Hollywood director/writer/producer. Rabble rouser and All American Uppity Woman. See my feature film THE COMMUNE at Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
'nother Reader Request
Courtesy of MIM and NN,
Top 10 Films that you think define your philosophy/personality:
17 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Oh! Yes!
1. Fight Club. Politics. "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
2. Babe. The way I want the world to be. "This is a tale of an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever."
3. Wizard of Oz. My life, as of late. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
4. Casablanca. Loooove. "We'll always have Paris."
5. Sudden Impact. On my bad days. "Go ahead, make my day."
6. It's a Wonderful Life. On tenderness. "Zuzu's petals."
7. Raging Bull. My unfortunate tendency toward suspicion. "I heard things."
8. All About Eve. My other bad side. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
9. She Done Him Wrong. On how to vamp. "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?"
10. Fantasia. On living life like it is without caring what people say. [Image of hippo dancing to Peer Gynt.]
what a great question. not sure i can do a full on ten list without some thought and i keep thought to a minimum on the weekend. so, here's some that quickly come to mind:
Wonder Boys Being There Bad News Bears (original) Groundhog Day Nobody's Fool Yi Yi The Birds (my political pick, the birds being metaphorical in this sense)
Say Anything... (looking for a dare to be great situation) The Killer (modern day chivalry - but extreme) The World According To Garp (the life of a writer) Chunking Express (always dreaming, thinkin, hoping for love) Mi Familia/My Family (this is what family means to me) Beautiful Girls (everyone's got to come of age at some point) Amelie (deep down I always want to believe love can be this romantic and whimsical) Amores Perros (sometimes love/life really is a "bitch")
kid sis and NN -- Thanks for the kind support! Oh, well, I asked for it... In no particular order here are the ones that come to mind.
kid sis -- The list may look familiar in parts:
1) Dead Poets Society -- On love and respect for the arts.
2) The American President -- On politics, government and its citizens. Sorkin's West Wing dogma started here.
3) Searching for Bobby Fischer -- On nurturing a child and the special talents they possess. On how a child's heart is just as important as their potentially phenomenal abilities -- whether they involve chess, mathematics, baseball, gymanstics, whatever.
4) The Two Towers -- On hope, and perseverance -- lessons I hope to pass on to my kids: "Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. ...That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."
5) When Harry Met Sally -- On being in love, and how it can be best of all with your best friend.
6) It's a Wonderful Life -- On the true measure of a person's life, and his success. The whole final scene at the Bailey house makes me cry with joy.
7) The Godfather -- On the constant back-and-forth of being one of the more "American" children in a big, extended family of immigrants and their foreign and American-born children. How many kids like us have said "That's my family, Kay. It's not me," yet said "I'm with you now." at times of crisis without a moment's hesitation?
8) The Empire Strikes Back -- In the spiritual/ religious/ metaphysical nature of us all: "Luminous beings are we. Not this crude matter."
9) Love Actually -- On telling the people you love that you love them, every chance you get. I try to close every call and e-mail to my family with "I love you", even if they don't say it back. I don't remember what my grandmother and I talked about before she died, but I'm fairly certain I told her that, at least.
10) The Music Man -- Somehow, someway, everybody in town is going to fall for a good song-and-dance man. ;-)
Sorry so long.
MIM
PS -- Leia: In tribute to #9, allow me to say: I love that we're friends!
I was just getting depressed, thinking I have no philosophy nor personality, when I read someone's listing "Love, Actually." And then I remembered that one of the points of that movie is to express your love of others without worrying about whether or not they requite it. Because it can only be good to float the good stuff into the world, right? It's selfish and obsessively self-protective to withhold affection to keep yourself from getting hurt or embarrassed.
That's my philosophy, though I'll be damned if I've ever had the courage to act on it.
So, I second "Love, Actually." And that's the only one I got.
kristen -- Glad to know my post gave you an idea or two.
As morbid or as self-important as it may sound for me to say this, I try like heck -- even on the rare occasions when we're fighting -- to say to my wife "I love you" before I go to work, when I close a hpone call, before I falla sleep. I always worry that if I get hit by a bus or have a stroke, I want that to be the last thing I tell her.
Like I said, morbid. Still, you'll always find an abundnae of peoi-le in this world telling others what they did wrong, whetehr it's when they're doing it or otherwise. Doesn't hurt telling people you love that you do love them, or telling them when you LIKE something they've done, is there?
Ahhh!!!! Look at my lovely readers, having a wonderful conversation for me to come back to! You are my kind of people! And I thank you all. As you know, this is primarily a site for caregivers and cancer patients, so from the bottom of my Love Actually heart, I love you all for your kindness to each other, and your willingness to discuss philosophical ideas while keeping to the established tone of this blog. Lovely people.
