vincent gallo

Started by writedownhere, April 18, 2003, 05:24:03 AM

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Sleuth

I like to hug dogs

Stefen

In that case. I'd probably have sex with Woody Allen.
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.

NEON MERCURY

ooh, gimme some of dat k-smith.. :kiss:

Pubrick

everyone knew where kubrick lived.
under the paving stones.

meatwad

just found this..

Vincent Gallo will star in Abel Ferrara's eclectic Bible-themed drama MARY, playing two roles in the pic, one of them the star-director of a controversial film on the life of Christ. The project is centered on the character of a movie star who becomes obsessed with Mary Magdalene after playing the follower of Christ and former prostitute. Sarah Polley is in talks to play the female lead. Script is by Ferrara and Simone Lageoles (R XMAS). Principal photography is scheduled to start in October in Rome, before moving to Jerusalem and New York

i find it rather odd, since i remember gallo trashing abel ferrara all over the place after the made the funeral

Ghostboy

He trashed Chloe prior to The Brown Bunny, too. Anyway, this movie sounds awesome.

Pastor Parsley

I made a special trip out of the country and down to civilization to catch Brown Bunny.  I was sure I'd like it since it's always the films everyone hates that I end up enjoying.  I tend to like the films that people call "actionless" and I always appreciate any film that takes a risk in order to try something new, even if it fails miserably.

I really liked Brown Bunny, but did think it could have been a little tighter.  I had the impression that Gallo lost his perspective a bit.  It's easily done when you work on a long project and/or get really involved.  There were elements that didn't do their job as well as they were intended or were unnecessary because he clearly didn't understand his audience.  I think all the stuff was there but it needed a slight re-arrangement.  I think he didn't tease the audience enough to keep their interest.  He just assumed that they would be interested in his character enough to follow along.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the fact that he played virtually the same character as in Buff'66.

Ooops this should really be in the Now Showing Forum.

samsong

Quote from: Pastor Parsley...because he clearly didn't understand his audience.  I think all the stuff was there but it needed a slight re-arrangement.  I think he didn't tease the audience enough to keep their interest.  He just assumed that they would be interested in his character enough to follow along.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the fact that he played virtually the same character as in Buff'66.

Gallo doesn't play to the audience... this is self proclaimed and yea, it's the sort of comment you take with a grain of salt but after watching The Brown Bunny, that sentiment definitely isn't unfounded.  He made this film first and foremost for himself, and virtually by himself which I think is one of its most endearing qualities.  I found it to be one of the strongest examples of self expression and artistry incinema, emphasized by the fact that he essentially made the film himself.
 
And I don't mean to sound like a snob but to suggest that director's job is to "tease" his/her audience is grotesque and nauseating.  

About Gallo playing the same character... my favorite moments in Buffalo 66 (besides the musical numbers) were when Billy is by himself, tortured by his emotions and existance... the quiet moments where he suffers by himself.  What I love about The Brown Bunny is that it seems like Gallo took all those moments and made an entire film about them -- the silence of grief, the oppresive nature of sorrow -- and created this achingly beautiful poem about brokenness.  They do seem the same but the way they go about living with their burdens, which are very different (Bud suffers the pain of loss while Billy was never loved at all), is notable enough a difference that it's clear they aren't the same character, nor does Gallo play them the same way.  Similarities, yes, but NOT the same character... not even virtually.

Pastor Parsley

QuoteI thought the character was very different from Billy Brown. Not as volatile. Kinder. Gentler. More depressing.

Mood hardley makes for a different character.

QuoteGallo doesn't play to the audience... this is self proclaimed and yea, it's the sort of comment you take with a grain of salt but after watching The Brown Bunny, that sentiment definitely isn't unfounded. He made this film first and foremost for himself, and virtually by himself which I think is one of its most endearing qualities.

I can definitely respect that.  There are many different reasons one creates a work of art.  For some it's an expression, for some communication.  Any art, ideally, should be made primarily for yourself.

