Cameron Crowe interviews

I really enjoyed reading the interview of Billy Wilder, it was nice to hear his opinions of his films and of Hollywood at the time. The part I enjoyed most was when Crowe asked if he took German expressionism and used it in his movies. I took a German film class last semester and we covered German expressionism. I went back and watched Double Indemnity again, and I could see some of the themes like the use of lights and contrasting between dark and light in this film also.

I liked that Wilder said he liked to take chances with his films and wasn't too worried about that others said. He picked actors and actresses that he thought would be best for the roles regardless of whether they were famous or not, and he didn't worry about other people's criticisms. He knew what he wanted and didn't compromise, which is not something that always happens in Hollywood. His films seem to go against the grain, which I think makes them even more remarkable. With Double Indemnity the idea of having a woman and the supposedly "good" guy be the murderers was risky, but Wilder took that chance and made a great movie. Also with Some Like It Hot, he said that Monroe questioned his use of black and white but he just blew it off and went on with the film, and although it would have been interesting to watch in color, I think black and white makes the viewer pay more attention to the movie.