I've decided that Charlie Kaufman is my new favourite screenwriter, having come fresh out of Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. I also enjoyed Adaptation. Charlie wrote both of these.
I read a review of the film in the big fat New York Times on Sunday -- mum, you really should get that paper, it's an all-day-and-into-next-week sucker -- which said "a little learning is a dangerous thing". Apart from aptly describing one of the supporting characters in the story, this phrase was enough to get me thinking about how occasionally I see myself like that. I seem to know a dangerous amount about a broad, yet strangely shallow pool of things. Mostly, I keep the danger at bay, because of the sheer breadth of my worldy understanding, but from time to time, I come up against a miner of knowledge, who has obviously plunged to the depths of particular field x, and BAM, i'm history! Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I pretend I know things I don't... but not very often. And sometimes I embellish facts a little.... but you see, that brings me back to the quote... I only do it because I can't see the big DANGER sign staring back at me. Like once I told some dude that I studied Maths at Uni. Then he asked me something about it, and I was busted. Luckily, I can throw out the odd joke at an uncomfortable moment, and did so. Phew!
But, rather than bore you with saggy details of my own narcissism (i'm saving that up), I thought i'd go back to Charlie. I adore the way his scripts portray reality, or at least, I enjoy the reality which his scripts evoke. There is very little crap. And whoever actually made the film (the cinematographer) did a superb job of depicting said reality.
In a nutshell, the story is about Joel and Clementine, both of whom go to the same mysterious firm to forget about the other. Joel finds himself regretting that decision mid-procedure. I would love to be Charlie, sitting in a bath one day coming up with an idea like that.
Must chase up my Vankie writing friends. You can say what you want in fiction.
I read a review of the film in the big fat New York Times on Sunday -- mum, you really should get that paper, it's an all-day-and-into-next-week sucker -- which said "a little learning is a dangerous thing". Apart from aptly describing one of the supporting characters in the story, this phrase was enough to get me thinking about how occasionally I see myself like that. I seem to know a dangerous amount about a broad, yet strangely shallow pool of things. Mostly, I keep the danger at bay, because of the sheer breadth of my worldy understanding, but from time to time, I come up against a miner of knowledge, who has obviously plunged to the depths of particular field x, and BAM, i'm history! Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I pretend I know things I don't... but not very often. And sometimes I embellish facts a little.... but you see, that brings me back to the quote... I only do it because I can't see the big DANGER sign staring back at me. Like once I told some dude that I studied Maths at Uni. Then he asked me something about it, and I was busted. Luckily, I can throw out the odd joke at an uncomfortable moment, and did so. Phew!
But, rather than bore you with saggy details of my own narcissism (i'm saving that up), I thought i'd go back to Charlie. I adore the way his scripts portray reality, or at least, I enjoy the reality which his scripts evoke. There is very little crap. And whoever actually made the film (the cinematographer) did a superb job of depicting said reality.
In a nutshell, the story is about Joel and Clementine, both of whom go to the same mysterious firm to forget about the other. Joel finds himself regretting that decision mid-procedure. I would love to be Charlie, sitting in a bath one day coming up with an idea like that.
Must chase up my Vankie writing friends. You can say what you want in fiction.