Nov. 2: Speed the plow
Here is a poster for The Fast and Furious 6, a movie that came out in 2013:
And here is a poster for Ida, another movie that came out in 2013:
The Fast and Furious 6 is shown in blazing technicolour. Ida is shown in black and white.
The Fast and Furious is an English movie with - I'm assuming, here - plenty of what my grandmother might have called "barnyard words." Ida is in Polish (but it has English subtitles.)
The Fast and Furious is a sequel - sixth in the franchise. Ida stands on its own.
Here is the plot of Ida: "A novice preparing to enter Catholic religious life in 1960s Poland goes off to visit her aunt and discovers a secret about her Jewish history and the struggles her family faced in the holocaust. These discoveries spark an identity crisis for her as she has to decide if religious life is for her.
The Fast and Furious 6 is about racing cars really fast and there's lots of cool explosions and stuff.
The Fast and Furious 6 grossed almost $240 million at the box office. Probably one day's catering on that film was more for the entire budget of Ida.
Objectively speaking, which is the better film? Ida.
But if you wanted to make money, in which film would you invest?
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In David Mamet's play Speed the Plow, movie executive Bobby Gould has a similar choice. He can greenlight a brainless action picture featuring one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, or he can make an intelligent art house movie that will change the lives of the very few people who see it.
Yes, and I am here to say that if Sex and the City is one of your absolute favourite movies, you and I probably won't be friends.
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Speed the Plow debuted in 1989. It's a three-character play. There's Bobby Gould, his associate (named Fox) and Karen, a temp secretary in her 20s. It is Karen who pitches the art house picture to Bobby. The two of them are having a working night at Bobby's home (he invited her there thinking he was going to score) and instead, he has a change of heart.
That original production came under some fire because Madonna was playing the role of Karen. She didn't have much acting experience at the time but she was one of the world's biggest pop stars so the producers evidently felt they could get more bums in the seats with the Material Girl in a plum role.
Which kind of goes against the whole point of the play.
-
In 1989, I was cast in my high school's production of Play On, which was about a community theatre group trying to mount a play. I called the artistic director of Alberta Theatre Projects to see if I could sit in on a play rehearsal just so I could get the vibe of things (I did this because I wanted the artistic director to praise me, not because I thought it would help me with my role.) The play ATP was rehearsing was Speed the Plow.
-
I have never seen Speed the Plow live. I would like to.
And here is a poster for Ida, another movie that came out in 2013:
The Fast and Furious 6 is shown in blazing technicolour. Ida is shown in black and white.
The Fast and Furious is an English movie with - I'm assuming, here - plenty of what my grandmother might have called "barnyard words." Ida is in Polish (but it has English subtitles.)
The Fast and Furious is a sequel - sixth in the franchise. Ida stands on its own.
Here is the plot of Ida: "A novice preparing to enter Catholic religious life in 1960s Poland goes off to visit her aunt and discovers a secret about her Jewish history and the struggles her family faced in the holocaust. These discoveries spark an identity crisis for her as she has to decide if religious life is for her.
The Fast and Furious 6 is about racing cars really fast and there's lots of cool explosions and stuff.
The Fast and Furious 6 grossed almost $240 million at the box office. Probably one day's catering on that film was more for the entire budget of Ida.
Objectively speaking, which is the better film? Ida.
But if you wanted to make money, in which film would you invest?
-
In David Mamet's play Speed the Plow, movie executive Bobby Gould has a similar choice. He can greenlight a brainless action picture featuring one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, or he can make an intelligent art house movie that will change the lives of the very few people who see it.
Yes, and I am here to say that if Sex and the City is one of your absolute favourite movies, you and I probably won't be friends.
-
Speed the Plow debuted in 1989. It's a three-character play. There's Bobby Gould, his associate (named Fox) and Karen, a temp secretary in her 20s. It is Karen who pitches the art house picture to Bobby. The two of them are having a working night at Bobby's home (he invited her there thinking he was going to score) and instead, he has a change of heart.
That original production came under some fire because Madonna was playing the role of Karen. She didn't have much acting experience at the time but she was one of the world's biggest pop stars so the producers evidently felt they could get more bums in the seats with the Material Girl in a plum role.
Which kind of goes against the whole point of the play.
-
In 1989, I was cast in my high school's production of Play On, which was about a community theatre group trying to mount a play. I called the artistic director of Alberta Theatre Projects to see if I could sit in on a play rehearsal just so I could get the vibe of things (I did this because I wanted the artistic director to praise me, not because I thought it would help me with my role.) The play ATP was rehearsing was Speed the Plow.
-
I have never seen Speed the Plow live. I would like to.
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