Last night I stumbled upon a movie at Youtube that had a true effect upon my life when I first saw it back in 1983, at a Westwood, LA theater. First thing it did was knock me out.
Knocked me out to the extent that I went back the next day to see it again. I’ve probably seen it 20 times but many years have gone by since my viewing last night. As I type right now it’s playing again on Youtube on another screen. In fact, I’ll get back to you…
One of my favorite scenes: This American Big Oil executive (Mac) is in Scotland to buy a whole fishing village to drill and so on. He’s talking to some fishermen; not much happens except the point is made that everyone pitches in when something needs to be done; they all have multiple jobs. After a bit, Mac is asked if he has only one job. It’s funny and we think this is the payoff. A bit later, though, Mac looks at a baby in a stroller. ‘Nice baby. Whose is it?’
The half dozen or so fishermen look at each other as if they had never wondered about this, and are just doing so now for the first time. It doesn’t sound that funny, but the subtle way its handled, it’s a belly laugh.
Seeing this movie was near the beginning of my screenwriting career and the importance of it cannot be overestimated. It inspired me in everything I wrote (not counting Cosmic Banditos) from then on.
Local Hero. It’s free now on Youtube.
1983. The above scene would not make it into a movie these days; they’d stick in something about global warming. Local Hero itself would never get made. An oil executive buys a fishing village in Scotland? A possible premise, yes, but how would it play out now? Hey, lets find out, ask ChatGPT.
Title: Emerald Rhapsody
Genre: Drama, Environmental
Logline: A ruthless big oil executive, driven by profit and power, ventures to a picturesque Scotish village after a significant oil deposit is discovered beneath its land. However, as he navigates the idyllic community and encounters its resilient inhabitants, he undergoes a transformative journey that challenges his values and forces him to confront the destructive consequences of his actions.
- Skip to the end.
Act 4:
- The film concludes with the village successfully fending off the oil company, Michael choosing a path of redemption, and the community inspiring others to protect their own precious lands.
Predictable, yes. In Local Hero the story is about the change in Mac and while sticking to reality has a magical quality to it. There would be nothing magical about GPT’s version, I can promise you that.
But what’s my point?
I got no point, other than turning you on to Local Hero, a little piece of cinema magic, and other than one I made a few posts ago: If you’re a writer, your career-days are numbered. No doubt about that.
Allan
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