Filmmaker Blog - Mario J. Novoa

On the eve of a screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, the film's stars, director and screenwriter recount the tension and tumult (trivia: Harvey  Kettle’s pimp was originally written as black; producers "had to hire a gang to protect us from other gangs") that preceded a movie masterpiece. A version of this story first appeared in the April 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. PAUL SCHRADER (screenwriter) I had a series of things falling apart, a breakdown of my marriage, a dispute with the AFI, I lost my reviewing job. I didn't have any money and I took to drifting, more or less living in my car, drinking a lot, fantasizing. The Pussycat Theater in L.A. would be open all night long, and I'd go there to sleep. Between the drinking and the morbid thinking and the pornography, I went to the emergency room with a bleeding ulcer. I was about 27, and when I was in the hospital, I realized I hadn't spoken to anyone in almost a month. So that...

"On the Waterfront . It was as if somebody had taken a camera and moved into my neighborhood or my apartment where I was living with my parents. In the film they’re Irish American, but it doesn’t really matter. The faces are real. The faces look like people in my family. And, suddenly, I saw ourselves up there on the screen." - Martin Scorsese, Film Director The Art of Martin Scorsese | Humanities After Martin Scorsese  delivered the 42nd  Jefferson Lecture in April, he sat down with parting NEH Chairman Jim Leach for an interview. They talked about Scorsese’s upbringing, his films, and the culture of film he passionately works to preserve. JIM LEACH:  I want to ask you about place, which, of course, is important to setting your movies. But do you personally think place is important? MARTIN SCORSESE:  To me, place is not just important, it’s a necessity. I spent the first few years of my life in a place that, in my child’s mind, was like a paradise, but ac...

Goodfellas (1990) - The Script Lab Screenplay Genre: Crime / Drama / Thriller Movie Time: 146 minutes 1. INCITING INCIDENT In 1955 a young Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is “pinched” by the cops for the first time. He gets off, and his friend/mentor Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) tells him he has learned two very important things in life, “Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.” Outside the court, Henry is congratulated by mob boss Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his crew. Henry's dream of being a gangster begins. (15:00:00) 2. LOCK IN (End of Act One) Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy (Joe Pesci) pull off the Air France heist, and this solidifies Henry's life as a gangster. They give a cut of the money to Paulie, who tells Henry he has made him proud. (00:35:10) 3. FIRST CULMINATION (Midpoint) Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy pull off the Lufthansa heist, the biggest heist in American history. It looks like the authorities might be on to them, but then it's ...

Take 33 minutes to learn from the master, from an arc inclusive of all his work. 

#152261140 / gettyimages.com Interviewing  Martin Scorsese  is like taking a master class in film.  Fast Company’s  four-hour interview with the director for the December-January cover story was ostensibly about his career, and how he had been able to stay so creative through years of battling studios. But the  Hugo  director punctuated everything he said with references to movies: 85 of them, in fact, all listed below. Ace in the Hole All That Heaven Allows America, America An American in Paris Apocalypse Now Arsenic and Old Lace The Bad and the Beautiful The Band Wagon Born on the Fourth of July Cape Fear Cat People Caught Citizen Kane The Conversation Dial M for Murder Do The Right Thing Duel in the Sun The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse Europa ’51 Faces The Fall of the Roman Empire The Flowers of St. Francis Force of Evil Forty Guns Germany Year Zero Gilda The Godfather Gun Crazy Health Heaven’s Gate House of W...