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Cinephile’s Paradise

From Feb. 1 through 4, I attended the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where I had access to 200 films, Q&As with filmmakers, industry panels and celebrity tributes. The festival lasts 11 days, and the events take place at several historical theaters in downtown Santa Barbara.

SBIFF’s success lies in its timing – a few days after Sundance and right before the Academy Awards. It has become a key stop in “phase two” of the awards track, providing a loophole for Academy rules concerning campaigning.

The total experience was beyond my expectations. I was privileged to hear insights from some of the industry’s most successful individuals and completely immerse myself in the world of cinema. Whether you have a genuine interest in film or not, there are takeaways within the recounts of events for every aspiring career path.

 

Willem Dafoe tribute – Thursday night

 

Willem Dafoe was honored with the Cinema Vanguard Award, which is designed to recognize his remarkable roles and willingness to take artistic risks.

From playing a vampire in “Shadow of the Vampire,” to voicing a fish in “Finding Nemo,” my first impression of Dafoe was in his terrifying performance as the Green Goblin in “Spider-Man.” It was only after the tribute that I realized his reach and impact, and got a sense that he’s truly a down-to-earth guy.

Growing up in Wisconsin as the youngest of eight siblings, I’m sure Dafoe never imagined he would be nominated alongside the man he received a signed photograph from as a child – Christopher Plummer.

From getting sent home from his fist gig in “Heaven’s Gate” for sticking his tongue out at another extra, to actually smoking weed in the infamous scene in “Platoon,” Dafoe wasn’t afraid of oversharing.

He recalls receiving a call from Martin Scorsese about “The Last Temptation of Christ,” and being unenthused because he knew Scorsese had been casting forever. Now looking back, he said it was one of those roles where he has very strong memories, “like it’s in his body,” even recalling the smells.

Unlike the course often taken by current controversies, the uproar over “The Last Temptation of Christ” did not help distribution, which he believes is an awful shame for such a beautiful film. The role was also very physically taxing, something he believes is an important foundation for entering the character.

Dafoe also said performing his own stunts or having a role with a defining physical characteristic aids in sparking the switch. For example, Sony made him wear a flipper in “Spider-Man” because they said it wasn’t believable that a CEO of a major company would have a gap between his teeth.

As he jokingly said during the interview, “Everybody is always trying to kill me.” That was the case for many of his earlier roles, where villains were the most widely available roles. However, in his latest film “The Florida Project,” he played the manager of the “Magic Castle” motel, where he learned from the individuals actually living there and other homeless people around the area.

“It’s a world that you don’t know, and you have this sense of watching ‘them,’ but when you’re with them, and you hear the story and start to work with them, they get a more human face, and ‘they’ becomes ‘us,’ and whenever that happens, it’s beautiful,” Dafoe said.

His upcoming flick, “At Eternity’s Gate,” in which he plays Vincent Van Gogh, wrapped right before Christmas and is currently being cut.

 

Christopher Lloyd and Arthur Schmidt – Friday morning

 

For those of you who don’t recognize the name Christopher Lloyd, you’ll certainly know him as the character Doc Brown from “Back to the Future.” Although they had virtually no communication during the process, Arthur Schmidt was the editor for a lot of the films Lloyd starred in, including all of the “Back to the Future” flicks, “Addams Family Values” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

Schmidt described the transition from film to digital as “traumatic,” proving even the best in the business need to adapt or wither. Editing on films like “Cast Away” and “Forrest Gump,” it’s hard to believe Schmidt never had a formal education in editing.

“I was actually in Spain, busy trying to be Ernest Hemingway when my dad died, and I had to return home to LA to take care of my little brothers,” Schmidt said.

Soon after, he began an apprenticeship at Paramount. He began working under Jim Clark on “Marathon Man,” a stressful gig because people would warn him, “Nobody cuts on a Jim Clark film but Jim Clark.” However, Clark did give him scenes, and his work on that film led to him working on a made-for-TV movie, which gained him an Emmy nom.

Even his job with Bob Zemeckis was a complete fluke. His story encapsulates the magnificence of hapchance circumstances and pure luck.

Using all the clichés in the book, like, “take the bull by the horns,” and “throw caution to the wind,” Schmidt explained without persistence, confidence and desire, you’re not going to get anywhere, regardless of how talented you are. He also stressed the importance of knowing when to walk away from egomaniacs and disagreeable directors.

As for Lloyd, his first role was “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” a madly successful feature film. Even so, getting signed by Gersh Agency didn’t catapult his career. Coming from a New York theater background, he had a bad view of sitcoms, where a lot of the roles were available.

“New York is where the true artists lived. If you moved to the West Coast, you were a sell-out,” Lloyd said.

It wasn’t until he met acting coach Sandy Meisner that he found the clarity he so desperately needed. Meisner forwent a typical audition, and instead opted to just have a conversation with Lloyd to determine his passion for acting.

Clearly, he passed with flying colors. When first showing up to the series “Taxi,” he took wardrobe into his own hands, wearing an outfit he thought was fitting for his character. He also reflected on how hard he worked on set after Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly. Lloyd became more conscious of scenes, claiming he didn’t sense the switch coming, but soon realized there was a natural spark with Fox.

While it was beneficial to learn from players more in the spotlight, next week I’ll touch on my takeaways from the producers and writers panels. Their roles may not be glorified in the public, but they are just as vital in the filmmaking process.

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