Introductions

1. What has been your favorite course of study in or out of school? Why?

Not to sound boring, but as it's my area of focus here in college my favorite courses have all been production classes. In particular Film 3400, or Cinema Production. It granted me the opportunity to tell the stories I really want to tell, the ones I haven't had the opportunity to since I started school. The class as well was a great venue for comparing and contrasting the different styles and genres other students are interested in.

2. How many pages was the longest paper you have written? Did it include endnotes and bibliography?

The longest paper was 16 pages or so, it included footnotes and a bibliography.

3. Which was your favorite paper? Please tell us about the topic in a couple of sentences.

My favorite paper was the same as my longest paper. It was titled Ingmar Bergman and the Artist's Deception. It focused on the representation of an artist's impact on society, and also what impact society has on an artist as seen through Bergman's films. It presented the artist as a intuitive liar telling truths about society.

4. Is there a particular kind of writing you love to do?

I prefer creative writing, as it can be complete creation. Essays and research papers are also venues for idea creation, but in almost all cases they wind up being an amalgamation of other ideas that support your ideas. So it's never wholly original, but maybe nothing is.

5. Which books have you read lately: art, fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, poetry, environmental, film? Any comments are welcome.

I've read mostly fiction books lately. The last two books I read were The Blood Meridian and Inherent Vice. As of late I'm trying to read more that thematically relates to the kind of film I'll be making at the end of this year.

6. Which artist or writer really impresses you? Why?

Akira Kurosawa. He was trained as a painter, and his films reflect it. . This is probably best realized in Dreams. His films are moving paintings meant to be taken frame and by frame and examined on a base level, with instant reactions. Beyond that he is one of a few directors who can balance these intimate character pieces like Ikiru with immense epics like Ran.

7. What is your main interest besides writing, art, music, (i.e., the humanities)?

My main interest is probably in backpacking, getting out of town and spending a weekend or weeks in the mountains is really beneficial.

8. Please describe briefly an article in a newspaper or a magazine that got you thinking lately.

I have a grand obsession with our universe and the unknown that exists beyond. I recently read an article about the discovery of the darkest known planet. It's 750 lightyears away, and the surface is darker than coal, as the atmosphere is made of light absorbing chemicals. The existence of bodies such as this and their discovery presents the potential for entities far more unique than something as strange as this, and that always intrigues me.

9. Which recent cultural event has really impressed you? This can be a museum, a concert, or anything like that, but also a sports game (if you consider this a cultural event, for which there are good reasons).

Though not particularly recent, it was last large cultural gathering that left a strong impression me. In January I went to the Sundance film Festival in Park City. I made the decision to go months before in order to save up for it, and upon arrival it was sort of immediate shock. The amount of people who gather with similar outlooks, and similar passions is incredible. Perhaps it's true that the institution has commercialized a bit, but it didn't effect the way the film lovers who attended experienced the festival. Every one was there for the experience, not the status attributed by attending.

10. Is there another, non-cultural event that has affected you deeply.

I lived in Sicily for a few years, and else where around Europe when I was much younger. From the pieces I can recall, there are stand out moments that stick with me now. For example, in Sicily we lived on a guarded compound as it truly was the only house we could find in our area. There was thick wall surrounding the compound, guard dogs, security cameras, etc. The owner of this compound was constantly surrounded by large men, who you had to ask permission of to speak with the land owner even as a child. Every friday and tuesday night, this man would give my father money to take us out to dinner and out of the compound as he had to meet with people. This was the way things were and it always stuck with me.

11. Please share with us a thought or an idea that really widened your intellectual horizon. If possible, give a source for this idea so that those who are interested know where to go.

As a filmmaker the most inspirational set of ideas that have influenced the way I approach a new piece comes from Jim Jarmusch. He released his "Five Golden Rules of Filmmaking" a few years back, and the purpose of these rules is to show filmmakers to forget rules. They are more guidelines than they are rules. My favorite of these rules is number 5:

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1. Nothing is original.
Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: "It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."