H.B. Berlow's Blog, page 20

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Best Picture

Most Best Picture winners have sufficient redeeming qualities to make a counter argument difficult. Whereas “Citizen Kane” is now considered one of the best films of all time, Orson Welles was an experimental troublemaker at the time and the Academy wasn’t daring enough. “Dances With Wolves” was a personal epic but now “Goodfellas” is though of by some as Scorcese’s best work in his long career.

I chose 1964 as my final entry in this year’s Academy Awards blog series. Five years later, the dramatic (and, at the time, X-rated) “Midnight Cowboy” won and independent auteurs would take over from the studio system. Here are the nominees with an asterisk by the winner:

Becket

Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Mary Poppins

*My Fair Lady

Zorba the Greek

A large scale musical adapted from a Broadway hit is the epitome of the Old Hollywood. Add into the mix legendary director George Cukor and the stiff-upper-lip Rex Harrison and there is no doubt it would be the winner.

But, what IF the Academy recognized the genius of Stanley Kubrick then? What if they compared two movies with similar themes released the same year (the other being the staid “Fail Safe”)? What if they admitted witnessing one of the greatest comic acting performances, times 3, in the screen personas of Peter Sellers?

“Dr. Strangelove” was timely and provocative, using satire to show us the madness of the nuclear build up and the blind devotion to technology. In comparison to the other films nominated that year, it was the little picture with the big message.

Whether this was Kubrick’s best work is the subject for another discussion. Sadly, outside of an Oscar win for Special Effects for “2001: A Space Odyssey”, Stanley Kubrick was never fully honored for his meticulous craftsmanship.

And now, on April 25, the Academy will dispense their statues to another group of film-makers. After that, let the discussions begin.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Best Actor

The fourth in this year’s Academy Award series. These are my picks for who should have won in the major categories. There is nothing in the 2000’s and I have stayed away from commonly discussed controversies. This one is for Best Actor, 1943. And, it’s personal. The nominees (with an asterisk by the winner):

Humphrey Bogart – Casablanca

Gary Cooper – For Whom the Bell Tolls

*Paul Lukas – Watch on the Rhine

Walter Pidgeon – Madame Curie

Mickey Rooney – The Human Comedy

Recreating his Broadway role, Lukas won for this “important” film dealing with the fight against the Nazis. It is distinguished by having the screenplay adapted by Dashiell Hammett from a play by Lillian Hellman. But, for me, it’s filled with too many speeches on the evils of the world which overshadow the drama.

Now, “Casablanca” as well deals with the fight against Nazis but doesn’t present itself as a message film. It has romance, drama, self-realization, and self-sacrifice. The world weariness that Bogart portrays turns into a call to action. His transformation in the movie is subtle and yet packs a wallop.

He delivers some of the greatest lines in film history with a mix of blasé indifference, sly sarcasm, and raw emotion. This is my all-time favorite film. The performances, writing, and direction have made it a continuel classic.

I’ll finish the series with Best Picture. You might be surprised at the year I choose.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Best Actress

This is the third in a series of Academy Award related posts in which I select an opinion on the major categories for one particular year offering my choice. As stated previously, these are all pre-2000 and do not include any of the established controversies.

Today, the Best Actress from 1985. The nominees (with an asterisk for the winner):

Anne Bancroft – Agnes of God

Whoopi Goldberg – The Color Purple

Jessica Lange – Sweet Dreams

*Geraldine Page – The Trip to Bountiful

Meryl Streep – Out of Africa

There is no doubt Geraldine Page was one of the finest actresses of her generation. Even F. Murray Abraham said so upon opening the envelope to announce her win. However, it felt like a “lifetime achievement award” after seven prior nominations. She was sweet in this character study but much less of a work than what we had seen previously.

Whoopi Goldberg stunned in her lead acting debut in a movie filled with raw emotion. Yet, she showed restraint and much of her character came out through face and eyes. Highly impressive for someone relatively new to film acting. The reunion with her sister at the end of the movie is both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. While Whoopi would go on to win an Oscar for “Ghost”, this debut was an impressive show of talent.

What are your choices for actresses who should have won?

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Best Supporting Actor

Here ‘s the second entry in my Academy Award series for this year focusing on my picks for who should have won the Oscar in a particular year. This is all pre-2000 and none of the commonly discussed “controversies” are included.

