Option One (Same Old): Write about any of the films we’ve screened so far (via
close reading, formal analysis, etc.). You can write about Millennium Actress or
Tropic Thunder if you want to get ahead. If you want to pitch your post as an idea
for your final paper, that’s fine (you can also email me thesis ideas separately if
you’d rather not blog about it).
Option Two (Film Critic): Write a review of a film that we haven’t screened in class.
The only stipulation is that it has to be a film made after 1990 (which is where we’re
at historically now in the class). Provide an imdb link and links to other information
as warranted. Make an argument about the film: Tell us why we should/shouldn’t
see it. Use the language we’ve learned in class. Analyze, Don’t Summarize. Talk
about the movie’s form.
Before you write your review, please read these guidelines:
http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/film/filmrws.htm.
Also, there are generally good reviews here, which you can use as models:
http://www.rogerebert.com/
Option Three (Creative Option): Pitch Your Movie. Have an idea for a film?
Convince your classmates and I that we should fund it. Be sure to include this basic
information: Where is it set? Who are the key characters? What are the basics of the
three acts (setup/conflict/resolution)? Does it fit into a clear genre profile?
Stylistically, what films would your movie most resemble? Would you have editing
like Eisenstein? Cinematography like Kiarostami? Music like Gene Kelly and Stanley
Donnen? Paint us a picture with your words.
It should be as long as any other post (500 to 750 words; take more if necessary).
Take a look at this before you write your post: http://www.dummies.com/howto/content/preparing-to-pitch-your-screenplay-to-a-studio.html