Such as Bane was born into and molded by darkness, YouTuber and filmmaker, The Film Guy (TFG) was forged in filmmaking. At the ripe young age of 13, The Film Guy began working on film sets in his native Australia. Flash-forward 12 years later and he’s breaking down films, directors, and more on his YouTube channel as The Film Guy. At nearly 25,000 subscribers, TFG’s analysis is reaching an ever-growing audience. The channel’s most popular series known as “How To Direct Like” …” garners an average of 100,000 views per video. It seems The Film Guy knows his stuff, and people love it, but who is he and why is he the film guy? I sat down via the Internet with TFG and picked his brain about his life, movies, and true love.
Like any good film, connecting with The Film Guy began with action — an email. Act Two consisted of back and forth chats via direct message on Twitter. Finally, Act Three returned to the start with two epic emails. Two film buffs, on opposite sides of the world, connecting like a virtual buddy cop movie. Time zones were our antagonist, serving a much more threatening role than any Marvel villain.
Like a heroic, dynamic duo, we defeated the nefarious day/night schedule!
Our discussion began at the beginning when The Film Guy was 13. At that young age, TFG applied for a film internship. TFG started working in the industry and hasn’t stopped since. Along the way, watching (i.e. studying) movies, behind-the-scenes content, interviews, and podcasts served as his teachers. Wherever TFG could absorb all this information would be the classroom.
On Inspiration, The Film Guy is quick to first say, “I think there is something to learn from all filmmakers … all [filmmakers] have aspects of filmmaking we do particularly well or at least interestingly different, and that is what we should focus on for the most part when looking at others work.”
As for who inspires him as a filmmaker, TFG says, “David Fincher is probably my favorite director working today, although I think Spielberg is the best overall director of all-time as he has made ‘great’ films in the genre of drama, horror, comedy, action, and science fiction and I don’t know too many other directors who have attempted this and been as successful. Paul Thomas Anderson is fantastic.” TFG concludes a talk about great filmmakers with, “There are so many … Scorsese, Bong Joon Ho, Terrence Malick, Akira Kurosawa, and about 50 other names that are escaping me right now.”
Often, critics are labeled “haters” by fans of things receiving the criticism. Yet, watching TFG’s videos, there’s very little snark or “hate,” only fair and honest critique. TFG shared his thoughts on whether his analysis is sometimes seen as judgement: “Absolutely …! And I think most of it comes from the problem with fandom right now combined with poor reviews for films like Batman V. Superman; we live in an Internet world where to love one thing must mean you hate the other … therefore you can’t have an opinion.”
When asked about the “perfect director,” TFG had a definitive answer: “Tommy Wiseau.” TFG was kidding of course and firmly answered, “No.” But he does believe in films that are perfect but, more importantly, “perfect to certain people for a certain time.” As for perfection, TFG says, “A perfect film also leans on the script being perfect and the actors also for that matter. To do that over and over and over again is a very hard thing.”
Talk of perfection lead us to TFG’s most profound statement: “Just like love, I don’t believe in the perfect one, but I believe in the right one or the best one for me.”
TFG’s most popular series, How To Direct Like, serves an interesting middle ground. As an experience-taught filmmaker, TFG loves to learn from other filmmakers. How To Direct Like shares TFG’s knowledge through popular filmmakers and while it’s in-depth analysis, it’s not movie snobbery. TGF explains a bit of his motivation behind the series: “The goal of my series … it’s to learn from them [directors] and hopefully [help other filmmakers] develop.” How To Direct Like is a wonderful teaching tool for young filmmakers and fa antastic way for film fans, young and old, to learn more about what they love.
Naturally, analyzing film the way that TFG does might change perceptions. We asked TFG who he likes more now after analysis: “Breaking down [Quentin] Tarantino’s work made me enjoy his films more. I can honestly say I wasn’t much of a fan before … I don’t love all his films, but the ones I do are so different and fun and edgy.”
As for the opposite effect, TFG explains who he loves less it’s J.J. Abrams. “I don’t know why he gets so much work, similar to Joss Whedon, he [Abrams] feels like a glorified TV director. Learning about how he makes his films and his lack of planning and thought that goes into shooting them just irritates me.”
The Future Of The Film Guy On YouTube
Wrapping things up, we asked TFG about the future of his YouTube Channel. What directors are in store? “I work on about five different directors at once. I have half-written scripts for Christopher Nolan, Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson and a few others .. I’m still researching.” TFG plans all these videos over the course of this year.
TFG plans to expand too, covering the work of editors and focusing on breaking down specific movies. “I’m actually writing a video essay on what I love about Gone Girl … it should be out very soon.”
The Film Guy was forged by films (and on YouTube), but instead of a super-villain, his power is to communicate nuance of movies in a fun and fresh way. Check out The Film Guy’s breakdown of polarizing director Zack Snyder and subscribe to his YouTube Channel if you like what you see!
