You can never go back (2)

Conversation continued…

Antonio: I always thought “Forget us and don’t come and see me” was cruel. Like he was pushing Toto away.
Mariella: Birds push chicks out nests. He was freeing him. So the boy could fly.
Antonio: Maybe I need someone to push me. So I can fly.
Mariella: Then jump. A book. Your legacy.
Antonio: Like writing down my memories of the old cinemas? 
Mariella: Exactly. The velvet seats, sticky floors. Your experiences as a projectionist. Written and drawn. That’s a legacy.
Antonio: I was thinking of cinema music.
Mariella: How about starting with Morricone in the Paradiso scene. The music doesn’t cling; it releases. It rises like a sigh that turns into a blessing. Once you think less nostalgically you become one who can never go back.

_________
Voice-over
Ennio, a recent documentary about Morricone, was a reminder of how good he was at writing a melody to match the emotion of a scene. His music isn’t background, it’s the emotional grammar of the scene. And in this scene he circled back, like nostalgia resurfacing, and rising unexpectedly, like an opportunity coming up just when it seemed doors were closing. A genius at turning words into music.

Blog text to Tik Tok video

A friend suggests changing channels…

Muriel: How long have you been writing this blog of dialogues?

Ernest: Coming up twelve years.

Muriel: And they’re short movie scenes. So why don’t you film them? Give those dialogues the TikTok treatment? Videos.

Ernest: I'm more of a wordsmith than a camera guy. I'm not a Spielberg.

Muriel: You don't need to be Spielberg. All you need is some amateur actors, your smartphone, and hit record.

Ernest: What if it's a total flop? What if people don't get it?

Muriel: Oh, come on, Misery! You won't know unless you try. Maybe you'll charm a whole new crowd. And anyway, perfection is overrated. Just let the internet do its thing.

________

Voice-over

Ernest’s realism is no match for Muriel’s optimism. But you never know.

White Coffee Rabbit

 After retiring from business, White Rabbit has taken a job in a coffee shop, creating whimsical rabbit patterns of milk on cappuccinos. He is finding happiness in embracing the present moment bringing delight to others. He has begun production of a TV series, "Milk & Whiskers”. Premise: he and friends are working together to save the coffee shop from shutting down. Casting is looking for actors to play friends of White Rabbit in this production. You are invited to pitch a walk-on part to save the coffee shop from closure.

WHITE RABBIT   WHITE RABBIT   WHITE RABBIT

Glass Onion: Architecture as stage and symbol

Glass Onion

After watching “Glass Onion.”

Daniel: Now, that must have been a dream film to pitch. A profitable predecessor, Knives Out, a star cast who wanted to be in on it.

Angela: A popular genre, a plot that recalls the best of Agatha Christie and a detective like Hercule Poirot.

Daniel: But not a slavish copy.

Angela: Not at all. The writers ran with it.

Daniel: And for the cast. Lavish setting, great place to party and go over the top with ad libs.

_________

Voice-over

And a great set for critics to tease out the symbolism. A glass onion. The mysteries in plain sight peeled back. Next: The Glass Gherkin?

Winding down then starting up again

At project’s end...

Antonio: The article is written. Just the final proofing taking a day or two.

Federico: Not as bad as a film shoot.

Antonio: How so?

Federico: Well, filming might take two or three weeks then you spend two or three months in post-production.

Antonio: Onto the next?

Federico: Not so fast.There’s always a day or two of sinking feelings before you can surface for air and get on with the next big thing.

Reflexive sketch

Antonio: How do you handle it?

Federico: Go by the river early, sketch or paint something. Read a book, call up friends.

Antonio: I go out, have the ortho pull my back straight. Coming back the other day, I rested a bit on a bench, an old delivery man on a Gyro pulls up, jumps off and starts eating his lunch. I smile as I leave. And he smiles back. The warm glow from a stranger helps rekindle enthusiasm.

___________

Voice-over

“I have watched people who have nothing to do with the film business, but who have become part of the circle for a short period of time. They can be truly devastated when the film wraps and people leave.” Jacqueline Bisset

Studio Sketch

Repurposing a tumbledown shed…

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Miss Kenton: It was an old garage but I had it turned into a studio.

.

Stevens: Looks bright inside.

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Miss Kenton: Got some old wooden windows from a demolition warehouse.

.

Stevens: And this sketch?

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Miss Kenton: That’s the first thing I drew when the building was finished.

____________

Voice-over

In days of urban verticality, a studio on an estuary seems a bygone extravagance. But why not use the remains of one’s days to live out the way things used to be.

...

Twins on social media

Seeing double…

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Olivia: Twins are big on YouTube these days.

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Think we might start a
YouTube channel?

Sophia: I hear there are hundreds of twin-related YouTube channels.

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Olivia: I guess it’s because if you’re a twin, there’s a sort of “I can do that too” mindset.

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Sophia: And there are lot of twins, even identical twins account for one in every 250 births.

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Olivia: So what attracts viewers?

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Sophia: People are curious about twins. Pairs work well on media. Think news broadcasts, think movie dialogs.

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Olivia: Can’t have a conversation with yourself. And if the conversational partner looks the same, bingo bango!

_____________

Voice-over

What do these twins do on their YouTube channels? Seems singing, dancing, modeling account for a lot of it.

Ethan and Grayson Dolan, 4.6 million followers, comedy.

Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight, 4.6m, models for mother’s DIY hairstyles.

Lucas and Marcus Dobre, 1.8m, dancers.

Siannie and Angelise Garcia, 1.8m, singing and rapping.

Gulcan and Sahinur, 1.6m, color-coordinated fashion.

Veronica Jo and Vanessa Jo Merrell, 1.2m, comedy.

Shannon and Shannade Clermont, 1.2m, long hair, fashion, designer dogs.

Laurent and Larry Bourgeois, 1m, dancers, models designers.

Paula and Aitana Etxeberria, 0.8m, singer songwriters.

Teagan and Sam Rybka, 0.75m, contortions, dance, gymnastics.

...

Ratatouille’s characters revisited

Taking out an old DVD...

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Gustave: Yes, it first screened in 2007, but it’s still an uproarious story and a lustrous production.

Judge by content of character...

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Adelle: Who are the characters that stand out?

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Gustave: Anton Ego for being knowledgable in matters of taste and snobbish but seeing genuine talent. Chef Skinner for being supercilious and scheming but awake to opportunities. Collette for challenging a male-dominated role, and being alternately an activist feminist but also charming. Not to mention Remy the Rat’s A,B,Cs: ambitious, bright and committed.

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Adelle: So they all have volatile elements in their personalities?

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Gustave: Don’t we all? And that’s why we appreciate three-dimensional characters in stories. Never quite sure what characters will think and say. A film worth watching again.

__________

Voice-over

Ratatouille’s characters were well fleshed out. Multifaceted. Director, scriptwriters, casting all knew cardboard cutouts wouldn’t cut it. To be a convincing screenwriter, even for animation films, it helps to have a bit of psychology in your background.

For the history of the big five factors of personality theory see Courtney Ackerman's explanation: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.

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