I only watch movies in theaters when the experience is unique and I would “miss something” if I watched it on tv: 3D, widescreen shots, detailed special effects, etc.
Regarding the poll, why is it so acting-centric?
Really surprised by the number of people who are influenced by the director. I don’t think I’ve ever in my life picked a movie based on the director, and truly, I could not name the director of a movie I’m watching while I’m watching it, unless it’s that idiot who puts his name up there with the title like he’s got naming rights to an arena. I go for an interesting plot first (so I voted for adaptations of things I’ve read) followed by special effects, and then maybe the actors and actresses will sway me one way or the other. I love reading the synopses of movies for the Cleveland International Film Festival…I pick which to see based on the storyline, not the cast or the country of origin and certainly not the director.
When I really love a movie, such as ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, I make a note of the director and seek out her or his other films. Likewise when I really hate a movie, such as the STAR WARS prequels. I’ve found that to be a better guide than anything else (including screenwriter, as film is a director’s medium). I mean, I adore Natalie Portman, but she could not overpower George Lucas’s insipidity in the SW movies. Contrariwise, I ordinarily despise Jim Carrey, but Michael Gondry used him (and the goddess-like Kate Winslet) to create a work of sublime beauty in ESofSM.
That’s pretty much how I feel - I want to see special effects on a big screen with the sound rumbling my seat (although our surroundsound at home does a pretty good job of that, too). I saw Avatar in Imax 3-D - it gave me a terrible headache, and it was worth it for those special effects.
I felt sorry for her and Hayden Christensen in those movies - I think Hayden is a pretty good actor, too, and they both got bogged down in Lucas’ complete inability to write dialogue (and if I say his hatred for actors, too, I don’t think I’d be too out of line).
In fact I feel sorrier for Christensen than Portman. She’s a better actor, but he’s not bad at all (see LIFE AS A HOUSE or SHATTERED GLASS), and his reputation took the bigger hit. Only McGregor and Lee emerged unscathed from those films; McGregor because of his great talent, and Lee because he is not only talented by old enough so that he simply didn’t give a crap what he was told and did things as they should have been done.
I’m not sure that Lucas hates actors so much; it’s more that her prefers puppets and cartoons. But your remark about dialogue is not only true, but an understatement.
I prefer renting and watching at home. I often say that I will see some special effects extravaganza in a theater to get the full big screen experience but i never do. The theater going experience is usually a negative one for me due mainly to people not being able to shut up during the movie and the high prices.
Pretty much how I feel, yeah. Big things deserve to be seen on a big screen. And musicals! what there are of them.
(Though every movie trailer I see, I think “wow, that looks like it’s gonna be good!” and the best seem to crash and burn when they come out, so what do I know? :p)
I have my little list of favorite actors, but if they aren’t in something really epic, I’m content to see them on my home screen.
And I would like to defend Hayden Christensen, not that I’m a huge fan, but I swear I read an interview where he said he was ORDERED to turn in that dismal performance in Star Wars. They didn’t want him to show any personality whatsoever.
Everyone knows I’m a Movies-In-The-Theater slut (329 in 2010, 22 in January) and my main criteria is just generally, does it look interesting to me? I have very eclectic taste in movies so a lot of things do look interesting to me. So, plot is first, but at the same time I don’t want to know a whole lot about movies before I see them. Just the gist. After that is Director, then Screenwriter. I look to see who’s in it, but Actor/Actress is very low on my list because actors want to work, they’ll be in all kinds of iffy projects just because it’s their job. Though I will see anything at all with George Clooney (because he now usually has interesting taste in projects, both as an actor and as a director) and Jason Statham (he doesn’t usually, but he’s always fun to watch and I have a crush on him). I’ll also see anything with Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.
I’m a Director groupie myself. There are dozens of Directors I’d go see anything they do, with many in particular where I don’t even need to know the name of the movie, who’s in it, what it’s about, no details at all. If their name is on it, I’m there no matter what. What thrills me about this awards season is that so many of “my” Directors are up for awards. The Coens, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, David O. Russell have always been on my MUST SEE list. Tom Hooper will be on my list from now on.
Some on my list not nominated for Director but with movies up for various Oscars this year include Christopher Nolan, Danny Boyle, Mike Leigh, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Sylvain Chomet, Tim Burton, Peter Weir, Phillip Noyce, Clint Eastwood.
New members to my list because of this year’s Oscar movies include Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), John Cameron Mitchell (Rabbit Hole), Banksy (Exit Through the Gift Shop), Richard J. Lewis (Barney’s Version). Others, such as the Foreign Language nominees, might join once I see their movies. I do need to see some of the movies some of these directors have previously made that I missed, such as Granik’s Down To The Bone, and Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The problem is that if I miss something in the theater, it’s rare that I’ll see it at home, even if I own the unwatched DVD. There’s just too many movies playing in the theaters I want to see.
There are Directors with movies up for Oscars who aren’t on my list, but I would consider seeing what they do, depending on other factors, like David Yates, Jon Favreau, Tony Scott and Joe Johnson. Someone like Susanne Bier will probably join the list in the future. I haven’t seen her Oscar-nominated movie In A Better World yet, but I thought her previous film Things We Lost In The Fire was very very good.
Forgetting this year’s awards season, other living Directors on my list include Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Wes Anderson, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, Alfonso Cuarón, Julie Taymor, Duncan Jones, Sofia Coppola, Terry Gilliam, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott, Ken Loach, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Steven Soderbergh, Juan Antonio Bayona, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonez, Milos Forman, Roman Polanski, Fernando Meirelles, Francis Ford Coppola, the Wachowskis, Sam Mendes, Todd Haynes, John Sayles, Todd Solondz, Noah Baumbach, James Cameron, Michael Mann, Neill Blomkamp, Walter Salles, Woody Allen, Julian Schnabel, Gus Van Sant, Baz Luhrmann, David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Matt Reeves, Alexander Payne, Matthew Vaughan, Anton Corbijn, at least a couple dozen I’m forgetting at the moment.
It isn’t that I’ve loved every single movie by every single one of those directors (though several I have), but they all have movies that are favorites or that I at least like a lot, and they all tend or try to bring enough originality that any movie by any of them is worth checking out, even if it turns out I don’t like it as much as I hoped. I always feel bad for good directors who are forced to do paycheck movies, they almost all have them, so I tend to cut directors some slack when they have WFT? titles on their resumes.
I love actor-directors who have proven themselves, such as George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jodie Foster, and writer-directors like Charlie Kaufman.
Speaking of Kaufman, he and Aaron Sorkin are two Screenwriters that will always get me into the theater. As if I needed an excuse, but still.
Agree. Epics, action movies, and a few other deserve to be seen on a big screen. I saw the recent Star Trek reboot on big screen with my son and on a flight. It makes a huge difference in the experience. Most comedies, by comparison, don’t lose much on a small screen. Avatar is pretty nifty in full size, it’s crap on a small screen.
I can’t believe that Skald left this out. He’s really slipping and should probably be flayed by some medieval device.
If the key words are “see a movie”, then:
–Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
–Sometimes a recommendation from a friend.
If the key words are “in theatres”, then:
–A group of people wants to do something together.
Well, director alone is kind of.. a misnomer.
Honestly, director tends to end up being the cheerleader for everything the actors aren’t.
Producer, screenwriter, director, casting, etc…
In general a single name might draw an audience, but, it’s not the position that matters, but the name.