From Vulture. Just wanted to share it here.
Kevin Lincoln provides a very effective uber-perspective on the studios' "franchise playbook" and how Star Wars plans to rewrite it by hiring Rian Johnson.
Looking for meditative writing music?
Listen to this.
Ronda & Bullfighting
During the year end hiatus on the project where I'm currently working, I was lucky enough to go to southern Spain with my family. One of the most striking locations we visited was Ronda, an ancient Moorish city built atop a gorge lookout, before being taken over by the Spanish during the 15th century.
In addition to cathedrals, museums, ancient bath houses and bridges, and much else - there is also the first bullfighting ring ever built.
And out of that bullfighting ring, came the original style of Tauramachy. Pure, simple, methodical. It's contrasted greatly by the Seville style which emphasizes flourishes, showmanship, and boldness.
I've always loved Hemingway's point of view on bullfighting (which can be explored in full in Death in the Afternoon). The modern sensibility (as well as the sensibility shared by many even hundreds of years ago) is that a sport or art should never involve actual death. Whether it be the death of the bull or the matador, it's barbaric and unnecessary.
But Hemingway argues that this mortal aspect elevates the experience beyond the realm of sport, into the spiritual, into the highest form of art. To him, the greatest drama is found in the grace of one facing death. War, boxing, hunting, and bullfighting. Seemingly senseless acts of machismo and violence are given purpose by the fighter's soulful engagement, their respect for the experience.
Nowadays, Ronda's Goyesca bullring only has two corridas per year. But they are the most celebrated events in the sport. It is hard to say whether such a practice should exist at all anymore, but having seen a corrida in person - I can say that to ignore its existence is a mistake. There is something truly powerful in the experience, whether it ignites your respect or your rancor - it will inevitably teach you something about how you view art.
Throwing in a quick quote...
... from Philip Roth.
“Writing is frustration — it’s daily frustration, not to mention humiliation. It’s just like baseball: you fail two-thirds of the time.”
Did my first pitch at a production company!
Always hard to know how it goes but it absolutely was a great learning experience.
Signing off until the new year, due to travel and writing deadlines. Happy holidays all, may we enter the new year like conquering heroes!
Writing the Genius
Just sharing a great article by screenwriter Graham Moore here: https://medium.com/@MrGrahamMoore/how-to-write-about-characters-who-are-smarter-than-you-c7c956944847#.mv23v897n
The Smoky Mountain Killer - Origins
Spring break of my senior year of college, my friend and I took a road trip in his sister's car from North Carolina through the Smokies and Tennessee ending in New Orleans, before driving through Nashville back to Chicago.
One of the absolute highlights of the trip, and my life for that matter, was trekking in the Smoky Mountains. Specifically, the day we tried (and failed) to tackle Thunderhead Mountain.
I'll save that story for another day, but it ultimately inspired my pilot (currently posted under TV samples). My friend got around to developing some of the photos we took during that trip, and during that day specifically. They're absolutely beautiful and I'll post them here. I hope you can enjoy them, if not for using them as an imagination-backdrop when reading Smoky Mountain Killer, then simply as a portal into the surreal, natural world of the Blue Ridges.
That's me. Spring, 2013.
Junun
I have the good fortune to be working with someone who helped create the film Junun. Album trailer here. Review of the music itself here.
I recommend the movie for many reasons. First, it showcases Paul Thomas Anderson in the complete opposite light of his narrative films. While those are starkly controlled, beautifully photographed, and surreal - Junun is fluid, playful, improvised, and yet equally surreal. Not to mention the music is uplifting and beautifully composed. At its peak moments, Junun helps you both feel and understand how true music collaboration works.
I'm also lucky to have been introduced to this film because of its connection to Mubi. A very cool new streaming service that allows you to watch 30 films at any given time, with a new film added each day. The twist: each new film replaces an old one. It's a constant cycle of shedding and regrowth, circulating the best of international and cult cinema. Not to mention they've got a pretty cool aesthetic.
So if you have the time, go enjoy Junun and Mubi and double your worldly-ness!
Screenwriting is like solving a very difficult puzzle. But first you have to design and cut the puzzle pieces yourself. Beyond that, you have to pick the materials (setting), the shapes (characters), and the way they're cut up (plot). The real trick is forgetting how you cut them so that by the time it's done being put together, you're still satisfied with the finished result.
Douglas Sirk
I recently watched a Douglas Sirk film for the first time, MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION. Although completely unrelated to why I originally watched it, that movie has become instrumental in how I think about romance films and melodrama.
One of the current screenplay gigs I'm on now is very much a broad commercial romance/comedy. Now, OBSESSION is not a comedy - but it is larger than life, which is something every good comedy needs to have built into it's tone. Especially the one I'm into right now.
I'm still digesting why a film so absurd, so vague (in regards to story), and so melodramatic is still completely effective at what it intends. Obviously the fantastic direction and crazy German lighting makes it visually awesome. But I think part of is that the characters are utterly sincere all the time, never once self aware or cynical or manipulative. It's sort of mesmerizing to experience a near-utopian world like that.... Anyways, if you haven't seen it I highly recommend!
Fun side note: Rock Hudson is eight years Jane Wyman's junior. Compare that, in 1954, to today's consistently heinous older male to younger female age discrepancies!
