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As you may have heard, in a little over a week, I will no longer be writing this blog. I will continue to write about film elsewhere (I hope), but it won’t be the same. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that a blog takes on a life of its own. My voice bounces off this blog’s specific audience, and that makes it sound different than it would in a different space. Whatever else SpoutBlog might have been, at its base level it’s a conversation between me and you, and even if I find a new permanent writing home and you follow me there, what happens there won’t be the same. We may see each other again, but right now we are at a party that’s almost over. Maybe it’s just reflective of my shitty social skills, but that’s the only part of a party that I actually enjoy: the end of the night, when the crowd has thinned and the conversation shifts, so that suddenly we’re talking about what we really wanted to talk about all night long.
So! What do you really want to talk about?
I have a couple of reviews and such that I plan to publish between now and Halloween, but I would also really like to hear what you’d like to see on this blog over the next week. Is there a movie/filmmaker/genre/concern that I’ve never written about that you’d like me to? Do you want me to revisit a topic that I have written about, from another angle or in further depth? Do you have a question for me, about films or something I’ve written or, like, life? Let me know. I’m not going to say that any topic is totally off limits, but if you ask me a question regarding my sex life, my family or the inner workings of Spout, I will probably decline to answer. Other than that…I’ll give it a shot.
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We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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1. Avant-garde and short films. Your favorites, “the state of…”
2. The pitfalls of a critic interacting with and being friends with filmmakers whose films you review. Thanks to Twitter, this is easier than ever.
3. Missed calls on your behalf. Are there any films that, say, showed up on your Top 10 list for a given year but that you now regret? Or films that flew under your radar, but now you love?
4. Who are *your* favorite film critics? Who should we be reading while you’re away?
That’s all I can think of…for now.
1. What is one of your fondest (or maybe most fun) moments from your “Spout” era?
2. You referenced this in your “Bagger” post, but what do you think is the future of film blogging? Where is all this going?
3. Can you detail a chance encounter (on the street, in a bar, at a fest, etc) with someone who recognized you from the blog and introduced themselves. What did they say? What happened?
Karina, I definitely admire your skills as a critic who’s able to parse a film’s language without resorting to florid prose. It shows not only your talent as a writer, but a sincere appreciation of many different kinds cinema (as opposed to some critics who approach it like some haughty art gallery docent). And you put a burr up Armand White’s butt, which made me smile…
Anyway, I’d be interested to know about your guilty film pleasures — those less-than artful creations that you love to watch over and over.
How about an all-time favorite films list. I’m generally not a fan of lists, but note that I didn’t say something like, “name your top 10 films of all-time;” rather, I’d like to see a list of films that you love, not necessarily ranked in any order. Could be 5, 10, 15 , 20, or 2 - hopefully at least 2.
Thanks and good luck! I’ve subscribed to your Vidiocy blog, so we’ll all be reading.
Cheers!
Auteur theory and the Mulvey’s baloney about the male gaze. Get going on two of the cornerstones (two I can’t quite swallow). I mean - why not be ambitious?
Gossip Girl.
Will you go out with me?
But seriously — I’m curious about how you first got into film criticism and the path that led you to become one of the most respected film writers on the web. Another softball question: if you had a gun to your head and had to come up with a top 10 list of your all-time favorite films, what would be on it?
And also, the thing I said before, about you going out with me.
Karina, thanks for sharing some of most cogent film criticism on the web. You will be missed on Spout, but I’m sure we’ll continue to see your work in other spaces.
I would love if you could write about your process when your prepare a film review. Do you prefer watch a film alone, or with friends? Do you talk with other critics before writing? Are there any sites/books/resources that you constantly use for context? Do you ask for feedback before a final edit? What do you like about your work? What are things you still feel you need to improve in your film criticism?
Have you ever made a film?
Would you ever consider making a (another) film?
Do you have any wild plans starting another blog with a clearer focus?
First of all, thanks everybody for all the thoughtful questions, and definitely keep them coming. A lot of these will need their own post to answer. A few quick answers in the meantime…
@gokinsmen, #2: For the most part, the filmmakers that I have close interactions with seem to value my honesty. For instance, I’ve become close friends with a filmmaker who wrote/directed/starred in a film to which I gave a mixed review at a festival earlier this year. The first time I met her in person, she introduced herself to me and said, “I really loved your review of my film.” I got nervous, afraid she was being snarky, and said, “It wasn’t entirely positive.” She responded, “I know, that’s why I loved it.”
@eugene, #1: I might need more distance to be able to answer that, but I can say in general that the thing I’ve most valued over the past two years is having the opportunity to travel, and my happiest moments were on the road. I think I do my best work in foreign territory.
#3: Off the top of my head, the only one I remember happened this year at Cannes. I had just seen Antichrist, and I was sitting on the floor of the Market talking to Lerman about it. In the middle of what I remember as a heated conversation, a young man came over, asked if I was Karina, and introduced himself as a fan. Handshake, small talk, blah blah blah, and when he realized that he had interrupted something, we said goodbye and he walked away. As soon as he was gone, I tried to go back to the point about Antichrist that I had been trying to make, but to no avail, because Lerman was cracked up laughing at me for having a fan.
@Brendon Connelly: Once I finished grad school swore I’d never type the M-word (and not Mumblecore) again. But I’ve been accused of having a chauvinistic gaze myself, and I feel sort of like I have 99 problems and that ain’t one, you know?
