“In On Moral Fiction, John C. Gardner states, ‘True art clarifies life, establishes models of human action, casts nets toward the future, carefully judges our right and wrong directions, celebrates, and mourns. It does not rant. It does not sneer or giggle in the face of death, it invents prayers and weapons. It designs visions worth trying to make fact. It does not whisper or cover up its hands and bat its lashes….It stikes lighting or is lightning.’ So let your writing crackle with lighting, but never forget that a storm is one percent lighting and ninety-nine percent wind and rain. Yes, the reality of our lives is simply that we yearn for betterment because people don’t change….
Like the Greeks, for whom theater was a communal and religious gathering wherein the fears and desires of the culture could be exorcised and expressed, modern plays and movies let us come together to create a new sense of community we lost and in doing so, perpetuate a new set of metamyths which can provide answers to the hard questions of being alive. Humans want to grow, and we will pay to see the transformation of other human beings. By watching someone experience an epiphany and change, I too am transformed. All in two hours for a mere eight dollars, while most therapists charge at least a hundred an hour.”
Richard Krevolin
Screenwriting from the Soul
Last year Richard spoke on storytelling at Google:
Love this one, Scott. Perfect timing…
To sit communally, in a darkened theatre, let the rest of the world fall away and submerse oneself in the struggle, transformation and celebrations of great characters is being privy to the soul of someone, anyone (and it could be oneself) and given options, previews, courage, levity and hope even if metaphorical, for ones own life. I agree with John. Perfect timing. Thank-you, Scott