The Romance of Dracula…

One of the most seminal influences on my own writing has been Bram Stoker’s classic novel, Dracula. The book is timeless, multi-layered with theme and motif and is, for all fans and writers of gothic horror, the ultimate bible of storytelling for this genre.

Stoker was Irish-born, and lived in Clontarf, Dublin, and amongst the many myths and facts as to how he was influenced to create such a mystifying and captivating character and story, is the legend of how he came up with the idea of the ‘stake in the heart’ method for destruction of the vampire.

In an area of North Dublin City, there is a place called Ballybough, meaning Poor Town. Situated between the Royal Canal and the Tolka River, in centuries past, this area would also have been known as Mud Island. In Stoker’s era, it was a renowned place for pirates that attracted prostitutes, drunkards and criminals. Many died there to be buried in pauper’s graves, but of course, in those times, being dead was not always as finite as it ought to have been! In the event of so many of these unfortunate creatures being ‘risen again’ (probably from drunken stupors!), the authorities, having named the area, the Suicide Plot, decided to make sure that anyone falling down dead there, stayed that way. And so, wooden stakes were driven through the chests of the ‘corpses’ before the dirt hit their faces for the final time! Whether true or not, stories such as the above are nonetheless intriguing anecdotes that add to the myth and magic of Dracula.

For fans and writers, as well as for film buffs, The Romance of Dracula; a personal journey of the count on celluloid, written and illustrated by Charles E. Butler, is a real treat. Not just for the pleasure of discovery, or re-discovery, of the vast array of wonderful actors who have played the legend himself, but also, this book is a ‘must-have’ reference, as well as being an entertaining read for anyone with a curiosity of all things vampiric! The author’s knowledge of the subject matter is vast, and his theories will make you want to revisit, not just the films he critiques, but also, to read Stoker’s classic novel again, such is the depth of exploration between the pages.

In his quest for a critical assessment of the Dracula myth in movies, Butler, an avid fan and collector of vampire literature and film, has compiled an honest and detailed collection of synopses and reviews of fourteen Dracula movies. From Max Schreck’s Nosferatu  (1922) to the author’s description of Hammer’s Christopher Lee as the definitive count (1965) to Gary Oldman’s portrayal in Coppola’s version (1992) and many stars and productions in between – you’ll find your favourite and perhaps, your least favourite, to measure and critique, and no doubt, learn new facts and theories on the count’s adventures on celluloid!

The Romance of Dracula by Charles E. Butler is available from Amazon…go on, treat yourself!

Alice in Funderland…

If you are in Dublin between now and May 12th, go along and catch the world premiere of Alice In Funderland at the Abbey Theatre.

Foremost, it is a couple of hours of sheer fun and quality entertainment. An innovative casting of humourous light on contemporary Irish society, the music and lyrics are outstanding, and the writing is supberb. The show is also current and relevant at a time when we need to remind ourselves what makes us so feckin’ special…our innate sense of humour, laughter and ability to tickle the funny bone while flipping the proverbial finger at the societal, economic and political challenges that try to batter us down these days!

Completely homegrown, with a production, cast and crew of amazing Irish talent, this energetic, musical theatre show is thoroughly enjoyable, funny and imaginative from start to finish…and most importantly, it is UPLIFTING!

So, do you know the way to Hartstown?

Oleanna…a tale of oppression?

I went along to see Company D’s production of David Mamet’s Oleanna, a provocative play that examines the system of higher education from the point of view of two characters, the university professor and the student, and the context of two human beings, existing in polar opposite life situations. It is a study of power, and in the context of a drama, how that power can shift with disastrous consequences.

Directed by Ruth Calder-Potts, the professor, John, played by David Scott, is socially, emotionally, and academically on a different plain to the student, Carol, played by Sinead O’Riordan. Despite all his good intentions as he attempts to teach Carol to learn for herself, John speaks out from the top of his ivory tower to Carol, albeit between the distractions of his chaotic personal life, and with an air of patronization that he is probably not even aware of.

