The upcoming documentary “De Palma” is putting a renewed spotlight back on the work and career of Brian De Palma, which is certainly great for fans and newcomers who want to dive into his back catalog. But just as exciting, the release of Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow‘s film has seen the always quotable director step up to do some interviews too, and as per usual, they are worth diving into.
One of De Palma’s recent chats was with RogerEbert.com, where the filmmaker explained why for all the creative momentum around television at the moment, it remains a medium that doesn’t have the same artistry as film.
“Television is not cinematic. It’s shots of people talking to each other,” De Palma quipped. “…television is basically controlled by the producers and the writers. The directors are brought in to a series or a ten-part story, and the template has already been set. It’s shot very quickly, and you don’t have the time for sort of elaborate sequences, you can only shoot so many pages a day, the characters are all set, the story lines are all plotted out for the next four or five years, it’s like the old studio system.”
It’s worth remembering that at one time De Palma was developing a movie at HBO about Joe Paterno titled “Happy Valley,” that would’ve reteamed him with Al Pacino, but it was ultimately scrapped. But what he says about TV is true to some degree — unless you have the kind of total control like Steven Soderbergh did on “The Knick” or Cary Fukunaga on “True Detective,” filmmakers stepping into TV are often working with a pre-established visual approach and narrative focus. So it’s understandable why someone so singular in their moviemaking like De Palma would be less enchanted with television.
For more with De Palma, you can listen to him in conversation with Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow at last year’s New Film Festival courtesy of The Close Up podcast.