Collaboration

Here's a good piece from 2 Blowhards about the collaborative origins of many creative works. It ties in well with an article in Slate about Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson (SSMW, take note). It suggests that without Wilson as co-writer, Anderson's movies (which he writes/co-writes and directs) don't make much sense. I'm not sure what to make of this argument, but I like the fact that the writer used the DVD commentaries on which Anderson and Wilson appeared for part of his research. Excerpt:

Ben Stiller once described Owen Wilson as having "a library in his head," and hearing his Rushmore commentary bears that out. He calls Max Fisher a "James Gatz" figure, which is the kind of Great Gatsby reference dropped by people who have actually spent time with the book. But for the most part, Wilson's references are cinematic, not literary. Unlike Anderson, whose film vocabulary is impressive but top-heavy with auteurs—Jean Renoir, Truffaut, Michael Powell—Owen Wilson draws on the rich mine of the American middlebrow. When Max, facing expulsion from Rushmore Academy, asks his headmaster: "Can you get me off the hook? You know, for old times sake?" Wilson points out that it's a Godfather reference.

On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with a creative partnership where one partner fills in the gaps of the other. I love the movies Wes Anderson & Co. have created (not to be confused with the equally fantastic films of P.T. Anderson) -- Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and even the much-maligned Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. As to dissection of who is responsible for what, I will watch for further discussion with interest, but withhold judgment.

This related article, and this other related article, both found on the Slate page, discuss Anderson and tie in with the "demise of the hipster" article posted a few days ago. (BTW, ever since mentioning Liz Phair, I've been listening to her on the way to and from work.)

In other developments, I am thinking about developing a moderate obsession with Sudoku.

And, speaking of the Life Aquatic, I am now a Flippery Fish. Watch out Crawly Amphibians, here I come!