better idea, better execution

This is one of the most infamous finales of all time, simply for how abrupt it is. Tony and his family are sitting at a diner, listening to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." During the scene, Tony notices a man looking around the diner, and then the screen quickly cuts to black. It was so abrupt that many viewers thought something went wrong with their cable feed. According to series creator David Chase, the ending implied two things. First, that Tony was always going to be paranoid, but not that he was in any particular danger at that moment. Second was that endings for guys like Tony Soprano usually come out of nowhere. All we're saying is that there might have been a way to get that point across without making people think their TVs were broken.  (via "TV show endings that people still don't understand")

"How STAR WARS was saved in the edit"

...according to RocketJump

"stories will tell you how to write them"

...says Max Landis

Irvin Kershner on why non-American films affect him the most

”American film tends to be sentimental and rarely depicts the soul of its citizens. And if the film doesn’t have guns, it isn’t an action film. But for me, the real turnoff is in the final scenes. The experience is often wrapped up in a pretty consumer package guaranteed to show us that life is good and people finally see the light. Foreign films tend not to have this denouement. The chips fall and lay dead and buried if need be. Think of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Ingmar Berman’s great films Fanny and Alexander and Cries and Whispers, or Fellini’s 8 1/2. The stories are not skewed for the happy ending. The studio system is geared to make money, not to tell stories. American films generally cost too much to make and cost millions more to advertise so that the product can open as many pockets as possible.” (Irvin Kershner)

Alex Garland on creative differences

“I completely ignore that aspect of it. The way I approach these things is with transparency. I never bullshit fucking anybody about what my intention is. I say, ‘Here is the script, the script is not a pretend script, it’s the actual script. Here are some visuals, too.’ The way I see it from that point is that if they agree to make the film, then it becomes like a contract. Importantly, that contract is not open to being broken later. There’s a creative agreement. If people do have a problem, and that’s find if they do, but the time to express that is early, not late.” (Alex Garland)

Horrorywood

“In Hollywood, the question you get asked a million times is, ‘What wouldn’t you do to succeed?’ And your hunger is part of the deal with the devil. The horrible thing is that there’s an unwritten rule, an unspoken agreement, between anybody who arrives. Every single high school king and queen that arrives in L.A. knows what to expect. You do anything to get on because the riches, when they’re delivered to you, are profound.” (Duncan Roy)

”This business isn't just about achieving...”

”...it's about longevity, it's about hanging in there.” (Julie Delpy, fighting for her passion project, ”My Zoe”)