Foolishly stayed up way too late last night (this morning). Checked out half a dozen videos this past weekend, all due last night. Never got around to Pacino’s Looking for Richard, though I wanted to. Movies due back last night, what the hey, let me at least watch 15/20 minutes of the flick. Almost immediately, I am hooked, all the way to 11 o’ clock. Drive the videos back, quick HEB run, know full well I should hit the sack when I get home, but no, why not do those dishes staring me in the face. Usually a slacker in similar circumstances, but not this time…

I blame it on the movie. It was superb: Pacino was superb. The actress who plays the King’s wife was superb. Ditto Clarence’s murderers. Ditto Clarence himself (Alec Baldwin in another fine AB turn). The same for Frederick, Pacino’s sidekick through the whole journey, frothing about this and that. Did I say Pacino was superb? Pacino was magnficent, glorying in the villainous role. Spacey was very smooth, clearly knew what was up with Buckingham, but somehow came off more cool than the cool his character deserved. Except for when he returns and is dismissed by Richard: that scene boils. A shame Kline was only interviewed: I would have loved to see him working it up, but as who? Perhaps that was the problem: too comedic for RIII.

Anyway, after the movie ended, I was lit up. Still am, though I am nursing along on my 4 hours of snooze time. Yes, it will catch me at some point, probably the bus ride, but not yet.

So, what was it about the film? They were having a ball. The acting, the musing, all very fine. But, it also delivered something to my writing, though I’m not sure just what. Something about the spirit of play, and joy, and utter seriousness, all at once. Something about legitimizing the act of creation. About questing. About staying true to your visions. I’m still grasping at straws, trying to pin this thing down. So, why pin? Don’t. Stay lit, period.