Carol, on the receiving end of a plethora of language and academia that she is finding difficult to absorb, is asking for help; is looking for the answers that she can apply to her life, her experience and her difficult journey through life-long learning.

This simmering mix becomes a clash between two individuals with very different abilities to absorb and decode information that is coming at them from the other, which spirals into an intriguing study of not only how two human beings can grow to perceive one another, but also how they interpret the actions of each other. And how, once wronged by the other, can adopt with conviction their negative interpretations of the other’s behaviour, with explosive results.

It is a play that will leave you travelling home with your own internal discourse playing out. Was John right? Was Carol? Could they both be completely correct in their convictions, or could they both have got it so very wrong? And if so, why?

Any situation where one person exploits another or hinders their pursuit of self-affirmation as a responsible person is one of oppression. This is the view of Paulo Freire, 1921-1997, a critical theorist of education, who is also quoted as saying that “such a situation in itself constitutes violence, even when sweetened by false generosity.”

In the play, Carol reacts in her frustration in a manner that while shocking, may help to explain Freire’s viewpoint. We don’t know her past, but we get a sense of it; that is one of ongoing struggle…

From the moment we are born,  we all follow similar paths, arriving helpless, unable to care for ourselves, yet quickly and instinctively learning from whom we will be nourished and nurtured; where the food comes from, the protection, the caring of us, body and soul. If we are lucky, that nurturing will be a positive experience that will allow us to flourish, firstly as children with confidence, enquiring minds and a thirst for answers that we will seek and find. And secondly, as well-adjusted adults, ready for the challenges of our lives that continue our path of learning; ideally through our own methods of critical reflection, praxis and transformation.

But what if our journey is not the ideal? What if the circumstances of our existence result in an upbringing of carelessness, apathy, cruelty or violence that hinders development. Perhaps denying access to knowledge and the skills of autonomy and therefore, becoming one of oppression and disempowerment?

How might that manifest in any of us, if faced with a situation such as Carol’s…?

Company D’s production of Oleanna at the Teacher’s Club, Parnell Square West, came to an end last night. However,  I have no doubt that based on the spellbinding performances of Sinead O’Riordan and David Scott, the play will be back…so keep a look out and when the curtain rises again on this wonderful production, go see it!

King, Kubrick and The Ahwahnee Hotel

Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining, forever deemed a classic of the horror genre, is nonetheless, a thing of contradictions and theories that run a gamut of themes and ambiguities. The talented legend that is Stephen King, who has admitted that while writing the novel, he was an alcoholic with tendencies of rage, was exploring the themes of the disintegration of the family and the dangers of alcoholism through the medium of the supernatural.

It is suggested that he was not happy with the downplaying of the supernatural element of the film, which he felt “took the “bite” out of the story and made Jack a less sympathetic character.” [Quoted from an interview with Laurent Bouzerau for a television production, A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King.] According to King, he viewed Jack as being victimized by the genuinely external supernatural forces haunting the hotel, whereas Kubrick’s take viewed the haunting and its resulting malignancy as coming from within Jack himself.

There are also many social interpretations and references in the film that could allude to Kubrick’s concern for The Holocaust (the flowing of blood scenes and the motif of the number 42) and also of the genocide of the Native American Indians ( the rich tapestry of motifs throughout the hotel set), and the reference that The Overlook was built on an ancient burial ground.

All of these theories are well documented and are open to discovery and further interpretation, so let’s leave that forum to run on and on…

In this article, there are three photographs, not, as Shining fans might first presume, of images of the fictional Overlook Hotel, they are in fact, from the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. The Ahwahnee, built in 1927,  and named from an Indian word meaning “deep, grassy valley” is now an American national historic landmark building, which I had the pleasure of visiting during a recent trip there.