And a big welcome to first time poster Avik in India, who I suspect found us through beautiful spirit Modigli. Avik my cyber friend, you must explain your list a little...some of your entries are intriguing and mysterious (which part of Gothika do you believe in?)
The funny thing in, I was in Kristen's boat last night while I was away thinking about this question (you all often inspire my daydreams). I, too, couldn't think of any movies that defined my philosophies. In fact, the more I thought of my philosophies, the more I realized I need to be writing more movies to get those ideas out there.
The only movies I could think of overlapped with the favs I've already listed (which is actually quite a logical overlap) or were ones I thought of because you brilliant people had listed them first. Stealing is the sincerest form of flattery?
I think the only way for me to do this is to go with Moses' stance that these are the ones popping into my head now. A top ten definitive list is...well, like High Fidelity, I would be forever altering it because of the sheer gravity of the subject.
My spiritual stance is best described by Empire Strikes Back and The Matrix I. I believe in the asian religions and spiritual energy matter and the ability to focus them for good. And of course in the ESTish idea that your beliefs shape your reality, perception and destiny.
However, Poltergeist, The Serpent and The Rainbow and Angel Heart are good addendums to those philosophies, as I also believe in the power of thought/energy warfare, and that there are evil forces encouraging us to hurt each other with those tools.
Politically I believe in Bowling For Columbine, Corporation and Fight Club. Mosquito Coast springs to mind as well. Oh, and Margaret Cho's Assassin. You must all see that in September.
Though I wish desperately to believe that at heart people are Babe, Charlotte's Web, or The Black Stallion, the truth is I think we are all Lord of the Flies and Cabaret...lazy, scared, complicit, and eager to join a lynch mob to protect our petty self-indulgences. Fargo, as well.
For this I would also pick Schindler's List, not what Oskar represented...but what Amon represented. I sincerely believe without daily vigilance, most people's actions more accurately fall into the category of willfully harming others to get their agenda met. Keep in mind though, I live in Hollywood and am here not to make money, but to make small films that represent voices currently ignored. And that threatens the hell out of people here to make money and become famous.
Actually, the single best representation of what I see in the world and am devoted to trying to balance is summed up by the Sam Mendes' Tony version of Cabaret. Automatons partying into the oven. Did any of you see that on Broadway? I do adore the idea of him collaborating with bright light Kate Winslet. What a dynamic power couple for change.
My philosophy on death was best encapsulated by Finding Neverland, and the ideal family by Mi Familia. Not just saying that because of my friendship with Barbara Jitner. Oh cripes, see now I have to pick one of C Jay's films...
Okay, for love I think in our twenties we struggle with the conflict in Latter Days, but move on in our celibate lives to the more awful daily struggle of The Favour, sex lies & videotape, and the original Red Shoes Diaries. But I wish my relationships were The Thin Man or The Philadelphia Story, even with the overinvolved family and rampant alchoholism (gotta make some concessions for paradise).
Living in LA is Crash and Do the Right Thing.
Being a modern woman is all summed up by Silence of the Lambs and The Joy Luck Club. Okay, and Broadcast News. Still current to me.
Being a modern man is summed up by High Fidelity and About a Boy.
And being a kid is all about Thirteen and Welcome to the Dollhouse. Thought my teenage years were Ghostworld.
Wow, what a petty way to ignore the rules of a blog question. Love being a fascist.
Amazing alternate views of reality that wouldn't exist without mini dv and/or ultra low budgets! (not surprisingly, often complex stories of marginalized people underrepresented/ignored in our media)
Real Women Have Curves Me Without You Star Maps Tape All the Real Girls Laurel Canyon Maria Full of Grace The Chateau Personal Velocity Murderball Lovely and Amazing Y Tu Mama Tambien Margaret Cho's Assassins Pieces of April Station Agent Center of the World 9 Songs Tarnation Hedwig and the Angry Inch Igby Goes Down (ohhh...that's probably too high of a budget) Tadpole Crush Melvin Goes to Dinner
Oi, there must be so many more! now that's a list of great films, baby!
Why didn't I choose a David Lynch film to represent my philosophies? He's a fav filmmaker, with many of my fav films, and he certainly has so many distinct views of life...
Films that, not so much philosophically, but just seem to *be* me:
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes Annie Hall Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Rain Man Shine Amadeus Little Man Tate Tombstone The Shootist Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
17 comments:
Oh! Yes!
1. Fight Club. Politics. "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
2. Babe. The way I want the world to be. "This is a tale of an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever."
3. Wizard of Oz. My life, as of late. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
4. Casablanca. Loooove. "We'll always have Paris."
5. Sudden Impact. On my bad days. "Go ahead, make my day."
6. It's a Wonderful Life. On tenderness. "Zuzu's petals."
7. Raging Bull. My unfortunate tendency toward suspicion. "I heard things."
8. All About Eve. My other bad side. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
9. She Done Him Wrong. On how to vamp. "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?"
10. Fantasia. On living life like it is without caring what people say. [Image of hippo dancing to Peer Gynt.]
NN
Uh, no one else home on this wonderful Saturday night? Sigh. Sooooo lonely.
