Ellen here, thrilled to introduce you to Marjorie McCown, a fellow vet of the entertainment industry. Marjorie’s terrific new book, Final Cut, is inspired by her decades of work as a film costume designer. And she’s doing a giveaway for a copy of her book!
My thanks to Ellen Byron and the other distinguished authors of this wonderful blog for inviting me to guest post today!
I’m a compulsive planner by both nature and nurture. I’ve always kept a daily to-do list (well, since junior high, anyway.) And my choice of profession working in costumes for theater and later for film only reinforced that habit. When you’re making a movie, planning and logistics are nearly as important as creativity. Deadlines aren’t flexible: when it’s time to shoot a scene, every element had better be ready. Don’t hold camera is a cardinal rule in film, and you don’t want to be the one who breaks it.
My area of expertise was as a made-to-order specialist for big movies, which means I was responsible for overseeing the construction of all the costumes and accessories that were made specifically for our movie. Jackets, shirts, trousers, dresses, underwear, shoes, hats, gloves, jewelry — I kept track of all the construction details and worked directly with the various shops and vendors who produced those items.
We had to custom print that plaid fabric for Tom’s shirt because the designer wanted that exact shadow plaid (copied from a 50’s period shirt). We needed to make 6 of the shirts for Tom to run in (also for his running double, who was his brother, Jim.) Tom had over 80 changes in that movie and we made a bunch of clothes for him.
Make no mistake, I loved my job! But I always had a mountain of information to manage and as a result, I developed a serious addiction to list-making. Rigorous organization became my superpower during the 27 years I spent working in Hollywood, and it served me well in that career where problems could spring up as unpredictably as funnel clouds.
But now that I’ve left the exhilarating (though barely controlled) chaos that is the world of moviemaking, I’ve discovered the habit of micro-managing every moment of every day is less useful to me as a writer. In fact, I’ve begun to suspect my knee-jerk devotion to the tyranny of lists can inhibit my creativity. I honestly don’t remember feeling the same constraints on my artistic choices as a costumer, but maybe that came from my long history in the profession. Who knows? Maybe it’s because my left brain could be sorting out logistics while my right brain worked with the visual elements of the job.
So even though old habits can be hard to break (especially when they’ve been
effective) I find myself trying to loosen one of those leashes I voluntarily strapped on that no longer serves me so well. I want to wean myself from my compulsive list-making ways and let more of my experiences unfold organically. I think that may help my imagination roam freely in search of new stories to tell.
Of course, as with everything in life, I guess it’s all about finding a good balance. And something tells me I’ll always be a rule-follower with one eye on the calendar when I’ve got a deadline looming. Then again, just maybe I’ll learn to let go enough to trust that I can find a way to get my work done and still allow my imagination to run the creative show.
Have you ever experienced receiving the answer to a question or the solution to a problem spontaneously or in a manner that felt uncanny?
About FINAL CUT: A big budget Hollywood movie set is always full of surprises, but the last thing key costumer Joey Jessop expected to find on the first day of shooting was the body of a fellow crew member.
About Marjorie: Marjorie McCown spent 27 years working as a key member of the costume design teams for movies such as Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, The Firm, Angels and Demons, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and X-Men Days of Future Past. Her debut murder mystery, FINAL CUT (published June 6, 2023 by Crooked Lane Books) is set behind the scenes of a big budget Hollywood movie.
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What an amazing career, Marjorie! Yes, I’ve received countless answers spontaneously. But like you, my nature is to plan and double check. It’s fun and exciting when the pantser and plotter have a baby! It’s as if they’ve pulled off what seemed impossible until their combined best birthed what I think of as structured creativity.
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I love that — “structured creativity” — the perfect concept! Thanks for your kind words.
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Sounds like a fascinating career, Marjorie. Yes, I’ve often puzzled over a problem and the solution seems to appear out of thin air – usually when I stop puzzling over it!
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Exactly — always amazes me that I can stew over a problem, like the proverbial watched pot. But as soon as I let it go, as you say, Liz, a solution will appear. You’d think that would teach me not to be such a worry wart. Thanks for your comment!
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Big time congratulations on your debut book baby, Marjorie! I remember when I was struggling to find a way to end my first novel in a way that made me happy. I was at a festival and won a music sampler from a local radio station. Ingrid Michaelson’s “Maybe” was one of the tracks. As I listened to the song, I had that lightbulb moment and knew exactly how to finish the book. I’m forever in Ingrid’s debt for that!
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Thanks so much, J.C.! I love your anecdote about receiving inspiration for your book from a song — and I want to read your book! So interesting how our senses can sometimes work together to inform our thoughts — that can feel pretty magical.
