Magee: I DON'T HAVE A PARTICULAR TYPE OF STORY I WANT TO TELL.
WHAT BECOMES IMPORTANT FOR ME IS, WELL,
WHAT DO I WANT TO SPEND THE NEXT SIX MONTHS THINKING ABOUT?
WHAT'S GONNA EXCITE ME?
WHEN I FIRST FINISHED COLLEGE, I HAD STUDIED TO BE AN ACTOR,
AND I ACTUALLY FEEL SOMETIMES
LIKE I'M A BETTER ACTOR IN MY HEAD WORKING OUT CHARACTERS,
IMPROVISING WHAT THEY MIGHT SAY TO ONE ANOTHER,
FINDING THE STORY ON THE PAGE, THAN I EVER WAS ONSTAGE.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT COMES OUT OF AN ACTOR'S MOUTH
AND HOW AN ACTOR THINKS
WHEN THEY SIT DOWN TO PERFORM SOMETHING IS KEY
TO WHAT I'M DOING.
IT'S THE ACTIONS THAT YOU HAVE TO TRANSLATE TO A FILM.
A CHARACTER DOES SOMETHING.
A CHARACTER WANTS SOMETHING AND TRIES TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING.
IF THE CHARACTER IS WANDERING AROUND LOOKING AT PIGEONS
AND THINKING ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD,
YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO MANIFEST THAT IN ACTION,
OR YOU HAVE TO CUT IT.
IN ADAPTING A BOOK AND IN ORIGINALS,
THERE IS A SIMILAR PROCESS.
I TAKE POST-IT NOTES OF DIFFERENT COLORS,
AND I WRITE QUICK IDEAS ON THEM
OF WHAT SCENES MIGHT BE IN THE FILM.
ANNA FIRST COMES IN HERE. -Luke: YES. SHE...
Magee: AND SO, IF THAT'S THE BEGINNING POINT,
WE SAY, "ANNA WANTS THE DRAWINGS BACK."
THAT'S EASY. -Luke: YES. YEAH.
Magee: AND BECAUSE I'M USING DIFFERENT COLORS,
VERY QUICKLY, YOU CAN SEE WHICH PLOT LINES
AND CHARACTERS ARE GETTING SHORT SHRIFT.
YOU GET A VISUAL SENSE
OF WHERE THE INTERACTIONS TAKE PLACE IN THE STORY
THAT YOU DON'T GET WHEN YOU JUST PUT UP WHITE CARDS.
THIS MAY BE A FORESHADOWING THING EARLIER --
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY.
I WANT TO PULL THAT OUT OF HERE
BECAUSE I THINK IT LEADS TO... -Luke: YEAH.
Magee: ...THAT MISTAKEN FLIGHT, WHERE THE GUY GETS KILLED.
Luke: IT DEFINITELY DOES.
Magee: LUKE HAS BEEN MY ASSISTANT FOR OVER A YEAR NOW.
I TAUGHT A CLASS AT EMERSON,
AND HE WAS ONE OF MY BEST STUDENTS.
AND SO, I HAVE HIM HELP ME WITH OUTLINING BOOKS
AND READING MATERIAL THAT'S COMING IN
AND GIVING ME FEEDBACK ON MY OWN DRAFTS.
THAT'S BEEN TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL.
I LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO THAT I NEED
AT LEAST THE ILLUSION OF STRUCTURE IN MY WRITING LIFE
TO ALLEVIATE THE STRESS THAT COMES FROM DAYS
WHERE IT'S NOT WORKING,
BECAUSE, WHEN I'M DONE, AT THE END OF THE DAY,
I DO MY BEST TO BE WITH MY FAMILY,
WATCH BAD TV, HAVE A GLASS OF WINE,
NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE A WRITING TIME,
YOU'RE ALWAYS WRITING.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, I ONLY GOT TWO PAGES.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT I COULD DO TODAY.
I THINK THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH WRITER'S BLOCK IS
A FEAR OF INADEQUACY
THAT THE RESULT WILL NOT MATCH YOUR ASPIRATIONS.
I HAVE A ROUTINE THAT I CALL "YELLING AT THE PAPER,"
WHERE, IF I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT I'M DOING,
I JUST START KIND OF STREAM OF CONSCIOUS, YOU KNOW,
COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT.
"I CAN'T GET THROUGH THIS SECTION.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT, BECAUSE EVERY TIME
I TRY TO DO IT, THIS CHARACTER --
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT PERSON SHOULD GO,
AND THAT'S BECAU-- OH, IT'S BECAUSE
THAT PERSON SHOULDN'T BE IN THIS SCENE."
IN ONE VERSION, HE HAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY.
IN ANOTHER VERSION, HE HAS...
UM...
-Luke: PARTS OF THE TRUTH. -Magee: PARTS OF THE TRUTH.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIS JOURNEY EVOLVE
INTO SOMETHING UNEXPECTED, YOU KNOW?
Luke: YES, DEFINITELY.
Magee: WHAT MAKES A WRITER A WRITER IS THE ABILITY
TO WRITE A SCENE FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS
WITHOUT MAKING IT A PERSONAL ATTACK
IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO DO SO.
IF SOMEONE SAYS, "TRY THE SCENE, YOU KNOW, THIS WAY,"
YOU CAN TRY IT IN THE FULL KNOWLEDGE
THAT YOU'LL HAVE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS,
AND IF IT IS NOT BETTER, EVERYONE WILL KNOW.
THE LONGER I HAVE GONE AT THIS,
THE MORE I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT THE REWRITING IS
WHAT REALLY MAKES A GOOD SCRIPT.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE COULD BE MUCH MORE CREATIVE
THAN THEY REALIZED
IF THEY WERE WILLING TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES
AND WANTED TO PUT IN THE HOURS TO GET IT DONE.
YOU BECOME AWARE OF THE GAP BETWEEN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT
OF SOMEONE WHO'S EXPERIENCED AND YOUR OWN ABILITY,
AND YOU TELL YOURSELF, "WELL, I CAN'T DO IT,"
RATHER THAN SAYING, "WELL, I HAVE TO KEEP DOING IT
UNTIL I BECOME THAT GOOD."
I HAVE FOUND, OVER THE YEARS,
THAT I'M TELLING MANY OF THE SAME KINDS OF STORIES
AND GRAVITATING TO THE SAME KINDS OF STORIES
OVER AND OVER AGAIN --
WHAT EXCITES ME,
WHAT INFURIATES ME --
AND YOU END UP FINDING THOSE THREADS COMING OUT
IN WHAT YOU WRITE.
IT'S AN EXPLORATION OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY.
IF YOU FIND THE RIGHT WAY TO ENGAGE IT,
IT'S NOT GONNA GET OLD.