I had read a magazine article with Quentin Tarantino where he talked about his days working at the video store, recommending the films of Éric Rohmer to his customers. I had never heard of him before so I tracked down all the films I could find. I found Pauline At The Beach and fell in love with all the French girls in it. This trailer isn't in English, but who cares. Just watch it.



Me and my sister-in-law, Erin, fell hard for the films of Hal Hartley. We watched any of his films that we could get our hands on. Most of my free time was spent hopping back and forth between different Blockbuster Video stores and searching through their "previously viewed" bins. In Memphis, this proved to be a gold mine, being that indy films and foreign fare wasn't really in demand, so I always cleaned up on the more esoteric titles. I can't tell you the joy I felt when I found Hal Hartley's TRUST for $3.99. Bliss. Martin Donovan is awesome, and the late Adrienne Shelly is just magical.

The canvas of cinema is almost too large to grasp in a lifetime, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't jump in, enjoy it all, and learn. I'm a professional filmmaker and I'm still learning about films and filmmakers. The older you get, the more you cherish surprise and discovery. Last year I came across a fantastic doc called Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession. Most of the films that were chronicled and discussed were films I had not seen. So I tracked down almost all of them (some are out of print) and watched them all. It was an incredible experience. Watch this wonderful montage of all the films used in the documentary.

If I were teaching a filmmaking class I would instruct my students to read four books before they came to class. The first would be John Sayles, Thinking In Pictures, The Making of the Movie Matewan. MATEWAN is one of the greatest movies ever made. Ever. If you haven't seen it, don't waist another day. I would recommend watching the movie first and then read the book. So much of the book deals with Sayles' creative process but you also get a good dose of indy reality. Compromise is something we all have to learn how to love when making a film. I got to have lunch with John Sayles just after Hustle & Flow came out. The man has made some of the most important American movies of all time and he was still struggling to get his next movie made. Let his trials be a lesson to us all. You never stop fighting. My manager, Brad Gross, said something to me that has sustained me through the hard times. He said, "movies get made because someone didn't give up." Sayles would agree.

Just watch this scene and tell me you don't want to see this incredible film. James Earl Jones is a badass. Chris Cooper gives his best, in my opinion.

The second book on my required reading list would be Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It. This movie takes me back. Independent film in the 80s was just so raw and exciting. She's Gotta Have It was funny and sexy. I fell hard for Nola Darling (I also named Taryn Manning's character in Hustle & Flow after her). I loved her bed with the wooden frame behind it covered in candles and candle wax. Mmmm! "Please, baby, please, baby... baby, baby, please." Spike Lee kept a journal while he was trying to get the movie made. It's fascinating. There's this one rant I remember where Spike is talking about how he wants a real dark-skinned woman to be the lead in his movie. "Why can't we ever see a pretty dark-skinned woman? Well, people will in my films. Fuck it." Amen, Spike.

Book number three would be Robert Rodriguez's Rebel Without A Crew: Or How A 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became A Hollywood Player. This is essential reading for any and all young filmmakers. Rodriguez essentially sold his body for film. He was penniless and passionate to make a feature film so he checked into a hospital where they performed medical tests on him for cash. He talks about how noisy the 16mm camera they were using was so they couldn't record sound. Rodriguez would then take a tape recorder into his car and record the actors saying their lines. This, of course, resulted in the dialog track going out of sync when he would edit it together. But this problem became the trigger for what is now the Rodriguez style of quick cutting. Whenever an actor's dialog would go out of sync, he would cut to a reaction shot. A simple scene of two people talking would look like an action scene.

Robert is a hero to many of us. His DIY discipline has remained consistent over his entire career. Almost all of his movies have a 10 Minute Film School extra on the DVD. He's generous to share his tricks and one should listen and learn. For my first film, when I was just as poor as he was during El Mariachi, I lit my movie per his instruction, using 250 watt photoflood light bulbs in Home Depot bought clamp lights. I followed his tricks and now I have a movie career, too. I've never met Robert Rodriguez. But I own him a drink. I owe him more than that.

Book number four is perhaps the most important. It may not have the pop and sizzle of Rebel Without A Crew, but it is a great read for film buffs. Sidney Lumet's Making Movies is a must own. He tells so many secrets in this book in relation to his craft. For instance, in the movie 12 Angry Men, he made a choice to shoot the first half of the movie above the eye-line of all his actors, so we are looking down on them most of the time. But as the tension rises, the camera begins to get lower and lower. The final scenes show the ceilings of the jury room, as if it's gonna fall on them any second. Those little stories are gems. There's a story about the big Al Pacino monologue in Dog Day Afternoon that is priceless. You'll never watch the scene the same way again. When Al looks up at the end, I now know he's looking right at Sidney. Then he bursts into tears.

He takes you through all his films, from 12 Angry Men to Dog Day Afternoon, from The Wiz to Network. I highly recommend it. This book would not just have one movie as its companion piece for my class. You would have to watch all of them. Yes, all of Sidney Lumet's movies. You'd thank me later. But for now:

JOYSTICKS, SPARK PLUGS, & WILD DOGS

Last night I attended the  DESTROY 7 HEDS showcase at 2Bad! Re-Fresh in downtown Los Angeles. It featured works from DESTROY ALL DESIGN, KH no. 7, and SEPTERHED.

