Tell me a story

Hey everyone, be quiet. I’ve got some great news. Christopher Nolan is directing a new film. It’s called Interstellar and it’s science fiction and it stars one Matthew McConaughey.  So far all we know about the premise is that it features “a heroic interstellar voyage to the furthest reaches of our scientific understanding.” Not much to go on no, but I’m already dying to see it. Nolan’s got a proven track record, and his brother Jonathan Nolan wrote the script. Jonathan also wrote The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. So, yeah, I think it’s safe to say Interstellar will have a good story.

Chris Nolan is on the short list of directors whose work I get excited for before knowing anything about it. Other directors in this prestigious category include Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, The Wachowski’s, Edgar Wright, Joss Whedon, Shane Carruth, and of course Quentin Tarantino.

Wes Anderson

P.T. Anderson

The Wachowski’s

Edgar Wright

Joss Whedon

Shane Carruth

Quentin Tarantino

What I’ve noticed about all of them, or rather what I’ve noticed about myself in regards to them is that while I tend to get incredibly excited for their next projects, I also get very nervous. Part of it is because their art has brought me so much enjoyment in the past that my hopes are immediately raised when I hear they’re doing something new. High hopes have a long way to fall. But that’s not all there is to it. There’s something more personal, thus more messed up, going on.

I get anxious at the thought of my heroes losing public esteem. It’s not enough for me to love their art, I want everyone to love their art. Forever. I don’t ever want to hear people saying Nolan is a hack or that Tarantino should have stopped making movies after Django Unchained. If Edgar Wright created a complete dud, I’d feel bad for him. It wouldn’t matter that he’s made some of the best movies of all time—Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I’m so afraid of failure, so afraid of damaged reputations, that I don’t even want strangers to experience them, at least not the strangers I place on golden pedestals. I’d be embarrassed for them. I’m embarrassed that Pixar’s last two movies—Cars 2 and Brave—weren’t that good, at least not by the standards we have for Pixar movies.

That’s some strange and even obnoxious thinking, I think. Who am I to be embarrassed for Pixar? Just some movie enthusiast who wants them to be perfect forever. The funny thing is so many people never achieve the greatness Pixar or any of the aforementioned directors have achieved, so shouldn’t that be enough for me? There’s no reason to let so much of my emotions ride on the success of their upcoming movies. I wonder if this is how people feel when they watch sports or singing competitions on TV. At any rate Interstellar arrives in theaters November 7, 2014. I hope it’s good.
 
 
Sources: ComingSoon.net (Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar to Hit Theaters on November 7, 2014, Matthew McConaughey Confirms Role in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar)