Imagine if you could find wisdom every which way you turned. From September 26, 1990. – JDW
(That’s me, the third raisin.)
“Taste is the enemy of creativeness.”
That was the slide on the screen when I walked into the first annual Portland Creative Conference. Pablo Picasso got that right, I thought.
Except for the lunches, this celebration of film and television managed to combine taste and creativity in a way I’d never thought likely in ol’ Stumptown. Frankly, I was somewhat surprised. That was my fault.
Never underestimate Will Vinton. A man who conjures big dreams, he’s created a new cultural phenomenon which managed to be challenging, educational, inspiring and a lot of fun. It looked so simple, too. Invite a dozen Hollywood heavyweights to the Performing Arts Center, ask them to bring some movies, charge $250 a head, and stand back.
I know it took many people many hours of much work to make the conference a reality. I know that. But, it was so well done, the effort never really showed. That’s class.
“To get up as an American in 1990 and go through the day, you gotta be creative.” Glenn Gordon Caron told us he was forced – under contract – to produce a boy-girl detective show. A concept he loathed… so he did it differently. The result was “Moonlighting.”
Apparently, successful creativity requires a lot of follow-up. Who knew?
Caron interviewed three thousand (3000!) men to fill the role of David Addison. Emblematic of the PDX Creative Conference, we got to see the actual screen test which won the role for a then-unknown Bruce Willis.
He had more hair back then.
Caron shared some anecdotes. “I remember telling Michael Keaton, while filming Clean & Sober, ‘This thing may open in an airplane, pal.'”
And about how he turned into an animal after the movie was released. I’d stand outside the multiplex, going, ‘Young Guns!? You’re waiting in line for Young Guns? Get over here!”
Crazed.
Dennis Muren shook my hand. MY hand. Which may remain unwashed for some time. This man has won six (6) Academy Awards (and received three other nominations) as well as an Emmy. Perhaps you’re familiar with his work – Star Wars, Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom, E.T., etc.
He knows of what he speaks.
“Creativity. It’s something that seems from the outside an inspiration, but from the inside is simply the result of years and years of experience.”
Muren has been interested in, almost obsessed with, special effects, ever since he can remember. He showed usmovies he’d made in black and white (8mm) in the back yard. Volcanoes erupting, dams bursting, rockets lifting off… the usual stuff for a 12-year-old. “If you want to do something bad enough,” he explained, “you’ll find some way to make it work.”
By such commitment, the man lives the boy’s dreams.
Another slide. “It is not possible to step into the same river twice.” – Heraclitus
Don Petrie got his start in the business as an actor. “I did it to meet girls, actually.” Now he’s the director of such works as Mystic Pizza. (Have you noticed any movie can be improved simply by adding that pretty woman Julia Roberts?)
Petrie is currently in Portland filming The Favor, and I’m currently trying to get an extra’s role. Mostly to meet women. Not to mention $35 a day and catered meals. And a chance at being discovered. Figure the odds gotta be better than winning Lotto America.
Petrie recalled his days as a student at the American Film Institute, days of making movies with mere pennies. Accordingly, he believes we must often find the creative impulse through lack, that is… insufficient funds is the mother of invention. “Keep asking yourself,” advised Petrie, “what are the extremes I can go to?”
More slides. Edward Albee: “The thing that makes a creative person is to be creative and that is all there is to it.”
Thomas J. Watson, founder of IBM: “The way to succeed is to double your failure rate.”
Caleb Deschanel is a success, the cinematographer of The Black Stallion, The Natural, and Being There. On his twelfth (12) birthday, one gift was a Brownie Hawkeye camera. He took a photo of a puppy, and realized it was more than a snapshot. It evoked an emotional response. Another good reason for parents to skip Nintendo this Christmas.
Deschanel spoke of his long journey to excellence. “Mistakes are really the manure of learning.” And the obstacles overcome. “That’s the process of filmmaking. Turning a disadvantage into your advantage.” Hell, that’s the process of life. Which you already knew was just like a movie.
Last slide. “How can you think and hit at the same time?” – Yogi Berra.