‘I grew up as a big fan of movies. I love movies. Movies felt like this big, sacred, really cool thing… Movies felt like this endless library of really cool stories… and I came into it right when everything stopped being possible. The modern market is getting increasingly frightened of this…’
Rising star Max Landis, writer, director and producer of Chronicle, sits down to discuss the the Millennial experience of coming into the film industry on the far side of the digital revolution, utilizing a few well-placed f-bombs on the way.
In one sense, he argues, it offers a landscape of near-infinite freedoms: ultra-low cost filmmaking, unprecedented technological abilities, incredibly powerful distribution platforms.
And yet, there’s a sense of overwhelming panic, fear and greed: the contracting of the film industry into tentpole mega-budget films with too much money and too little plot, and indie films on ever-tightening budgets and theatrical releases.
Max Landis displays a refreshingly balanced and savvy understanding of the LA film industry, yet without losing his core enthusiasm and energy to write new, original stories. (No mean feat, by itself!) Also refreshing and interesting is how he sees the positives AND negatives of how the democratisation of filmmaking is affecting the viability of ‘old school’ style quality storytelling.