Original subtitles

August: EVERYTHING WAS ALWAYS

ABOUT SORT OF MAKING UP A SECOND WORLD.

MY BED WAS ALWAYS A BOAT,

AND I WAS ALWAYS IN SOME SORT OF JAMES BOND MOVIE,

AND I WAS ALWAYS, LIKE, CREATING GRAPPLING HOOKS

OUT OF COAT HANGERS.

LIKE, THAT'S WHAT I GET TO DO FOR A LIVING.

THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE LUXURY THAT THAT'S MY LIFE,

IS TO BE ABLE TO TELL THOSE STORIES

AND MAKE UP THOSE STORIES.

CREATIVITY IS DISCOVERING WHAT THE INTERESTING PROBLEMS ARE

AND HOW CAN YOU SOLVE THEM IN A WAY

THAT'S GONNA BE REALLY INTERESTING

FOR THE PEOPLE WATCHING THE STORY.

A LOT OF SCREENWRITING IS JUST REALLY

KIND OF DISCIPLINED DAYDREAMING.

IT'S LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER A JIGSAW PUZZLE,

BUT YOU'RE NOT QUITE SURE WHAT THE PIECES EVEN ARE.

THERE'S THIS MISCONCEPTION THAT YOU'RE ALWAYS,

LIKE, TRYING TO STRUGGLE TO FIND IDEAS.

MOST WRITERS I KNOW, THERE'S JUST TOO MANY IDEAS.

THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD IDEAS,

AND YOU'RE BASICALLY SIFTING THROUGH THEM,

FIGURING OUT WHICH ONES ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR TIME.

MY BRAIN IS SORT OF LIKE A GAME OF "SURVIVOR,"

AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT IDEAS ARE FIGHTING FOR MY ATTENTION,

AND ONE BY ONE, THEY SORT OF GET ELIMINATED OR THEY WIN.

BUT SOMETIMES THOSE IDEAS WILL SORT OF BE SWIRLING IN YOUR HEAD

FOR SO LONG THAT THEY'LL KIND OF GANG UP TOGETHER,

AND THEY'LL BECOME LIKE ONE BETTER IDEA.

LIKE, "JOHN WON'T PAY ATTENTION TO US SINGULARLY,

BUT IF WE ALL GET TOGETHER,

HE'LL HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO US."

I THINK THE COMMON THEME OF MOST OF MY MOVIES

IS CHARACTERS WHO ARE TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS.

THEY START IN A VERY NORMAL WORLD,

AND THEY GO OFF TO A SECOND WORLD

AND SORT OF HAVE TO FIGURE OUT THAT SECOND WORLD.

YOU KNOW, BEFORE I START WRITING A SCRIPT,

I TRY TO HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENS

AND SORT OF WHAT THE BEATS ARE,

AND THAT WAY, I REALLY DO KNOW WHAT THE END IS.

I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY WHAT THE WORDS ARE,

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SCENES ARE,

BUT I KNOW WHERE WE GOT TO.

I KNOW THIS IS HOW THE MOVIE IS GOING TO END.

IF I WRITE FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END,

THAT LAST THIRD GETS TO BE REALLY JANGLY

AND SORT OF MESSED UP,

BECAUSE THAT'S THE PART THAT I SORT OF SLUGGED THROUGH,

RACING TO GET DONE WITH A DEADLINE.

BETTER THAT THAT STUFF YOU'RE RACING IS IN THE MIDDLE.

I HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF SORT OF DOING THAT VERY FIRST

PUTTING STUFF DOWN ON PAPER.

SOMETIMES I'LL USE A WHITEBOARD.

THE ADVANTAGE OF USING A WHITEBOARD

IS IT'S A CHANCE TO JUST EXPLORE AND TO SORT OF MAKE MISTAKES

AND SEE WHAT CONNECTIONS THERE CAN BE.

SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO MAKE A BIG MESS.

HERE WHAT I'M WORKING ON IS SORT OF THE CENTRAL RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THE TWO CHARACTERS

AND SORT OF ALL THE OTHER CHARACTERS

AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY CAN ALL FIT TOGETHER.

SO, I WANT SOMEBODY TO BE A RIVAL TO LINDA,

AND SO HE'S JUST "RIVAL."

AND THEN YOU'RE THINKING, LIKE,

WELL, WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT RIVAL?

WHO COULD THAT PERSON BE?

I'M ALSO A BIG FAN OF SORT OF WRITING OFF THE PAGE.

NOT EVERYTHING YOU WRITE HAS TO ACTUALLY FIT INSIDE YOUR MOVIE.

RIGHT NOW THERE'S NOT A NATURAL CONNECTION

BETWEEN THESE TWO CHARACTERS, BUT IT LEADS ME TO THINK,

LIKE, WELL, WHAT WOULD THEIR CONVERSATION BE LIKE?

