film

The Foreigner

The Foreigner

(written by David Marconi, based on the novel "The Chinaman" by Stephen Leather)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, mystery, film, action, thriller, film based on novel, Michael McElhatton, Katie Leung, Jackie Chan

Follow Your Curiosity

"What I have enjoyed about science fiction from the time I dove in was how it opened my natural space. If I were reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons or whatever, as I'm walking down the street, I'm thinking of the shit that I just read and the world feels a little larger. I'd be thinking that there's more layers, parallel universes and so forth. It has enhanced my view of possibilities. It's kind of like film in a way. Great writers leave space, and that gap in between is your understanding."

— Saul Williams

for Creatives  |  reading, books, sci-fi, film, fantasy, writing, writer-reader relationship, value the art, Dan Simmons, Saul Williams

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Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049

(written by Hampton Fancher & Michael Green, based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick)

Highly Recommended!  |  mystery, sci-fi, film, thriller, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Harrison Ford, film based on novel, Michael Green, Hampton Fancher, Philip K. Dick, Ana de Armas, Edward James Olmos, Sylvia Hoeks, Sean Young, Barkhad Abdi

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"I really dig [Franz Kafka] a lot.  Some of his things are the most thrilling combos of words I have ever read.  If Kafka wrote a crime picture, I’d be there.  I’d like to direct that for sure."

— David Lynch

for Creatives  |  reading, books, crime, film, short stories, language, filmmaking, Franz Kafka, David Lynch

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Logan

Logan

(written by James Mangold, Scott Frank, & Michael Green, based on the comic book "Old Man Logan" by Mark Millar & Steven McNiven)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, sci-fi, film, action, thriller, Stephen Merchant, Hugh Jackman, film based on comic/graphic novel, James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green, Mark Millar, Steven McNiven, Dafne Keen, Patrick Stewart

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"If you're playing a movie on a phone, you will never in a trillion years experience the film. You'll think you have experienced it, but you'll be cheated. It's such a sadness that you think you've seen a film on your fucking telephone. Get real."

— David Lynch

for Creatives  |  gadgets, film, reaching your audience, value the art, David Lynch

"For Lynch … His refusal to interrogate the images, sounds and ideas that make themselves known to him—often during the actual process of shooting—accounts not only for their uniqueness, but also for his occasional inability to articulate their precise meaning.  His desire is to 'speak directly' through the films, combined with a faith in the audience's own eyes and ears."

— Chris Rodley

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, artist integrity, film, reaching your audience, artist's voice, filmmaking, value the art, David Lynch, Chris Rodley

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"Like Cliffhanger.  More people have seen how they did the helicopter shot in that than people have seen the movie!  Magicians keep their secrets to themselves.  And they know that as soon as they tell, someone will say, 'Are you kidding me?  That's so simple."  It's horrifying to me, that they do that.  People don't realize it, but as soon as they hear or see that, something dies inside them.  They're deader than they were.  They're not, like, happy to know about this stuff.  They're happy not to know about it.  And they shouldn't know about it.  It's nothing to do with the film!  And will only ruin the film!  Why would they talk about it?"

— David Lynch

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, film, action, reaching your audience, filmmaking, value the art, magic/illusion/mentalism, David Lynch

"Across genres, for one reason or another, various filmmakers—sometimes even those considered the most visual of directors—have drawn on devices dating back 2,500 years to the days of Hellenic theater because there are limitations to showing; showing can't always get us inside a character, or inside a character's story."

— Bill Mesce, Jr.

for Creatives  |  characters, film, filmmaking, genre, Bill Mesce, Jr.

"The things you're not supposed to talk about in films are the same things you're not supposed to talk about at dinner parties: religion, politics and sex."

— Steve Coogan

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, film, Steve Coogan, artist's voice, filmmaking, genre, artist's message, creative freedom

"The movies have not undermined the influence of fiction.  On the contrary, they have extended its field, carrying the ideas which are already current among readers to those too young, too impatient, or too uneducated to read."

— Dorothea Brande

for Creatives  |  reading, film, literary fiction, reaching your audience, filmmaking, ideas, value the art, artists supporting artists, Dorothea Brande

"How I love the fun of a shocker, the I-had-no-idea-wouldn't-have-guessed-in-a-million-years surprise.  My jaded self reads the summary of a movie or book and thinks, 'Well, I know what that will be about.  No thank you.'"  How I love to be proven wrong."

— Debra Spark

for Creatives  |  reading, books, film, reaching your audience, story endings, Debra Spark

"The Oscars are like a political campaign.  Winning an Oscar is partly to do with how good your film is and partly to do with how tenacious you are during awards season."

