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On Fear of Actors
I’ve always been a bit nervous about dealing with
actors and that relationship. I always feel I don’t know the dialogue
or the language you speak with actors. I’ve never rehearsed, so
I’m pretty much winging it on-set. Everything happens right there
and then, and it’s always risky. More money would mean more time
and it would mean spending more time with the actors.
On Storyboarding
I tend to only storyboard something complicated
and then draw where the camera is going to go. My stuff is generally
just talking heads so there is not much you have to do with storyboards.
On Video vs. Film
The very first idea was it was going to be video
so I always stuck with that. At one point there was a possibility
of? shooting on film. We probably didn’t shoot any more video
than we would have shot film, since there wasn’t a lot of time,
but we were shooting inside a mall and in offices. It was suitable
to the technology.
On Visualizing the Cast During Writing
I usually leave the casting for after. It is a key
process. I’m visualizing and have a mental image but you have
to agree to throw it out. It can be very limiting if you want
what is in your head. It’s happened to me-I couldn’t find the
person I had in my head. You have to get rid of that idea; I’ve
learned that now. You visualize the kind of person? And writing
with a famous person in mind is dangerous, you’ll never get that
person anyway!
On the Three Act Structure
It’s something to be aware of, but it can also be
a trap. You need to know what your story is about and not worry
about all that stuff. Don’t get paralyzed by what has to happen
at what point; just throw it out. I wrote a couple of scripts
without knowing anything, without even having a basic understanding
of story structure and they still kind of worked.
We’ve all grown up watching Gilligan’s Island.
We all intrinsically have a sense of story. Everyone knows beginning-middle-end,
even if they can’t articulate it? By the time you’re 10 years
old you’ve probably seen 50 feature films and 100 sitcoms; they
all follow the same structure-you get it. Just drop that stuff,
you’ll figure it out.
On Short Films as a Steppingstone
I got to make features because I made shorts.
On Writing What You Know
I always wrote something that I was familiar with,
that I understood, or was interested in. It wasn’t a high concept
thing or something outside of my realm of experience. I would
never dream of starting out by making a cop movie, because I’m
not a cop.
On Being an Active Moviemaker
Write stuff that you actually have some connection
to, and make those projects. Write something and direct it, even
if it is a little video. Everything is based on your past work,
so just go do it.
On Getting Started
One thing about writing is you can do it at home in
your bedroom. You can try it. Write something. It’s not like it
costs a lot to pull off-it just takes time.
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