Inspiration is one of the most incomprehensible and intangible things in the art world, and there’s no rhyme or reason to when it strikes or what form it will come in. The most creative minds find routes from inspiration to production in the most unusual ways, and today we’re looking at those movie concepts that have been drawn from some particularly interesting places.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
We see the legendary characters and icons of Ancient Greece everywhere we look, from movies like Troy to the sculptures lining fine museums to game libraries at online casinos. Even the most casual casino user will have had the chance to play Age of the Gods at Betfair or any other major site, with this being not just one but an entire series of online slots based around Greek gods and legends.
Source: Unsplash
That’s what makes the 2000 George Clooney production O Brother, Where Are Thou? something of an oddity. Outwardly, this is a comedy and satire set in the American South, but just under the skin it is a loose retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, the ancient epic adventure from a couple of thousand years ago. It is a Greek epic in all but location.
Catch Me If You Can
There is an old adage that truth is often stranger than fiction, but the fantastical tales of Frank Abagnale stretch that thought about as far as it can go. The career fraudster and conman was a professional liar throughout his life, so when the creators of Leonardo DiCaprio’s celebrated role in Catch Me If You Can claim it’s based on a true story, that itself is a bit of a reach.
According to what Abagnale says in his supposed memoir of a life of crime, his exploits include inexplicably flying hundreds of thousands of miles as an untrained pilot for Pan Am, somehow operating as a doctor in Georgia, and also as a lawyer of the attorney general of Louisiana. Most of this has been debunked, but viewers were none the wiser at the time.
Forrest Gump
Often seen as a modern classic of American cinema, Forrest Gump is both narratively and technically impressive as a movie, expertly deconstructing a particularly turbulent period of American history through the lens of an ostensibly ordinary man. While many of the locations and events end up going beyond America’s borders, when building Gump’s Alabama, director Robert Zemeckis looked closer to home.
Source: Unsplash
The acclaimed director reportedly used the work of iconic American artist Norman Rockwell as the essential DNA of Gump’s hometown and early life experience. Some of the most famous shots in the early part of the movie are drawn directly from Rockwell pieces such as ‘The Shiner’, and this Americana approach makes the fictional town feel all the more real.
This is just a small selection of the fascinating examples on offer, and that is just on the mainstream Hollywood side. We always recommend looking into the story behind the story, as the inspiration can often be just as interesting.