It's wild that one of the first power boxes I photographed was this one, featuring both DESTROY ALL DESIGN and SEPTERHED. I did not know who the artists were at the time, nor could I spot their other pieces around town. But now I'm beginning to recognize artist's tags and signatures, making the whole LA street art scene more understandable and magical. 

Here's another power box featuring both DESTROY ALL DESIGN and SEPTERHED:

I learned about the showcase from the awesome blog, MELROSEandFAIRFAX. I met some really cool and interesting people, artists and fans alike. I also bought some art for myself.

This piece from DESTROY ALL DESIGN:

And this one from SEPTERHED, titled: Surrounded All Alone.

I also go a cool sticker from KH no. 7 of this image:

KH no.7 from MELROSEandFAIRFAX.COM

POWER BOX ART on MELROSE AVE.

Here are some more pictures of street art that I've found on the various power boxes here in Los Angeles. I'm shooting these pictures on my Droid Incredible phone using a photo app called Vignette. I have the effect set to Toy Camera. I am still learning the names of some of the artists. Info is welcome.

My Sunday Film Festival - I KNEW IT WAS YOU Rediscovering John Cazale

This was a sweet film. John Cazale is much like James Dean: they both made a handful of movies and they were brilliant in each and every one of them. He was such an incredible actor. Case in point:

The story that Al Pacino tells about Meryl Streep in I KNEW IT WAS YOU is heartbreaking. Here's a trailer:

My Sunday Film Festival - EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

I find myself sitting in traffic a lot in when I have to work in Los Angeles. There are these grey power boxes (that's what I'm calling them until someone sets me straight) that stand off to the side of the road on every other block. They are usually covered in street art, graffiti, or advertisements.

I'm telling you, I've never been more aware of street art (on a purely spectator level) than I have since working here in LA. Memphis has some, but LA is covered in it. You look out the window and there it is. I snapped this photo the other day. I leaned over through the passenger side window with my phone and took it.

I don't know who the artists are (and I welcome any info) but I love these two pieces. I had about a month to enjoy them for free sitting in the comfort of my car before the persistent rain tore them up.

Free Humanity

One day I was sitting in my car at a stop sign when I looked over at two young women, talking excitedly and booming Beyonce. One of them started pointing out the window. They both reached for their phones and took a picture of a power box with a painting of Yoda, holding a paintbrush, with the words "WARS NOT MAKE ONE GREAT" painted behind him.

These two girls didn't even hesitate to snap the picture. That's what's great about street art. It is intended to be exploited and distributed by any means. It can be up in a gallery or sent in a txt. Check out MELROSEandFAIRFAX.

 I've since learned that the Yoda piece is from a street artist called FREE HUMANITY. You can see an LA WEEKLY story here.

So I started taking as many pictures of power boxes that I could. Whenever I see one, I try to pull over and snap a picture, because it could be gone the next day.

Here's a sampling.

The next step in my street art education was to watch EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP by Bansky. 

I highly recommend it. A good double feature would be EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP and AMADEUS. It's a great film about obsession and art, as well as commerce and hype. The film gives you a healthy glimpse at some incredible street artists such as Bansky, Shepard Fairey, and the Invader.

Bansky

Shepard Fairey

Invader

 Get the movie. You'll be impressed and entertained. Is it real? Is it fake? Who cares.

My Sunday Film Festival - DOUBLE TAKE

No... not the DOUBLE TAKE with Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin. I'm talking about DOUBLE TAKE by Belgian director Johan Grimonprez.

Grimonprez has managed to merge a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, called 25th August, 1983, with various clips and footage of Alfred Hitchcock to make a film that is both poetic and frustrating. It reminded me of Orson Welles's F IS FOR FAKE.

Both films play more as essays than they do as documentaries, and both films center around two big round men with big round personalties.

Check out this scene from DOUBLE TAKE.

My Sunday Film Festival - TRASH HUMPERS

Trash Humpers is crazy. I now have images in my mind that will never leave. Yes, some of those images are incredibly disturbing. But some are incredibly beautiful. And creepy. And... shit! I just want to take a shower after watching this movie. But then if I do, I'll just start thinking of that shower scene with the baby and... THIS IS MOVIE IS CRAZY! And, to be truthful, I could not stop watching it. I don't know what that says about me, really, but I've always been fascinated with Harmony Korine's point of view. If you're into his movies, definitely check this out.

I met Harmony Korine at the Nashville Film Festival in 2005 when Hustle & Flow was playing there. We shared a similar love of dirty-dirty Memphis rap. He commented on the Three 6 Mafia music used in the movie and how he listened to them growing up in Nashville. If you watch Trash Humpers, read this interview with Harmony and the cast in NASHVILLE SCENE.

I also highly recommend taking a look at a short film he produced call THE ALUMINUM FOWL (2006) by James Clauer.

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA MAKES ME CRY

I was riding with John Singleton, leaving his offices in Leimert Park where we were casting HUSTLE & FLOW, when a man passed by on a 10 speed. Raising his fist in the air, he shouted, "Yo, John! BOYZ N THE HOOD was the shit, man!"

