Interview with Patrick Creadon
Patrick Creadon, director of the documentary Wordplay, has served as a cameraman for literally every major network as well as Paramount Pictures, Disney, Warner Brothers, and numerous others. In his debut as a director, Creadon explores the world of crossword puzzle fans across the country, and their hero, New York Times puzzle creator Will Shortz. He lives with his fellow-crossword puzzling wife, Christine, and their two young daughters, in California. In anticipation of the release of his film, he was kind enough to participate in the following e-interview.
JW: What, specifically, did you find compelling about Will Shortz and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament?
Patrick Creadon: My wife, Christine O'Malley (producer of Wordplay). and I have been big fans of the New York Times crossword for years, and we'd been looking for a great topic for our first documentary feature for quite some time. One day it just hit us—Why don't we do a movie about Will Shortz and his puzzle? The tournament was not on our radar early on (in fact, we didn't even know there was a tournament until after we'd started the project). Originally the tournament was going to be a sidebar to the rest of the film, but once we shot the tournament—and it's incredibly exciting finish—we knew we had an ending to the film.
JW: Are there any sequences that you wish had been included that weren't? If so, could you discuss one or two of them, and explain a) why they weren't included; and b) why you would have liked them to be?
PC: There were several people we shot for the film that ultimately weren't included in the final cut. This was probably the hardest part of the process for me. I feel very indebted to people when they open up to me and my camera, and not including someone in the final cut makes me feel quite badly. I've since spoken to all of them and they understand the decisions we made in the editing room. They also all really enjoy the film—which takes some of the sting away.
JW: I noticed that there at least seemed to be a distinct absence of minorities at the tournament. Is this an accurate observation? If so, why do you think such is the case? If not, why did we mostly see and hear from Caucasians at the event (leaving aside the fact, of course, that the finalists happened to be white)?
PC: The film is a very accurate portrayal of who attends the tournament. I wish I had an answer for why there aren't more minorities in attendance but I don't. Will Shortz certainly welcomes anyone to attend.... perhaps we'll see a more diverse group at future tournaments.
JW: The film's production notes mention that you're a Wednesday/Thursday puzzler, having been introduced (and immediately addicted) to the NY Times puzzles on your honeymoon. Do you work the puzzles together with your wife, or do you “compete� against each other? Any advice for us can't-even-finish-the-Monday puzzlers?
PC: Christine and I definitely solve together as a team. If we did have a competition I don't think I'd stand a chance. For someone who is intimidated by the puzzle (it does have a fierce reputation!), I recommend you grab a Monday New York Times, rip open the Arts page, and dive in with a #2 pencil. No matter how far you get, grab Tuesday's paper the next day and go over the answers to Monday's puzzle (the answers always appear in the next day's puzzle, except for Saturday's answers which appear on the following Monday).
JW: I agree that changing the focus from “one man and his puzzle� to an exploration of his puzzles through the countless devotees was a wise one. However, I also found myself wanting to know a little more about what makes Will Shortz tick, how he fine tunes the clues, how he can continually come up with new themes and ideas. Could you shed any light on that from what you learned while creating your film?
PC: Will is an extremely intelligent and clever person. He's literally “the man with all the answers.� Originally we were going to devote the entire film to him and his work because he truly is a fascinating man. However, as we started shooting and the movie began to branch out into more characters, we realized that we could learn an awful lot about Will by learning about his fans and the people who attend his tournament. Will is extremely happy with the results of the film, so I think he too is satisfied with the direction we took.
JW: The film notes that people in certain professions are more likely to be successful at crosswords than those in other fields. Did you notice any personality traits (or quirks) that are common among puzzlers? What about the puzzle creators—any interesting common traits among them?
PC: Crosswords fans come from all walks of life, but most of them share certain basic characteristics: they love a challenge, they love the process of figuring things out, and they are highly engaged in the world around them. It's a very intelligent, witty group of people. The ones that are really good at solving often have somewhat of an obsessive personality. And without question they are a decent, hard-working bunch. I've yet to meet a crossword solver who isn't a joy to spend time with. As for crossword constructors, they're really smart and really funny. And if you ever have to drive cross country alone, try to recruit one of them to ride shot-gun with you... they can turn anything and everything into a game.
