Screenplay: Jackie Brown Directors Notes
Jackie Brown is a blaxploitation based in the mid 90's. It is film that is about a middle aged stewardess who is caught running money across the border for a black market guns salesmen. She is then forced to give of her employer for her freedom, she knows that if she does this, she will also be signing her own death warrant. So with the help from local bail bondsman, Jackie Brown comes up with a plan to trick the police and the gun runner. The result of the trick is Jackie getting rich, the police solving the case and the gun salesman dead.
This film is based around corruption, drugs, guns and money. It is a dirty film that will carry a lasting impression on viewers and you will never look at a flight attendant the same way again. The main character “Jackie Brown” is a very stern woman who demands a lot and get gets what she wants in the long run, she is a two timer and will take advantage of you if she has too.
I would want the character's to work around “Jackie” and she will run the show as if it were her own. She would also be the smartest person in the film and would make fools out of all the other characters especially “Ordell” and his gang. The film would also be two sided, one side would display a sense of class and the other side would display a dirty reputation, then at the end of the film these two sides would converge to form the final conflict of Ordell getting his money back from Jackie.
Jackie Brown is a very attractive black woman in her mid forties, though she looks like she is in her mid thirties. I think that an aged Halle Berry would play the part very well because of her strong personality and very attractive looks. She is also a good actress and would need to play the role of a powerful black woman a not so powerful situation, which would be similar to Berry's style in the film Swordfish.
Ordell is a black business man who is not making his money in a honest way, he is actually a black market gun salesman. He is a very clean cut cut man with a good sense of style, he looks classy but his he has a very classless personality. When I think of this character it really reminds me of Denzel Washington's character in Training Day. So feel that Washington would be perfect for this role in the film.
I think that these two entertainers would work very well together on screen and would bring forth the energy and emotions needed to convey the message of this film. The film would be a direct representation of criminal life in southern california during the 1990's, so all the filming would take place on location. This would help create a very authentic feel.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Lolita
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
I feel guilty for saying I liked this book, but I really thought it was interesting in a sick and twisted way. I thought it had a very original plot that can really get a rise out of readers or “Humbert's Jury”. I felt dirty reading this book and it really made me think about Humberts lack of morals and how he thinks its okay to fall in love with his little nyphets.
At first I couldn't understand why a successful, wealthy and attractive young man would have such a odd obsession with nine to fourteen year old girls, but as I read on I discovered that Humbert doesnt think he has a problem and he finds it unfair that a man can sleep with a seventeen year old but not with a twelve year old. I also found it very disturbing that he married his wife because she had features that reminded him of a young girl.
“Although I told myself I was looking merely for a soothing presence, a glorified pot-au-feu, an animated merkin, what really attracted me to Valeria was the imitation she gave of a little girl. She gave it not because she had divined something about me; it was just her style—and I fell for it.” In this passage you get a good sense of his problem and how morally degrading this novel is. You aslo learn how professional he is at keeping his problem a secret.
I feel as if Humbert represents everything that is wrong, but you cant blame him because he is sick in the head and this really reminds me of the mentally ill child killer in Fritz Langs “M”. After sometime I begin to feel disturbed by the reading and its lack of moral fiber.
Another segment of the reading that got to me was in chapter nine, where Humbert describes Lolitas nymphet qualities and his plans to lure her in. At this point was when I began to grow angry with the character's sickness and I began to wonder if it was more like an obsession.
I feel guilty for saying I liked this book, but I really thought it was interesting in a sick and twisted way. I thought it had a very original plot that can really get a rise out of readers or “Humbert's Jury”. I felt dirty reading this book and it really made me think about Humberts lack of morals and how he thinks its okay to fall in love with his little nyphets.
At first I couldn't understand why a successful, wealthy and attractive young man would have such a odd obsession with nine to fourteen year old girls, but as I read on I discovered that Humbert doesnt think he has a problem and he finds it unfair that a man can sleep with a seventeen year old but not with a twelve year old. I also found it very disturbing that he married his wife because she had features that reminded him of a young girl.
“Although I told myself I was looking merely for a soothing presence, a glorified pot-au-feu, an animated merkin, what really attracted me to Valeria was the imitation she gave of a little girl. She gave it not because she had divined something about me; it was just her style—and I fell for it.” In this passage you get a good sense of his problem and how morally degrading this novel is. You aslo learn how professional he is at keeping his problem a secret.
I feel as if Humbert represents everything that is wrong, but you cant blame him because he is sick in the head and this really reminds me of the mentally ill child killer in Fritz Langs “M”. After sometime I begin to feel disturbed by the reading and its lack of moral fiber.
