Last night I was watching a movie called The Dying Gaul. It was a really interesting story about a man who has written a screenplay about his lover’s death. A studio wants to buy the film rights, but they want him to make the characters straight instead of gay, and maybe a tad less AIDSy.  It was a good movie. But the thing that got me was this, there is a scene where the writer is looking at his laptop screen, and types in the word to change, Malcom, and the word it is to be changed to. He hesitates, then types an M and pauses. I know absolutely what he is going to type next. And he does.

Maggie.

What the hell is up with the film industry and their love of the name Maggie? Movies and tv shows are lousy with characters named Maggie.  If your knowledge of American culture was derived solely from tv and movies, you’d draw the conclusion that Maggie must be one of the most popular names in this country. Don’t believe me? Got to IMDB and search the character list for the name. But the thing is, never in real life have I met a Maggie. Not one. Margarets right and left, a few Megs, several Megans, an easy dozen Maddies, a couple of Matties, two Maisies and a Mazzy! Mazzy for the love of God. But not one Maggie.

I don’t dislike the name Maggie. Far from it. I just find it odd that it is used so often and that I have never personally encountered it. I wonder is there is some old superstition that goes back to silent movies where some big shot producer had a daughter named Maggie and he’d approve a script in a heartbeat if there was a character named after her. Is it considered lucky? Or maybe it’s a screenwriter tradition like stage actors refusing to say Macbeth and only calling it the “Scottish Play”. Things like this fascinate me.

Perhaps I should let it go and get back to work.

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