Farewell, 2008

"Gravity, release me
And don't ever hold me down
Now my feet won't touch the ground..."

Darren Aronofsky Quote

Here's a quote I resonate with from director Darren Aronofsky, who has a new movie out called The Wrestler that's getting a lot of buzz:

"I'm half joking when I say, if Madonna taught us anything it's that we have to reinvent ourselves, but I think it's totally important as a filmmaker and as someone who works in the arts to constantly reinvent yourself and do new things and challenge yourself."

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

"Nothing lasts."

So is the theme of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. 

This has all the reasons I love movies, and why I long to create. 

This film moved me. It transported me. It brought me to tears. It held up a mirror to my face. It made me laugh. And it utterly transfixed me. 

It made me want to hug my wife, my daughter, my parents, my family. 

It reminded me of a phrase I've written many times this year--in both Ghostwriter and in the work I spent much of the year working on which will hopefully see light of day:

"Life is a breath, a blink."

And whether you're like the amazing director, David Fincher, who probably believes that this life is truly all we have, or if you're like me, who believes there is more, it still comes down to one thing--

In this life, here and now, nothing lasts. 

So make the most out of it. 

In a year that's been fraught with failure, I know that tomorrow is not promised. 

Just like the main character in Ghostwriter sees--"Each day is a gift."

Indeed it is. 

Spending my time looking backwards--that's what I've done since I was a teenager. Asking what if? What if? Or fretting about tomorrow, which I've done all my life. Both of those things always seem to do the same thing:

They take me out of today. 

The beauty of art is to make you step back and think. To be moved to change. And what I want, and what I hope, is to enjoy the moments. To take each day and breathe in its magic. 

To not be hindered by yesterday, which I can't change, or to not be wary of tomorrow, which I'm not promised. 

What I can do is today. 

To embrace life. 

Such deep, melancholy thoughts, huh? But seeing a movie like Curious Case made me think this and a thousand other things. 

As the clock ticks off another year, I thank God for this year. For teaching me just a little more. 

And for reminding me. 

Some things do last. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you. It's a snowy Christmas Eve in the Chicago suburbs. I'm thinking this winter actually might be the mighty winter they've been predicting for some time now. All the better for writing.

I've probably thought of bailing on this blog of mine perhaps a hundred times this year. If I had a particular topic I always blogged about, maybe that would help me define what this blog is all about. But it's more been a hodge-podge of my writing efforts, my love of Coldplay, and some random little bit of pop culture that interests me. But throughout the year I've heard from quite a few people that say they read this or that on my blog, so it continues to tell me that people check it out occasionally. So that means the hodge-podge will continue in 2009. 

I'm looking forward to Christmas morning and seeing Kylie (who is two years old) opening presents. We got her an enormous kitchen set that will surely pave the way toward her becoming the next Martha Stewart (please no!). Opening presents is fun, but seeing your two year old relish in the whole experience is truly priceless. 

I hope your Christmas is meaningful. As a parent now for over two years, I continue to see the magnificent and awesome gift that God gave us. That baby in the manger is a cute little story until you make it real and find yourself in that scenario. I'd never give up my child, not for anything. The fact that God did that for all of us--it's humbling and it's something that I can't begin to fathom. 

So with that in mind, I try to focus on the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. But that still doesn't mean that I don't selfishly hope to find that iTunes gift card under the tree. 

Mamma Mia!

So after seeing the latest Bond movie this weekend, I also saw the former Bond's latest role: the movie of Mamma Mia! I haven't seen the Broadway rendition yet, but I enjoyed the movie. It brought me back to living in Munich, Germany in second through fourth grades and listening to Abba. A lot of Abba. Anytime I hear those songs I'm transported to those days of living in Munich. That's the beauty of music. Even if you don't like Abba (and I still do), you have to admit they wrote catchy tunes right on par with acts like The Beatles. 

"Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2

I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

I want to feel, sunlight on my face
See that dust cloud disappear without a trace
I want to take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Were still building
Then burning down love, burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you...
(its all I can do)

The cities a flood
And our love turns to rust
Were beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled into dust
Ill show you a place
High on ta desert plain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
(its all I can do)

Ghostwriter--The Movie!

