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[Music]

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when we tell a story to our friends

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about a recent U vacation or a date we

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went on we tell the story most of us are

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probably recognize that the first time

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we tell the story as an anecdote it's a

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little too long it's a little awkward it

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doesn't quite get the reaction you

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thought it ought to um you've forgotten

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something in the middle and you have to

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remind people later uh you don't tell it

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very well

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but you know people still kind of lean

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into the story and they're curious

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you'll find the next time you tell it

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you'll probably tell it a little bit

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better why because it's a communication

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that's meant to express an idea and

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let's face it you're you're you're

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asking people to listen you know there's

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an expectation that it's in its own way

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it's going to what entertain it's going

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to engross it's going to Fascinate it's

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going to express something in a

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meaningful way by the eighth time you

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tell the story you know maybe even

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embellished it a little bit who knows uh

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but it's better it's tighter you want to

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put your screenplay through that through

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that

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[Music]

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process the director is The Keeper of

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the story and ultimately it's the

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director's taste that's going to

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determine the creative choices that are

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made and that sort of the allocation of

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the resources I'm talking about a

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liveaction production now more than anim

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that comes back to the script and the

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way it's going to be interpreted and the

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director needs to you know intimately

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understand that screenplay and support

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it and if there is a difference of

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opinion with a writer over the

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screenplay this is where collaborators

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can come in very handy but a great a

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great uh exercise which is used in

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television all the time is used in

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theater all the time is used in movies

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some of the time but it's so valuable

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and that is to Simply do a read through

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get a group of actors they don't have to

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be the actors who are going to you know

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be be in the

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project and give it a good read through

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maybe videotape it so you can play it

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back or record it make sure the the

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screenwriter is there if you want to you

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can open it up to conversation I've done

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read throughs where I even give people

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questionnaires afterwards so that they

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don't they're not shy about telling you

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what you know what bothered them but go

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ahead and apply extreme scrutiny to that

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project and at that point it's not a

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finished film but you know it's a really

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important step and it's going to raise

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some questions it's going to give you

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confidence in the in in in some ways

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because you you just have a little

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greater sense of how that how that story

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unfolds as written and and that's um a

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really important step and and a

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fundamental um misjudgment in my mind

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when people you know don't expose the

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script to that that kind of process and

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that

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[Music]

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scrutiny when it comes to rewrites I'm

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very involved um I sometimes it's a

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matter of sitting with the writer um and

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um you know and literally pitching ideas

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some writers do better under those

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circumstances and other WR Writers Do

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Better having a conversation and going

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away and sharing with you what they've

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come up with and again I try to adapt my

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process to try to elevate the way that

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person naturally works so I try not to

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impose myself too much on the process

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you know unless it's simply you know not

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not working for me uh uh but uh

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generally you know whether it's an actor

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whether it's a music composer a

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cinematographer I try to begin to

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discern you know how that person excels

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and try to create the you know the the

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environment the opportunity for them to

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work you know at their highest level um

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the various ways in which uh a

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screenplay can be tested um really you

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know they begin with the director but

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they carry over to the actors and while

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you know I never never want to turn the

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rewrite process over to the actors I

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often really benefit from um even a

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pre-rehearsal period where you sit you

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do a read through you hear the scenes

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actors very very quickly come to

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understand those characters and come to

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terms with them in ways even more

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intimate than the screenwriter because

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they're they're they're imagining

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playing those scenes they're imagining

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seeing them now sometimes they they're

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missing something and again it's the

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director's job The Keeper of the story

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to be you know policing that and and not

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not letting wrong-headed ideas push the

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project off in a you know in in a in a

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misdirection but that

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conversation between the writer the

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director the actor sometimes the

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producer sometimes a studio executive a

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kind of a Roundtable conversation is a

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very healthy thing as long as you

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quickly distill it down to you know a

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one-on-one conversation between the

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director um and and the writer and and

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ultimately the writer is going to go and

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and and execute I have a lot of respect

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for the writer's Vision um as well and I

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will often defer to the writer because

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again on some organic level I trust that

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they understand some things about this

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story and script that go beyond

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intellect um and that that that X Factor

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is something that's that's incredibly

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valuable I think if you're a filmmaker

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young or old you get you get either an

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idea you read an article a book um you

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somehow get control of that idea and

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you're a part of developing it or it's a

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screenplay that you look at and you know

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and you might feel like there's some

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some adjustments you'd suggest here were

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there but this is something you're

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willing to commit to you believe in I

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think at that point just you know enjoy

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the excitement of it really feel it um

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you know um uh kind of kind of glow a

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little bit with the inspiration and the

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excitement and the possibility of it and

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then you need to get down to the

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business of really understanding it and

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understanding how other people connect

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with it so do they share your excitement

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for it and if they don't it doesn't mean

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you shouldn't do it but you should

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understand it are you going to be able

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to bridge that Gap

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or are you going to make a film that's

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tailored for a niche audience maybe your

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particular

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taste is you know never meant to align

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with broad audiences it's a you know you

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have a you there you have some

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like-minded um um U you know audience

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members out there that uh that you can

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communicate with well can this idea

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communicate

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with them who does it land with you're a

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movie or television lover

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um what would it take for you to go see

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it um and begin to step away from the

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the excitement you know sort of put the

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idea on the table and walk around it and

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sort of say who does this work for who

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does it not work for and how do I align

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with that or

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misalign and I think if you get get

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excited about that and there are

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enough answers that keep coming up that

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sort of say either I can overcome it or

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I can work with that or you know this is

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all systems go and you you know imagine

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that as you're circling that

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idea that you begin to bring others into

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your orbit and you're all sort of

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talking and eventually you're going to

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find those collaborators who are the key

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ones who can actually help you make it

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maybe that's a studio executive maybe

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it's an agent maybe it's a producer

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maybe it's a a writer or a co-writer um

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maybe it's a maybe it's an actor you

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know whoever it might be begin to sort

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of see where those connections are and

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then on a practical level you have you

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know a a chance to believe that that you

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know there's a reason to go ahead and

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and invest these people's resources and

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my own in this project my affection my

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excitement can be communicated in a way

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and that mean something