Wednesday, 1 October 2008

Geeks Invade Hollywood!


No you have not missed an assault on LA by spotty, spectacled individuals, what I am referring to is the increasing number of self confessed film geeks who have successful careers among the Hollywood elite.

The list includes people such as Quentin Tarrantino, Simon Pegg (pictured right with fellow film fanatic Nick Frost), Edgar Wright, J.J Abrams and Judd Apatow.

Looking at the projects this type of person takes part in, the pure passion and enthusiasm (often bordering on obsession) comes to the fore. Tarrantino has a habit of recreating classic feelings in his movies, such as the Eastern matial arts tone of Kill Bill vol.1 and the old Western atmosphere of Kill Bill vol.2. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have created films that pack a huge amount of cultural referencing into the running time. And finally J.J Abrams who has reinvented the monster genre with Cloverfield and has now turned his attention to the re-building of the Star Trek franchise with a prequel to the original series.

People who live and breath for celluloid seem to be drawn towards each other by some cinematic version of gravity. J.J Abrams has cast Simon Pegg to play a young Scotty in his new Star Trek, Tarrantino has lent his voice to the commentary on the US DVD release of British TV sitcom Spaced (starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and directed by Edgar Wright) and Edgar Wright has moved into a flat in LA above Tarrantino's cinema.

This revolution has been welcomed by people the world over, as it gives people who are crazy about film the hope that with enough passion, a career in the world they love is attainable. I know this, because I am one of them!

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