Theme Day: Movies that Inspire Writing

Personally, I would sooner have written Alice in Wonderland

than the whole Encyclopedia Britannica. 

~ Stephen Leacock

I

know: I missed posting on Saturday and Sunday.  Bad time management plus a mix of minimal ADD = no posts written to be published while I was away from my computer for the weekend.  Honestly, however, not only is posting everyday bordering on insane (yet good for me to work my writing muscles) but it must be insane for you the reader to have to keep up with seven posts a week! I know when I put my reader hat on, I am overwhelmed by all the posts I haven’t read and may never get to because of everything else that captures my attention!

Anyway, that’s my excuse for not posting on the weekend.

Today is the first theme day of the Blogathon: movies that inspire my writing.  That’s a tough one.  I have written before about some television shows that have a really talented team of writers.  But to say that a movie inspired my own writing – I can’t really think of any.  However, there are quite a few authors who have been translated successfully into film that inspire me. 

Jane Austen

Shocker, I know.  I didn’t bother to look up how many posts I have written about dear Jane since beginning this blog  ~ I am sure it is quite a few.  You would have to be dead or live under a rock on the moon not to have at least heard of the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice ~ considered the best version ever made.  Although I adore Jane’s writing style, I am more inspired by her courage and determination and sheer dedication to her art in a time when women received no encouragement or support for using their literary talents. 

Actually, I would go one step further: it’s not a gender thing at all.  Artists in general are not given the love and encouragement they need ~ and sadly that is still true today.  One day I will write a post about creativity and psychological development.

Another story of hers that has influenced my writing is Persuasion.  Gents take note: best damn love letter ever written is in that book.  That letter alone has inspired me to write several different poems and letters.

Evelyn Waugh
Brideshead Revisited.  Don’t bother with the remake ~ horrid.  No one but Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews could ever be Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte.  Plus, that version really nailed the character sketches for everyone and understood the author’s intention behind the story perfectly.

Phantom of the Opera
Great story.  Great translation to film in 2004.  When I was in high school, I wrote a version of this for my friends, where we were all characters.  Slightly different in that it was modern times, but it was in Paris, there was an opera house and there was a sexy phantom.  Ahh, the memory of raging teenage hormones.

Some of them are still raging, but we won’t talk about that here.

The Lake House

So Keanu can’t act.  It is still a great love story.  And it involves my favorite kind of writing: letters.  If you haven’t seen it, Netflix it.  Totally worth it, dude.

Hmmmm, now I want to go write some letters!

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

What movies, television shows, or books have inspired you?