August 06, 2003
Overheard at the movie theatre today:
"I haven't seen Gigli yet. Does that make me a bad person?"
"I'd say it makes you a lucky person."
When analysis goes too far...
I finally made it to the movies this afternoon. I saw Seabiscuit, which, aside from the two groups of exceptionally talkative old ladies and the low sound volume, was quite enjoyable. I confess, I cried, but that's getting to be like me saying, "I breathed."
But, while I was busy weeping over a red-haired Tobey Maguire, my brain was busy breaking things down. How was the story put together? Every time I made some sort of leap or realized some bit of information, I'd break down exactly how that information had been conveyed. I noticed there are some pretty sizable stretches of the movie that don't have any sort of dialogue at all (well, either that or the sound really WAS turned down too low). So while part of my brain was caught up in the story, the other part was busy figuring out WHY certain shots and certain images conveyed a particular emotion or thought.
That seems to be my focus lately, particularly when watching movies or TV: how do you show audience information, particularly stuff that will be important later? I think it's helped me figure out how to translate some of those techniques into my writing.
I half-wonder if I shouldn't try my hand at writing a screenplay. Working on The Exile's Daughter is such an intensely visual thing for me at times. I frame scenes in my head, camera angles and all. I think most novelists from our society approach things from a cinematic point of view, just because that's the medium we're most familiar with for long-form storytelling. It's hard not to, at least for me. It's sort of my default voice, I think.
Heh. Who knows? Maybe if I get a good movie idea I'll try it. Never mind that I don't know the first thing about writing a screenplay. Up until I tried it the first time, I didn't know the first thing about writing a novel either. (I think I may have learned the first thing by now. The first thing is that there are about 50,000 other things on the rest of the list...)
And you thought I was procrastinating BEFORE...
I came up with two new user icons, since I finally got my digital camera working once again. You can see them all here, including a new one for all my writing related posts. I'm pretty fond of this one of Rumpus though. The picture it was taken from is nearly perfect, and can be seen here.
Procrastinating musings...
It's funny, I spend one day out of my usual routine, and I'm having a horrid time getting back into it this morning. I'm at the computer, I have been since 9, but I haven't done much. I seem to have started breaking the block that hit me yesterday writing-wise. At least, I see the beginnings of a trail in front of me, which is always a good thing.
But I'm just kinda.... blah. Wanting to go back to bed but resisting, because that way madness lies. If I start napping during the day again I'll be back to staying up to 4 and 5 in the morning in no time. And I have to admit, I like having normal days again.
For that matter, I like having developed a little bit of self-discipline over the last month or so--although I guess it would be more accurate to say that I like having reached a mental state where self-discipline is possible. (Says she who should be working right now and isn't... but we won't examine that too closely.) It's funny, when I'm in the middle of the storm, all of my behavior seems to be perfectly reasonable and acceptable, or at least, it all seems to be justified. It's only after the storm passes that I look back at where I was and go, "Jesus. That was messed up." And everyone who knows me goes, "Uh, yeah. We were trying to tell you that."
I'm happy to report that even on my worst days lately, the skies are staying clear, no sign of a storm in sight.
Oddly, I was just talking about this movie today...
"You must remember this, a kiss is still a
kiss". Your romance is Casablanca. A
classic story of love in trying times, chock
full of both cynicism and hope. You obviously
believe in true love, but you're also
constantly aware of practicality and societal
expectations. That's not always fun, but at
least it's realistic. Try not to let the Nazis
get you down too much.
What Romance Movie Best Represents Your Love Life?
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I go sleepy now.
