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Wednesday, September 27, 2006
VACHON RETURNS TO THE BOOKSTORES 


Over at Indiewire Eugene Hernandez has an appreciation of and excerpts from Christine Vachon's new book, A Killer Life. There are many film books out there these days, but Vachon is one of the few people writing them who actually has the real-world experience and successes to back up her advice and opinions.

Here's an excerpt from the book:

My strategy is to stay a moving target. I've got a reputation for "edgy," "dark" material -- the kind of movie where you're maybe rooting for the bad guy. I'm also frequently accused of operating with a political agenda. A gay agenda. An aggressive-New Yorker agenda. When I go to L.A. for meetings, sometimes I feel like I have to put on my "uniform" -- black pants, black T-shirt, combat boots -- so that nobody gets confused and thinks I've come over to the bright side. Yes, I go for the kind of stories that challenge viewers, and I like to approach a story from an unexpected place. But my films aren't all about gay people, they aren't necessarily dark, and I'm not trying to peddle an ideology. I think that in order to realize the artistic possibilities of film, you've got to be in tune with the social and political realities of the times: the ravages of AIDS, or the complexity of gender, or social anomie, American-style. This is why I'm attracted to scripts inspired by true stories. When you stop retreading the conventional fairy tales -- when you quit with the fairy tales entirely -- you make better art. You also make people a little nervous.


# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 9/27/2006 02:33:00 PM
Comments (2)

 
The book looks like a good read and I admire Vachon's work. However, I'll quibble with the idea that making films inspired by true stories is somehow "better art" than fairy tales. Like Vachon, I tend to appreciate personal films a lot more than most of the blockbusters, but I wouldn't call Velvet Goldmine better art than The Lord of the Rings; just different art. Yesterday I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the day before I watched Saraband and right now I'm thinking about popping in Kingpin. I love all those films.

I get a lot more creative fulfillment from working on a personal story, which is probably the real point Vachon is getting at. But I think there's just as much value in fairy tales as there is in more personal stories.

Anyway, those are my thoughts, which may be somewhat influenced by the cold medicine I'm on.
# posted by Blogger Josh Boelter @ 9/30/2006 2:15 PM  

 
Yesterday I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the day before I watched Saraband and right now I'm thinking about popping in Kingpin.
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# posted by Blogger prestijceviri @ 6/19/2007 9:01 PM  


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