Film Courage: Would you say that filmmakers today are more about forcing a message
than telling a good story?
Shane Stanley, Filmmaker/Author/Instructor: That's a great question.
I think there's quite a few that do that
I think telling a good story is important whether it's it's you know a fun you know
romp in the desert or it's a story about a collapse of you know the housing industry like you
know the big short I mean wow was that a message or was that a story yeah I think it was both
I really do will we learn from it time will tell I think set your watch to that but you
know I think you know as storytellers we have a responsibility as writers we have a responsibility
a lot of people you know I think I think well if you look at the faith based genre it's all
about the message they don't care about story as much as they do it's the message it's the
message it's the message and you know that's cool that's that's their thing you know sometimes the
story is good I'm not saying they're not always but there's there's it's message
is the integrity and the point behind those you know I don't you know I don't know what what
different artists intent is I think some people go in with the intent to tell a good story and
it becomes message heavy and I think the other way around too sometimes people go
on wanting to give a message and it ends up being a good story or you know it doesn't
I think I think everybody as a storyteller has an intention whether they're willing
to show their hand or really you know I think the good storytellers are able to do
both without people realizing what's happening I mean I think when you can seduce an audience
and kind of woo them along and really get them in your story regardless of what story you're
telling whether it's chariots of fire I mean you talk about that that was a faith-based movie
people don't realize that that you know eric little not not competing on the lord's day and
the background of his religious background there was a lot of religious undertones in that but it
was a hell of a story and it was such a brilliant film and you know was it message driven or was it
story driven I think it probably was a good hand of both in my opinion anyway you know looking on
golden pond you know Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda I mean there was a story there but there was such a
message about family and and communication and and how we drift apart with age and circumstances but
you know I think there's a way to do both but your question was do I think one one this is
people become more focused on one or the other I think as we go through what we have in our
times I think I think a lot of people run to a message as storytellers I think that's a big thing
I see a lot of short films and theses films that are message driven
and they're not thinking about the story as much but that's that's coming from a lot of
film school students and you know newbies that they they want to jump on a cause
and and sometimes just saying there's anything wrong with that I think you know
I think sometimes when you when you're dealing with sensitive issues or you're dealing with
subject matters that we're still really feeling you know the aftermath or the aftershock from
that's a that's a good way to get some attention as a storyteller to to let
people see what it is that you're trying to do as an artist and sometimes you have to
you have to to pick the scab a little bit you mentioned that taxi was one
of your favorite shows growing up was there a message with the tv show poof
was louis de palma was he did he have something that he was trying to tell us and we didn't see it
I think he was just a I think you know I always thought danny devito was the youngest
of probably five children and he probably you know like Arthur Spooner and the king of queens never
really was heard growing up and he was a bully and you know the funny thing was is he was you know
five foot nothing 100 and nothing and you know ran the roost it was his show you know I mean it was
his is that it was his garage and there was there was messages but you know occasionally he would
have a life lesson but before they faded to black he'd always slide back to old louis
right that's true but but the things that John Hirsch's character would would go through with
you know Tony Danzer, Elaine or Bobby Wheeler's character I forget his name the actor that passed
and you know my favorite was Jim Ignatowski, Christopher Lloyd's character I mean that
was my favorite character I watched the show for him as a kid I thought he was hilarious
and Latka was great yeah yeah and Latka's wife yeah yeah I mean was there a message you know
I think you talk about people coming from all different backgrounds and all different you know
walks of life and being able to work together and encouraging alex was always kind of that wise owl
of the group you know they went to him for advice or sometimes he got himself in a pickle and
you know elaine would help him out you know so I think it's neat when shows that we and dear
touch on us without hitting us over the head and I think taxi was a brilliant example of
of giving us little life lessons without ever feeling like we were being preached at
you know I like shows like that don't hit me over the head
you know let me enjoy the people the circumstances and go along for the ride and oh you happened
to give me a little life lesson here all right it was it was extra worth the time
whereas with fantasy island there was always a message usually
there was wasn't there once you know when mr work was was speaking to tattoo at the end there there
