All language subtitles for 106 - Developing the Film

as I've identified an idea

I felt inspired by it

I've begun thinking about it

dreaming about it

pitching it

telling it to people

um if that if that continues to go well

and I haven't sort of

you know disconnected from it based on that

um then it gets into the process

of finding those collaborators

I have I have written screenplays

I don't think of myself

first and foremost as a screenwriter

um I'm a very good editor

but I'll begin talking to the executives at imagine

for example

talk to Brian Grazer about it

keeps building excitement

then it's about bringing in a writer

order to get that writer financed

you'll have to take it to a studio

those are more conversations

now the project is having to pass these sort of

these these

these tests

barriers and you are deepening your understanding

of its strengths and weaknesses

as you have these conversations and the

the project

you know picks up momentum

if it's meant to be um and um

then you begin the collaboration with a screenwriter

who usually has to come in um

and discuss the project

because he or she doesn't want to take the screenplay

in a direction that the filmmaker doesn't

um agree with

or the studio doesn't want

or the producers

um you know

don't believe in

so that's another conversation

so you know

projects go through weeks months

sometimes years

of this kind of analysis and thought

before people finally

commit the real resources of paying a writer

and a writer

you know give

given their time to the project and that

and that begins a little thing called development hell

and that's aptly named

because screenplays are not movies

they're blueprints for movies

and yet they're harder to write in many ways

than novels

um you know

many writers have said that um

and there's

there's something about the rhythm um

the the the sort of lean um

specific uh

nature of a movie narrative

that is so demanding uh

that it's very

very difficult to get a screenplay

that everyone agrees is worth investing in um

but it's an important litmus test

and one where the

the directors belief

is going to be tested

because people you know

are going to doubt some of the choices in that script

and the director can either um

finds that he or she either

can defend that script

and us choices in an articulate um

way um or not

and if not that's a

that's a good early signal that

that's an area of the story

that's not fulfilling the possibility of the big idea

the big idea that got everyone excited enough

to wanna have the conversation

to wanna invest the money

in the development of a screenplay um

development hell is where most

most projects go to die

you know I don't know what the ratio is

but it's probably up worse than 10 to 1

terms of projects

developed to finally um

made whether the director is one of the writers or not

um and it's always heartbreaking

but sometimes

they're just not meant to happen

and you know heartbreak

what is that

it's just part of the human experience

I have found

over the years that

you have to understand one thing about directing that

every project you get involved in ultimately

is just going to find its way to breaking your heart

at some point

no matter how successful it is

there's gonna be something about it that

that just disappoints you

it can be you know

that one opinion

from that one person you care about the most

doesn't go your way

or you know

you you know

you believe in the movie

and test audiences love it

but on the weekend that it comes out

it underperforms

and it's never thought of as the glowing success

that you believe it should have or

you know or

you know or you

you go along and everything's great

and you get to the Academy Awards and

um you know

the person that you are so sure should win doesn't

and as silly as all that sounds

there's so much at stake emotionally that it will

for a moment

break your heart

no matter how successful the film's been

up to that point and then

but you know

almost everything is worth experiencing in life

has that um

you know has that attached with it

uh you know that

that you know

there's that chance for profound disappointment

once you get that screenplay to that point where

you know it's

it's been green lit

a lot of things have to happen at once your

your screenplays advance to the point where there's a

there's a studio

there's an investor

there's a network

somebody is saying

okay go make it

and um you know

at this point you

you spring into action

because as soon as you get a yes

you don't wanna fool around

you wanna go uh

that means you begin bringing on your collaborators

you you're gonna

you're gonna need a line producer

a line producer

a production manager

the people who are gonna handle

the logistics of the movie

that's not uncreative

it's in fact

very creative

and the screenplay never stops evolving

because now

that blueprint needs to become something that's

that's practical

you know and it's they they

they need to become the plans for

for um you know

that something that can be executed

um very often

there's already a um

a budget range that is um

sort of projected onto the project

that there's already been an estimate

as to what a project like this auto cost

given the format that you're producing it on

and your goal then

is to begin to understand the you know

the viability of that number

as it relates to this project

it's a logistical hassle

but it's also a very important creative question

that's gonna continue to inform

the choices that a director must make

both aesthetic and practical

um but it always comes back to

what is that feeling that the audience needs

so you you have to start

um answering a lot of basic questions

where are you going to actually shoot this

is this going to be something where you're

you're building sets

or are you you know

or are you gonna find the location

um are are you gonna be forced to find a location

that looks like one place

but in fact is

is closer to home

or in a place that gives you a great tax break

you know these are

these are the kind of things

that a director has to remain involved in

because they really

really influence the

the the look

the feel of the story sometimes

this is so interesting

sometimes those ideas

those demands that feel like compromises

can actually wind up benefiting the project

not only because it frees up more money

to do something else in another sequence

but it actually suggests an approach to a scene

or sequence or a moment

um that's different than what you'd always imagine

maybe what you'd always imagine

was kind of pedestrian and straightforward

when we were working on a Beautiful Mind

we needed a

um a mental institution

and um and it was

it was um it it

it was one where John Nash

played by Russell Crowe

is just beginning

