McKenna: I THINK JUST SORT OF WALKING AROUND FEELING CREATIVE
OR HAVING CREATIVE URGES IS NECESSARY AND GOOD,
BUT YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE THINGS
THAT ARE BUBBLING INTO YOUR HEAD EXPRESSED ONTO A PIECE OF PAPER.
AND THAT'S REALLY -- THAT'S THE TRICKY PART.
I'VE ALWAYS DONE THIS. I TRY AND SET SPECIFIC GOALS FOR A DAY.
SO IT'S LIKE, "I NEED TO WRITE FIVE PAGES TODAY
"OR EDIT 10 PAGES TODAY OR FINISH THIS SCENE
OR GET TO THE END OF THIS ACT OR..."
I TRY AND SET SPECIFIC GOALS.
SO I LIKE TO FEEL LIKE I GO AND I MOVE THE BOULDER
FROM HERE TO HERE, AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE TO DO TODAY,
AND THAT'S WHAT I DID, AND THAT WAS MY WORK.
THE COMING UP WITH IDEAS DOESN'T HAPPEN
WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO THINK OF IDEAS.
LIKE, I DON'T KNOW THAT I EVER SIT SOMEWHERE AND THINK,
"OH, I HAVE TO THINK OF IDEAS NOW."
AN IDEA JUST SORT OF, YOU KNOW, FLOATS INTO YOUR BRAIN
WHEN YOU'RE LIVING YOUR LIFE.
BUT IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE 10 IDEAS A DAY.
IF YOU HAVE TWO GOOD IDEAS FOR A MOVIE IN A YEAR,
THAT'S, LIKE, AMAZING.
YOU KNOW WHEN AN ANIMAL GIVES BIRTH TO SOMETHING,
LIKE, YOU SEE A DEER OR A HORSE OR SOMETHING, AND IT, LIKE, GOES "PBHT."
AND YOU SORT OF DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN THERE.
AND I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE THESE THINGS, IN A WEIRD WAY,
ARE KIND OF BORN, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO
AND UNWRAP IT AND FIGURE OUT, LIKE,
CAN IT WALK ON ITS OWN, OR DOES IT HAVE THREE ARMS,
AND HOW DO I HAVE TO FIX IT?
AND SOMETIMES THEY COME OUT PRETTY FORMED,
YOU KNOW, AND THEY CAN ACTUALLY WALK.
AND SOMETIMES THEY COME OUT
AND THEY'RE ALL REALLY HUMPY AND WEIRD.
IF THEY'RE REALLY NOT FUNCTIONING,
YOU OFTEN HAVE TO JUST GO BACK
TO, YOU KNOW, BIRTH ANOTHER ONE, PLOP IT OUT ON THE GROUND.
THIS IS HENSON STUDIOS, WHICH WAS THE OLD CHARLIE CHAPLIN LOT.
COME ON IN HERE. [ CHUCKLES ]
THIS IS MY DESK WITH MY MAIN COMPUTER.
THIS IS THE COUCH.
I HANG OUT HERE AND WRITE SOMETIMES, ALSO.
BACK HERE, THE OFFICE. THIS IS MY STANDING DESK.
SINCE I TRY NOT TO SIT DOWN ALL THE TIME, I USE THIS DESK.
I'VE HAD AN OFFICE OUTSIDE THE HOUSE FOR ABOUT 12 YEARS.
I NEED TO FEEL LIKE I HAVE MY OWN SPACE
AND KIND OF AN EXPANSE OF TIME THAT'S JUST MINE
SO THAT I CAN DO MY THING.
ED SOLOMON SAID THIS GREAT THING ONCE
ABOUT HOW HE JUST PROCRASTINATES
UNTIL HE DEVELOPS ENOUGH SELF-LOATHING,
AND THEN HE GETS TO WORK.
YOU DO EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY DO THAT'S NOT WRITING.
BUT IF YOU'RE IN A ROOM
WHERE THERE ISN'T OTHER DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES AND OTHER PEOPLE,
THERE'S NOT AS MUCH STUFF THAT YOU CAN PROCRASTINATE WITH.
WHEN I'M PROCRASTINATING, I'LL OFTEN START
WITH SHOPBOP, NET-A-PORTER, JEZEBEL, IO9.
