In 2008 I ‘wrote’ a ‘novel’ entitled THE PLAGIARIST. It’s shifted a few units and received some positive reviews, no to mention some perplexed and baffled ones. I decided at the time, however, that words alone were not enough. This was a text (or assemblage of texts) that deserved, no, demanded to be taken into other dimensions. As there was already a very ‘multimedia’ feel to THE PLAGIARIST, I thought it would be fun to produce a film, and very soon the idea was in place: the film of the book. Of course, nothing’s that straightforward, and naturally, the idea of transposing a film that has no plot, no action, no narrative and no characters to speak of was always going to be problematic – perhaps even more so than a literal film version of Naked Lunch. These problems are placed in particularly sharp relief when the aspiring film-maker has no budget, no-film-making skills, no contacts and no real time to devote to such a project.
Nevertheless, I was set on doing it, because it felt right, and besides, I strongly believe that ubiquity is the key to global domination (yes, I also believe it’s possible to achieve underground world domination, and in the words of X-Factor winner Shayne Ward, that’s my goal). The objective of the film was therefore twofold: 1) to promote the book in a vaguely net-savvy, media-savvy sort of a way, as was fitting for the composite postmodernist work that is THE PLAGIARIST 2) to provide a companion piece to the book, while at the same time exploring the notion that a cut-up text is an ever-shifting, polymorphous collection of words and images on the page with no one fixed version or definitive article.
Having made the film, I posted a trailer on YouTube and elsewhere and made a big fuss about the whole thing, and attempted to find a way of launching the film properly at some reading event or somesuch. It wasn’t to be. A couple of possible avenues didn’t materialise, and I ran out of steam and enthusiasm, while still hoping some opportunity might present itself. It didn’t, and so 18 months after the trailer that advertising that THE PLAGIARIST: THE MOVIE was ‘coming soon,’ I decided it should be placed into the public domain. Leaving the thing languishing on my hard-drive seemed rather pointless, after all.
The title THE PLAGIARIST: THE MOVIE was, in fact, intended to be misleading. It’s not a film of the book. Or, it is, but in the sense that it includes some of the pieces of ‘narrative’ in the soundtrack. It’s perhaps more accurate to describe it as an audio-visual version of the book. It also fulfils the objective of having a physical and psychosensory effect. Try watching the last two minutes without feeling something – probably stress, discomfort, and a desire for the experience to end. Despite my limited abilities, no-budget software and the fact it was produced on a PC that was consigned to demolition shortly after the film’s completion due to its tendency to crash every few minutes, I’m pleased with the results, because, believe it or not, this is the film as it was conceived, and my lack of skills didn’t impinge on the realisation of my ‘creative’ vision. It’s supposed to hurt. Enjoy….
And if you’re loving my work, there’s more of the same (only different) at Christophernosnibor.co.uk.
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