was some kind of a message that that show was on past my bedtime I never got through the third act
I don't know if they'll have the same message in the remake but it looks like they've really
rebranded it I like the fact that they have a woman now as the mr roar character I think
it appears that way I haven't seen it yet but looking at some of the previews of it I
think they have a woman now leading the charge which I think is great
you know but yeah there were messages I know there was about people finding love or I think wasn't it
again forgive me I think it was also a lot of people fantasies chasing
something that they're never gonna get and being able to accept and love and appreciate
what they truly had as they think what kind of was the underlying tone of the show wasn't it
as an audience member or fan do you feel that movies today are lecturing you more than they
previously did not the stuff that I watch I don't I don't allow myself to get into that I'm very you
know time is precious our time on this earth is limited you know something doesn't doesn't get me
early I just I have an off button like the rest of the world I just I just don't go down roads that I
just feel if something's going in a direction that I don't personally agree with or it just doesn't
hold me I don't wait it out you know i'd rather go on and do something else so I can't answer that
I just you know I like shows that allow me to
do the things that I want to do when I tell a story let people go where they haven't gone
take them someplace they didn't know existed I let them just forget about their circumstances
and enjoy something for 90 minutes or however long it is that they're watching
but you know I always love it when there's something you know there's always that saying
when we work on something we always we always try to leave the audience with something you know
more than an empty box of popcorn at the end of a show I think is I think I think it's a filmmaker's
responsibility I mean no matter how ragtag or crazy a show is I think I think there's always
I think show always needs heart you got to have characters you care about and can relate to so I
think it's important that you know as storytellers we allow our audiences to relate to characters or
at least want to learn more about a character and if we have some self-discovery during the ride
super that's great I don't look for films like that or projects like that when I watch something
but you know I like nice surprises as I said earlier I think sometimes when you walk away
from something wow you know I gave me a different point of view or I never thought of that or
really interesting to see a different side from you know of society that maybe I don't
come in contact with all the time and to see their upbringing their point of view or
you know one of the shows that I'm absolutely in love with is blanking on the name right now
it's snowfall john singleton created that show and you know basically about the beginning of
crack cocaine in the inner cities and how that started I think that is just such a brilliant show
and I having come up working with you know incarcerated youth during that time we were
really big in working with you know a lot of the juvenile inmates and in the prison system during
those 80s and 90s and I was very involved with a lot of the kids lives that were going through you
know slinging dope and making crack and selling it and living in gangs and protecting their turf
and you know here I am 25 30 years later as you know 50 year old guy watching this show
it's like one of my favorite shows on tv and that's something that I saw
close up it wasn't you know living the life but I was close to it and
you know integrated with people that were I just think you know you talk about a show that
you know you I think you learn so much about the mindset of you know it's a lot of people that it's
easy to look down on people that live a certain way and do a certain thing to make money but
you also have to look at the circumstances and what their surroundings are and either you're
selling or you're living on the streets broke or you're selling or you're going to die because
there's a lot of people that got pulled into it that you had to choose an allegiance so a lot of
the people that got involved in that they didn't really have a choice and a lot of people you
know it's good to remind people where things come from I mean I think there's some some interesting
roads they go down with the cia funding some of that to kind of do their own thing and that's
that's all you know if you're into that that's cool I mean I don't take one side or another on
that but I love the show because I care about the characters you know we we meet franklin and he's
this young kid who lives in the hood who gets brought into this underworld and he becomes a
kingpin of moving narcotics into the not only the inner city but our our world and you know
stories like that fascinate me and I think a lot of people get that from shows like narcos and
other shows I haven't seen that one but you know I sometimes there's message you know there's
interesting interesting things that come from those about relationships and loyalty and you know
sometimes I can get inspired by a show like that that has nothing to do with what I'm dealing with
on a day-to-day basis but it reminds me of the importance of loyalty when I think of our film
crew or I think about the people that we work with or our friends or family you know so it's nice
when those little those little things happen when you watch a show that you don't expect it from.
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