The List: director Don McKellar tells us the 10 things he can’t live without
The multi-tasking director’s latest film is The Grand Seduction, an English-language remake of a beloved Quebec comedy.
1 | My bed It’s big and almost square—it takes up more than half of my second floor—and it’s the place in my house where I spend my happiest and most productive hours. I’m not being coy: I really like my bed. I work there, read there...you get the idea. I have a long torso and I think it’s most at ease when prone.
2 | The Saturday cryptic crossword I do the Globe cryptic every morning over my coffee, and the day is shot if I don’t complete it. The Saturday puzzle is an especially sacred ritual for me. I feel a weird, intimate connection with the guy who sets it, Fraser Simpson.
3 | A pen Not any particular pen, just a pen. A good one, but not so good that I’ll be annoyed when I lose it. I always have one with me. I can’t do No. 2 (above) in my head.
4 | Radio Not any particular radio, just radio. I still listen to the CBC. Despite everything.
5 | My bathtub If at all possible, I take a bath once a week. Usually on the weekend, doing the No. 2 with my No. 3, while the No. 4 is playing. (God, I sound like the dullest guy in the world.)
6 | Anchovy paste I use it way more than you’d think. (I mean, with food, of course.) More fish should come in tubes!
7 | My Chinese junk It’s a model boat with cannons and all the rigging that, as a boy, I used to admire whenever I visited my grandmother. She brought it from China, where she was born. It’s a prized inheritance, and it reminds me of the rich Chinese culture and history that I used to imagine was mine.
8 | My clarinet I played it in my first professional play, and the article in the next day’s paper called me “Canada’s Woody Allen!” I haven’t brought it out in public since, and I’m not likely to anytime soon.
9 | Booze I’m including this for those people reading The List with the idea of buying me a gift. I like good scotch. Don’t give me anchovy paste.
10 | Toilet paper Two-ply. Yes, I suppose I could live without it. But I choose not to.
