Let me tell you a little bit about film school, you basement-dwelling, Netflix-hawking, Tyler Durdens, out there; challenging your friends to movie trivia contests and answering their “What was that guy from?” inquiries with a sick sense of glee.
Get there. Get there as soon as possible. For the first time, you’ll be home. You’ll bask in the warm sensation of familiarity as you are finally with others like you and you’ll get a chill of thrilling adrenaline when the full workload is bestowed upon you.
Yes. It’s like pissing your pants. Except this time, the entire auditorium isn’t laughing at you. They’re looking on sympathetically, fists in the air: “Been there, dude. Power through. Power through.”
I must tell you, this isn’t going exactly how I imagined it. I really thought that by this time I would have received a response from you. But as I reflect upon it now, that’s completely ridiculous. You’re Mila Kunis! I’m some anonymous dude on the Internets. Ha! There’s so many crazies out there, it would be easy for you to just lump me in with them and never have to think about me again. So, I don’t blame you, really. Perhaps I should tell you a little bit more about myself, you know, to allay your reservations.
Hello. My name is…well, just call me RJ. Kind of like Ray J, but not really. You don’t know me, and actually, I don’t know you. I know of you. Or I know you as the dumb, yet lovable Jackie Burkhart on That ’70s Show; the sassy and sexy Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall; the dangerous femme fatale, Mona Sax, in Max Payne; the misunderstood angst-ridden Meg Griffin on Family Guy; and most recently, the, uh, Solara in The Book of Eli. I’m sorry, I can’t figure out how to describe your character in that movie. The character wasn’t written well. How would you describe her in no more than two words? Impossible, I tell you.
I should get to the point. Would you like to be my pen pal? I’ve never had a pen pal, and have always wanted one. You Continue reading…
Filmmakers see the world differently than most. It’s their gift.
Judging by his work, J.D. Amato’s world is colorful and tightly edited. It’s surreal and fanciful but based in reality. (Note: Even the cover to his mix-tape is bright!)
Give him a small space, limited characters (see: his twitter feed and his film titles & descriptions, e.g., Age of Evil), or mere seconds (see: above), and he’s able to produce something creative. Not too many other people can say the same thing, especially other barely 20-somethings. Look out, World! J.D. Amato is coming atcha, big time!
Because what J.D. provided can only be described as poetry, I’ll let the young artist speak for himself. With his permission, I’ve included his original notes describing his work and his life.
Needless to say, we prefer to hang out with the first type. We also suggest a change of weekend plans for anyone who falls into the second.
Which is to say, we almost peed in our pants when Martin Starr agreed to make a mix tape for us. (We definitely did a victory dance or two.)
You see, Bill Haverchuck may have sparked our initial respect for Martin but we’re also fans of Adventureland (available on iTunes as of yesterday! Awesome soundtrack as well!), Knocked Up, and Party Down. It’s almost like the weirder his characters get, the deeper our admiration grows.
In fact, we’re not sure any other actor could pull off some of the scenes from Party Down and still garner our empathy. (Insert: Any scene from “Sin Say Shun Awards After Party.”)
Right. So, once Martin agreed to make a mix tape for us, we promised ourselves that we’d refrain from sounding like brown-nosers or stalkers in his introduction. Obviously, we failed. Horribly.
On behalf of nonpretentious, we’ll simply point out that it’s not our fault that we respect him as an artist. Whether his talent comes from nature, nurture, or something else entirely, Martin Starr knows how to entertain. When we see his name on a project, we’re pretty certain it will be worth our while. We eagerly await all of his futureendeavors, including his writing debut and his art exhibit at the Met. (Hear that, Directors? Hear that, Distributors of American Storage? Hear that, Curators of the Met?) (Also, no spoilers for Good Dick, it’s at the top of our Netflix queue.)
We know Martin had a full schedule this summer. (What? Haven’t you heard of a telescope?) We’re grateful that he took the time to compile this playlist for us. We’re even more grateful that his playlist didn’t make us lose all respect for him.
Like any normal person, I dig through the TED archives when I can’t fall asleep at night.
(Readers, you heard it here first: when you don’t have a television in your bedroom, video apps are the next best thing.)
Which is how I stumbled upon this inspirational gem circa 5 or 6 in the morning…
Seriously, it was like this guy – Alain de Botton – knew me.
Not only did he address my own hatred of snobs – hence, the name of this site (“nonpretentious”) – he also understood my fear of that seemingly innocuous question, “What do you do for a living?”
Plus, it was like he knew my mother, my personal cheerleader and financier. (Yes, Ladies and Gentleman, revisingproust’s mother keeps this operation ticking.)
Listening to him, I felt like a girl with a creative vision, not a fraud or an unemployed lawyer. When I subtracted outside expectations from my definition of success, I felt rejuvenated. …Well, actually, I felt much more calm. And, tired. Really. Tired. (Remember, it was 6 o’clock in the morning.)
