Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545125
29 S U M M E R Q 2 I S S U E E D I T I N G I N T H E T W E N T Y - F I R S T C E N T U R Y By Peter Tonguette B y any reckoning, 25 years is a sig- nificant amount of time, but it is especially so in a business as reli- ant on technology, vulnerable to fads and trends, and ultimately answerable to pub- lic tastes as Hollywood. For example, over the quarter century from 1930 to 1955, the filmmaking industry changed in nearly every way. In 1930, mov- ies were being made in black-and-white, with quicksilver energy and speed, and with few limitations when it came to scandalous content. Twenty-five years later, they were being produced in Technicolor and wides- creen, on a scale that could be lumbering, and under the more restrictive auspices of the Production Code — inaugurated a DIRECTORS' CUT OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS, FEATURES HAVE GONE DIGITAL — AND GOTTEN REALLY LONG. quarter century earlier, but not faithfully honored until some years later. Few of the stars from the earlier era carried over to the next: Greta Garbo was a big deal in 1930, but Marilyn Monroe was an even bigger deal in 1955. One constant was the stylistic norms imposed by the studio system: in both eras, no matter the director or producer, stars were lit for glamour, scenes were staged for clarity (and elegance), and cutting patterns were functional, utilitarian, and in service to the story. The 25 years that have elapsed from 20 0 0 to th e p res en t h ave s e en j us t as many upheavals but few of the consoling constants. At the turn of the millennium, film still rolled through the camera on most productions; digitally-photographed indie projects, such as Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming's "The Anniversary Party" (2001), Gary Winick's "Tadpole" P H OT O : P H OT O F E S T RISING 'EMPIRE': David Lynch, center, directs Jeremy Irons, left, and Harry Dean Stanton in "Inland Empire." P H OT O : WA R N E R B R O S . LISTEN UP: Paul Thomas Anderson, left, directs Leonardo DiCaprio in "One Battle After Another."