Opening Scenes

Opening Scenes

    My group’s opening scene revolves around a story that is mainly a coming of age one, but it also involves romance elements. So I thought it would be wise to pick several coming of age films (one of my favorite genres), that also could fit under the category of romance. The movies I selected were also some of my all time favorites and that is partially because I relate to some of them a lot.

Rushmore (Coming-of-age/Comedy/Drama)

Rushmore. Dir. Wes Anderson. Touchstone Pictures. 1998. Film

The very first thing we see in the opening scene is the main production company’s, Touchstone Pictures, logo. Then, a shot of a picture frame that has characters we will meet during the movie is placed next to text one of the production company’s name, American Empirical Picture. A curtain opens revealing a sign that reads “Rushmore'', the title of the movie and the name of the school depicted in the movie. The next shot is the window of a classroom and then the camera pans to a blackboard with a teacher explaining a math problem. The camera scans the room and eventually focuses on the back of a character’s head, the main character, who is introduced as Max, when his teacher calls his name. He puts down the newspaper he is reading and his face is revealed in an eye level shot. In this shot, we see that Max is wearing glasses and is the only student wearing his blazer (characterizing him as studious and intelligent and different from everyone else). Max makes a joke, his classmates laugh, he stands up and we are given an overhead shot of his desk. Then, he buttons his blazer before he walks up to the front of the classroom ready to solve the math problem that was deemed impossible. Max seems to be solving the problem with ease, with a beverage in one hand,  a piece of chalk in the other. Once he is done, he nonchalantly announces it, his teacher nods in approval and his classmates gather around him, cheering for him. Now, in a different scene, we see Max looking towards the ceiling, the previous cheery scene frequently popping in and out. Eventually, someone sitting next to him shoves him to wake him up, as they are at a school assembly, confirming that this was simply a dream.

The first film I was actually going to pick was Lady Bird because it is a movie I hold very close to my heart but I also know that it is quite popular now so I wanted to take the road less traveled, and I actually think this movie is quite similar to it. In fact, in the title character’s, Lady Bird, bedroom, is a poster for Rushmore.

Grease (Teen/Romance/Comedy)

    Grease. Dir. Randal Kleiser. Paramount Pictures. 1978. Film

First we are given the production company, Paramount’s, logo. Then, an establishing shot of waves crashing at a beach. We see a couple running on a beach. Then there is a montage of the same couple on the beach, playing around, kissing, sitting on the rocks and getting soaked by the waves. The girl and boy have a dramatic goodbye, embracing each other and both have conflicting feelings about their future. Then, like greased lightning, we are immediately shown an animated radio that is moving on its own with text displaying the production company’s name, “Paramount Pictures'' again, with the song Grease by Frankie Valli playing in the background. A cartoon teen male wakes up and turns up the radio, goes to the bathroom to do his hair, squeezes out hair grease from a tube, which spells out the title of the movie, “Grease”. The title is also now placed onto the side of the drawing of a car, which is placed above text that reads the producers’ names and the copyright information. The grease turns back into liquid and falls onto the character’s hair, miraculously changing him into the figure we see in the same cartoon mirror (the same boy we saw frolicking on the beach in the live action sequence). The actor who portrays this character as well as the character’s name is written next to this mirror. The next few bits are popular cultural icons and symbols from the 50’s, the period in which the movie takes place, creating the setting for the events to come. They include Elvis Presley performing, a jukebox, and a little boy dressed as Davy Crockett. A cartoon girl (the beach girl) is shown to get up from out of bed, already looking pretty, with birds surrounding her as she walks to her vanity, and other woodland creatures coming up to her, as if she were Snow White, symbolizing her beauty. She is introduced the same way as the boy; her mirror’s reflection next to her character’s name and the name of the actress who plays her. Now, more 50s symbols and cultural pieces are spliced within the montage and more characters/actors are introduced in the same way.

One of the main reasons I love Grease is because I love musicals and although I usually don’t think of it as a coming of age/teen movie (mostly because none of the actors were in their teens nor did they look like they were in their teens), I think the themes of drama in terms of having romantic relationships and also finding out who you are resonate with my group’s idea for our own movie opening. The opening sequence is also simply amazing, with its titular song, the animation, and the cultural references. Even before I finally saw the entire movie I always adored watching that iconic beginning.

The Princess Diaries (Teen/Comedy/Romance)

The Princess Diaries. Dir. Garry Marshall. Walt Disney Pictures. 2001. Film

The first thing in the title sequence is the Walt Disney Pictures (production company) logo and then text reading the company’s name again with a blue sky in the background. The title of the movie, ‘The Princess Diaries’, is displayed against the same sky and the name of the secondary production company, BrownHouse Productions shortly follows. The camera moves down to a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, setting the scene, and text shows the director, Garry Marshall’s, name. Then, members of the main cast begin to appear on the screen above shots of the city that will be the primary setting of the film, starting with the camera following a limousine that is accompanied by a police escort. Now the camera points to a window with a sign that reads “Mia and Fat Louie’s Keep Out”, an introduction to the main character, Mia. A voice calls Mia to go to school and she turns away from the window, picking up her cat Louie, music playing in the background and the cast members’ names still being shown. Mia walks downstairs and goes down her firefighter’s pole. We are now given a very wide shot of Mia’s eclectic home and the cast credits finish. The crew members, including casting directors and producers’ names begin to be displayed as Mia leaves her house and crashes her scooter into her neighbors’ trash can. The credits continue as Mia scoots until her friend joins her, also on her scooter. As they both reach school, text reading “Based on the Novel By Meg Cabot” appears, letting us know the film is an adaptation. Now, the camera pans to the front of the girls’ school, showing off her classmates, as they are wearing the same uniform as Mia and Lily are. A group of three girls are at the stop of the staircase, performing something.