Here Comes That Old Post-Clerks Feeling Again...
This past Friday night, I motored down to the Paramount Theater in Idaho Falls to peep out the premiere of the movie Turn It Up. An independent flick made by a cat who grew up in the area, Turn It Up tells the story of six twenty-something dudes who come together to form a band and rock a local music festival. It's a funny, heartfelt, LOUD valentine to hair metal and being young, dumb and partying your ass off with your buddies.
The movie was pretty great, in spite of having a lot of flaws, the kind that come along with low-budget independent filmmaking. I would guess that a huge chunk of the money went into procuring the rights to use the songs that are in the film. That leaves less for actors and equipment, and it shows. Some of the performances are a little flat, the picture and sound quality vary, and the movie could have been cut together a little tighter.
Turn It Up rises above these flaws by being fun, packing a wallop of nostalgia, and being full of good dialogue and excellent music. But what was most notable for me was the feeling that crept over me as I watched the movie. It was a vaguely familiar mixture of emotions, but something I'd not felt since... since...
Since the day years ago when my buddy Erik sat me down in front of his TV, popped a tape into his VCR, and told me "You HAVE to watch this." What followed a black-and-white, day-in-the-life tale about a pair of young, bored ne're-do-wells passing the hours at their jobs doing anything but working. The film was very raw, even cheap-looking in places.
But the writing, especially the dialogue, was fantastic. It clearly delineated the differences between the movie's two main characters, Dante and Randall. There's very little action in the flick, but the characters and the crazy shit that came outta their mouths kept me invested.
At the time I saw Clerks, I was at a crossroads. Having just returned from a Mormon mission, I knew that my next step was college. I had no idea what I wanted to study. I had already been through two years of school, but I cycled through majors faster than Tony Stark cycles through Iron Man suits. Pre-med. Biology. Journalism. Ugh. I couldn't pick one and stick with it.
Erik was talking about going to film school and learning how to make movies. That sounded fun, but I didn't think it was something I could ever do. I had seen Star Wars and Die Hard and shit like that. If that was what a movie was, there was no way in hell I could make one myself. How the fuck was I supposed to make another Empire Strikes Back?!
Clerks changed that. It looked like something that I could pull off. It was mostly two dudes talking, for fuck sake! I could do that. Anyone could do. I did realize that movies like Clerks work because of fantastic dialogue but not that writing fantastic dialogue wasn't something just anyone could do. Hell, I've stolen liberally from Clerks director Kevin Smith, and even that hasn't gifted me with the ability to write like him. But back then, that never occurred to me.
Clerks seemed like something I could do. Find anyone who would help me. Have people sit around talking about Star Wars and comic books and cracking dirty jokes. Boom! There you have your movie.
I walked out of Erik's house filled with a strange mixture of feelings. I felt arrogant, because if Kevin Smith could make a movie, then I certainly could. I felt inspired because I could do something small and it would count as a movie. I didn't need to fill a movie with titties and explosions to have it count as a movie. Although that shit is pretty cool.
I also felt fear. Fear because Clerks had removed the excuses I had always used as a buffer to pursuing making films. Surely, if I didn't think I could make a movie, then I couldn't make a movie. But once I knew I could, there were no more excuses to avoid doing so. It was time to nut up or shut up.
That was the day I decided to go to film school.
I felt that same mixture of arrogance, inspiration, and fear walking out of Turn It Up. I can do something like that. I don't even have to do a movie on that level. I think I'd be happy if I could just do something short, just as long as it's something I really want to do.
Seeing Turn It Up also lit a fire in my belly about working on my dream writing project. It's a semi-memoir that covers similar territory as Turn It Up, albeit from a vastly different perspective. As a result, this blog is gonna become part of tracking my progress on several projects and there will be more post relating to my novel and screenwriting popping up. It's an opportunity to be held accountable, even if I'm the only one who reads said posts.
Changes are afoot. Keep your eyes and ears open. Or don't. I know you're busy...
The movie was pretty great, in spite of having a lot of flaws, the kind that come along with low-budget independent filmmaking. I would guess that a huge chunk of the money went into procuring the rights to use the songs that are in the film. That leaves less for actors and equipment, and it shows. Some of the performances are a little flat, the picture and sound quality vary, and the movie could have been cut together a little tighter.
Since the day years ago when my buddy Erik sat me down in front of his TV, popped a tape into his VCR, and told me "You HAVE to watch this." What followed a black-and-white, day-in-the-life tale about a pair of young, bored ne're-do-wells passing the hours at their jobs doing anything but working. The film was very raw, even cheap-looking in places.
But the writing, especially the dialogue, was fantastic. It clearly delineated the differences between the movie's two main characters, Dante and Randall. There's very little action in the flick, but the characters and the crazy shit that came outta their mouths kept me invested.
At the time I saw Clerks, I was at a crossroads. Having just returned from a Mormon mission, I knew that my next step was college. I had no idea what I wanted to study. I had already been through two years of school, but I cycled through majors faster than Tony Stark cycles through Iron Man suits. Pre-med. Biology. Journalism. Ugh. I couldn't pick one and stick with it.
Erik was talking about going to film school and learning how to make movies. That sounded fun, but I didn't think it was something I could ever do. I had seen Star Wars and Die Hard and shit like that. If that was what a movie was, there was no way in hell I could make one myself. How the fuck was I supposed to make another Empire Strikes Back?!
Clerks changed that. It looked like something that I could pull off. It was mostly two dudes talking, for fuck sake! I could do that. Anyone could do. I did realize that movies like Clerks work because of fantastic dialogue but not that writing fantastic dialogue wasn't something just anyone could do. Hell, I've stolen liberally from Clerks director Kevin Smith, and even that hasn't gifted me with the ability to write like him. But back then, that never occurred to me.
Clerks seemed like something I could do. Find anyone who would help me. Have people sit around talking about Star Wars and comic books and cracking dirty jokes. Boom! There you have your movie.
I walked out of Erik's house filled with a strange mixture of feelings. I felt arrogant, because if Kevin Smith could make a movie, then I certainly could. I felt inspired because I could do something small and it would count as a movie. I didn't need to fill a movie with titties and explosions to have it count as a movie. Although that shit is pretty cool.
I also felt fear. Fear because Clerks had removed the excuses I had always used as a buffer to pursuing making films. Surely, if I didn't think I could make a movie, then I couldn't make a movie. But once I knew I could, there were no more excuses to avoid doing so. It was time to nut up or shut up.
That was the day I decided to go to film school.
I felt that same mixture of arrogance, inspiration, and fear walking out of Turn It Up. I can do something like that. I don't even have to do a movie on that level. I think I'd be happy if I could just do something short, just as long as it's something I really want to do.
Seeing Turn It Up also lit a fire in my belly about working on my dream writing project. It's a semi-memoir that covers similar territory as Turn It Up, albeit from a vastly different perspective. As a result, this blog is gonna become part of tracking my progress on several projects and there will be more post relating to my novel and screenwriting popping up. It's an opportunity to be held accountable, even if I'm the only one who reads said posts.
Changes are afoot. Keep your eyes and ears open. Or don't. I know you're busy...
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