Taylor & Hollywood

Last semester when I took Asian American History class at Hunter, I met an interesteing girl named Taylor. We got the same interest and passion in films. But the difference between us is that where as I am just starting to make small films here and there, Taylor in the other hand was in big Hollywood movie and TV productions. Though she didn't have big parts in it, she was in the scene. She knew people (actors,producers, directors etc.) and she knew how the business goes. My big question to her was why go back to NY, if she was there, the place where aspiring filmmakers have dreamed about, what happened?

My short documentary takes on her journey in Hollywood. She talks about the celebrities she have met and the various events she attended that so many people wants to be part of. She further talks about the tough decisions she had made and the life style that people has to go through to be part of the scene in Hollywood. At the end, she tells her story on why she went back to NY and go back to the college life at Hunter College.

In addition, there are comments by the lecturer in my Med160 class, Martyna Starosta, with her views and opinion on how women in movies are viewed. During the semester, she invited Anita Sarkeeian from www.feminist.com to talk about the subject. I didn't have an interview with Anita because I didn't have my film equipment and she was flying back to LA days after, but she did give me permission to use her video on my documentary. And lastly, the indie filmmaker Thomas Seymour on his views on women characters in movies and how the times had changed. I also including a clip from my short film "For The Win" to set an example on how I used the male gaze.

In total I got over 1 hour and 20 minutes of footage. I shot each person individually in different days from Hunter College and in LaGuardia Community College. Taylor was nice enought to share her pictures with her celebrity friends and even shot some footage at the place she currently worked at. I edited it to a 10 munite short documentary and will show only 6 minutes for the class presentation. It's still a work in progress because I want to get more interviews from different people, including Doris.

To view the video, click here: http://youtu.be/461zHOFxwuk

Sources:

The Oppositional Gaze - Bell Hooks

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema - Laura Mulvey

Introduction Reel to Real - Bell Hooks

Tyson (Documentary, 2009)

Breaking The Code: Chris Jericho (Documentary, 2010)