October 15, 2024 • 41 mins
Welcome to Episode 1 of The Film Dept. Podcast from UNLV Film at University of Nevada Las Vegas. Our first episode features reviewers Davey Parks, Simona Grigonis and Jeff Wallitsch, who weigh in on cult classic 'Jennifer's Body' before an exclusive interview with Cinematographer M. David Mullen from Paris.
-----------------------------------------------------
Credits:
Email us: thefilmdeptpod@gmail.com
HOSTS -
Davey Parks
Simona Grigoris
Jeff Wallitsch
GUEST -
M. David Mullen
Editor - Lilly Richie
Production Assistant - Angelica-Rose Keenum
PRODUCERS -
Tom Bjelic
Sam Decker
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY -
Adam Paul
Roudi Boroumand
To read the hosts' reviews, head over to substack.com/@thefilmdeptpodcast
This semester, The Film Department has teamed up with the mad geniuses of The Beverly Theater. Imagined by The Rogers Foundation, The Beverly Theater brings cinematic connectivity, novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals, and a zest for independent spirits to DTLV. With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary, and live experiences, The Beverly Theater is Las Vegas’ first and only independent film house, storytelling arena, and live music venue.
For the latest screenings and events at The Beverly, visit thebeverlytheater.com
The Film Department Podcast is supported by UNLV Film.
At the film department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state of the art equipment and facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers, students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and television industry… and beyond.
Learn more at UNLV.EDU/FILM
UNLV Film. Find your voice. Tell your story.
-----------------------------------------------------
Credits:
Email us: thefilmdeptpod@gmail.com
HOSTS -
Davey Parks
Simona Grigoris
Jeff Wallitsch
GUEST -
M. David Mullen
Editor - Lilly Richie
Production Assistant - Angelica-Rose Keenum
PRODUCERS -
Tom Bjelic
Sam Decker
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY -
Adam Paul
Roudi Boroumand
To read the hosts' reviews, head over to substack.com/@thefilmdeptpodcast
This semester, The Film Department has teamed up with the mad geniuses of The Beverly Theater. Imagined by The Rogers Foundation, The Beverly Theater brings cinematic connectivity, novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals, and a zest for independent spirits to DTLV. With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary, and live experiences, The Beverly Theater is Las Vegas’ first and only independent film house, storytelling arena, and live music venue.
For the latest screenings and events at The Beverly, visit thebeverlytheater.com
The Film Department Podcast is supported by UNLV Film.
At the film department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state of the art equipment and facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers, students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and television industry… and beyond.
Learn more at UNLV.EDU/FILM
UNLV Film. Find your voice. Tell your story.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The Film Department is supported by UNLV Film.
(00:07):
At the Film Department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.
With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state-of-the-art equipment and
facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers,
students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and
television industry and beyond.
(00:29):
Learn more at unlv.edu/film.
UNLV Film.
Find your voice.
Tell your story.
Welcome to the Film Department, the movie review podcast of UNLV Film.
This semester we'll be discussing the film screening at our partner movie house, the Beverly
Theatre.
Las Vegas is only independent film house and performance venue.
(00:50):
I'm Davey Parks, a fourth year film major and your host for this episode.
And I'm joined by...
Hello everyone, I'm Jeff.
I'm a third year film major here at UNLV.
I'm also the president of the horror club on campus, Freight Club.
And yeah, I'm just really excited to be here.
Hi, my name is Simona and I am also a third year film major and I'm really excited to
(01:11):
explore all these movies with you guys and see where we agree and disagree.
Before we get into this week's film, I just want to get this out of the way.
Megalopolis just released this week.
An incredible movie in every sense of the word.
It was a movie I got to see.
(01:33):
I can, just sort of a subtle flex.
Yeah, it was a lot.
Jeff, you just saw it.
What do you think?
It did.
I saw it in IMAX recently.
There was like a Q&A with Francis Ford Coppola before and it was everything you described
and just a little bit more.
It wasn't even really a movie, honestly.
It was an experience.
It is definitely a collection of still images strong together to provide the illusion of movement
(01:59):
accompanied by sound.
Yes.
Simona, what do you know about Megalopolis?
I have yet to see it.
I will be so honest.
I have had no desire to see it yet.
Just because I don't really have a reason for why.
It just hasn't been in my priority.
But hearing you guys talk about it and the way that you guys feel about is making me reconsider
(02:24):
that.
In Las Vegas, we have this incredible spectacle every few years where we get to demolish
a casino once it's kind of gotten old and new.
If you go see Megalopolis, you'll get to see that happen to Francis Ford Coppola's career.
It is truly a sight to behold.
There is some of the most inspired acting choices I've ever seen.
(02:48):
From everyone involved, truly something that needs to be seen to believe.
Davey, I hate to correct you, but I don't think Francis Ford Coppola's had a career since
the 90s, honestly.
So that died a while ago.
Yeah.
I think the most interesting thing I have to say about Megalopolis without giving away
any of the surprises is that Wem Wenders left his screening of Paris, Texas to go see
(03:11):
Megalopolis with me in the Agnes Varda theater at the Cannes Film Festival and left an hour
and a half into the movie.
So if that is any indication of the quality of the film, then there's nothing more to say.
Maybe I'll go back to my initial thought.
Yeah.
You know, it's, man, half way through the movie, I won't spoil this moment, but you know,
(03:35):
there's like a really loud jump scare moment.
There is.
And I remember I leaned over to my friends and I was like, that's so funny.
He did that because he knew everyone was asleep at the moment.
Yeah, every person who I've talked to who's seen the movie said that that was the scene
that woke them up from their throamper and I had the exact same experience.
It was so boring before that.
Yes.
And then it gets really, really weird.
(03:57):
It's just a great year for cinema, capital C cinema.
Like, movies that make you want to go sit in a theater and just eat popcorn and look up
at a screen more than anything.
Like, even, you know, I wasn't the biggest fan of Megalopolis.
It's a movie you need to see in theaters to get the full experience because if you don't,
you're just going to turn it off a playthrough.
(04:18):
You and me are going out tonight.
There's something cute, okay?
You always do a Jennifer telling you to do them.
It's just that I like the same things as she likes.
Hey, Jennifer.
You look really pretty.
Why don't you just come by my place?
What was it, random?
It says in real-the-earth house, isn't it?
(04:39):
We can play Mommy and Daddy.
No way.
I always share you that when we have slumber parties.
Jennifer's evil.
I know.
No, I mean, she's actually evil.
Not high school evil.
All right, guys.
(05:00):
This week we're reviewing the 2009 film Jennifer's Body, directed by Karen Kusama and written
by Diablo Cody.
And it stars this amazing cast of Megan Fox, Amanda Sifred and Johnny Simmons.
And even more exciting, it's showing at the Beverly Theatre this October on the 16th
and the 17th.
(05:20):
I really liked it.
This was my first time seeing it in a few years.
I thought it was really funny.
Without spoiling anything, I think a lot of the jokes land really well.
And so does the horror.
It's really funny to watch it now.
I think it's a bit dated, not necessarily in a bad way, but I think it's a really great
(05:41):
time capsule of 2009.
And I would definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't.
You know, I said this was my first time seeing it.
I'd have to give it a play in the background.
I liked it.
I enjoyed it.
I agree with what you said.
I think comedically it was very funny.
There were many one-liners specifically from Megan Fox, and I thought we're absolutely
(06:03):
brilliant.
For me, where it kind of falters a little bit was the horror department because I just didn't
think it was that scary because it was so funny.
And in my opinion, when you have all these jokes, you know, it kind of takes a little bit
away from when you're supposed to be scared.
So I would give it a play in the background.
But I mean with the comedy and the horror, the way that it combines the two, I think that
(06:25):
it still does not dismiss the horror aspects completely.
With that being said, I really do enjoy this movie.
I have seen it three times, but I will say that it's not that memorable for me.
I've seen it two other times and granted it's been a few years.
(06:46):
I felt like I was watching it for the first time when I saw it recently.
I knew I feel like iconic scenes from it, but it still felt like I was missing something
to make it that iconic for me.
I think that serves as spoiler-free sections.
So this is a good time to warn you that our mouths have no filters and we're likely to spoil
(07:09):
some parts of the film.
So if you want to save it for the Beverly, go check it out and you can pause here and
come back afterwards.
But we'll now begin our spoiler session.
Yeah, I kind of agree with what you say.
Like I think it's interesting that of all the scenes and sort of iconographies of the
movie.
