A Film Producer: Jim Jarmusch - Essay Example

Running Head: JIM JARMUSCH Jim Jarmusch [Author] [University] Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch is a film producer who is fascinated in what happens in the limits of life (Suarez, 2007). He is not really concerned on the reasons why most film producers behave like this or that. He is more concerned on how these film producers were able to achieve their present status. He said that he recognized the fact that sometimes he became disoriented watching movies for the reason that his mind floats away (Hertzberg, 2001). This was the moment by which he started to think of employing jump cuts in filmmaking which later on became his most distinct style in every film that he did. He is engrossed in taking down notes which describes the everyday happenings that most people fail to appreciate and proves that they are also overflowing with interesting moments (Krause, 2003). His films are mainly contained with various characters who appear to have no actual path in life; who just come to pass to falter into adventures – which are comparable to the characters in real life (Collins, 1992). Jarmusch originally came from a town in Ohio. Having so much passion with writing, he went in New York. In 1971, he studied in Columbia University where he took American and English Literature. Before he graduated, he set off to Paris to study French Literature for one year. He repeated the Cinémathèque in Paris and was so fanatical with films from different regions of the world. He came back to New York and established a pop group known as Del-Byzanteens (Suarez, 2007). Jarmusch admitted that at first, he was quite unsure of how he would live his life and how he would pursue his future. So he decided to attend a graduate film school at New York University and was fortunately admitted. He was very surprised when he was able to make it at NYU since he was not able to make a single film before. However, he regarded those times as futile since he was asked to scrap all the things that he held in his mind (Hertzberg, 2001). Nonetheless, such experience was not totally bad in a sense that he was able to be acquainted with two of the most renowned film producers like Tom DiCillo and Nicholas Ray. And later on, the former became one of his cinematographer in his debut film in 1980 entitled Permanent Vacation. In 1984, DiCillo also helped Jarmusch in the cinematography of his film Stranger Than Paradise (LaFrance, 2003). Before he left from New York University, Jarmusch was able to discover many things about the technical characteristics of filmmaking that would provide him afterwards. And he also had to devise new approach in dealing with actors. Yet, he was an exceptionally actor-oriented director (Collins, 1992). He first established the characters usually with an exact actor in his mind, and afterwards he made the story based on how he saw that actor’s character. Prior to the making of the film itself, the actors run through scenes that are not really part of the film. Such rehearsals are done to convey more strength and naturalness in the characters when the cameras start. Such technique produces convincing, three-dimensional characters inclusive with their own peculiarity and fine distinctions (LaFrance, 2003). After some time, he quitted in NYU and made a decision to roll his ultimate project into the quality piece entitled Permanent Vacation (Suarez, 2007). The film is an 80-minute introduction about wandering, as one reviewer illustrated it. After the filming of Permanent Vacation, Jarmusch started working on his next film entitled Stranger Than Paradise. It is a short film that is primarily derived from a collection of unrelated films by Wim Wenders, a filmmaker from Germany (Susman, 1996). In effect, Jarmusch was able to earn a small amount of funds worth $120,000, and was able to finish the film. The film is all about the two characters, Willie and Eddie, whose lives are filled with unfortunate happenings. These two characters were portrayed by John Lurie and Richard Edson. Their boring and very mediocre way of life is disturbed by the entrance of Willie's cousin, who is from Hungary, who decided to settle at his house for a couple of days before going to Cleveland (Susman, 1996). Illustrated by one of Jarmusch reviewer as “The Honeymooners by way of Ozu,” the film commenced Jarmusch's unique style - minimum sets and lengthy, continuous takes with very slight camera movement that are interposed by the infrequent lose color to black (Belsito, 1985). In its premiere, Jarmusch described the film's outline in an interview. He explained that instead of making a story based on how it should be and then furnish it with some features, what he did is that he collected the features and then attempted to make a story out of those features. He added that he found no difficulty in doing it the way he did since he had already the appropriate idea as well as the characters; but not the very plot by which the story would flow through (Hertzberg, 2001). In 1984, Stranger Than Paradise took an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Shortly, it was hailed by many reviewers, as well as critics, as a turning point in American independent film (Marcus, 2000). Through this film, Jarmusch was able to introduce to the film industry the value of independent films. And he was very successful in convincing them that such indie films could produce profits in return. The achievement of Jarmusch’s film appeared quite strange taking into account that it was the exact opposite of most films being filmed in America during that time (Hillier, 2001). The quite sluggish, roundabout tempo of Stranger did not match to the fast cut, music-video mode that was trendy at the time. His characters were also short of any kind of actual objective which was a world at a distance from the majority of typical films. But rather, the ordinary and the common was emphasized and