I'm tired, tired of being passionate about the cinema. I want to be like my heroes, who speak of hiding away in cinemas and loving every minute of it. That is not my experience. My experience is usually one of disappointment. When I see something like 'The Social Network' or 'Juno' on the big screen, it's pure bliss; but in between, it's disappointment and frustration.
I keep thinking other people will be tired too. Tired of 'big' movies, tired of predictable storylines and stereotyped characters - but that isn't my experience. And this isn't pretentiousness; I don't want everyone making and watching 'artsy' films, I just feel we, as an industry and as viewers, set the barometer extremely low when it comes to quality.
It saddens me that film podcasts talk about how a film has a 'cool' marketing campaign, or that young screenwriters are driving themselves crazy trying to write a 'hot' screenplay. This is not why I love movies; but, I find it hard to grasp the general public and the way they approach movies. People are short changed, every time - but they seem happy to watch a film with a bigger explosion --it gives you two hours of distraction-- but what about afterwards? The films that truly excite people are the ones where fifteen years later you're still saying "Stupid is as stupid does" and eighty years later you're watching clips of 'City Lights' on YouTube because you're amazed by how funny Chaplin is. But so few people are being the best they can be; they're chasing a script sale, or fame, or trying write something purely to be controversial.
I'm frustrated because there is unlimited potential in how good we can be, as writers, directors, actors and everything in between. When we use truth, honesty, humor, and passion -- when we write controversial things not to be controversial but to challenge people to see things a little differently; that's when we're at our best. Yet most people aren't even trying. You meet a writer and they say "Im doing a horror script and a film about a guy who likes comics and I'm doing a superman-meets-godfather drama" - what does that mean? Nothing! Why aren't people writing things that matter? That inspire? The reason, in part, is that the industry doesn't support it. But it's a cycle that we play a part in every time we write the same old shit, or try to come up with something that's 'in.'
I'm tired. I feel like my 'passionate' side and my 'pissed off and frustrated' side are constantly smashing into each other. It's time to choose one. I choose art. I choose writing things that matter. I choose writing for the guy in the front row who wants to see a good story, I want to write for the girl at the end of the isle who's about to walk out because the films don't have the soul they had in 1960.
I understand all the screenwriting books and script guru's, and I understand they have to keep sharing their messages because it's how they make a living, but writing is not about rules and principles; it's not even about words --- it's about the life inbetween. Most writing fails because it suffocates that life, it doesn't recognize it and it doesn't have a chance to grow.
There is room for the next generation of incredible screenwriters. I'm not talking about a writer who gets rich making a smash hit; but the next Woody, the next Ephron, the next Kaufman.
Monday 18 October 2010
Friday 15 October 2010
Scorsese Wisdom
From a Facebook Chat this morning..
KID
i drink an INSANE amount of caffeine
and the effects are only really negative
A FRIEND
i hear your confession
KID
i get distracted, i pee a million times a day,
i can't concentrate well, i need more, etc!
but i don't drink, don't smoke, don't mistreat women,
i need some kind of small vice you know
A FRIEND
scorcese rule:
only drink two cups a day
KID
what are his reasons?
A FRIEND
he is who he is
KID
good point
Wednesday 13 October 2010
AARON SORKIN & THE FACEBOOK MOVIE
When 'The Social Network' ended, I was genuinely shocked. "How can it end now?" I wondered, "it's only halfway through!" I normally have a pretty reliable movie-body-clock. That wasn't the case with this movie. The reason being, I was so completely engrossed in the flow of the movie that I lost all sense of time, real-wise and movie-wise. I was swept away in the magic of what was in front of me. This is rare. Really really really rare. It's why I go to the movies and why I watch so many DVD's-- yet this experience of total immersion is very unusual. I can't remember the last time it happened.
For the purpose of this article I will be giving all of the credit to Aaron Sorkin. This is probably not fair-- as I'm sure David Fincher played a giant role in it too-- as did the actors. But for me, this was always about Aaron Sorkin. I love his work. This kind of adulation usually leads to disappointment. There are very few people I'd rush to the cinema for. There's Cameron Crowe, Woody Allen, and---um, Aaron Sorkin. That's about it. I'm not sure why I still do it for Woody Allen, and last time I did it for Sorkin, with Charlie Wilson's War, I was very disappointed (great script, but I didn't love the movie).