The thing people remember the most is Megan Fox walking down a hallway.
(07:31):
Like when you think of like, oh, I think it was a Madison beer music video recreated a
few scenes from this movie and that's kind of what they use was that shot of her walking
down the hallway.
And I think that's really interesting that that's what people take away from this movie.
And I remember when I first watched it, one of the things that really drew people to the
(07:55):
movie that kind of made me want to go check it out was this idea that it was this very
queer movie it was all about, you know, Jennifer and Needy and whether or not, you know, were
they romantically engaged where they just friends.
And that's not really what the movie is about interestingly enough.
I think it does add a little bit of ambiguity to their character.
(08:16):
But I think the movie isn't really that concerned with it.
I don't think I would necessarily call this like a capital Q queer movie.
I think it's sort of secondary tertiary even to like a lot of what's going on in the plot.
But yeah, I totally agree with you.
There's a lot of parts of this that even though a lot of it does work, a lot of it is kind
(08:37):
of muddled and sort of like iconography of the movie.
Yeah.
Like the first scene that comes to mind is like, I always see on like social media that that
clip of her holding the light.
It's her.
And with the name that it's kind of, well the impression that it kind of gives as being
(08:58):
sort of a queer film also, that again, I feel like there aren't very memorable moments
that would kind of establish it as that or even plot points that kind of give it the
name of a queer film.
Yeah.
I mean, if you know, I think we can all agree the best part of this movie is Megan Foxx,
(09:21):
right?
We all agree.
Her performance is great.
For me, what I really loved are the one liners.
And like, you know, you're talking about that.
I'm thinking about when she tells a fantasy priest character, I go both ways.
And it's like the greatest line in the whole movie.
Yeah.
Mona, what's your favorite one liner in this?
Oh, I don't even remember.
But I really love the writing in this movie.
(09:41):
Yeah.
Like I wish I could talk that way.
It makes me think of like the teenage apocalypse trilogy from Gregoraki.
I feel like the writing is kind of similar and kind of odd and weird and funny in that way.
And so I just watching this movie, one of the greatest parts was the one liners and the
(10:04):
writing.
And I just, I honestly wish I could talk that way.
Just come up with that witty way of talking like right off the bat.
Yeah, there's a lot of really great, like, heathers and mean girls influencing here with just the
way people talk and sort of the way they react to death in general.
(10:25):
I think my favorite one liner is when she's talking about the one boy who'd been done away
with and the mom goes, yeah, you know, when they found him, he looked like Lasagna with
teeth, which is such an app.
So visceral, but it's so funny just the way she says it.
And yeah, I think Megan Fox really carries not just a lot of the story, but a lot of the
(10:47):
humor.
Her delivery in this is incredibly just so venomous.
I think she has some really great face acting in the sense that she's not doing a lot of,
you know, movement with her face.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, she's very like stone faced the whole movie and it adds up to both the sense that
she is really threatening, but a lot of her line deliveries are really elevated because
(11:09):
of it.
Yeah.
If I could just bring up one more one liner that really stuck out to me, it's towards the
end of the movie when Chip stabs her with the black pole and she says, anybody got a
tampon?
Oh, my god.
Oh, that one.
Oh, I can't believe I forgot that one.
That one was great.
All time favorite that has to go with, um, do you get all of your murder weapons from
(11:30):
Home Depot?
God, your butch.
Yes.
It's so good.
And I think going back to what we were talking about with kind of the, like, you know, the
idea of her burning her tongue, um, the outfits in this movie are so incredible.
Just like the, what Jennifer wears as a flag girl is so funny and it's so like Americana,
(11:54):
um, the like jumpsuits that she's like juicy couture, adjacent kind of stuff.
Um, and then the way they style needy's character, I also really like, um, you, you know,
a lot about her and her relationship with Chip too.
I thought was really endearing.
Um, I found that really interesting how empathetic of a movie it was.
(12:14):
Yeah.
I honestly, uh, Jeff, you were saying how Megan Fox was the best part about this movie.
I kind of have to disagree personally for myself.
I thought Amanda Cypher's character was my favorite in this movie and I just, yeah, I
just think that she embodies that character very well and with the panic, but also how, um,
(12:39):
smart she is with kind of, she has a drive to her that I really liked watching.
Yeah.
If I could just jump in real quick, I have to double down, disagree with you.
I actually think she was the worst part of this movie.
Um, and, you know, I love Amanda Cypher.
I think she is so great.
(13:01):
She's a very good actress.
My issue with her in this movie was, you mentioned the way she was dressed.
One thing I noticed was obviously they're trying to contrast the way she dresses with the
way Jennifer dresses.
She wears, you know, very non-revealing clothes.
She has like these really big, you know, nerdy, dorky glasses.
And while I'm watching that, I'm like, but you guys do know it's Amanda Cypher, right?
(13:25):
She's not like that.
I don't know.
I actually thought she was miscast, honestly.
I think they could have got somebody else to do that role, but that's just kind of, kind
of, and half the way syndrome.
A little bit.
Yeah.
A little bit.
I, for me, what really worked with her character is her ambiguity with her relationship with
Jennifer.
I thought was always really interesting.
(13:46):
You know, obviously there's like the kind of romantic, sexual component of, you know,
you know, are they kissing because they actually are really into each other or are they
kissing because Jennifer is just kind of messing with her head.
But even just the way she plays into, is she really, like does she really want to stop Jennifer
or is she just kind of, you know, doing it in sort of a malicious way where she just kind
(14:09):
of wants like get at Jennifer, I really liked.
And the script as a whole has a lot of really cool ambiguous stuff like how you never really
know where the succubus ends and where Jennifer starts because she's, she's really mean
before she gets possessed.
Yeah.
And the time she's possessed, you're kind of wondering like, well, how much of this is the
demon in her and how much of this is just her talking?
(14:31):
Yeah.
But I also, I really like the dynamic between, between needy and Jennifer because it's very
true to kind of the teenage girlhood experience.
And again, with what you're saying, whether she genuinely wanted to stop her or if it was
just for malicious reasons, I think that especially is very true.
(14:54):
It's true to how teenage girls, especially like best friends sometimes are.
And so I really, I really like that aspect of the movie that it, as absurd as it is, it
kind of represents that experience really well.
Yeah.
And there's like, I don't know about you guys.
(15:14):
My personal favorite scene of the movie is between the two of them.
And it's the first time that they actually get together when they like kiss for the first
time you get that like that really epic close up of their tongues just going out it.
And I think the reason why that scene is so effective is because they clearly establish
early on that Jennifer views needy in a different way that needy views her.
I feel like they could kind of get the sense that needy likes Jennifer more than just a
(15:37):
friend like I got that.
There's so many like random like, not random, but like insert shots of her like longing
looking at at Jennifer.
And so that moment felt kind of cathartic, but at the same time it's important and that
characters are because this is the moment when she finally has to be like, wait a minute.
This is not my friend anymore like I'm being seduced and that's kind of a big turning point
for her.
I think what really worked for the movie from me is someone you were kind of talking about
(16:02):
this how it's very, it's a very fantastical movie, but it's very grounded in like the
realities of being a teenager in high school.
And something I noticed was I think the movie is a lot more concerned with tackling this
fascination America as a whole has with bad things happening to white suburban teenagers.
(16:24):
Like we as a country love it when something that happens to white suburban teenagers, whether
it be you know teenage suicide, car accidents, mass shootings, it's this weird obsession.
Our news media has with horrible things happening.
And I was really interested in the fact that this movie is a lot more concerned not with
(16:45):
showing the violence that Jennifer inflicts on these boys, but the aftermath, right?
Like we don't we don't see her ripping like organs out of them, but we see their bodies
afterwards and then we see the funeral afterwards.
And that's something you don't see a lot of in horror movies, right?
Like scream, Halloween, these teenagers get done away with and then we don't really see
(17:06):
the aftermath.
Nightmare on Oamp Street, we see some funerals, right?
And that's kind of what it's kind of an ongoing joke and that franchises that we're always
seeing teenage funerals.
But in Jennifer's body, we really linger on like crying parents and like really familiar imagery,
like altars in high school hallways and jocks and letterman's jackets crying.
(17:27):
And I think it's really effective and making the audience kind of feel a bit more like empathetic
towards the situation.
And you brought up the you know the fact that you see the parents of these kids also grieving
too.
There's a really random moment where I don't know if you guys recognized him, but it's the
voice actor of Patrick Star on SpongeBob.
Please, I heard him like, that's Patrick.
(17:51):
And in that scene, he's like saying, oh, whoever killed my son, I'm going to cut his nuts
off.
And but when I saw that, I'm like, wait a minute, what are we doing tonally here?
Like, I thought we were grieving for our kids and I thought this is supposed to be a serious
moment.
And now we have this kind of goofy dad almost who's, I don't know, like that's why I'm
kind of like the reason this movie didn't really work that well for me is because I feel
like tonally, it's just bouncing back and forth between like slap, not slapstick, but like
(18:14):
you know, sort of a schlocky, you know, comedy with horror.
And I don't know, I just for me, tonally, that just fell off.
No, yeah.
For me, I think that's especially what I like about it, the fact that it blends these two
genres in, I think it blends them well.
(18:34):
I think it's both an easily accessible movie for those seeking just pure entertainment,
but it also can provide a more nuanced representation of like girlhood.
And I don't know, I thought that the comedy worked really well with the horror and what
you were saying, Davey, about showing the aftermath.
(18:55):
I think that ties in with how I feel about the horror being represented.
I think that showing the aftermath is in how gross and gruesome and bloody it was.
I think that that's what works well with displaying the horror elements.
Yeah.
I think we see that a lot, like that tonal thing Jeff's talking about with the indifference
(19:21):
that only Jennifer has with around death, whereas in a lot of other horror movies, you know,
teenagers, if you know, there's a serial killer under town, they don't really care.
They'll throw a party.
And you know, they never think it's going to happen to them.
But this is like the one movie I can think of where everybody's like sad about what's happening.
It's like really like weighing on them.
I think if they really have to do that more, I think Jennifer would have been a lot more
(19:47):
threatening as an antagonist.
Because for me, primarily, I think that was a little bit of what was lacking towards the
third act was this feeling that Jennifer wasn't built up to be the big bad that I kind
of wanted her to be.
I really wanted this.
I would have loved if there was a big set piece at the dance at the end, or if there was
a thing of like, oh, like which boy is she going to pick to feast on.
(20:10):
But when you kind of see, oh, okay, like she's going to go for a chip, it deflates the situation
just a little bit more because you know, we have this expectation that, oh, you know,
needy's going to come and save the day.
But that sort of works to its advantage with the subversion.
I actually really didn't think that chip was going to die at the end.
I think that worked really well for how the movie kind of wanted their relationship to go.
(20:33):
Yeah, I would agree.
And I also agree with what you said too, where it's like I was also expecting there to be
like, okay, the third act there's going to be, there's a Halloween dance or whatever dance
it is.
But then no, it's like a dingy indoor swimming pool.
And I was like, okay, that's cool.
Like you had some like cool stuff, you know, I really like that set design.
Yeah.
That also makes it not too predictable because I feel like you immediately assume that
(20:54):
like someone's going to die at the dance.
And yeah, so I thought that was a really interesting and cool choice to make it in that sewer
or whatever it was.
Yeah, kind of building off of, we were talking about like, oh, you know, it's not so much focused
on like the actual violence, but the afterwards like, you even get that with, okay, needy does
away with Jennifer and she wins.
(21:16):
And the movie doesn't end there.
And we, she goes on to take down the boy band.
And then we don't see that happen.
We just see the aftermath of it.
And I think with that piece specifically, that works a little bit to the disadvantage of
the movie because it kind of takes away the catharsis that we as the audience would have
liked to see needy, you know, get her revenge on this satanic boy band, which I loved.
(21:42):
We've talked about already about, you know, Amanda Cypherid and Megan Fox, but Adam Brody
has the lead singer of the band and then incredible casting with JK Simmons as the teacher with
the hooked hand, which by the way, they don't explain the hook hand.
Did you guys not want that?
They don't.
Oh, I was wondering.
Yeah.
(22:03):
And the wig they have on him is it's so 70s Donald Settled.
Oh, exactly what I thought.
Yeah, no.
His character is really, it's like this weird, sentimental, hippie-ish English teacher who
just really wants these kids to work it out.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He has some really great comedic moments in this that I was not expecting to see.
(22:26):
I totally forgot he was in this.
Yeah.
So that's my point.
Like, I'm thinking you're naming all these characters and all these scenes and like I
watched them.
I enjoyed seeing them, but they weren't that memorable to me.
Yeah.
There's such an entertaining movie where there's so much happening and it's done in the most
(22:50):
interesting way and the most comedic way.
But then just something doesn't land.
I honestly have a feeling that there were just, it kind of just got too convoluted with
kind of subplots and characters, especially towards like the middle and leaning towards
the end.
That's kind of what made it difficult for it to be memorable and for me to remember,
(23:12):
like characters like played by JK Simmons, yeah.
And also a cow-barner who has become like a fake like four.
Yeah.
He was in scream and the passenger and strange darling and he is a baby in this movie and
he is so cute in it.
Something I wanted to ask was, you know, this movie has been really famous for, you know,
(23:34):
this queer representation and really famously it, you know, underperformed at the box office.
And a lot of people attribute that to how it was marketed.
Roger Ebert called it Twilight for Boys.
And movies written and directed by a woman and start the two leads in our women and with
the studio was figuring out how to advertise it.
(23:56):
They wanted Megan Fox to like go on like campsites and like plug the movie and like talk about
it in this like really weird way.
And I wanted to ask you, like do you think the movie uphills like the male gaze?
Like do you think it's oriented towards like a male audience or like a female audience?
I think it's definitely more geared towards a female audience.
(24:17):
I think so too.
I got to.
I don't know if you guys saw the trailer.
I think they cut this out of the movie.
But there's a really great line in the trailer where Needy says like, you know, you can't
be killing people.
And Jennifer says, I don't kill people.
I just killed boys.
Yeah.
I think that line in the movie because I think that kind of perfectly encapsulates it.
Yeah.
I agree.
Yeah.
I mean, I think people were expecting something that's more for the male gaze, something that's
(24:43):
maybe a bit, I guess for a lack of better words, something a bit more shallow, something
like closer to like slasher of the 70s.
But then they got something more on the in the vein of like, well, more focused on
feminist themes and something that's more satirical, especially when thinking about the male
(25:05):
gaze.
I remember this movie being a lot like Ron Sheerth.
And it actually like I remember for some reason they're being a scene with like a nude
Megan Fox.
And that never happens.
And I thought that was really interesting that like with all of the themes about sex and
how teenagers handle an approach sex that we never get at we get one sexing with chip
(25:26):
and a man and a needy.
And I thought that was really interesting and it's not like a, you know, it's not camera
focusing on needy's body or like really, you know, salacious camera angles.
It's like this like really like almost like tender scene between the two of them.
And you can tell it's like they're kind of figuring it out and it's not, you know, for
(25:47):
people to gaze at in like a really lured way.
It's this.
It's for the characters.
And I thought that was really cool and interesting.
But it also doesn't focus just on them having sex.
I think she was, she was getting like a vision or something that was, Jennifer was doing
(26:08):
the blood on the ceiling.
Yes, yes.
And so I think that also kind of takes away from it being too much in that sense.
Yeah.
Just real quick.
I wanted to ask you guys, you guys have seen this movie more than I've ever seen it once.
Is Amanda Seafreeze character like telekinate?
Why didn't get that?
Like I don't, I understand why Jennifer has her powers.
(26:30):
But it's like there's like this weird like psychic connection because in that scene, it's
like this sex scene.
And then all of a sudden she starts freaking out because she's, you know, seeing what Jennifer
is doing.
I'm like, I didn't get that.
I don't, did they explain that I missed something there?
They don't explain it.
And I kind of like it that way.
There's this really funny scene really early on where she's talking to Chip and she
goes, I think Jennifer is here.
(26:51):
And then you hear Jennifer go, "Needy!" and he's like, "How do you do that?"
And I think that it sort of alludes to just like this really weird connection her and Jennifer
have with each other that I really like.
You see it just the row whenever she kind of has this vibe.
Whenever Jennifer is doing something that she kind of knows, I think the explanation,
(27:13):
the movie kind of gives us that little blood pan shake they give each other.
Like I think that's kind of all I need.
Yeah, I could see wanting a little bit more from that.
Was the blood pan shake after Jennifer got...
No.
That went when they were little in the sandbox.
Oh, right.
I just kind of see that as they're being this connection between the two of them.
Yeah.
(27:34):
I mean, I didn't even like really realize that their connection was kind of weird at first.
I'll be honest.
Because I mean, like they have been best friends since childhood.
