Influences (Part 1)

When I talk about being a filmmaker or director with people (and other filmmakers especially) the subject of cinematic influences inevitably comes up.

One of my main artistic concerns is mentally making the distinction between influences and inspirations.

For example, while I love David Lynch with all the energy my little film nerd heart can muster...his style and film aesthetic is so specific that borrowing from him or creating scenes with a strong Lynch influence comes across as pretty transparent and to me a "Lynchian" film that isn't directed by Lynch himself is sort of a waste of time. So Lynch falls into the inspiration camp. Granted, he is the leader and defacto dictator of that camp but I just can't bring myself to put strobe lights or midgets into my films simply because I love him so much.

Jean-Luc Godard on the other hand is a filmmaker whose work and influence I find seeping into my films almost subconsciously. I hope I have enough objectivity to stand back and not let his ideas or techniques dominate my own style but from the moment I watched "Breathless" I have been bound and determined to create my own film with such a playful spirit, that's not a slave to the plot but instead breathes and plays with the idea of being a film itself. This film and Godard's work in general in some ways is the biggest influence on "Ugly (Is a Movie)". The way he creates different types of scenes that do something new and different cinematically but can still shed some light on basic human interactions is what I strive to do in my own way.

Take a look at this scene from his film "A Woman Is a Woman":



He is taking a very simple domestic scene and transforming it into one of the most memorable scenes of his career. The simplicity of having the couple carry out an argument via book titles! It's one of those "why didn't I think of that before?" kind of moments.

Which isn't to say you can expect one Godard rip-off after another in my film. It's always a challenge for any artist, whether they be a filmmaker, sculptor or musician, to not let their influences dominate their work. The spirit and inventiveness of Godard is the biggest influence on this film, so while you won't see any arguments carried out through book titles or giant flashing text on screen in the middle of a scene (another Godard hallmark), you will hopefully experience a film that is trying to do something beyond just telling a story about two people interacting and that brings an experimental and art film spirit to an otherwise linear narrative.