Dream People Rewrite

Barbara, the character study exercise really was a lot of fun. But I always enjoy it when some exercise or other lets me get up on the proverbial soap box and rant about theories of writing and such. What I enjoyed even more, though, was the story-spinner. My own attempt was dead in the water. (I couldn't seem to put the parts together. They just wouldn't go.) What I wanted, though, was to hear some brand-new weirdness from Jenny. Her stuff always leaves me feeling a little high, you know? Anyway, I thought I'd try again - see if I could put the parts together a little more gracefully.

It was a movie, an independent production, with a couple big names in it, but the rest being complete unknowns. "The Last of the Dream People" had a strong reception at Telluride and few chi-chi film festivals on the coasts, winning prestigious awards along the way. The director was a Polish emigre, steeped in the unmistakable lore of Eastern Europe. The story was a retelling of a Medieval legend, of Kublai Khan at that, with the roots of it going far back to the wind-swept plateaus of Mongolia.
The story, as it had been adapted for the film, was about a manufacturer of breakfast cereal, a colorful type, who habitually wore a disguise when visiting the factory. Of course, everyone knew that it was him, even though the disguises changed radically from visit to visit. This was the central joke of the film, with some others revolving around bureaucratic red tape and a government inspector who burps uncontrollably when too excited. The mixture of high satire and low humor disturbed a few writers commenting on the film. When asked about this apparent disparity, the director, with typical elfin glee, would reply, "Maybe you would like it better if he - how do you say - passed gas all the time?"

Okay, okay. So I missed the whole setting this time. Otherwise, not so bad. Later.

Bob