We discuss today Best Supporting Actor from 1947. The nominees (with an asterisk by the winner):

Charles Bickford – The Farmer’s Daughter

Thomas Gomez – Ride the Pink Horse

*Edmund Gwenn – Miracle of 34th Street

Robert Ryan – Crossfire

Richard Widmark – Kiss of Death

Let’s face it: How are you NOT going to give an Oscar to the guy who played Santa Claus? Gwenn was cute, charming, and cute. Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo, the sociopathic gangster is NOT cute. You might take issue with the snickering laughter and what might be seen as a cliché character. However, this was the original take on the kind of villainy that would be seen through the rest of the film noir era. His vicious assault on a woman in a wheelchair is truly shocking for its time. Sadly, this nomination for his debut performance was the only one in Widmark’s long career.

Now for a bit of bonus trivia. The movie was based on a book by lawyer and novelist named Eleazar Lipsky. He was nominated for a now defunct Academy Award called Best Motion Picture Story. The category was discontinued in 1956.

Mr. Lipsky was also the author of “The People Against O’Hara” which was made into a movie starring Spencer Tracy and was active in many Jewish organizations prior to his death in 1993. He is also a distant relative, something like a third cousin twice removed.

At least I can say there is an Academy Award nominee in the family.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Best Supporting Actress

Well, it’s Oscar season, the time of year when everyone complains about Academy Award nominees and Academy Award winners and political and social repercussions. To be honest, picking winners is a crap shoot and complaining about them is a fool’s paradise. However, most of us love the movies and love talking about them.

Last year, I made five lists of my five favorites in the acting and picture categories. This year, I am presenting my picks for who I thought should have won those categories in select years. My guidelines were: Do not choose the obvious ones that EVERYONE talks about and do not choose anything from the 2000’s. Just like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences makes their choices based on…whatever, these are simply my opinion. You are free to comment or add your own choices.

We are going to 1974 for the Best Supporting Actress Award. The nominees (winner with an asterisk) were:

*Ingrid Bergman – Murder on the Orient Express

Valentina Cortese – Day for Night

Madeline Kahn – Blazing Saddles

Diane Ladd – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Talia Shire – The Godfather Part II

The esteemed Swedish actress, Ingrid Bergman, won the award for playing…a Swedish missionary and former nanny. Her accent in the film was an almost comical stereotype. Among the great performances in that film, hers was some how singled out. Even upon accepting her award, she felt fellow nominee, Valentina Cortese, should have won.

Oscar has never been gracious toward comedy. But if you’re going to do a parody accent, Madeline Kahn’s reinterpretation of Marlene Dietrich was over-the-top hilarious. Her version of “I’m Tired” alone was enough to win the award. Bergman had two awards under belt and one of the greatest comedic talents of my youth went home empty handed.

What supporting actress do you think should have won?

Aphorisms

These are a collection of aphorisms about writing I composed over several years. Hopefully, they will resonate with other writers. Perhaps readers might find something of note.

Enjoy. Tell me what you think. Share some of your own.

Even when you are not in front of a keyboard, you are still writing.

Writers: Create your world. Visit your world. But do not live in your world. As they say, the mountain can be better appreciated from a distance.

All of my characters are real to me. Even the fake ones.

We never truly say what we mean. Therefore, dialogue should hide more than it reveals.

‘Genre’ is simply the language of writing. It may be foreign to you but you can understand it if you try.

Translating my words through your experience will undoubtedly alter the intent of the work. But, then again, that IS the intent.

The story must be told…in a fashion suitable for the story, not the reader.

Since words may be used as both tools and weapons, be careful how you approach a writer.

The craft of writing requires immaculate patience as well as a freedom from reality.

The Past can only be seen through a fogged window.

Writers often work in the dark, trying to shine a light on humanity.

I don’t have time to be fake. I’m too busy trying to be me.

To some people, it’s not who you are but what you project.

A healthy discussion on the merits or flaws in a writer’s work means that you have at least read the work enough to have an opinion. This is the writer’s ultimate success.

Closure in a novel is a concept not always shared with real life and is intended for the benefit of the reader. Not all stories have closure.

There are times when all you have to do is sit down, in a quiet room, without distraction, in front of a keyboard with a bright blank screen and just write. No thinking, contemplating, planning, considering. Just write.

In writing, the Magical world and the Real world overlap to such an extent that it is difficult to tell which is which.

