"Downsizing" & "Sideways" Director Alexander Payne says to pursue your Film School dreams

Chris W · · 1 min read · Views: 6K · Reaction score: 1 · Comments: 4
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(Nebraska Union of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Photo by Ensign Beedrill)​

At a commencement address at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, "Downsizing" and "Sideways" director Alexander Payne had some important advice for aspiring filmmakers:

“My parents absolutely hammered me to be a lawyer,” Payne said, “but I had been movie-crazy since I was a little kid, and it was all I could think about.

...his parents “kept repeating the single worst advice in the world,” he said, “which is, ‘Go to law school first so you’ll always have something to fall back on.’

“In fact, the opposite is true: Do what you want to do first because you can always fall back on going to law school. These years right now … are the precious years when you’re done with school and you can get out in the world and try any damn thing you want.”
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Don't be afraid to reach for your dreams. (But please do try to avoid going into massive debt doing so in case it doesn't work out.)
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Chris W
Chris W
Founder of FilmSchool.org and working as a Film & TV editor and producer since 2001. Boston University College of Communication Class of 1999 for film (BS). Recently moved from Los Angeles back to the east coast.

Comments

sharkb8
W00! I love Alexander Payne. UCLA remains on my list mostly because it'd be cool to go where he went.

But it's hard to read "Downsizing director Alexander Payne." Downsizing needs to be shot in the face, stabbed repeatedly by Norman Bates, destroyed in a volcano, burnt to a pair of of tiny glowing embers, and then thrown back in his face, because that was an absolutely god-awful film.

I'll think of him as "Nebraska" director, Alexander Payne, or "Sideways" director, or "The Descendants" director Alexander Payne, but holy crap Downsizing was atrocious lol.

Also, have I mentioned that I hated Downsizing?
 
Chris W
sharkb8 said:
W00! I love Alexander Payne. UCLA remains on my list mostly because it'd be cool to go where he went.

But it's hard to read "Downsizing director Alexander Payne." Downsizing needs to be shot in the face, stabbed repeatedly by Norman Bates, destroyed in a volcano, burnt to a pair of of tiny glowing embers, and then thrown back in his face, because that was an absolutely god-awful film.

I'll think of him as "Nebraska" director, Alexander Payne, or "Sideways" director, or "The Descendants" director Alexander Payne, but holy crap Downsizing was atrocious lol.

Also, have I mentioned that I hated Downsizing?
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Haha. Haven't seen it. That bad huh?
 
Chris W
sharkb8 said:
W00! I love Alexander Payne. UCLA remains on my list mostly because it'd be cool to go where he went.

But it's hard to read "Downsizing director Alexander Payne." Downsizing needs to be shot in the face, stabbed repeatedly by Norman Bates, destroyed in a volcano, burnt to a pair of of tiny glowing embers, and then thrown back in his face, because that was an absolutely god-awful film.

I'll think of him as "Nebraska" director, Alexander Payne, or "Sideways" director, or "The Descendants" director Alexander Payne, but holy crap Downsizing was atrocious lol.

Also, have I mentioned that I hated Downsizing?
Click to expand...
Actually your "Review" of the film makes me want to see it more just to see how bad it is. :) Ha!

I added a Filmmaking Book review section... maybe I'll add a film review section. :)
 
sharkb8
sharkb8 said:
W00! I love Alexander Payne. UCLA remains on my list mostly because it'd be cool to go where he went.

But it's hard to read "Downsizing director Alexander Payne." Downsizing needs to be shot in the face, stabbed repeatedly by Norman Bates, destroyed in a volcano, burnt to a pair of of tiny glowing embers, and then thrown back in his face, because that was an absolutely god-awful film.

I'll think of him as "Nebraska" director, Alexander Payne, or "Sideways" director, or "The Descendants" director Alexander Payne, but holy crap Downsizing was atrocious lol.

Also, have I mentioned that I hated Downsizing?
Click to expand...
hahaha it's your own time you'll be throwing away. I saw it was getting underwhelming reviews but I thought "I love Alexander Payne I'm sure I'll still like it" but no. It's a pointless, preachy? nonsensical, contrived, and overly expository mess of a film.

But if you add a review section I'll definitely write some reviews on it :).
 

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