HAVE THEM HAVE A CONVERSATION JUST IN A COFFEE SHOP,

SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAVE

ANYTHING TO DO WITH NECESSARILY YOUR PLOT,

BUT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF WHAT THEIR VOICE IS LIKE,

WHO THEY ARE, WHAT'S DRIVING THEM,

HOW THEY COMMUNICATE WITH THEMSELVES.

AND SO YOU SORT OF START AT A CENTRAL THING,

AND YOU SORT OF WORK OUT, OUT, OUT,

AND YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT'S POSSIBLE.

AND IF YOU TRY TO DO THIS FROM A TOP TO BOTTOM OF A DOCUMENT,

IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY HARD,

BUT SORT OF WHEN YOU MAKE A BIG, MESSY MAP,

SOMETIMES YOU FIND SOME CONNECTIONS

THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE OTHERWISE FOUND.

SO, WE'RE UP HERE IN MY OFFICE,

AND IF I'M WORKING ON A SCENE,

THE FIRST STEP IN WRITING A SCENE

IS REALLY JUST LOOPING IT IN MY HEAD.

AND LOOPING IT IS JUST FIGURING OUT

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN THE SCENE, WHERE WE ARE,

WHICH CHARACTERS ARE THERE, KIND OF WATCHING IT.

IT'S LIKE BEING A DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER BUT INSIDE YOUR HEAD.

AND SO YOU'RE SEEING THIS THING HAPPEN IN FRONT OF YOU,

AND JUST IT KEEPS HAPPENING,

IT KEEPS HAPPENING, IT KEEPS HAPPENING.

AND EVENTUALLY IT PLAYS ENOUGH TIMES,

AND YOU START TO SEE, "OKAY, THAT'S THE SCENE."

IT'S LIKE YOU'RE JUST SEEING THE SCENE IN YOUR HEAD,

LIKE YOU'RE SHOOTING THE MOVIE IN YOUR HEAD,

AND YOU FEEL, LIKE, WHAT IT IS.

THE CRUCIAL STEP I'VE LEARNED IS I HAVE TO GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD

AND ONTO PAPER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE,

OR ELSE I'LL FORGET IT.

SO WHAT I'LL DO IS THIS SCRIBBLE DRAFT,

WHICH IS JUST BASICALLY AS FAST AS I POSSIBLY CAN,

I WRITE IT DOWN.

IT'S THE WORST, MOST GIBBERISHY KIND OF HANDWRITING.

MOST OF THE DIALOGUE,

REALLY SORT OF THE BARE BONES OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.

THAT VERSION IS SUPPOSED TO BE TERRIBLE.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE TRANSITIONAL.

NO ONE SHOULD EVER SEE THAT VERSION.

JUST REALLY NOTES FOR MYSELF.

I HAVE A STANDING DESK,

BECAUSE I FIND IF I ACTUALLY STAY ON MY FEET,

I TEND TO FOCUS A LITTLE BIT MORE.

I HAVE A WEIRD KEYBOARD THAT IS BENT AND BROKEN,

BECAUSE MY WRISTS GOT BENT AND BROKEN FROM TYPING TOO MUCH.

SO I TYPE THIS WAY RATHER THAN TYPING THIS WAY,

BUT IT ALL WORKS.

IT'S BEST FOR ME NOT TO WRITE IN SEQUENCE,

SO I WON'T START AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY,

GO THROUGH THE END.

I'LL WRITE WHATEVER SCENE APPEALS TO ME TO WRITE.

BY SKIPPING AROUND A LOT,

I CAN STOP MYSELF FROM SAYING,

"WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT NEXT SCENE IS,

SO I'M JUST GONNA STOP."

THERE'S ALWAYS SOME SCENE IN THE SCRIPT THAT I COULD WRITE,

AND IT'D TAKE AWAY MY EXCUSE FOR NOT WRITING THAT DAY.

EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS,

I TRY TO GET THOSE LAST 10 PAGES DONE

SO I KNOW WHAT THE BOUNDARY OF THE SCRIPT IS.

ONCE I FEEL LIKE I'VE HAD

MORE THAN HALF THE SCRIPT HANDWRITTEN OUT,

THEN I'LL REALLY GO THROUGH

AND ASSEMBLE THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER

AND REALLY SEE WHAT'S THERE AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE WORKED ON,

SO THEN I'M KIND OF PAINTING TOWARDS THE MIDDLE.

IF YOU'RE PLANNING A ROAD TRIP,

YOU GOT TO KIND OF KNOW WHERE YOU WANT TO END UP.

YOU DO GOT TO KNOW WHERE YOU START

AND WHERE YOU'RE GONNA END UP,

AND THEN YOU CAN TAKE REALLY FASCINATING WAYS TO GET THERE,

BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU ACTUALLY FINALLY

GET TO THE PLACE YOU'RE TRYING TO GET TO.