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Cinema School Log
December, 2003
Tuesday, December 2nd � Today, we finished off Cinema Three by watching Wag the Dog. I had forgotten how well made and clever it was. And also how much I disliked the overall tone, and especially the ending. Hoffman was extraordinary, though. No doubt about that. The discussion was very interesting, because it was almost completely apolitical. We spent nearly the entire time discussing whether or not the ending was set up through the script, and whether or not people liked it. At the last second, people tried to pull in our current president � strange, given how much it reflected our previous president, but no one wanted to talk about that, except for Stempel. More praise for him; he has been extremely evenhanded in his handling of political issues, even though he seems to have more liberal leanings himself. I look forward very much to next semester�s screenwriting class with him.
Wednesday, December 3rd � Now I�m done with Cinema Four, too. Today, we watched The War Room, a film about the guys behind Clinton�s successful presidential campaign: James Carville and George Stephalsd;fliy. A fascinating study. Very early on, the film looked like it was going to focus on Clinton. But then, Pennebaker took over, and the tone changed drastically. From then on, it focused on the men behind the scenes, and was far more interesting for that very reason. Carville is a fascinating character; very, very interesting: The Ragin� Cajun. Although I probably disagree with him on almost all political matters, there is something likeable about him. He seems to be genuine, unlike his associate. Steph is a jerk. And, he�s irritating. I don�t know how he got a job, or how he stayed successful. Ugh. The post-viewing discussions were a bit irritating, but exclusively because of the students. Stempel displayed more of his balance here. Thank goodness for that.
Thursday, December 4th � Finished off a whole mess of Project Threes. There were some really clever ones, but they all are big believers in the modern editing style. I got a nomination, and at least a few votes for Thief in the Night. But I think it�s unlikely to win. Not enough of a crowd pleaser. Also, I don�t think enough people saw it. There ware 3 times as many students in this class as there were in the class where I showed my short. Oh, well. There was a very clever one shown, called Twitch. I would bet big money that it will be shown at the end of the year. All in all, it was a very interesting mix. There were a bunch of pretty average shorts, some mildly offensive shorts, and a couple of extremely offensive ones.
Monday, December 8th � Cinema One test. Easy. Got it out of the way in about 15 minutes this time. Feel confident. Interesting class, overall. Not exactly sure how many of the details I will remember, but I definitely have a feel for the entire process now, and that�s an essential thing for a director.
Tuesday, December 9th � Today I dropped my family off at the airport. They�re heading out to Washington State for Christmas. Then I headed down for my Cinema Three exam. I was pretty nervous about this one, because there are a ton of films in the book that we never covered � or even touched on � in class. So, Stempel could certainly have composed an exam no one would have been able to pass�and he would have been within his rights. So, I was real nervous. Plus, I had a really bad flue, so I felt horrible the entire drive down, the entire exam, and the entire way back. But, aside from that, it was a very pleasant evening. Seriously, though, I nailed this one. Pretty sure. One of my best written exams.
Wednesday, December 10th � Final day of the semester. We�re supposed to write 4 essays (out of 10). Only film I didn�t see all semester was the one on General Idi Amin Dada. I missed that class because of Thanksgiving traffic. And, of course, 7 of the 10 questions dealt with that movie. Yikes. But I did OK, I think. It was a good semester overall. I�m looking forward to getting into the more technical stuff, but I�m glad we have to do the history courses first. Good stuff here, and Stempel is a fine teacher. Enjoyed every moment.