I met E for brunch today in Holland Park. He seemed well and strong, talking about story structure and his interest in script development. I said at one point that he was “mid-career” and he corrected me, saying he was “pre-career”. It’s so hard to get into the career one loves, so often we work in second best.
We talked about “They shall not grow old”, and apparently there is now a whole industry of remastering old films. He thought the original footage was 16mm or even 9mm. I asked him why there was a such a dearth of good films in the summer, and he said it was when they released the block busters, and that the indie films (like They shall not… ) tend to come out in the autumn before the award season in the spring.
I’m already seeing some other interesting films reviewed – Wildlife by Paul Dano, and Black Mother, a documentary by Khalif Allah. The trailers are brilliant. In fact the review of Black Mother compared it with The Harder they come, the 1973 hit set in Jamaica, (which I’m going to watch tonight on Amazon Prime).
I got a long WhatsApp message from my friend S in Amsterdam today. He’s such a lovely guy. He lives with his partner P in small flat in the De Pijp area, just south of the centre. As he wrote today – “Amsterdam has always been a safe harbour for those needing to escape”. I have that need quite often, most memorably when my lovely Spring Spaniel, called Lenny, aged 3, died quite suddenly a few years ago. I remember at the time (having given up on humanity several year before) thinking that loving a dog was safe; but it wasn’t. I blame myself. I should have gotten him to the vets earlier, even a few hours earlier. Anyway, he didn’t make it and I caught the first train and boat to Amsterdam. I loved that dog. But I felt very held by S and P.
E and I went to Daunt’s bookshop after we had walked round the park. He bought a book of Notes on the Cinematograph by Robert Bresson, and I bought a book which I realised afterwards I’d already ordered on Amazon! It will make a nice Christmas present for someone. I love Daunt’s. I’m so glad that some bookshops are surviving, even thriving. That article by Bob Woodward is still lying on the table. Question: How do you like to read? Answer: Hardback books in the morning. (I rest my case)