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  • Black: THIS WILL BE A 3½ HOUR SORT OF TUTORIAL ON MY PROCESS.

  • THAT'S WHERE I START -- TAKING AN IDEA,

  • WHETHER IT'S FICTION OR NONFICTION

  • AND FIGURING OUT WHY -- NOT JUST WHAT YOU'RE GONNA TELL,

  • NOT THAT IT'S ENTERTAINING OR INTERESTING,

  • BUT WHY ARE YOU TELLING THAT STORY?

  • WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THAT STORY?

  • FOR ME, IT'S ALWAYS HOW DO I MOVE THE NEEDLE?

  • HOW DO I CHANGE THE CULTURE NOW?

  • ALL RIGHT, THIS IS THE CLOSET IN MY OFFICE

  • WHERE I KEEP ALL OF THE RESEARCH

  • FOR THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS I'M WORKING ON.

  • I SPEND USUALLY AT LEAST A YEAR,

  • IF NOT LONGER, RESEARCHING THE PROJECT.

  • I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO GET TO THE TRUTH,

  • AND THAT MEANS FIRSTHAND INTERVIEWS.

  • THAT MEANS MEETING THE REAL PEOPLE.

  • I MEAN, IT BECOMES JUST VOLUMES OF MATERIAL.

  • THE BOXES ARE JUST, LIKE, FILLED WITH CRAP, REALLY.

  • SOME OF IT I USED, SOME IF IT DIDN'T.

  • SOME OF IT IS JUST RESEARCH ON MORMON AMERICA

  • BY THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER.

  • THAT WAS A NEW SORT OF STUDY.

  • PICTURES, ARTICLES, DRAFTS.

  • I THINK THERE'S WAYS YOU GO ABOUT

  • TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STUFF IS UNIQUE,

  • AND TO ME THAT JUST MEANS SPECIFIC.

  • YOU KNOW, THERE'S A TERRIBLE STUDIO NOTE,

  • WHICH IS LIKE, "WELL, JUST MAKE THEM RELATABLE."

  • AND I'M LIKE, "YOU KNOW WHAT? NO.

  • MAKE THEM REALLY THEM AND REALLY SPECIFICALLY THEM,"

  • AND IT BECOMES VERY UNIVERSAL, AND THAT COMES FROM RESEARCH.

  • WHAT I DO IS START TO TAKE THAT MATERIAL,

  • WHATEVER IT IS, AND TO BOIL DOWN

  • THE MOMENTS THAT I THINK ARE CINEMATIC,

  • THE MOMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR THIS STORY,

  • AND I START TO PUT THEM ONTO NOTE CARDS.

  • EACH NOTE CARD SHOULD BE

  • AS PURE AND SINGULAR AN IDEA AS POSSIBLE,

  • BECAUSE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE ALL THE PIECES AROUND

  • AND TO CREATE A FILM.

  • AND A FILM IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

  • A FILM IS AN IMPRESSION OF WHAT HAPPENED.

  • THIS IS WHAT A SCENE ENDS UP BEING.

  • EACH ONE OF THESE CARDS HAS A COLOR.

  • IT HAS A -- WHICH MEANS SOMETHING.

  • LIKE, THE COLOR MEANS WHICH CHARACTER IT'S FOLLOWING.

  • IF IT'S HANDWRITTEN,

  • MOST LIKELY IT WAS AN INTERVIEW THAT I DID.

  • IF IT'S PRINTED, IT'S PROBABLY RIGHT OUT OF SOME PERIODICAL.

  • BUT THEN YOU CAN FIND STUFF LIKE THIS.

  • THIS PROBABLY USED TO BE A TOP CARD.

  • I HAD AN IDEA OF WHAT THE SCENE WOULD BE,

  • TO DO ALL OF THIS VISUALLY,

  • OR, YOU KNOW, EVENTUALLY, THIS WAS NO LONGER THE TOP CARD.

  • EVENTUALLY IT BECAME ALL THESE CARDS.

  • AND THEN IT WAS DISTILLED INTO THIS DESCRIPTION OF A SCENE

  • THAT TAKES PLACE ON WHAT THEY CALL THE FARM.

  • YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT THEN TAKING THESE CARDS

  • AND, FOR ME, OVER THE COURSE OF WEEKS TO MONTHS,

  • LAYING THEM OUT AND DISTILLING

  • WHAT'S NECESSARY TO TELL THE STORY.

  • ACT I -- I START WAY UP HERE IN THE CORNER.

  • AND IF I CAN'T GET TO THE END OF THE MOVIE BY THAT CORNER,

  • IT'S TIME TO TIME TO START CUTTING.

  • ONCE IT'S LAID OUT, WHICH WILL TAKE WEEKS,

  • I START TO HAVE TO WHITTLE IT DOWN.

  • YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REASON TO WRITE ALL THAT STUFF

  • AND THEN HAVE TO CUT IT LATER.

  • I MAY AS WELL CUT IT BEFORE I HAVE TO WRITE IT.

  • IT'S PAINFUL, BECAUSE YOU'VE DONE SO MUCH WORK

  • TO GATHER ALL OF THESE INTERVIEWS AND THIS INFORMATION,

  • AND 90% OF IT IS GONE.

  • 90% OF IT YOU'LL NEVER USE.

  • THESE ARE THE LAND OF LOST SCENES.

  • THESE ARE MY PRECIOUS LITTLE CHILDREN THAT I'VE HAD TO KILL.

  • AND I COME BACK OVER HERE ALL THE TIME,

  • USUALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND GO, "OH, MY GOSH.

