Terminator: Salvation

[private witt]

really? keeping it going? pushing 30 and still doing this? really? you're older than me? really? you're still here? i'm still here while you're still here? really?

You're right, in real life discussion about film is far more civil.  Maybe I come here for the bemusement of being barraged by insults from kids like you. 

[Stefen]

I'm younger than all of you.

[private witt]

I'm younger than all of you.

You're so precious.

[Stefen]

Fuck you.

[Fernando]

It's a sad month for this board - out goes Cron, in comes this garbage disposal.

hey we got polka back, month rebalanced.

we've got that other new kid wide angle who is stirring up actual discussions

haha. wide shot


EDIT.

Not every filmmaker has the Stanley Kubrick luxury where they can make films at their own accord. Some need to do smaller work in between their projects to keep an income coming in.

Funny you mention SK because he was a big fan of commercials, as some may remember from the ALiP doc., Sydney Pollack talks how SK loved nescafe commercials because they told stories in such a short time.
And this has to do with what??...maybe I'm just trying to validate filmmakers that do commercials or something

[polkablues]

The main problem is that it's creating a false dichotomy, this idea that movies directed by artists are for art's sake, and commercials directed by artists are for commerce's sake.  Every movie made by these directors in question was made with commercial interests also in mind, and every commercial directed by them was made with artistic interests also in mind.  You have to look at each piece of work on its merits, not based on some idealized fantasy of art and commerce being mutually exclusive of each other.

[Stefen]

Some commercials done by great filmmakers are pretty fucking awesome. I remember Spike Jonze and his Nike commercials. Those were dope. Chris Cunningham and that Levi's commercial he did a couple years ago. Not to mention Mental Wealth and that car commercial he did.

I think most filmmakers with integrity can find a way to make a commercial but still allow it to have artistic merit.

[polkablues]

Exactly.  I still think Wes Anderson's Amex commercial is the strongest piece of work he's ever done.

[private witt]

Some commercials done by great filmmakers are pretty fucking awesome. I remember Spike Jonze and his Nike commercials. Those were dope. Chris Cunningham and that Levi's commercial he did a couple years ago. Not to mention Mental Wealth and that car commercial he did.
I think most filmmakers with integrity can find a way to make a commercial but still allow it to have artistic merit.

It's not the creative merits of making a commercial that I have a problem with, it's the over-consumption of natural resources and the creation of image branding and materialism that these adspots brand into our culture.  We begin to value the shit we own more than the people in our lives.  Commercials aren't solely responsible for this trend, but they are at the forefront of mindfuck marketing.

[RegularKarate]

I see where he's coming from, but he's obviously new at having this sort of viewpoint

Oh tell me, inquisitor, how you came to deduce such a thing.

It's not an inquisition... and I clearly wrote how I came to that theory (which has since been dis proven) in the exact same post you're quoting.

[Stefen]

Naw, I get what you're saying. But that's just some people. Some people see a commercial and go, "Wow! I need a pair of those Nike's!" or "I gotta buy that Sedan"

I doubt Spike Jonze or Chris Cunningham are making a commercial with the thought of, "I'm gonna sell the shit out of this product!"

They're just making cool shit and getting a paycheck. Nobody is going to buy Nike's because of Spike Jonze. They would have bought the shoes regardless of who made the commercial.

I say make money. Get paid. If it means it stops them from selling out their integrity to the studio for the right price so they can survive after making Rush Hour 4, then so be it.

I'd rather see Spike Jonze make Adaptation and a Nike commercial than see him make Rush Hour 4 and no commercials.

As for Chris Cunningham, well, I'd just like to see him make anything, even if it was Rush Hour 4. That guys ambition is so shitty.

[private witt]

As for Chris Cunningham, well, I'd just like to see him make anything, even if it was Rush Hour 4. That guys ambition is so shitty.

I know!  The guy hasn't done shit in forever!

Yeah, people have to make money to live, understandishly.  Corporations like Nike though, who utilize labor practices that are illegal in this country, should be avoided.  If it's illegal to force people to work 16 hour days/7 days a week in this country then it should be illegal to buy goods made by a company that does just that in another.

[Pas]

Every movie made by these directors in question was made with commercial interests also in mind, and every commercial directed by them was made with artistic interests also in mind. 

That's a very interesting way to put it and I think it's also right to say that the director is not thinking about selling the product as much as doing a cool ad. But it doesn't change the fact that the motive of what he is doing is to sell something (i.e.: a really cool commercial will translate in sales, no matter the intentions of the director).

Now I personally have zero problem with that. But I see how someone who thinks Nike is immoral or that cars and cigarettes are bad, will see making ads for these companies as immoral and unworthy.




as far as the whole privatewitt debate goes, his posts aren't that long so they shouldn't waste too much time if you don't like them. I think in about 300-500 posts he shall be a worthy shit-stirrer. I'm glad he's here.

[private witt]

I really never meant for this side track to go this far.  I'm sure Terminator: Salvation will be totally kickass and the product placements will all be old rusted signage blowing in the wind.  Doesn't the trailer begin with a crane shot of an abandoned 7-11? 

[72teeth]

Doesn't the trailer begin with a crane shot of an abandoned 7-11? 

fuckin sellouts...