When it comes down to it, every latter-day filmmaker aspires to be either Stanley Kubrick or Steven Spielberg. If you choose a more artistic, self-indulgent route, it?s likely you?ve chosen Kubrick as a mentor. If you choose a more entertaining, crowd-pleasing route, it?s likely you?ve chosen Spielberg as a mentor. At the start of your filmmaking aspirations, you no doubt wanted to be both an entertainer and an artist, but when real money is at stake, one choice will dominate over the other. Obviously, there?s the exception of ?neither? that some have chosen, but I?m talking majority here.
I think the contemporary examples of this are embodied by Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. Tarantino has an audience in mind with his films, wanting to please them as much as himself (an example of being both an artist and an entertainer?much like Spielberg?but, again, one dominates the other), and Anderson uses the medium to express himself in a very niche and cinematically challenging way more in line with Kubrick. Kubrick and Spielberg had a similar relationship with each other that Tarantino and Anderson share: they were/are peers, competitors, mutual admirers, and friends. Each carried/carries a specific expectation with their name, yet they pursued very separate, very distinct filmic avenues. Aside from a classicist respect for their medium, they?re an unlikely pairing in many ways. Arguably, the same class of filmgoer seeks the new Anderson flick the same way the previous likeminded filmgoers sought Kubrick?s new flick, and the same can be applied to Spielberg and Tarantino. Kubrick and Anderson both share an exclusivity that sets them apart from their contemporaries, whereas Spielberg and Tarantino can suffer varying degrees of respect due to their enormous popularity. Spielberg and Tarantino are pop culture, while Kubrick and Anderson are counterculture. Spielberg and Tarantino are established genre filmmakers, while Kubrick and Anderson redefine(d) themselves with each picture. Spielberg and Tarantino attach their names to boost their filmmaker friends, while Kubrick and Anderson only produce(d) their own work (with the exception of A.I., where Kubrick planned to produce the Spielberg film). They all use(d) celluloid over digital, but Kubrick and Anderson both utilized the rich 65MM film stock, showing a certain ambition that differs from the others. Anderson, like Kubrick, has become more reclusive, taking his time between pictures, while Tarantino and Spielberg are ubiquitous names that everybody knows. A lot of film snobs use these names as a litmus test for taste: siding with the more obscure names as the ?hipper?, more telling choices (I agree with the ?telling? part). Spielberg and Tarantino offered a wider audience the B-movie plots and conventions that are looked down upon, while Kubrick and Anderson did the same to the ?art? film; increasing the awareness of film as an artform first and foremost.
Now that you see where I?m coming from, this quiz can commence. Here?s a little quiz to tell whether you?re a Kubrick or a Spielberg (or neither).
Quiz:
The ending of your film is being debated. Do you regret that it?s not clear? And keep the populace in mind!
A) No, it was ambiguous for a reason
B) Yes, I intended mass applause at the end
C) Neither
You have a choice between discomforting music and comforting music to score your film. Which do you choose? And keep the populace in mind!
A) Discomforting music. I want the audience to be displaced.
B) Comforting music. I want the audience to be in synch with the film.
C) Neither
The audience feels bad after seeing your film. You have a chance to re-edit your film. Do you accept it?
A) No, I constructed it so they feel that way
B) Yes, I want them to leave my film happy
C) Neither
Your friend who?s a filmmaker wants you to produce their film. It?s a film you wouldn?t watch. Do you produce it anyway?
A) No. I don?t want my name attached to something I don?t fully endorse.
B) Yes. They?re my friend and I?ll probably end up liking it as a result.
C) Neither
I had a beer and got high before walking into a movie. Whose film should I walk into?
A) Not mine. Be sure you?re clear of mind before entering my film.
B) Mine! I?m exactly what you?re looking for.
C) Neither
It?s a holiday, and I?m treating my family to a film. Whose film should I choose?
A) Mine, though they probably won?t like it.
B) Mine. I want to appeal to as many filmgoers as possible.
C) Neither
I?m a critic and I?ve yet to choose a favorite film. Whose film should I expect to be a candidate for that position?
A) Mine! I have all sorts of things you love!
B) Mine! I have all sorts of things people go to the movies to see!
C) Neither
Your actor is getting a bit crazy. What do you do?
A) Let him fly! That?s what I wanted!
B) Restrain him. That?s not the kind of picture I?m making.
C) Neither
You have the opportunity to take credit for either Jaws or 2001: A Space Odyssey. Which do you choose?
A) 2001: A Space Odyssey
B) Jaws
C) Neither
If you chose mostly A, then you?re a Kubrick. If you chose mostly B, then you?re a Spielberg. If you chose mostly C, then you?re neither. If you chose a mix, then you?re a mix. I didn?t say any of this was concrete.
Obviously I don?t know if either Spielberg, Kubrick, Tarantino or Anderson would agree with these questions. They?re merely a fun exercise to determine whether you?re primarily in it for the art or the entertainment. Neither is a bad route to take, just make sure it?s what you want in advance. If you make it your version of art or entertainment, then all the more reason to celebrate the release of your latest film.
For the record, three of these filmmakers released a film in the past year: The Master, Django Unchained, and Lincoln. If you were a participant in this quiz, then it?s obvious you should check out one of these films.
Source: http://www.themaninthemoviehat.com/kubrick-spielberg/
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