I feel like it's kind of natural to kind of have that deep connection and I think that
it goes with how relatable the movie can be when thinking about like teenage girlhood and
stuff like that and kind of growing up with your best friends.
(27:57):
So for me, I didn't even question it at first.
It just kind of, yeah, now that you guys pointed out, I'm like, yeah, it was a bit odd maybe.
Yeah.
It's weird because you know like obviously towards the end of the movie she gets bit.
And so now that makes sense why she has these powers and she's able to like levitate
into the jail so everything.
But at that moment, I was just like, it kind of reminded me of like Star Wars where
like, oh my god, I feel something in the forest or something going on.
(28:19):
And I'm like, wait, how the hell does she, the whole other house, she's having sex like
I was like, that just, I don't know that I felt weird to me.
That never just happens to you.
Just now it doesn't.
It doesn't.
It's a vision's a blood on the ceiling.
But I know we already talked about cast by also totally just remembered this and need to
throw it out there.
Chris Pratt isn't this movie.
Yes.
(28:39):
Yes.
Yeah.
That was shocking by the way.
Chris Pratt isn't movie for one scene.
I think three lines of dialogue, incredible, just incredible.
So young.
And going back to that scene in the bar, building off like the idea of, oh, you know, tragedy,
we love it when bad things happen.
The 9/11 shooters.
One of the funniest parts of the movie is the red, white and blue 9/11 shooter that you
(29:03):
have to shoot before it turns brown.
Yeah.
It's so specific to where this movie is set in like just like rural town that, you know,
eight years later is still having 9/11 memorial shooters, I think really.
Orients us to like where the reality of this movie is and where it's set and it anchors
it in a really cool, interesting way.
(29:24):
Yeah.
I wanted one of those shooters honestly.
It was kind of good.
It was kind of good.
It was like the bump pops.
Yeah.
Well, I was watching it.
I was just so concerned with them turning brown like she says.
Yeah.
She was taking a while and then she went to like fill it up to the top because one wasn't
full all the way.
I think she was like the second tower.
It was a little.
(29:45):
Yeah.
I think that scene in the bar is probably one of the more frightening scenes in the movie.
That fire is really upsetting to the sound design in it is really intense when you hear
the cracking of the bones and people getting stand pitted.
And then I think this is probably my favorite acting by Megan Foxes and the media after
Matt of that where she's just like in shock.
(30:06):
Yeah.
And I think that is probably like my, and it's interesting.
How like her spaciness and that scene compared to her spaciness later on are two completely
different kinds of spaciness.
And like the, I think you actually have to be pretty talented as an actress to be able
to communicate two different like convey threatening and convey shocked in different ways
(30:27):
without having any dialogue and just having a blank expression on your face.
I thought that was really cool.
And you know, something else I want to bring up real quick too because I noticed this also
watching the movie is that another commentary that it has is definitely on the music industry
specifically with this band.
I think top shoulder was the name of that.
I can't remember, but it's a low shoulder.
(30:47):
Low shoulder.
Low shoulder.
Yeah.
Low shoulder.
And they're this like indie rock band who like our Satanist on the side and they're
giving this version of sacrifice like really, you know, but what I really liked was the
fact that they are hailed as heroes in this scenario.
Like somehow this rumor starts that they were like helping people in the fire, but obviously
we know they weren't.
(31:08):
They just ran away with Jennifer.
And then they write this song that becomes like this big deal and they're like, we need you
to have, you know, come play at our memorial dance, whatever.
I just thought that was like a kind of like a funny sort of like satire of like how we view
those types of bands and like, oh my god, they're such heroes.
It reminds me a lot of how after Columbine, Blink 182 song, Adam's song became like a bit
(31:31):
like, oh, like people associated with that.
And then after Hurricane Katrina wake me up when September ends by Green Day became like
the unofficial Hurricane Katrina song.
And like what that does to people who like went through those things, right?
Because it's this thing.
It's like, oh, like how nice are them to like make a song.
Yeah.
But then like every time that person is going to hear that song, they're going to be brought
back to what happened.
(31:52):
And I just wanted to say that through the trees is on Spotify not to plug low shoulder,
but as soon as the movie finishes like that song, it's Spotify and it is.
Awesome.
So I'm here with David Moan, director of photography for Jennifer's body this week's film
on the film department podcast.
David, you've worked on a lot of really awesome stuff, love which I recently found out that
(32:14):
you actually did the cinematography for one of my favorite episodes of Mad Men.
So that was really exciting to find out.
Do you have a favorite shot or one that really sticks out to you when you think about your
work on Jennifer's body?
Quite a few.
(32:42):
And that was the first time I was in the film.
(33:07):
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
(33:34):
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
and the art departments and stuff, when you were, you know, going through the process of developing the visual style for Jennifer's body, what was that like? And were there any inspirations that you kind of drew from?
(34:04):
Well, we talked a lot about 80s horror, Currently was a big fan of 80s film story with, how we aim and then how she's 79, I think.
That night, right now, street and we just talked a lot about, um, that one of those 80s films off net of female hero and who, you know, went to this sort of scary sort of like almost like a fairy tale structure to the story.
(34:36):
Um, Greven's fairy tale saying so since we were kind of doing a subtle homage to 80s horror, I had decided to use a lot of blue and life for the second half of the film, which is something it started up as a technique in 80s, which,
my start to becoming popular for lighting night experience, he started getting this all blue look at night. I'm sorry, I made sure I have a lighting a life second half of the film.
(35:04):
And because of that, I decided to keep the first half of the film as warm as possible so that so that you have a change from this kind of golden look to this cold blueish look by the end of the film.
Yeah, I feel like that's especially kind of reflected in the a lot of the prison or the mental asylum scene. Yeah, that's really cool. I didn't even think about that.
(35:27):
So it breaks the structure in a sense because it bookends the movie. So, so the, when you take the prison in the book end out, it starts with the small town that's where I started to warm up, but the prison had to be opposite that again.
So I went for the squish, cyan effect.
So there was a, you know, a lot of our discussions, but also I think whenever you talk about our show, I structure most of them have a story structure that goes from naturalism to expressionism.
(36:04):
You know, they always start out with the happy family moving into their new home in the woods and it's a beautiful spring day. And with the movie, it's a lighting star, you know, in a dark attic and shadows everywhere.
So that's, this becomes German expressionist by the end of the film. So that's that's a structure to a lot of our films research and kind of comfortable reality and it just gets more and more twisted is the story progresses.
(36:29):
Now some horror films are just creepy all the way from the start to just like a film like seven, you know, just kind of got to see the red from in every scene. It's kind of dark and gloomy, but this is a film that more starts out and more believable.
And then, and then this crazy stuff gets slipped in.
(36:50):
You brought up working with Karen Casamo. What was that like?
It was great. She was very thorough director and all aspects planning every detail editing them. So she wanted to serve with the whole film and shop list all show.
All locations and plot everything out and dance and work with me and the production designer and then with the editor. So those three of us kind of plan the whole movie on paper basically and we had lots of mood boards and their references and things that we were working from.
(37:26):
So it was very well crafted well start out film because of her.
Yeah, I definitely think it shows we had a blast watching it this week for the film department podcast. I wanted to ask, you know, the character of Megan or Jennifer played by Megan Fox.
She exists in the movie as kind of this object of desire for a lot of the characters, you know, needy and you know all the boys at the school.
(37:54):
Did that sort of influence how you would go about shooting Jennifer's character and was that something you kind of leaned into or were you kind of conscious of maybe avoiding, you know, kind of male gaze ask perspectives.
I treated her like a sympathetic character which I kind of thought she was but some things she you know when she's needing blood or whatever she she starts to beauty starts to fade and as someone's I was harder because I had to try to make her look a planer.
(38:25):
You know, and she would look when she's after she's killed someone she gets you know below the skin and the pencil like that. So and some of that we actually enhance and post where the softened her skin.
When she after she killed someone so that she looks like she got refreshed refreshed in a way.
So that was part of the storyline in terms of alternating her looks but when it starts out I just tried to make her look you know attractive teenage you know character and the story I wasn't particularly trying to glamorize her or anything until she starts becoming this monster and then that's where the lighting starts to like there's a shot that's.
(39:10):
And then the photo slow motion shot of her walking down the hallway you know and she's she's passing all the guys and lockers and you know in the crowded hallway and I deliberately put a series of spotlights in the hallway you know trying to avoid the kind of mundane fluorescent light look and so she was kind of in this little spot of light.
