At The Extremes

I know it’s been a while since we’ve experienced all the joys and the sorrows of a truly Canadian April, but the last time feels like so long ago, and far away, and like I was somehow a different person back then. A less anxious person that was able to roll with at least the majority of life’s punches.

I know that’s not entirely true, but on days where we start a hike in the sunshine and end in a snowstorm, it certainly feels like it. And it doesn’t help that it feels like most of my life is a storm right now (or at least the part that has to do with the house). Waterproofing, even a consultation for waterproofing, is a name that makes my chest tighten up like a vice and that’s what we’re dealing with this morning in the midst of some snow the weather app told me I wasn’t supposed to get.

On days like these, I hold my lovely spouse tighter and think of the late summer sunshine I usually cannot stand.

A Manual

I came to William Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade via last week’s book, Julie Salamon’s The Devil’s Candy. It was actually mentioned in the puffery on the back of that essential book as being another essential book. And I think that’s a completely accurate assessment if you want to know how to write a screenplay and the role of a screenwriter in film production.

Goldman is exhaustive in his detailing of what a script requires and the basics of how to write one. He even has a chapter where he takes one of his own short stories and turns it into a complete film script. Not only does he take one version of that script apart himself, he also sends it to several other industry professionals (cinematographers, director, etc.) and gets their comments on it too — what they would change, what they thought would film well, what they thought would film poorly.

A Memoir

Sprinkled in the midst of all of the screenwriting, Goldman manages to get to some adventures in the actual film industry. There are a lot of great stories here — including one focussing on Laurence Olivier, and several about working closely with Robert Redford. Particularly, I liked the section dealing with All the President’s Men (which is one of my favourite films and also a favourite book of mine).

But with these adventures come opinions and it immediately becomes clear that while Goldman may be a good writer, he is also not one that really aged well. Women are little more than props in male-centric stories to him, and he does not give them any kind of sense inner life. He constantly only refers to female actors by appearance, specifically weight. Hollywood, especially the production side of it, was (and to be honest is) male-dominated and it was made very clear that women were not welcome. Goldman is definitely one of those professionals that was part of reinforcing these gender inequalities.

The Expanded Edition

I happened to get the expanded edition of Adventures in the Screen Trade which includes the entire 100 plus page screenplay of the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I really hated that film, and so, I was not exactly impressed with the inclusion of the entire screenplay. I wouldn’t exactly have been happy to see it anyway, even if I did like it — especially since Goldman tries to justify the rape joke he includes in the film’s introduction.

The whole screenplay is needless bulk, even considering Goldman’s analysis. But I found in general he spent far too much time on this one film. This one — not very good, aging poorly — film. To the point where it was frustrating, especially when all roads, stories, comments, and analysis seemed to lead back to that. Goldman clearly thinks of it as his crowning achievement. I much prefer Misery and All the President’s Men. My lovely spouse? She loves The Princess Bride.

Take A Breath

I’m trying to take a breath and step back from our current storms, mostly by fixing what I can and by enjoying the little improvements and the living space that isn’t being fussed with. I have to remind myself to take the time to enjoy the things that feel good.

Books. The cats (most of the time). Our routines. Cuddling with my spouse on the sofa. There’s a lot of great things about life. Don’t lost sight of that in the snow.