Kari’s Hum 210 Blog

Report on Resources for Reading and Viewing

 
I found a website that had an article from the real Frank Abagnale featured in Spielberg’s film Catch Me If You Can.  According to Abagnale the film for the most part was very accurate.  Abagnale mentioned a few of the variations between fact and fiction.  For instance Abagnale was one of four children whereas the film features him as an only child.  Abagnale’s father in the film was portrayed as a conman where in real life he was very honest and upright.  Another discrepancy is that he did not contact in anyway the F.B.I.  One last discrepancy is that Abagnale’s mother did not leave her husband for his friend/co-worker.  As for a couple of the accurate displays in the film, Abagnale concurs that the scene where he uses his checkbook to purchase uniforms and right insufficient funded checks.  All though Abagnale did not mention the F.B.I. during his plight, he did indeed become friends with the arresting officer. 

 
After researching Penny Marshall, I learned that she is part of a “famous family.”  Her older brother Gary Marshall is a wells known director.  Penny Marshall began her career after being cast by her brother in The Odd Couple sitcom.  After her small time  television beginning she moved on to a starring role in Laverne and Shirley.  In 1986 she directed her first feature film starring Whoppi Goldberg in “Jumping Jack Flash.”  Next was the film “Big” starring Tom Hanks, this film earned 113.4 million dollars, leaving Marshall the largest grossing female film director. 

 
I researched film schools in California and found The Los Angeles Film School.  Located “in the heart of Hollywood” this school boasts an impressive resume among its instructors, many of which have ties to many profitable Hollywood releases.  The tuition is very expensive, one year of education will cost approximated $34,000 outside of food, rent and cost of living. 

 
One last website I explored was called movies by Women.  This website is dedicated to the recognition of women in the directors chair.  There were interviews, statistics, upcoming film events and historical write-ups posted on this web page.  I learned that women were very active in early direction in films. “ Women wouldn’t be “given” the right to vote until 1920, yet before then they were thriving at every level of movie making, as directors, producers, editors, and writers.”  I found this website interesting because it was very factual and provided greater insight to a world I did not know existed.  As mentioned in the article I read, a woman by the name of Alice Guy was the first female director as well as one of the original people to become “directors.”  She was a very creative Parisian who later moved to the U.S. with her husband who was a cameraman to pursue her filming career. 

 
http://www.lafilm.com/index.cfm/fa/campus.main/Campus  4 March 2006

 
Beauchamp, Cari. “The Women Behind the Camera in Early Hollywood.”

http://www.moviesbywomen.com/articles/philippadv.html. 4 March 2006.

 
“Penny Marshall.” Information Please® Database, © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. 4 March 2006. http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0759617.html

 
“The Real Frank Abagnale.” ©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. 4 March 2006. http://actionadventure.about.com/library/weekly/2002/aa122502.htm.