Visual Effects is no Bare Necessary

Dearest Hilary, 

   I walked into The Jungle Book not expecting much. I did not mind Cinderella, Maleficent was just "ehh" in my eyes and I will not even go into Alice in Wonderland and I am a Tim Burton fan. I was not a Disney kid; I have always been a Looney Tunes kinda guy. I do not remember watching and loving many Disney movies til the 90s with the pinnacle of modern Disney; Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the crowning film, The Lion King. However, I did LOVE Disney live action movies; Bed Knobs and Broomsticks and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band rank pretty high on my favorite movie list. I walked out of The Jungle Book flabbergasted with what I saw, also, a craving to watch Tail Spin.

   Every hair on every animal moved. Leaves on the trees rustled as Shere Khan lunged at Mowgli. All of that crafted on a computer in some nondescript building by a talented behind the scenes person. I applaud them. I was transported deep in an Indian jungle, jumping from branch to branch with Mowgli as he raced his wolf siblings. I felt the urge to bow when the majestic elephants passed thru the forest. The darkness of the theatre and the detailed vistas really pulled me in. All this, in 2D. No need for 3D. I loath 3D. 3D movies make me nauseous. I did, however, make it thru, and enjoyed both Life of Pi and Gravity in 3D. Both ended up becoming Oscar winners. The Jungle Book has a HUGE chance of joining the ranks. It fills the two official rules the Academy uses for nomination: (a) consideration of the contribution the visual effects make to the overall production and (b) the artistry, skill and fidelity with which the visual illusions are achieved. 

  Since 2010, the Academy has nominated five movies for Best Visual Effects. Before than it was only three, and even before that, Best Visual Effects Oscars went to a single movie, without any nominating ever happening or no film was recognized at all. I am glad they added two more nominees; now if they would only do that for hair and make up, all categories would finally have five nominees. It makes for a neater ballot sheet. Looking at the past nominees, there seems to be always a comic book movie or two in the ranks, a outer space based movie, a subtle SFX film that might comes as a surprise (Ex Machina) and an animal filled movie. The Jungle Book fits right in. Usually these movies also get Sound Editing and Sound Mixing Oscar nominations, which I will not be surprised when/if The Jungle Book follows suit. Maybe an Cinematography nod? What is Emmanuel Lubezki doing this year? I am not thinking so much, but boy was it purdy.

   Let's not forget the Jon Favreau factor. Iron Man 1 and 2 both were nominated for a Best Visual Effects Oscar. Favreau does know how to tell a story with heart. I have yet to watch Chef (I know, I know, I will get to it, I just have not been in the mood to watch it, even tho it came out 2 years ago!) I think this is what will capture the nominating committee, or what ever they call themselves, attention. Grumpy, old, white, dudes? GOWD seems like an appropriate acronym! Favreau uses the jungle itself as a character. It has a mood, a heart beat, a feeling, all on screen. It comes alive with noise and color. When all the animals are gathered at the watering hole, I felt like I was at the National Zoo seeing all these fascinating, beautiful creatures up close and personal or at least I expected to hear Sir David Attenborough warble on about a mongoose and cobra dancing Kali's death tango. Luckily the passengers on the O line are not so fucking scary as King Louie is! This movie is not for kids under 10! I had to check my seat after that temple chase for any moist spots. (Laura, if you are reading this, I did that for you.) Also, Richard Parker is no match for Shere Khan. Which, is another thing to add to the heap of reasons that The Jungle Book will be nominated for an Oscar. Life of Pi = Animals = Oscar. Rinse and Repeat.

   Oh, I cannot forget to talk about voice overs for a second! Ever since watching Finding Nemo, I have thought the Academy should recognize voice acting. Another award to add onto the time of an already universally joked about long running time, you say? They have the ANNIE awards for that stuff, you mutter. I say let those talented folks behind the microphone stand out once and for all. Leaving voice actors and stunt actors out of the recognition of an Oscar is a slap to the face of the trade. I hope one of these years one or both of these groups, during their acceptance speech, will have the pleasure of being player off by the Oscar Orchestra. In The Jungle Book, ScarJo's enactment of Kaa was sweet and smooth, but full of power and danger. I wanted more of that scene or maybe it was just her voice what hypnotized me into wanting more. She lulled me into a sense of safety, just like she did with Mowgli!

