The Creative Identity

Of Christmas and Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse

The most wonderful time of the year, hands down, every year. But this time it is special because it's the first time that I spent Christmas Day itself in London and it was a brilliant day, for many reasons. In particular I am still fantasising about the dog walk I undertook at about 5.30 pm, during which I met no man, nor dog, for the entire, usual circuit I walk every evening in Chelsea. At some point, all I could hear was my clomping echoing down the street, the tock tock tock tock bouncing off the stuccoed houses, puncturing a veil of freezing fog. I was lucky it was foggy you see, because the whole of the UK has been battered quite badly by a couple of storms as of late, and with the exception of the run-up to Christmas proper, London has been quite sheltered, as is often the case. I must tell you that I keep looking at pics of flooded houses in the news, and my entrails twist as I see brown water half-way up the Christmas tree, with sodden gifts drifting by its side. If I were a child I'd be entirely traumatised by such a Christmas. In other news, I've gone through my fail-safe set of favourite movies... Home Alone and Home Alone 2, A Christmas Carol (twice, I went back to the cinema, even), Christmas with the Kranks, The Polar Express, How The Grinch Stole Christmas... I am lagging behind on Jingle All The... Read more →

A Tomato Doesn't Sit Down

If you get The Creative Times once a month, you will have already read some of my thoughts on Tootsie, therefore I should apologise if what follows will sound a bit too familiar for your liking. Not everyone gets The Creative Times though, right? And why not of course? Sign-up on the left dear reader! Tootsie is often referred to as 'that movie with Dustin Hoffman in drag' but I must tell you that every time I hear that one, my heart plummets all the way to my heels. How about this: frustrated unemployed creative proves that with hard work and perseverance one can accomplish anything. Believe me, the 'in drag' side of things isn't something that ever struck me as the most important aspect in Tootsie, for Michael's plea is one that is painfully felt across the creative world, superseding geographical, historical, sexual and religious boundaries. In other words: if you've ever struggled to meet your basic needs while dying to follow your creative call, this is the movie you should watch. When I wrote a little piece about Ignore Everybody, one of the things I decided to focus on was the author's message regarding creative output and financial obligations, the upshot of which was don't quit your day job. I began watching Tootsie as a child but I must have probably notched sixty viewings over the years before I realised that in the beginning Michael (and his flatmate Jeff) is working as a waiter. Of course the grand... Read more →

Filmmakers on Writing

When I started watching DVDs' extra features, it was apparent that they are likely to be more interesting to us writers than movies in isolation. There is much that can be learnt thanks to a director's and/or writer's commentary and I have often found that a brilliant commentary has allowed me to appreciate little, inconsequential movies much more deeply. Today I have prepared a round-up of excellent commentaries that every writer out there should listen to. It is thanks to these that when I came to write my book I felt confident enough to deconstruct plots and structures in order to relate them to seemingly unrelated narratives (The Dark Knight with The Name of The Rose). BACK TO THE FUTURE The Back To The Future trilogy DVDs include a Q&A session with director and writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. As a rule I would say that you should seek anything done by Robert Zemeckis, for he is exceptionally apt at articulating the thinking, writing, editing and visual story-telling processes that make all of his interviews and commentaries must-listen. Out of many I chose this Q&A with his colleague writer Gale because it tackles both practical and writing issues which span several years. Back To The Future was rejected by countless studios for a very long time and even when things started to look up, its creators continued to battle ill-advised suggestions that required great negotiation skills as well as immense patience. In this session they discuss problems associated with... Read more →