— Steve Coogan

for Creatives  |  awards, film, Denzel Washington, the successful artist, Steve Coogan, filmmaking, acting, Halle Berry

"As well as talking for the sake of it, too often what people say in films doesn't remotely resemble what they would say in real life."

— Steve Coogan

for Creatives  |  characters, film, Steve Coogan, filmmaking

"I had a 260-page screenplay [for Something Wicked This Way Comes].  That's six hours.  [Director] Jack [Clayton] said, 'Well, now you've got to cut out forty pages.'  I said, 'God, I can't.'  He said, 'Go ahead, I know you can do it.  I'll be behind you.'  So I cut forty pages out.  He said, 'Okay, now you've got to cut another forty pages out.'  I got it down to 180 pages, and then Jack said, 'Thirty more.'  I said, 'Impossible, impossible!'  Okay, I got it down to 150 pages.  And Jack said, 'Thirty more.'  Well, he kept telling me I could do it, and, by God, I went through a final time and got it down to 120 pages.  It was better."

— Ray Bradbury

for Creatives  |  mystery, film, fantasy, thriller, Ray Bradbury, film based on novel, screenwriting, Jack Clayton

Follow Your Curiosity

"If you think of films often cited as 'perfect' movies,' whether it's old Hollywood films like Casablanca (1942) or more modern classics like Chinatown (1974)—it's not just the pictures you remember.  It's the characters' voices."

— Stephen Whitty

for Creatives  |  characters, film, storytelling, Stephen Whitty

Follow Your Curiosity

"The happy writer is an open writer: open to experiences, emotions, words, ideas, books, authors, tastes, smells, films, travel."

— Chuck Wendig

for Creatives  |  reading, books, food, film, language, writing, travel, ideas, artists must EXPERIENCE, Chuck Wendig

Arrival

Arrival

(written by Eric Heisserer, based on the short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, mystery, sci-fi, film, thriller, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, film based on short story, Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang, Michael Stuhlbarg

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Lion

Lion

(written by Luke Davies, based on the memoir "A Long Way Home" by Saroo Brierley)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, biography, Sunny Pawar, Abhishek Bharate, Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, film based on memoir, Saroo Brierley, Luke Davies

Follow Your Curiosity
Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures

(written by Allison Schroeder & Theodore Melfi, based on the novel by Margot Lee Shetterly)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, historical, biography, film based on novel, Kevin Costner, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kirsten Dunst, Theodore Melfi, Allison Schroeder, Margot Lee Shetterly

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Story Invades the City... as The Lord of the Rings Makes Its Worldwide Film Debut

Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

Wonders  |  photography, film, travel, New Zealand, film based on novel

"Just seeing excellent films doesn't educate you at all, because they're mysterious.  A great film is mysterious.  There's no way of solving it.  Why does Citizen Kane work?  Well, it just does.  It's brilliant on very level, and there's no way of putting your finger on any on thing that's right.  It's just all right.  But a bad film is immediately evident, and it can teach you more: 'I'll never do that, and I'll never do that, and I'll never do that.'"

— Ray Bradbury

for Creatives  |  magic/mystery of creating/art, film, Ray Bradbury, Orson Welles, never stop LEARNING

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View TV Abroad

View TV Abroad

all UK TV live and on-demand, wherever you are

Highly Recommended!  |  gadgets, TV series, British, film, sport, internet TV

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Harlan Ellison - "Pay the Writer"

(from film documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth)

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, videos, film, writing, documentary, protect the art, value the art, Harlan Ellison

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Casino Royale

Casino Royale

(written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Paul Haggis, based on the novel by Ian Fleming)

Highly Recommended!  |  film, action, adventure, thriller, Judi Dench, Ian Fleming, film based on novel, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Giancarlo Giannini, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis

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The Boondock Saints

The Boondock Saints

(starring Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, film, action, thriller, Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly

Follow Your Curiosity
Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow

(written by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth, based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka)

Highly Recommended!  |  books, sci-fi, film, action, adventure, Christopher McQuarrie, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Tom Cruise, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Doug Liman, Dion Beebe, Brendan Gleeson, Kick Gurry, Franz Drameh, Masayoshi Haneda, film based on novel

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Saving Mr. Banks

(written by Kelly Marcel & Sue Smith, starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson & Paul Giamatti)

for Creatives  |  creative process, artist integrity, art, artists, drama, film, artist in the art, comedy, biography, writing, Tom Hanks, filmmaking, storytelling, Ruth Wilson, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti

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A History of Violence

A History of Violence

(written by Josh Olson, based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, film, thriller, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, David Cronenberg, Josh Olson, John Wagner, Vince Locke, Viggo Mortensen, William Hurt, film based on comic/graphic novel

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"Today, thanks to certain pioneering authors, some great books, and some great movies and TV series, the wall between genre and mainstream fiction has become not a wall, but a river.  It can be forded or bridged."

