Art-School Artists Make The Movie Leap
Turner prize winner Steve McQueen (pictured) could pick up the biggest prize in the film world at the Oscars on Sunday. That’s what the BBC thinks. (Most expert observers predict that Alfonso Cuaron, director of “Gravity,” will win the award.) McQueen’s third film, “12 Years A Slave,” has been a big success this awards season – but he is not the only Young British Artist turned film-maker. Another is in the final stages of shooting what may well be the most talked about movie of 2015. Sam Taylor-Johnson (previously known as Sam Taylor-Wood) is adapting EL James’ best-seller “Fifty Shades of Grey,” expected in cinemas 12 months from now. In other words, there is a growing respect in the film community for contemporary artists. There’s a wee bit of a gap that has closed down. “Sunset Boulevard” director Billy Wilder was once led around an exhibition of conceptual film. Wilder, who had an extensive collection of modern art, was dismissive and saying ‘A 12-year-old could do that.’ You wouldn’t get that attitude from George Clooney, Brad Pitt or James Franco.
