Bad Writing, per its production company:
…is a documentary about a wannabe poet who sets off on a quest for answers about writing — bad writing, good writing, and the process in between. What he learns from some leading figures in the literary world will inspire anyone who has ever dreamt of creating art.
Here’s the trailer:
It’s just gone into very limited release, at maybe a half-dozen cities so far. Bet it’s that pesky It Was a Dark & Stormy Night Fan Club keeping it from wider circulation.
This comes courtesy of our friend Marta, over at the fairy tale asylum, who calls it a horror movie. Oh yes.
marta says
The whole trailer made me worry that I’m going to have that revelation one day–it has all been awful.
Horror.
John says
marta: The other night I saw most of that Chevy Chase film, Funny Farm. I’d never previously seen any of it. In case you don’t know, the general premise is that Chase’s character, Andy, has moved to the New England countryside in order to write his first book, a novel called The Big Heist. At one point, he sort of manipulates his wife into a double-bind situation: takes her to an isolated cabin and “surprises” her with the drafts of his first few chapters, adding that he will be happy to build a fire and just sit there and watch her read… watch her “enjoy” it.
Of course, she turns out not to enjoy it at all. He can’t believe she’s not laughing at all the jokes, and he’s astounded when she tells him her bottom line: “Burn it.”
Eek. Horror indeed.
(But it IS a funny scene. I couldn’t find it on YouTube, alas, except for a very brief clip in this seven-minute “best of” compilation — the instant after she tells him to burn the manuscript.)
s.o.m.e.one's brudder says
Given the state of my artful pursuits these days – dare I even go beyond the Trailer. Bad writing? I believe a mini-series (at minimum) is required for Bad Design! I think I may reach out to Ken Burns on this one.
John says
brudder: Found an interesting essay for you… “Do You REALLY Want to be a Design ‘Rock Star’?” He’s talking mostly about graphic designers, but you might find it, um, psychologically useful, too.