Bumbleberry Jam Day
I love stories of how a single meeting between geniuses produced a Cambrian explosion of new art.
A classic example involves authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, whose long walk down the leafy paths of Oxford one day in the fall of 1931 spawned both The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien) and The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis).
Music sleuths trace the fruits of the cross-pollination of Elvis, Sam Cook, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, who converged at Sun Studio in Memphis one night in 1956.
In the summer of 1869, Monet and Renoir set up their easels side by side, en plein air, at a resort by the Seine. Friendly rivals, they pushed each other to expand Impressionism. Monet produced Bathers at La Grenouillère, Renoir La Grenouillère – both great masterpieces.
Here’s a newer example I just learned about. I gather it’s well-enough known to film buffs, since it already has a nickname: “the Pixar Lunch.”
One afternoon in summer of 1994, four Pixar directors – John Lassiter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Jon Ranft – met at the Hidden City Cafe in Point Richmond, California. Toy Story had just wrapped, and the guys wanted to brainstorm next steps for the studio. From that single chinwag, and an untold number of drawings sketched on napkins, four hit movies emerged.
The juice of Toy Story was the idea that toys had secret lives adults had no idea of. That’s something a lot of kids believe. What’s another secret belief of kids? Docter wondered aloud. Well, that monsters live in the closet. Hey, write that down. (Became Monsters Inc.)
Stanton remembered being beguiled, as a kid, by the aquarium in his dentist’s office. The fish with their tiny noses to the glass, like they were longing to go home. (Became Finding Nemo.)
Someone anted in that Aesop’s Fables seemed like story trove that had yet to be fully exploited. Wasn’t there one about a grasshopper and an ant? Insects would be easier to animate than people – easier, even, than toys. (Became A Bug’s Life.)
The directors were cooking. They widened their scope. What if humans were forced to flee earth and someone forgot to turn off the last robot? (Became Wall-E.)
That What If was the magic germinator. It always is, notes the screenwriter Scott Myers, known for his high-concept pitches. “’What if…’ are the two most powerful words in history.”
Bumbleberry jam is the best jam. That’s because it’s a jam session between multiple types of berries.
What if … there were a national holiday dedicated to setting up the conditions for these mash-ups to happen? All workplaces are shut down. You’re encouraged to call up someone who inspires you and go for coffee.
Bumbleberry Jam Day.