The OWFI Conference – A Virtual Reality

I have been attending the OWFI Writers Conference since 2012 and was honored to be asked to be a speaker for the 2020 edition. For me, it was the culmination of efforts made to present myself not only as a viable writer but someone who could present information in an entertaining fashion. “Needless to say….” “As you all know…” “Well…”

Yeah. That. The Covid situation. Cancellation of conference amid an ever burgeoning pandemic. The health and safety of attendees was foremost on everyone’s mind. To their credit, the Executive Board reached out to the speakers inquiring if they would fulfill the same position in 2021, without even knowing IF a conference would even be held or what form it might take.

There will be a conference. It will be digital. And I could not be happier. Not simply because it was an opportunity I didn’t want to go to waste but that this organization had the resolve to create something that is uniquely human and personal in a new format. Sure, Zoom meetings can not replace the interaction of friends, new and old, the meal sharing, the cocktail party, the Buzz Sessions. The goal, however, is not to replace but to replicate.

Some things will be missing. It is unavoidable. However, the opportunity to commiserate will still be there. Attendees will likely use their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts to post photos of meetings, commentary, and the same exhilaration found my actual attendance. I don’t see why it would not be successful.

In the past, I have encouraged any writer I encountered to attend a conference. It raises your game up to a whole new level. Naturally, there is the consideration of expense and travel. You might be limited as to availability in your geographic area. Well, now I am encouraging all writers to attend a virtual conference for the benefits still to be had.

Writing is, by nature, a solitary venture. There certainly are critique groups, some personal and others online. At some point, it is necessary to step out, reach out to an agent or editor or publisher. If you are fortunate enough to have your work published, it is necessary further to promote yourself and your literary efforts. Or perhaps you have just started writing and need that boost to move you forward or get on the right path.

Now is the time.

The OWFI Writers Conference will take place virtually April 29, 30, and May 1. Register online here.

Craft: The art of moving from the simple to the complex, while making it look simple.

Even while I was in high school, I really into making breakfast. My great culinary achievement was an omelet with three eggs and two slices of American cheese. I marvelled at my ability to flip it perfectly and watch the cheese ooze out.

There days, with my KitchenAid stand mixer and attachments, I make fresh pasta and homemade chicken sausage. And, of course, breads and muffins.

I distinctly recall my first cocktail. It was a rum and Coke. I was far too uninitiated to call it a Cuba Libre.

Whereas in more recent times, I have enjoyed making craft cocktails. I will squeeze fresh limes and lemons, make a simple syrup, and opt for the best liquors, often taking longer than the requisite minute of pouring a mixer into some booze.

Writers often talk about “craft” and the importance in their various ventures. There are countless bookings on writing and it is terribly easy to find a seminar of conference just about anywhere you might live. This is because “craft” is essential. The process has a greater deal of meaning. I know several writers who seem to become violently ill at the thought of the editing portion of that process.

My last release, From Somewhere in a Dream, the final installment in the Ark City Confidential Chronicles historical crime fiction series, involved at least five drafts and six rounds of edits with my editor. I may be off on this number; I lost count. But I can safely say there is a far more polished feel to this book than just about anything else I have ever written.

So, is that it? Have I reached the “place where I want to be?” Not exactly. Craft, for a writer, is an ongoing ever-developing process. The formulation of an idea into a story. The research. The fleshing out of the characters (even those that are part of a series). The attention to Point of View, passive voice, or exchanging the word “something” for a more descriptive word. Certainly there are bullet points if you work with the same editor or publisher. But there are aspects that will eventually yield a seamless tale for a reader to enjoy.

We never want to bore the reader or insult their intelligence. We want their investment of time and money to be rewarded with an emotional journey. We want them to feel as though this book they are reading emerged fully formed, like Athena from the mind of Zeus.

And THIS is why we pay attention to craft.

One writer’s journey

These four books represent more than an historical crime fiction series. They are, indeed, the story of one writer’s journey, my journey, not just as a writer but a person as well.

The story is well documented: After the publishing of two contemporary crime fiction books with a small press, I turned my attention to the stories my wife’s late uncle told me about Arkansas City, Kansas. There were underground tunnels; a nickname of “Little Chicago”; and the mysterious “Grandfather on the Hill”, an unknown figure who actually controlled all of the illegal activities in the town. It was fascinating but daunting and challenging as well.

But I ventured forth, crafting the tale of Baron Witherspoon, the facially scarred World War I veteran who became a beat cop and suffered what is now known as PTSD while harboring dark secrets from the past. It was a one-off, an attempt at creating a tale that did not involve current technology or even the same verbiage.

