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Guest Blog: Who Is the Best Austin Filmmaker?

July 10, 2012 by Guest Blogger 9 Comments

This guest blog post is by Harrison Flatau and Josh Elmer.

Hello Austinot! Harrison and Josh here from MovieDebaters.com. We’re dedicated to providing a space for thought-provking film posts, and the wonderful folks here at The Austinot wanted to us to share some of that with you. We’ve decided to share our monthly debate on the best Austin filmmaker: Mike Judge vs. Wes Anderson.

Mike Judge Best Austin Filmmaker

Mike Judge

Harrison: Mike Judge’s small catalogue of films has absolutely struck a chord with audiences. It’s been 13 years since the release of Office Space. People are still using it as cultural shorthand for the way workplaces work. The same goes for 2006’s Idiocracy. More and more, I see people using that film to describe the direction we’re heading. No other filmmaker I can think of has beem rooted so deeply into the collective conscious of the public.

Josh: I don’t think there’s any question that Austin has a rich film history and great filmmakers have emerged from there. But in terms of great filmmaking, Wes Anderson is the pinnacle of that tradition. Not only does he have a unique vision and style, his films are iconic to those who love them and respected by those who don’t.

Wes Anderson Best Austin Filmmaker

Wes Anderson

Harrison: I’ve found that when it comes to discussions about Anderson, more often than not, what is discussed is the style of his movies, rather than the content. Whereas with Judge movies, the content is what flourishes and sticks into people’s brains.

Josh: No question, style is the first thing that comes to mind because his visual style is so prominent. But don’t let that distract you. Anderson’s films are interesting and personal explorations of character. Don’t get me wrong, Judge is a brilliant satirist. But for my money, I think Anderson has a more impressive and diverse filmography.

Harrison: There’s also the fact that Judge only has three live action movies under his belt. And Extract is a bit misunderstood, in that more people have experience being a worker than a manager.

Idiocracy Movie Poster by Mike Judge

Idiocracy – written and directed by Mike Judge

Josh: I’ll concede it’s not fair to compare the amount of films. But I would argue that if you take any three Wes Anderson films, their content would be widely diverse. Judge I’m not sure about.

Harrison: The more I think about it, the more I think there isn’t quite as much diversity in Anderson’s movies. His movies are populated with characters who are emotionally distant, upper class, and love-challenged. Lots of filmmakers have similarities in their filmography, but we’re not talking about Soderberg here – someone whose films are wildly different from each other.

Josh: We could sum up many filmmakers this way and not get very far. Why is Mike Judge better than Anderson? Is it quotability?

Harrison: Like I said in my opening statement. It’s his ability to show us stories that are a wickedly funny mirror image of society. When I saw Office Space for the first time I was 16, never worked an office job in my life. But I still understood that culture and understood why it was so ridiculous. And I understood why that movie was such a biting satire. Whereas, I think Anderson makes movies that are great, but they seem to be geared more towards cinephiles than a general audience member.

Royal Tenenbaums Movie Poster

Royal Tenenbaums – co-written and directed by Wes Anderson

Josh: I think to simplify Anderson as a filmmaker’s director is a mistake. His films are about flawed characters searching for fulfillment. In a way, Anderson is the most tuned-in filmmaker because this is the dilemma of modern society. Most of us are unfulfilled and searching for fulfillment, be that getting the girl, pulling off a heist, finding our mother in India, or running away with the girl we’re in love with.

Harrison: No doubt Anderson has one of (if not the) most distinguishable visual styles in cinema today. But that comes with a cost. Many audiences complain about Anderson’s affinity for his muted colors and sans serif fonts. Judge has created movies that are more accessible. More accessibility means more people can share the movie with each other. We’re social creatures and the ability to reach more audience members shouldn’t be discounted.

Josh: In Mike Judge’s films, we get a hilarious portrait of idiosyncrasies of modern life, but the characters lack emotional depth. For me, the best filmmaker should be both hilarious and have a depth that transcends normal comedy. Wes Anderson’s films are about the dilemma of modern society – where do we search for fulfillment? He also commands the frame. Whether you like it or not, Anderson is an important filmmaker, and the best to emerge from Austin.

Harrison: Mike Judge isn’t the most visually stimulating director, but his films have reached (and touched) the masses in an unparalleled way. The movies he’s made have become absolutely ubiquitous in our culture.

What does everyone else think?

Josh Elmer is a co-founder of Moviedebaters.com, a graduate student, and aspiring screenwriter.

Harrison Flatau co-founded Moviedebaters.com, daydreams about action sequences, and writes all day, e’ery day. 

 

Photos courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Popperipopp and JoBlo.com.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Film Tagged With: guest blog

Best of The Austinot

We always have unique content on The Austinot and we love to give things away. You know, like concert tickets, gift cards, and other cool stuff. We only send out our “Best of the Austinot” newsletter twice a month. It’s where we give you a recap of our best articles and give stuff away. Interested? Subscribe to Best of The Austinot here!

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David L
David L
9 years ago

No mention of Malick?

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David L
David L
9 years ago
Reply to  David L

Also, Linklater may not be your favorite but he did direct the quintessential Austin film. I understand about Rodriguez, but for better or worse I’ve watched Sin City, Planet Terror, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico far more times than I’ve watched all of Wes Anderson’s films combined. Also forgot Tobe Hooper.

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Christopher
Christopher
9 years ago

This is a really strange post and comparison. I don’t think Wes Anderson qualifies as an Austin filmmaker. I know he went to UT but he’s from Houston and both Bottle Rocket and Rushmore were made there. Plus you’re leaving out Rodriguez, Linklater and countless up and comers who are creating significant bodys of work here in Austin.

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EricHighland
EricHighland
9 years ago
Reply to  Christopher

Interesting points @disqus_omXwQ85fl9:disqus. This blog was a guest post by two film buffs who debate things all the time. It wasn’t written by us, so I’ll reach out to them so that they’ll hopefully respond to your comments. Thanks for checking out the article and commenting.

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Movie Debaters
Movie Debaters
9 years ago
Reply to  Christopher

Hey Christopher,

Harrison here to clear up some confusion. We had a some of the same concerns as you in regards to this article. Malick and Linklater are great filmmakers. What we do on moviedebaters.com is choose two sides and hope our readers will either come in with their own choice or defend the two presented. We also, in retrospect, should have titled this article “Best Filmmaker Associated with Austin.” That’s our bad.
Apologies for the confusion. We hope that you have a better sense of this article’s intention.

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Ben Snyder
Ben Snyder
9 years ago

Between the two listed, I think Anderson has definitely “Flown the coop” so to say and can’t really be considered an Austin Director anymore. Jeff Nichols blew me away with “Take Shelter” and I look forward to his upcoming film “Mud”. I’d like to see an article that touches on “What makes someone an ‘Austin Director'” and also touches on some of the up and comers like Christopher mentioned such as Nichols, Paul Gordon, the Zeller bros. etc.

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Carlos Funes
Carlos Funes
9 years ago

One of them created Beavis & Butthead. The other was promising, but all his movies are too similar… and I grow tired of the changing backgrounds and names… but same stories and characters.

0
Reply
Movie Debaters
Movie Debaters
9 years ago

Hey everyone. Sorry about the confusion. Check out our comment above (or is it below?) for an better explanation of what our intention with this article was.

0
Reply

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