Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Steps and lessons

Those MasterClass ads are weird. If you've watched enough YouTube videos you've probably seen a few, or at least the starts of them. It's basically a set of online tutorials that are supposed to take the place of an extension school class. The twist is that the teachers are famous for what they do. Like, really famous. Helen Mirren on acting. Carlos Santana on guitar. A number of people, including Margaret Atwood and Dan Brown, on writing fiction. Among novelists I'd say I have more regard for the former than the latter, but honestly you'd think it would be hard to get either to commit the time.

There's a hitch, though. You'd expect these folks to know what they're talking about. And sometimes some solid advice even can be found on the ads, which are, after all, freebies. For example, Steve Martin telling beginning comics not to start their act with banal pleasantries on the order of "how you doing tonight": seems solid. But learning is an interactive venture. Interactive in the way life is, not the way the Internet is. One begins to suspect that the celebrity instructors are a distraction from the fact that you spend money―exactly how much I couldn't tell you―and in return are not able to ask questions or collaborate with your fellow students.

Then there's David Lynch. Seems pretty qualified to lead you through the world of film making, doesn't he? Well, yes and no. He has, in the past, directed some real attention-getters. But that's definitely the past. He hasn't directed a feature film since Inland Empire in 2006, which is as insular and as focused on diehard fans as the shorts he's been doing since. Like Francis Ford Coppola and a few others, he's a veteran who gave up analog for digital a while back, but then gradually gave up everything else too. And yes, yes, Twin Peaks is back, but that's a gimme.

By this report, his own MasterClass is short on practical stuff you can use. If you're a beginning director it's going to be some time before working with Kyle Maclachlan is an option. And you'll never get to work with Dennis Hopper at all, unless he froze his head and the cryogenics people can revive him. In addition, it sounds like his teaching style is...well it isn't one.

If you're a fan with some disposable income, you still might find it worthwhile. But more because the man himself is engagingly weird, the ultimate David Lynch character.

2 comments:

susan said...

Oddly enough, or maybe not, neither of us had ever hear of Masterclass so thanks for giving us some fun checking out who's teaching what in these videos. I'm not sure why people already famous, and many of them rich, would want to spend the time doing these videos either. But there are two possibilities that make sense - the first being that most people are open to flattery and I'm sure the invitations were presented in the most flattering terms. The other logical premise is that the presenters were offered the possibility of making lots of money by being offered shares in a company the developers expect to be a valuable property when it goes on the stock market. Most people in the entertainment business learn early on that a percentage of the gross is often worth far more than an upfront payment.

I agree with you that learning is an interactive process and watching television is about as far as you can get from getting advice and direct input from an instructor. Of course you need to take hands on music lessons for years before you can hope to play well so it's next to impossible for me to imagine learning to play guitar by watching Carlos Santana (he probably does need the money). Although it would be enjoyable to listen to him the idea one can become an astronaut by looking at Chris Hadfield talk about outer space seems ludicrous. Penn and Teller teaching magic comes as no surprise since those two will show up wherever there's money but I'm guessing with Atwood is was likely the flattery that made the difference. Then again, she's been getting more mileage out of the televised version of The Handmaid's Tale than she ever could have expected when it was written.

"If you're a beginning director it's going to be some time before working with Kyle Maclachlan is an option. And you'll never get to work with Dennis Hopper at all, unless he froze his head and the cryogenics people can revive him."

Hahaha! You're right too that David Lynch has been getting along on the fumes of past endeavors for a long time. He's one who likely needs the money.

Ben said...

I do remember that Jack Nicholson negotiated for a share of the profits in lieu of salary when he played the Joker. By most standards I'm sure he was doing pretty well before that, but an educated guess tells me he did a lot better afterwards. Of course you have to get to a certain level of career success/esteem before taking a percentage is even an option. But I guess you also have an expectation of a certain standard of living by that point. Maybe that's where all these instructors are coming from. What I don't know are the financials. How does this company plan to expand?

I'd actually missed the Penn & Teller promo. It doesn't really surprise me, though, for the reason you stated. As for Chris Hadfield...I don't know, it seems like the people who might benefit from that are authors writing a novel about space travel who want to pick up some details for verisimilitude. The Handmaid's Tale was made into a movie years ago, but that's been largely forgotten. The TV show is getting more attention than she ever expected, I'm sure. I remember hearing a while ago that the Oryx and Crake trilogy might be adapted for the small screen too. Don't know if that's still going anywhere.

Lynch definitely has shown talent and vision as a filmmaker, but it also helps to be lucky and confident. Wonder if he ever gets to that part.