   Now the red flower is in your hands, Hilary. Set a few things ablaze!

Cheers,

Stephen

   

  

Everybody will want some more.

Dearest Hilary,

Jake Everyman was as close to realistic as a movie could get. He was not a normal freshman tho; he did not have to wander around and find new friends, then ditch those friends 3 weeks later when he found his real group of friends. He came to college with an already built in group of friends with their own set of traditions and expectations of college life. Those jocks that were at the theatre parties knew they had an advantage. If any of the ladies declined their advances, the jockos knew they had any of the gay lads to use.

Rewind 3 days, then start off with McReynolds perspective. This could be EWS’s sister movie. I would sit thru a double feature of both movies. Once again this brings me back to living in a college town. I witness this transitional fight every year. The seasoned vets vs the squeaky clean newbies. The folks beginning their last year of school looking down the barrel of their final year; a  good percent do not know it, but are living the best years of their lives. That last year will be the last year they will shine in any setting, because after graduation, they fall into the world of mediocrity. They were the star pitcher of the league, the lead in the musical, the catcher who broke the school record for something sporty, or the costume designer who won an international collegiate competition dedicated to Edwardian spat design. After college they will never be better. Will they be leading happy lives, probably, but they know they will never peak again. By the end of EWS, McReynolds has begun his journey into the mediocre world of grey cubicles.

My future Oscar prediction for this cast: Nicholas Mario, who played the Mad Hatter; Will Brittain, who played Jake’s  underwear clad roommate, Beuter; and Zoey Deutch, who played Beverly. And yes, you are quite right about most of this cast getting stuck in YA hell.  I am glad we both agree that this cast is a great ensemble. An ensemble like this lends itself to multiple viewings, so you can pick up on new things each character does. This can be a good thing for EWS. People will want to see it multiple times. Even own it; keeping it fresh in people’s mind come January. While it does seem like a perfect end of summer movie, I think in August, EWS!! will be a perfect streaming movie to watch with new friends, passing around the bong in the dorm room. But will that translate to any Oscar buzz? We will have to wait and see.

Cheers,

Stephen

Will Hollywood's establishment Want Some more?

Dear Stephen,

I love that you brought up characters and journeys.  Jake is our everyman, and with that he is open to all of the experiences that this journey is taking him on.  Was it completely realistic?  Would real-life Jake have jumped into the Alice in Wonderland dating show skit?  I tend to believe that you are correct and that no one in his position, in reality, would have done such as thing, but there were definitely an occasional smattering of athletes at our theatre parties in college.  

As to the question of another character I’d like to follow, I’m choosing McReynolds (Tyler Hoechlin).  Beyond the obvious reason of wanting to see his perfect physique on screen more, McReynold’s story is about confronting the sands of the hourglass slowly falling on his baseball career and the most fun he’ll ever have.  When he completely loses his cool over a ping pong match, it is more about watching the next generation come in and just begin what were the best years of his life.  When the players discuss who has already been drafted they are acknowledging that even though they are one of the best teams around, this will be their best years of baseball.  Come May, McReynold’s will probably sign with a minor league team, but his years of being the top dog anywhere are over.  

The casting of EWS is exceptional, but I wonder if it will have the same positive impact that Dazed and Confused had on its performers’ careers.  DAC has three academy award winners (so far)!  And one of them, Renee Zellweger, was an extra!  But if we look at it differently, for Matthew McConaughey it created a type cast that took 20 years to overcome.  Looking at the cast’s imdb profiles, I fear that many of them could find themselves exiled to Y.A. movie adaptation limbo, which is looking like the worst place to be stuck in since McConaughey was stuck in Kate Hudson RomCom penitentiary.

Over at Thrillist, Matt Patches is compiling the best movies of the year as they are released, with Everybody Wants Some!! occupying the top spot for some time. I hope lists like this will keep a film such as EWS fresh in viewers/voters/Hollywood's minds.  

It’s curious to me that this movie was released so early in the year.  To me, it seems like a late July-early August fit, which I fear is slowly becoming an additional tent-pole slot after Guardians of the Galaxy dominated a few Augusts back.  EWS feels right at home with my favorite late summer sleeper releases Legally Blonde and The Way Way Back.  I might do a little research on how exactly this film got a early spring roll out.  

Just remember, cats don’t belong in fridges.