NN
what a great question. not sure i can do a full on ten list without some thought and i keep thought to a minimum on the weekend. so, here's some that quickly come to mind:
Wonder Boys
Being There
Bad News Bears (original)
Groundhog Day
Nobody's Fool
Yi Yi
The Birds (my political pick, the birds being metaphorical in this sense)
those are the the ones that jump to attention.
Say Anything... (looking for a dare to be great situation)
The Killer (modern day chivalry - but extreme)
The World According To Garp (the life of a writer)
Chunking Express (always dreaming, thinkin, hoping for love)
Mi Familia/My Family (this is what family means to me)
Beautiful Girls (everyone's got to come of age at some point)
Amelie (deep down I always want to believe love can be this romantic and whimsical)
Amores Perros (sometimes love/life really is a "bitch")
That's all I got for now...
kid sis and NN -- Thanks for the kind support! Oh, well, I asked for it... In no particular order here are the ones that come to mind.
kid sis -- The list may look familiar in parts:
1) Dead Poets Society -- On love and respect for the arts.
2) The American President -- On politics, government and its citizens. Sorkin's West Wing dogma started here.
3) Searching for Bobby Fischer -- On nurturing a child and the special talents they possess. On how a child's heart is just as important as their potentially phenomenal abilities -- whether they involve chess, mathematics, baseball, gymanstics, whatever.
4) The Two Towers -- On hope, and perseverance -- lessons I hope to pass on to my kids: "Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. ...That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."
5) When Harry Met Sally -- On being in love, and how it can be best of all with your best friend.
6) It's a Wonderful Life -- On the true measure of a person's life, and his success. The whole final scene at the Bailey house makes me cry with joy.
7) The Godfather -- On the constant back-and-forth of being one of the more "American" children in a big, extended family of immigrants and their foreign and American-born children. How many kids like us have said "That's my family, Kay. It's not me," yet said "I'm with you now." at times of crisis without a moment's hesitation?
8) The Empire Strikes Back -- In the spiritual/ religious/ metaphysical nature of us all: "Luminous beings are we. Not this crude matter."
9) Love Actually -- On telling the people you love that you love them, every chance you get. I try to close every call and e-mail to my family with "I love you", even if they don't say it back. I don't remember what my grandmother and I talked about before she died, but I'm fairly certain I told her that, at least.
10) The Music Man -- Somehow, someway, everybody in town is going to fall for a good song-and-dance man. ;-)
Sorry so long.
MIM
PS -- Leia: In tribute to #9, allow me to say: I love that we're friends!
MIM
1.Roman Holiday.
2.Come September.
3.Godfather I
4.A beautiful Mind
5.Mississipi Burning.
6.Schiendlers List.
7.Forrest Gump.
8.You've got mail.
9.Gothika.
10.War of the worlds.
I was just getting depressed, thinking I have no philosophy nor personality, when I read someone's listing "Love, Actually." And then I remembered that one of the points of that movie is to express your love of others without worrying about whether or not they requite it. Because it can only be good to float the good stuff into the world, right? It's selfish and obsessively self-protective to withhold affection to keep yourself from getting hurt or embarrassed.
That's my philosophy, though I'll be damned if I've ever had the courage to act on it.
So, I second "Love, Actually." And that's the only one I got.
kristen -- Glad to know my post gave you an idea or two.
As morbid or as self-important as it may sound for me to say this, I try like heck -- even on the rare occasions when we're fighting -- to say to my wife "I love you" before I go to work, when I close a hpone call, before I falla sleep. I always worry that if I get hit by a bus or have a stroke, I want that to be the last thing I tell her.
Like I said, morbid. Still, you'll always find an abundnae of peoi-le in this world telling others what they did wrong, whetehr it's when they're doing it or otherwise. Doesn't hurt telling people you love that you do love them, or telling them when you LIKE something they've done, is there?
MIM
Ahhh!!!! Look at my lovely readers, having a wonderful conversation for me to come back to! You are my kind of people! And I thank you all. As you know, this is primarily a site for caregivers and cancer patients, so from the bottom of my Love Actually heart, I love you all for your kindness to each other, and your willingness to discuss philosophical ideas while keeping to the established tone of this blog. Lovely people.
And a big welcome to first time poster Avik in India, who I suspect found us through beautiful spirit Modigli. Avik my cyber friend, you must explain your list a little...some of your entries are intriguing and mysterious (which part of Gothika do you believe in?)