THOSE ARE BLOGS.
SCRABBLE.
I ONLY JOINED FACEBOOK SO THAT I COULD PLAY SCRABBLE.
AND I HAVE A FEW PEOPLE THAT I PLAY SCRABBLE WITH,
AND IT'S SUPER COMPETITIVE,
AND A BUNCH OF THEM ARE SCREENWRITERS, TOO.
I PLAY BENIOFF.
I PLAY MATT MANFREDI. I PLAY ZAK PENN.
BENIOFF AND ZAK PENN ARE REALLY GOOD.
ALL RIGHT. I FOUND A 42-POINT WORD.
THAT'S NOT BAD.
USUALLY BY THE TIME I GET TO THIS PHASE,
I'VE ALREADY GOT A LOT OF THE SCRIPT WORKED OUT.
I'LL PUT ACT ONE HERE.
AND THEN I'LL DIVIDE THE SHEET LIKE THIS.
AND THEN I'LL PUT ACT TWO HERE.
BUT IT SORT OF DEPENDS.
I JUST KIND OF WRITE THE STORY OUT IN BULLET POINTS.
SO I USUALLY WRITE IN COLUMNS LIKE THIS
SO I CAN SEE HOW THINGS FLOW THIS WAY.
THIS IS SORT OF MY FIRST ATTEMPT TO SEE THE MOVIE.
THIS WILL KIND OF SHOW ME WHERE I'M MISSING STUFF.
AND THEN WHEN I DO ACT THREE,
FOR NO GOOD REASON,
I WRITE ACT THREE LIKE THIS.
I WRITE IT OVER HERE.
AND THEN I WRITE IT LIKE A LIST LIKE THIS.
AND THEN OVER HERE I'LL WRITE, LIKE, THINGS TO REMEMBER
ABOUT THE CHARACTER OR THE SCENE,
OR POINT ARROWS TO STUFF.
AND, YOU KNOW, BY THE TIME I'M DONE,
THIS IS USUALLY COVERED IN SCRAWL.
AND THEN WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT IS I CAN FOLD IT UP,
AND I'LL TAKE IT TO A MEETING,
AND THEN I CAN LAY THEM OUT FOR PEOPLE
AND SORT OF SHOW THEM HOW I THINK THE WHOLE MOVIE GOES.
FOR ME, I STARTED DOING THAT INSTEAD OF CARDS
BECAUSE THE CARDS TO ME STARTED TO FEEL
LIKE IT WAS REALLY DIFFUSE AND ALL OVER THE PLACE.
AND I STARTED DOING IT MORE THAT WAY,
AND IT FELT MORE ORGANIC TO ME.
I THINK MORE ABOUT WHETHER SOMETHING'S AUTHENTIC
THAN WHETHER IT'S NEW.
I DON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME THINKING,
"HAS THIS IDEA OR THOUGHT NEVER BEEN EXPRESSED BEFORE?"
A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT I'M INTERESTED IN IS, LIKE,
WHAT IS NEW AND DIFFERENT AND INTERESTING AND RELEVANT
ABOUT HOW PEOPLE LIVE THEIR LIVES TODAY?
YOU KNOW, STORIES WORK BECAUSE THEY HAVE
A STRUCTURE THAT IS SATISFYING
AND KIND OF HAS ALWAYS BEEN.
IDEAS AND THOUGHTS AND NOTIONS AND FEELINGS AND ALL THAT STUFF
IS IMPORTANT SOURCE MATERIAL FOR YOUR WORK,
BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY MEAN ANYTHING UNLESS IT'S EXPRESSED.
IT'S ONLY BY, LIKE, A HABITUAL CONSISTENT PRACTICE
THAT I WOULD COUNT AS CREATIVITY.
I CREATE, PROBABLY,
BECAUSE I ENJOY IT AND I FIND IT REWARDING.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS GREAT WHEN YOU FIND OUT
THAT A MOVIE HAS TOUCHED SOMEBODY.
IT'S REALLY NICE TO KNOW THAT IT CAN CONNECT WITH PEOPLE
THE WAY MOVIES HAVE CONNECTED WITH ME AND MY LIFE.
THAT'S A GREAT THING.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IMPORTANT. I HOPE IT IS.