Making the Scene

Pacific Rim with Anna Williams

October is a special month, and a special month deserves a special director. Luckily, Making the Scene has got you covered by devoting the entire month to the brilliant Guillermo del Toro. I discuss the first of our two del Toro movies, Pacific Rim, with Anna Williams, musician and media analyst extraordinaire. Anna is one half of Murderboarding, a fantastic site devoted to diving deeply into the themes and mechanics of televisions shows like Haven, Grimm, and Person of Interest.
For today’s episode, Anna chose a pivotal moment of backstory and one of the vital steps in the developing partnership between our heroes Mako Mori and Raleigh Becket. As the two attempt to sync up for the first time to pilot the massive Jaeger Gipsy Danger, the sudden crash of shared memories proves too much for them and sends Mako spiraling into the most traumatic moment of her life.
This scene is on Youtube, though unfortunately broken into two parts. If you’re watching on your own copy, the scene starts at around 50 minutes in and ends just before the 56 minute mark.
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msUFls3t324
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kestIzzIQg0
Anna’s blog, Useful Notes, can be found at http://adsartha.com/. And you can find Anna’s work on Murderboarding here: http://murderboarding.blogspot.com/
On October 26th, we return to round out Month of del Toro. Just as we explored one half of del Toro’s career — the Hollywood Blockbuster del Toro — we’ll dive into his other side — Art House Horror del Toro — by discussing the incredible Pan’s Labyrinth with Anna’s parter at Murderboarding (not to mention accomplished author), Kitty Chandler. See you then!

Signs with Kenn Edwards

Making the Scene returns with M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 unconventional alien invasion film, Signs. Kenn is an excellent stand-up comedian and critic, and was the first (and so far only) person to interview me in person for his “So Let’s Get to the Point” podcast. When I pitched Making the Scene to people in the spring, Kenn was the first person to choose his scene. It took him, I’d say, approximately 14 seconds.
His scene, a quiet conversation about faith and coincidence between Mel Gibson’s Rev. Graham Hess and his brother Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is the thematic centerpiece of the film. Sure, it’s a movie featuring a terrifying attack by extraterrestrials, but what Signs is really about is whether those moments of chance and providence we experience are chance…or proof that something greater is out there.
This episode was what you might call our pilot episode. Kenn was kind enough to help me test out the format, and the result was a conversation just as insightful as the others this season. From the spare use of score, to the minimalist editing, to the subtle revelations of character, Kenn and I pull apart just why this scene is so effective.
This scene begins just after the 41 minute mark, and ends just after 46 minutes in. The entire scene isn’t available online, but the first half, where Graham discusses the two types people people in the world, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27qUO8_9uT0.
You can subscribe to Kenn’s “So Let’s Get to the Point” podcast on iTunes, or visit its website here: http://soletsgettothepoint.libsyn.com/ . He’s also a host of “Smoke Gets In Your Ears”, a show that’s currently analyzing televisions’ Mad Men. That podcast is available on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/smoke-gets-in-your-ears/id891801284?mt=2
Kenn is also working on a fascinating Batman fan film called Batman Immortal. They’re documenting the entire process of its creation, and you can follow along here: http://www.batmanimmortal.com/
Enjoy the episode. When we return, we’ll begin our Month of Guillermo del Toro by discussing Pacific Rim with Anna Williams. See you on October 12th!

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Gregory Sahadachny

Welcome to the official launch of Making the Scene! For my first episode, I’m joined by film critic and fellow podcaster Greg Sahadachy. To get us started, Greg has brought along a relentless chase sequence from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch and Sundance are pursued across the countryside by a the best lawmen in the west, brought together specifically to take them down.
Greg’s a mean one, though. Not only did he choose a film I hadn’t seen (so I had to watch the whole film before I could even get into analyzing the scene itself), but he choose a sequence that…well, let’s say it stretches the definition of “scene” a little. It’s a long sequence, a collection of small moments and beats as the posse wear Butch and Sundance down. Yet, though it might not technically qualify as a single scene, it is a distinct piece of the film. It would have been impossible to take any piece of the chase and talk about it alone. And so, I declare: this is a scene.
It’s also a fantastic discussion about economical writing, day for night photography, the end of the American West, and much, much more.
As we go forward, I’ll try to give you clips of the scenes we’re discussing, but unsurprisingly, it’s a bit tough to find 20 minutes of a film on YouTube. What I can give you is the scene’s closing moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IbStIb9XXw.
If you happen to subscribe to Netflix Instant, the film is available in its full glory there. The scene starts at around 38 minutes in, and ends just after the 1 hour mark. I told you it was long.
You can find Greg’s excellent Debatable Podcast at http://debatablepodcast.tumblr.com/.
He’s also started a podcast specific about David Simon’s masterpiece, The Wire, called All the Pieces Matter. Find it at https://www.facebook.com/wirepodcast.
Enjoy the episode, and we’ll be back on September 28th with Kenn Edwards to discuss M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs.