Falling in Love with Your Own Words

P L Travers

As a writer you have to fall in love with your work everyday. The characters you create must have a special place in your heart. Saving Mr. Banks was a great film that expressed a writers (P. L. Travers) bond with her story. She feared putting Mary Poppins on the big screen because someone else would have altered the character, someone else would be in control of who Mary Poppins, Mr. Banks, and other characters were originally on paper. As a writer I agree with Ms. Travers. It is hard to let go of such wonderful people who you have created. Same reason that Silvester Stallone had to play Rocky. He wrote the script himself and took a major pay cut in order to play the star role. When a writer falls in love with their work, they fight to keep it as they initially intended.

Not only is it important to fall in love with your characters but your plot line and underlining message. I am an advocate for coming-to-age films like Juno. I praise Diablo Cody, writer of Juno and Showtime’s United States of Tara because she writes for the story not for the money. Juno had such a strong connection with audiences and a true connection to Cody’s personal high school experience. You can not get bored with your own ideas. As a writer you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else. The writers that write for the sake of telling a story are the writers that impact generations.

As I am currently writing my own coming-to-age film. I fall in love with ever character, plot line twist, and at times high-five myself for my creative efforts. I get excited about my visual ideas, and convicting dialog. My own brain surprises me. I have to revise my script about 100 times before I bring it to the actors. I am excited to be in the stages of development to see how others interpret my story. But with that being said I will also fight for my message. What I put into my stories are characters that do things I could never do, and in situations others experience day-to-day. I love coming-to-age films because the story behind someones personal growth is foundational to shaping who they are. People relate to that. It is like watching an underdog win every time! Something we always want to see.

For me I am a lot like P. L. Travers. Even if Disney offered to make my film, I’d pull a Stallone. My story has an intended message, and my characters are like my children. I am proud of what is to come of my writing. That is why I have always, and will continue to write, direct, and edit my own films. I do not care to be a big time director, I just want to tell other’s stories. Being completely committed to your own creativity only give flair to your film.

Inspired by a True Story

Inspiration can come in many forms. When you really look at the root cause of inspiration is boils down to a question. Our imagination explodes on the verge of answering that question. It is comical how many movies are made from being inspired by true events. We have a curiosity about how things can really be or why things happen. There is a story behind each event. The events that we are most inquisitive about are the ones that become movies.  These ‘true events’ usually are surrounded by someone who is challenging a questions or in search of an answer.  Here are 5 types of ‘inspired by a true story’ films with the root question that the film challenges.

The WOW factor – Did that really happen? So what you are telling me is he cut his own arm off? Wait a minute, he was the only Navy Seal to survive that ambush? Gangsters are real? When the extraordinary occurs we tend to tune into the news and try to gather the facts. Then we become curious and we wonder what it would be like to live in that life, be in that moment, to be pushed beyond humanistic emotion. Many great films have been flared up by the wow factor of a true story. 127 hours, Lone Survivor, Goodfellas, Erin Brockovich, and The Awakenings. If you want to be wowed in a moment of unbelievable reality. These are the movies to watch.

Moments in Sports – What is the real story behind that championship? What was going on in that athletes life when this happened? Why does Jamaica have a bob sled team? Someone walked onto an NFL team during an open tryout… and started?!? Sports inspire us all, to fight harder, to be passionate, to bound with others and establish union without team mates. Some of the best sports films are based on true stories because as an audience we can relate to the real life moment of that event and gain more of an emotional connection to the players and the inspiration behind that game. If you want to get your team pumped before a great game watch Rudy, Miracle, Invincible, Invictus, The Fighter, or even Moneyball. The morals behind sports are greater than whats just shown on the field.

Against all odds – How did they become successful? So you are telling me he was homeless with a child and is now a millionaire, how? Someone really abandoned their entire life to hitch-hike to Alaska? We love to see the underdog win. We root for the cinderella in ever story. It reminds us that there is always room to be better. IF you need to get inspired to beat the odds, or you need to just humble yourself to the reality of what success really takes in this world watch Erin Brockovich, Into the Wild, Man of Honor, The pursuit of Happyness, or The Social Network.

Truth behind the politics – How did Scotland defend their freedom from England? What really happened during Watergate? How did people fight, survive, and live during the Holocaust? History is in our DNA. We carry the past with us as we create the future. There is a story that goes deeper than the text books we read in school. Sometimes we just need to see the other perspective in the story. Or our curiosity takes over and we want to know the scandel behind the headlines. To get more in-depth on historical events that will tug on your heart and put a tear in your eye, watch Schindler’s List, Braveheart, Argo, All the President’s Men, Inglorious Bastard, Good Night and Good Luck.

Behind the Scene – How did they make that movie?  What happened in space during Apollo 13?  Why did Selena die so young? What si sit about Queen Elizabeth that makes her so famous? We might know the movie, know the star but how much do we really know? We have always been curious in the reality of movie stars to the point that now we have reality stars. When you love someones work you want to know and love their life as well. For a movie that digs deep into a celebrity or famous movie watch Apollo 13, Selena, Elizabeth, Saving Mr. Banks, Ray, or Walk the Line.