At the time, though I can admit to a slight sense of déjá vu, while warming up in front of the gigantic open fire, and walking through the big old generous spaces, steeped in native american imagery, rich heritage and art deco, I had no idea of the connection of the place to the film, but have since learnt that Kubrick based some of the interiors used in the film on this very hotel.

Although neither is an exact likeness, Kubrick modelled the lobby and the great lounge for the movie’s Overlook Hotel set, and the Ahwahnee’s lobby elevator doors, with their vivid black-and-red frame, are very clearly featured in the film.

The Ahwahnee is no stranger to Hollywood, having also been featured in the movies, The Caine Mutiny (1954) and  Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day (1996) and has also been host to guests such as Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, Gertrude Stein, Ansel Adams, Lucille Ball, Will Rogers, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Greta Garbo. In 1943, the US Navy used the hotel for the convalescence of war veterans…

In the script, written by Kubrick with Diane Johnson, the character of Halloran, played by the wonderful Scatman Crothers, explains to the telepathic young Danny, played by the amazing child actor, Danny Lloyd, of the mystery of The Overlook Hotel…

“Not things that anyone can notice,  but things that people who shine can see.  Just like they can see things that haven’t happened yet. Well, sometimes they can see things that happened a long time ago,  right here in this particular hotel – over the years, and not all  of them was good.”

Good or bad, I can’t help but feel that The Ahwahnee itself must harbour many secrets from its interesting past, that perhaps only people who shine can see!

Apart from my personal journal, for this article, I have also researched information from wikipedia.org, and yosemitepark.com and I do not own the copyright to the images reproduced here.

Welcome ladies, to the psychological playground of the horror genre…

As a writer of ghostly and supernatural stories, one of my earliest literary influences as a young teenager came from the classic world of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Later, I became obsessed with the vampire chronicles of Anne Rice, the wonderfully gothic and ghostly tales of Susan Hill, and the everyday magic that lyrically dances from the pages of the novels of Alice Hoffman.

So it is very satisfying now, to see a resurgence in the popularity of the genre as more and more female writers delve into what Helen Dunmore refers to as a  ”psychological playground”. An apt description, and where I am also quite happy to play, literally!

Although I do write drama, I am always drawn back to mixing up the gothic and the dark fairytale with the horror elements, and many of my stories, The Lupii, Evanescence, Iona’s House, Spinning with the Devil,  and of course, Vampire of Arkyne, all stem from this genre.  I can only aspire to reach the levels of the great ladies mentioned above, but I fully intend to keep trying, and to keep playing!

Anne Rice’s latest novel, The Wolf Gift, to be released on Valentine’s Day, will be my next read…

The Artist…a visual feast…

I have to say, The Artist lives up to the hype. It was so refreshing to watch a movie that feeds the visual senses with adequate snippets of comedy,  melodrama, music and glamour and just plain old, mesmerizing performances from the likes of Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman and James Cromwell…and not forgetting Uggie of course,  what a star!

I actually left the cinema feeling very satisfied and upbeat…and that is rare, these days!

Now, to read the script…

Breaking Bad was never so good…

I may have arrived late to the Breaking Bad party, but I’m making up for lost time, and loving it!  Excellent writing and amazing performances from the likes of Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Dean Norris.

AND…I was lucky enough to attend a Galway Film Centre screenwriting event earlier this year, with the man himself, creator and screenwriter, Vince Gilligan, in attendance for the event, Deconstructing Breaking Bad.  A very entertaining and informative session, and Vince himself, a down-to-earth, practical speaking gentleman, was inspirational in the telling of his own journey as a writer.

Vince won a screenplay competition in 1989 when just out of college. Mark Johnson (Rainman) was doing the organisers a favour by sitting on the judging panel. He liked Vince’s script and asked him to show him what else he had. That was his first break into the business…and though Vince is quick to point out that it was pure luck, I would throw in my tuppence worth here and say that yes, luck plays a part, but you have to put the work in and take the actions, (for example, submitting to competitions!) that lead to that “pure luck” moment ever happening! It is so important to build up a body of work, that, in the event of that lucky break coming your way, you have more to show than just one script!

