The Snoot Letter #6 - The Path Not Taken
The Snoot Letter
Issue #6 – October 14, 2019
Over the weekend, I saw Jojo Rabbit, Dolemite Is My Name, and Gemini Man. All films have their merits, some more than others, but Dolemite was definitely my favorite. Seek it out in theaters if you can.
Watching a new Taika Waititi movie always has a bittersweet edge for me. Back when we were in pre-production on The Guest, we were submitted What We Do In The Shadows to help finance/produce, and I just thought we were too busy at the time to take on a project that was going to be shooting halfway across the world. Passing on this movie has always been my biggest regret as a producer.
When I finally saw What We Do In The Shadows I was heartbroken, because it’s legitimately my favorite comedy of the last decade. I don’t think I could have added anything to that masterpiece, but it would have been nice to have been along for the ride.
More recently, we were very close to producing/financing The Peanut Butter Falcon, but had to move on from the project because Blindspotting was going to shoot at the same time. I would never want to change that decision because Blindspotting was a passion project for ten years, and it’s a movie I’m incredibly proud of. But it would have been nice to have figured out a way to also do PBF, since it has turned out to be the most successful independent film of 2019!
We’re about to start pre-production on a new movie, so I suspect in a few weeks I’m going to be submitted an incredible project that I’m going to have to pass on. That seems to be the pattern here.
Coming back to Gemini Man for a moment, I am not convinced that high-frame rate filmmaking is a net positive. I saw the movie in 3D HFR, and I feel like at least 90% of the shots/scenes in the movie would have worked better using a traditional cinematic format.
That said, there are a handful of shots in the movie that are exquisitive and feel like legitimately new experiences in 3D HFR. Almost everything shot underwater. Almost everything shot in slow-motion. Almost everything with fire. Things that we don’t get to see every day in real life look incredible in HFR. Or shots where objects are moving too fast to track well in 24fps. People standing around having conversations in daylight? Awful.
Perhaps the solution is mixing formats. Use HFR for the sequences where it helps, and use 24fps for the rest.
This Week’s Recommendations
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📺 “Succession” just finished its second season. If you aren’t already watching “Succession,” then I highly recommend you pick it up. My favorite series this year.
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🎬 Try to see Dolemite Is My Name in theaters, before it hits Netflix!