Gregg Araki

Started by Pastor Parsley, June 24, 2003, 05:41:35 PM

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Pastor Parsley

I just saw Nowhere, the only Gregg Araki film I've seen.  As the credits rolled all I could think of was 'If someone is willing to finance this film, I must be able to convince someone to finance mine."  It was a tremendous boost to my confidence.

I don't know anything about him, but he must have some serious connections in order to get the actors and money for this film.  Does anyone know how he managed to pull it off?

I'm trying really hard not to say what I think of Nowhere, the title says it all.

Ghostboy

He was a Sundance kid, from the same school as Tarantino. Nowhere was his fourth film, so he'd established some clout by that point. But I'm probably shouldn't say anything else about him until I've actually SEEN one of his movies (I've seen parts of The Doom Generation, but that's it).

modage

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Cecil

i love nowhere. and seem to be the only one here. doom was okay, it had its moments.

araki had allready garnered critical acclaim with "the living end" and "totally fucked up." even "doom generation" got a cult rep.

he has a new film in the works. might be good, might suck. but im looking forward to it. only thing known about it is the title "mysterious skin" maybe its based on this book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060926864/102-6223765-1951318?vi=glance

godardian

I really don't like Araki, but if anyone wants to revive the Queer Cinema item by moving this discussion there, that would be swell. Just a suggestion.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

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cowboykurtis

araki is worth nothing.
...your excuses are your own...

Rudie Obias

\"a pair of eyes staring at you, projected on a large screen is what cinema is truly about.\" -volker schlöndorff

chainsmoking insomniac

Quote from: GhostboyHe was a Sundance kid, from the same school as Tarantino. Nowhere was his fourth film, so he'd established some clout by that point. But I'm probably shouldn't say anything else about him until I've actually SEEN one of his movies (I've seen parts of The Doom Generation, but that's it).

Christ, he did The Doom Generation....*clasps his hands over his mouth as he stifles a dry heave.....*
"Ernest Hemingway once wrote: 'The world's a fine place, and worth fighting for.'  I agree with the second part."
    --Morgan Freeman, Se7en

"Have you ever fucking seen that...? Ever seen a mistake in nature?  Have you ever seen an animal make a mistake?"
 --Paul Schneider, All the Real Girls

MacGuffin

Quote from: Cecil B. Dementedhe has a new film in the works. might be good, might suck. but im looking forward to it. only thing known about it is the title "mysterious skin" maybe its based on this book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060926864/102-6223765-1951318?vi=glance

You are correct, Cecil:

Gordon-Levitt & Corbet Creep Into Mysterious Skin
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun) and teen newcomer Brady Corbet will star in the lead roles in Gregg Araki's indie drama "Mysterious Skin."

The project, which is shooting in Los Angeles, also stars Elisabeth Shue, Michelle Trachtenberg, Bill Sage, Jeff Licon and Chris Mulkey.

Based on the novel by Scott Heim, the project is the story of two boys who meet when they are 18 and discover a common past that has shaped both of them in different ways. The story takes place in New York City and Kansas.

Shue plays the mother of Gordon-Levitt's character, Trachtenberg portrays his best friend, Sage stars as a baseball coach, Licon plays a friend of both boys at different times, and Mulkey portrays the father of Corbet's character.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

analogzombie

The Doom Generation was the movie for me that said "Hey, you can do anything you want and someone will like it." I like TDG, and NoWhere. Splendor I hated. Maybe I like a couple of his films b/c it was an early exposure to the world of indie filmmaking, but I like them all the same. Heavily stylized and filled with cheesy imagery, perhaps it's a gimmick but I have copies of both those movies. i think it's just a love-it or hate-it thing. But damm Parker Posey was funny in TDG!
"I have love to give, I just don't know where to put it."

Stefen

I've only seen Nowhere. it was one of those movies that I liked. But always watched bits and parts of it at different times. I have a couple of his flicks in my netflix queqe I think.
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.

analogzombie

Nowhere seems to be a continuation of the themes established in The Doom Generation. I think this is why only these two Araki films appeal to me. The Living End, and Totally F**ked UP don't appeal to me at all. as for Splendor, it seems kind of a glossier Araki movie. perhaps an attempt to cross over out of obscurity, like Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy. At any rate it didn't work for me.
"I have love to give, I just don't know where to put it."

Rudie Obias

i hate hate hate hate hate gregg araki!!!!
\"a pair of eyes staring at you, projected on a large screen is what cinema is truly about.\" -volker schlöndorff

socketlevel

he's over rated (the director) but i do think an oscar should have gone to the guy who played logan on baywatch for his role in Nowhere.  that was a ballsy move on his part!  just think of it, he played himself in the film... then raped a girl mid way through the story.  career suicide for sure, but i'll give him cred none the less.  i just didn't see it coming.  he was counter to what anyone would expect from an actor playing him/herself in cinema.  usually actors are to cautious to endanger their image and it seems he took a huge leap with this role.  any thoughts?

being a film student, i always wanted to write a script in which famous actors play themselves and do really horrible things.  it would have a paramount subversive effect on the audience.  that would put an original spin on the subjectivity of reality within cinema.  Charlie kaufman would do a good job with it because it's the next leap from the "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" shtick.  for example, just imagine all the cameos in robert altman's "the player" painted horrible pictures of themselves.  i'd fucking love it!  that's what i'm waiting to see in a film!

-sl-

just remember if anyone rips me off, you read it here first.
the one last hit that spent you...

godardian

Quote from: socketlevelfor example, just imagine all the cameos in robert altman's "the player" painted horrible pictures of themselves.  

In a way, isn't that pretty much what did happen with a number of those cameos...? Or did I misinterpret?

Gregg Araki's films are cheap cinematic hucksterism; I find that they're roundly awful, very slick and glib and pointless, even on a purely aesthetic level (the only level you could begin to even think about tolerating them on, since the acting, writing, etc are abysmal). He's like a one-joke drunk guy at a party who also happens to be a grad student and therefore believes everything he says is of the utmost significance. Ugh. He should pay me to watch his movies!
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.