Staff Pick
For some, the creative spark is a divine inspiration. For others, it may be found in the daily practice of their artistic labor. Yet still there are others, for whom the kernel of their work is found buried in the pages of the PennySaver adverts. In It Chooses You, Miranda July confesses the self-doubt and pressures she experienced in the wake of her successful filmmaking debut, and how a divergence born of distraction became the heart at the center of her next screenplay. At its core, It Chooses You is a study of July’s trust in her own process, and the faith it takes to keep pulling a thread no matter where it leads — no matter what it unravels. Recommended By Brandon S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Review
Voted a "Can't Miss Read for December 2011" by
Oprah Magazine.
"July, an artist, writer, performer and film-maker who creates work 'about people trying to connect in one way or another and the importance of that' has moved from casual wondering to something substantive and extraordinary."
Hermione Hoby, the Guardian
Synopsis
In the summer of 2009 Miranda July was struggling to write her second screenplay,
The Future, when she began to obsessively read the
PennySaver classified ads. The iconic Los Angeles newsprint booklet served a computerless demographica quickly disappearing group, but one rife with stories. Who was the person selling the LARGE LEATHER JACKET, $10 OR BEST OFFER? It seemed important to find out, or, at least it was a great distraction from the screenplay.
Working with photographer Brigitte Sire, July interviewed thirteen PennySaver sellers to create portraits of their surprisingly moving, profoundly specific realities. Among these was Joe, an energetic 82-year-old with his own sweetly perverse body of artwork. By the end of the summer, July had written Joe into the movie as himself and the voice of the moon.
July reveals her hilariously random and blindly faithful creative process as we travel with her all over the city, and eventually to the set of The Future (in theaters in July). Combining narrative, interviews, and photographs, this book tells the story not only of the making of a movie in Los Angeles, but of the city itself.
About the Author
Miranda July is the author of No One Belongs Here More Than You, winner of the Frank OConnor International Short Story Award. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harpers, and The Paris Review. July wrote, directed, and starred in the film Me and You and Everyone We Know, which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Camera dOr at the Cannes Film Festival. Her second film, The Future, was released this summer.