Perpetual Change

Film

Being at the orphanage (and flying overseas) always helps me to catch up on modern film. The library at my parents house helped me to get my years film hankering satisfied.

But, really, how great are animated films! The subtlety of animation and phrasing today is incredible. The value of a good translation is also amazing: it must be so hard to find a good interpreter, and how specially educated they must be. When we watched "Cars", I think one character made a joke about Neil Armstrong, but the transaltion used a famous Ukrainian cosmonaut. When we watched "Meet the Robinsons", the English had a joke about the dog wearing glasses because contacts were two expensive. Here there is very little contact use or knowledge of, and so the joke was about insurance instead, a hot topic now. But the interpreter must know the foreign language well enough to get the joke and be funny enough to make a similar joke in his native tongue.

I am also favorably impressed with the goodness of the stories, the quality of animation and characterization, and the enjoyment factor. They've got it all today, for kids and adults. And yet the last one showed Disney's first "Steamboat Willie" and that was still an engaging and entertaining clip.

Further is Danny Elfman the only composer in Hollywood, or just the only noted one. Does anyone know a good interview with him?

I like to watch the credits and I have started to notice changes:
First, what are production babies? Are they just babies born of crew members, or do couples meet and have babies in the course of time it takes to make a film today?
Second, the amount of people that it takes to make a film today in incredible. I would love to some how be involved with a feature film one day, just once. Maybe one day I can be an advising expert. Or maybe one day, I'll write that book you all keep talking about and someone will want to make a movie of it. Anyone have any other ideas, because I am not holding my breath on that one?

posted by jjs @ 11:17 PM