Haggis: CERTAINLY I'M OFTEN INSPIRED BY WHAT PEOPLE SAY.
SOMEONE RECENTLY WHO HAD SAID, "WELL, I WROTE THAT SCENE."
AND I SAID, "NO, NO. YOU SAID THOSE LINES."
[ LAUGHS ] YOU SAID THE LINES IN REAL LIFE
AND I REMEMBER THEM AND WRITE THEM DOWN.
IT'S NOT WRITING, YOU KNOW? THAT'S SAYING.
CREATIVITY I GUESS TO ME
IS THE FREEDOM TO THINK RIDICULOUS THINGS,
TO ASK RIDICULOUS QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY OF MYSELF.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES IS FROM CAMUS, AND THAT IS,
"A GUILTY CONSCIENCE NEEDS TO CONFESS.
A WORK OF ART IS CONFESSION."
AND, SO, I CAN'T CLAIM TO CREATE ART,
BUT I DO STRUGGLE AT TRYING TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS TO FIND A --
FIND SOMETHING THAT REALLY TROUBLES ME,
A QUESTION I CAN'T ANSWER, AND THEN EXPLORE THAT.
FOR ME, IT'S JUST THINGS THAT KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT.
THINGS THAT WAKE ME UP AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING,
GOING "WHY? WHY?"
INTROSPECTION, I GUESS, IS BIG WITH ME.
I REALLY LIKE BUSTING MYSELF
WHEN I DO SOMETHING INCREDIBLY STUPID.
I GO, "WHY DID I DO THAT?
THAT USUALLY, FOR ME, SPINS A STORY.
STYLE IS REALLY OVERRATED.
IF YOU LOOK AT MY FILMS, EVERY STYLE OF FILMMAKING
IS VERY DIFFERENT WITH EACH ONE,
AND I THINK THE STYLE HAS TO SERVE THE STORY.
MY DAILY ROUTINE.
I WAKE UP.
[ LAUGHS ]
I PULL MYSELF OUT OF BED.
I DO MY E-MAILS,
AND TRY NOT TO WRITE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE,
AND THEN START TO FEEL GUILTY,
AND SO USUALLY AROUND NOON, I'M FEELING REALLY GUILTY,
AND SO I ACTUALLY OPEN THE SCRIPT
AND START TO WORK ON IT.
I WRITE, I TYPE, I WRITE, I TYPE,
I TAKE NOTES ON MY iPHONE, YOU KNOW?
AT ONE POINT, I HAD TWO COMPUTERS.
I COULD HAVE NOTES ON THIS ONE, A SCRIPT ON THE OTHER.
I JUST HAVE TO FOOL MYSELF INTO THINKING
THAT THIS IS A NEW PROCESS.
THIS WILL WORK MUCH BETTER THAN THE LAST PROCESS.
IT'S HORRIBLE, YOU KNOW, BEING STUCK IN A STORY.
I MEAN, I WAS STUCK SO MANY TIMES THIS LAST ONE.
IT'S JUST HORRIBLE.
YOU HAVE TO THINK, "OKAY, CAN I DO THIS AGAIN?
CAN I THROW THIS OUT AND START AGAIN?"
THERE'S OCCASIONALLY --
SOMETIMES THOSE HAVE JUST ENDED UP IN DRAWERS.
I JUST CANNOT FIGURE THEM OUT AND THEY END UP IN A DRAWER
AND WILL NEVER COME OUT BECAUSE THEY AREN'T GOOD.
I LIKE WRITING AT DINING ROOM TABLES.
[ CHUCKLES ] I GUESS FROM WHEN I DIDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY
AND THAT'S WHERE I WROTE, AT THE KITCHEN TABLE.
I LIKE FEELING THE SPACE.
I LIKE SITTING IN THE CORNER AND LOOKING OUT.
I LIKE THE SENSE OF SPACE.
IT'S LIKE A GOOD SHOT.
YOU NEED SOME DISTANCE IN THE BACKGROUND,
AND SO WHEN I'M LOOKING AT MY COMPUTER,
I STILL NEED TO FEEL THE SPACE BEHIND ME.
IF THERE'S A WALL RIGHT THERE, I DON'T KNOW, FOR SOME REASON,
IT INHIBITS MY VISION.
YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU WRITE, THE MORE YOU GET IN THE WORLD,
AND IT'S JUST BASIC PHYSICS.
SO, AT THE END OF THE DAY,
I TRY NOT TO END WITH SOMETHING THAT IS COMPLETE.
IF I HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD IDEAS FOR NEXT SCENE,
I TRY NOT TO WRITE IT.
I'LL JOT THOSE NOTES DOWN
SO THAT IN THE MORNING, WHEN I COME BACK,
I HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL --
LIKE, "OH, OH! THIS IS WHAT I'M DOING.
I CAN WRITE THIS SCENE."
WHEN WRITING OR DIRECTING A FILM,
I TRY TO WATCH NO OTHER FILMS,
BECAUSE IT IS SO HARD NOT TO TAKE SOMETHING YOU SEE
AND WANT TO USE IT ON SOME LEVEL,
CONSCIOUSNESS OR UNCONSCIOUS.
BUT FINDING THOSE MOMENTS THAT, IN YOUR OWN LIFE,
THAT HAUNT YOU
AND THEN FICTIONALIZING THOSE,
FINDING WHERE YOU ARE TRULY GUILTY AND EXPLORING THAT.