I pitched it to two entities: one was The Wild Rose Press who is my current publisher. However, before the contract was signed and I was set to work with an editor, someone out of the blue referenced the fact that series books sell well. Could I let this be a one-off?

On a two hour plus drive home from the OWFI conference, I cobbled out the basic plots for four more books while doing my best to pay attention to the road. I was going to continue writing historical crime fiction. Then, maybe, a minor character from the series could be a spin-off, taking the series from, let’s say, the 50’s to the 70’s. And then….

Well, research is an amazingly difficult and thought-provoking task. I did everything I could to keep it as real as possible, believing it was necessary to pay honest tribute to the residents of the town I was writing about. Ark City Confidential was an enjoyable piece to write and got sufficient praise to motivate me to continue. Secrets of the Righteous was darker, covering not one but two serial killers, an expression that did not exist in the mid to late 1930’s. Lost in the Plains came about when I learned there had been several prisoner of war camps in Kansas during World War II.

Along the way, various co-workers and friends have come along for the ride, so to speak. Actual names or variations thereof have been inserted as characters, whether they were dead prostitutes, pimps, killers, or revival tent preachers. Everyone I asked for use of their name was thrilled to achieve a small bit of literary notoriety. They cheered and liked on social media, hoping for my eventual success to claim “they knew me when.” Of course, my wife always had a small part in each as did Larry Hammer (my wife’s late uncle), Dixie McGuire (my wife’s aunt), and Daisy Mae’s Cafe, a real establishment in Arkansas City that also plays a significant role in the books.

Which brought me to the last two books. From Somewhere in a Dream was to have been Book Four. Several drafts were completed and I had begun work on Book Five when the man who provided the inspiration died. It didn’t seem right to continue on without his smile and the “attaboy” I got from him. He always deflected the praise, not realizing how great an impact he had. So, I completed what was essentially a novella and combined the two into the single final volume of the Ark City Confidential Chronicles.

But that’s not the end. Because for most writer’s journeys never end. They segue and continue and morph and develop and grow. It was nearly two years ago, April of 2018, that I formulated an idea for a new historical crime fiction series. I developed a character closer to myself, someone I could infuse with my thoughts and attitudes. Someone through who I could speak.

It’s far too early to go into details or describe anything that would have any resonance. Suffice it to say a first draft exists. It has been shelved pending all the marketing that goes with the last book. It’s a minor stop along the road, a chance to catch my breath and pay tribute to those who have patted my back and pushed me forward.

I can honestly say i enjoy writing now more than I ever have. More than in college when I was significantly younger with greater energy and yet less of an understanding about story-telling and, well, life in general. It’s a great thing to be a writer, to use words to create worlds, to bring characters to life and watch them live, to entertain and provide an emotional jolt to those readers.

Those four books pictured above ARE a complete series. But they are also stepping stones and building blocks on this writer’s journey. And, in truth, the journey has just begun.

We’re not quite there!

So much of life has changed or been disrupted, put off course, revised. We have been asked to make changes, alterations, sacrifices. Now, with vaccines in the pipeline, there is a feeling that we might be “rounding the bend” so to speak.

I have been working from home since March 30, 2020. There were technical glitches, some due to my home internet and others due to the company’s systems. I got through those. I have had meetings through various applications. When I wanted to meet up with writer friends, there were applications for use there. Writing itself has not taken a back seat nor has the intensity of research required for historical crime fiction.

However, we are coming up on a decision regarding one of my favorite events: the OWFI Writer’s Conference. I’ve been attending since 2012, have made many friends from a variety of genres, and had been invited to be a speaker last year. Obviously, the conference was cancelled but I was graciously invited back this year. And it might be vastly different.

Sitting here a scant four months from the conference, many people do not believe the world at large will be ready for group events in such a scant period of time. Part of me doesn’t want to admit that out loud, but deep down I feel it to be a truism. There is a possibility it might be an online event.

Our current technology allows us to work from home, visit people, actually see them, conduct meetings and training sessions. What it can’t replace is the camaraderie that seeps from the pores, the laughter, the deep side conversations, the motivating hug and the congratulatory handshake. I will be honored to participate in any form this event takes, hoping it does occur. But I can’t help but feel something essential will be missing.

Writers, by their nature, alternate between a hermit-like work existence and gregarious exhibitionists. When working, we need the solace of the den, office, personal space. But when we share, it is like painting with mops, big bold strokes of utterly human behavior.

We will do what we need to do. I will be be completely happy when we finally get to that point of handshakes and hugs.