INSPIRATIONS
Emerging as a filmmaker and writer-director late in life and now preparing to make my first feature film, I can’t help but think about certain films that helped inform my idea of cinematic storytelling. These films stand out with their honesty and heart, which I admire and aspire for.
A SINGLE MAN
Tom Ford’s directorial debut from 2005 takes the heartbreak of love lost to another level. Its use of color to help convey the emotion of the story is wonderful.
DANCER, TEXAS POP. 81
This comedy-drama released in 1998 features four rural teenagers facing a big decision. It was writer-director Tim McCanlies’ first feature film.
HOOSIERS
For stories about basketball, no film has ever done it better. This was David Anspaugh’s directorial debut in 1986, and it captured small town 1950’s Indiana as honestly as I am recreating small town 1980’s Texas.
ORDINARY PEOPLE
This intense family drama from 1980 was layered with subtext and came from first time director Robert Redford. Yes, that Robert Redford.
STAND BY ME
Brimming with nostalgia and visual poetry, Rob Reiner’s 1986 masterpiece about early adolescent friendship and adventure tugs firmly on the heartstrings.
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 black and white coming-of-age classic nailed small town Texas in the 1950s. This film is called to mind by readers of the TINY, TEXAS screenplay more than any other.
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