The Daily Report
4 December 2003 :::
10 am est
If Filmmakers Were Web Designers II
Dear Mr Antonioni:
I recently screened your classic film, The Red Desert, starring Monica Vitti and Richard Harris. I have a problem with the way you used screen space. My theater’s screen is big and wide. It is capable of handling many actors at the same time. For instance, crowd scenes and battle scenes work well. But in your movie there are only a few actors — and many times they are pictured in one corner of the screen or another, against a stark minimalist background. This is a terrible waste of screen space. For instance, there is one scene where Ms Vitti is filmed on the left side of the screen and there is a white forest behind her. The white forest is not much to look at. Sure, I can look to the left and watch Ms Vitti’s performance, but what do I see when I squint my eyes and look only at the right side of the screen? Not much! I urge you to add extra characters and situations to your movie so every inch of my screen bursts with action at all times.
Sincerely,
Howard Gumpf
Dear Ms Coppolla:
I recently saw your film, Lost in Translation. I have a complaint. Many of the Japanese characters in your movie speak Japanese. No subtitles are provided. This may be dandy for viewers who speak both English and Japanese, but I do not speak Japanese. I am not the only one discomfited by your choice. In the movie, the actor Bill Murray often looks puzzled when the Japanese people are speaking Japanese. If Bill Murray, who has read your script, has a hard time with the Japanese, consider how your viewers must feel. Please add subtitles immediately.
Respectfully,
Gladys Pfiff
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