(39:32):
And in a colorful shirt so she kind of popped out of this kind of drab environment just because of the sort of spotlight that was on her that's kind of an old fashioned lighting technique.
But so you could call that the male gaze and so all the characters are gazing at her she walks on all way.
That was sort of the point of the shot was to show her power basically after she had become possessed to that by the sort of demon.
(40:01):
Yeah I really love that you brought up that shot specifically because I think that's probably my favorite one in the movie and it's I think it's well a lot of people remember from is that really iconic kind of stretch she has coming down the hallway so.
You know it's hard when you do high school film because always are so dull that just nothing but stars and lights and awesome dark and windows or anything so.
(40:24):
I was always trying to find a way to make each hallway different each time we can come into it more sunlight coming in or or changing the mood of of the high school basically.
Even in the classroom seems to be a little.
Thank you so much David.
(40:52):
Well thank you so much Jeff and Simone that's it for this week's film department we hope you enjoyed today's class and will like subscribe and share wherever you're listening to find podcasts.
If you'd like to read your hosts and depth analyses of this week's film head over to substack at the film department all one word.
(41:15):
Thank you to the Beverly be sure to check out their latest programming at the Beverly dot com including dates and times for Jennifer's body.
Cinematic connectivity novel collaborations live happenings cultural portals and assessed for independent spirits to downtown Las Vegas with a mission to stage on common cinematic literary and live experiences the Beverly theater is Las Vegas's first and only independent film house storytelling arena and live music venue.
(41:43):
Check out our event calendar at the Beverly theater dot com.
The Film Department is supported by UNLV Film.
(00:07):
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With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state-of-the-art equipment and
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(00:29):
Learn more at unlv.edu/film.
UNLV Film.
Find your voice.
Tell your story.
Welcome to the Film Department, the movie review podcast of UNLV Film.
This semester we'll be discussing the film screening at our partner movie house, the Beverly
Theatre.
Las Vegas is only independent film house and performance venue.
(00:50):
I'm Davey Parks, a fourth year film major and your host for this episode.
And I'm joined by...
Hello everyone, I'm Jeff.
I'm a third year film major here at UNLV.
I'm also the president of the horror club on campus, Freight Club.
And yeah, I'm just really excited to be here.
Hi, my name is Simona and I am also a third year film major and I'm really excited to
(01:11):
explore all these movies with you guys and see where we agree and disagree.
Before we get into this week's film, I just want to get this out of the way.
Megalopolis just released this week.
An incredible movie in every sense of the word.
It was a movie I got to see.
(01:33):
I can, just sort of a subtle flex.
Yeah, it was a lot.
Jeff, you just saw it.
What do you think?
It did.
I saw it in IMAX recently.
There was like a Q&A with Francis Ford Coppola before and it was everything you described
and just a little bit more.
It wasn't even really a movie, honestly.
It was an experience.
It is definitely a collection of still images strong together to provide the illusion of movement
(01:59):
accompanied by sound.
Yes.
Simona, what do you know about Megalopolis?
I have yet to see it.
I will be so honest.
I have had no desire to see it yet.
Just because I don't really have a reason for why.
It just hasn't been in my priority.
But hearing you guys talk about it and the way that you guys feel about is making me reconsider
(02:24):
that.
In Las Vegas, we have this incredible spectacle every few years where we get to demolish
a casino once it's kind of gotten old and new.
If you go see Megalopolis, you'll get to see that happen to Francis Ford Coppola's career.
It is truly a sight to behold.
There is some of the most inspired acting choices I've ever seen.
(02:48):
From everyone involved, truly something that needs to be seen to believe.
Davey, I hate to correct you, but I don't think Francis Ford Coppola's had a career since
the 90s, honestly.
So that died a while ago.
Yeah.
I think the most interesting thing I have to say about Megalopolis without giving away
any of the surprises is that Wem Wenders left his screening of Paris, Texas to go see
(03:11):
Megalopolis with me in the Agnes Varda theater at the Cannes Film Festival and left an hour
and a half into the movie.
So if that is any indication of the quality of the film, then there's nothing more to say.
Maybe I'll go back to my initial thought.
Yeah.
You know, it's, man, half way through the movie, I won't spoil this moment, but you know,
(03:35):
there's like a really loud jump scare moment.
There is.
And I remember I leaned over to my friends and I was like, that's so funny.
He did that because he knew everyone was asleep at the moment.
Yeah, every person who I've talked to who's seen the movie said that that was the scene
that woke them up from their throamper and I had the exact same experience.
It was so boring before that.
Yes.
And then it gets really, really weird.
(03:57):
It's just a great year for cinema, capital C cinema.
Like, movies that make you want to go sit in a theater and just eat popcorn and look up
at a screen more than anything.
Like, even, you know, I wasn't the biggest fan of Megalopolis.
It's a movie you need to see in theaters to get the full experience because if you don't,
you're just going to turn it off a playthrough.
(04:18):
You and me are going out tonight.
There's something cute, okay?
You always do a Jennifer telling you to do them.
It's just that I like the same things as she likes.
Hey, Jennifer.
You look really pretty.
Why don't you just come by my place?
What was it, random?
It says in real-the-earth house, isn't it?
(04:39):
We can play Mommy and Daddy.
No way.
I always share you that when we have slumber parties.
Jennifer's evil.
I know.
No, I mean, she's actually evil.
Not high school evil.
All right, guys.
(05:00):
This week we're reviewing the 2009 film Jennifer's Body, directed by Karen Kusama and written
by Diablo Cody.
And it stars this amazing cast of Megan Fox, Amanda Sifred and Johnny Simmons.
And even more exciting, it's showing at the Beverly Theatre this October on the 16th
and the 17th.
(05:20):
I really liked it.
This was my first time seeing it in a few years.
I thought it was really funny.
Without spoiling anything, I think a lot of the jokes land really well.
And so does the horror.
It's really funny to watch it now.
I think it's a bit dated, not necessarily in a bad way, but I think it's a really great
(05:41):
time capsule of 2009.
And I would definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't.
You know, I said this was my first time seeing it.
I'd have to give it a play in the background.
I liked it.
I enjoyed it.
I agree with what you said.
I think comedically it was very funny.
There were many one-liners specifically from Megan Fox, and I thought we're absolutely
(06:03):
brilliant.
For me, where it kind of falters a little bit was the horror department because I just didn't
think it was that scary because it was so funny.
And in my opinion, when you have all these jokes, you know, it kind of takes a little bit
away from when you're supposed to be scared.
So I would give it a play in the background.
But I mean with the comedy and the horror, the way that it combines the two, I think that
(06:25):
it still does not dismiss the horror aspects completely.
With that being said, I really do enjoy this movie.
I have seen it three times, but I will say that it's not that memorable for me.
I've seen it two other times and granted it's been a few years.
(06:46):
I felt like I was watching it for the first time when I saw it recently.
I knew I feel like iconic scenes from it, but it still felt like I was missing something
to make it that iconic for me.
I think that serves as spoiler-free sections.
So this is a good time to warn you that our mouths have no filters and we're likely to spoil
(07:09):
some parts of the film.
So if you want to save it for the Beverly, go check it out and you can pause here and
come back afterwards.
But we'll now begin our spoiler session.
Yeah, I kind of agree with what you say.
Like I think it's interesting that of all the scenes and sort of iconographies of the
movie.
The thing people remember the most is Megan Fox walking down a hallway.
(07:31):
Like when you think of like, oh, I think it was a Madison beer music video recreated a
few scenes from this movie and that's kind of what they use was that shot of her walking
down the hallway.
And I think that's really interesting that that's what people take away from this movie.
And I remember when I first watched it, one of the things that really drew people to the
(07:55):
movie that kind of made me want to go check it out was this idea that it was this very
queer movie it was all about, you know, Jennifer and Needy and whether or not, you know, were
they romantically engaged where they just friends.
And that's not really what the movie is about interestingly enough.
I think it does add a little bit of ambiguity to their character.
(08:16):
But I think the movie isn't really that concerned with it.
I don't think I would necessarily call this like a capital Q queer movie.
I think it's sort of secondary tertiary even to like a lot of what's going on in the plot.
But yeah, I totally agree with you.
There's a lot of parts of this that even though a lot of it does work, a lot of it is kind
(08:37):
of muddled and sort of like iconography of the movie.
Yeah.
Like the first scene that comes to mind is like, I always see on like social media that that
clip of her holding the light.
It's her.
And with the name that it's kind of, well the impression that it kind of gives as being
(08:58):
sort of a queer film also, that again, I feel like there aren't very memorable moments
that would kind of establish it as that or even plot points that kind of give it the
name of a queer film.
