Adam Westbrook // projects

Steven Soderbergh Says Art Of Cinema Is Under Attack From The Studios, Decries Profit Driven Decision Making

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:46:39 +0100

Steven Soderbergh Says Art Of Cinema Is Under Attack From The Studios, Decries Profit Driven Decision Making:

“Having described what cinema means to him, he went on to explain the troubles that it currently faces, saying, “The problem is that cinema, as I define it and as something that inspired me, is under assault by the studios and, from what I can tell, with the full support of the audience. The reasons for this, in my opinion, are more economic than philosophical, but when you add an ample amount of fear and lack of vision and a lack of leadership you’ve got a trajectory that is pretty difficult to reverse.” While he described the war on cinema, he also admitted that it is an attack of indifference, not intention, explaining, “The idea of cinema as I’m defining it is not on the radar of the studios, it’s not a conversation that anybody’s having, it’s not a word you’d ever want to use in a meeting.”

moriartygodofmischief: This duck is a fucking genius

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:44:04 +0000

moriartygodofmischief:

This duck is a fucking genius

"Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about..."

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:04:39 +0000

““Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt, they can’t afford the time to think. Tuition fee increases are a “disciplinary technique,” and, by the time students graduate, they are not only loaded with debt, but have also internalized the “disciplinarian culture.” This makes them efficient components of the consumer economy.””

- Noam Chomsky

Good things happen to those who wait, or….

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:16:16 +0000

Good things happen to those who wait, or….

directingfilm: The thing I always say to any writer that I’m...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:36:29 +0000

directingfilm:

The thing I always say to any writer that I’m working with is: Just make sure that in any argument, EVERYONE is right. I want every single person arguing a righteous side of the argument. That makes interesting drama.

~ David Fincher on writing each character as their own protagonist (via Maggie Lange @ Indiewire)

Constraints breed creativity.

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:47:35 +0000

Constraints breed creativity.

Try saying ‘no’ to having one more, and...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:41:10 +0000

Try saying ‘no’ to having one more, and ‘yes’ to doing one more. H/T the formidable Ryan Holiday

Once you can articulate a problem you’re more than half...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:26:25 +0000

Once you can articulate a problem you’re more than half way to solving it.

"For you, the seed of your next art work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece...."

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:48:07 +0000

“For you, the seed of your next art work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections are your guides – valuable, reliable, objective – to matters you need to develop further or reconsider. It is precisely this interaction between the ideal and the real that locks your art into the real world, and gives meaning to both.”

- David Bayles, Art and Fear

The right time never arrives.

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:29:05 +0000

The right time never arrives.

"If you’re an aspiring author, director, musician, startup founder, these long stretches of nothing..."

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:38:36 +0000

“If you’re an aspiring author, director, musician, startup founder, these long stretches of nothing are a huge reason why it’s important to pick something personally meaningful, something that you actually love to do. When external rewards and validation are nonexistent; when you suffer through bouts where of jealousy, wondering “How come so-and-so got signed/is successful/got a deal/etc?”; when every new development seems like a kick in the stomach, the love of what you are doing gives you something to hang onto.”

- Ang Lee

(via Elliot Rausch)

AnonymousMentor: The Democratization of Film-making

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:39:14 +0000

AnonymousMentor: The Democratization of Film-making:

anonymousmentor:

As much as film-making has become democratized I don’t think everyone is called to be a film-maker. When the canvas and paint became affordable to the masses it didn’t qualify anyone as an artist. It just made the tools cheaper and easier to obtain. Truthfully I’m not sure what qualifies anyone…

Smart words.

"It’s a combination of wanting a change personally and of feeling like I’ve hit a wall in my..."

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:11:00 +0000

“It’s a combination of wanting a change personally and of feeling like I’ve hit a wall in my development that I don’t know how to break through. The tyranny of narrative is beginning to frustrate me, or at least narrative as we’re currently defining it. I’m convinced there’s a new grammar out there somewhere. But that could just be my form of theism.”

- http://www.vulture.com/2013/01/steven-soderbergh-in-conversation.html

Inspiration • Discipline • Risk • Humility

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:50:13 +0000

Inspiration • Discipline • Risk • Humility

Content creator becomes thought leader: jtotheizzoe: Open...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:57:10 +0000

Content creator becomes thought leader:

jtotheizzoe:

Open Letter to the President: Physics Education

This call to arms by minutephysics starts with the shocking revelation that current physics standards don’t require students to learn anything beyond 1865.

1865, folks.

We can do better. Look at all the amazing stuff our students are missing out on! Or else the next Albert Einstein won’t be carrying a U.S. diploma.

Spread this far and wide!

One of those ideas that is so crazy it's brilliant: The People's Bailout

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 08:18:07 +0000

One of those ideas that is so crazy it's brilliant: The People's Bailout:

howtosharpenpencils:

This is a long post but it’s about something pretty interesting so I hope you’ll indulge …

Like many folks, Occupy Wall Street has been some doing good work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, helping people on the ground.

Now OWS is launching the ROLLING JUBILEE, a program that has been in…

99 Life Hacks to make your life easier!

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:19:53 +0100

via @timoncheese

shialabeowulf:

"Longform is not about length or form, but actually about a mindset. Both the author and the reader..."

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:07:00 +0100

“Longform is not about length or form, but actually about a mindset. Both the author and the reader come together with one ambition: to weave a story that sucks everybody right in and doesn’t let go until it’s finished. The best longform is bewitching, captivating and deep — regardless of how long it takes you to get to the end. I’ve read pieces just a few hundred words long that feel more like longform than others that ramble into the thousands.”

- Bobbie Johnson, editor of MATTER (via davelee)

"A statement on a papyrus fragment isn’t proof of anything. It’s nothing more than a..."

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:31:15 +0100

““A statement on a papyrus fragment isn’t proof of anything. It’s nothing more than a statement ‘in thin air’, without substantial context.””

- Ironic statement of the day from a Baptist pastor, over the scroll which suggests Jesus was married.

There are lots of great things about this video and the Riding...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:04:26 +0100

There are lots of great things about this video and the Riding Shotgun project.

Watch it, and you’ll see them all for yourself.