As an aspiring architect, Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) earns a living writing greeting cards. While it’s not a major theme of the movie, the character’s career anxiety is palpable as is his search for happiness. Was I suprised when the camera zoomed in to reveal that the book he was reading was “The Architecture of Happiness” by Alain de Botton? Not surprised. Just motivated to go read something by this guy.
As soon as I came home, I scanned Amazon to find a title that spoke to me. I’m not an architect so I thought I’d find something that matched my own pursuit of happiness.
Upon first glance, it’s hard not to compare Jenny Deller to Al Gore. (Although, let’s face it, Jenny Deller is much better looking.)
In Future Weather, Jenny’s first feature film, the main character finds the effects of global warming so terrifying that she sets out to try to stop it.
Moreover, like Vice President Gore, Jenny Deller’s efforts to bring awareness to environmental issues extend off-screen. The Future Weather team maintains a complementary blog documenting the filmmakers self-described “humble efforts to develop a sustainable independent film + news, interviews and commentary on all things green.” (As if working on a movie wasn’t enough work….)
Upon second glance, however, the similarities start to fade and Jenny shines through for what she is: a damn good storyteller.
* * *
When Jenny Deller tells me how Future Weather was born, she describes an imaginary postcard that relays a message like this:
“Dear 13-year-old daughter,” writes single mother. “I’ve longed to move to California to try my luck in show business. I’m sorry I had to abandon you but I need to follow my dreams. I left you some money in the cookie jar. I love you.”
While those aren’t Jenny’s exact words, it is a fair representation of the image that inspired her: A flimsy piece of cardstock that tells so little and changes so much.
After hearing this, all I can think about is the very first story I wrote in college. It too started with an image of a postcard, never sent, but tacked to a wall.
Feeling self-conscious that I only think about myself, I quickly replace that thought. I think about an essay I recently read by Michael Chabon who also tacked his inspiration to a wall. Not a postcard, his inspiration took a more literal shape. It was an incomplete map of his childhood neighborhood given to him by one of the developers.
Chabon reminds his readers of the power of maps, citing other literary examples – Heart of Darkness, for one.
He expresses gratitude for being given this map. In years to come, it would serve as inspiration to explore a modern day terra incognita – the unknown world of writing.
* * *
Beyond Laduree’s experiments to halt global warming, Future Weather depicts not one but three characters – Laduree, Laduree’s mom, and Laduree’s grandmother – trying to make sense of their environment.
It’s Jenny Deller’s talents as a storyteller, how she navigates through the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, that have the biggest impact on her audience.
It’s the final days of the competition. Take a few minutes and vote for Future Weather. If you already have, why not pass it on to a friend?
It was love at first sight when we first heard Jenny Deller, the writer/director of Future Weather, speak at an Ignite Philly event.
Out of all of the awesome (literally, all of them) Ignite Philly presentations, the Future Weather team – Jenny Deller and Kristin Fairweather – made this shy girl go up and introduce herself and beg for an interview.¹
Jenny and Kristin were there promoting Future Weather, the environmentally-friendly story of a young girl’s crusade to change the world. The two emoted enthusiasm, gratitude, and a contagious eco-chic vibe that made me want to take up composting. These two hardworking had something to celebrate. They had just received word (again, literally) that Future Weather was a finalist in Netflix’s Find Your Voice Competition.²
Now, you probably wouldn’t have guessed that someone (me!), completely inspired by Deller’s mission to make a coming-of-age film reminiscent of some of the best Young Adult fiction out there – Harriet the Spy, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – centered around environmental issues – post-Inconvenient Truth – would miss not one but TWO interviews with the creator.
It’s true.
How can I show Jenny Deller – and the world, for that matter – how excited I am for her film and how thankful I am that she gave me a third chance to pick her brain?
Well, I’ll write a few blogs, of course.
In the spirit of film-making, I present one girl’s story – er, another girl’s story – of realizing that a person’s actions or inactions have consequences, affect others, and can even impact “Future Weather.”
In three acts.
¹ Okay. Maybe I’m not shy. But I was starstruck so it took guts.
That’s right, friends, you can now purchase Cameron Frye’s home for a mere $11,425 per month. This four bedroom, four bath house is “cantilevered over [a] ravine” for all your Ferrari disposal needs. Designed by A. James Speyer and David Haid, this house is being sold as-is. If you are a little hesitant at the asking price, why not think it over, Cameron-style?
Unfortunately, the cars are not included, and no domineering father-figure either. The lucky purchaser might find a diamond or two, though. And you’ll have to furnish your own Seurat painting to stare at in existential regret. Other than that, what’s not to love?
We know Martin had a full schedule this summer. (What? Haven’t you heard of 