Yeah.
I mean, if you know, I think we can all agree the best part of this movie is Megan Foxx,
(09:21):
right?
We all agree.
Her performance is great.
For me, what I really loved are the one liners.
And like, you know, you're talking about that.
I'm thinking about when she tells a fantasy priest character, I go both ways.
And it's like the greatest line in the whole movie.
Yeah.
Mona, what's your favorite one liner in this?
Oh, I don't even remember.
But I really love the writing in this movie.
(09:41):
Yeah.
Like I wish I could talk that way.
It makes me think of like the teenage apocalypse trilogy from Gregoraki.
I feel like the writing is kind of similar and kind of odd and weird and funny in that way.
And so I just watching this movie, one of the greatest parts was the one liners and the
(10:04):
writing.
And I just, I honestly wish I could talk that way.
Just come up with that witty way of talking like right off the bat.
Yeah, there's a lot of really great, like, heathers and mean girls influencing here with just the
way people talk and sort of the way they react to death in general.
(10:25):
I think my favorite one liner is when she's talking about the one boy who'd been done away
with and the mom goes, yeah, you know, when they found him, he looked like Lasagna with
teeth, which is such an app.
So visceral, but it's so funny just the way she says it.
And yeah, I think Megan Fox really carries not just a lot of the story, but a lot of the
(10:47):
humor.
Her delivery in this is incredibly just so venomous.
I think she has some really great face acting in the sense that she's not doing a lot of,
you know, movement with her face.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, she's very like stone faced the whole movie and it adds up to both the sense that
she is really threatening, but a lot of her line deliveries are really elevated because
(11:09):
of it.
Yeah.
If I could just bring up one more one liner that really stuck out to me, it's towards the
end of the movie when Chip stabs her with the black pole and she says, anybody got a
tampon?
Oh, my god.
Oh, that one.
Oh, I can't believe I forgot that one.
That one was great.
All time favorite that has to go with, um, do you get all of your murder weapons from
(11:30):
Home Depot?
God, your butch.
Yes.
It's so good.
And I think going back to what we were talking about with kind of the, like, you know, the
idea of her burning her tongue, um, the outfits in this movie are so incredible.
Just like the, what Jennifer wears as a flag girl is so funny and it's so like Americana,
(11:54):
um, the like jumpsuits that she's like juicy couture, adjacent kind of stuff.
Um, and then the way they style needy's character, I also really like, um, you, you know,
a lot about her and her relationship with Chip too.
I thought was really endearing.
Um, I found that really interesting how empathetic of a movie it was.
(12:14):
Yeah.
I honestly, uh, Jeff, you were saying how Megan Fox was the best part about this movie.
I kind of have to disagree personally for myself.
I thought Amanda Cypher's character was my favorite in this movie and I just, yeah, I
just think that she embodies that character very well and with the panic, but also how, um,
(12:39):
smart she is with kind of, she has a drive to her that I really liked watching.
Yeah.
If I could just jump in real quick, I have to double down, disagree with you.
I actually think she was the worst part of this movie.
Um, and, you know, I love Amanda Cypher.
I think she is so great.
(13:01):
She's a very good actress.
My issue with her in this movie was, you mentioned the way she was dressed.
One thing I noticed was obviously they're trying to contrast the way she dresses with the
way Jennifer dresses.
She wears, you know, very non-revealing clothes.
She has like these really big, you know, nerdy, dorky glasses.
And while I'm watching that, I'm like, but you guys do know it's Amanda Cypher, right?
(13:25):
She's not like that.
I don't know.
I actually thought she was miscast, honestly.
I think they could have got somebody else to do that role, but that's just kind of, kind
of, and half the way syndrome.
A little bit.
Yeah.
A little bit.
I, for me, what really worked with her character is her ambiguity with her relationship with
Jennifer.
I thought was always really interesting.
(13:46):
You know, obviously there's like the kind of romantic, sexual component of, you know,
you know, are they kissing because they actually are really into each other or are they
kissing because Jennifer is just kind of messing with her head.
But even just the way she plays into, is she really, like does she really want to stop Jennifer
or is she just kind of, you know, doing it in sort of a malicious way where she just kind
(14:09):
of wants like get at Jennifer, I really liked.
And the script as a whole has a lot of really cool ambiguous stuff like how you never really
know where the succubus ends and where Jennifer starts because she's, she's really mean
before she gets possessed.
Yeah.
And the time she's possessed, you're kind of wondering like, well, how much of this is the
demon in her and how much of this is just her talking?
(14:31):
Yeah.
But I also, I really like the dynamic between, between needy and Jennifer because it's very
true to kind of the teenage girlhood experience.
And again, with what you're saying, whether she genuinely wanted to stop her or if it was
just for malicious reasons, I think that especially is very true.
(14:54):
It's true to how teenage girls, especially like best friends sometimes are.
And so I really, I really like that aspect of the movie that it, as absurd as it is, it
kind of represents that experience really well.
Yeah.
And there's like, I don't know about you guys.
(15:14):
My personal favorite scene of the movie is between the two of them.
And it's the first time that they actually get together when they like kiss for the first
time you get that like that really epic close up of their tongues just going out it.
And I think the reason why that scene is so effective is because they clearly establish
early on that Jennifer views needy in a different way that needy views her.
I feel like they could kind of get the sense that needy likes Jennifer more than just a
(15:37):
friend like I got that.
There's so many like random like, not random, but like insert shots of her like longing
looking at at Jennifer.
And so that moment felt kind of cathartic, but at the same time it's important and that
characters are because this is the moment when she finally has to be like, wait a minute.
This is not my friend anymore like I'm being seduced and that's kind of a big turning point
for her.
I think what really worked for the movie from me is someone you were kind of talking about
(16:02):
this how it's very, it's a very fantastical movie, but it's very grounded in like the
realities of being a teenager in high school.
And something I noticed was I think the movie is a lot more concerned with tackling this
fascination America as a whole has with bad things happening to white suburban teenagers.
(16:24):
Like we as a country love it when something that happens to white suburban teenagers, whether
it be you know teenage suicide, car accidents, mass shootings, it's this weird obsession.
Our news media has with horrible things happening.
And I was really interested in the fact that this movie is a lot more concerned not with
(16:45):
showing the violence that Jennifer inflicts on these boys, but the aftermath, right?
Like we don't we don't see her ripping like organs out of them, but we see their bodies
afterwards and then we see the funeral afterwards.
And that's something you don't see a lot of in horror movies, right?
Like scream, Halloween, these teenagers get done away with and then we don't really see
(17:06):
the aftermath.
Nightmare on Oamp Street, we see some funerals, right?
And that's kind of what it's kind of an ongoing joke and that franchises that we're always
seeing teenage funerals.
But in Jennifer's body, we really linger on like crying parents and like really familiar imagery,
like altars in high school hallways and jocks and letterman's jackets crying.
(17:27):
And I think it's really effective and making the audience kind of feel a bit more like empathetic
towards the situation.
And you brought up the you know the fact that you see the parents of these kids also grieving
too.
There's a really random moment where I don't know if you guys recognized him, but it's the
voice actor of Patrick Star on SpongeBob.
Please, I heard him like, that's Patrick.
(17:51):
And in that scene, he's like saying, oh, whoever killed my son, I'm going to cut his nuts
off.
And but when I saw that, I'm like, wait a minute, what are we doing tonally here?
Like, I thought we were grieving for our kids and I thought this is supposed to be a serious
moment.
And now we have this kind of goofy dad almost who's, I don't know, like that's why I'm
kind of like the reason this movie didn't really work that well for me is because I feel
like tonally, it's just bouncing back and forth between like slap, not slapstick, but like
(18:14):
you know, sort of a schlocky, you know, comedy with horror.
And I don't know, I just for me, tonally, that just fell off.
No, yeah.
For me, I think that's especially what I like about it, the fact that it blends these two
genres in, I think it blends them well.
(18:34):
I think it's both an easily accessible movie for those seeking just pure entertainment,
but it also can provide a more nuanced representation of like girlhood.
And I don't know, I thought that the comedy worked really well with the horror and what
you were saying, Davey, about showing the aftermath.
(18:55):
I think that ties in with how I feel about the horror being represented.
I think that showing the aftermath is in how gross and gruesome and bloody it was.
I think that that's what works well with displaying the horror elements.
Yeah.
