12 ANGRY MEN (1957 Vs 1997)

'12 Angry Men' is a classic film from 1957, directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet. The whole film takes place in one room. But this isn't 'Saw', it doesn't resort to shock and awe, and it isn't 'Reservoir Dogs': no ears get chopped off.

It's 12 people in a room, talking. That's ALL it is. Yet it's riveting! A perfect film. 

For those of you who haven't seen it: the film is about a jury who has to reach a unanimous verdict on a murder case. 11 of them are certain he's guilty, yet one of them is not sure. Juror no #8 is played by Henry Fonda. You can't take your eyes off him in this film, you sit there spellbound for 90 minutes.

They remade it in 1997, and Fonda's role was played by Jack Lemmon. I understand the casting. Juror No #8 was an everyman. He's who we like to think we are. And if that isn't an exact description of Jack Lemmon then I don't know what is.

But guess what? It doesn't work with Jack Lemmon! In fact, the remake hardly works at all. 

It looks simple, right? 12 men in a room talking, easy! Just follow the script, get the shots, and be done with it.

But the original was directed by Sidney Lumet, one of the all time great directors. When someone nails subtlety and simplicity, they make it seem like anyone can do it, but it's not true, it takes skill, talent and awareness. Lumet made a masterpiece in 1957. The remake in 1997 is flat, you don't believe the characters. It crosses your mind that you're just watching 12 people sitting in a room talking.

We tell stories to each other verbally, or we read them in print. It's enough, when the story is great and handled well. That's why the original movie is so good. Henry Fonda grabs your attention and you're in awe of him standing up to 11 men who disagree with him.

With the Jack Lemmon version, he's not brave, he's just disagreeing with people, he's just unsure. It's just as valid,  but it's not as compelling. But Fonda is magnetic, he pulls you in and holds onto you for the entire film.

The first film does an incredible job of putting you in the room. You feel like you're in the jury. Each member of the group is distinct and different. Some are reasonable, some are apathetic, some are angry and hostile. Thing is, you relate to all of them! That's why Fonda's character is so powerful, because you know how hard it is for people's minds to get changed. You feel it yourself when you're certain about something.

The craziest thing about '12 Angry Men' is that we don't know the full case, only what we hear in the jurors room afterwards.  Our interest in the story isn't even based on the merits of the case, we don't even know them!

The 1957 version is genius, a masterclass in simplicity, story, and character. The 1997 version has everything in place, but it doesn't feel as natural. It's worth a watch, but the original is the masterpiece.

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The Perfect Time to be Perfect

You figure, when you get the house sorted, then you'll be ready. Or maybe after the winter, when the sun comes out and you can stand being outside more.

You feel like you just need to get that annoying script out of the way before you can focus on the one that's truly 'you'. You'll just act in one more zombie film before you really take the time to figure out what you really want to be involved in.

It always manages to be five miles further down the road.

It's a bizarre side effect of creativity --- you always feel like you're doing the thing you need to do, so that you can get to the thing you really want to do.

Even those people who are doing the really deep 'personal projects'. Most of the time they're dying to get them out of the way so they can finally go and do what they really want to do, which is probably a zombie comedy.

I've just completed a project that's been around my neck for half a year that I didn't want to be there in the first place. And another project, something I've put a huge amount of energy and commitment into, is now not going to happen. Although these may sound like negative things, in many ways it's freeing. I feel like now I have the chance to really focus and be me.

The failures are difficult, though. Because you have nothing to show anyone. You can't take them to 'The Museum of Near Misses and Full on Failures', all you have is a blank space where an accomplishment should be.

But then again, everyone has this. The path to success is tempered with rough terrain, full of obstacles and let downs. There are so many bad projects out there, so many terrible people to collaborate with. Can you expect to miss them all out? You can't.

Sometimes we fail because we're no good. Mostly, we're just with the wrong crowd. People are scared of committing to lovers, but throw a producer their way and they'll sign the worst of deals. I signed a bad deal in 2007. I wasted two years helping someone else make a terrible movie in 2008 and 2009. After that I tried getting something off the ground with a producer who could never really get to grips with who I was and what I was trying to do.

I only say all this because I feel like many of you will relate to it. Many of you have had hard work, failures and sleepless nights disappear into unaccounted for history. People just don't see the work you put in. You have to counsel yourself through the bad times, cause everyone else thinks you're cruising.

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Three Years In The Front Row

Three years and nearly 900 posts later. Crazy how time flies, don't you think? Thanks for sticking around. Looking back, I'm surprised by some of the things I've written. Surprised in terms of quality, some things I think are mini masterpieces! And, um--- some things are awful! I've interviewed some wonderful people in the industry and I've made some great friends here, some are bloggers, others are readers who've emailed me because something I wrote resonated with them. 

Sometimes I wonder, what is Kid In The Front Row? It's like a split personality for me --- things come up in my brain and I either use them on this site, or in my other work. Some things just hit me in a certain way, and I think 'YES, that is for the blog.' Why? I don't know. But I love this site. Sometimes I'm inspired, and the writing shows. Other times I'm in a slump, blog-wise, with nothing to say-- which I quietly hope you don't notice for a few months at a time. 

At it's best, Kid In The Front Row has not just been another blog where someone prattles on about themselves; it's actually had the feeling of a community, of a place where ideas are shared and creativity encouraged. 

Three years later and I haven't really figured out what this site is, or what I'm meant to be writing about, but I'm glad that so many of you have stuck by me here. I've won some awards, I've pissed some people off; it's been an adventure. The idea was to have a blog to share a few little film thoughts every now and then; but actually, it's become as important a part of my life as everything else. Not because of what I write, but because of how you guys respond. Thank you.

