New York City has produced a wide variety of cinematic auteurs -- Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Sydney Lumet, Abel Ferrara, Whit Stillman, Nora Ephron, Hal Hartley, Jim Jarmusch, and many others. They all made classic films that captured the glamour and grit of NYC, their movies got under your skin and made you not only see the city with your eyes but feel it in your soul.
Some of these auteurs still working, some are dead, some are retired (willingly or not) but, as this article clearly asks, who are their successors? Where is the next generation of NYC-centric filmmakers who capture the grit, excitement, and unique spirit of this town?
Oh sure, there's more movies being made in this city than ever before -- but they feel like they could be set anywhere, the city is just a backdrop not a central character.
My theory: as the city has become more homogenized, more gentrified -- safer, richer, with lots chain stores and glass buildings that could built anywhere, as the city's soul has been bleached by money, NYC has become a better place to live and less interesting cinematic characters. And so the new generation of NYC auteurs have had, in a way, less to work with -- even if NYC is more populous and popular than ever before.
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