Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood (formerly at Variety, now Indiewire) has long been one of my favorite film bloggers – one of the few who have never dropped off my Google Reader. She also maintains a very useful Twitter stream, and today she pointed to Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School. From the website’s “About” page:
The Rogue Film School will be in the form of weekend seminars held by Werner Herzog in person at varying locations and at infrequent intervals.
And:
The Rogue Film School will not teach anything technical related to film-making. For this purpose, please enroll at your local film school.
My favorite bits are points #8 and #9:
8. Related, but more practical subjects, will be the art of lockpicking. Traveling on foot. The exhilaration of being shot at unsuccessfully. The athletic side of filmmaking. The creation of your own shooting permits. The neutralization of bureaucracy. Guerrilla tactics. Self reliance.
9. Censorship will be enforced. There will be no talk of shamans, of yoga classes, nutritional values, herbal teas, discovering your Boundaries, and Inner Growth.
It actually sounds a lot like grad school, and to be honest, my husband (who did in fact go to film school) might argue that this would be far more useful.