TFS - Week 1

The most anticipated class of my week is this Theatrical Film Symposium (TFS) led by Leonard Maltin. Since so many people are anxious to hear about what happens during every single class session I figured that every week I would post the rough overview of each session here after class ends and save the details for a more personalized conversation. So expect to see my comments weekly on these activities.

To start things off I should give a little introduction to the class. It meets for 4 hours on Thursday night from 7-11, but you must show up to class early not only to ensure yourself a seat, but also because the doors close at exactly 7 and you won't be able to get in. Because of the high popularity of the class and because we generally watch films before their release, they confiscate our student ID cards to guarantee no one sneaks in and search all bags and purses for any pirating equipment. Once the class starts it is divided into 3 segments: An open discussion by Leonard Maltin about last week's movie with the class, the current week's feature film, and then a Q & A session with someone involved in the filmmaking process. The movies we will watch this semester will cover a wide range of movie types from mainstream studio films, to independent films, to documentaries, etc... for the purpose of, as Maltin put it, making us a better, more educated audience. We won't know what films we are going to watch until we get to class, as is my understanding, so I cannot disclose any information about this semester's movie syllabus out of ignorance.

That being said, tonight's feature film was "In Good Company" written and directed by Paul Weitz. We were told that since January is an unusual month for films that we would start the semester off by seeing films that have probably already been released for the first few weeks. This, of course, doesn't really bother me at all since I'm still getting to see movies in class. The movie itself was really good; something I believe the whole class enjoyed. Dennis Quaid was a great choice for the role and I still have a soft spot for Topher Grace, for whatever reason. Oh and Scarlett Johansson was good too. What I really enjoyed about the film was just how down to earth it was and how much it felt like an actual life account rather than a movie encounter/interaction between people, if that makes any sense.

I think the real treat after watching the movie was the Q&A session with Paul Weitz. The Q&A session really reminds me of "Inside the Actor's Studio" minus the big pile of cards. It started with just a discussion between Maltin and Weitz and then expanded to a full class Q&A. He was really great to have because not only did he shed some light on the behind the scenes elements of the film, but you also learned about his background and where he was coming from with the film. I think it's always interesting to listen to a writer/director talk about their work and the influences on it and their purpose behind their approach. If you want any specifics about the Q&A session or have any questions about the film, you can ask me and I'm sure I'll be able to answer it (I did take a lot of notes).

So it was a great class with a good movie and a good talk with the director. I can't tell you what's up for next week cause I don't know, so you'll just have to read about it next Thursday night. One last thing, before each movie we get to watch a short. Tonight's short was a Popeye episode from 1936 called, "Hold the Wire". It was a nice compliment to the movie to get us in the mood.

I'm going home this weekend so you probably won't get another post until I get back on Monday, so until then....