JW: Did you participate in any part of the tournament, just to see how you'd do? If you did: are you willing to disclose your results (after all I hear Ken Jennings didn't place very high!)? If you didn't: are you willing to conjecture as to how you might have done in the competition?
PC: Ken Jennings actually won the B Division last year, which is amazing for a first-timer. I've yet to compete, but I might give it a go next year!
JW: What, specifically, did you find compelling about Will Shortz and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament?
Patrick Creadon: My wife, Christine O'Malley (producer of Wordplay). and I have been big fans of the New York Times crossword for years, and we'd been looking for a great topic for our first documentary feature for quite some time. One day it just hit us—Why don't we do a movie about Will Shortz and his puzzle? The tournament was not on our radar early on (in fact, we didn't even know there was a tournament until after we'd started the project). Originally the tournament was going to be a sidebar to the rest of the film, but once we shot the tournament—and it's incredibly exciting finish—we knew we had an ending to the film.
JW: Are there any sequences that you wish had been included that weren't? If so, could you discuss one or two of them, and explain a) why they weren't included; and b) why you would have liked them to be?
PC: There were several people we shot for the film that ultimately weren't included in the final cut. This was probably the hardest part of the process for me. I feel very indebted to people when they open up to me and my camera, and not including someone in the final cut makes me feel quite badly. I've since spoken to all of them and they understand the decisions we made in the editing room. They also all really enjoy the film—which takes some of the sting away.
JW: I noticed that there at least seemed to be a distinct absence of minorities at the tournament. Is this an accurate observation? If so, why do you think such is the case? If not, why did we mostly see and hear from Caucasians at the event (leaving aside the fact, of course, that the finalists happened to be white)?
PC: The film is a very accurate portrayal of who attends the tournament. I wish I had an answer for why there aren't more minorities in attendance but I don't. Will Shortz certainly welcomes anyone to attend.... perhaps we'll see a more diverse group at future tournaments.
JW: The film's production notes mention that you're a Wednesday/Thursday puzzler, having been introduced (and immediately addicted) to the NY Times puzzles on your honeymoon. Do you work the puzzles together with your wife, or do you “compete� against each other? Any advice for us can't-even-finish-the-Monday puzzlers?
PC: Christine and I definitely solve together as a team. If we did have a competition I don't think I'd stand a chance. For someone who is intimidated by the puzzle (it does have a fierce reputation!), I recommend you grab a Monday New York Times, rip open the Arts page, and dive in with a #2 pencil. No matter how far you get, grab Tuesday's paper the next day and go over the answers to Monday's puzzle (the answers always appear in the next day's puzzle, except for Saturday's answers which appear on the following Monday).
JW: I agree that changing the focus from “one man and his puzzle� to an exploration of his puzzles through the countless devotees was a wise one. However, I also found myself wanting to know a little more about what makes Will Shortz tick, how he fine tunes the clues, how he can continually come up with new themes and ideas. Could you shed any light on that from what you learned while creating your film?
PC: Will is an extremely intelligent and clever person. He's literally “the man with all the answers.� Originally we were going to devote the entire film to him and his work because he truly is a fascinating man. However, as we started shooting and the movie began to branch out into more characters, we realized that we could learn an awful lot about Will by learning about his fans and the people who attend his tournament. Will is extremely happy with the results of the film, so I think he too is satisfied with the direction we took.
JW: The film notes that people in certain professions are more likely to be successful at crosswords than those in other fields. Did you notice any personality traits (or quirks) that are common among puzzlers? What about the puzzle creators—any interesting common traits among them?
PC: Crosswords fans come from all walks of life, but most of them share certain basic characteristics: they love a challenge, they love the process of figuring things out, and they are highly engaged in the world around them. It's a very intelligent, witty group of people. The ones that are really good at solving often have somewhat of an obsessive personality. And without question they are a decent, hard-working bunch. I've yet to meet a crossword solver who isn't a joy to spend time with. As for crossword constructors, they're really smart and really funny. And if you ever have to drive cross country alone, try to recruit one of them to ride shot-gun with you... they can turn anything and everything into a game.
JW: Did you participate in any part of the tournament, just to see how you'd do? If you did: are you willing to disclose your results (after all I hear Ken Jennings didn't place very high!)? If you didn't: are you willing to conjecture as to how you might have done in the competition?
PC: Ken Jennings actually won the B Division last year, which is amazing for a first-timer. I've yet to compete, but I might give it a go next year!
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