Haven't actually blogged about the movie in a while. When I spend my whole day in front of a computer it seems a little silly to spend more time on the computer to explain how much time I'm spending on the computer. But since the ostensible point of this blog is a journal to myself about the moviemaking process, I guess I should be more diligent...
...The main struggle with the movie right now is the balance between overestimating and underestimating the audience. The story has always had lot of little moments like "People will never get that unless you make it clear." (And then they hate the movie because people are much more forgiving of something that is just plain bad than something that is confusing, see: Bush vs. Kerry, Independence Day bs. Donnie Darko, ad nauseum) So we added all this voiceover and title cards to try and illuminate certain themes and plot points, and now the problem is, Too Much Information. We Get That. I, the audience member, am not stupid. Plus, the story's cluttered and some subtlety is lost. So, it's very tricky, knowing what has to be said and what can be simply evoked.
...Then there's the I Don't Care factor, which I am a big believer in, but is a hard thing to get right. Ideally, when you're swept up in a movie, things happen via artistic license which make no sense that do not detract from your experience of the movie at all. Ex: Explosions in space make no sound. Who cares, Star Wars is still a good movie. Keanu Reeves probably could not jump out of an airplane without a parachute and land on Patrick Swayze. That is unrealistic. But, a good moment in a movie. My favorite example recently is Ocean's 12. Ocean's 12 makes no sense whatsoever. Almost every plot turn is preposterous if you take the time to think about it, but it's well-filmed enough that you don't.
...So my point here is, something Not Making Sense is not reason alone to cut it out of the movie, because the audience might not give a poo. And now I have to drive through the rain to Montebello.
2 comments:
Personally, I would vote for less explanation and more subtlety. But of course, I would also vote for more commercial viability rather than less, and I can see that these two points may be in conflict. :)
I think my longwinded point was, exposition in itself isn't commercially viable, but tricking people into watching a movie that makes no sense is.
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