My website and blog is more or less dedicated to my job as a comedian, but I am still a media producer and always will be. Recently I had the opportunity to work for a friend on a 10 man crew. The crew consisted of a group of diverse people with varied backgrounds and interests.
One crew member was a young 20-ish female who is attending Arizona State University. During a break, I overheard her say that there were two Planet of the Apes films. Not wanting her to look uninformed in the future, I corrected her. I told her that in fact there were 5 films in the original series, a short lived TV series, an animated series and of course the 2 films that were made during her short lifetime. She looked surprised. "Really?", she said. Yes, really. Like I would make that up?
Now I will be the first to admit that I don't know everything about film history, but those that know me will tell you that I have a very healthy respect for it. (I'm no Robert Osborne, but I do alright.) Growing up, I watched classic films with my parents and saw many films in theaters that later would go on to become classics. In college, my favorite class was Intro to Cinema. I was fortunate to have a knowledgeable teacher that introduced me to many more classic films. Even today, I enjoy discovering older films and independent films that I may have missed. For some time now, I get a sense that the next generation of filmmakers have a film history that starts with Star Wars and goes from there - not all of them, but some. Here's proof.
Recently, a director friend of mine in Hollywood (we'll call him Tim to protect his identity and assure him future work) called to complain about a couple of young 20 something Hollywood producers he had a meeting with at a major studio. He said he had to reference films in recent years or else the producers had no idea what he was talking about. A few weeks later, Tim was at a Hollywood party. One of his friends is married to a young (late 20s) TV actor. The TV actor approached Tim and said that he loved talking with "film guys" because they "get it" not like the "TV people". The young TV actor asked Tim what some of his favorite films were. Tim quickly replied, Amadeus. The TV actor was impressed, "Great film, I need to check it out." When Tim asked the young TV actor what his favorite film was, he replied, "Without a doubt, the best film ever...Ghostbusters." Ghostbusters!? Tim restrained himself from laughing, but could have stabbed him. Nothing against Ghostbusters, but the "best film ever"?
My point...ugh, hasn't it been made?
I don't expect the average person to care much about film history, movies are made to be enjoyed and provide us with an escape from our daily lives. But for those who choose to make it their careers, they should at least make an effort to understand and appreciate the great story tellers of the past. Even though a basic story will get repeated, it would seem that it's always a bit better the first time around...you know, before the CG tornado, robots and Nicolas Cage. For every Ashton Kutcher film based on a classic, you will find me falling to my knees in a theater, yelling at the screen like Charlton Heston..."Damn you! Damn you all to Hell!*
* I'm referring to the original 1968 version of Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston**
** Charlton Heston was an actor. He won an Oscar for Ben-Hur. If you attend ASU, you might recognize him as the old
dying chimp*** in the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes
*** "Chimp" is short for chimpanzee
Please feel free to leave a comment.
One crew member was a young 20-ish female who is attending Arizona State University. During a break, I overheard her say that there were two Planet of the Apes films. Not wanting her to look uninformed in the future, I corrected her. I told her that in fact there were 5 films in the original series, a short lived TV series, an animated series and of course the 2 films that were made during her short lifetime. She looked surprised. "Really?", she said. Yes, really. Like I would make that up?
Now I will be the first to admit that I don't know everything about film history, but those that know me will tell you that I have a very healthy respect for it. (I'm no Robert Osborne, but I do alright.) Growing up, I watched classic films with my parents and saw many films in theaters that later would go on to become classics. In college, my favorite class was Intro to Cinema. I was fortunate to have a knowledgeable teacher that introduced me to many more classic films. Even today, I enjoy discovering older films and independent films that I may have missed. For some time now, I get a sense that the next generation of filmmakers have a film history that starts with Star Wars and goes from there - not all of them, but some. Here's proof.
Recently, a director friend of mine in Hollywood (we'll call him Tim to protect his identity and assure him future work) called to complain about a couple of young 20 something Hollywood producers he had a meeting with at a major studio. He said he had to reference films in recent years or else the producers had no idea what he was talking about. A few weeks later, Tim was at a Hollywood party. One of his friends is married to a young (late 20s) TV actor. The TV actor approached Tim and said that he loved talking with "film guys" because they "get it" not like the "TV people". The young TV actor asked Tim what some of his favorite films were. Tim quickly replied, Amadeus. The TV actor was impressed, "Great film, I need to check it out." When Tim asked the young TV actor what his favorite film was, he replied, "Without a doubt, the best film ever...Ghostbusters." Ghostbusters!? Tim restrained himself from laughing, but could have stabbed him. Nothing against Ghostbusters, but the "best film ever"?
My point...ugh, hasn't it been made?
I don't expect the average person to care much about film history, movies are made to be enjoyed and provide us with an escape from our daily lives. But for those who choose to make it their careers, they should at least make an effort to understand and appreciate the great story tellers of the past. Even though a basic story will get repeated, it would seem that it's always a bit better the first time around...you know, before the CG tornado, robots and Nicolas Cage. For every Ashton Kutcher film based on a classic, you will find me falling to my knees in a theater, yelling at the screen like Charlton Heston..."Damn you! Damn you all to Hell!*
* I'm referring to the original 1968 version of Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston**
** Charlton Heston was an actor. He won an Oscar for Ben-Hur. If you attend ASU, you might recognize him as the old
dying chimp*** in the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes
*** "Chimp" is short for chimpanzee
Please feel free to leave a comment.
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