Okay--so here's the last book in this progression of posts. Who would I get to direct my upcoming novel, Ghostwriter? I would pick David Fincher, one of my favorite directors (Se7en, Fight Club, the upcoming Curious Case of Benjamin Button). He would give this a dark, ominous feel that it would need. And much like his movie The Game (which I loved), this is a character study of one man who has to go through hell to find hope. Don't most of my characters have to?

Well--I would probably have a variety of musical guests for this soundtrack, including a few cuts by Pink Floyd. That would certainly work (but you'll have to wait to see why when it comes out in May). 

Okay--enough with this whole imagining thing. It was an interesting process. Some of my movies I can definitely see being made into a picture, some others I really can't. But you never know. 

Isolation--The Movie!

Who would I want to direct Isolation? Well, after this year's The Happening, I'm not sure I'd want M. Night Shyamalan to direct anything of mine. I hate criticizing any artist, but that was not up to his standards. But going back to The Sixth Sense and Signs, Shyamalan knows how to scare while also telling a delicate story. Here's a story he wouldn't have to write--he could just direct it. 

For the score, I would pick the go-to guy that Shyamalan uses: James Newton Howard. I listened to the score of The Village a lot while writing this.

Out of the Devil's Mouth--The Movie!

Okay--three more books to go in this whole dreaming of a movie thing for my books. This one might be obvious--my Indiana Jones-esque story. Who would I want to direct it? Spielberg perhaps? No--actually, I would want someone like Paul Greengrass who did the last two Bourne movies. His energetic, visceral filmmaking would be interesting. Hey--to me and a lot of other movie fans, the Indiana Jones movies (at least the first three) are untouchable. Why try and repeat that? So it would be interesting doing something with a director who would give a familiar storyline a whole other look. 

As far as the soundtrack to Out of the Devil's Mouth? I was listening to this guy named Erik Wollo a lot during the writing, so I'd choose him. Or John Williams! :) 

Sky Blue--The Movie

Here's the favorite thing I've written so far. Who would I like to direct this? I'd have to say a director I've already chosen: Cameron Crowe. He did Jerry Maguire which I patterned some of this story after. But also he did Vanilla Sky, which wasn't a perfect movie but had some really cool, surreal bits that fits Sky Blue. 

I'd get Johnny Greenwood to score it. He's from Radiohead and I was listening to a lot of it while writing this. Well, that and Thomas Newman (the soundtrack to this is the soundtrack to "Angels In America" by Newman--I never saw that but the music was perfect!). 

Blinded--The Movie!

Continuing this thread . . . 

If Blinded were made into a movie, I'd pick Michael Mann to direct it. I always had his movie Collateral in mind when I wrote this. The look and feel of that movie. All of his movies are glorious in terms of mood. 

Soundtrack? I'd get the group Massive Attack to score it. They'd be perfect. 

I Tunes Genius Bar

They're not kidding. This is genius. It's great. If you don't have iTunes, get with the program. And if you have it, upgrade to get genius. 

For someone who has 15,000 songs on his computer, it's fabulous. 

It makes a mix cd for you in seconds. And they're good ones too. 

Makes it great for writing. 

Admission--The Movie!

So if my "college novel" entitled Admission were ever to be made into a movie, who would I prefer to direct it? This was hard for me. I'd say John Landis, famed director of Animal House. He'd be able to pull off that part of it, though this story has more drama and less humor. 

As far as a soundtrack goes, I'd load up on the classic Gen X songs by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarten, etc. 

The Ruins

Read the book by Scott Smith. And just rented the DVD. Definitely not for the squeamish. Yeah, it was a B-movie. But an intense one.  

Gun Lake--The Movie

Gun Lake was the first book of mine that I really, truly could have imagined to be made into a film. The canvas is much larger to work with--there are lots of characters in it and lots of storylines. 