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WE BOUGHT A ZOO Film Review

There are people who want Cameron Crowe to do a sequel to 'Say Anything', because they want to see what Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) is up to twenty-something years later. But the thing is, you can see a little bit of him in Benjamin Mee. You can see a bit of Penny Lane and Jerry Maguire in him too. Of course, what you're really seeing in all of these characters, is Cameron Crowe himself.

Not everyone loves Crowe's movies, but that's life. The best you can do as an artist is be authentic. When you're truthful and real, there'll still be people that hate you; but there'll be people who absolutely and completely love you, too. 'Say Anything', 'Jerry Maguire' and 'Almost Famous' are among my favourite films of all time. To me, they're masterpieces.

What is it that I love about this guy's movies? It's simple: they make me feel alive. They remind me of the simple joys of life. You feel it when William Miller is contemplating going to Morrocco for a year, and you feel it when Jerry Maguire is shoplifting the pootie. And you feel it in 'We Bought A Zoo' when Benjamin (Matt Damon) and Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) are exchanging glances. In fact, there's a beautiful moment when Damon's character is simply telling Kelly to "go home", because she's been working too hard. The text of the scene isn't romantic, but the scene is positively ALIVE! Makes you want to run out into the streets and find someone adorable just so you can make a connection happen. Life is about the connections, it's about feeling those subtle flows and big booms in your heart, but we forget this; we go years without it. Cameron Crowe reminds us of who we are, and how we felt once.

There was a time when I thought Cameron Crowe was only capable of masterpieces. Turns out, it's not true -- he is human after all. The truth is, 'Elizabethtown' was uneven and strange and didn't always ring true. But then again, some bits of it were magical and transcendent. That's the thing about Crowe - he stays true to who he is. As he seques into family-comedy with 'We Bought A Zoo' you could be forgiven for thinking he's sold out, or been downgraded from auteur to studio-fluff-director. But that's not what this is.

So what IS IT?

It's a little piece of magic, is what it is. It currently sits at 7.3 on IMDB. And that's probably fair. It's not a masterpiece--- but what it does have, is a beating heart. Like I said before, his work makes you feel alive. The nuanced characters and the joyful little life moments--- NO-ONE does them like Crowe. Just seeing a clip of a Cameron Crowe character waving goodbye to someone can sometimes send me spiralling upwards into full joy that lasts for days. If you wonder what I mean by a Cameron Crowe character waving, watch the trailer from 0.38-0.43 -- it's those moments, they kill me, in the best possible way. I can't even explain it, it's just one element of the many many tiny little elements that make Cameron Crowe movies fantastic.

'We Bought A Zoo' is sweet, heartwarming and life-affirming. It's a family-comedy that doesn't try to be anything more or anything less than what it is. Cameron Crowe has a distinct artistic voice, and this film is a worthy addition to his body of work which has had a huge hand in shaping my artistic sensibilities as a writer and director. For Cameron Crowe, 'We Bought A Zoo' proves, It's all happening, still.

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN @ SXSW - The Keynote Address will BLOW YOUR MIND

Thank you, SXSW.

I'm blown away by this. How often do we get this much access to the greatest artists? Hardly ever. And wow, he's so human.

When I speak passionately about Springsteen, people often disregard it; they don't like his music. Fine, maybe his music isn't for you--- in fact, he talks about that exact thing. Shit, he talks about EVERYTHING in this address. Anything that you've ever thought or felt as a creative person, Bruce has it covered in this speech.

It's 52 minutes. That's long, I know. And after six or seven minutes you'll have stamina issues, you'll wonder if you can make it. But just do this one thing for me, please, watch it. 

You think these big rock stars are just guys who got lucky, who had a hit record once. But LISTEN TO HIM, he knows EVERYTHING, about EVERY genre of music. He digs it. He loves it. The passion drives him. There's no way this guy could have NOT succeeded. There's no-one like this.

I wish I had what he has. Truth is, sometimes films just piss me off and I wanna run away and give it all up. But then, how can any of us compare ourselves to someone like The Boss? 

His level of expertise, care and humanity is just mind-blowing. I've never seen anything like this speech. He knows music, the history of it, the evolution. This is what it takes if you really wanna make it. 

I think what he speaks about here has relevance for everyone who calls themselves an artist. 

"By the time I reached my twenties, I'd spent a thousand nights employing their lessons in local clubs and bars, honing my own skills."

-Bruce Springsteen

He ain't exaggerating. A thousand nights, that's what it takes. That's not rehearsals and practising at home. That's a thousand nights in front of an audience. The Beatles and Stones did that too. What's the equivalent for you with your art?

You can say you don't like Springsteen's music, but you can't deny his achievements and WHY they happened. The path to being an artist has rarely been explained with as much clarity as in this video. Watch it. Trust me, you'll be better for it.
 

 "Rumble young musicians rumble. 

Open your ears and open your hearts.

Don't take yourself too seriously.

And take yourself as seriously as death itself. 

Don't worry.

Worry your ass off.

Have iron-clad confidence.

But doubt, it keeps you awake and alert.

Believe you are the baddest ass in town.

And....

YOU SUCK!

It keeps you honest, it keeps you honest.

Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideas alive and well inside of your heart and head at all times.

If it doesn't drive you crazy,

It will make you strong.

And stay hard.

Stay hungry.

And stay alive.

And when you walk on stage tonight.

To bring the noise.

Treat it like it's all we have.

And then remember,

It's only rock 'n roll. 

I think I may go out and catch a little black death metal, thank you."

-Bruce Springsteen

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