MICHAEL PICARELLA

I'd like to meet:

I'd like to have a seat at this table -- heck, I'd love to bus this table:

Music:

Anything from Heyday Records (shameless plug). I really like any music by Andrew Lynch. (I hear Mr. Lynch wrote a killer movie score.)

Movies:

I'd have to suggest that everyone check out "Punchcard Player." Go to www.punchcardplayer.com.

And check out "1 2 3" at www.123themovie.com.

And check out my friend Jack Perez's funny homage to Ray Harryhausen:

This was my favorite movie at Sundance 2007:

Other movies I love (in no particular order):

Books:

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning, riveting collection of words and pictures. Indeed, it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Heroes:

Marty:

Some words from Marty:

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Jim Jarmusch:

Some words from Jim:

Rule 1: THERE ARE NO RULES. There are as many ways to make a film as there are potential filmmakers. It’s an open form. Anyway, I would personally never presume to tell anyone else what to do or how to do anything. To me, that’s like telling someone else what their religious beliefs should be. F**k that. That’s against my personal philosophy—more of a code than a set of “rules.” Therefore, disregard the “rules” you are presently reading, and instead consider them to be merely notes to myself. One should make one’s own “notes” because there is no one way to do anything. If anyone tells you there is only one way, their way, get as far away from them as possible, both physically and philosophically.

Rule 2: DON’T LET THE F**KERS GET YA. They can either help you, or not help you, but they can’t stop you. People who finance films, distribute films, promote films and exhibit films are not filmmakers. They are not interested in letting filmmakers define and dictate the way they do their business, so filmmakers should have no interest in allowing them to dictate the way a film is made. Carry a gun if necessary. Also avoid sycophants at all costs. There are always people around who want to be involved in filmmaking to get rich, get famous or get laid. Generally, they know as much about filmmaking as George W. Bush knows about hand-to-hand combat.

Rule 3: THE PRODUCTION IS THERE TO SERVE THE FILM. The film is not there to serve the production. Unfortunately, in the world of filmmaking, this is almost universally backwards. The film is not being made to serve the budget, the schedule or the resumes of those involved. Filmmakers who don’t understand this should be hung from their ankles and asked why the sky appears to be upside down.

Rule 4: FILMMAKING IS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. You get the chance to work with others whose minds and ideas may be stronger than your own. Make sure they remain focused on their own function and not someone else’s job, or you’ll have a big mess. But treat all collaborators as equals and with respect. A production assistant who is holding back traffic so the crew can get a shot is no less important than the actors in the scene, the director of photography, the production designer or the director. Hierarchy is for those whose egos are inflated or out of control, or for people in the military. Those with whom you choose to collaborate, if you make good choices, can elevate the quality and content of your film to a much higher plane than any one mind could imagine on its own. If you don’t want to work with other people, go paint a painting or write a book. (And if you want to be a f**king dictator, I guess these days you just have to go into politics…).

Rule 5. NOTHING IS ORIGINAL. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”

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We interrupt this block of photos to bring you the following:

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“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and that we miss it, but rather that it is too low and we hit it.”

—MICHELANGELO

(artist)

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“It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.”

—URSULA K. LEGUIN

(American author)

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“My future starts when I wake up every morning . . . Every day I find something creative to do with my life.”

—MILES DAVIS

(Jazz musician and trumpeter)

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“A good movie is three good scenes and no bad scenes.”

—HOWARD HAWKS

(filmmaker)

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"You must stay drunk on writing so that reality cannot destroy you."

—RAY BRADBURY

(writer)

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“This is basically what movies are—the learning process. Education. We learn how to kiss, or to drink, talk to our buddies. All the things that you can’t really teach in social studies or history, we all learn them at the movies.”

—JACK NICHOLSON

(actor)

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“All you have to do with bad luck is to live through it.”

—PRESTON STURGES

(filmmaker)

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“Failure is not an option.”

–Ed Harris's character in "Apollo 13"

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“There are no answers, only choices.”

–STEVEN SODERBERGH

(filmmaker)

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“Just to paint a representation or design is not that hard, but to express a thought in a painting is. Thought is fluid. What you put on canvas is concrete, and it tends to direct the thought. The more you put on canvas the more you lose control of the thought.”

–EDWARD HOPPER

(painter)

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"Let's keep it moving please, because if it bogs down, it's deadly"

-Frank Sinatra

(singer)

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"I'm going to be 60, and I'm almost used to myself."

-MARTIN SCORSESE

(filmmaker)

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"My advice to young filmmakers is this: don't follow trends, start them!"

-FRANK CAPRA

(filmmaker)

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"A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do."

-ELIA KAZAN

(filmmaker)

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"For a moment, nothing happened.Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen."

-DOUGLAS ADAMS

(writer)

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"I've met them down in the Cost and Accounting Department, clean-shaven and in white collars. They can't see a damn thing ridiculous about themselves... only about you."

-JEAN SHEPHERD

(writer, humorist)

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"If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor."

-NEIL SIMON

(writer)

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"Shoot a few scenes out of focus. I want to win the foreign film award."

-BILLY WILDER

(filmmaker)

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"Auto racing is boring except when a car is going at least 172 miles per hour upside down."

-DAVE BARRY

(columnist)

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"Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent."

-FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

(philosopher)

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"Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions and composed our masterpieces."

-MARCEL PROUST

(writer)

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"I don't think there's any artist of any value who doesn't doubt what they're doing."

-FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

(filmmaker)