But this movie really had it. Every single scene, every bit of dialogue --- it just burned with life and energy. The Sorkin touch was plain to see. He always starts a scene where you don't expect it to start, in a location you don't expect to see, from a perspective you never thought to look through before, and it's always about three different things, just like Erica Albright mentioned in the opening scene, telling Mark Zuckerberg how he always talks about three things at once. That's exactly what Sorkin does, and it's magic.
The film was like a rollercoaster. Actually, not even a rollercoaster-- it was like a really fast car. This is exactly the type of movie I like. If I had my way, every movie would zip along at 2000 miles an hour with razor sharp dialogue. Strange that I feel that, and that it's my preference, because there have hardly been any films in the history of cinema that have truly honored that energy. But 'The Social Network' did, and that is down to Aaron Sorkin's script.
Frustratingly, some of the dialogue that was hilarious in the screenplay didn't translate quite as well on screen. It seems that even a master like David Fincher can't totally do justice to Sorkin's genius. Maybe only Tommy Schlamme can. I'd love to see Aaron Sorkin directing, himself; because I think the hilarity of his wit and humor would really shine, if he was at the helm.
This isn't a review. I don't know what this is. I just know that I was completely engrossed in the movie. That only stopped once, when I desperately needed to pee -- I literally sprinted to make sure I missed as little of the film as possible. I haven't cared that much about a movie in the long time.
This film really reminded me of how incredible motion pictures can be -- and how great we can be as screenwriters if we really try. The energy, the innovativity (or something that's a real word), the structure, the humor; it was all PERFECT.
Aaron Sorkin is the best writer in the industry. I say this with complete confidence.
For the purpose of this article I will be giving all of the credit to Aaron Sorkin. This is probably not fair-- as I'm sure David Fincher played a giant role in it too-- as did the actors. But for me, this was always about Aaron Sorkin. I love his work. This kind of adulation usually leads to disappointment. There are very few people I'd rush to the cinema for. There's Cameron Crowe, Woody Allen, and---um, Aaron Sorkin. That's about it. I'm not sure why I still do it for Woody Allen, and last time I did it for Sorkin, with Charlie Wilson's War, I was very disappointed (great script, but I didn't love the movie).
But this movie really had it. Every single scene, every bit of dialogue --- it just burned with life and energy. The Sorkin touch was plain to see. He always starts a scene where you don't expect it to start, in a location you don't expect to see, from a perspective you never thought to look through before, and it's always about three different things, just like Erica Albright mentioned in the opening scene, telling Mark Zuckerberg how he always talks about three things at once. That's exactly what Sorkin does, and it's magic.
The film was like a rollercoaster. Actually, not even a rollercoaster-- it was like a really fast car. This is exactly the type of movie I like. If I had my way, every movie would zip along at 2000 miles an hour with razor sharp dialogue. Strange that I feel that, and that it's my preference, because there have hardly been any films in the history of cinema that have truly honored that energy. But 'The Social Network' did, and that is down to Aaron Sorkin's script.Frustratingly, some of the dialogue that was hilarious in the screenplay didn't translate quite as well on screen. It seems that even a master like David Fincher can't totally do justice to Sorkin's genius. Maybe only Tommy Schlamme can. I'd love to see Aaron Sorkin directing, himself; because I think the hilarity of his wit and humor would really shine, if he was at the helm.
This isn't a review. I don't know what this is. I just know that I was completely engrossed in the movie. That only stopped once, when I desperately needed to pee -- I literally sprinted to make sure I missed as little of the film as possible. I haven't cared that much about a movie in the long time.
This film really reminded me of how incredible motion pictures can be -- and how great we can be as screenwriters if we really try. The energy, the innovativity (or something that's a real word), the structure, the humor; it was all PERFECT.
Aaron Sorkin is the best writer in the industry. I say this with complete confidence.
Monday 11 October 2010
You Gotta Get To That Place, Where You Really Wanna Be
Writing only really takes place, when you're really immersed in it. When you forget about your back problem, and you forget about your Facebook addiction, and you forget that you have to be somewhere in an hour. That's how you need to write, and that's how magic happens. That's how your imagination really knows you've clocked in. If you're distracted, you're not really there.
Think of William Shakespeare, sitting down to write. Would he have achieved what he achieved if he was also thinking about writing a Twitter update about his dinner? I don't think so.
