John Gatins’ Glorious Things

Every week, CultureWag asks a genius to recommend 3 gifts from the Muses. Mr. John Gatins, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director, actor, and best of all, the kindest, wittiest voice in every room, shares these jewels of inspiration with you:

1. My friend, writer and comic wit Don Rhymer. He got a small tumor in his neck, and it kept coming back. He was hilarious through the challenge. It turned very serious, and after a last surgical attempt to save his life failed, he wrote on a whiteboard Focus on the Good. He was graceful in his last days, saying goodbye to his wife and kids, writing funny emails to me to the end. A kind man, who lived every moment of his 51 years with grace and humor. Focus on the Good stays with me. Every day.

2. My mom, the daughter of poor Irish immigrants to New York City who married a boy from the neighborhood who became a cop, and raised four kids— a doctor, a lawyer, and engineer, and me. She's 83 now and uses Instagram to keep up with her kids, grandkids and family in Ireland. She grew up with a World War II rationing book, and worked for 31 years at Vassar College, where she put three of us through college. She fought for her version of the American Dream.

3. Chloé Zhao and Shaka King. I saw their films this year, and they stopped me cold. I've been trying to work in this business for 30 years, and just when I thought every story had been told in every way possible, they made Nomadland and Judas and the Black Messiah. Their movies made me feel like there is still a way to be original. I'd not felt that way in a long time.