I don’t get YouTube, I really don’t. All these people uploading their crappy na?ve editorials on life, love and politics. Emo kids spouting their pseudo-doom. Stoned 20 year old guys remaking their favourite TV ads in their back yard, like some should-know-better version of Son of Rambow. Who wants to watch it? It’s useful for pulling up old clips or funny clips of TV shows and movies, but who cares about these people uploading their self-involved crap? And who thinks we want to watch it when they upload it?
Apparently everyone, because THR is reporting Spike Lee, in association with Nokia, is planning to create a movie made of cellphone footage filmed by Joe Nobodies on the street. That’s right, YouTube: The Movie!!! Making it sound all important and valid with a neat phrase of “democratization of film” Lee claims he is opening up film to the unwashed masses. In truth, when you take out all the fancy words Lee uses, it actually just sounds like American Idol, movies style, which is a terrible, terrible idea.
You are seeing first hand the democratization of film," Lee said in a statement, "Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker."
The movie will apparently be in three acts and will “evolve” around the way music tells the story of humanity and will be formed by text, music video or image submissions. No doubt a Radiohead fan’s wet dream. Each act will consist of an assignment, announced online, from which anybody out there can make a submission within four weeks.
While I respect Lee’s position that he may be championing the little guy who can’t make it to film school, conversely he’s also promoting the idiot MTV video fan who thinks because they have a video camera on their phone and an idea it makes them a decent writer or director. As I said, the whole thing reeks of American Idol and will no doubt attract the same mentality of filmmakers as the singers who make it to that show. The kind who think because they did karaoke once, that makes them a prime candidate for professional singer.
Further cementing the American Idol analogy, Nokia will shortlist 25 submissions from each act's assignment. You the unwashed public, will then get to vote for the top 10! Woohoo! Lee himself will then choose the winning submission from these finalists and direct the movie via the website. Whatever the hell that means.
The film will debut later in the year. I can wait, I hope you can too.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/American-Idol-Movie-Edition-8657.html