I got the confirmation that I needed to write this book after seeing a movie. And while I've told people that this is my Shawshank Redemption, the movie it more closely resembles in terms of tone and feel is The Road To Perdition. So if I could have any director I could choose work on Gun Lake, I would have Sam Mendes, who not only did Road To Perdition but did American Beauty and the upcoming Revolutionary Road. He's an amazing director. 

The score? Not to be redundant, but I would have Thomas Newman do the score for this. I played and replayed his score to Road to Perdition as I worked on Gun Lake. 

Three Roads Home--The Movie

Okay, I'm continuing my dream director scenarios with each of my novels. This is going to be the biggest reach simply because Three Roads Home contains three novellas all centered around the same theme. I chose Richard Curtis, the writer of films such as Notting Hill and the guy who directed Love Actually (which had a huge cast). Maybe he could weave all three stories into one, where the characters somehow go in and out of the others' lives. 

Soundtrack? I'd put a bunch of pop music on this one. Again, three stories are in here, each story somewhat different, so this is hard to sum up with one particular composer. 

Three Roads Home served as the natural third in the trilogy that I started with my first two books. The books that followed took a right hand turn which made things more interesting. 

The Second Thief--The Movie!

So I know that this man is dead, and that he never really directed movies. He was a writer. But he would still be the perfect person to get The Second Thief to film. That would be Rod Serling, the man responsible for The Twilight Zone. In essence, The Twilight Zone is a long episode of the Twilight Zone, right along with its twist ending. Some readers have loved this story, and some definitely haven't. I think it's all how you view the ending. 

Who would score this movie? I would get Tangerine Dream to do it. The Tangerine Dream from the 80's that used to score lots of movies. Seems like this would fit with the story. 

The Watermark--The Movie!

So in continuing my list of books and imagining them made into movies, who would I pick to direct The Watermark. This was difficult once again simply because it's a simple and straightforward story. I love it--before Sky Blue came along, it was the favorite book of mine that I'd gotten published. It's a personal story and I think it's a lot deeper than The Promise Remains. 

The director I would choose would be Frank Darabont, who directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. But he also directed a movie not a lot of people saw called The Majestic. This movie was very much in the vein of Frank Capra (It's a Wonderful Life). So he can do sweet. 

The Watermark isn't a fast-paced story. At the core of the story is a secret about what the narrator did. He feels like he can't move on in his life. The ending of the story has echoes of Shawshank in it. 

For the movie composer, I would probably choose my favorite film composer: Thomas Newman. I would probably choose him for every and any movie if I could because he has such a range and he's amazing. The other person I'd use would be Enya. Yes, say what you want--she's made some remarkable music. I got the idea for the title of The Watermark from Enya's album and song. They fit, and the word grew on me 

Anyway, it sounds like I'm running a commercial for my books. Whatever. For my four fans (in Nebraska, Alaska, Iowa, and North Dakota), they'll find this interesting! Or at least I do. It beats going through page proofs! 

The Promise Remains--The Movie!

Okay, so there's no movie being done for The Promise Remains. But I was thinking about this question last night: if I could handpick a different director for each of my novels, who would I choose? So I'm going to post my dream scenarios for each of my books in chronological order of release date. For fun as well, I'll put who I'd like to compose the soundtrack for each story. 

It was easy to answer this question for my later novels as opposed to my first few novels. The Promise Remains is a sweet and simple story. Almost too simple. If they did make a movie, they would probably have to beef-up some of the scenes and scenarios. But ultimately it's about a high school love that endures over the years. 

The director I'd pick for this would be Cameron Crowe, best known for Jerry Maguire and Say Anything. The latter is the reason I'd pick him. 

He would surely rewrite each scene to make it Cameron Crowe-esque. If you watch any of his movies, you'll see how people talk--it's unique. They all talk like Cameron Crowe. Normal people usually aren't as witty and insightful. Not all his movies have been great, but a few of them are. 

The soundtrack would be composed by James Horner. I was listening to a lot of him (ala the Titanic soundtrack) when I was writing this story. Though I doubt Crowe would use a standard score for the film. Instead, he'd probably make an awesome soundtrack full of music that spans the years just like the book does. 

(I'll try to follow this each day with a post about another director and composer who I'd choose. It's fun to imagine . . . )