looked at, regularly with fascinating results (LaFrance, 2003). Jarmusch developed this thought with his subsequent movie entitled Down By Law in 1986. The film was all about three men who run away together from a detention center and gone astray close to swamplands. These characters were portrayed by Roberto Benigni, a very famous comedian-actor from Italy, Tom Waits, and John Lurie. The initial tracking takes of New Orleans instantly indicated a development in Jarmusch's approach (Susman, 1996). Not anymore satisfied with a stationary camera, he used the splendidly consistent black and white filmmaking of Robby Muller who has experienced working with various exceptional film producers like Alex Cox and Lars von Trier. Muller employed black and white film collection not only to demonstrate the bare difference and predictability of jail, but to show the verdant, more ancient face of the wilds (Krause, 2003). Down By Law went on with Jarmusch's interest on people who survive in the limits of life (Susman, 1996). His central characters were strangers who repudiated to obey the rules to the “9-to-5” way of thinking. He described it by saying that all the protagonists in this film were really strangers themselves (Hertzberg, 2001). He added that the film was concerned with the people who were being marginalized (Hertzberg, 2001). Although Jarmusch seemed like describing about the key characters in his previous film Stranger, he could simply be recounting the three protagonists in Down By Law. Similar to Stranger, Down By Law was more determined on analyzing people who did not fit in and who were not pursuing the “American dream.” They were aliens, in a sense, in their own nation (Susman, 1996).+ In 1989, Jarmusch became persistent in his perspective on America using the eyes of strangers through his film entitled Mystery Train (Suarez, 2007). This film was consisted of three vignettes that took place concurrently in a ragged Memphis hotel. The film showcased actors from across the globe such as from America, Japan, Italy, and England (Hillier, 2001). This film became one of the most celebrated independent films in 1989 because it was used to premiere the New York Film Festival which made Jarmusch one of the most valued filmmakers of the indie films in America (Marcus, 2000). Notwithstanding this credit, Jarmusch's film was more booming worldwide, as barely enjoying sect status in his local motherland. Such did not trouble Jarmusch much. He declared that he would rather keep away from the attractive allure of Hollywood (Hertzberg, 2001). As he successfully passed up with foremost Hollywood studios, Jarmusch found no difficulty in working with celebrated actors (Suarez, 2007). He did this in another film in 1992 entitled Night On Earth. It showcased famous celebrities and actresses from Hollywood like Winona Ryder (Jarmusch, 1992). Jarmusch employed the same manner that he outstandingly used in Mystery Train; however he stretched out its extent (Susman, 1996). Night On Earth is divided into five chronicles that all happened simultaneously but in various cities across the globe with the action limited to cab rides (Jarmusch, 1992). Jarmusch employed these meetings as catalysts for motivating, frequently comical and entertaining, occasionally heartbreaking talks varying from acting in cinemas to festival jesters to sex with ranch animals. The momentum for composing Night On Earth derived from Jarmusch's concern in the modest instances of life that most individuals undervalue (Susman, 1996). He said that most people think about taking a cab as something that is not worth discussing in one’s daily life. The film exposed scenes that showed encounters like when a person takes a cab – one would notice them getting inside the cab, after a while there’s a cut, and then, one would also see them getting out of the cab (Hertzberg, 2001). In effect, the substance of this film was comprised of the things that would more often than not be pulled out. Night On Earth did not only change this latently ordinary work out into something extraordinary but it also ran to stay away from the worn-out truism of the world exhausted to feature stirring ideas into the human form with circumstances that manage the whole expressive continuum (LaFrance, 2003). Night On Earth's makeup eventually became a forerunner to Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino in 1994 which also employed with a number of concurrently stirring stories and a bulky cast of actors but with more viable emotional responses (Hillier, 2001). The success of the film did not only overlap with a break in Jarmusch's yield, but also marked a shifting of the picket in the American independent picture (Hillier, 2001). Jarmusch's meticulously rapid, dry-witted humors were not anymore in trend, having been substituted by a shriller, blazer gesture of contemporary film producers with blatant pop culture awareness (Collins, 1992). However, Jarmusch's subsequent film was a momentous advancement in his career while maintaining unfailing fashionably with the remainder of his masterpieces. As his preceding films were able to shun any apparent classification, Dead Man in 1995 obviously looked like a Western; yet, it still stuck onto the road film makeup that was one and the same with Jarmusch's previous films (Marcus, 2000). Dead Man also maintained his anxiety with strangers in its portrayal of the mishaps of his character named William Blake played by Johnny Depp - a timid accountant who tours to the putrefying developed settlement of Machine with the pledge of employment. When he is later rejected by his potential boss, he discovers himself on the lope following a conflict with a prostitute and her protective boyfriend. Blake finishes up with a shot stuck fast close to his heart and encounters an indigenous American named Nobody played by Gary Farmer. Mutually they have not only a physically-exhausting expedition to the West Coast but also