Bullet Train, in book or movie form

Making Creative Decisions is the work we must seek out

I’ve watched the movie Bullet Train about five times now. Why, you ask? It’s on Netflix and I’m already paying for that, so I’m not out any extra cash. It’s got Brad Pitt in it and I’ve dug him from Oceans 11 to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Anytime he’s kind of playing himself, I’m down. I like action adventure with a spy crime flavor. I like British actors being Gangsters. Hey! Guy Ritchie and Brad Pitt have a connection on that topic. It’s very bloody comfort food! It’s breezy but not too light. This is where my head is there days. 

Book cover from Harvill Secker edition. (Love this cover)

I recently read the book too. Now, I’m not a guy that moans, “The book was better than the movie.” A book or a movie are vehicles for content. That’s all. They took the source material and made decisions, decisions informed by the type of content. I’m guessing here but I bet it goes like this. 

Someone decided that the book would make a good movie so the director got a copy of the book. The publisher probably mails them one, overnight via FedEx if you must know. 

I bet the first read though you check out the floor plan so to speak. 

You read it though again and try to figure out what narrative thread is going to make a good 2 hours. Then you ask “What characters do you need?” 

“Which ones can you lose?” “What would work as a film?”
“What would not work as a film?” 

You get the idea. Real Estate in a book is cheaper than it is in a movie. Certain things are hard to film. They cost money. They cost time. They aren’t easily visually communicatble. What would be expensive to film? Of course you can CGI yourself to any manner of effects but the more you lean on that, the less impactful the movie will be. I’ve not seen the new Antman because we have a “No Luis, No watch,” rule in our house but it sounds like the CGI is painful in that movie. Even then, CGI done well is not cheap.  

Think about it like this. If you make a James Bond movie you need an Aston Martin. You got $330k? Also you need an Omega watch. That’ll run you $8,000. Now they probably get these goods as part of a deal for the brands being in the film but you get the idea. There is a price tag to physically making things. 

Have you ever read an article along the lines, “This or that book would be hard to make a movie?” I’ve seen a-lot of debate over that over the years. I think at one point Naked Lunch was supposed to be impossible to film but David Cronenberg did. Here’s an article on books that are supposed to be impossible to film. I get that the barrier for a-lot of books into films is that it’s hard to visualize existential angst.

But the thing I find interesting is, it’s all about making decisions. That’s my favorite things to do to help people make their creative idea into a reality.  

I told a guy the other day that asked me about making a coloring book, “Audio books are out.” I was being funny,  I mean, duh right? But that’s an example of a decision getting made for you. 

There was a quote by Keith Richards, and I cannot find it, maybe I dreamed it but it goes something like, “The hardest part of making a record is making the decisions.”

I feel like it was around 87-89 when his solo record with The X-Pensive Winos was making things happen. If you’ve ever made something you’ll find that limitations make a lot of the decisions for you. Can’t afford a string section? Then use an e-bow. Can’t afford a typesetter? Maybe use a platform for now that has a built in look to it like Substack. But Keith is right, making decisions is hard and they are the biggest barrier to getting your work done.

Keith’s quote always stuck with me. Further from Keith’s thought is that you have decisions to make but often you don't even know what they are. One big one is “What format is best for my product?” Remember, making decisions and asking the right questions are crucial for your book or any project you undertake. 

Now, I’m not going to compare and contrast like a high schooler the book and the movie, Bullet Train. I’ll let you do that! Both are good! Did you see or read Bullet Train, or both? What did you think? If you have a product you are stuck on, leave a comment. I’d love to help you ask the questions you need to ask to make the decisions you need to make.