Letting Go: The Last Picture Show and Me
Here’s my favorite scene from one of my favorite films, The Last Picture Show. At 56 seconds in, one long take begins. In the DVD extras director Peter Bogdanovich talks about how the weather blessed him for this shot. As Ben … Continued
Quotes: Who Is Heroic?
“The preservers of history are as heroic as its makers.” Pat Morris Neff, former president of Baylor University and two-term governor of Texas. I first heard this quote when we interviewed Robert Darden in Chicago. Here’s how Robert used it. … Continued
Noodling, or How I Spent My Month at Ucross
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled with my productivity at Ucross. This had nothing to do with Ucross, they provided an atmosphere that nurtured creativity and productivity. It was the headspace I brought with me from NYC. The best work … Continued
Thank You, Paolo Soleri
I have no illusions about my relationship with Paolo Soleri and Arcosanti. I was never a workshopper and I never lived there. I am an outsider, and worse than that, a filmmaker, that breed of human notorious for dropping in, … Continued
Where Are the Champions?
While at Ucross I read some of my short short fiction and nonfiction with Molly Reid, an awesomely talented writer. It turns out that Molly and I had stories published by The Literary Review: Molly’s Narrow Salvation in the “Lives … Continued
A Life’s Work’s New Direction
While I was at VCCA, I had an inkling that I might take A Life’s Work in a new direction. While at Ucross, I had a radical rethink of the film. Here’s where I’m going with it. I hope you … Continued
Ucross – Slideshow
I’m leaving Ucross today and preparing for a bumpy re-entry. They always are. Here are some photos taken during my residency. Hope you like them. [portfolio_slideshow timeout=7000]
Photographer Barbara Bosworth – Interview
When I was at the MacDowell Colony in 2010, I met a fine photographer, Matthew Connors. When I told him about the people in A Life’s Work, he asked if I knew the work one of his colleagues at the … Continued
Name My Bike and Win an Origami Crane!
Here at Ucross they provide bikes for the residents. Early on I adopted a bike I dubbed Black Beauty. But the Black Beauty had a broken seat, so I traded it in for another bike, Black Beauty II. But BBII’s … Continued
Born This Way. Or Not. Classical Guitar and Obsessiveness
Back in December, I decided I wanted to learn how to play a piece on the old classical guitar composed by Domenico Scarlatti (Sonata in A Major (K. 322, L 483)), originally composed for keyboard. This is the longest and … Continued