An Interview with Robert Elswit

Started by Derek, February 28, 2011, 05:58:18 PM

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Derek

An hour and twenty minute interview with Robert Elswit (joined by his wife) recorded nearly a year ago.


It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.


Stefen

Can someone give a PBP or something? I watched a couple minutes and it was boring as shit.

Someone get out there on the front line and get us the highlights.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Pubrick

it's pretty shit.

first of all it's moderated by a stoned australian.. i don't know who this guy is or how he got the gig but he is woefully unprepared. he seems to make up every question on the spot like he didn't know he was going to be interviewing people tonight. not only is he an idiot, but he thinks that his audience is even stupider than him.. he condescends the audience so much that the elswits end up doing it too later on, when for example Rob is asked to list his favourite DPs and ends up mumbling a few names and then not mentioning his real favourites because no one would know who they are and frankly he doesn't think the audience cares.

the first thirty minutes are spent going over basic information about what a DP does (down to the basics of what the letters stand for) and what a visual effects producer does, which is apparently who his wife is. then they open up the floor to questions...

- rob says there were more visual effects in mamma mia (which he says he LOVES) than in iron man, and they were all to do with making meryl streep look good. he says that this is the only way the sex and the city movies were made bearable.

- they talk about how to get into the film industry, one idiot asks them how a writer would do that, and they say the basic stuff we've all heard and nothing of interest is said for another 20mins.

- rob is really a smart guy but this is a truly stupid interview.. he makes the most he can of it and is never rude, but i think he's just got nothing better to do and that's why he can spend an hour and a half answering insipid questions and trying to both dumb down every answer AND try to give some sort of intelligent response with some useful information.. it's pretty much impossible. i also think he doesn't like his wife very much.

- there is an ongoing reference to a fucking fern/plant that is placed between the host and the guests.. rob thinks it's very distracting and gets derailed a few times to talk about it.. it's like a real life BETWEEN TWO FERNS except it's a single plant which is between 3 people. this is not as funny as it sounds.. it's just a waste of time like pretty much the whole interview is.

- he doesn't see his wife for months because they work different places all the time.  they talk about tony gilroy and how he was a bartender and a nobody until he was 35.  in summary "writing is alchemy" "write a script but don't send it to us"

- "what's your perspective on how the industry is structured.. independent vs blockbusters".. the wife says she was discouraged early on from working in movies and told to stick to her law practice.. so she was already rich anyway i guess.. she later discovers that it is money driven and there's no way around that. the best you get is a few good stories sometimes. the studios want money.. next question..

HAHA -- then she goes on to talk about how the studios also occasionally like to make oscar bait movies.. and to quote her.. "and that's why paul gets to make movies.. because honestly.. none of his movies ever made any money".. rob doesn't say anything to that, they look at each other as if yeah that's pretty much true.. the expense rob reckons is in the marketing.. not the production budget which is all anyone really hears about but the marketing is the hidden blow out cost.

- rob says everyone in the movie industry is jealous about the video games industry because of their business model and the huge money they make.. this is the downer part of the talk.. the first part was the stupid part this is just depressing.. no one knows what's happening in the business and that's just the way it is.

- rob says he works with people who are very old fashioned and one of them is PTA who he calls "a luddite" in that he "makes movies the way they've been done ever since they invented movies".. "he won't go into a digital suite, he won't scan a movie.. he has a computer.. he sort of knows how to use it but not really.. " his wife adds "email.. he doesn't do email.. " rob confirms "he doesn't even do email". so there you go, pta doesn't use email.. DO YOU STILL WANT TO BE HIM? you already became addicted to cancer to be like him why don't you throw your computer in the toilet now huh.. yeah just be yourself, jesus christ..

- new question.. do you choose the projects or do they choose you.. his wife says she takes whatever she can get and rob has flexibility.. depends if you've got something to pay for, rob says.. so if you've got a kid with braces you're gonna say yes to the next thing that's offered to you. he's lucky right now that he's highly sought after.. he compares himself to vilmos szigmond and that rob is having the success zig was having around the same age.. but that now the legend can't find a job... the business is based on being hot and not being hot... like i said the depressing part of the talk.

