Struthers: CREATIVITY IS REVEALING SOMETHING OF YOURSELF.
IF YOU CAN SHOW SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU,
THAT'S GONNA BE WHAT RESONATES WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD.
I'VE BEEN WATCHING MOVIES MY WHOLE LIFE.
I THINK A MOVIE WORKS IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL SOMETHING.
IF IT'S JUST PLOT, THEN YOU DON'T CARE,
NO MATTER HOW SMART IT IS.
THE FIRST THING IS THE SCRIPT.
I'LL READ IT AND MAKE NOTES
ABOUT THE THINGS THAT RESONATE WITH ME AND MY LIFE,
OR, "CAN I RELATE TO THESE CHARACTERS?
IS THIS SCRIPT ASKING INTERESTING QUESTIONS?"
AND THEN THAT WILL LEAD TO A CONVERSATION WITH THE DIRECTOR.
EVERY FILM SHOOTS OUT OF ORDER,
SO I WILL START CUTTING THE FOOTAGE
IN WHATEVER ORDER IT COMES IN, WATCH DAILIES,
TAKE SCRAWLING NOTES, WHICH I USE JUST FOR MYSELF.
TRY TO, YOU KNOW, WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN
SO I DON'T HAVE TO RELY ON MY MEMORY.
SO, IT'S JUST DOWN AND IT'S A LIST
AND I CAN GO THROUGH IT AND I CAN CHECK OFF THINGS.
I ALSO GET THE SATISFACTION --
I GET TO CROSS THINGS OFF WHEN I'VE DONE THEM.
I THINK YOU CAN COMPARE IT A BIT TO A BLANK PAGE WITH THE WRITER,
WHERE IT'S LIKE IT CAN BE OVERWHELMING
WITH UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES AND UNLIMITED CHOICES.
WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY CHOICES AS ALL THE WORDS IN THE UNIVERSE
BECAUSE WE'RE RESTRICTED TO THE TAKES THAT WERE SHOT ON THE SET,
BUT THERE'S UNLIMITED WAYS OF REARRANGING THEM,
AND EVERY EDITOR WILL CUT A SCENE IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
I LOOK AT EVERYTHING
AND LIST WHAT MY INSTINCTS TELL ME ABOUT IT.
THEY'LL TELL ME IF IT WORKS OR IF IT DOESN'T WORK,
IF I BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
AND I THINK THAT APPLIES TO ALL GENRES.
IS IT CLEAR? AND DO I BUY IT?
I GET TO BE ALONE WITH THE FOOTAGE
IN A ROOM WITH A CLOSED DOOR AND JUST PLAY WITH IT.
AND I'M FREE TO EXPERIMENT
AND MAKE MISTAKES WITH NOBODY WATCHING
AND FIND WHAT I THINK IS THE BEST FIRST CUT OF THAT FILM.
AND I'LL LOOK AT IT,
AND THEN I'LL BE LIKE, "OH, THAT'S HORRIBLE."
I'LL GO BACK AND I'LL WORK ON IT AGAIN,
AND, "OH, THAT'S BUGGING ME. I'LL FIX THAT.
THAT'S BUGGING ME. I'LL FIX THAT."
AND IT'S A SERIES OF HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF TWEAKS
AND LITTLE EXPERIMENTS.
AND THEN WHEN THE DIRECTOR COMES IN,
THEN IT BECOMES MUCH MORE OF A COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE.
IT'S AN OPEN ENVIRONMENT
WHERE EVERYBODY FEELS FREE TO BRING IDEAS
'CAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE THE SOLUTION'S GONNA COME FROM.
I MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY HAVE THE ATTACHMENT
TO A MOMENT OR A SCENE
THAT A WRITER OR A DIRECTOR OR AN ACTOR HAS.
SO, I'M THERE TO BE RUTHLESS.
ONE OF THE MOST SATISFYING THINGS I CAN DO
IS TO DISCOVER THAT IF WE CUT OUT THIS SCENE,
IF WE CUT OUT A WHOLE SEQUENCE, EVERYTHING ELSE GETS BETTER
BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THE MOVIE IS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN ANY PARTICULAR MOMENT.
EVERY FILM I'VE WORKED ON,
THERE HAS BEEN MOMENTS DURING CUTTING IT
WHERE IT JUST SEEMS LIKE NOTHING IS WORKING.
EVERYBODY IS JUST IN DESPAIR -- "THIS MOVIE IS A MESS."
OFTEN, SOME OF MY BEST IDEAS WILL COME
WHEN I'M NOT STARING AT THE SCREEN,
WHEN YOU'RE WALKING OR YOU'RE IN THE SHOWER
OR YOU'RE IN THE CAR OR SOMETHING,
'CAUSE I THINK YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS IS WORKING ON THOSE PROBLEMS.
'CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN A MOVIE,
THE SOLUTION WON'T BE IMMEDIATELY APPARENT.
MAYBE WE'VE LOST FOCUS
'CAUSE THERE'S ALL THESE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS,
BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT THIS ONE GUY.
MAYBE THE BEGINNING'S NOT WORKING
OR THE BEGINNING'S TOO SLOW
OR IT TAKES WAY TOO LONG TO GET TO THIS CHARACTER.
HOW DO WE GET THAT TO HAPPEN FASTER?
OR IF THIS MOVIE'S THREE HOURS LONG,
HOW DO WE GET IT TO TWO HOURS?
MOST IMPORTANTLY, I THINK,
IS TRACKING THE EMOTION OF THE MOVIE.
LIKE, DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS?
AND IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS, WHY NOT?
IT MIGHT BE THAT TIME WHEN YOU'RE WALKING OUTSIDE
THAT SUDDENLY IT HITS YOU, AND YOU, LIKE, TRY TO WRITE IT DOWN
OR RUN BACK AND BE LIKE, "OH, I KNOW HOW TO FIX THAT."
WHAT I'VE FOUND IS ONE OF THE MOST SATISFYING
AND POWERFUL EXPERIENCES OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS
IS WHEN YOU FINALLY SHOW THE MOVIE TO AN AUDIENCE.
AND WHEN THE MOVIE WORKS AND THE AUDIENCE IS REACTING
AND THEY'RE LAUGHING AND THEY'RE CRYING
AND THEY'RE ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEAT AND THEY'RE GASPING
AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT...
THAT'S AN AMAZING FEELING THAT MAKES EVERYTHING WORTH IT.