Didn't Want To . . . But I Had To

I didn't want to post another blog post from The Kill Zone, but this article by James Scott Bell called Write Your Truth hit a chord. Ostensibly it is about Lee Marvin, but underneath that is a layer of what I would have ordinarily called saccharine candy coating, but not this time. Like I said, this time it spoke to me.

As a "sometime" trainer I realize that different people learn through different means. I am constantly trying to figure out new avenues to use to get people to understand what I'm trying to say. Mr. Bell found my avenue for Writing Your Truth with this article about Lee Marvin.

Ordinarily I would "pshaw" at lines like:

We writers need to ask ourselves the same thing. Are we just trying to push a product, or do we have somewhere we want to go as a writer? Are we playing it safe? Or is there a truth we have that is burning to get out?

or


There’s a point in the film when Walsh is offered a part in a Wild West show, but he’d have to dress up in gaudy duds and put on a false front. Despite the money, despite the comfort, despite the security this would offer him, he refuses, saying, “I ain’t spittin’ on my whole life.”

When you can get that into your art—acting, fiction, painting, song, dance—you are leaving behind something more than product-pushing. You have a chance to carve out a unique and, perhaps, unforgettable place in your chosen field.


Apparently if a writer can wrap those lines into a package that include Lee Marvin he'll have me reading them and thinking "Yeah!"

I remember the first time I saw Lee Marvin in a memorable role. I was up late watching Cat Ballou in Edinburgh Scotland. I thought he was great. I've since seen him in many of his other works, I've even read about his life before, but this time it hit home.

It's well worth reading, this article. Take the time and follow that link up there.