A terrific and very lengthy profile of Mbird-fave filmmaker Whit Stillman over at First Things, which includes the incredible news that Damsels in Distress, his first feature in over a decade, has finished shooting! The article abounds with priceless soundbites, a few being:
“I remember being very young, and there were greasers, people who were very Elvis Presley-ish, and rock-’n’-roll juvenile delinquents, and these were people who I assumed would just disappear, and they were something that was really unappealing and not constructive and kind of awful. But then, rather than going away, they became completely dominant and then metamorphosed into something even worse. It gives me a lot of energy and a point of view, and I have a lot of material to work with. I think sometimes it’s the things you don’t like that give you inspiration.”Stillman says that what he aspires to do in his films is to create a world where people dissenting from what he believes is the “bad dominant culture” can exist and maintain their point of view. When someone doesn’t like one of his films, Stillman theorizes it’s because he or she feels attacked. “They like to put themselves up by judging the film in a contemptuous way,” he says. He hesitates and then adds, “Or maybe the film is judging them in a contemptuous way.”
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One response to “Whit Stillman in First Things”
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Read this this morning and thought it was delightful! I glommed on to the same quote you did. Almost sent it to you, DZ… Glad you found it.