Hospice

In a few hours, Hospice will be here to consult with us about mom's last days. There is just no way to prepare for this journey - although everyone tells me that Hospice knows the path very well and is invaluable as a guide. I have started keeping a journal as I already know there are many tears and much laughter on the road.

Whether this turns into a script or a book is uncertain but I do know that death is a subject that is seldom written about in real terms and it's something that, since it involves me personally, I am passionate about. As far as finding an "angle" (or "hook" as we like to call it in Hollywood), that will either come or it won't.

My own family members don't want much to do with this process. From what I'm told, this is common - so no excuse to feel sorry for myself (as the one who takes it on). I suspect the reluctance to travel to death's door with a loved one stems from the fact that our culture has such a taboo about aging in general. We don't want to look at it, let alone go there. That may just be the hook.

There have been numerous irreverent comedies about death and, in fact, one of the most memorable books of the last century was Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. Interestingly, a pair of more somber films came out in 2007 on the subject of death and dying. As baby boomers age, the need to address these types of subjects are sure to be more and more relevant to film goers everywhere.

The first film, The Savages, debuted at Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and won critical acclaim but died at the box office. Please see the picture above. I find it too flat and monochromatic for the subject matter and feel it would've been better as a film with more visual counterpoint. The main focus of Savages is the sibling rivalry at the time of death. Not much about the dying one.

The second film on the subject of death competing in the 2008 awards was, Away From Her.It met a similar box office fate. I didn't see it (and neither did anyone else, apparently) but the focus was on the marriage drama - making it more about faithfulness between soul mates at death than death itself. Both leading ladies (Laura Linney and Julie Christie respectively) were nominated for an Oscar.

Both of these films feature the dying one as having dementia and an entire film (Iris, starring Dame Judy Dench) was dedicated to that subject several years ago. I DID see that one and it was awesome but, again, didn't net the box office numbers most producers are after. One thing you can say about these films though is that they attract mega talent. Maybe that's because they're about something that matters!

More later. As ever, please feel free to contact me @ Susanmarx@yahoo.com

Movie Marathon - The Sountrack

Just when I thought I had nothing worthwhile to share about writing for film I find myself inspired. Being here more or less home-bound with my mamma, there's lots of time to think and share thoughts on things that matter plus a luxurious amount of time to watch movies.

Or maybe I should say listen to the movies. A TV producer friend of mine (Robert Foster - Knight Rider) from my early days at Universal once told me he liked to listen to TV shows from another room. It's great training for the ear but it works for feature film as well.

There's a lot more "silent space" in film than in TV (if you don't count the underscoring and sound fx that are always present in the background). What's said jumps out as "larger than life" and packed with subtext. Love the orchestration. My musical roots continue to clamor for attention. Time for another piano.

Listening to film serves as a reminder that writing a script is about "taking a picture of the picture". I think Stanley Kubrick was quoted as saying that in the wonderful documentary narrated by Tom Cruise called Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures. Highly recommended documentary.



I love movies - can't get enough of them. Last night it was Ghost Busters II all over again. Today I'm watching TCM's western dominated programming. Earlier this week Hitchcock's Rear Window graced the screen. Many people believe Disturbia was inpsired by it.



What do you think?



Wonderful, wonderful stuff. Of course, A&E had The Shining on this afternoon. Talk about a soundtrack! Of course, this one too is Kubrick. The man was a genius. If you're into it, read the link (a very good analytical review if you ask me).

Meanwhile, I don't know if it's just that I haven't sat around and simply watched movies all day on cable for days on end or if it's always this way on a Saturday night but holy cow. What a treasure trove of great films. I'm now on USA watching The Bourne Identity, with Matt Damon and there are even more later tonight. Yippee!

All in all, feeling very homesick for Hollywood. Will return as soon as I can but for now, I'm loving the movies from the privacy of my own living room.

Homecoming

Wow, boy has a lot transpired since my last post. I totaled my car, spent a night in jail, moved to another small Texas town and into a new house, brought my mom home from the nursing home, learned she doesn't have much time to live, made an appointment with Hospice to come and consult with us and expect my new Himalayan kitty, Kira, next week.

Life has changed so completely lately that the world of writing scripts for Hollywood seems like it happened to someone else a long time ago. So much so, in fact, I've wondered if it makes sense to keep up this blog. The truth is though that I love blogging so I will continue to document things as they evolve. Maybe I'll write a book or screenplay about it. Maybe not. At this point, anything is possible.

So am I depressed and discouraged? Oddly, no. In fact, I recently met the world renown marketing/self-help guru Joe Vitale at the local coffee shop (Maui Wowi) in Wimberley and just finished one of his latest books, Zero Limits. This is a must read for anyone interested in self-transformation and a spiritual approach to solving life's problems and finding one's place in life.

While I'm taking care of mom here in the fastest growing suburb in the U.S. (Kyle, Texas, which makes me feels like I'm living on the edge of the exoburb from Edward Scissorhands)...




I've just committed to the Total Gym challenge to transform my body with a home gym. Hey, why not? It's not like I'm too busy. The equipment won't arrive for about two weeks so now I'm itching to begin without it. Thank goodness for cable. For now I'll be tuning in to Fit TV for some workouts and dance routines I can do right in my living room.

As luck would have it, I made a boo boo and deleted my yahoo email linked to my website so now you can't contact me directly unless you just write to my personal email. Again, why not? So if you'd like to correspond, need help with a script or want to option the rights to my life story or anything else the universe has to offer please feel free. Susanmarx@yahoo.com