DGA Event

One of my favorite events in LA each year in hosted by my ex-professor, Jeremy Kagan, where he meets with all the nominees for the DGA award each year and holds a panel discussion. This year was PTA, the Coen Brothers, Julian Schnabel, and Tony Gilroy. Sean Penn bailed at the last minute.

They cover so much material, it's impossible to give a synopsis. The only movie I hadn't see was Diving Bell and the Butterfly and so I found a good 75% of what Julian Schnabel talked about completely incomprehensible. I found the Coen Brothers and PTA oddly charming and accessible, given their respective tastes in movies and general vibe. Tony Gilroy was very humble and yet spoke quite intelligently about filmmaking and it was clear he worked hard and had a diligent process (and a lot of help) making Michael Clayton.

The more I think about the films this year - the more I realize how much I liked Michael Clayton and No Country. Both those films were really, really good. And say what you will about the state of filmmaking...I agree the average Hollywood movie isn't very good...in fact, it'd be nice if Michael Clayton were the average/above average film Hollywood made, rather than one of the best. But the world pumps out a good 20 to 30 movies each year...or at least movies, as Hitchcock said (and Kagan quoted) are worth the price of tickets, a dinner, and the babysitter.