Results tagged “movies”

In the world of business, and especially the world of technology, we have some archetypical stories of entrepreneurs in the garage, working to create new products and new companies. But too many of those stories seem to neglect the creative environment in which great ideas and inventions happen.

This is especially unfortunate because inspiration for this type of work doesn't seem to come from being surrounded by market analysis data, or charts and graphs about return on investment, but instead happens like so much creativity does, with a blaring soundtrack while sitting on a folding chair, inspired by the music, movies, books and art that surround us.

Worse, we hear about things like Celebrity Playlists and the artworks that people appreciate long after they've been successful, after they've already proven they have the ability to achieve, but seldom with a focus on what was playing at the time when they did the first work they were recognized for.

So, some time ago, I began a project to start to document some of these environments, inspired by the entrepreneurs and creative talents that I've had the chance to work with or be inspired by. Among others, I've gotten some great responses from Ray Ozzie of Microsoft (and of course Lotus); Jeff Bezos of Amazon; Pierre Omidyar of eBay; Dan Bricklin, co-creator of VisiCalc, and some more contributors along the way. As I start to share what I've found, I'd like to ask the same questions of you that I've asked of these people already.

1. What music, books or movies do you remember paying attention to at the time when you did your signature work? (This can be your "best" project, or merely your best-known, or the one you're most proud of.)
2. What do you remember of your physical workspace -- clutter on the desk, notes on the walls, whiteboards or blackboards, etc.?

The goal is to evoke a sense of what more subtle things may have been influencing the work that's created. There have, of course, been many similar or related efforts over the years, and I'll be trying to share and document of number of fantastic responses to these questions that I've collected.

If you'd like to participate yourself, you can answer the questions here in the comments, or post a reply on your own blog using the tag "createnv" (since it seems that's not taken yet) and/or embed this post on your own site with the code below. I'll be collecting responses from the blogosphere along with my own research and posting it all here in the days to come. (Thanks to Travis Isaacs for the image.)

From Slate's "Hypothetical questions they should ask at the presidential debates":

As you are flying home from Moscow--having told the world you will never deal with terrorists--hijackers, posing as reporters, seize Air Force One. ... I'll start with Senator Obama. Do you negotiate with the hijackers in the hope of saving lives, or do you flee into the bowels of the craft, then pick them off, one by one, with makeshift shanks and your bare hands?

Four years ago, I didn't know anything about diamonds. Then I posted one ill-tempered rant about how annoying and even offensive I found the advertising for the diamond industry. And I'm not easily offended.

I was immediately drawn into a conversation that I didn't know existed, and through emails, comments on this blog, and many other conversations (often with total strangers) I learned a lot more about diamonds. I still don't appreciate their aesthetic, but I am delighted that a lot of people are educated enough that if they do like diamonds, they consider where they were sourced. Friends of mine got engaged recently, and got a Canadian diamond without a second thought -- especially romantic when you have Canadian family members.

And now it seems like we've reached a moment in popular culture where the sourcing of diamonds might actually become a topic of a public debate. Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond opens next week, and the starpower of Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou, and Jennifer Connely can't help but raise awareness of the issue and inspire some people to do some exploration of diamonds.

So, a few links to various resources I found useful:

• Diamonds are for never: The first post I ever wrote about diamonds, it's still one of the most popular posts I've ever written and regularly gets random new people coming in from Google to join the debate.

I know what you're thinking. "It's not that bad." It's just a joke, and I'm taking it too seriously. But how can you look at a list on the industry's own marketing website and see "Of course there's a return on your investment. We just can't print it here." and not be aware that they're selling, along with war and market dominance, dysfunction.

• Have you ever tried to sell a diamond? The Atlantic's seminal 1982 story about the diamond industry, which was one of the first resources to inspire people to rethink the marketing and sourcing of diamonds. Not as early, but also influential, was The Diamond Empire, Frontline's 1994 look at the industry.

• The One Sky campaign and Ten reasons why you should never accept a diamond ring. There's obviously an agenda on that second link, but both sites, especially the One Sky site, contain some valuable information if you're interested.

