Peter Greenaway explains the origins of the storyline for "The Draughtsman's Contract" (via Neil Gaiman):
The weather was unusually fine. For about three weeks, I did some drawings. I set up a series of permanent vantage points by moving chairs out of the house and situating them in the garden, so that very early in the morning, from breakfast till mid-morning, I would draw maybe the north side of the house. Then, when the shadows moved so much that it changed the complexion, I would move on to the next seat, so that from, say, mid-morning until lunchtime, I would draw another view of the house, etc, on into the afternoon. There were about, I think, five different places in the garden.
But also, since I was on holiday and enjoying myself, there were constant interruptions that I made no attempt to avoid: playing with my children, doing a piece of gardening, going to the shops, having meals, simply falling asleep in the sun. And this is the premise for the film. It's a story about a draughtsman who draws a country house and is constantly interrupted. I have to add that the uses of his drawing -- for sexual and financial reward -- were far away from what happened to me. This is a fictionalisation of an autobiographical event.
The best part about this is the final editorial note:
This is an edited extract from the director's commentary on the DVD, to be released by the BFI later this year.
Yay! There's finally going to be a Greenaway film with director's commentary, and it's one of my favorites. I hope "Drowning by Numbers" and CTWL will follow in a few years.