Spielberg: War of the Worlds part 3
As Act III of War of the Worlds begins, Ray Ferrier, who has just lost his son, seeks refuge from the giant mechanical beasts rampaging across the countryside. He heeds the call of Harlan Ogilvy, who lures him down into the basement of an abandoned house (either that, or it’s Harlan’s own house — I’m not sure). Ray only wants to hide, to get out of the way of the horrifying machines, but he will find out that Harlan has much bolder plans in mind — armed insurrection. (Why Ray should be surprised at Harlan’s plans is something of a mystery — Harlan calls Ray into his basement by holding a shotgun aloft in his clenched fist — a signal for armed insurrection if ever there was one.)
Spielberg: War of the Worlds part 2
At the end of Act I, Ray Ferrier sees his home — indeed, his town — destroyed by gigantic machines from another planet. In Act II, the longest of War‘s acts, he will take his kids on a road trip to find a safe haven. He will seek refuge in his ex-wife’s home (in the basement), then, when that home is also destroyed, he will flee toward her parents’ house in Boston. Before he reaches Boston, he will lose his son and be forced to take shelter in a third home, this one not his own (in another basement).
Spielberg: War of the Worlds part 1
WHAT DOES THE PROTAGONIST WANT? Ray Ferrier, like Frank Abagnale, has lost his home. Like Viktor Navorski, he has lost his home due to an unexpected war. Like John Anderton, he has a problem with losing his son.
Tweets for Today
- 09:29 Good instructions on how to setup LT on LJ mouser.livejournal.com/379686.html #
- 09:51 One issue should now be fixed, still monitoring and I’ll blog about it later (blog.loudtwitter.com/) #
Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter
UPDATE: Seriously, what the hell is this? I have no idea. There must have been a box that I checked somewhere a couple of months ago, I’ve never seen this before. Now if I could only find out how to either:
*use it
*un-check it
Any 21st-century people of the future out there?
Also: iChat — my new laptop seems to think it’s something everyone uses all the time. WTF?
Sam’s ideas for Jurassic Park IV
(Sam, 7, has been keen on Jurassic Park ever since he saw a fleeting image from it in a video store at age 3. He has now seen all three movies several times and owns the soundtrack, the themes of which he can be heard to sing incessantly around the house. His interest in Indiana Jones is more recent — he first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark less than a year ago –– but is no less strong. The first name in filmmaking he learned was George Lucas, but the second was Steven Spielberg, and it is Spielberg who has had the much greater impact, as we will see.)
SAM. Dad?
DAD. Yeah?
SAM. Is there going to be a Jurassic Park IV?
DAD. I don’t know. They’ve been planning one for a long time, but I don’t know if they’ll ever make it.
SAM. What do you think it will be about?
DAD. Well, I actually know something about that.
SAM. Really?
DAD. Yeah. I’ve heard — now mind you, this is only what I’ve heard — that in Jurassic Park IV, a the government breeds raptors to carry out commando raids.
SAM. Really?
DAD. That’s what I’ve heard.
SAM. Could they do that?
DAD. Um, sure, I guess. Velociraptors are pack hunters, they must be about as smart as dogs, you could probably train them if you started from birth.
SAM. What if — oh! — What if they train velociraptors to be commandos, and then send them back in time to fight the Nazis?
DAD. Well dude, that sounds like the greatest idea in the history of movies.
SAM. (really rolling now) And, how come there haven’t been any water dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movies?
DAD. I don’t know, they should really —
SAM. Because, it could be like, the opening of the movie, there could be the island, right, and there’s a T-Rex walking on the shore, and he’s hunting somebody, right? And he’s just about to strike and suddenly a Megalodon jumps out of the water and grabs the T-Rex off the beach and drags it into the water!
DAD. Wow!
SAM. A giant shark jumps out of the water, grabs the T-Rex, comes completely out of the water and then splashes back down into it! How many times do you think people have seen that in a movie?
DAD. Most people? Probably never.
(pause)
SAM. Do you think it’s too much to have the Megalodon and the Nazis in the same movie, or should we save one of them for Jurassic Park V?
Spielberg: The Terminal
WHAT DOES THE PROTAGONIST WANT? Viktor Navorski is on his way to New York for reasons that will not become known until the end of Act III. Due to a strange quirk of fate, finds himself stateless. His fictional country, Krakosia, has experienced a coup while his plane was in the air, his passport is now invalid, and the US does not recognize the new government. The "strange quirk of fate" aspect of the narrative is important, because it marks The Terminal as a comedy. (In Greek terms, a comedy is when the gods mess with your life, a tragedy is when you mess with your own life.) It also marks Viktor as a passive protagonist, a simple soul powerless against large antagonistic forces. Which is acceptable for a comedy — up to a point. Because Viktor’s key problem is a civil war half a world away, he has no choice but to wait in the airport terminal until the war is over. This is a comic situation, so the screenwriter must raise significant dramatic tension, out of nowhere, to keep the narrative balls in the air.
Sam at Thebes
Both Sam (7) and Kit (5) are in their “interested in Ancient Egypt” phase. Over dinner, I asked them if they knew about the Riddle of the Sphinx. They had not, so I explained.
DAD. Okay. So. I’m a Sphinx, and you want to get into the city of Thebes. If you answer my riddle correctly, you get to go in. If not, I eat you. Ready?
SAM. Sure.
DAD. Okay. This is the riddle: In the morning I go on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three. What am I?
SAM. You’re a sphinx!
Spielberg: Catch Me If You Can part 4
In Act I of Catch Me If You Can, Frank Abagnale sees his family destroyed by Authority. In Act II, he tries to get his family back again by subverting the very idea of Authority. In Act III, he tries to build a new family, and — sort of — "go straight"at the same time. Authority won’t let him get away with that, and we will find in Act IV that Frank has no choice but to capitulate to Authority — join it — and thus grow into a man.
Spielberg: Catch Me If You Can part 3
In Act I of Catch Me If You Can, Frank Abagnale’s family is destroyed by Authority. In Act II, Frank devises what he thinks is a workable solution to repair his family and strike back at Authority at the same time. Unfortunately, his efforts are rejected by his father, and his antagonist is now hot on his trail. In Act III, Frank will try to use his new-found abilities to join a new family, and take a step toward maturity at the same time.
Spielberg: Catch Me If You Can part 2
Act I of Catch Me If You Can tells the story of the dissolution of Frank Abagnale’s family. Act II will present to him a unique strategy for putting his family back together. Like many of my favorites acts of Spielberg’s work, it is what I call a "process" sequence: we simply observe the process by which a character sets about doing something dynamic and unusual — getting inside a securely protected government facility, setting up an enamelware factory in wartime Krakow with little money, figuring out how to decode and employ the Headpiece of the Staff of Ra. These are often the most exciting passages in Spielberg’s work, as the protagonist is learning to do something new and interesting. It’s as new to us as it is to the protagonist, and Spielberg never fails to get that across.