— Russell Galen

for Creatives  |  books, artist integrity, TV series, film, novel writing, writing, genre, TV writing, creative freedom, Russell Galen

"America is a cinematic culture.  As a people, we are familiar with the conventions of film, perhaps more so than those of fiction."

— Todd James Pierce

for Creatives  |  reading, film, culture, Todd James Pierce

The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything

(written by Anthony McCarten, based on the novel by Jane Hawking)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, romance, film, biography, geek, Eddie Redmayne, Anthony McCarten, Jane Hawking, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, film based on novel

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A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind

(written by Akiva Goldsman, based on the novel by Sylvia Nasar)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, romance, film, Ron Howard, biography, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Akiva Goldsman, Sylvia Nasar, Russell Crowe, film based on novel

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Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting

(written by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgård, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon

Follow Your Curiosity
The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

(written by Graham Moore, based on the novel by Andrew Hodges)

Highly Recommended!  |  British, drama, film, thriller, biography, Andrew Hodges, Graham Moore, Matthew Goode, Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, film based on novel

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Prisoners

Prisoners

(written by Aaron Guzikowski, cinematography by Roger Deakins, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, mystery, film, Roger Deakins, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Denis Villeneuve, Aaron Guzikowski, Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano

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Sicario

Sicario

(written by Taylor Sheridan, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson, cinematography by Roger Deakins)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, film, action, Daniel Kaluuya, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Roger Deakins, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Denis Villeneuve, Taylor Sheridan

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The Drop

The Drop

(written & based on the short story Animal Rescue by Dennis Lehane)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, mystery, film, Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace, Dennis Lehane, film based on short story

Follow Your Curiosity

"Think of how a movie starts out.  It's a baby.  It's like the fetus of a movie star; we all start out ugly.  Every one of Pixar's stories starts out that way.  A new thing is hard to define; it's not attractive, and it requires protection. ... Every new idea in any field needs protection.  Pixar is set up to protect our director's ugly baby.  Of course you can't protect the baby forever.  At some point, it has to grow up and change into something, because the beast is still there.  That's a positive thing.  Because sometimes the ugly baby would rather play in the sandbox forever.  It's a lot like raising a kid.  It's complex and interesting.  But most people want to make it simpler than it is."

— Ed Catmull

for Creatives  |  creative process, film, Ed Catmull, protect the art, ideas

Philomena

Philomena

(written by Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, biography, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, Judi Dench

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Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club

(written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, biography, Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner

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Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips

(written by Billy Ray)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, thriller, biography, Billy Ray, Tom Hanks

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Room

Room

(written & based on the novel by Emma Donoghue)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, Emma Donoghue, Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, film based on novel

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Moon

Moon

(created & directed by Duncan Jones, written by Nathan Parker)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, mystery, sci-fi, film, Kevin Spacey, Matt Berry, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker, Sam Rockwell, Clint Mansell

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The Godfather: Part II

The Godfather: Part II

(written by Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, film, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro

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Rocky

Rocky (I thru V)

(written by and starring Sylvester Stallone)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, sport, Sylvester Stallone

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Good Morning Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam!

(starring Robin Williams & Forest Whitaker)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, comedy, biography, Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, war

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Locke

Locke

(written & directed by Steven Knight)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, Tom Hardy, Steven Knight

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The Equalizer

The Equalizer

(written by Richard Wenk, based on the TV series created by Richard Lindheim & Michael Sloan)

Highly Recommended!  |  TV series, crime, film, action, thriller, Denzel Washington, Antoine Fuqua, Richard Wenk, Richard Lindheim, Michael Sloan

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Whiplash

Whiplash

(written & directed by Damien Chazelle)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, music

Follow Your Curiosity
Man on Fire

Man on Fire

(written by Brian Helgeland, based on novel by A.J. Quinnell, cinematography by Paul Cameron)

Highly Recommended!  |  crime, drama, film, action, Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Tony Scott, Brian Helgeland, A.J. Quinnell, Paul Cameron, Radha Mitchell, Marc Anthony, Christopher Walken, film based on novel

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The Revenant

The Revenant

(written & directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu)

Highly Recommended!  |  drama, film, adventure, thriller, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy

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Jurassic World

Jurassic World

(written & directed by Colin Trevorrow, based on characters created by Michael Crichton)

Highly Recommended!  |  sci-fi, film, action, adventure, Colin Trevorrow, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Omar Sy, Michael Crichton

Follow Your Curiosity

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