The funny thing in, I was in Kristen's boat last night while I was away thinking about this question (you all often inspire my daydreams). I, too, couldn't think of any movies that defined my philosophies. In fact, the more I thought of my philosophies, the more I realized I need to be writing more movies to get those ideas out there.
The only movies I could think of overlapped with the favs I've already listed (which is actually quite a logical overlap) or were ones I thought of because you brilliant people had listed them first. Stealing is the sincerest form of flattery?
I think the only way for me to do this is to go with Moses' stance that these are the ones popping into my head now. A top ten definitive list is...well, like High Fidelity, I would be forever altering it because of the sheer gravity of the subject.
My spiritual stance is best described by Empire Strikes Back and The Matrix I. I believe in the asian religions and spiritual energy matter and the ability to focus them for good. And of course in the ESTish idea that your beliefs shape your reality, perception and destiny.
However, Poltergeist, The Serpent and The Rainbow and Angel Heart are good addendums to those philosophies, as I also believe in the power of thought/energy warfare, and that there are evil forces encouraging us to hurt each other with those tools.
Politically I believe in Bowling For Columbine, Corporation and Fight Club. Mosquito Coast springs to mind as well. Oh, and Margaret Cho's Assassin. You must all see that in September.
Though I wish desperately to believe that at heart people are Babe, Charlotte's Web, or The Black Stallion, the truth is I think we are all Lord of the Flies and Cabaret...lazy, scared, complicit, and eager to join a lynch mob to protect our petty self-indulgences. Fargo, as well.
For this I would also pick Schindler's List, not what Oskar represented...but what Amon represented. I sincerely believe without daily vigilance, most people's actions more accurately fall into the category of willfully harming others to get their agenda met. Keep in mind though, I live in Hollywood and am here not to make money, but to make small films that represent voices currently ignored. And that threatens the hell out of people here to make money and become famous.
Actually, the single best representation of what I see in the world and am devoted to trying to balance is summed up by the Sam Mendes' Tony version of Cabaret. Automatons partying into the oven. Did any of you see that on Broadway? I do adore the idea of him collaborating with bright light Kate Winslet. What a dynamic power couple for change.
My philosophy on death was best encapsulated by Finding Neverland, and the ideal family by Mi Familia. Not just saying that because of my friendship with Barbara Jitner. Oh cripes, see now I have to pick one of C Jay's films...
Okay, for love I think in our twenties we struggle with the conflict in Latter Days, but move on in our celibate lives to the more awful daily struggle of The Favour, sex lies & videotape, and the original Red Shoes Diaries. But I wish my relationships were The Thin Man or The Philadelphia Story, even with the overinvolved family and rampant alchoholism (gotta make some concessions for paradise).
Living in LA is Crash and Do the Right Thing.
Being a modern woman is all summed up by Silence of the Lambs and The Joy Luck Club. Okay, and Broadcast News. Still current to me.
Being a modern man is summed up by High Fidelity and About a Boy.
And being a kid is all about Thirteen and Welcome to the Dollhouse. Thought my teenage years were Ghostworld.
Wow, what a petty way to ignore the rules of a blog question. Love being a fascist.
How could I forget Mean Creek, Wings of Desire, Barbarian Invasions, and Wit?
Ack!
God damn I'm verbose. Can you imagine, if I didn't have a blog I'd be calling NN and MIM and other real world friends with all these words...
Don't forget, it's Post Secret Sunday.
Verbose? You? Man, you'd think you were a writer or something! (Oh, wait :)
Love the High Fidelity quote. Forgotten about that! Totally true.
And how could I forget Yoda's "luminous beings are we, not this crude matter"? I say that to people all the time. Like, in all seriousness.
NN
hey, i thought of another list!
Amazing alternate views of reality that wouldn't exist without mini dv and/or ultra low budgets! (not surprisingly, often complex stories of marginalized people underrepresented/ignored in our media)
Real Women Have Curves
Me Without You
Star Maps
Tape
All the Real Girls
Laurel Canyon
Maria Full of Grace
The Chateau
Personal Velocity
Murderball
Lovely and Amazing
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Margaret Cho's Assassins
Pieces of April
Station Agent
Center of the World
9 Songs
Tarnation
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Igby Goes Down (ohhh...that's probably too high of a budget)
Tadpole
Crush
Melvin Goes to Dinner
Oi, there must be so many more! now that's a list of great films, baby!
Why didn't I choose a David Lynch film to represent my philosophies? He's a fav filmmaker, with many of my fav films, and he certainly has so many distinct views of life...
Interesting. Must go think on that.
Still don't have a reason behind the DL absence. Except that it's possible to love someone else's world without accepting it as your truth.
Films that, not so much philosophically, but just seem to *be* me:
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
Annie Hall
Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai
Rain Man
Shine
Amadeus
Little Man Tate
Tombstone
The Shootist
Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
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