GRETA GERWIG - A New Type Of Acting Career

Six years ago she was doing tiny mumblecore movies -- some of them were great, some of them sucked. But there she was, putting the work in, being part of one of the most interesting film movements of recent times. Some of them she co-wrote, one of them she even directed ('Nights and Weekends'). For those who aren't familiar with the term 'mumblecore' - they're essentially films that are shot with no money, in a very naturalistic way, that focus on character rather than explosions.

She was a revelation, because she was just so natural and real. Along with people like Mark Duplass and Kate Dollenmayer, they became some of my favourite actors.

It's important to look at their careers, because they did it in their OWN way. The mumblecore movies (as much as those involved dislike the term) answered to no-one, they followed their instincts and sensibilities. When you see 'Nights and Weekends' or 'The Puffy Chair', whatever you think of them, you can't knock their integrity.

That's why I'm so excited to see the trailer for 'Lola Versus'. Here is a studio-produced (partly) movie that has Gerwig as the lead. She's gone from these tiny personal movies to a Fox Searchlight produced flick, yet still retains that personal touch. The thing about Gerwig is that you believe her, she's one of us. That's not a feeling you get when you watch Mila Kunis or Megan Fox.




Greta got there on talent, hard work, and originality. And by originality I don't mean that she reinvented the wheel -- I just mean that she remained herself. The same thing goes for the Duplass brothers. The studio did their best to interfere with 'Cyrus', but eventually they clawed it back and made the personal movie they wanted to make. I just saw the trailer for 'Safety Not Guaranteed'. It's crazy. I'm in love with it! Not only is Mark Duplass in it, but him and his brother were producers on it.




There's a new way of making films, and we're all included. It's about independence and art. You don't need the studios. Yet if you do something GREAT, the studios will want in.

Kate Dollenmayer's performance in Andrew Bujalski's 'Funny Ha Ha' blew me away. But get this, she never acted again! That seemed crazy to me. And then you see that in 2009 she was involved in another Bujalski film, but as 'assistant camera'! Don't you just love that? There are no rules anymore, it's about collaboration. The important thing to take from mumblecore is that they are incredibly personal movies. Now those responsible for the movement are quietly moving up in the world by making films that are involved with (at least partially), the studios, yet they've remained themselves.

Greta Gerwig has something that most Hollywood actresses don't have. Her IMDB board is a bit shocking, because there are people attacking her looks and slamming her in a variety of ways. But they miss the point, she's ONE OF US! She's real. Have you seen 'Greenberg'? She'll blow you away in that. She feels like your ex-girlfriend, or your best friend from high school - she's real. Even in 'No Strings Attached' -- she's a breath of fresh air.

That's why it's a new type of acting career. She gets cast in the average studio fare like 'No Strings Attached', and she gets the lead in an Indiewood feature like 'Lola Versus', AND she's in the new Woody Allen film! And it's all on her terms. I don't know what you think of her. You might be inspired by this post to check out her work then you'll find her boring and lacking charisma, she's had that criticism before. But that's kind of my point, it's personal, she's personal. She's the friend that some people enjoy being around, some people fall in love with, and some people dislike. But that's infinitely more interesting than what we usually get. It's something real.

She's playing by her own rules. How many people in the industry can you say that about?

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MOVIE ENDINGS: Ooh La La / If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out

I don't love 'Harold and Maude' as much as the people who really love 'Harold and Maude' --of which there are many-- but I do love the ending. It's so subtle and beautiful and wonderful that it makes you want to scream YES YES YES YES THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!!!!

In fact, I just did that. Give me a moment to compose myself.

Yes.

I guess you need to know the whole film to truly feel the ending, but maybe not. There's something so sweet and quiet about it that it could resonate with you simply by watching the video. The whole bit with Cat Steven's "Trouble" beforehand is wonderful, masterful filmmaking. But for me, what really makes me SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM GOING YES YES YES THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!!!! -- is from 3.20 on the video.

It slowly tilts upwards. We see him. He's still alive.