@BW: There’s some basic “how I got started” stuff here: http://www.filminfocus.com/article/karina_longworth
My familiarity with certain comment threads prevents me from being able to respond sincerely to the “respected” compliment; I had to turn off my vanity Google alerts a while back because I couldn’t handle the random vitriol I seem to inspire in certain circles.
And I’ve had a pretty firm rule for awhile to not go out with other people who write about movies. Not that it’s going so well. Maybe try me in a month or two, by then I might have revised my policies…
@chicofly: Admittedly I’m not exactly cresting a wave of high self esteem at the moment, but of course I think my writing could be improved. I don’t have much of a process at all — I unfortunately have the kind of bullshit creative-type temperament that involves a lot of brooding and staring off into space, waiting for inspiration to strike. The nice thing about losing a job is that it offers the potential to change the way you do things, and explore your infinite potential, and maybe even become a better person! But, knowing me, I will probably not change a thing.
@Adam J. Robinson: Yes, I made films in college. There is a portion of my undergraduate thesis film on Vimeo:
http://www.vimeo.com/3530857
As a filmmaker, my ambitions were always very small and art-oriented (I will talk about this a bit more in post inspired by one of the other questions in this thread). I might make things again, but it would be hard to recapture the kind of courage and focus that I had when I was in my late teens-early20s, and was naive enough to not anticipate criticism. I think it would be easier for me to act, which I trained to do when I was younger, and which I might have considered as a career option had I been better at dieting.
Allow me to take full advantage of this opportunity as one doesn’t get to pick the brain of someone they read everyday.
1) Do you find yourself living an adequate/satisfied lifestyle with film criticism as your sole career (if it is) and source of income? A bit of a sore question at the moment, of course, but I’m confident you’ll find a new outlet.
2) You don’t care for An American in Paris, which isn’t exactly blasphemy. Are there any equally or *more* acclaimed films that you are either ambivalent about or downright hate? And I don’t mean Oscar fluff like Terms of Endearment — something truly polarizing
3) Who is your favorite working female filmmaker?
4) Why the fuck are certain people drooling over Bright Star?
5) I got into an argument with my mother about Confessions of a Shopaholic a couple weeks ago. I told her it seemed shallow and a carbon copy of the Sex & the City Picture that comes out a few times a year. I showed her some of the reviews for it, and she said that it was mostly males who simply “didn’t get it” or couldn’t relate. I told her female critics seemed particularly harsh on it. She then inferred that those female critics were either “rather manly” or afraid to speak their mind. I don’t know if you’ve even seen it but I’m sure you’ve seen something similar, and it’d be great if I could get your say on the topic if only to show my Mom.
6) If not something film-related (acting included), what were you initially considering seeking a career in, and do you have any regrets? Again, not optimal timing so an answer would be a gift, not a right.
Okay, I think I’ve milked the opportunity enough. Thanks and be sure to tweet your future criticism outlet(s).
Did you ever get a DVD of The Walking Dead? It’s on the new Karloff-Lugosi collection from Warner.
Sorry to hear you’re leaving this site, and hope to read you in the future, wherever you land.
Wow… this sucks. I only now just discovered your awesome blogs after Jim Emerson (at Scanners) posted to your blog about a change of heart in regards to “IB” and how critics are real people that do change… One of the best articles I’ve read.
I’m hoping if nothing else you’ll get a blog at blogger/blogspot but I’m sure you have some other plans lined up… I hope?
Anyway, wish ya the best!
Ps. Will your work here be archived on the site?
Pps. That party comment is so true.
I second the person who mentioned the male gaze.
Personally, I’d like to Karina to talk about sentimental favorites from childhood–you know, the type of movie you liked when you were a kid, but you wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole NOW. We all have them…
Karina writes:
As you may have heard, in a little over a week, I will no longer be writing this blog.
HOORAY!!!!!!!
Go out and take your rightful place on the bread lines, honey!!!!
Good riddance to bad rubbish!!!!! Maybe Karina can go back to being a video clerk, which is what she’s been all along, however glorified, and not a real critic.
Let all sensible persons uncork the champagne and dance a jig with Armond White on Karina Longworth’s grave!!!
(Hey, maybe she can get a lucrative position as handmaiden to David Hudson, and the online film nerd incest fest of suck-ups can continue unabated forevermore?)
Hey Karina,
I’ve just recently started a film podcast and I’m writing for a blog. And things are not starting off so well. Do you have any advice for making an interesting podcast?
[...] post is a response to several comments in the Ask Karina thread, asking me about my favorite films of all [...]
Hello Karina
I was recently listening back to old episodes of FilmCouch, when i heard you discuss your love for Michael Mann’s Miami Vice on Episode 30. In particular, you expressed your joy at the way that the film gets derailed in order for Li Gong and Colin Farrell to jump on a speed boat (after Farrell’s smooth chat-up line worked a treat) and zoom away for their steamy affair. I had the exact same experience of adoration for the film that you had. When I watched it, and the stunning Li Gong appeared, I was thinking that Farrell should do exactly what eventually he did, including the speed boat! lf you have a chance to discuss this hugely misunderstood classic, I’d be interested to hear it.
How can I keep up with where your writings will be in the future?
Best of luck with your move.
Cheers
Chris
[...] post is a response to a query posed by gokinsmen in the Ask Karina thread: “Avant-garde and short films. Your favorites, ‘the state [...]
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