"Ed Wood" (1994) and Why We Make Art

You guys ever see “Ed Wood” (1994)? That movie is awesome. So very sweet natured in a guy who just wanted to make movies. Similar to “Bowfinger” in that there is nothing standing in the way of a man and his dreams. Especially if his dreams is to make movies.

I think there is a great lesson to be learned in the movie. It’s that delusion often times saves art. And the commitment to delusion oftentimes protects your sanity in a field where there are no guarantees. A LOT of times things occur by accident. Because it is movie making part of the thrill is discovering what moves many people.

Ed Wood was a director in Hollywood that surrounded himself with misfits. He didn’t know they were oddities (for which in today’s world, he’d be seen as an innovator of kitsch). He was John Waters before John Waters was John Waters. An eccentric who was perma-optimistic. According to the movie anyway. And through this attitude pulled a team of oxen up a hill. Which happened to also be his downfall.

Anyone in this town desperate to make movies…also be warned. We may see Wood as the bon vivant of schlock cinema, but he didn't make it on purpose. He set out to make the best movie he could. It landed him the dubious distinction of being “the worst director of all time.” Which I would argue is total shit. If anything, he took a pile of shit and tried so hard to polish it. With the joy of a child, unfortunately the academics of a deaf mute.

In today’s terms, he would be a viral star. Though I don’t think he would relish in it. Like all dreamers, he also chased the mythical beast. In the movie, his was Orson Welles, a 26 year old prodigy of radio and cinema. About this time in “Ed Wood” Welles was integrated into the studio system  (very little of this has changed by the way). It meant that although Welles had been the genius wunderkind who’d made “Citizen Kane” he was still running into a brick wall attempting to make a movie with studio money. That’s how stupid collective brain trust is. You hire someone who’s proven, and question everything. Talk about frustrating.

In Wood’s mind, Welles was his contemporary and the reason to succeed. If we were to put him in today’s society, it’d probably be Quentin Tarantino (though, I suppose people would rabidly argue his talent). But, that’s who Wood wanted to emulate. Did he succeed? In his own way…yes. And in that, we champion him as Horatio Alger type character. A man who let ambition guide his dream, despite fatal flaws. I think we love that view on life. Not that I would ever want Ed Wood’s career, as he also died of alcoholism. Something that is both sad but embodies the artist.  Or should I say consumes.