Vince went on to sell his script, Home Fries: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119304/, and with the money he made from that, was able to support himself while writing scripts between 1990-1995, Wilder Napalm, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108569/ being his most successful.

Writing for the X Files…

Vince hadn’t written for TV when the first season of X Files came out, but as a viewer, the series hooked him in. Needing to find new work, he happened to be talking to his agent, and mentioned how much he liked the show. By chance, his agent told him that she was related to the creator, Chris Carter, by marriage, and that next time Vince was in LA, she would organise a meeting. (More Luck!) He met with Chris, essentially to gush about how much he loved the X Files. He says that he had no burning ambition to write for it, he was just a fan, and that when he was asked to pitch an idea, on the spot, Vince was taken by surprise. The night before, he had been looking at his own shadow on the hotel room wall, imagining what would happen if the shadow started moving independently.  He pitched this as an idea, they liked it, and he was asked to write an episode – which he did,  Soft Light, and they bought it.

Genesis of the Breaking Bad idea…

Vince worked on the X Files for seven years, but when it came to an end, he was out of a job, and turning 40…a mid-life crisis of sorts. He was joking on the phone with a writer friend of his that to make some money, maybe they should rent a Winnebago and set up a meth lab. From that the idea sprung - Breaking Bad – which is essentially about a man at an end-of-life-crisis.

With his pre-existing relationship with SONY, Vince pitched his idea for the show like this: 50 year old guy, dying of cancer, decides to make crystal meth to make money for his family…The boss at Sony told him that it was the worst idea he has ever heard, but he paid him to write the pilot episode anyway. It was decided though, that the show was too “edgy” to pitch to the big networks. FX Channel accepted it however. They were looking for a show to follow Mad Men. AMC, who up until that point were just showing old movies, were looking to make a show that could bring in revenue, so they and Sony became joint financiers. If he were to pitch the show now, it would be more like: Take Mr Chips and turn him into Scarface! It’s about transformation and change. The good guy turns into the bad guy, but it will have a finite end with season five. Only 16 more episodes will be made…

Writers Room:

The show is a character piece, about one man, and the story builds on the writer’s understanding of this character. Vince likes what feels like invention, the act of creating – a jigsaw analogy, and says he stole the methodology of his writing room from his X Files days. He sits with six other writers, five days a week. He tries to keep it to a 10-6pm day with a one hour lunch break, but sometimes writers have to come in on Saturdays and Sundays, and when the pressure is on, they could work until 10 at night. Basically, they sit around a table, debating, joking, firing stuff at each other, and it is mostly good-natured. He has a number of women writers on the team, and one assistant who records everything they say.

Everyone in the room is very honest.  It is a SAFE room, were all ideas are heard, crazy and all. In the roll of helmsman, Vince is aware that there are smarter people than him in the room. They don’t have all the episodes written before the first one of the season is shot.  The process is brick by brick, telling it organically. It generally takes two weeks to write an episode. The teaser is always 3-5 minutes before the episode and should be a little movie onto itself – hooking in the audience. Vince directs as many episodes as he can. He is often not fond of the writing process, but LOVES to have written!

And his advice on writing a TV series…

Think of the audience as being smarter than you are. Keep ahead of them!

A fractured view of Charlie Casanova

Up to the point of me getting along to the Irish Film and Television Academy premiere of Charlie Casanova, the hype had been immense, much to the credit of Writer, Director and Producer, Terry McMahon, who kept pushing forward with his challenging, and yes, abrasive exploration of morality. Not just talking the talk of controversy for the sake if it, he has created a piece of independent, Irish cinema that we have not seen before, and will, I certainly believe, elevate to cult status for future generations to dissect, critique and quote from. And it seems, Terry’s incredible gift as a writer, as well as his tenacity, is paying off. To the right of him, there is the camp of fans that love the film with such enthusiasm, that collectively, they have become a major marketing tool in spreading the word. And to the left of him, the ones who hate the film; don’t get it, walk out on it, fear it, or simply can’t understand what the hell this character is on about. Whatever their feelings, they are still managing to generate just as much hype!

