By Scott Shaw
I was kicking around in the late
night, last night, flipping channels, and I noticed that the film, Jackie Brown
was just beginning. I hadn’t watched the entire film in a number of years so I
sat back with a couple bottles of the grape and settled into the cinema. Good
movie.
As is the case with many a
Tarantino film, the 70s are heavily referenced. The 70s were a great era for
film and music. This was especially the case for independent cinema. There was
some really revolutionary stuff accomplished. Tarantino, who is just a years or
so younger than me, grew up in that same era and he often makes reference to
the 70s in his films. Me too… Of course, due to budgetary constraints,
certainly not on the level of his films. Jackie Brown is an ideal example.
And, that’s the thing; you do
what you do with what you have…
Certainly, I have my share of
fans of Zen Cinema. I also have my detractors, who always seem to be way more
vocal. But, like I often say, “Let’s see you do what I have done. Make a film
with the scope of my Zen Films for a budget of $300.00 (or less).” Because that
was/is my formalized budget. Sure, it can be done. I did it. But, do you have
what it takes to get it done?
As the years went on my focus in
cinema changed. For those of you who know me or know about me, about ten years
ago I stopped doing narrative films and shifted my focus to pure cinema. Cinema
for the sake of cinema. No dialogue; characters but characters in their natural
state. With visuals as the driving force.
Though many/most of the people
who discuss my films speak of those I did before this point in my cinematic
evolution, it is essential to note that they did not even start talking until I
stopped making—making narrative films. So, what does what they have to say, say
about anything?
This being said, it is essential
to note that there was not a big, fast, and/or immediate break in my filmmaking
style. I was doing non-narrative films long before that point in my cinematic
evolution. It was simply that they were not as widely viewed as my other
cinematic works.
All this being said, I am often
asked what would cause me to do another traditional film? …Well, at least
traditional in my sense of the word… :-)
I thought about this last night
as I was watching Jackie Brown. One of the things would be to be able to make
that 70s style film with actors from that era like Tarantino accomplished. But,
the sad fact is, they are all so old now, if they are even still alive. So many
of them are gone. Though the cinema of that era will live on forever. The
people who created the cinematic art of that era are rapidly waning. Thus, the
talent pool is forever diminishing and will soon be eternally lost.
I guess this is like life. There
are those who do what they do, done in an era. There are those who rise up in
that era and are forever defined by that era but then life is gone. We all get
old. We all die. There are forever those who will discuss what others have
done. But, they are not the doers. They are not the knowers. They are not the
livers. They are not the creators. They are simply the talkers. But, once it is
gone, it is gone. The life, the people, the era. So, all we can do is what we
can do. All we can do is make what we make defined by what we have available to
us in whatever era we live.
Copyright © 2019—All Rights
Reserved
Originally from the Scott Shaw Blog