a supernatural one aw well (Susman, 1996). Jarmusch had this attitude and character, with regards to filmmaking, of thinking first actors for his film before he went on thinking about the plot of the story (Belsito, 1985). This time he considered Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer. The former was known to him for quite sometime since the filming of his previous film Night on Earth. Since then they became friends. Jarmusch thought that Depp would fit the character of William Blake so he made Depp play the role of Blake. On the other hand, he had only watched the latter from a Canadian movie and was really impressed with his acting. And so he decided to make another character named Nobody and asked Farmer to do it. Luckily, Farmer gave the character a blend of rage, wit and marvel that make Nobody was one of the most attractive features in Jarmusch’s Dead Man (Suarez, 2007). Dead Man, in 1995, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. It received a very warm feedback from the European reviewers. It had also received unsurprisingly varied responses from American journalists (Hillier, 2001). In an attempt to arrive at larger viewers, Jarmusch made an agreement with Miramax to hand out his film. Nevertheless, Jarmusch sparred with the owner of Miramax Harvey Weinstein. He insisted to modify some of the substance of the movie to make it more profitable. Jarmusch replied by saying that he was not anticipating that his film would gain a very successful profit. He added that the only thing that he wished was that the distribution of the film would be done in a stylish way. But because he remained with his principle, the film Dead Man was not distributed the way Jarmusch asked it to be done. Jarmusch was really disheartened by that incident. It took four years before he regained his spirit and backed with filmmaking (Suarez, 2007). In 1999, after he finally composed himself again, he filmed another film entitled Ghost Dog. It was derived from Jarmusch’s idea about making a film that has a character whose way of life or work is vicious and aggressive but makes him attractive and has profundity to others (Susman, 1996). He wrote the character of Ghost Dog exclusively for Forest Whitaker. He is an actor that Jarmusch liked and sought after to work with. He talked to Whitaker and informed him what he was doing. During that conversation, he discovered that the actor was engrossed in Eastern philosophy and martial arts. This made him consider the inclusion of the samurai culture in his recent film (Collins, 1992). While doing the screenplay, Jarmusch chose to be in a room wherein a lot of influential music was being played. Such music was inspired by The Wu-Tang Clan’s co-founder Rza. He talked to Rza and later on he requested if he would consider making score for his film. Eventually, Rza accepted his offer (Belsito, 1985). Ghost Dog featured Whitaker as an assassin who faithfully followed the samurai code. In one of his mission, he let a girl alive who was eventually became a witness against the crime he did. The group came to a decision that he must not live as he failed them. But it was not easy for them to kill him. Ghost Dog was a professional assassin, while the group against him was comprised of aged, stout goons (Susman, 1996). Though Ghost Dog might be considered as Jarmusch most refined film so far, it did not lose his original and unique way of composition of long shots with cuts to black – although with even tracking takes and smudging effects for the action scenes. The film also allowed his obsession with conflicts of diverse cultures. Ghost Dog was also an extension of the genres Jarmusch discovered his past film Dead Man having the fact that both films involved the life and death theme. On the other hand, while William Blake was a pokerfaced character, Ghost Dog had a precise code that he followed firmly (Hillier, 2001). The mode of Jarmusch’s movies was more in tune with European responsiveness than American. Likewise, it was this artistic that put a stop to them from really breaching through into North American conventional way of life. This matched with Jarmusch very well as he was not that interested with the pop culture infatuated society like North America (Suarez, 2007). Jarmusch anticipated that audience, once they watched the film, would be stimulated to experience again the legacy of Blake and other paradigms of traditional literature before patronizing replays of Friends. In this very pop-oriented era, Jim Jarmusch's films are definitely not marketable with their wide application of long shots and hanging finale. He declined to bind up his movies in an efficient way for the reason that it would be like as if putting off the characters. Jarmusch took his films as if the characters would not cease to exist even after the films were finished. He imagined his characters still taking endless adventures. He was eager to look deeply into his characters instead of routing to outward typecast. It was this manner that brought his films exceptionally worthwhile to watch. List of References: Suarez, J. A. 2007, Jim Jarmusch, University of Illinois Press. Hertzberg, L. 2001, Jim Jarmusch: Interviews, University Press of Mississippi. Hillier, Jim, 2001, American Independent Cinema: A Sight and Sound Reader, British Film Institute. Jarmusch, J. 1992, Night On Earth, Fine Line. Belsito, P. 1985, Notes from the Pop Underground, Last Gasp of San Francisco. Collins, J. 1992, Film Theory Goes to the Movies, Routledge. Krause, J. 2003, Creative Sparks, How Design Books. LaFrance, J. D. 2003, Senses of Cinema, Available at: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/jarmusch.html. Susman, G. 1996, Movie Reviews, Available at: http://72.166.46.24//alt1/archive/movies/reviews/05-09-96/DEAD_BAR.html. Marcus, G. 2000, Arts and Entertainment, Available at: http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/1999/12/02/deadman/index.html. Read More