You might have noticed that the blog has been a little quiet recently, well, that would be because both Chris and I are taking part in NaNoWriMo, which is inevitably taking up a lot of our time and energy. So, to pay tribute to NaNoWriMo and to actually blog, I decided to mix both worlds with an extra special (to us) Top Six of films that feature writers, either fictional or real.
I know that there are a lot of films that people will argue should be on this list, and I want to agree, but I've opted to only include films that I have actually seen from beginning to end, therefore popular choices like The Hours and Iris are immediately exempt.
Six. Romancing The Stone
Actor: Kathleen Turner
This seems like a really random choice, however, Romancing the Stone is a film that I love for the same reason that I love Indiana Jones and King Solomon's Mines. They're all the epitome of the adventure story which is definitely a favorite genre from my childhood. It's kinda funny, because watching it back now, and Romancing the Stone is corny as hell and slightly ridiculous. However, I will always love it as a childhood favourite, and the fact that the lead female is a writer is just great. Although, even if she wasn't a writer, I think that I would still have a great appreciation for this film.
Five. The Whole Wide World
Actor: Vincent D'Onofrio
Perhaps another strange choice from someone who has never read a Conan the Barbarian book, or seen any film. In fact, I've only seen this film once, and I caught it by chance on TV a few years back, and just started watching because it was that period when Bridget Jones was incredibly popular, and I wanted to see whether Renee Zellwegger could actually act - interestingly, on the question of whether she can or not, according to imdb.com "Renée Zellweger, upon receiving her Oscar for Cold Mountain, thanked Vincent D'Onofrio for teaching her how to act, referring to her experiences in this movie.". I'd also recently seen D'Onofrio in full Metal Jacket and thought he was great.
I always felt that there was so much chemistry between D'Onofrio and Zellwegger and I definitely think that that is why this film works. But, from a writers point of view, I love real life stories of real writers and weirdly this is the only "real" writer to feature in my list, which does seem a bit sad.
Four. Little Women
Actor: Winona Ryder, June Allyson, Katharine Hepburn
It almost seems cliche to include Little Women, but as another film from my childhood, this is a film that can teach a lot to writers. That we don't always follow the rules, that despite everything we can be writers and that despite what some people say, it is possible to have a book published and still find love. That last one might sound like a weird thing to say, but it's amazing how often the media insists on pinpointing all the writers (essentially female) who had mental illness, commit suicide, were spinsters or had several divorces. Okay, so Jo didn't marry the man that everyone wanted her to, but she still found love.
As this is more about the character than the film versions, it was difficult to know which image to use for Jo, so I'll just use one of the many books covers!!
Three. The Shining
Actor: Jack Nicholson
The Shining isn't a film that I always associate as a "writer film", but having now finally seen the film, it most certainly is. Even if it doesn't intend to, this film makes me question if I could cope living in complete solitude with the intention of having no distractions from TV, the Internet etc so that I can focus on my writing. The truth is that even though I do write better - and more - when I have fewer distractions, I don't think that I could handle it for a prolonged period of time. I think I'd probably go a little crazy too!
With films like this and Misery, it's interesting to see how many thriller novels and films are based around writer, perhaps because we're such a private bunch who love our solitude. Perhaps this is where the links between mental illness and writers joins together. I don't know, but we sure do make a mean thriller...perhaps because we're the ones writing them ;)
Two. Wonder Boys
Actor: Michael Douglas
It always amazes me how much I enjoyed this film, especially considering that I only watched it because the premise told me that Douglas' character taught a Creative Writing class, and I was - at the time - studying Creative Writing at Uni!!
The thing I love most about Wonder Boys, is that Grady Tripp is apparently suffering from Writer's Block, but seriously, after this weekend, if he doesn't feel a lot of inspiration from the craziness that is his own life, and that of the people around him, then there is absolutely no hope!
It's a shame that this film didn't do so well at the box office, because not only does it have a top-notch casting, but it's also a great film - albeit a little bit weird, at times.
One. His Girl Friday
Actor/s: Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell
This film is my number one choice, not because the two main leads are journalists - although, of course they are - but because it demonstrates something that a lot of films really don't do, and that is sharp-tongued quick wit. Similar to the much more recent TV series Gilmore Girls, His Girl Friday is renowned for its fast-talk and that is what I love about this film. But, for a film set around two conflicting journos, I wouldn't expect anything less, because that industry has always been pretty cut-throat and fast-paced, because that's how the news works. Quite literally, blink and you'll miss it.
The only thing that I dislike about this film was the marketing, in which the poster reads: "She learnt about men from him", turning it predominantly into a film about love. Of course, this is a film about love, but only to a degree and I just think that now it would be better marketed for it's fast-paced wit.
