Like many students, I was assigned to read Tom Stoppard’s existential classic Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead during my junior year of high school. I’ve always hated reading plays – in my opinion the only people who should be reading a play are the actors and the scarf-wearing, latte-sipping, pretentious jerk that is directing it (I’m kidding, of course). The magic of a good play is in its performance, not its text. But something about the conceit of taking two minor characters from Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet and giving them their own story to tell really struck a chord with me, and I enjoyed it immensely. To a certain degree, Gus Van Sant’s 1991 film My Own Private Idaho follows the same path.

The Film: My Own Private Idaho

The Song: “The Old Main Drag”

The Artist: The Pogues

Countless adaptations of William Shakespeare’s stories have been turned into teenage dramas and committed to the screen. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) took The Taming of the Shrew and brought it to Seattle, featuring a ruggedly charming Heath Ledger as Petruchio and a young Julia Stiles as Katherine. “O” (filmed in 1999 but not released until 2001 due to similarities between events in the film and the Columbine massacre) was based on Othello but set at a private school in South Carolina, featuring Mekhi Phifer as Othello and a slightly older Julia Stiles as Desdemona. And Scotland, PA(2001) took the story of Macbeth and moved it to rural Pennsylvania, using James LeGros and Julia Stiles as Joe and Pat McBeth, and substituting a fast food restaurant called Duncan’s Café for Dunsinane Castle. (more…)

Even though I live in Los Angeles, I’ve never been an actor, a writer, a director, a writer-director, a grip, a cameraman, or worked in the film industry in any capacity whatsoever. However, when I was living in Johannesburg I did produce a play that I had written. I was pretty overwhelmed by the plethora of tasks it took to actually bring the play to the stage, and by the end of the process I had cast off ten pounds of muscle that had served me so well in Mozambique (more on that some other time), my director and I were barely speaking to each other, and I swore up and down that I never wanted to do anything like it ever again.

Making movies can be a stressful and traumatic process. In a town that lives by the motto “You’re only as good as your last film,” the reputations of everyone involved are in jeopardy each and every time a movie is made; millions upon millions of studio dollars are on the line. Some of the largest fish in the Hollywood pond have mastered the art of “failing up,” but for most others, to have your name attached to a catastrophe of a film can ruin your career and your financial future.

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Most people are familiar with the concept of the alpha male. Aggressive and dominating, he exists in our society as a result of our evolution as primates, when relatively small social groups were typically led by the healthiest specimen. However, alpha males are leaders by virtue of more than just physical superiority. They tend to be at least moderately intelligent, they socialize well, and they see themselves as providers — not just for themselves, but for their mates and the members of their social group. A true alpha is capable of being an excellent host, a persuasive salesman, a successful coach, a masterful storyteller, and a confident and charismatic leader.

The beta male, who is subservient to the alpha, tends to get far less attention; he is generally more relaxed and less achievement-oriented. The ideal beta is, above all else, loyal, and he makes an excellent soldier. Although there’s a substantial amount of understated competition between beta males to establish their position within a social hierarchy, and though many daydream about obtaining the top spot, few are prepared for the genuine demands and responsibilities that the position of alpha male requires. An alpha who isn’t up to the task, or a beta male who has somehow ascended to the alpha position, is appropriately referred to as a “failed alpha.”

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I don’t think Michael Mann is particularly interested in popular music.

It’s practically impossible to think of Phil Collins’ classic song “In the Air Tonight” without thinking of the iconic scene in the Miami Vice pilot when the song plays as Crockett and Tubbs are driving towards a fateful meeting with a narcotics kingpin. Throughout the series, popular music from artists like Peter Gabriel, Dire Straits, and Depeche Mode played an important role in the establishment of the show’s distinctive, pastel-driven style. And although Michael Mann helped create the show and served as its executive producer during the better part of its run from 1984 to 1989, it’s not apparent that he was intimately involved in the musical selection. When he remade Miami Vice as a film in 2006, Mann eschewed the opportunity to use period music and instead relied on more modern artists like Goldfrapp, Mogwai, and Moby.

The Film: Heat

The Song: “God Moving Over the Face of the Waters” (download)

The Artist: Moby

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As I expect every one of you knows, Heath Ledger died yesterday. I won’t speculate as to the details of his death (I’m sure the tabloids and gossip websites will have that covered) but I have no doubt that plenty of people are reeling from the loss. My original plan was to write about the following scene a few weeks down the road, but in the face of yesterday’s events, I thought it might be fitting to move it to the front of the queue.

The Film: Two Hands

The Song: “These Days”

The Artist: Powderfinger (more…)

Exit Music is a sister series to Motion Picture Soundtrack. Yeah, they’re both named after Radiohead songs. So what? You wanna fight about it? As long as you’re less than 5′2″, 120 lbs, and don’t know any martial arts, you’re on.

It’s often said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. It’s certainly true for films. In many movie reviews, the opening sequence is treated with a certain kind of reverence – it sets the tone for the remainder of your experience. It can succeed spectacularly, as in Boogie Nights, treating us to a sprawling masterpiece that introduces the characters and setting and kickstarts the plot all at once. It can hypnotize us, like in Apocalypse Now, where we see a vibrant green jungle lazily explode into fire. Or it can be a disaster, such as in Fox’s newly debuted Sarah Connor Chronicles, where guns appear out of thin air, the dream-sequence conceit is painfully obvious, and disinterested conversations fill a roomful of viewers after fewer than fifteen seconds have gone by. When presenting a product, a filmmaker needs to deliver a good first impression. Failure to do risks losing the respect of your audience before your story has even begun. But what about last impressions? If you make a sufficiently bad one, it may be the last impression you ever get to make.

In films, the song that is chosen to cover the final credits is often one of the most overlooked aspects of the soundtrack. For movies that succeed, it allows the viewer the chance to relax in their seats, pat their bellies in contentment, and gnaw on the bones of the feast they’ve just enjoyed. For movies that fail, it offers one last shot at redemption. (more…)