As always,

Hilary

I Wanted Some Twice

Dearest Hilary,

This film was very apropos for our first letter exchange outing. Watching Everybody Wants Some!! brought back a flood of college memories. Meeting all the freshman and transfers at the start of a year was always so thrilling and all the traditions that went with it. Living in the college town where you and I met, I still get to witness similar memories being made at the end of every August when the herds of college kids trample back to town. Linklater captures the beauty of budding friendships and the strength of tradition in EWS!! with fine dialogue, great casting and a sense of time.

Of course you are a huge fan of the Before trilogy! Where do you wanna be most days? In some European country! What I see in most of Linklater’s films is the “light on plot, big on story” It works for him. He likes to capture a moment in time and just seems to go with it; see where it goes. But what most people do not know know is that he is in rehearsals for weeks before he shoots a scene. His weeks of rehearsals shine in his films. With our backgrounds in theatre, we know how important rehearsing can be. From what I can tell, new moments that are discovered during a rehearsal period make for smoother storytelling in the editing process. The actors have time to really figure out how to embody their character; even change the dialogue to suit them, hence Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawk getting the nods for screenwriting. Richard Linklater seems to love to do a good ol’ fashion script dissection, even with the scripts he writes. Writing backgrounds and a list of goals for each character helps push his films to their final product.

Out of all the boys from the baseball team, I am glad we got to follow Jake’s trip. The only other one I would want to follow would be Plummer. I just ADORE Plummer. Can’t tell ya why, I just do. I am not sure the Plummer version of EWS!! would be as fun as Jake’s version. Jake wanted to take it all in, he was so at ease in any setting, from the honky-tonk to the punk show, he just melded into the surroundings and became one with the elements. What jock that you knew in college would jump in at the last minute to be in some odd ball theatre shenanigans at a party full of other theatre freaks with his jock friends watching? Jake is one of those rare teammates that can stand alone in his own actions and does not need the team to support him, even tho he wants/needs the team around. The male leads in Linklater’s movie tend to be, as you said “overly curious, confident, and eloquent, and somewhat intellectually arrogant.” and Jake embodies those features to a T. Which also makes him a stand out on the team. He is the pitcher, the center of the team, but he can easily go off and do his artsy fartsy things that he knows that if his teammates find out he will be made fun of for it. But does that stop him from pursuing a theatre chick? Nope.

EWS!! was not quite your typical college movie. Yes, there was plenty of drinking, drugs, sexy time jokes, general crudeness, and nostalgia (i feel all college based movies have a touch of nostalgia to them, they have to!) but there was there something so fresh about EWS!!. Maybe it was the fresh faced casting or that it was not just another rehash of a teen sex romp. It has story. It has life. I wanted to know more about each character. I have never been in the Dazed and Confused camp. I watched it, liked it, but there is no need to gush over how amazing it was. Dazed and Confused is a great snapshot of a time, just like EWS!!; I could not relate to the high school experience in Dazed, but I certainly related to EWS!!.

Oh, for sure this film is not for current 18-21 year olds. They can relate, sorta, but this film is for anyone 30 and over. How can 18-21 year olds fully relate when their lives are all on a screen that lives in their pockets? We barely had Google in college, let alone social media and smartphones. At both viewings of the film I went to there was a spattering of age groups. A few college age kids who were quiet most of the movie, while the older patrons were laughing and connecting with the heavy nostalgia.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is when the question  “What’s your major?” is asked. This question never gets old to me. The doors it opens, the connections it can make is something I still like to explore to this day, almost 15 years removed from being in college. Living in a college town keeps these kinds of questions and experiences fresh every year. Will Linklater do a movie about Grad students? I will be right there to see that one also!

This film is filled with traditions and superstitions. Sports and Theatre, no where else can you find institutions so filled with tradition, superstition and competition.  When Jake and Beverly, played by Zoey Deutch, are talking about how each person on the team was the best in their high school it reminded me of the theatre department. All those actors, singers and techies that thought they were the best at their high school, only to be thrown into a group of alphas. Just like a college sports team. It was this connection that they both could understand, something they bond over. This is why I actually think Jake and Beverly might actually make it as a couple.  

Will this movie be nominated for anything? Probably not. Maybe, just maybe, a screenwriting nom from the globes, as you mentioned in the comedy realm, which i think this movie is firmly in. What it should be nominated for, or at least considered for? Art direction, costumes, make-up/hair styling and original screenplay. All of the above were spot on in my book.