Writing is really about getting back to who you are, who you've been, and what it is you need to say right now. But you can't really figure out what to say, you can't really make the choices-- it needs to come from a place you're not really conscious of. What you really need to say, you don't really know. You just need to do the writing. But you gotta get to that place. You gotta allow for it. You need to find a way to get your brain there-- whatever it is, loud Metallica records, or complete silence, or sitting in a coffee house, or laying on your back on the rooftop -- you HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO get to that place where you can flow magically between thought and dreaming, when your characters and stories and knowledge and instincts just glide in and out of each other.
You're probably thinking "I know, but how?" -- I don't exactly know how, but I just know, most of the time, we're not even trying. Don't allow for things to get in the way. Don't start the washing just as you're about to write, don't start to write just as you're due to pick the kids up from school. Find the time, decide on it --- and be present. Be there. Don't put pressure on yourself--- remember a WRITER is what you are. Go into the moment. Have fun. And let me know how it goes.
Think of William Shakespeare, sitting down to write. Would he have achieved what he achieved if he was also thinking about writing a Twitter update about his dinner? I don't think so.
Writing is really about getting back to who you are, who you've been, and what it is you need to say right now. But you can't really figure out what to say, you can't really make the choices-- it needs to come from a place you're not really conscious of. What you really need to say, you don't really know. You just need to do the writing. But you gotta get to that place. You gotta allow for it. You need to find a way to get your brain there-- whatever it is, loud Metallica records, or complete silence, or sitting in a coffee house, or laying on your back on the rooftop -- you HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO get to that place where you can flow magically between thought and dreaming, when your characters and stories and knowledge and instincts just glide in and out of each other.
You're probably thinking "I know, but how?" -- I don't exactly know how, but I just know, most of the time, we're not even trying. Don't allow for things to get in the way. Don't start the washing just as you're about to write, don't start to write just as you're due to pick the kids up from school. Find the time, decide on it --- and be present. Be there. Don't put pressure on yourself--- remember a WRITER is what you are. Go into the moment. Have fun. And let me know how it goes.
Sunday 10 October 2010
The Night I Discovered SOLOMON BURKE
It was 2003. I was maybe less tall; although I can't be sure. The night was a mix of amazing and depressing, which is always the case; when you're the kid with the weird tastes who has to do stuff on his own. I wanted to see Van Morrison live before he died, or before I died. I had it in my head that Morrison was old, really old, like eighty. I soon found out he wasn't-- but by that time I'd already spent £80 on a ticket near the stage.
Here is his version of 'A Change Is Gonna Come.' I don't see it as a cover of the Sam Cooke song, they're not in competition -- for me, it's something else, a different angle, that fills a different need-- but it's still something that definitely needs to be heard.
So there I am, a guy in his late teens, going to see a legend of music, on my own. That made me grumpy. Well, that kind of thing used to make me grumpy-- now it just excites me to like what I like. Van Morrison was okay, he was cool. I didn't love the gig. He messed around with his songs a lot. I normally like that kind of thing but it felt more like messing things up than inspired improvising. All was not lost, because I didn't just discover how young Van Morrison was that night, I discovered Solomon Burke.
He was the support act. He came on stage and he just had PRESENCE. He was THERE. And the minute he sung-- wow. It was beautiful. His big, booming, beautiful voice-- it simply took over the Royal Albert Hall. I wanted to be Solomon Burke. Like, I want that attitude, I want that peace. I want that message, I want that heart. He sung "If You Need Me" and he meant it. I felt like he was there for me. And for me, his version of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" is so soulful - it's perfect.
I don't listen to Burke as much as I listen to Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, etc--- for me, those guys are the Shawshank Redemption's of music; you always go back to them. Solomon Burke is the movie you pull out on a Tuesday night when you're feeling depressed and need to hear from an old friend.
Here is his version of 'A Change Is Gonna Come.' I don't see it as a cover of the Sam Cooke song, they're not in competition -- for me, it's something else, a different angle, that fills a different need-- but it's still something that definitely needs to be heard.
There are less and less people like Solomon Burke in the world, and that's a shame. It's strange to me because, just last night; I spent a night sitting at a computer with my Dad, going through all the music we love. Of course, at first; I had to explain what YouTube is, but after that.. it was glorious as we revelled in the magic of Wilson Pickett, James Brown and Otis Redding. And then, hours later it would seem: Solomon Burke died. Rather than be sad about having to say RIP to another music legend, I'd rather just be grateful that he existed at all. He added something to the world.
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