It’s not a question of talent. It’s a question of timing.
Some stories resonate more or less at different times. I wasn’t there for the Catcher in the Rye craze. But somehow, J.D. Salinger was there in the right place at the right time. He nailed it. Lots of people could relate to Holden Caulfield and the teenage rebellion simmering in society at that time.
With the Barbie movie, I think that Greta Gerwig did something similar. She tapped into something real and pervasive that people could relate to at the time the movie was released. I don’t know how she did it.
That’s a talent. It takes something special to be so dialed in to what is happening on a deep level within our society.
Some movies are made before their time, and some are not recognized until much later. I suppose the same is true of novels and paintings and dance performances and plays and so much more.
I directed a play called Starters, by Jeffrey Wolf. It may be the most “current” story that I’ve directed. While it certainly did not have the impact of Catcher in the Rye, it did reflect the brilliance of Forever Plaid.
As an aside, I had the honor of working with Stan Chandler, an original cast member in Forever Plaid: The Movie, to learn a little bit about how stories can be adpated into musicals.
It makes me want to focus more on storytelling.
No matter how well you know your society during a certain moment in history, I still think that luck plays a role in which stories catch fire. And, of course, good marketing.
But here’s the thing. Even if you work on stories that never make a huge splash, there is still value in the process of bringing any new story to an audience (however small).
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