Film Architects and Designers

Too similar to this song, too much like that movie, this dress looks like that one-- these are common "poser" and "slacker" accusations depending on whether the situation is one of imitation or duplication.

I went to see Nacho Libre this past weekend after having been warned by my number two son that it was "entirely too much like Napoleon Dynomite".

Different story. Different cast. Different location. Same feel.

Michael Graves is one of the most influencing voices in American architecture. His work usually has a retro minimalist "feel" whether he's designing a clock for Target or the Denver Central Library. Does anyone look at the Humana Building in Louisville, Kentucky and say, "hmm, so yeah it's one of the ten best buildings of the decade, but it's basically crap because it's entirely too similar to Disney's corporate building in Burbank"? Graves has an affinity for certain creative design elements.

Michael Graves is an architect and a designer.

Vera Wang's clothing designs share similarities. I can spot a Vera Wang dress in a window from across the street. She likes clean lines, crisp colors, and what are ruffles? She constructs garments with a definitive style.

Vera Wang is an architect and a designer.

James Horner's movie scores can be counted on for a haunting oboe solo and Hans Zimmer likes us to feel the score pounding in our chests or leaking from our tear ducts. They have certain music elements they like to incorporate in what they compose.

James Horner and Hans Zimmer are architects and designers.

Nacho Libre is similar to Napoleon Dynomite? Yeah, well the score to Troy is similar to the score to Enemy at the Gates and didn't I hear brass patterns from Gladiator in the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack?

Filmmakers are creating and constructing too. Doesn't it make sense that writers, directors, producers, and production people have certain similarities that underscore our work?

We, too, are architects and designers.