  • "HOW CAN I NOT HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS SCENE?

  • "HOW CAN I NOT HAVE THAT?

  • "WHERE RON MARRIES 19-YEAR-OLD REBECCA?

  • "THAT WOULD BE SO CHILLING AND HORRIFIC

  • AND TELLING ABOUT HIS CHARACTER,"

  • BUT I JUST HAVE TO SAY, "THERE'S NOT ROOM.

  • I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE ROOM ON THAT TABLE."

  • SO, LITERALLY, YOU CAN JUST SEE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THINGS

  • I LOVE THAT I'VE HAD TO KILL.

  • I GUESS, FOR ME, IT'S JUST DOING SOMETHING NEW.

  • THAT'S A BIG PART OF WHAT IT IS FOR ME TO BE CREATIVE.

  • I THINK IT'S NOT JUST CREATING SOMETHING NEW AND ORIGINAL.

  • IT'S, LIKE, ACTUALLY FINDING A WAY

  • TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND ORIGINAL THAT WORKS.

  • I THINK SOMETIMES ARTISTS THINK, "WELL, IT'S ALL BEEN DONE,"

  • AND I HEAR THAT ALL THE TIME.

  • LIKE, "EVERY STORY HAS BEEN TOLD

  • AND EVERY CHARACTER HAS BEEN DRAWN."

  • AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, THAT'S BULL.

  • IT'S NOT TRUE.

  • THE SPECIFICITY WITH WHICH AN AUTHOR OR A FILMMAKER

  • PAINTS THOSE CHARACTERS AND PAINTS THOSE STORIES

  • AND THE DETAILS THAT ARE PUT INTO THEM, YOU KNOW,

  • THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE ORIGINAL FOREVER.

  • ONCE I GET THE CARDS IN A PLACE

  • WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE SCENES ARE LAID OUT

  • IN SOME ORDER THAT STARTS TO MAKE SENSE,

  • I JUST WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, WALK INTO THE KITCHEN,

  • AND WATCH MY MOVIE.

  • AND THAT MEANS JUST READING EVERY CARD

  • AND VISUALIZING EACH SCENE,

  • AND IF I GET BORED OR IF I GET STUCK

  • OR IF I FIND SOMETHING THAT'S NOT LOGICAL

  • OR IS REPETITIVE, I STOP AND I FIX IT.

  • AND THEN I START OVER AGAIN.

  • I JUST KEEP DOING THAT DAY AFTER DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK,

  • UNTIL I LITERALLY CAN GET THROUGH THE MOVIE A FEW TIMES,

  • I'M NOT BORED,

  • AND AT THAT POINT, I CALL IT AN OUTLINE.

  • NOW I SAY, "OKAY, THIS IS DONE."

  • I READ IT. IT FEELS LIKE A MOVIE.

  • AND I'M GONNA PUT IT IN THE BOX.

  • AND I'M GONNA PUT IT IN THE BOX IN THIS ORDER,

  • AND THIS IS THE ORDER THAT I'M GONNA WRITE IT IN

  • IN MY FIRST DRAFT.

  • OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF WEEKS, I START WRITING.

  • WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING, I'VE BEEN SEEING THE SCENES

  • IN MY HEAD FOR SO LONG AT THIS POINT

  • THAT IT'S ALMOST LIKE JUST REGURGITATION.

  • LIKE, I'M JUST GETTING OUT.

  • AND I CALL IT MY VOMIT DRAFT.

  • I WRITE THE FIRST 10 PAGES IN A WAY THAT'S VERY READABLE

  • AND SOMETHING THAT I WOULDN'T BE TOO ASHAMED OF SOMEONE READING,

  • AND THEN THE NEXT 90 TO 120, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE,

  • I JUST SPILL IT ALL OUT,

  • AND I ALLOW MYSELF TO MAKE MISTAKES

  • AND TO IMPROV AND TO PLAY.

  • I KNOW THERE'S THE WRITERS LIKE KURT VONNEGUT WHO SAID,

  • YOU KNOW, HE JUST GOT IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

  • AND THEN HE WAS DONE.

  • I'M NOT THAT GUY.

  • I SORT OF LIKE -- I SORT OF, LIKE, SPIT OUT

  • THIS GIANT PIECE OF CLAY AND THEN I START TO SHAPE.

  • I GET UP AT, YOU KNOW, 8:00.

  • I AM IN HERE WRITING BY 8:30 OR 9:00.

  • I TAKE MAYBE A BREAK FOR LUNCH,

  • A BREAK TO GO, YOU KNOW, SWEAT IT OUT AT THE GYM,

  • AND THEN I'M IN HERE UNTIL ABOUT 1:00 IN THE MORNING,

  • AND THAT'S SIX TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

  • I LOVE AND HATE WHAT I DO.

  • IT'S LIKE AN ADDICTION.

  • I WANT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.

  • I WANT TO MAKE IT WORK.

  • IF SOMEONE BELIEVES THAT THE WORLD IS GOOD AS IS,

  • THAT THIS IS IT,

  • WE'VE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE,

  • THEN YOU KNOW WHAT? DON'T WRITE.

  • GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS.

  • GO LOUNGE SOMEWHERE.

  • I WRITE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'RE DONE,

  • AND I THINK THAT WE MAKE PROGRESS

  • BY TELLING OUR PERSONAL STORIES.

  • YOU KNOW, THE PERSONAL STORY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.

Black: THIS WILL BE A 3½ HOUR SORT OF TUTORIAL ON MY PROCESS.

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