Follow @Distractedfilm Apologies for the delay in posting this list, but I have been deep in pre-production for Distracted. I am delighted, however, that good progress has been made, and we will move into production at the end of the month. Anyway, as usual, in no particular...
Read MoreReally delighted my new feature film was successful in securing auxiliary funding, which means production can now proceed. Further updates to follow. Meanwhile, the campaign officially ends tomorrow, check it out here....
Read MoreFollow @Distractedfilm In no particular order. Airplane! (Jim Abrahams & David Zucker, 1980) Nominated by @liznorton88. Seconds (John Frankenheimer, 1960) Suggested by @barker11818. 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963) @JHPCine suggested this one. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1979) Thanks to @SimonDale1965. Down Terrace (Ben Wheatley, 2009) Nominated by @chrdgriebe. North By Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) Thanks to...
Read MoreFollow Distracted The manifesto is made up of filmmakers whose work I admire (although the list is clearly not exhaustive), along with quotes that resonate, and articulate something that was previously only a vague feeling. It is intended as an aide; a quick hit of inspiration, to...
Read MoreGene Wilder-One of the truly great talents of our time. He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship. — Mel Brooks, August 29th, 2016 Gene Wilder marked all our childhoods with his unforgettable performance as Willy Wonka. He seemed...
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Telephones are an economical source of tension in cinema (who's calling?), and are intrinsically mysterious (who's calling?). Look at the faces of characters on the telephone and they usually wear a worried expression, for they are confronting the mystery or trying to avert a threat. Notable...
Read MoreFollow @DistractedFilm Timepieces in cinema, like offices, are prisons. Mental prisons rather than physical, the mental prison as a deadline. They bind and squeeze the protagonist's soul. They are reminders of his mortality, and they are a source of tension against which filmmakers measure the character's...
Read MoreFollow @Distractedfilm Offices. In cinema they tend to be private places where power is exercised on the unfortunate. Or, they're grim, formal prisons where the schmuck, the schnook, the schmo, is locked in spiritual chains, his individuality sublimated by the will of the mighty employer. In...
Read MoreFollow @distractedfilm Staircases. They're sort of netherworlds, transient spaces we move through in order to get from one world to another, connecting those worlds. They're spooky. People fall down them. People get thrown down them. They creak. Hitchcock loved them. Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions....
Read MoreFollow @Distractedfilm Pipes. They imply erudition, contemplation, concentration and quiet authority. They are a touch eccentric. It's no surprise then, that many of cinema's greatest filmmakers smoked them. The list is in no particular order, and thanks to everyone who made suggestions. [caption id="attachment_175660524" align="aligncenter" width="583"] Robert Bresson....
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