THE STORY VAULT BLOG
iNFLUENCES
The title of this post is somewhat misleading.
Maybe it should be called "Impressions."
The following writers and films have made an impression on me. Let's begin with writers.
WRITERS
Countless great writers aren't going to make this list. This isn't strictly about talent. It's also about impact.
I am a huge fan of Tony Gilroy. His writing on "The Bourne Identity" is so tight and economical and yet evocative and tense that just reading it practically sends me into a state of shock. How can anyone be this good? And yet, Mr. Gilroy is not an influence. I wrote an action-adventure script that was a semi-finalist in the Nicholl Fellowships and it's garbage compared to what Tony Gilroy writes. After reading "The Bourne Identity" I can't even imagine writing an action-adventure script again.
Robert Bolt. Robert Bolt. "Lawrence of Arabia." "Doctor Zhivago." Two of the greatest masterpieces of cinema. My grandparents and my mother were born in the U.S.S.R. They suffered persecution at the hands of the communists. My grandfather died in a concentration camp in Siberia. He was a teacher and by all accounts a wonderful man, a wonderful father. Even the Russian soldiers liked him. But that didn't save him from a fanatical, ideologically driven regime. "Doctor Zhivago" is such an emotional experience for me that sometimes I can't finish watching it.
John Hughes, William Goldman, Robert Towne, Shane Black, Alvin Sargent, William Rose, Nick Park. From "The Breakfast Club" to "The Last Detail" to "Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out." They've made an impression.
On to writers who have influenced me:
I.A.L. Diamond, John Huston, Dashiell Hammett, Len Deighton, John LeCarre, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, John Lee Mahin, Jules Furthman (Bombshell, China Seas, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep).
I love detective/noir, spy stories, and screwball comedies. I might write a horror-comedy or a romantic-dramedy or sci-fi, but elements of the work of these writers creep in. This makes me distinctive as a screenwriter. I'll write a contemporary story with the flavour of Old Hollywood. I have watched hundreds of black and white movies. The lighting in many of these movies has informed my photography. The atmosphere, the witty banter (especially between leads), the mystery...they are my ultimate inspiration.
MY THREE FAVOURITE FOREIGN FILMS
Amélie (Original title: Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain) 2001
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writers: Guillaume Laraunt | Jean-Pierre Jeunet
I found myself very depressed after the events of 9/11. I was overcome with despair...a gloom descended over me that I could not shake. In early January...it might have been January 1...I went to see Amélie. The movie had a profound effect on me. It restored my sense of hope.
My whimsical nature, my acknowledgement of the absurdity of life - these were things that I had lost, but they were restored by Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. For the first time since September I felt we could recover from 9/11...that we could build a better world.
Tuvalu (1999)
Director: Veit Helmer
Writers: Michaela Beck | Veit Helmer | Lyudmila Merdzhanska
This multicultural production is virtually a silent movie. The version I have has only one word of dialogue (Stop!). Visually it is extraordinary. The film has undertones (overtones?) of early German expressionism. It's poetic and heartwarming.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Writers: Arkadiy Strugatskiy | Boris Strugatskiy | Andrei Tarkovsky
Haunting. Stalker blends science-fiction, drama, philosophy and psychology. It's a movie about tortured souls. It moves slowly, but draws you in like a horror film. You find yourself always wondering what is around the next corner, what is behind the next door? And what does it all mean?