Kris has kindly pointed out a few times in addition to being a very busy film critic up here in Canada, I also have a seven-book (keeps growing) deal with Greenwood/Praeger in the United States. The first, “Clint Eastwood: Evolution of a Filmmaker,” was released December 30, 2008.
I am currently working on “Spielberg: American Film Visionary,” due for release in December of 2009 and have signed to do “The Coppolas: Francis and Sofia” (release date to be announced). But I’m also working on something as we speak called “The New Millennium American Cinema, 2000-2009,” the first in a series of decade-specific titles from the publisher.
Given the title, it’s self-explanatory: the mainstream hits and misses, the critically acclaimed films, and those cult pictures (say, “Donnie Darko”) that found an audience despite of the odds against them in the last decade. The format of the volume will be a chapter devoted to each year with sub-chapters within devoted to each film, and an end discussion of the major new directors and actors to emerge in that particular year. In terms of size, we are looking at between 500-550 pages.
I was hoping to pick the brains of the good people that chime in on this site and see what they thought of this span of time in the cinema and the films they believe have made an impact, for better or worse, with critics or at the the box office (or both). In other words, which films do you think should be included in the book? I’d love to hear from you.
I have an initial list, but I’d like to compare it with my fellow celluloid junkies who have your finger on the pulse of the film world. Give me the titles and why they should be there. Again pay attention to the title, “The Millenium American Cinema” — so just U.S. titles. This is strictly a study of cinema from the United States and the impact of those films.
Have at it!
Comments
62 responses to “Some help with my new book”
Passion of the Christ has to be agknowledged. I agree that it’s an abysmal film, but it’s impact on popular culture was significant and immediate. It sat the tone for the rest of 2004.
I think Newmarket Films in the middle of the decade was one of the more interesting places for filmmaking. Within a 4 year period you had Whale Rider, Dogville, Passion Of The Christ, Assasination of a President, and The Woodsman.
Nobody was taking bigger risks than Newmarket.
I believe you can’t make this list without the Lords of the Rings trilogy, Eternal Sunshine and The Dark Knight and of course the most important Pixar entries (Nemo, Incredibles, WALL-E).
I also think Donnie Darko is pretty important for this list.
I second Mulholland Dr, Brick, Minority Report, Children of Men, Lost In Translation, and I’m Not There. Also, in terms of uniqueness and memorable impacts:
In America
Tropic Thunder
Clint Eastwood’s entire output this decade
Marie Antoinette
Irreversible (not sure if it’s american though)
Anchorman
Black Snake Moan
Batman Begins
Shortbus
I’m personally most excited about your Cappollas book…
I mean Coppolas :)
I know Tony Kaye is British, but if the film was
funded by an American company then does it
matter his (the director’s) nationality? Because
if not you’d be a fool not to include his
documentary Lake of Fire. That was one of the
greatest doc/films to come out in the last
decade. I know I’m repeating myself here, but I
just feel a need to expound. Both Lake of Fire
and the later works of David Cronenberg are
worthy of attention due in part to 1. Lake of
Fire’s social significance 2. Cronenberg’s
astoundingly unique vision and delivery of
familiar material/themes, and an unmatched
level of consistency of quality work for the last
decade. With that out of the way, I’ll be moving
on to more of my suggestions. Sorry if this has
already been mentioned a shitload, but Gus Van
Sant’s Elephant is another pretty important
picture, culturally speaking, and it deserves
some recognition. In my last post I had said to
include David Gordon Green’s George
Washington, and of course that cannot be
included as I’m sure you already know, but my
reason for mentioning it in the first place was
not because I think it’s Green’s best work (I
really enjoyed All the Reall Girls), I just wanted
to remind you of Green, because let’s face it he’s
a young guy still with enough imagination/talent
to draw the attention of one of America’s
greatest living filmakers, Terrence Malick.
Malick then produced Green’s underrated film
Undertow. Green is on his way up I believe, and
it would be smart to mention him in your book
before he’s reached the top. I think he’s
probably do a couple of more films like
Pineapple Express to gain some cashflow, but he
will return to his auteur roots soon enough to
make some real classics beyond anything
anyone thought he was capable of. Well ,at least
anyone other than Malick. Oh, what ev.
I’m glad at least one person mentioned Primer. I’ve never seen a movie with such complicated plots. I wish Shane Carruth would make another movie.
A
The consensus here seems to be that there is no consensus. Everyone seems to have their own personal favorites from the decade. So far we’ve had everything from Lord Of The Ring to Lake Of Fire.
Filmmaking really seems to have splintered in the late 90s and early 00s. The lasting impact may be the variety of different types of films that got made.
Almost Famous – Best movie about the best time in music and what had to have been one of the best times to live in America, or, at the very least, the most interesting time to live in America.
And really needless to say, while I don’t think I can quite call it an examination of all of these, the film certainly gives accurate portrayals of each: relationships (especially young ones and Penny Lane is one of the more interesting characters in cinema this decade), boy becoming a young man, boy following his dream, realizing your idols are human and sometimes aren’t all they are cracked up to be, and the print journalism profession as a whole.
And John, about the “Passion” deal, I guess I was looking at it from my point of view. If I were going to write a book on that topic, I would go into detail about a popular film only if I thought it had some artistic merit. Certainly worth a mention in one sentence or a list, but IMO, no more. Because if you think about it, the film was destined to be a smash at the box office, only because of the controversy, which there shouldn’t have been any of. It was supposed to be the most real and accurate depiction of a story told 2,000,000,000 times before, but if you read the Bible, it’s much more gruesome and dark than what Gibson showed. People acted like this was the only time a true, violent story was ever to be shown on film. And this is going to be my last sentence before I really piss some people off, but the thing that moved some people to tears is the only reason religion exists and has stayed alive all of these years: the human emotion of guilt. See what I’m getting at?
But, it’s your book, and you are certainly much more qualified in writing and film than I, so I’m sure whatever you choose will be a good read.
the Lord of the rings should be foregrounded, I’ve never seen anything remotely comparable to just how much LOTR energized interest in film for a HUGE swath of people. that interest has comparitively fallen off a cliff when I look at movie and nonmovie forums now, compared to the time after December of 2001 to the summer of 2004. LOTR made people mad for film.
I’d also like to say that the Harry Potter book series, not the film series, has had a big effect on the film industry in terms of causing kid-lit fantasy hits to be written and then just as swiftly and often disasterously adapted to the big screen. the exception/culmination of this trend being the virginal mormon vampires of Twilight.
overall I think we’ve sort of moved beyond Post-modernism at this point in american cinema, I think we’re into more of a neo-classical/modernist era where there are a wide swath of films being made. every one of the BP nominees of 2005 could have come out of the 1970s, for example, very modern, or look at 2002 or 2003, master and commander, seabiscuit, lord of the rings, pianist etc, films that were made in a very classical style compared to 2005. There’s a really wide variety of film being made right now, it’s a very heterogenous period, very open, animated films, comic book movies, gay movies, international movies, political movies are all sharing the stage this year lauded as the year’s best. which I think is excellent. :)
Well, I’ll try to throw in a couple of titles that you couldn’t do without, not only because most of them could only have been made after the 90’s but also because they are very much about America.
Brokeback Mountain
Half Nelson
Thank You for Smoking
Good Night, and Good Luck
A History of Violence
The New World
Hustle & Flow
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Before Sunset
Collateral
The Aviator
No Country for Old Men
Adaptation.
Donnie Darko
Mulholland Drive
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
There Will Be Blood
Inland Empire
Crash
Kill Bill 1 & 2