Yeast
Discussion - The Heir of Cassavetes
Discussion - The Heir of Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
Watching YEAST reminded Richard Pena that without a doubt, the most influential American filmmaker of the last 50 years is John Cassavetes. The Cassavetes challenge to create cinema that feels raw and unscripted is one he feels writer-director Mary Bronstein eagerly takes up in YEAST.
Who do you think is the truest heir of the Cassavetes legacy working today?
I’d proffer up some of Ang Lee’s films as being close to Cassavetes’ - “Ice Storm” and “Brokeback Mountain” are two. There are films that have a Cassavetes-est lean, but I’d be hard put to name a director today who’s so intense and caring that he or she forgoes the big studio deal to follow their ideals and visions and message in the way that Cassavetes did. Or maybe they just don’t have the talent. Or maybe both. Hopefully, that’ll change.
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