Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

by Richard LaGravenese | Published February 3, 2007

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, one of the film's that inspired A Decade Under the Influence.

A film’s personality is marked by its maker

Films were marked by the personality of the filmmakers. Even when they were reinventing genres, the filmmakers didn’t just churn out marketable product—the made great films which were also box office hits with the public. The movies were smart and the studios were making money.

Don’t get personal

I had no interest in getting into the personal lives or mistakes of these artists [in A Decade Under the Influence]. There’s so much of that today. We know way too much about everybody and it’s all the same. There’s nothing new in the mistakes or abuses of creative people. I wanted Decade to document the movies, the work that remains a part of our culture forever. Who knows what contribution Panic in Needle Park or Network can make on a young filmmaker, or even a moviegoer, who sees it today.

Movies are memories

My family would get dressed up to go into the city and see Planet of the Apes, for example, to celebrate my communion. So I personally have a lot of memories tied up in these films. I remember standing on line with my dad waiting to get into The Godfather and Serpico. My high school is in the background of The French Connection car chase.

It’s all in the pacing

The pacing of the seventies was very different. They really took their time to develop atmosphere and character. It was as if they worked in long hand instead of sound bytes.

Filmography for Richard LaGravenese

A Decade Under the Influence (2003) [director/producer]
Beloved (1998) [writer]
Living Out Loud (1998) [writer/director]
The Horse Whisperer [writer]
The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) [writer]
Unstrung Heroes (1995) [writer]
The Bridges of Madison County (1995) [writer]
A Little Princess (1995) [writer]
The Ref (1994) [writer/producer]
The Fisher King (1991) [writer]
Rude Awakening (1989) [writer]

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