Did you know this movie was released shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated? Crazy if you've ever watched the movie.
I'm not going to tell people what they already know about this movie. Other than, if you haven't seen the 40th anniversary documentary on the making of this movie, as a filmmaker, it's worth a look.
A few things stood out, one...it was done completely out of ignorance. Something I think we should all make movies with in mind. And second, forget what other people say about your attempt to make something creative. The minute you allow places like the Hollywood industry to dictate your idea, you're dead in the water.
Whilst, the movie went on to make $55 million dollars on a tiny budget of under $200,000, AND was in black and white, should tell you a lot about the Hollywood mindset. And here it is...George Romero didn't make anything on this movie. Poor distribution and stupid management killed what could've been his early retirement (in hindsight, better that he didn't, because the sequels, I felt, added to this legacy). So, the lesson here is, even if you make your movie, if you allow the gatekeepers through your door, be prepared to hear all sorts of promises that amount to them shamelessly emptying your wallet. Yeah, negative message.
The thing about George that really endears me to him, is that so little of his films had little to do with what he thought made money. In fact, the guy went bankrupt a few times. What's the mentality behind that? What he wanted to do was to make just enough so that he could make his own movies. Believe it or not, Tom Cruise is the same way. In a recent interview on The Nerdist podcast, he rarely mentions the stardom that launched him into the strato. His main objective in life is his love of movies. Yeah, fuck all that Scientology and crazy hookups and gay talk bullshit (hater talk) he just LOVES making movies. How can any of us be angry about that? That is where we all want to be. To communicate our ideas and storytelling that people respond to. Why else would this dude hang from a AC130 in the next installment of "Mission: Impossible?" Because he's just that much in love with movies. AND, he stated that all he wants to do is to make movies he's not done before. These Hollywood blockbusters are just an ends to a means for him to do something. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point he does a western (technically, he did a quick extra role in "Young Guns").
It's inspiring to hear about this type of movie people. Instead of the shitbag money people. That's the garbage part of it. But a necessary evil. For me, I aspire to tell my stories. Find some universal truth that moves people the same way I was moved in the movies I watch.
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