Artistic Vision of Books and Films

FILMS FROM MY BOOKS...SHOULD MIRROR MY BOOKS

When you see films based upon my books, you should be dragged direct into the dirt of human experience. 

Films like Civil War and Doctor Zhivago let us live experiences from a realistic perspective. Immersing us in the panoply of human emotion spirited along towards an unpredictable conclusion. The ancient movie Doctor Zhivago elicited, in emotion rendering gushes, anguish, pain, hope, love, horror, and total despair but did it more effectively by incorporating a soundtrack that was passionate and beautiful. The soundtrack was not some canned set of melodies but a creation of purpose, imbued with humanity - the unfairness of life and the happiness of love. 

For too long the film industry has made movies that purposely keep the audience shielded from tragedy, joy, pain, and love – the depths of what it means to be human on a planet exposed to an unfathomable universe. 

Sheltering audiences from pain when a mother’s child dies in her arms by quickly spiriting the scene away so that we can get on to more frightening gore is dishonest and a disservice to what it means to be human. It is a scene to embellish with heartbreaking music, with an actor able to experience that pain with tears running down her face in rivers of pain. This type of film making delivers audiences to a pure reality, not a superficial experience easily forgotten after tossing away the popcorn bucket. 

If we know anything from the living of life, we know nothing is predictable in a world that daily lives on the edge. We are not shielded from the demons or angels that roam freely across our blighted planet. Predictable outcomes are not the ordained conclusions; bad and good results essentially merge into our kaleidoscope of existence – this is called reality. 

Packaging only certain emotional pieces of this magnificent gift into a cinematic wrapper, like horror for horror’s sake, deprives us all of an experience we can truly say was memorable. In my humble opinion, that is what separates a cinematic masterpiece from the run of the mill movie made simply for profit. During the film making process the producer needs to ask; is the audience feeling the entire spectrum of emotions, truly experiencing everything from pain to supreme joy. 

The film industries gauge of success should be whether an audience after viewing a film is crying, shell shocked, or in a traumatized daze. All that digs deep gashes into your soul or fills you with utter happiness – the reality of everyday turmoil – an existence of daily struggle and hope that is what a movie should help you remember – what it means to be human.