-- i skipped a few minutes here because i was bored.. the audience reaction shots I SWEAR are stock footage from some 1986 high school assembly with everyone's parents and everything.. it's so bizarre to see this group of non responsive people sitting there for so long listening to this cinematographer especially when he actually says anything of value or something even remotely clever.

WATCH THIS PART -- it should start at 48mins 30 seconds where rob is talking about working with george clooney.. there you will see a hilarious cut away to the audience who literally look like a bunch of 16 year old valley girls from the mid 90s and then later another bizarre cut away to a bored fat kid with his grandparents.. but the real reason to watch is the story he tells about PTA and his wife's reluctance to let him do boogie nights.. rob goes into a great analysis of what the film meant to him and why he didn't listen to his wife.. nothing groundbreaking like my primer to the gradual understanding of pta but he says some really awesome things which are probably the only bit worth watching in the whole 90 mins.

- rob says he wanted to do my best friends wedding but didn't get the job.. he wanted Doubt as well but that was a scheduling conflict.

- omg is this at a Christian college? the wife calls herself a christian scientist and her moral dilemma working on Outbreak. what the fuck is a christian scientist? i've spent way too long on this already i can't be fucked looking that up.. an hour is all i can afford to waste of my life per day.. that's all i will allow myself.

someone else can tell me if the rest of the crap is worth watching.. and next time someone posts a piece of shit clip of someone we love and it's this long, maybe we can assign chunks to each other so one of us does the first 20mins and someone else can do the last part or whatever.. or maybe whoever posts it can just summarise it for us, how bout that.
under the paving stones.

mogwai


polkablues

Quote from: Christian on March 01, 2011, 10:58:16 AM
Quote from: P on March 01, 2011, 07:47:02 AMwhat the fuck is a christian scientist?

Short for scientologist?

No, it's a whole different thing. The notable point about them is that they don't believe in the use of modern medicine. At all. The treatment is the same for a cold or for cancer: do nothing and hope for the best.
My house, my rules, my coffee

Stefen

p, you're the man for putting yourself out there like that. You deserve a medal.

haha at 48:45 is that old white woman DEAD? And the valley girls popping their gum = hilarious. What kind of college is that? It doesn't seem like a film/art college because most of the audience doesn't seem to give a shit. Oh god, I used to hate those types of assemblies/lectures where you didn't give a shit what the person giving the lecture was talking about. WHO CARES ABOUT BOTANY? The only ones I would like were the ones with the ex-cons, who, while talking about how bad drugs and the street life are, would actually end up making it sound kind of glamorous and awesome and every once in awhile you would hear a quiver in their voice and you would know they totally missed being a part of the game. Some of them would even have scars they would proudly show off.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

modage

He gives a good quote at like 1 hour and 16 min about Paul liking chaos and not trying to control everything.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pozer

Quote from: P on March 01, 2011, 07:47:02 AM
what the fuck is a christian scientist? i've spent way too long on this already i can't be fucked looking that up

ahaha . . . awesomely conducted post. interview omitted.

cept for 1:16 on as modge pointed out. awesomeness.  

P Heat

it's funny how i saw a good amount of this a month ago. stumbled across it in PTA's imdb message board or Roberts. I was thinking of posting it here but i just got registered  :yabbse-undecided:  :yabbse-grin:

who ever saw all of the video has strong patience lol
Quote from: Pubrick on September 11, 2012, 06:33:41 PM
anyway it was after i posted my first serious fanalysis. after the long post all he could say was that the main reason he wanted to see the master was cos of all the red heads.
:P

Pubrick

Quote from: P Heat on March 08, 2011, 02:09:28 AM
it's funny how i saw a good amount of this a month ago. stumbled across it in PTA's imdb message board or Roberts. I was thinking of posting it here but i just got registered  :yabbse-undecided:  :yabbse-grin:

who ever saw all of the video has strong patience lol

welcome to the xixax, introduce yourself. <-- go there and tell us what brought you here, and why you're username is so similar to mine.
under the paving stones.