We cut to a closer angle.

Then he starts playing.

And we hold on this one shot as he turns and walks away -- the beautiful chords of 'If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out', and then Cat Stevens fades in as Harold dances to the left of frame. YES YES YES THAT IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!

And then there's the ending of 'Rushmore'.

I love the idea that a world exists where a guy can make a hand gesture to a DJ, and by that alone he'll know to play 'OOH LA LA' by THE FACES! I mean, that's just not the world we live in is it. But that's why we have movies! We get to geek out and imagine life really is that COOL.


I don't know if it's the whole film or just the final scene that I love or maybe just the fact that 'Ooh La La' is one of my all time favourite songs. You know how some songs, you just feel like, YES, THAT IS ME! THAT SONG IS ME! 

Well that's how I am with 'Ooh La La'.

So any film that ends with slow motion dancing to the track is going to be one of my favourite films.

"I wish that  I knew what I know now, when I was younger."

Yes.

Isn't it sad that movies have to end? Sometimes you want them to last forever. They give us these wonderful characters for a couple of hours, we get to love them, and then they take them away!

Luckily, 'Ooh La La' and 'If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out' are regular visitors to my headphones, always with me.

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A Magic Moment in THAT THING YOU DO

This is one of my all time favourite film scenes. Sorry the video quality is so bad, I just found it on YouTube. You'll still feel the magic.

Creative people are mostly struggling, pissed off, and hugely self critical. But then, IT HAPPENS. The hard work pays off. YOUR SONG GETS ON THE RADIO! This scene captures the PURE JOY of the moment.

LOVE IT.

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The Dewey Bozella Story - MUST SEE!

You think you've had a hard time following your dreams? You think you've suffered for your art? You don't know shit!

Dewey Bozella spent 26 years in jail for murder. Not only that but, he was innocent! Did he get a fair trial? No! Was the evidence enough to convict him? No! Was there any evidence at all? NO! Just the words of another felon who framed him.

You gotta watch the video I put at the top of the page. This is what it is to suffer! To have your dreams taken away. There's no hope in prison. Not when you're sent down for life, for a crime you didn't commit. That's exactly what an all-white jury did in 1983.

After six years inside, an appeal court ruled that the initial trial's jury selection was fraught with racism: all African Americans were barred from being on the jury. Well if that's not racism, I don't know what is! What are we meant to take from that; that black people can't tell right from wrong when a black man takes the stand? If you buy that, then you support the idea that there should be no white people whenever a white person is on the stand!

What do you do when you're in prison for your LIFETIME for a crime you didn't commit? You give up, you lose hope! That is unless you find SOMETHING. Dewey Bozella found it: Boxing.

My brother is obsessed with boxing. With me, it's writing and creativity. That's where I learn about discipline, hope, expression. But my bro gets it from boxing. It was him who demanded I watch this film. That's the thing, sure, boxing is brutal. But so is life! Why do you think they make so many movies about the sport? It's because all of life is contained within it! Anything you wanna achieve, boxing shows you how.

Dewey faced all the blocks that people face in movies, the kind of blocks that seem so unrealistic and forced --- but here we see how real they are! Racism, burned evidence, lawyers offering unethical deals. Everything!

Bozella stayed strong. He wrote to The Innocence Project once a week. Remember when Andy did that in 'Shawshank Redemption'? It worked here too. It took four years, but eventually they took up his case. That's when they found that all the evidence had been destroyed. But together with a team of lawyers and the unwavering love of his wife, Trena, they didn't give up fighting. Meanwhile, Dewey's attitude in the ring was exactly the same. In the Sing Sing Correctional Facility he became the light heavyweight champion. He had the talent, the strength, the determination; what would his life have been if he'd not had everything stripped away from him?

How many people give up after someone tells them their script sucks? Or that their acting 'needs some work'? This documentary reminds us - don't let the roadblocks stop you.

In October 2009, he was released. A free man.

Wow. 26 years for a crime you didn't commit. Can you imagine? Being labelled a murderer for all that time? Being stuck inside four walls for all of your adult life?