I think we see that a lot, like that tonal thing Jeff's talking about with the indifference
(19:21):
that only Jennifer has with around death, whereas in a lot of other horror movies, you know,
teenagers, if you know, there's a serial killer under town, they don't really care.
They'll throw a party.
And you know, they never think it's going to happen to them.
But this is like the one movie I can think of where everybody's like sad about what's happening.
It's like really like weighing on them.
I think if they really have to do that more, I think Jennifer would have been a lot more
(19:47):
threatening as an antagonist.
Because for me, primarily, I think that was a little bit of what was lacking towards the
third act was this feeling that Jennifer wasn't built up to be the big bad that I kind
of wanted her to be.
I really wanted this.
I would have loved if there was a big set piece at the dance at the end, or if there was
a thing of like, oh, like which boy is she going to pick to feast on.
(20:10):
But when you kind of see, oh, okay, like she's going to go for a chip, it deflates the situation
just a little bit more because you know, we have this expectation that, oh, you know,
needy's going to come and save the day.
But that sort of works to its advantage with the subversion.
I actually really didn't think that chip was going to die at the end.
I think that worked really well for how the movie kind of wanted their relationship to go.
(20:33):
Yeah, I would agree.
And I also agree with what you said too, where it's like I was also expecting there to be
like, okay, the third act there's going to be, there's a Halloween dance or whatever dance
it is.
But then no, it's like a dingy indoor swimming pool.
And I was like, okay, that's cool.
Like you had some like cool stuff, you know, I really like that set design.
Yeah.
That also makes it not too predictable because I feel like you immediately assume that
(20:54):
like someone's going to die at the dance.
And yeah, so I thought that was a really interesting and cool choice to make it in that sewer
or whatever it was.
Yeah, kind of building off of, we were talking about like, oh, you know, it's not so much focused
on like the actual violence, but the afterwards like, you even get that with, okay, needy does
away with Jennifer and she wins.
(21:16):
And the movie doesn't end there.
And we, she goes on to take down the boy band.
And then we don't see that happen.
We just see the aftermath of it.
And I think with that piece specifically, that works a little bit to the disadvantage of
the movie because it kind of takes away the catharsis that we as the audience would have
liked to see needy, you know, get her revenge on this satanic boy band, which I loved.
(21:42):
We've talked about already about, you know, Amanda Cypherid and Megan Fox, but Adam Brody
has the lead singer of the band and then incredible casting with JK Simmons as the teacher with
the hooked hand, which by the way, they don't explain the hook hand.
Did you guys not want that?
They don't.
Oh, I was wondering.
Yeah.
(22:03):
And the wig they have on him is it's so 70s Donald Settled.
Oh, exactly what I thought.
Yeah, no.
His character is really, it's like this weird, sentimental, hippie-ish English teacher who
just really wants these kids to work it out.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He has some really great comedic moments in this that I was not expecting to see.
(22:26):
I totally forgot he was in this.
Yeah.
So that's my point.
Like, I'm thinking you're naming all these characters and all these scenes and like I
watched them.
I enjoyed seeing them, but they weren't that memorable to me.
Yeah.
There's such an entertaining movie where there's so much happening and it's done in the most
(22:50):
interesting way and the most comedic way.
But then just something doesn't land.
I honestly have a feeling that there were just, it kind of just got too convoluted with
kind of subplots and characters, especially towards like the middle and leaning towards
the end.
That's kind of what made it difficult for it to be memorable and for me to remember,
(23:12):
like characters like played by JK Simmons, yeah.
And also a cow-barner who has become like a fake like four.
Yeah.
He was in scream and the passenger and strange darling and he is a baby in this movie and
he is so cute in it.
Something I wanted to ask was, you know, this movie has been really famous for, you know,
(23:34):
this queer representation and really famously it, you know, underperformed at the box office.
And a lot of people attribute that to how it was marketed.
Roger Ebert called it Twilight for Boys.
And movies written and directed by a woman and start the two leads in our women and with
the studio was figuring out how to advertise it.
(23:56):
They wanted Megan Fox to like go on like campsites and like plug the movie and like talk about
it in this like really weird way.
And I wanted to ask you, like do you think the movie uphills like the male gaze?
Like do you think it's oriented towards like a male audience or like a female audience?
I think it's definitely more geared towards a female audience.
(24:17):
I think so too.
I got to.
I don't know if you guys saw the trailer.
I think they cut this out of the movie.
But there's a really great line in the trailer where Needy says like, you know, you can't
be killing people.
And Jennifer says, I don't kill people.
I just killed boys.
Yeah.
I think that line in the movie because I think that kind of perfectly encapsulates it.
Yeah.
I agree.
Yeah.
I mean, I think people were expecting something that's more for the male gaze, something that's
(24:43):
maybe a bit, I guess for a lack of better words, something a bit more shallow, something
like closer to like slasher of the 70s.
But then they got something more on the in the vein of like, well, more focused on
feminist themes and something that's more satirical, especially when thinking about the male
(25:05):
gaze.
I remember this movie being a lot like Ron Sheerth.
And it actually like I remember for some reason they're being a scene with like a nude
Megan Fox.
And that never happens.
And I thought that was really interesting that like with all of the themes about sex and
how teenagers handle an approach sex that we never get at we get one sexing with chip
(25:26):
and a man and a needy.
And I thought that was really interesting and it's not like a, you know, it's not camera
focusing on needy's body or like really, you know, salacious camera angles.
It's like this like really like almost like tender scene between the two of them.
And you can tell it's like they're kind of figuring it out and it's not, you know, for
(25:47):
people to gaze at in like a really lured way.
It's this.
It's for the characters.
And I thought that was really cool and interesting.
But it also doesn't focus just on them having sex.
I think she was, she was getting like a vision or something that was, Jennifer was doing
(26:08):
the blood on the ceiling.
Yes, yes.
And so I think that also kind of takes away from it being too much in that sense.
Yeah.
Just real quick.
I wanted to ask you guys, you guys have seen this movie more than I've ever seen it once.
Is Amanda Seafreeze character like telekinate?
Why didn't get that?
Like I don't, I understand why Jennifer has her powers.
(26:30):
But it's like there's like this weird like psychic connection because in that scene, it's
like this sex scene.
And then all of a sudden she starts freaking out because she's, you know, seeing what Jennifer
is doing.
I'm like, I didn't get that.
I don't, did they explain that I missed something there?
They don't explain it.
And I kind of like it that way.
There's this really funny scene really early on where she's talking to Chip and she
goes, I think Jennifer is here.
(26:51):
And then you hear Jennifer go, "Needy!" and he's like, "How do you do that?"
And I think that it sort of alludes to just like this really weird connection her and Jennifer
have with each other that I really like.
You see it just the row whenever she kind of has this vibe.
Whenever Jennifer is doing something that she kind of knows, I think the explanation,
(27:13):
the movie kind of gives us that little blood pan shake they give each other.
Like I think that's kind of all I need.
Yeah, I could see wanting a little bit more from that.
Was the blood pan shake after Jennifer got...
No.
That went when they were little in the sandbox.
Oh, right.
I just kind of see that as they're being this connection between the two of them.
Yeah.
(27:34):
I mean, I didn't even like really realize that their connection was kind of weird at first.
I'll be honest.
Because I mean, like they have been best friends since childhood.
I feel like it's kind of natural to kind of have that deep connection and I think that
it goes with how relatable the movie can be when thinking about like teenage girlhood and
stuff like that and kind of growing up with your best friends.
(27:57):
So for me, I didn't even question it at first.
It just kind of, yeah, now that you guys pointed out, I'm like, yeah, it was a bit odd maybe.
Yeah.
It's weird because you know like obviously towards the end of the movie she gets bit.
And so now that makes sense why she has these powers and she's able to like levitate
into the jail so everything.
But at that moment, I was just like, it kind of reminded me of like Star Wars where
like, oh my god, I feel something in the forest or something going on.
(28:19):
And I'm like, wait, how the hell does she, the whole other house, she's having sex like
I was like, that just, I don't know that I felt weird to me.
That never just happens to you.
Just now it doesn't.
It doesn't.
It's a vision's a blood on the ceiling.
But I know we already talked about cast by also totally just remembered this and need to
throw it out there.
Chris Pratt isn't this movie.
Yes.
(28:39):
Yes.
Yeah.
That was shocking by the way.
Chris Pratt isn't movie for one scene.
I think three lines of dialogue, incredible, just incredible.
So young.
And going back to that scene in the bar, building off like the idea of, oh, you know, tragedy,
we love it when bad things happen.