John called back, "Thanks... but I've made a few since then."

Every filmmaker wants to make an impact on their audience. To make a memorable film is an accomplishment, especially if it is your first. But the burden of a memorable movie can be a pesky anchor at times. Artists like to move forward. They don't like to dwell on their past work (or at least they shouldn't). If you were to sit down with John Singleton he could tell you about five features that he's written or outlined that he'd like to make. He doesn't want to look back, he wants to move forward.  BOYZ is a classic. But John has more classics in him. 

Me, Singleton, Taraji P. Henson, Elise Neal, and Terrence Howard at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival

I can't tell you how many times I get stopped in Memphis by people telling me how much HUSTLE & FLOW meant to them. I never get tired of it, especially since it was such an effort to get the movie made. When it was chosen to go to Sundance, Memphis rejoiced. When it sold for a record price tag to Paramount, Memphis couldn't believe it. And when Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar for It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp, Memphis lost their shit. Whenever praise comes from a Memphian it always feels good. The success of the film was a victory shared by the entire city. 

But I worry. I worry like artist does. Will my well run dry? Will HUSTLE & FLOW be the movie that defines me above all other movies I make? Ten years from now, will some guy roll by on a 10 speed and yell, "Hey, Craig... HUSTLE was my joint, bro!" It's a great problem to have, I know. But I'd like to believe I have more to say. How does the saying go? You're only as good as your next thing.

In regard to this issue of longevity, I would like to nominate Francis Ford Coppola with the lifetime achievement award. The award would not be in recognition of his earlier films, which are truly incredible (The Conversation, The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, Apocalypse Now, etc...). Instead, it would be for his recent efforts: YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH, TETRO, and whatever else he wants to make. I know that Spielberg and Scorsese have made more films, and continue to entertain and enthrall audiences, but Coppola is more of a pioneer. He wants to make personal films. He wants to improve and become a better writer. The old man refuses to rest on his laurels and coast into cinema history on the strength of his earlier work. He is still taking pen to paper, lensing up on actors, and making new movies.

Sure, his recent films may not be number one at the box office or make 100 million dollars domestic. But I don't think he's concerned with that. With news surfacing this week that Steven Soderbergh may be retiring from filmmaking, I can't help but respect Coppola even more. He's fighting. He's learning. He's 71 and he's still trying to become a better artist. His effort inspires me.

He makes me cry, I swear to God.

Watch these two clips and tell me what you think. 

SHORTS THAT LAST - KITCHEN SINK and THE MORNING RITUAL

When I lived in Northern California I loved to see obscure movies in downtown San Francisco, and there wasn't a better theater to see incredible films than The Castro. I remember one night going to see the fabled lost film of Orson Welles called IT'S ALL TRUE.

I'll never forget the evening I saw it. I was accompanied by my wife Jodi and my two good friends, John and James. When we went inside the theater it was relatively quite outside. But when the movie concluded, the Castro exploded with outlandish life as the Exotic Erotic Halloween Ball suddenly sprung into full tilt. We walked outside and the whole street was filled with wild costumes, colorful cross-dressers, and men being led around on chains by their members (I don't mean "partners," I mean partners leading their boyfriends around by their member. Ouch).

One such Castro event that I attended had an incredible short film attached to it. The film was shot in black and white and ran about ten minutes. I don't want to tell you much about it other than to say it has haunted me for years. I could never recall the name and I had no idea who the filmmaker was. Please remember, this was before the internet was in the palm of your hand, so it wasn't so easy to search for information. I've met other filmmakers who were also deeply weirded out by this short film, and they too, couldn't remember the name. But now... I've found it.


It's called KITCHEN SINK by Alison Maclean. She is a Canadian filmmaker who also made Jesus' Son with Billy Crudup. Here is the short. It's in two parts on YouTube.

I moved to Memphis and began making my own ultra-low budget films. In 2001, my assistant/producer Erin Hagee and I decided to help produce new filmmakers in Memphis. One filmmaker was our friend J. Lazarus. He came to us with a an idea that immediately made me think of KITCHEN SINK. For one thing, it involved no dialogue. It involved a kitchen sink. It was going to be done in black and white. It was also creepy as fuck. We filmed the short in my kitchen over a weekend. J. Lazarus won the Indie Memphis Hometowner Award for best short. It is called THE MORNING RITUAL. I love this short. play it and crank up the sound. It rocks.

My Sunday Film Festival - AGE OF CONSENT

Okay. Where has this movie been all my life? Helen Mirren plays this wild-child islander who poses for an aging painter played by James Mason. She swims and snorkels all around the Great Barrier Reef in this see-through purple dress, inspiring him to paint and sculpt sand models of her naked form.

Michael Powell is someone to study. I've never been disappointed in anything he's been a part of. PEEPING TOM, THE RED SHOES, and BLACK NARCISSUS are classic Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger films.

Helen Mirren and has been driving me nuts ever since I saw her in EXCALIBUR. What an incredibly talented and consistently sexy woman.

A SCENE FROM AGE OF CONSENT

Artist and Muse