Incredibly, Bozella had the mental toughness to forgive the courts and lawyers who'd sent him away for so long.

"The prosecution and the police, I'm gonna let it go -- cause I gotta get on with my life. If I worry about what they did, I'll never get where I gotta go."

That's coming from a guy who spent 26 years in jail. If that's not wisdom then I don't know what is. Forget your Marilyn Monroe quotes for a minute and listen to Dewey Bozella.

Physical freedom wasn't enough for him, he needed to see it in action. He had a dream to complete: to become a professional boxer. The problem is, you need to get a license first, and he was 52 years old. No-one over 50 had ever done it before. Give up? Quit? I think you know the answer.

But they turned him down. Said he was too slow in the sparring test, his reactions weren't quick enough. That's when he said the unthinkable, "It's over".

But his wife Trena Bozella would hear none of it. And that's what you need to succeed, a support system. Sure, his mental strength played a huge part, but his wife, his lawyers, the boxing trainers, they all factored in. You don't get nowhere on your own.

You want to see pain? You want to see someone who's seen how harsh life can be? Then make sure you get to the 29 minute mark on this documentary. The licensing committee have turned him down, his dreams crushed, AGAIN. An outside force, yet again --another jury-- telling him NO. Look at the pain, the anger, the passion, as he screams down the phone.

"It hurts, man, it hurts! You taken away my dream! You taken away the only thing I got left!"

THIS IS THE POINT WHERE EVERYONE GIVES UP. In fact, it's about 200 stages past where everyone gives up.

But of course no, he didn't. He didn't have quitting in him, and neither did Trena.

He went to Philadelphia to train with Bernard Hopkins, who'd also been in prison and went on to become a professional boxing champion. So Hopkins trained him. This is when Bozella REALLY learned what it was to be a boxer. And he only had ONE MONTH before he had to be back to re-try for his license.

"I thought I knew something about training. I found out -- please-- I was WAY OFF!"

That's another lesson for the amateurs. DON'T ASSUME YOU KNOW EVERYTHING! You know NOTHING! Keep training, keep learning, it takes so much more than you imagine. Bozella had been through EVERYTHING, and then, after all that, after 26 years of fighting the system - it was only now that he got the skill and nuance and fitness to really be what he was: a boxer.

He got his license. He had a professional fight. I don't want to give the whole story away, because this documentary deserves to be watched, and luckily the whole thing is on YouTube. You can see it at the top of this article.

Dewey Bozella shows us precisely what it takes to make it. And I'm pretty sure he's had it harder than you.

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Blockbuster Video

I went into a Blockbuster today. To be honest, I didn't know they still existed. This place was a relic!

But it was a nice feeling to casually glance at DVDs, get a feel for them based on the cover, and try to find greatness among the turd.

I think that's what we miss in the digital age. Half the fun was going to the store. It's the same with the record shop and in many ways it's the same with the cinema. It's nice to have a place to go. It's funny because yesterday I got that feeling when I was in a betting shop. I gambled on a few horses, chatted to a few people, and the staff even made me a cup of tea. Such a simple thing but you get a feeling of belonging.

But I'd rather it be the DVD store than the bookies. I also went into a cinema today, just because it was there to check out while I was waiting for a friend (if I'd known how late she would be I could possibly have gone to see The Hunger Games and all the sequels they haven't made yet). I loved the popcorn smell! The Odeon popcorn smell. Took me right back to the 90's!

Why do Blockbuster still exist? The business model is dead and last I heard I was told they were in tons of debt. I remember buying a bunch of DVDs from a Blockbuster in Brooklyn, NY, on their closing day, and the manager said the company would be dead in a year. That was four years ago.

Now they sell even more popcorn and chocolate bars, and phone accessories! Anything to stay alive. I guess the video game rentals are still pretty big.

Anyway, it was nice to walk around the video store. The experience is becoming increasingly rare. I miss it, because I think we actually need the rental places, they have a magic that can't be duplicated on Netflix. But it's gone now.

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