• Ask MetaFilter often has threads tagged diamonds or diamond. The general slant of these threads is anti-diamond, but there is good information and debate to be found there.

• The resurgence of the diamond debate in popular culture first started gaining prominence with last year's release of Kanye West's Diamonds from Sierra Leone. A brilliant single, an even better remix featuring Jay-Z, and a beautiful video -- it was the perfect conversation starter. The Zwick film of course also features an IMDB profile and an educational site.

• And finally, one last not-safe-for-work link, poking a little fun at DeBeer's print ad campaign, which is where I started in the first place.

The current bane of my existence? Spoiler queens. "Don't tell meeeeee!" they shriek. You know you've got one, too, someone who insists that the world will end if they know the end of a movie or TV show or book or sporting event in advance of their consumption of the media product, sometimes even when it's not a product they have any intention of consuming.

Here's a tip for all of you who go around with your eyes covered and your fingers in your ears, lashing out with unfettered vitriol against the normal conversations of people around you: You already know how the goddamn movie ends. Think you don't? Well, we can provide a guide and perhaps you'll develop the ability to extrapolate simple conclusions from extremely obvious setups.

Is this an American film in broad release? Does it feature (1) actors whom you have heard of, (2) explosions, (3) breasts, (4) cars, or (5) music? Then, I hate to break it to you, but THE GOOD GUYS WIN. There, I fucking said it. THE GOOD GUYS WIN. That stupid Honey movie with the hot chick who shouldn't be dancing hip hop but somehow is and has to win the contest in order to save the orphanage or whatever? I have not seen this film, indeed I'm fairly sure I have the details wrong, but I can tell you this: She saves the goddamn orphans. Sure, her parents are against the fact that she's parading her body around like a filthy whore, and the town doesn't think she can scrape together the talent and focus to put on a show that's good enough to raise the money, but hey whadaya know. The good guys win.

Cold Mountain. Haven't seen it, ain't gonna see it. But it's about the Civil War. And guess what? The good guys win. I don't care how many Oscars they're bucking for in that crapstravaganza, the South does not come out of this one alive. Sure, you lose some good people along the way, and somehow I think it's supposed to be a love story, but I'll tell you what, the Union wins and everyone goes home after the war.

Haven't seen the new Lord of the Rings movie yet? Well, here's some details you already knew: There's lots more running around and fighting, more goblins and trolls and unicorns and all that shit, and then the fucking good guys win. I know, I know, you're thinking "You mean my 40 hours of loyal slobbering over bad dialogue isn't rewarded by seeing a piece of jewelry destroy the entire fictious universe?" but alas, it is so. Don't get me started on the fact that the "bad guys" are the brown people from the East who are riding elephants, carrying scimitars, and wearing turbans. The books were written by a British guy, let's not forget.

I can't understand how people get into the denial mentality that gets them so fixated on spoilers. The new Star Wars movies were another good example; We've known what happens to Darth Vader for twenty years and people are still trying to make sure they don't "find out". (Hint: Good guys win.) I think it relates to how people see life and death in general. I mean, it's the ultimate spoiler: You, along with every person you know, and every person you've ever known, are going to die. I hate to be the one to break it to ya. At least I didn't tell you how you were going to die.

So there's a question that always comes up in my mind. If these people can't enjoy a book when they know how it turns out, how do they enjoy their lives? I mean, you're going to end up donated in pieces to science or planted in the ground or burned to ashes. Me, I'm hoping for a little bit of each. But that's not keeping me from liking the story along the way. In fact, it probably makes me enjoy it even more.

Therefore, I insist that Spoiler Queens of the world officially get over it. Now. Stop nellying about with blinders on, pouting and bitching when the inevitable, hackneyed, predictable ending to your literature, your films, your life comes along. I hate having to keep ruining endings for people, ("They hit an iceberg, and the ship sinks and they die. Then dinosaurs come down on space ships and eat their corpses.") but it seems the only humane thing to do to these people. The rest of us are busy enjoying the trip despite the fact that we've seen all this bullshit before and we know how it turns out.