I'm not a religious person.
I know, I know. You all must be shocked by that news. I'm sure that most good, wholesome, God-fearing people spend their Labor Day talking about tentacle porn, vending machines with used underwear, and assorted other "goodies."
But yes, it's true. I'm not a religious person.
So, the problem becomes a thorny one when I decide that one of the potential scripts bouncing around my head has some perhaps very strong religious overtones.
The question - how does a non-religious person suddenly acquaint themselves enough with the Bible to make their story believable?
Or the subquestion - much like in Almost Famous when the kid asks "Do you have to be sad to write a sad song? Do you have to be in love to write a love song?"... my question becomes "Do you have to be religious to write about religion?"
Thoughts?
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1 comments:
First - WTF w/the vending machine/tentacle porn?
Second - No, I don't think you need to be a religious person to write a religious movie/plot. Utilizing your sad song analogy, most of the best love songs are ones we can relate to - they have central themes that anyone who has been in love can relate to. I think that's where the magic happens with regards to love songs. I think the people who wrote (I didn't say sing) the most popular love songs probably have been in love at some point - otherwise, how would they be able to articulate what so many have felt/gone through?
I will not attempt to even begin knowing what makes a good screenplay or even how the process works, but I think it will really depend on the plot - how much of it is involved w/religion? How central to the plot is it?
Look @ Dogma (Kevin Smith, people) - that movie contains quite a bit of religion, philosophy etc...I think KS probably knew/learned/collaborated on religion. Watching that movie - the more you know about basic Judaism (and the more open minded you are) the funnier/better that movie was. I think that's also why that movie is majorly (is that even a word?) offensive to the Christian right (or any deeply religious person/person of faith). I personally thought it was a a great movie, but I'm also a huge Kevin Smith fan (I even recently watched Catch & Release and have upgraded my original opinion of it).
Anyways, take it for what it's worth or tell me to kiss off (into the wind, of course) - thought I'd drop my two cents in.
From what I know about you, I'd reckon you'll probably write something pretty sweet - I say take the risk & go for it. You can always collaborate w/someone who may know more about religion if need be.
Namaste
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