Werner Herzog calling BS on American film schools

The legendary German filmmaker on why no one but Hollywood takes Hollywood seriously anymore.

[theodorerooseveltsantlers]

"Don't take media studies, . Take something useful, Philosophy, History, English. Learn to have thoughts, because there's no point to making movies if you're just imitating other people, if you have no thoughts of your own.
-Terry Gilliam

[dwaynesbadchemicals]

The one and a half claps in the middle is very Herzog.

[ronaldbell]

In the Rodney Dangerfield movie "Back to School", Rodney played a rich man going back to college. There was a gag, where he hired Kurt Vonnegut to write a paper about his own books. The teacher says, "Whoever did write [that paper] doesn't know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut."

The academics analyzing books and movies and art get so enthralled with their web of syllogisms that they can't be bothered to pay attention to what it is they're actually talking about. Kudos to you, Mr Herzog.

[wsxc]

So true. If i hear the word "character arc" again I will puke.

[ledbowman]

he didn't have to end her like that 😭

[MintyFreshTurds]

That definitely sounds like that should be delegated to the actors to deal with.

[hackbritton]

I dont know the first thing about making movies but im with him.

[m.joanhay]

Herzog’s voice is so soothing. His movies are masterpieces for sure.

[Patowtow]

This completely applies to acting as well. There's an obsession with script analysis, as if that directly correlated to a better performance. I think it's because it gives us the illusion of doing important, difficult work. But at the end of the day, analysing and performing are two completely different things—a bad actor can spend his entire life studying a character and will still give a mediocre performance.

[seancollett]

He's right. Getting caught up in analyzing characters creates busy work to fill class time because many professors can't think of anything else to do. It is also a way to seem more deep and intelligent.

[CaesarDarias]

Desi Arnaz was sometimes told he couldn’t do something merely because it had not been previously done. “So what, ” was his response, according to some staff who worked with him. There’s too much rigid thinking in too many professions. Invention, innovation, creativity and originality requires independence from random and meaningless rules, parameters and structures.

[willcwhite]

anyone recognize where Werner's jacket is from? I want one!

[elichilton]

It's complicated. While I agree that in the pure creation of something that working on pure instinct is an incredible insight, there is also the idea that one can create something a million different ways including screenplays, and there is value to that. That's the reason Herzog's films are unique to say Fassbinder, or Kurosawa. To each their own I say. That's like saying "I don't like notes. Notes are terrible, they dampen the creative process, who else here hates notes. I hate jotting. Scribbling. I just write." On one hand some writers love notes, there's notes and scribbles everywhere on everything, on the other hand there's the writer with a computer, or typewriter on the table and nothing else, nary a ball of scrunched paper to be seen.

[garrisondinsmore]

"i've never developed a story i just write it" LETS GOOOO

[LukasHe]

Is the whole conversation available to watch somewhere? Would love to see it

[jeffgreiner]

and the award for Best Answer goes to...

[ConfusedSpaceCapsule-nubc]

I hope he's german because then all his responses make sense. Also, intuitive people often make the mistake of thinking that discerned formulas are something they didn't abide by simply because they instinctively abided by them, and there was no premeditated consideration.

[greyeyed]

But I want to pretend I have talent through the easiest means possible, and fool everyone into thinking I'm creative and important. What's the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to do that while not caring about anything but the recognition I will get when I finish my screenplay next week?

[aguynamedscott]

I’ve always thought that it was kind of funny that the New York Film School is in Burbank.

[SavageMontreal]

I wouldn't call it a danger for screenwriting, it's just a different kind of storytelling than he subscribes to, and one that directors such as Christopher Nolan utilize to great effect. Although it is a danger to apply this analysis to stories that don't conform to those standards, and it's incredibly pretentious when you're doing it to someone who actually made the film. A lot of these "academics" can't wait to tell director's their own personal interpretation of some random scene, usually with embarrassing results.