Kirby Ferguson has so far produced 3 x 10 minute parts to his Everything is a Remix series. Part one: The Song Remains the Same, deals with music and bands and according to Ferguson the inevitably copying or stealing from others. Part two: Remix Inc. looks at the big business of using popular pulp in Hollywood film making and Part 3: The Elements of Creativity touches on the shared general knowledge and building blocks of industrial design.
All of Ferguson's films are well written and slick in execution, they do however feel like a trailer for a more heavy weight and in depth documentary series which I fear will never manifest. I also can't help think that he sometimes takes it too far, or in some cases, misses the point of the homage or reference altogether.
In Part 2: Remix Inc. Ferguson looks at the films of
Quentin Tarantino, mainly Kill Bill part 1 and 2, revealing and comparing where he suspects
Tarantino has borrowed/referenced a style from other movies. In Tarantino's case this is probably done quite deliberately, not in some attempt to enhance or better his work in a cheating fashion, but as a homage, a subtle celebration of the films that he loves.
Ferguson also compares Star Wars to WW2 dogfights and a handful of old samurai films where Lucas may have borrowed some plot points. He also points out that many scenes in Star Wars take direction directly from the early the Flash Gorden TV show's, not surprising as I remember reading that Lucas embarked his Star Wars project because he wanted to make Flash Gorden but rumor had it Dino de Laurentiis had already bought rights.
Ferguson's films are engaging enough, but I do feel that he is quick to accuse creative talent of homage or borrowing, sometimes these similarity's could be down to fashions or just using the language of film to put across an idea...
Check out the others
here. Here's more Tarantino references.
