What I am.

I have a friend who has told me in the past that real life isn't like it is in the movies. I've always thought about that, but I think it's the contrary. Where do storytellers get their ideas? Where do they think up this shit?

Everyone has drama in their personal lives every so often. There are those in the world who think that their family is the most fucked up family in the world. We don't always get along with our friends, our spouses, our significant others, or otherwise. We all have strangely fucked up dreams every now and then. There are news reports of murderers, serial killers, rapists, burglaries, extortion, embezzlement, hit and runs, charity work, late night heroics in a sporting event, explosions, whatever. In real life, we find these and other happenings so interesting is because there is a varying degree of emotional depth that we latch onto. We latch on because there's something very true about those things. And therein lies what storytellers do: find some sort of truth about their the story, and cultivate it.

I mean, how else would we, the audience, be so captivated by films? We love certain films because there are certain characters that we can identify with and sympathize and empathize with. They have flaws, as do we all. To be able to give that to an audience is a very special thing.

To be able to tap into people's emotion, into relationships, and so on, and bring something real like all of that into something like narrative or fiction, is what excites me. I get a kick each time I see others do it successfully.

As the days are currently passing, I find myself inching closer to finishing my first feature screenplay. Still a ways to go, but I'm committed to making this happen. It is a very special piece of work.

Until then here's a quote from Elaine Stritch from the Emmy Awards last night when she presented an award with Stanley Tucci.

Elaine Stritch:
“I’m not faking this. I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

In a nutshell, that's how I think of my life thus far. :P