[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: animation vs. the real thing
Hi,
> No doubt. I never said [lighting design] wasn't an artistic endeavor. (Just
> making sure you noticed that.)
Well, the way phrased the question did leave open the interpretation that you
were dubious as to its artistic merit. One might have read a hint of scorn
into "positioning lights". Glad to know that would have been a mistake. :-)
> > >Sure, you can talk about Robin Williams in 'Aladdin'
> >
> >[Shudder.] Let's not. He ruined that movie for me.
>
> You can be so cool, Don. Though I did think R.W.'s performance was better
> than usual- thanks to the clever animation! How about Chris Tucker in the
> Fifth Element? [Shudder]
Well, I kind of liked Chris Tucker in The Fifth Element. For me the crucial
difference was not the character, but the context. Ruby Rod was completely
over the top, but he fit in the world the film was creating (which was itself
completely over the top). The sudden, out of nowhere, introduction of a
superficial "make love not war" theme at the end of that film made me gag a lot
more than Ruby Rod did. :-) Aladdin, the film, was creating this fantasy,
ancient, Arabian world, and then had the genie imitating Ed Sullivan and making
modern jokes. That is to me what ruined it. Williams could have been as zany
and funny as he wanted to be, but what he did only ruined the movie for me
because (a) it was out of character in so far as the genie could not have known
that stuff, and (b) (and more important), they were jokes aimed at the
audience, not at the other characters he was ostensibly talking to. The
characters on screen stood around baffled most of the time, bringing the story
to a screeching halt, with the one exception of Aladdin picking up on the
"itty-bitty living space" gag. At least, that's how I remember it, having only
seen it once back when it came out.
Well, I guess I've talked about him, now, anyway. :-)
I'm off to spend Easter with my Grandparents. See y'all later.
--
Don Smith Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment
donaldas at umich_edu http://xte.mit.edu/~dasmith/
"In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd" - Miguel de Unamuno
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/OtR/
Follow-Ups: