WHY? Why'd you have to go and DIE? You did such fantastic things (with the exception of supporting Lindsey Lohan's "acting" career). I remember the first time I saw The Player. "Pay attention to the tracking shot", my Dad said, "It's one of the longest ever filmed". And while they did the shot...the actor's dialogue was ABOUT the famous tracking shot in Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. Brilliance, BRILLIANCE. And that's what Altman was, effing brilliant. And this I remember thinking in the first 10 minutes of that film.Don't get me wrong, not everything he did was great. I remember finishing Short Cuts and being like 'whaaaa?" but the man took chances with film. No one seems to do that anymore. Except for maybe Wes Anderson. Even Soderbergh went all commercially stagnant. I blame Julia Roberts for that. I also like to blame her for traffic, splinters and the existence of Snowbabies.
But the man was inspiring. He helped drive my interest in film...an interest that directed me towards a film major in college. A degree that I'm now wasting in...well...this wasteland of e-mail marketing. Rosebud.
Regardless...Robert Altman brought Popeye to life for me...my childhood hero...and for that I can never thank him enough. So I'm pissed at him for dying.
10 keep(s) me blogging:
agreed. lets be pissed together.
...i didn't know you majored in film!!! let's work on something together!!! haha... it'll be like, a correspondence film...it'll baffle the film industry and we'll be showered with praise! a movie made by two people who never met. BRILLIANT!
So, even the spinach couldn't save him. Now he's in Wimpy heaven where he can have as many cheeseburgers as he wants. Let him go, Olyve!
Hi! You left a funny comment on whats-his-name's blog (Orhan) so I thought I'd follow it and see what you had to say on your blog. Doesn't blog surfing rule? ;)
Nice post about Altman -- and it isn't every day where I can read something about the opening tracking shots in two movies. When I started reading your first paragraph, the Welles film came to mind ... and then you mentioned it!
Very cool. Now please watch Short Cuts again because you're totally wrong about it. It rocked. ;)
macoosh - the money spent in postage alone would be monumental
future - way to make it worse, mom
dan - hello! maybe i will watch it again...i was only 14 or 15 when i watched it the first time. chances are i was annoyed by the lack of Johnny Depp or something lame.
ahhh, but money well spent. alas, maybe it'll have to wait till i get back to the states so at least we're not paying international rates..
i wasn't being sarcastic.
An insightful post honoring a brilliant director coming from someone who loved the movie Zoolander. Go figure.
Anger is the first step...
A film major? You should produce a little Altman-esque short tribute film and post the video.
macoosh - i'd be up for trying, especially since i'm extraordinarily bored at the moment
d - well then "awww shucks" still applies
laura - i didn't LOVE Zoolander, I just thought it was funny. I can't help it if you don't have a sense of humor.
inamini - i don't plan on progressing past anger
slag - i would if i wasn't so damn LAZY. I'm sure someone else already has, you should check youtube.
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