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Marjorie, it’s great to meet you! Thanks for visiting us Chicks today, and what an awesome post. I couldn’t help but notice, reading the amazing list of movies you’ve worked on, how extra challenging the costumes & key accessories must have been for each. And you were clearly the perfect person for the job! I wish I could say that answers come to be out of the blue, but it happens very rarely. I love to overthink even the obvious, sigh.
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Lisa, thank you for hosting me, and it’s great to meet you! I love this blog, and it’s an honor to be asked to post. I have to say, more often than not, I’m also an overthinker, despite the instances of spontaneous insight I’ve sometimes had that should convince me to let go a bit more. Alas, not my character, I’m afraid! Thanks for your kind words.
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Marjorie, thanks so much for guesting with us! I only worked in TV, so I loved learning about costuming from the film angle through your book. As to your question, yes! If I’m stuck on something, I often do a mindless task to free up my mind and allow solutions to unexpectedly pop in. Hence the post I once wrote for Chicks, “The Zen of Picking up Dog Poo!”
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Ellen, you are a gem! Thank you for your gracious invitation to post — it’s a thrill for me to participate on a blog I read religiously each day. You and your fellow Chicks provide a real service to our community, creating a hub of inspiration, entertainment, and companionship where we can at least gather virtually to feel some connection with one another.
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Answers sometimes pop into my head when I stop obsessing and turn my attention to a completely different conundrum, such as a crossword puzzle.
Congrats on the new book and thanks for hanging out today with the Chicks.
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Hi, Vickie! Thanks so much for your kind words, and thank you for having me as a guest today!
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Marjorie, glad you’re here with us today! Congrats on your great book! Your rule-following ways will definitely help with sticking to deadlines.
As for getting answers, sometimes I need to either reawaken creativity by other avenues (for me, I enjoy painting with watercolors), but often I just do a totally unrelated task, like going for a walk, washing dishes, etc.
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Jennifer, I’m so happy to be here — I look forward to reading this blog as part of my morning routine every day! Thank you for your kind words! I also appreciate your pat on the back for being a rule follower. It’s something that’s ingrained at this point, and it’s nice to be reminded about the positive aspects of the characteristic.
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What a great career you have had Marjorie. I love movies. I grew up basically living at theatres in the 1950s as my father managed four of them in our hometown and near our hometown. I collect movie memorabilia, signed photographs and books from the silent era until the 1980s basically. I would love to receive a signed copy of your book to read and add to my collection. I have no costumes from the movies in my collection (too expensive for me), but I do have many stills and my mother, and I did purchase limited editions of Walter Plunkett’s costume designs for GWTW for my sister one year. I find that when I can’t get an answer, I walk through a portal and the answer usually comes to me.
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Madeleine, I feel like we have so much in common! I’m also a huge admirer of Walter Plunkett, truly an iconic (though I feel that word gets overused, it certainly applies in this case!) costume designer. I love the image you use of walking through a portal to find an answer you’re looking for! I’d love to hear more about that!
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I read that somewhere about moving back through a portal and I have tried it and it works every time. I do not know why unless it is like a parallel universe helping you. But it does work for me.
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I can see why to do lists would be manditory for your old job. I often have mental lists, but then I find other things jumping into my day. Maybe that would help me be better organized?
Congrats again on your debut! (And yes, please enter me in the giveaway.)
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Thanks so much for your kind words, Mark! I actually admire you for eschewing the need to follow a list in favor of as you say, “jumping into your day.”
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I’ve found that my need to make lists and keep everything organized has served me well as a writer, but then again, I’m very much of a plotter-type.
What a fascinating career you had, Marjorie, and your new book sounds fabulous! Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today!
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Leslie, thank you for hosting me today! I’m a fan of your great blog, so it’s a special treat for me to be here. And I must agree that I have derived some benefits as a writer from organizational habits that were drilled into me during my years in film.
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Marjorie, thank you so much for joining us and congratulations on the book! What a fascinating career you’ve had. I’m betting a lifetime of hitting those deadlines will serve you well!
I love a good list (or a bad one) and have found that inspiration strikes both when I’m actively chasing it down and when I’m letting an idea percolate in the back of my mind. For me, it’s an “and” more than an “or”!
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Hi, Kathleen! Thanks for having me on your wonderful blog! And thank you for your generous words, as well. I like your observation about being open to a confluence of different kinds of inspiration — that’s a great way to think about the creative process.
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The winner of the giveaway, chosen by a random.org generated number, is Madeleine Spangler. I’ll send you her contact info privately.
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Oh, thank you so much for visiting us and sorry I’m late. But: I just bought your book and can’t wait to read it.
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Cynthia, thank you so much for having me as a guest. I love your blog and it was such a treat to participate! You’re very kind to have bought the book — I do hope you enjoy it!
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