All language subtitles for Creative Spark- John August

August: EVERYTHING WAS ALWAYS

ABOUT SORT OF MAKING UP
A SECOND WORLD.

MY BED WAS ALWAYS A BOAT,

AND I WAS ALWAYS IN SOME SORT OF
JAMES BOND MOVIE,

AND I WAS ALWAYS, LIKE,
CREATING GRAPPLING HOOKS

OUT OF COAT HANGERS.

LIKE, THAT'S WHAT I GET TO DO
FOR A LIVING.

THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE LUXURY
THAT THAT'S MY LIFE,

IS TO BE ABLE
TO TELL THOSE STORIES

AND MAKE UP THOSE STORIES.

CREATIVITY IS DISCOVERING WHAT
THE INTERESTING PROBLEMS ARE

AND HOW CAN YOU SOLVE THEM
IN A WAY

THAT'S GONNA BE
REALLY INTERESTING

FOR THE PEOPLE
WATCHING THE STORY.

A LOT OF SCREENWRITING
IS JUST REALLY

KIND OF DISCIPLINED DAYDREAMING.

IT'S LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO PUT
TOGETHER A JIGSAW PUZZLE,

BUT YOU'RE NOT QUITE SURE
WHAT THE PIECES EVEN ARE.

THERE'S THIS MISCONCEPTION
THAT YOU'RE ALWAYS,

LIKE, TRYING TO STRUGGLE
TO FIND IDEAS.

MOST WRITERS I KNOW,
THERE'S JUST TOO MANY IDEAS.

THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD IDEAS,

AND YOU'RE BASICALLY
SIFTING THROUGH THEM,

FIGURING OUT WHICH ONES
ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR TIME.

MY BRAIN IS SORT OF LIKE
A GAME OF "SURVIVOR,"

AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT IDEAS
ARE FIGHTING FOR MY ATTENTION,

AND ONE BY ONE, THEY SORT OF GET
ELIMINATED OR THEY WIN.

BUT SOMETIMES THOSE IDEAS WILL
SORT OF BE SWIRLING IN YOUR HEAD

FOR SO LONG THAT THEY'LL
KIND OF GANG UP TOGETHER,

AND THEY'LL BECOME
LIKE ONE BETTER IDEA.

LIKE, "JOHN WON'T PAY ATTENTION
TO US SINGULARLY,

BUT IF WE ALL GET TOGETHER,

HE'LL HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION
TO US."

I THINK THE COMMON THEME
OF MOST OF MY MOVIES

IS CHARACTERS WHO ARE TORN
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS.

THEY START
IN A VERY NORMAL WORLD,

AND THEY GO OFF
TO A SECOND WORLD

AND SORT OF HAVE TO FIGURE OUT
THAT SECOND WORLD.

YOU KNOW, BEFORE I START
WRITING A SCRIPT,

I TRY TO HAVE A GOOD SENSE
OF WHAT HAPPENS

AND SORT OF WHAT THE BEATS ARE,

AND THAT WAY, I REALLY DO KNOW
WHAT THE END IS.

I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY
WHAT THE WORDS ARE,

I DON'T KNOW
WHAT THE SCENES ARE,

BUT I KNOW WHERE WE GOT TO.

I KNOW THIS IS HOW THE MOVIE
IS GOING TO END.

IF I WRITE FROM THE BEGINNING
TO THE END,

THAT LAST THIRD
GETS TO BE REALLY JANGLY

AND SORT OF MESSED UP,

BECAUSE THAT'S THE PART
THAT I SORT OF SLUGGED THROUGH,

RACING TO GET DONE
WITH A DEADLINE.

BETTER THAT THAT STUFF YOU'RE
RACING IS IN THE MIDDLE.

I HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS
OF SORT OF DOING THAT VERY FIRST

PUTTING STUFF DOWN ON PAPER.

SOMETIMES
I'LL USE A WHITEBOARD.

THE ADVANTAGE OF USING
A WHITEBOARD

IS IT'S A CHANCE TO JUST EXPLORE
AND TO SORT OF MAKE MISTAKES

AND SEE WHAT CONNECTIONS
THERE CAN BE.

SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED
TO MAKE A BIG MESS.

HERE WHAT I'M WORKING ON IS SORT
OF THE CENTRAL RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THE TWO CHARACTERS

AND SORT OF ALL
THE OTHER CHARACTERS

AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW
THEY CAN ALL FIT TOGETHER.

SO, I WANT SOMEBODY
TO BE A RIVAL TO LINDA,

AND SO HE'S JUST "RIVAL."

AND THEN YOU'RE THINKING, LIKE,

WELL, WHAT ARE THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT RIVAL?

WHO COULD THAT PERSON BE?

I'M ALSO A BIG FAN OF SORT OF
WRITING OFF THE PAGE.

