Thursday, June 26, 2003

Since we shot “American Splendor,” my life has changed. Though I had not told any students at my school, toward the end of last year, my teachers blabbed to them about it, and a lot of students treated me differently. I felt kind of popular, but I didn’t want to be… At least not with kids who used to spread rumors about me and who were now all trying to be my “best friend.” Another thing that is weird is how, when I see “American Splendor” and see the actress who plays me, I remember how I lent her my Sailor Moon hair elastic. So now, anytime I see it I am like “ Hey! That’s my Sailor Moon hair thingy!!” It’s very interesting, because I still have it! This summer I start filmmaking classes. I quit my photography class because they no longer give students access to the darkroom for reasons I do not understand. What’s the point of having a photography class if you can’t develop and print your own film? I’m switching back to computer animation where I’m currently working on my own characters to animate. I will work on my own, using the new book by John Kuramoto and Gary Leib, the Twinkle brothers. The Twinkle Brothers did the animation for the “American Splendor” movie. John sent me the book. It is called “The Art of Cartooning With Flash: The Twinkle Guide to Flash Character Animation.” (http://www.twinkleland.com/) As everyone who has been to this website knows, “American Splendor” went to Cannes along with another HBO movie directed by Gus Van Sant called “Elephant.” There’s an expression people use: “There is a 5 ton elephant in the living room.” The Elephant is the big problem that everyone avoids and doesn’t talk about. The movie is based on a Columbine-style shooting by two infuriated students who were picked on and did not fit in with their peer groups. I enjoyed it. Sometimes a movie needs to be a little extreme to get a point across, but it has to be poetic and truthful as well, to keep it from being a Hollywood action drama. “Elephant” has a lot of poetic qualities but it keeps a level head and sticks to the facts, including facts from the actors’ personal, private experiences. For me it’s really hard to find people my age, who are not ignorant. After meeting the "Elephant boys", a group of kids just like me who had no previous screen credits, but were in a movie that won the grand prize at a film festival, I was extremely happy to make friends with them. I got to talk to them as a friend and they told me how they handle press. They said if they get political questions, they say "We are just kids and we don’t have all the answers." They have no problem talking to certain people that they trust, but with press you’re talking to a bunch of strangers. There are some things that come up in our movie that I don’t want to give any more details about than I need to get my point across. When the Elephant boys are asked personal questions, they say, “That’s my private business." (Not in a rude way-- just honestly. They are very polite and down to earth guys.) 5:44:36 PM