Terry describes his film as being a fractured narrative about a fractured man with a fractured mind. His description is very appropriate, and it got me wondering as to how many of his audience would go home with fractured thoughts of their own! As a film-goer, my quest, for ninety minutes or so, is to empathize, to live vicariously through another life, to walk in their shoes as I re-imagine through the writings of another. Why then, as I settled in to watch this movie, could I not shake an annoying discomfort? I did not like Charlie from the get go, but he’s a sociopath, so that’s a no brainer! And kudos to Emmet J Scanlon for his skill of transformation; from a well-heeled, over-educated, arrogant, yet strangely charismatic man, to a dangerous, viscerally ugly psychopath, and with such unrelenting realism that I truly believed the madness that was unfolding behind his eyes.

Leaving Charlie aside however, I could feel no empathy for any of the other characters. I did not like his wife, her responses to Charlie irritated me. Same for his friends, couples themselves in different forms of crisis. Why were they all so trusting of Charlie, so easily led by him? It irked me, a lot! So what the hell was I still sitting there for, in a cold, half-filled cinema, as the director said himself, for an hour and half of my life that I’ll never get back? What kept me hooked? Yes, I got it, the subtext and metaphor that Terry has spoken of many times, his reflection on society, and how, as a nation, we have allowed previous governments, without accountability, to kick the shite out of us, the immorality, and amorality of the continued criminalization of the poor, the very fabric of ‘family’ constantly under attack, and how we, as a society, continue to allow it, with no consequences and very few raised voices. So, in the thematic knowing of the piece, why was I feeling a tad troubled, yet compelled enough to stay on for the final gut-wrenching scene? (Even if it does end with the hauntingly beautiful and pure lament of Damien Dempsey!)

The answer? FEAR…the recognition of the trait that ironically, was the reason I so disliked the characters in Charlie’s life. So here’s my tuppence worth of fractured thought, brought to the fore by the menace to society that is Charlie Casanova. Terry made reference to the fact that the characters in the film needed to be in their thirties, because to be older, they would have experienced the Ireland of the eighties, and therefore, they would have known too much. Through the decades of the boom, a large proportion of the current middle classes (now the hidden poor, in many cases) have come from the working classes of that decade, as indeed, did Charlie’s people, so for me, the nail on the head has been truly hammered, and perhaps is where my own discomfort came from. In knowing too much from our past experiences, we can hardly bear to see it happening again. Even though it is happening. And if we cannot bear it, then we cannot face it, and so we bury the unease and carry on, minding our own and protecting what we have left with a societal and political lethargy that keeps that hammer raining down on us.  And of our future, and that of our children, we blindly trust the universe, and get up each morning to salvage what hope we have left. Yes, we are fractured, as is our nation, but even in fear, it is the man and woman who get back up every day, get the kids to school and get on with their crappy paid and taxed-to-the-hilt jobs, who will keep that hope alive; but in the doing of the active citizen, the fear of change, and of fear itself, will also continue to thrive…

Footnote: I was recently at a writer’s event, where Terry, in his unique delivery, and I paraphrase here, stated that some people would like his film and some wouldn’t, and if they didn’t, fuck them! I have to admit, the comment riled me up. If I didn’t like it, then it would be right back at him.

I DID like the film, very much, so fuck you anyway, Terry!

 

Charlie Casanova has been acquired by Optimum/Studio Canal, the distributors behind ‘The Hurt Locker’, ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘The Wrestler’ in a deal that includes a 2012 UK and Irish cinema release:  http://www.charliecasanovathemovie.com/