Announcing… “SPLIT SCREEN”

Starting out as a way to motivate myself to write, this Site has become so much more. I’ve met some amazing people (online of course and not in person because… I’m socially awkward) who have inspired me to make this Site better, constantly better. People who have forced me to improve my writing, given me ideas, inspiration and essentially helped me become a part of this online community of cinephiles and film connoisseurs

Besides regular Movie Reviews, Trailer Talks and the occasional post of me rambling about whatever thing has irritated / excited me that day, Blank Page Beatdown has no running features exclusive of its own on a regular basis. I look to change that.

Tomorrow, I will launch a regular feature on this site, known simply as “Split Screen”. This feature will be a look at works from any medium that has been made into a film and compare them against the movie version. I will attempt to provide insights, (see: me ranting with run on sentences) background information, and an analysis of the two works side by side to see how the two versions stand up against one another.

There is always apprehension when movies are made (or remade) using other materials as their source of inspiration. They are always attracting comparisons and invoking quick prejudices, with the occasional consensus of “it’s not as good as the original”.

I always maintain that unlike comics, season long TV shows, hundreds of pages of books or limitless true stories, films are limited in the story they can tell in comparison. Given that, there are still films that truly capture the essence & spirit of its progenitor while being able to tell a different story altogether. While others bastardize the story to capitalize on the fame and popularity of the source material.

So “Split Screen” will attempt to compare and analyze the source material from which a Film has been made, with the film itself. Be that a comic book movie, based on a novel, remake of another movie or TV show, etc. Being a lover of Bollywood movies, “Split Screen” will also compare movies from Hollywood that Bollywood has blatantly ripped off been inspired by.

The comparisons will be based on a few things, such as changes in story, characters, performances, direction and whether the film can stand on its own, independent of the source material. So see you back here tomorrow for the launch of “Split Screen,”