Wherever there's a good film, there's a great episode of My Life in Film...
In three long years as a script-reader, I didn't steal a single idea. Only one piece of writing really caught my eye. And it wasn't a script, it was a CV. Now for legal reasons I can't remember his name, but this writer was phenomenal. His output put Balzac to shame. He was the author of thirty-two unfilmed screenplays, eight unpublished novels, a three-act one-act play and a collection of verse. And he was still at school! I wondered if he got his homework in on time.
I also wondered where he got all his inspiration. I mean, everywhere he looked he must have seen a story. And so the idea for the character of Arthur Chapel began to take shape: an irrepressible writer so immersed in the world of film that he mistakes the most trivial everyday incidents for the most exciting celluloid adventures. And no matter what evidence there is to the contrary, his fervent imagination is able to twist the facts to fit the fiction. Kind of like a modern day Don Quixote, or so I'm told.
And so with the character in place, the next step was to look for storylines. I went for a lie down to think. And then I got a massage and ate a light lunch. And then I took a long hot bath. What felt like a natural progression of the idea was for each episode to re-work the plot of a classic film. At the very least, it would save me a lot of time.
The choice of films was very important. Obviously, there are no films everybody has seen, but there are films everybody recognises. They recognise them because the stories are told in the one language everybody with a TV speaks fluently - the language of cinema!
Episode 1. TOP GUN.
"There is so much chemistry between us, we'll probably have test-tube babies."
Art falls in love with a lot of women, but he rarely speaks to them. We thought it was time to put this right. We looked at a lot of love stories before finally settling on TOP GUN. It edged out CASABLANCA at the very last minute. MY LIFE IN FILM swaps MIGs for Micras as Art enrols in an intensive driving school to help pass his test. Naturally, he falls for his beautiful instructor and they embark on a tempestuous affair.
Episode 2. REAR WINDOW.
"You don't walk away from dismemberment."
We could have based the entire series on Hitchcock films alone, but in the end we went for REAR WINDOW because it offers the clearest illustration of the MY LIFE IN FILM premise: Art jumps to the wrong conclusion in spectacularly cinematic fashion. Just like James Stewart, he witnesses a couple argue in the flat opposite. Then the woman disappears and the man works late into the night with a saw. There is one subtle difference. This time it isn't murder. It's a lovers' tiff. But Art doesn't know that. Look out for the Hitchcock cameo!
Episode 3. THE SHINING.
"A script so terrifying, you have to read it with the lights on."
Here's Johnny! A writer goes insane trying to write: THE SHINING was an obvious choice for the MY LIFE IN FILM treatment. It's hard to think of a more visually striking film. The blood gushing across the floor; the lyrical Steadicam; Danny on the tricycle; Nicholson on the rampage with an axe! Not to mention the haunting music! All we had to do was find a way to weave all of the magical moments into one 30 minute story. So we left Art to babysit his little nephew Danny...
Episode 4. SHALLOW GRAVE.
"I don't know much about Art, but I know what I like."
Throughout the series, Art has an on-going feud with his best friend's girlfriend. He doesn't just dislike Beth, he is allergic to her. He sneezes every time she comes near him. And so we wanted to find a film that would allow us to push this mutual contempt further and really let them go after each other. SHALLOW GRAVE was the answer. Greed, deceit, betrayal, mutilation - it's got all the ingredients for a comedy. The only problem was who to kill? Unfortunately, we needed all three main characters for later episodes, so we knocked off the goldfish next door instead.
Episode 5. EIGHT AND A HALF.
"We've all got to start small, right? Even Orson Welles."
Arthur Chapel describes himself as an independent low-budget filmmaker. And so it was only fair to give him a chance to direct a film, even if it was only a wedding video. It also gave us the perfect excuse to play around with the best film about filmmaking ever made. As in the original Fellini film, Art is in the throes of a creative crisis. In search of inspiration, he embarks on an odyssey of dream, memory, flashback and very beautiful women.
Episode 6. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.
"How does he know we're here? I don't know we're here. Where are we?"
What better way to end a series than with one of the greatest film endings of all time! Well, our MY LIFE IN FILM version of it anyway. They say the original film is the original buddy picture, and that works for us. For all the fun to have with the film references in MLiF, the real heart of the series is the friendship between Art and Jones. And in this episode we really put it to the test. Would Jones really follow Art anywhere? And would Art really go anywhere if he didn't? What is the weather like in Bolivia at this time of year?