As you mentioned the music in EWS!! stands out. The first note i wrote was “MUSIC” What a fucking soundtrack! This is borderline Big Chill and Forrest Gump soundtrack quality. Each song was perfectly selected and moved the movie forward. Almost a generational defining soundtrack? Time will tell. Music also connected the characters. They knew the songs from home, and it made the bonding experience easier since they all knew the songs.

As with music supervision, the Academy needs to start to recognizing casting. Casting was key in this film.  Even tho we follow Jake throughout the film, this is an ensemble piece. The chemistry amongst the cast came through on screen. I am sure 15 years from now, whatever is left over of BuzzFeed will run a listicle about where are the stars from Everybody Wants Some!! Today.

One more thing. This film needed more jockstraps!

Cheers,

Stephen

Everybody Wants Some!! including me

Dear Stephen,

So we begin and with the strangely appropriate Everybody Wants Some!!.  You and I met freshman year of college, and although we weren’t white-straight males on a sports team, I think we can identify with some of the themes Linklater addresses and how this film fits into his body of work.  With it being springtime, and the very shallow pool of potential Oscar films among us, I thought we could discuss some of the concepts and the storytelling, which is also the category that this film, and other Linklater films, would be splashing around in.  

Linklater best films (and the ones he also writes) tend to live in two different universes, one being an anthropological deep-dive into a very specific Southern Texas (Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, and even Bernie) or a European city sometime between the past and current.  I’ll admit that I am a huge fan of the European world and more specifically Before Sunset, the second film where Jesse and Celine wander around Paris, rather than Dazed and Confused, the spiritual prequel to this film.  With that said I think EWS addresses some of the larger philosophical question of mortality, the passage of time, and the obsession with youth that many of his films look at.  

Our tour guide through this magical world of masculinity and beer-soaked South Eastern Texas is Jake(Blake Jenner), a freshman pitcher 3 days before the start of classes.  Jake, like the Before trilogy’s Jesse or Boyhood’s Mason, is overly curious, confident, and eloquent, and somewhat intellectually arrogant.  I mean the kid quotes Whitman in his love note and wrote his college essay on the connection between Baseball and Sisyphus. And like Jesse he seems to use this arrogance in his quest to conquer the fairer sex.  But that is the world of Linklater, where men compete in the simplistic hyper-macho game of knuckles as often and as aggressively as they try to out wit one another.  

The journey we travel on is not much different from similar youth driven films.  When the baseball team’s weekend escapades take us to the disco, country bar, punk show, and theatre party is it not like young Cher Horowitz pointing out the cliques in Clueless?  

The concept of nostalgia is so interesting to me in relation to this film.  On one level, it is set in a very specific time and place with the tight pants and mustaches to match.  One another, deeper level it appeals to our sense of nostalgia for being 18-21 years old.  The character of Willoughby has such a longing for this time in his life he travels from college to college masquerading as someone much younger, all in the name of not growing up.  Nostalgia also plays a role in the intended audience for the film.  I obviously can’t tell you if I would enjoy this more as an 18 year old than I do now, but it feels like a film that is intended for an audience that is older than its subjects.  If I think back to the films of our generation (both in setting and release date), Can’t Hardly Wait and Mean Girls come to mind, I don’t think I would have enjoyed or connected to the sophistication of Everybody Wants Some!! at 18 like I did to those movie at the time.   

It is a shame that the Academy does not recognize music supervision, which I thought was really fun and excellent.  I wonder if Linklater wrote specific song choices in the script.  Music was such a huge role in the lives of these characters from their expression of desires to a sense of identity.  It was in a way it was the only diversity presented in Jake’s small ecosystem.   

I think the biggest challenge of this film's promotion and award potential is how do you categorize it?  Like other Linklater films it’s not quite a comedy but definitely not a drama.  I imagine that come wintertime it will be submitted to the Hollywood Foreign Press as a comedy, which it seems like it would have a very good chance at a Golden Globe.  But looking at a more defined category, what films is it most like?  Is it a teen party romp? A study in modern masculinity? A retro baseball comedy (the best sport movies IMHO)?

So Stephen, I now pitch it to you.  Look out for the disguised scout painting a shed.  

Your Friend,

Hilary