Last Friday (a week ago) I attended a screening of Snow Angels where the director, David Gordon Green, introduced the film and then took questions afterwards. I often recommend his movie, Undertow, to other writers that want to get into a literary frame of mind.Â
Snow Angels is based on the novel of the same name written by Stewart O’Nan. This was the first writing job he’d been brought in to adapt a novel for someone else. As often happens with the movies, some personnel changes happened (such as the director), and Dave picked it up. It was only natural since he knew the material so intimately. Dave’s approach to movies is to use the script as a guideline and allow improvisation. For instance, Sam Rockwell’s last lines in the movie were improvised by Sam. Dave got such a chill from the character that could see a light at the end of the tunnel that it stayed in the final edits.Â
I thought the film showed a softer side to Kate Beckinsale than we’ve seen in a while. Most of the knowledge about her part comes from the experience and worries of being a mom. While Dave, as a single person with no kids, can’t know those experiences and worries, he could create a dialogue with Kate about them. Apparently, Sam Rockwell liked to listen to music between takes.
Seeing Dave on stage answering questions, speaking with people afterwards, and getting to meet with him long enough to exchange a few sentences was great. If I wasn’t so conscious of his limited time after the Q&A I would have asked him questions about his literary life such as how many books he reads a year, his favorite authors, did he have a favorite book, and did he ever write any short stories or novels?
It’s obvious he enjoys what he is doing. He’s lucky he hasn’t been blocked into only directing or writing a certain type of movie. One thing I noticed about Dave is that he’s an open person. I don’t mean the heart on his sleeve type of open; I mean open to new experiences and people. And if you’re not open to the experience with him, then that’s okay too.