Aaron Sorkin, Genius

I was watching the extras on A Few Good Men the other day and listened closely to what Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter, had to say about the creative process. I noticed once again the classic Sorkin trademark--mixing sports with politics/law. It's no surprise that Lt. Kaffee thinks best with a baseball bat in his hand or that he concludes an after hours legal tangle with the prosecutor by calling him a lousy softball player. Sorkin clearly likes to take his characters off the field but keep them in the game mentally, to throw off the audience and add some comedy.

I'm not sure what to take away from this observation other than the writing habit of looking for double meanings and ways to add depth to scenes beyond politics. Sorkin does it again and again in A Few Good Men, The American President, and of course The West Wing. And people watch them over and over.

Sports isn't really a theme in Lawton's life, but faith is, and so is hunting and fishing--and of course, walking. There are plenty of ingredients for a layer cake of meaning.

Southern Movie Night

I just re-watched the 2005 tragicomedy Junebug, a culture clash movie set in rural North Carolina.

As reviews like this one attest, it's a complicated portrait of a typical country family in crisis. What's really fun to chew on for a Walkin' Lawton fellow traveler though is the dialogue. What a linguistic treasure!

From the Dad who wonders "If I was a screwdriver , where would I be?" to the navel orange-obsessed "outsider artist" who claims to collaborate with God on his slaves-with-white-faces murals, it's great escapism.

For me, the film makes me think about the social tension in modern North Carolina, between the mountain folk culture, the Research Triangle, and the coast. This fish-out-of-water story is playing out again and again as the state grows. Heck, NC may just vote for Obama for president--little more than a decade after sending Jesse Helms to the U.S. Senate.

Junebug is the type of Southern film that would never be taught in a Southern politics class, but could and should fit into any such syllabus. It would make for a nice contrast with genuinely political films like All the King's Men and Warm Springs. Just because there isn't an election doesn't mean that politics is at work.

On a similar note, it's also worth mentioning that In The Heat of the Night has been re-released in a special edition format with a few new goodies. I would the say the biggest difference between In the Heat of the Night and Junebug is the use of music to set the scene. Ray Charles's atmospheric theme song overpowers anything in Junebug, obviously. But Junebug has things to say about race, too.

Chiles in the News

A recent news bit about Lawton Chiles Middle School in Oviedo.

Transcription For a Fee

I think I've found an online service that will make my transcription duties a whole lot easier. I'm gonna give it a test run and if it works I'm taking this task off my shoulders for good.

Funny Farley

I zipped through the rest of the new authorized Chris Farley bio this afternoon. I'm just very impressed with the quantity and quality of the interview work. So many perspectives, great selections of quotes, and enough variety to make you feel close to the movies and skits.

There are quotes that preface each chapter and a handful of explanatory third-person narrator pieces, but mostly it's just interview snippet after snippet. It's one of many ways of writing biography.

Surely You're Joking

Two of the most important influences on my style and biographical study are great books but not biographies:

Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman (genius mathematician and physicist and humorist)

All To Human: A Political Education by George Stephanopoulos (journalist and former Clinton strategist)

I'm also getting inspiration from the new biography on Chris Farley, which cleverly pulls from countless testimonials from childhood friends. It's a slice of life.

Walkin' Lake Eola

No trek across Florida would be complete without a nod to the City Beautiful--Orlando.