A question was asked of me a few days ago which I was unable to answer, and this was startling enough that I have given the question much thought.
Although I desire to be a film writer, as well as possibly director, producer and all-round movie goddess, off the top of my head I could not answer the simple query of "who are your influences?"
I read books with great voracity and so have many favorite writers in this catagory, listed below. However, the only film writer I could think of was Quentin Tarantino - who, while being a genius, is terribly cliche for a film student.
So, after much thought, I have compiled a by-no-means complete list of some of my favorite writers/directors, in no real order (after the first three). You may notice some overlap.
Authors:
Orson Scott Card
Susan Cooper
Neil Gaiman
William Goldman
Laurie R. King
Robin McKinley
Philip Pullman
Jane Yolen
Writers/Directors:
Joss Whedon
Quentin Tarantino
M. Night Shyamalan
Hayao Miyazaki
Mel Brooks
Nick Park
Neil Gaiman
William Goldman
Richard Curtis
Robin Swicord
Wachowski Brothers
Why do you need "influences"? Why do you have to tie your style (and your work in general), to those of the past, essentially saying that you are just spinning off of others?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you felt the need to dignify that question with an answer and hunt out people to be like in a occupation that calls for originality boggles my mind.
Fuck that. Be your own inspiration. The only answer that should ever be given to that question is "life."
However, you notice that I said writers I LIKE, NOT my influences. The only influence I have taken from them is the writing style - like the rhythm of the dialogue.
ReplyDeleteI think that was what the question meant, anyway - who writes in a style that I would like to emulate, not who writes about things that I want to copy. I want to be able to write dialogue as well as Tarantino, but I don't want to make another Pulp Fiction, you know what I mean?
I won't say you're not influenced by the work of others. But you don't need to justify questions like that in a creative genre.
ReplyDeleteIt pisses me off that no one can just do work and call it their own anymore. It always has to be a throw back to someone else, even if they never even read/saw that someone else.
The question develops into something worse. That's my point. And I hate when people ask that question of any artist. Quantifying art in that way annoys me.