MovieChat Forums > Room 237 (2012) Discussion > Why Didn't They Just ask Jack Nicholson?...

Why Didn't They Just ask Jack Nicholson???

posted 11 years ago by JaysonT
6 replies | jump to latest

With all the countless amount of theories on what The Shining was about- which obviously lead to the Holocaust, since 99% of all film elitists seem to think movies are shadowing that event- why didn't anyone ANYONE just ask Jack Nicholson (or Shelley Duvall, or any of the other cast members still alive?) Was Nicholson against speaking about it? He would have a lot more insight on what Kubrick was going for then a bunch of conspiracy theorists. That's the major dent in this documentary- they all act like it's a mystery, yet no one thought "Hey, why not just ask Jack - since he was the main character."

Anyone have a clue why this was bypassed?

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] gounian 11 years ago

Because generally actors have their own opinions on the film and not the same ideas as the director. So just because he was the main character doesn't mean he knows any more about the movie than you do.

[–] Alacrates 11 years ago

Because generally actors have their own opinions on the film and not the same ideas as the director.

Agreed - I've read that Kubrick was pretty well-known for giving minimal direction (sometimes shooting huge amounts of takes, over and over, giving no direction as to what he wanted.)

[–] rudykawa 11 years ago

OP probably missed the last statement of the documentary where they say the purpose of the "conspiracy theorists" is to project their interpretation based on what is on screen.
If you agree or not is irrelevant. If you don't find elements on screen that their theories are wrong, they are intrinsically valid. As valid as the interpretation Kubrick or Nicholson wanted to pass to the audience.

That's art.
If it's black and white, purely objective. It misses the purpose of making the audience exercise their own creativiness, their own subjective way of seeing and interpreting things.

[–] whereismikeyfl 11 years ago

The film is about how people see The Shining--not about what Kubrick did or did not intend.

It seems clear that the makers of Room 237 do not think any of these theories have anything to do with Kubrick or what is actually in The Shining.

As has been said, Room 237 is a movie about film love. It is about a bunch of people who love a film so much that they project their own obsessions into it.

[–] 11 years ago

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