Yesterday at lunch I listened to the Creative Screenwriting podcast of their interview and Q&A with Guillermo Arriaga.
I really love his movies, or the ones I’ve seen at least: Amores Perros, 21 Grams, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Babel. All very complex, very smart, very stylish. I love the way he leaves a lot for the viewer to do, not answering every question, how he interweaves storylines so powerfully, how the characters in his films are fantastically fucked up and authentic.
A few times I’ve been a little confused by some of the connections between his multiple plotlines. Like Chieko, the Japanese girl in Babel. She was absolutely brilliant -– both as a written character and as played by Rinko Kikuchi –- but the connection to the other stories felt a bit forced. Her father gave the Moroccan guy the gun? A little too tangential, compared to the rest?
(Of course, who am I to judge, right? At lease Arriaga has some freaking movies in the theaters…)
But anyway, he’s one of my favorite screenwriters so I was glad to listen to him talk -– he spoke mainly about Babel, but also about his process in general. And to tell you the truth, it sounded a lot like my process. And he's so honest and unapologetic.
In fact, he was downright inspirational.
I decided that I’d go home and plow right into D Line, feeling validated that the way I write, and the type of stories I create, might just work. Especially this script.
I was so pumped up that after I finished dinner, gave the boy a bath and tucked him in bed…
…I put together a bookcase for the boy's room and worked with my wife getting the nursery ready for the baby.
Sorry Guillermo, mi companero, I failed you.
But tonight! Tonight I write!
Right?
(And I'm a jerk, Ryan and Jeff, for not having gotten to your scripts yet. But tonight! Tonight I read! Maybe?)
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3 comments:
Eh, we still love you. And if you're fired up to write, and you get time to write, for everything's sake don't read my damn script. Save that for a plane ride, or whatever.
Don't sweat it! And true...WRITE! My script could easily be read on the can! Hey...anyway you've got me blogging like a real screenwriter. It's good to hear every writer's as fucked up and procrastinatory as myself! Having kids is a great way to put off writing...and the only excuse truly worthy of doing otherwise.
Here you go nancy... a silly thing to do.. but hey - it beats writing!
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