This is a fairy tale about L.A.
The Mecca of film. The siren call for the naive, the hopeful, the gamblers, carpetbaggers and dreamers. Nearly every day I ask myself why I don’t live there. I weigh the odds. I tell myself I’m good enough to survive, but then talk myself out of the risk.
If you told me a year ago that a black and white silent film that featured dancing (but no Nazis) would sweep the Oscars, I’d call you a naive dreamer, a fool, a hopeless romantic.
Just one of the reasons I’m so happy the Artist won Best Picture of 2011, is that as the germ of an idea, it was the biggest risk to make. Can you guess how many studios would look at this script and greenlight it? Hollywood is risk-averse, and this film flies in the face of every convention.
“I knew because it was silent and black and white it would be different and original,” Langmann said backstage after receiving the best picture Oscar. “All the weaknesses in the beginning became strengths.” – Thomas Langmann, Producer
The night I saw The Artist, I left the theatre with a song in my heart. The performances were sincere, the homage to the era harmonious, and best of all its story transported me – as all good art should. I laughed. I lost my breath at a few of the most beautiful set-ups. I shed tears. And I wanted to run home as quickly as possible (tap dancing the whole way) to hug my dog.
Congratulations to the makers. May we all be lucky enough to have our impossible dreams be realized on the silver screen!
