By Viviana Rivas

Every person is inspired in a different way. A strange or unique chain of events could end up deciding your future. Or maybe somebody will tell you to be less stupid, and you end up winning a Pulitzer Award.

That is the story of the 1999 Pulitzer Award winner, Michael Cunningham. While flirting with his crush at 15, she snapped at him with, “Have you ever thought of being less stupid? Go read Woolf,” she said.

After reading Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway,” Cunningham was moved by Woolf’s complex language and it inspired him to become a writer.

“[Woolf] was doing what Jimi Hendrix does with a guitar. It really knocked me out,” Cunningham said.

The inspiration of Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” also led the author to create the novel responsible for his award, “The Hours.” His successful novel was adapted into a motion picture that is now playing in theaters.

Cunningham was born in Cincinnati. Besides “The Hours,” he has written other novels, such as “Flesh and Blood” and “A Home at the End of the World,” which is also being made into a motion picture starring Colin Farrell.

What initiated the creation of “The Hours” was the idea of a reader reading a book. Ironically enough, one of the characters of “The Hours” is Woolf, who was suffering from mental illnesses while writing “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Cunningham confessed that he was nervous writing about the feminist icon Woolf, himself being a man, but he didn’t let his uncertainties stop him.

“If you’re going to go down in flames, go down in big flames,” Cunningham said.

“The Hours” is about three very complex women and how their lives indirectly connect, despite the era and place they live in. The idea of his characters come from composites of people he knows. For example, the character Laura Brown was an image of his mother.

In the movie, the characters are linked through Woolf, played by Nicole Kidman, while she is writing “Mrs. Dalloway.” Laura Brown, portrayed by actress Julianne Moore, is a troubled 1950’s housewife reading “Mrs. Dalloway.” Meryl Streep plays Clarissa Vaughan, a New York City editor in contemporary times, who is preparing a party, like “Mrs. Dalloway.” Their lives intricately connect, leaving the audience mesmerized by the extremely well performed and breathtaking film.

Cunningham is immensely satisfied with the movie and David Hare’s adaptation.

“The movie has a life of its own. It’s very close to the book but it’s also a work of art onto itself,” Cunningham said.

He also said that the audience does not have to be familiar with Woolf’s work to fully appreciate the movie.

After receiving a prestigious award, such as the Pulitzer, it seems very difficult for an author to top his accomplishment. Cunningham stated that he finds it pointless to duplicate “The Hours” and a mistake to intentionally write a novel that people will love.

“You simply want to do what seems more interesting to you and hope that other people will find it interesting too,” Cunningham said.

The 50-year-old author currently lives in New York City with his partner, Ken Corbett. He written the screenplay for “A Home at the End of the World,” which starts filming in April, and is working on a new novel.

Currently, the Academy Awards have been disputing over the nominations for best leading actress. The New York Times reported that a stopwatch was taken to the film to find out how much time each actress appeared. The results were close, so now it’s up to Hollywood politics to decide which actress will be nominated for leading and supporting roles. Cunningham believes that the three were equally the backbone of the story and the three performances were equally stunning.

“I think if the women are going to get prizes, they should all get every prize there is,” Cunningham said.