I grew up watching Steven Spielberg's work, especially E.T., and it was Saving Private Ryan that hit me with inspiration to pick up a camera and make my own movies.
I've made two shorts that stand out from the rest of my films, which can be seen above. A LA CARTE was where I did most of my learning ... and compromising. GOLDFISHING is a film that was made for one of those stupid 48 hour film fests ... and it shows how so little time affects a story. Enjoy! I made them for you!
I love Terminator 2! I first learned about the Writer-Director credit from James Cameron, and decided I'd work toward a directing career through writing. As I learned more about it, I realized that a lot of directors came from screenwriting (Tarantino, Columbus, J.J. Abrams), and that it's the most certain path for a director in an uncertain business.
Contact ScriptShark.com for coverage, story notes, and other consultation. Ask for me, CJ!
Movies:
(In no particular order) E.T., Psycho, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, A Clockwork Orange, The Searchers, The Dirty Dozen, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars Trilogy (IV, V, VI), V for Vendetta, Superbad, Pet Sematary, Silent Hill, Across the Universe, Minority Report, Mission Impossible trilogy, Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong (1933), King Kong (2005), Children of Men, Number 23 - am I the only one?, Forest Gump, The Shining, Harry Potter Saga, Backdraft, Back to the Future trilogy, Indiana Jones trilogy ... soon to be quadrilogy, Alien, Thelma and Louise, Waitress, Terminator 1 & 2 ... T3 never happened, Peter Pan, Hook, A.I, Batman, Batman: The Beginning, The Prestige, Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, 300, Full Metal Jacket, Transformers, 25th Hour, I Am Sam, Airplane, Naked Gun, The Sandlot, Dracula, Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Thing, Tremors, Casablanca, Citizen Cane, Titanic - best ending ever!, The Abyss, Juno, Entire James Bond Saga, The Matrix, The Bourne Trilogy, Silence of the Lambs, War of the Worlds, 1941, Schindler's List, Munich, Devil Wears Prada, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, The Goonies, Armageddon, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Pulp Fiction, Enter the Dragon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 & 2, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blade Runner, Beowulf, Animal House, Vertigo, The Birds, Night of the Living Dead, Halloween, Signs, Sixth Sense, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sweeny Todd, The Descent, Match Point, Finding Neverland, The Shawshank Redemption, Cool Hand Luke, Fargo, Gross Point Blank, The Bicycle Thief, Braveheart, Fight Club, Se7en, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Gone in 60 Seconds, Easy Rider American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Silent Hill, Pinocchio, Fantasia, American History X, Rear Window, Austin Powers Trilogy, Sin City, Constantine, Bullet, The Great Escape, Duel, Benny and Joon, the Truman Show!, Ghostbusters 1 & 2, The Sting, Taxi Driver, Apollo 13, Pan's Labyrinth, Marry Poppins, Disney's animated 101 Dalmatians, Shrek, Black Snake Moan, Waynes World 2, Cast Away, Little Giants, Princess Bride...
Movies I hope deteriorate at an accelerated rate:
I Know Who Killed Me, Superman Returns.