Another segment of the reading that got to me was in chapter nine, where Humbert describes Lolitas nymphet qualities and his plans to lure her in. At this point was when I began to grow angry with the character's sickness and I began to wonder if it was more like an obsession.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Pulp Fiction Novel
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
This book was the first novel written by flemming about James Bond and it paved the way for eleven other novels. I was really excited to read this book because I had seen the film a while ago and really liked it. I had seen the newer version of the film and thought it was one of my favorite bond films. So I was very surprised at how different the book was from the film, I feel that you get a lot more from the book. I also really enjoyed Flemings ability to describe a setting or situation so that the reader can get a detailed image in their head.
The plot is straight forward Cold War cloak and dagger and can be part of the spy mystery genre of pulp fiction because it is about a spy (James Bond) who encounters problems with foreign enemies and love relations. There is also a romantic aspect of the book and that involves Bonds love for beautiful women, more specifically Vesper Lynd. She is the character who is responsible for stealing bonds heart. In the book, James Bond is responsible for beating Lechiffre in baccarat and scandalize the Soviet-backed union. Fighting communism seemed to be a very common trend for the Genre during this time period and I feel that Casino Royale really nails it on the head.
I was really surprised how different the villains were in the book and how they replaced the soviet backed Lechiffre with the terrorist backed Lechiffre. I felt that this was such an important part of the book and I cant believe they changed the story for the 2006 screenplay.
I have not read many pulp novels so it is hard for me to compare this book to another but I really feel that it is a very successful book in this genre. I wish I could have read this book before I saw the movie because I would have been more surprised with the book.
This book was the first novel written by flemming about James Bond and it paved the way for eleven other novels. I was really excited to read this book because I had seen the film a while ago and really liked it. I had seen the newer version of the film and thought it was one of my favorite bond films. So I was very surprised at how different the book was from the film, I feel that you get a lot more from the book. I also really enjoyed Flemings ability to describe a setting or situation so that the reader can get a detailed image in their head.
The plot is straight forward Cold War cloak and dagger and can be part of the spy mystery genre of pulp fiction because it is about a spy (James Bond) who encounters problems with foreign enemies and love relations. There is also a romantic aspect of the book and that involves Bonds love for beautiful women, more specifically Vesper Lynd. She is the character who is responsible for stealing bonds heart. In the book, James Bond is responsible for beating Lechiffre in baccarat and scandalize the Soviet-backed union. Fighting communism seemed to be a very common trend for the Genre during this time period and I feel that Casino Royale really nails it on the head.
I was really surprised how different the villains were in the book and how they replaced the soviet backed Lechiffre with the terrorist backed Lechiffre. I felt that this was such an important part of the book and I cant believe they changed the story for the 2006 screenplay.
I have not read many pulp novels so it is hard for me to compare this book to another but I really feel that it is a very successful book in this genre. I wish I could have read this book before I saw the movie because I would have been more surprised with the book.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Dead Man
The film that i chose to write about is called "Dead Man" and was released in 1995. Its stars Johnny Depp, Lance Henriksen and Billy Bob Thornton. The story is about a man (Depp)on the run after committing a murder, while on the run the accountant encounters a strange Indian named "Nobody" who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
It is a very interesting and unique film mostly because it has such great visuals but is filmed all in black and white. It is an American western film directed by Jim Jarmusch. Some critics have described it as oe of the best postmodern western films ever created and is compared to post modern literature by Cormac McCarthy. The main character is a quit and gentle man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I feel that this differs from other traditional western films because the main character is usually a badass cowboy gunslinger who takes care of business.
The soundtrack of this film is also has a modern characteristic with a little western feel to it, which is Neil Young making ominous sounds on a guitar. I really appreciate this film because the visual quality is like a venture into the past with the black and white film, but the ideas and plot are like no other film ive ever seen. It is a very gritty film that will make you wonder what the "what the hell did I just watch?".
It is a very interesting and unique film mostly because it has such great visuals but is filmed all in black and white. It is an American western film directed by Jim Jarmusch. Some critics have described it as oe of the best postmodern western films ever created and is compared to post modern literature by Cormac McCarthy. The main character is a quit and gentle man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I feel that this differs from other traditional western films because the main character is usually a badass cowboy gunslinger who takes care of business.
The soundtrack of this film is also has a modern characteristic with a little western feel to it, which is Neil Young making ominous sounds on a guitar. I really appreciate this film because the visual quality is like a venture into the past with the black and white film, but the ideas and plot are like no other film ive ever seen. It is a very gritty film that will make you wonder what the "what the hell did I just watch?".
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