Preview

Sorry to be really lame, but I don’t think I have time to publish a worthwhile post this week.  I have a decent excuse, though:

The second Penn Film and Media Pioneers conference will be held this weekend.  I am participating in a panel on “Theory and Practice” (I really don’t know what that’s supposed to mean) where I will be sharing some of my work on Orson Welles.  I’ve been working to get ready for that and while I hope I’ll find time to write a post for this week, my incredible ability to procrastinate will inevitably get in the way, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that I’ll be back next week.

For those of you who are interested, let me offer you an idea of some topics I hope to cover in the coming posts:

- a review of the new HBO vampire show, True Blood;

- my take of Penn Film and Media Pioneers (special guests include Jon Avnet!);

- a discussion of my thesis work on Orson Welles;

- why I believe film education can save the world;

- thoughts on the dangers of genre;

- random musings and digressions, etc.

So, I’ll be back soon with a more substantial post.  Until then, I recommend that everyone pick up Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence (starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer) and watch it at least three times.  This film serves up a sumptuous visual feast that is such a joy for the eye-senses (the way you can smell, feel, and taste just by looking at something) as well as for the intellect, if you’re willing to engage it.  Believe me, this is a film worth studying.

Thanks for reading!

Sara

Well, hello there!

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  How have you been?  You look good……what are you doing?  Pilates?  Yeah, I hear great things.  I know!  I wish I had the time…

Me?  Oh, well, not a whole lot actually.  I moved back to Philadelphia to start my senior year and got caught up in the business of coming back to campus.  I mean, it’s only been……wow, almost two months?  Really?  Wow, I’m sorry I’ve been so out of touch.  I’ll try not to let it happen again, but you know how it gets.  Moving back into my apartment, the Jewish holidays, working on my thesis……it’s been a little disruptive.  I’m settled in now and will hopefully stay in closer contact.

Classes are okay, thanks.  I’m managing to stay on top of my work this year, which is a big accomplishment for me.  I have two interesting film courses: The Road Movie and Film and Literature.  The latter is a graduate seminar, which is a little bit intimidating for me, but the professor is one of the most brilliant film scholars and my thesis advisor, so it’s one of my favorite classes.  The Road Movie is an interesting course; I’m not familiar with the genre as an area of study (unlike film noir, which I feel like I’ve beaten to death at this point) so I’m learning a lot!

The problem is that while I’ve been working hard to make sure I’m up to scratch in my courses, I’ve been neglecting my thesis.  No, it’s not mandatory for Cinema Studies majors, but almost everyone in my program wants to go into Hollywood production, so the thesis isn’t super relevant for them.  And a lot of people don’t want the extra work.  Trust me, it’s intimidating for me as well.  I’ve been doing an independent research project for……let’s see, this will be my third year……so I really don’t have a choice.  I have a pretty good idea what its focus will be; I’ll have to tell you about it sometime when I get my thoughts sorted out.

There’s been so much cool film happenings on campus!  Most recently, three experimental German filmmakers gave a talk and screened some of their films (one works in Super8!).  They are all women, which is particularly exciting because we too rarely celebrate the work of women filmmakers.  Penn will, however, be welcoming Mira Nair this fall and I can’t wait!  I’ve been waiting to see The Namesake (even when Kal Penn taught a course here last year, I never found time to see it) so this is the perfect opportunity.  Most exciting was when Frederick Wiseman—the “grandfather” of American documentary cinema—screened his films and gave talks.  He is an inspiring filmmaker and listening to him talk about his process was eye-opening, to say the least.  No, you’ve never seen a Wiseman film?  Rent High School and then move on to Titicut Follies—that film was banned for many years and you can see why!  Well, have you heard of Michael Cera?  He and Kat Dennings screened Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist for a mostly-Penn audience.  That film was disappointing.  I know!—I was so excited about it too.  There were some excellent moments—look for Norah’s stumbling-drunk best friend and Nick’s charming gay bandmates.  Sure, I’ll let you know about Philadelphia film events.  Rachel Getting Married is having its Philadelphia premiere next week and I can’t wait to see what all the buzz is about.

Have I found a job yet?  Hahahahah……oh wait, seriously?  No I haven’t found a job!  In this economy?  Yeah, I really don’t know what I’m going to do……are dot-coms still doing well?  I’m putting together some interesting ideas about potential employment, but haven’t started a serious search yet.  Do you have any ideas?  Well, let me know if you do.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Listen, it was great catching up with you!  We should definitely do this more often.  I’m more or less free on Wednesdays, so let’s try to meet then.  Don’t be mad if I flake out—it’s not personal, I just have trouble managing my time.  Anyway, you take care and we’ll talk soon.  And let me know if you see any interesting movies!

All best,

Sara