The 9/11 shooters.
One of the funniest parts of the movie is the red, white and blue 9/11 shooter that you
(29:03):
have to shoot before it turns brown.
Yeah.
It's so specific to where this movie is set in like just like rural town that, you know,
eight years later is still having 9/11 memorial shooters, I think really.
Orients us to like where the reality of this movie is and where it's set and it anchors
it in a really cool, interesting way.
(29:24):
Yeah.
I wanted one of those shooters honestly.
It was kind of good.
It was kind of good.
It was like the bump pops.
Yeah.
Well, I was watching it.
I was just so concerned with them turning brown like she says.
Yeah.
She was taking a while and then she went to like fill it up to the top because one wasn't
full all the way.
I think she was like the second tower.
It was a little.
(29:45):
Yeah.
I think that scene in the bar is probably one of the more frightening scenes in the movie.
That fire is really upsetting to the sound design in it is really intense when you hear
the cracking of the bones and people getting stand pitted.
And then I think this is probably my favorite acting by Megan Foxes and the media after
Matt of that where she's just like in shock.
(30:06):
Yeah.
And I think that is probably like my, and it's interesting.
How like her spaciness and that scene compared to her spaciness later on are two completely
different kinds of spaciness.
And like the, I think you actually have to be pretty talented as an actress to be able
to communicate two different like convey threatening and convey shocked in different ways
(30:27):
without having any dialogue and just having a blank expression on your face.
I thought that was really cool.
And you know, something else I want to bring up real quick too because I noticed this also
watching the movie is that another commentary that it has is definitely on the music industry
specifically with this band.
I think top shoulder was the name of that.
I can't remember, but it's a low shoulder.
(30:47):
Low shoulder.
Low shoulder.
Yeah.
Low shoulder.
And they're this like indie rock band who like our Satanist on the side and they're
giving this version of sacrifice like really, you know, but what I really liked was the
fact that they are hailed as heroes in this scenario.
Like somehow this rumor starts that they were like helping people in the fire, but obviously
we know they weren't.
(31:08):
They just ran away with Jennifer.
And then they write this song that becomes like this big deal and they're like, we need you
to have, you know, come play at our memorial dance, whatever.
I just thought that was like a kind of like a funny sort of like satire of like how we view
those types of bands and like, oh my god, they're such heroes.
It reminds me a lot of how after Columbine, Blink 182 song, Adam's song became like a bit
(31:31):
like, oh, like people associated with that.
And then after Hurricane Katrina wake me up when September ends by Green Day became like
the unofficial Hurricane Katrina song.
And like what that does to people who like went through those things, right?
Because it's this thing.
It's like, oh, like how nice are them to like make a song.
Yeah.
But then like every time that person is going to hear that song, they're going to be brought
back to what happened.
(31:52):
And I just wanted to say that through the trees is on Spotify not to plug low shoulder,
but as soon as the movie finishes like that song, it's Spotify and it is.
Awesome.
So I'm here with David Moan, director of photography for Jennifer's body this week's film
on the film department podcast.
David, you've worked on a lot of really awesome stuff, love which I recently found out that
(32:14):
you actually did the cinematography for one of my favorite episodes of Mad Men.
So that was really exciting to find out.
Do you have a favorite shot or one that really sticks out to you when you think about your
work on Jennifer's body?
Quite a few.
(32:42):
And that was the first time I was in the film.
(33:07):
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
(33:34):
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
And I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great guy.", I'm going to be a great guy.
and the art departments and stuff, when you were, you know, going through the process of developing the visual style for Jennifer's body, what was that like? And were there any inspirations that you kind of drew from?
(34:04):
Well, we talked a lot about 80s horror, Currently was a big fan of 80s film story with, how we aim and then how she's 79, I think.
That night, right now, street and we just talked a lot about, um, that one of those 80s films off net of female hero and who, you know, went to this sort of scary sort of like almost like a fairy tale structure to the story.
(34:36):
Um, Greven's fairy tale saying so since we were kind of doing a subtle homage to 80s horror, I had decided to use a lot of blue and life for the second half of the film, which is something it started up as a technique in 80s, which,
my start to becoming popular for lighting night experience, he started getting this all blue look at night. I'm sorry, I made sure I have a lighting a life second half of the film.
(35:04):
And because of that, I decided to keep the first half of the film as warm as possible so that so that you have a change from this kind of golden look to this cold blueish look by the end of the film.
Yeah, I feel like that's especially kind of reflected in the a lot of the prison or the mental asylum scene. Yeah, that's really cool. I didn't even think about that.
(35:27):
So it breaks the structure in a sense because it bookends the movie. So, so the, when you take the prison in the book end out, it starts with the small town that's where I started to warm up, but the prison had to be opposite that again.
So I went for the squish, cyan effect.
So there was a, you know, a lot of our discussions, but also I think whenever you talk about our show, I structure most of them have a story structure that goes from naturalism to expressionism.
(36:04):
You know, they always start out with the happy family moving into their new home in the woods and it's a beautiful spring day. And with the movie, it's a lighting star, you know, in a dark attic and shadows everywhere.
So that's, this becomes German expressionist by the end of the film. So that's that's a structure to a lot of our films research and kind of comfortable reality and it just gets more and more twisted is the story progresses.
(36:29):
Now some horror films are just creepy all the way from the start to just like a film like seven, you know, just kind of got to see the red from in every scene. It's kind of dark and gloomy, but this is a film that more starts out and more believable.
And then, and then this crazy stuff gets slipped in.
(36:50):
You brought up working with Karen Casamo. What was that like?
It was great. She was very thorough director and all aspects planning every detail editing them. So she wanted to serve with the whole film and shop list all show.
All locations and plot everything out and dance and work with me and the production designer and then with the editor. So those three of us kind of plan the whole movie on paper basically and we had lots of mood boards and their references and things that we were working from.
(37:26):
So it was very well crafted well start out film because of her.
Yeah, I definitely think it shows we had a blast watching it this week for the film department podcast. I wanted to ask, you know, the character of Megan or Jennifer played by Megan Fox.
She exists in the movie as kind of this object of desire for a lot of the characters, you know, needy and you know all the boys at the school.
(37:54):
Did that sort of influence how you would go about shooting Jennifer's character and was that something you kind of leaned into or were you kind of conscious of maybe avoiding, you know, kind of male gaze ask perspectives.
I treated her like a sympathetic character which I kind of thought she was but some things she you know when she's needing blood or whatever she she starts to beauty starts to fade and as someone's I was harder because I had to try to make her look a planer.
(38:25):
You know, and she would look when she's after she's killed someone she gets you know below the skin and the pencil like that. So and some of that we actually enhance and post where the softened her skin.
When she after she killed someone so that she looks like she got refreshed refreshed in a way.
So that was part of the storyline in terms of alternating her looks but when it starts out I just tried to make her look you know attractive teenage you know character and the story I wasn't particularly trying to glamorize her or anything until she starts becoming this monster and then that's where the lighting starts to like there's a shot that's.
(39:10):
And then the photo slow motion shot of her walking down the hallway you know and she's she's passing all the guys and lockers and you know in the crowded hallway and I deliberately put a series of spotlights in the hallway you know trying to avoid the kind of mundane fluorescent light look and so she was kind of in this little spot of light.
(39:32):
And in a colorful shirt so she kind of popped out of this kind of drab environment just because of the sort of spotlight that was on her that's kind of an old fashioned lighting technique.
But so you could call that the male gaze and so all the characters are gazing at her she walks on all way.
That was sort of the point of the shot was to show her power basically after she had become possessed to that by the sort of demon.
(40:01):
Yeah I really love that you brought up that shot specifically because I think that's probably my favorite one in the movie and it's I think it's well a lot of people remember from is that really iconic kind of stretch she has coming down the hallway so.
You know it's hard when you do high school film because always are so dull that just nothing but stars and lights and awesome dark and windows or anything so.
(40:24):
I was always trying to find a way to make each hallway different each time we can come into it more sunlight coming in or or changing the mood of of the high school basically.
Even in the classroom seems to be a little.
Thank you so much David.
(40:52):
Well thank you so much Jeff and Simone that's it for this week's film department we hope you enjoyed today's class and will like subscribe and share wherever you're listening to find podcasts.
If you'd like to read your hosts and depth analyses of this week's film head over to substack at the film department all one word.
(41:15):
Thank you to the Beverly be sure to check out their latest programming at the Beverly dot com including dates and times for Jennifer's body.
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(41:43):
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