But on the other end, I think that it's always good to communicate that expression to someone.  That's where the magic happens.  And for that you need to recognize your audience.

Also, with film being such and expensive medium,  unless you are throwing down your own cash, it's just respectful to your backer that you at least make a film that he/she can get their money back on unless you've made other arrangements.  If anything, it's nice to be able to make another film, which will be very difficult for Mr. Gallo.  He's proclaimed he won't make another film, well.....I'm not sure he really has a choice.

I'm not bagging on Vincent, I've always loved his work.  I'd rather someone tries something new and fails miserably than being careful and doing the same old 'safe' thing.  I respect him for that.  I'm so tired of the same old thing over and over again.  But there are certain realities that must be taken into account as well.  Stories have been told using a certain structure for, well, forever.  There's a reason for that, our brains prefer to assemble information in a certain way.  If you're going to ignore that, that's fine, but you shouldn't be surprised with the results.

samsong

Quote from: Pastor ParsleyI can definitely respect that.  There are many different reasons one creates a work of art.  For some it's an expression, for some communication.  Any art, ideally, should be made primarily for yourself.

But on the other end, I think that it's always good to communicate that expression to someone.  That's where the magic happens.  And for that you need to recognize your audience.

Also, with film being such and expensive medium,  unless you are throwing down your own cash, it's just respectful to your backer that you at least make a film that he/she can get their money back on unless you've made other arrangements.  If anything, it's nice to be able to make another film, which will be very difficult for Mr. Gallo.  He's proclaimed he won't make another film, well.....I'm not sure he really has a choice.

I'm not bagging on Vincent, I've always loved his work.  I'd rather someone tries something new and fails miserably than being careful and doing the same old 'safe' thing.  I respect him for that.  I'm so tired of the same old thing over and over again.  But there are certain realities that must be taken into account as well.  Stories have been told using a certain structure for, well, forever.  There's a reason for that, our brains prefer to assemble information in a certain way.  If you're going to ignore that, that's fine, but you shouldn't be surprised with the results.

Gallo did make arrangements with his producers... his financers were Japanese and before going into production he created an elaborate contract which gave him an absurd amount of freedom.  One of the stipulations was that whatever he made, it had to be shown in at least three major cities around the world including Los Angeles for a week, regardless of the quality of the work.

While it's definitely important as an artist to communicate whatever it is one wants to say/express to an audience, just because you deny them easy access or even any consideration doesn't completely alienate think.  I think the enthusiasm shared for this film by a few of us on this board is a testament to that, as is your response, that you had some problems with it, but liked it.  That's fine, to each his own.  I'm sure just as many, if not more people hate it then there are people who like it, but who said art had to be universally accepted?  There are rules to the game when it comes to the business aspect of making films but films like The Brown Bunny and last year's Elephant break them, and are amazingly refreshing and contribute to cinema as an art, especially because they don't offer the easy answers and escapist entertainment most films today do, which isn't necessarily a bad thing either.  Gallo might not be a good businessman but he's an exceptional filmmaker.  I think as long as films like The Brown Bunny are made and filmmakers like Gallo are given a chance, there's a nice tipping of the scale that balances things out... sort of.  I personally would like to see more films of the "artsy" persuasion.  :-D

Bethie

I'd like to dedicate this next song to someone who couldn't be here tonight, but he's a great great filmmaker... an amazing man. Proud to call him a friend. he's from Buffalo. His name's Vincent Gallo.

this one's for him..... *goes into the song*


Words said by Eddie Vedder at the Pearl Jam concert I attended in Buffalo back in May of 2003.


The song was "Given To Fly"





ps- I saw Buffalo '66.

ps no 2- That post (scroll up a few) by Roman Cibeles is one of my most favourite posts ever here on xixax.
who likes movies anyway

meatball

Gallo Quotes from interviews

Quote from: The Gold TrumpetI've never understood the love affair with Buffalo 66. Mind you, I didn't grow up with the film and only watched it after the big hype and found it to be influences of Godard in ways not really that spetacular when you can watch Godard movies yourself.