we're beginning to understand that it's it's um

um it's very not

it's a nightmare for him

and it and it's

and it's real

um so and um

our production designer

very experienced production designer named Wind Thomas

found this practical location in New York

well he was trying to find a place that was

it was gonna be very expensive to build

so we all looked at this

and thought this was a real compromise

and you know

and here we are

trying to save some money

but it's such an important scene

and win said

I don't think it has to be a compromise

I think that's gonna help us present to the audience

just how frightening this place can be

because it's not conventional

it's not exactly what you imagine but it

we can make it be logical

and he began to present a way of using these kind of

tunnels and and

and shafts of light and so forth

in ways that were that

that if you see the movie

you feel it's 1,000% authentic

but we were all being too literal about it

um our production designer wasn't

well we saved some money

and we elevated our story in a

in a very artful way

you need a production designer

that production designer is very important

that's a key collaborator because um

you know the look

the aesthetic is um

is gonna be dictated

in large part

by the places you shoot

I've come to understand that

even the greatest cinematographers need good locations

and they're always the first ones to tell you it's

sure it's about lighting

but it's about lighting a space

and if that space

is not supporting the potential of the scene

then it's not the right space

and there's very little a cinematographer

can do about it

um and so that begins a collaboration

that the director is right in the middle of

and that is you know

the photography and the

you know the

the physical locations

or the sets that are going to be built

the next big question

of course is going to be the schedule

how much time do we have to shoot

with live action production

there's never enough time

I I don't care if you're talking about

you know David Lean

and doing Lawrence Arabia in the late 50s

you know it's it's uh

he you know

I'm sure he felt like he was rushed

even though it took two years to shoot the movie

um you know

there's always something else you could try

something else you could explore

so this begins another collaboration which is

yes logistical

but still creative

because it's going to inform the approach to the

you know this

this each scene

this is where a director's early preparation

comes in very handy

because they start asking a lot of questions like

do you think we can

get these two scenes shot in a single day

and the director's understanding of

what the goals are for that scene become so important

if the director doesn't have a ready answer

it doesn't take long

in a conversation with the cinematographer

and the first assistant director

to begin to understand what the goals are

aesthetically

dramatically

emotionally

thematically

and they can begin working with you to um

develop a you know

a visual approach

um sometimes

the director knows what he or she wants visually

and then it's about talking to your collaborators

and saying this is what I really need for this scene um

and what do you think that's going to mean to

the production

and then it's about perhaps compromising another scene

to make room for

you know for what the director wanted

or saying oh that's

you wanna do it all in one shot

okay well that's you know

that's not gonna be six hours of work

that's gonna be three hours of work

that actually frees up some time to do something else

in a different way

and so these aesthetic choices

these these questions of taste

have a huge influence on the production

and sometimes

out of necessity

you have to modify your creative instincts um

in order to

um you know

satisfy the demands of the production

so you don't go over budget

that's not a terrible thing always

because there are lots and lots and lots of ways

to present an idea and a feeling

if you know what that feeling is supposed to be

what that that net result

of that sequence

scene or moment

is supposed to be

and that's the sort of excitement

of building out from the screenplay

and preparing for

you know those days of shooting

where there's gonna be tremendous pressure

um you know

money being spent at a ridiculous rate

um and and a kind of moment of truth

for the director

of the actors

the cinematographer

and all the people who are kind of on the front line

of actually trying to stage and shoot those scenes

of course you always feel like that's the be all

end all the reality is the

the editing room is really where the film is made

but you can't think about that at that point

I always feel that I approach every project in

in three big phases

there's that development and prep period where

you know you're

you're thinking ahead

you're dreaming the big dream

it's always

sometimes it's my favorite period

because it sort of seems like everything is possible

then you begin to come to terms

with what you can really attempt to do

and your and your

you know you your

your sharpening your ambitions

um and your focus and your appetite

and beginning to build the team

that's gonna actually execute it

the middle part is the production

you're actually shooting

now when you're in production

you know you can hearken back to the days

when you were planning and prepping

but it doesn't really matter

what matters is now

this is the day you have to shoot the scene

yes that was the plan

but you can't be rigid about it

I always assume that I

you know that some other knucklehead was the director

who made this plan

you know and now I'm stuck with it

and we have to try to do it

of course it's not quite that simple

but I try to separate myself from that

you go through the production

you've done everything you can

to try to capture every moment that you could

elevating that script

either realizing its potential

or maybe taking it beyond

you know that's exciting

using the elements that come to you

whether it's rain or snow or sun

or you know

a great idea that an actor has or

you know or

you know a sudden

um you know

sudden problem that seems like it's

you know should destroy the scene

but maybe there's another solution

that actually takes you in a whole other direction

you you do everything you can to get the ideas

that live in your mind and on on

on the script pages

inside those frames

that's Frameline

that's what's important

well now you think you've done it

you've got you know

you have your rap party

you feel pretty

pretty darn good about yourself

and yet the real work is just beginning

you might be dog tired

you might have the flu

but it's time to go to the editing room

and in the editing room

you are gonna take this raw material

and it's the final rewrite

and it's the actual making of the movie