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As you guys may have noticed, I've been doing a lot of book reviews lately. Ever since I saw this video clip, I've been trying to read more. I even read Balzac's Pere Goriot because of Kurosawa's comment. I feel that it's helped me become a better screenwriter and better writer in general. Inosis is a project that I started working on after taking on this challenge. I wrote the majority of the first two Valkin books between 18 and 20, so I'm really hoping that the third one and Harvest are massive improvements. It's definitely a good challenge and has forced me to try and better myself as a screenwriter because I don't want to rely upon the same tropes throughout my career. I want my style to evolve and I want to make better movies and tell better stories. I know in the past, I've been critical of critics (mostly Battle Royale with Cheese), but overall, I don't have animosity towards them. Their critiques make me evaluate myself and want to be better. That's a huge problem with social media, I felt like I was painting myself as a heel of sorts. I was trying too hard to garner attention for myself and my company. Since leaving social in 2020, I've done a lot of re-evaluating of myself in general and don't want to paint myself in that portrait any more. Basically, I don't want to be Daniel Harris. A funny thing happened recently. I reviewed Daniel's book The Long Moonlight. I ultimately claimed it as a glorified fanfiction with a lot of word salad. I even said I don't want to discourage Daniel from writing more stories, but do think he should tone down the grandiose sesquipedalian writing style that his book possesses because it ultimately kills any flow. A few days after I published this review, Daniel starts raging about critics on his Twitter. I don't think they're related, but it is funny. A lot of people speculate that he thinks he's above reading classic literature. That's ultimately the point of this anecdote, if you're a storyteller, don't think that you're above older stories. A common complaint I see with modern movies is the terrible writing style. "It's just a series of quips and pop-culture references. This is all Quentin Tarantino's fault." Have any of you people even read Stephen King? He's like if Quentin Tarantino forgot to take his ADHD medication. He rambles on about nonsensical stuff and then starts talking about what TV shows and movies he grew up with. Stephen King is considered one of the best authors of all time. If you truly believe this, please, go read more classic literature. "What is the point of any of this, RJ?" Simple. Go read. If you want to make movies, go read more books. Read books about making movies. Read books about people who made movies before you. Read The Iliad. Read Pere Goriot. Read Edgar Rice Burroughs. Even if you don't want to make movies, go read, it'll enrich your life way more than TV.
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