"You've been hanging out too much with Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Jonze and Harmony Korine becuase you have this idea in your mind that everybody who makes a movie is some sort of film fan trying to rehash films they glorified."

"The idea of being inspired by another filmmaker is absurd to me... you have me confused with so many of my contemporaries... Let me assure you, though, it is not my memory of other films that controls my point of view in any way. I have my own idea about shape, color and sound of the world I wish I lived in... The visual style of my films comes form and relates directly to the concept of the film. For the record, I am not an artist or a film historian."

"Like, there are about 20 famous trucking companies in America, and one of them is a company called Werner, and so somebody wrote: 'There's a truck in the movie that says 'Werner' - clearly an obvious reference to Werner Herzog.' Give me a fucking break!"


Quote from: cinephiléThe scathing reviews have made me vow never to see this film. I don't want to waste 90-120 minutes of my life watching something that I KNOW I'll feel is a piece of shit afterward. I have other things I can be doing, like watching paint dry.

"I am not an artist... I don't feel entitled to make people go through the most subtle, extreme interpretations of my work -- it's for a broader group of people... I am not a film-festival filmmaker and I don't relate to other filmmakers and I don't relate to cinema and certainly don't like the nature of a film festival, the pretension of a film festival -- I am not a filmmaker and I am making what I think is an entertaining movie."


Quote from: billybrown
Quote from: Cinephile
Quote from: SoNowThen"All in all, Gallo put more effort into this production package than the whiny Wes Anderson, the sputtering Spike Jonze, the un-darling Darren Aronofsky have put into their whole lives."
Not for nothing, but that's hilarious...
And also funny, because he just named three superior filmmakers in one sentence. I hope he noticed...

Superior how and according to who?

As SoNowThen said, Buffalo 66 towers over pretty much anything those guys have done, he just doesn't have that pseudo-art house, wanna-be hipsters scene singing his praises because he is so outspoken and doesn't cater to special interest groups and make himself a media darling. I read somewhere that at Cannes, Sean Penn made the comment that had The Brown Bunny listed Chloe Sevigny as the director, it would've been hailed as a masterpiece, but with Gallo's name attached, many people went out of their way to unjustly rip the film (some having not even seen it - memo to Cinephile) because he comes off so unlikebale to all these tite-assed, PC types.

IMHO, Vincent Gallo is an exceptionally talented artist, and even if just Buffalo 66 were his cinematic legacy, it' better than 95% of the shit out there that is hailed as "brilliant", "visionary", and "groundbreaking."

"...But I don't pretend to be an artist; I don't imagine myself in film history... But I sense in all those filmmakers - Paul Anderson, Darren, Harmony - that they're very consientious of who they are in film history, who their audience is, and how they're perceived personally as filmmakers. It doesn't seem spontaneous. That's where it becomes a little boring for me. Good art is much more interesting than the people who make it. It's much more interesting than them personally, it's much more interesting than their own understanding of it. I would hope that all the work that I do in my life is fifty times more interesting than me and my petty, little, small-minded reasons for making it."

cine

Uh, thanks meatball but those quotes I made were based on the neverending scathing reviews of his UNEDITED version - you know, the one he rushed to Cannes. Since then, he's edited it to how he wanted it in the first place and that's the film I want to see. So yeah, kinda pointless using Gallo interview snippets in this case to argue what I said when he probably would've agreed with me anyway.


p.s. just so you know, you're not really vincent gallo.

ono

I think the better questions are, why do you feel the need to defend this and bump the thread up two months later, especially if you haven't seen the movie, and if you have, why are you posting here, and not in the Brown Bunny thread?

(The Brown Bunny is worth seeing, by the way, but it's not for those who are bored easily.  If you hate Gerry avoid this like the plague.  If you have an open mind, it can be beautiful.)

meatball

I posted  here and not in the brown bunny thread because these quotes weren't specifically brown bunny quotes. I thought they were very interesting and I matched them to things said earlier in this thread because it felt right and made sense.

p.s. i'm meatball and don't pretend to be anything else.