#johnjansen

[pixites]

Avondhashjointje #doc #johnjansen #kunstenaar #xtc #staatsloterij #zorgverzekering #chemicals #jeugdzorg (bij Filmhuis Alkmaar)

[understandingfilm]

I've been a fan of John Jansen for about... seven years? Eight years? He is one of the smartest thinkers about cinema working on the Internet right now and both his podcasts, the now defunct Hollywood Saloon and the still active Hollywood Gauntlet, offer some of the best discussions about film you're ever likely to hear.

I just finished listening to this, his second-most recent episode, and I can't recommend it highly enough. In 1978, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan got together and talked their way through an outline of what would eventually become Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jansen and Co. have painstakingly reenacted this conference from transcription records radioplay-style, and we can now listen to one of the conversations that changed how movies are made.

It's absolutely fascinating to hear all the different stuff they quote at each other while trying to figure out who Indiana Jones is and who brings what to do the table. Lucas does about 65% of the talking (that's a conservative estimate), and it's interesting to see which of the ideas he brings to the table are instantly embraced and which get tweaked by the other two. It's a remarkable portrait of three young luminaries as they put together one of the masterpieces of the medium. Why are you not listening to it already?