A quick one, because it's been a long and busy day, and I'm running low on brain cells.
Lore asked, "I know you love Johnny Depp, but what made you pick that particular quote and title for your journal?"
This refers to my
Insanejournal only, because I haven't transferred the title/quote over to LJ or DW.
For those who haven't seen it, the title is "Upsetting All the Buffalo", and the profile quote is "The story opens on these mysterious explosions. Nobody knows what's causing them, but it's upsetting all the buffalo", which is from
Ed Wood.
I have a fondness for Ed Wood and his movies (ditto William Castle, king of the gimmick), and I went to see the bio pic (Burton directed; Depp played Wood) when it was released. A while back, I realized it had been ages since I'd seen it, and I was in the mood for it, so I rented it from Netflix.
There's a scene where Ed Wood is poring over random bits of stock footage, including a scene of a buffalo stampede and a scene of bombs going off, and he makes up a story on the spot about what he's watching and starts thinking about how to turn it into a movie script. I was vastly amused by the sheer
badness of the story, but also impressed that Wood was such an enthusiastic storyteller, he'd make something up about
anything and try to make it work, no matter how crappy the end results were. He wasn't a
good writer, but he had passion, so it was the juxtaposition of something that's awful and funny and pathetic and yet somehow inspiring that struck me enough to preserve the quote.
It serves to remind me that passion and determination trump talent. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't use it, it's wasted and no good to anyone. Meanwhile, someone who's utter crap can get things done if they have enough enthusiasm and drive to
do it. The mere fact that
Plan 9 from Outer Space is still available, aired, and watched attests to that.
It serves to remind me that I need to get off my ass and upset some buffalo while I still can.
This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/510718.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.