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Finally catching up on some @unspooled episodes I've missed during quarantine and hearing @TheAmyNicholson and @paulscheer go at it *passionately* over casting and writing choices in GOODFELLAS is the kind of brutal, critical, cinematic discourse i need so bad right now
Makes for an interesting pairing right after binging the excellent @DeadEyespodcast. There is rarely a PERFECT casting choice - and it's always a *choice,* even if a part was written for someone.
Hearing @TheAmyNicholson's critique of Scorcese's casting of Pesci (because he was older than the character is meant to be) was a surprise, but very interesting to consider. I think I ultimately disagree -
- I think Scorcese chose someone who embodied the spirit of that character more than someone who matched the exact age - but it's something I've ALWAYS taken as a given.
Sometimes these 'classics' feel so fully formed and embedded in our minds (sometimes even instantly), that we forget there are actual *choices* being made. It's nice to have that destabilization. It makes me more confident about grappling with my own choices.
And writing branching narrative in games has made me realize, on a much more fundamental level, that screenwriting choice in a static traditional narrative is full of choices that seem "right" or "wrong," when really, all sorts of things could work, and the path chosen is either-
- usually - what the screenwriter/director feels says most clearly what they want to say, or, a capricious choice without much thought. But sometimes it's easy to look at something set in stone and see it as "right" or "wrong."
There are a million variants that are just as "right" or "wrong." So for something like the last 30 minutes of Goodfellas suddenly taking a tonal shift with Hill's character, I never gave it a second thought. But maybe there was a more expressive way to accomplish that sequence!
I like to trust the directors/authors/artists I love and feel that the choices they make are "right" and should be used as templates or lessons - but really, they're just working off of their own emotions and instincts.
And I think if they're as true to that as they can be, whether it feels the most "right" or "wrong" to the audience, that's the thing that should be admired.
Lynch is maybe the most famous director who works this way - off of emotional instinct and subconscious guidance - it's a shame none of his work is represented on the AFI top 100 list.
One thing listening to this excellent podcast has illuminated for me over & over is that there is no "correct" filmmaking, no "correct" art. I think CHINATOWN is maybe the most "flawless" film ever made- but both @TheAmyNicholson and @paulscheer think it should be off the list!
And that's great. I love this show and I can't wait for whatever they do in Season 2.