NOT EVERYTHING YOU WRITE HAS TO
ACTUALLY FIT INSIDE YOUR MOVIE.

RIGHT NOW THERE'S NOT
A NATURAL CONNECTION

BETWEEN THESE TWO CHARACTERS,
BUT IT LEADS ME TO THINK,

LIKE, WELL, WHAT WOULD
THEIR CONVERSATION BE LIKE?

HAVE THEM HAVE A CONVERSATION
JUST IN A COFFEE SHOP,

SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAVE

ANYTHING TO DO
WITH NECESSARILY YOUR PLOT,

BUT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF WHAT
THEIR VOICE IS LIKE,

WHO THEY ARE,
WHAT'S DRIVING THEM,

HOW THEY COMMUNICATE
WITH THEMSELVES.

AND SO YOU SORT OF START
AT A CENTRAL THING,

AND YOU SORT OF
WORK OUT, OUT, OUT,

AND YOU FIGURE OUT
WHAT'S POSSIBLE.

AND IF YOU TRY TO DO THIS FROM
A TOP TO BOTTOM OF A DOCUMENT,

IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY HARD,

BUT SORT OF WHEN YOU
MAKE A BIG, MESSY MAP,

SOMETIMES YOU FIND
SOME CONNECTIONS

THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE
OTHERWISE FOUND.

SO, WE'RE UP HERE IN MY OFFICE,

AND IF I'M WORKING ON A SCENE,

THE FIRST STEP IN WRITING
A SCENE

IS REALLY JUST LOOPING IT
IN MY HEAD.

AND LOOPING IT
IS JUST FIGURING OUT

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS
IN THE SCENE, WHERE WE ARE,

WHICH CHARACTERS ARE THERE,
KIND OF WATCHING IT.

IT'S LIKE BEING A DOCUMENTARY
FILMMAKER BUT INSIDE YOUR HEAD.

AND SO YOU'RE SEEING THIS THING
HAPPEN IN FRONT OF YOU,

AND JUST IT KEEPS HAPPENING,

IT KEEPS HAPPENING,
IT KEEPS HAPPENING.

AND EVENTUALLY IT PLAYS
ENOUGH TIMES,

AND YOU START TO SEE,
"OKAY, THAT'S THE SCENE."

IT'S LIKE YOU'RE JUST SEEING
THE SCENE IN YOUR HEAD,

LIKE YOU'RE SHOOTING THE MOVIE
IN YOUR HEAD,

AND YOU FEEL, LIKE, WHAT IT IS.

THE CRUCIAL STEP I'VE LEARNED IS
I HAVE TO GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD

AND ONTO PAPER
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE,

OR ELSE I'LL FORGET IT.

SO WHAT I'LL DO IS
THIS SCRIBBLE DRAFT,

WHICH IS JUST BASICALLY AS FAST
AS I POSSIBLY CAN,

I WRITE IT DOWN.

IT'S THE WORST, MOST GIBBERISHY
KIND OF HANDWRITING.

MOST OF THE DIALOGUE,

REALLY SORT OF THE BARE BONES
OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.

THAT VERSION IS SUPPOSED
TO BE TERRIBLE.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE
TRANSITIONAL.

NO ONE SHOULD EVER SEE
THAT VERSION.

JUST REALLY NOTES FOR MYSELF.

I HAVE A STANDING DESK,

BECAUSE I FIND IF I ACTUALLY
STAY ON MY FEET,

I TEND TO FOCUS
A LITTLE BIT MORE.

I HAVE A WEIRD KEYBOARD
THAT IS BENT AND BROKEN,

BECAUSE MY WRISTS GOT BENT
AND BROKEN FROM TYPING TOO MUCH.

SO I TYPE THIS WAY
RATHER THAN TYPING THIS WAY,

BUT IT ALL WORKS.

IT'S BEST FOR ME NOT TO WRITE
IN SEQUENCE,

SO I WON'T START AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY,

GO THROUGH THE END.

I'LL WRITE WHATEVER SCENE
APPEALS TO ME TO WRITE.

BY SKIPPING AROUND A LOT,

I CAN STOP MYSELF FROM SAYING,

"WELL, I DON'T KNOW
WHAT THAT NEXT SCENE IS,

SO I'M JUST GONNA STOP."

THERE'S ALWAYS SOME SCENE IN
THE SCRIPT THAT I COULD WRITE,

AND IT'D TAKE AWAY MY EXCUSE
FOR NOT WRITING THAT DAY.

EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS,

I TRY TO GET THOSE LAST
10 PAGES DONE

SO I KNOW WHAT THE BOUNDARY
OF THE SCRIPT IS.

ONCE I FEEL LIKE I'VE HAD

MORE THAN HALF THE SCRIPT
HANDWRITTEN OUT,

THEN I'LL REALLY GO THROUGH

AND ASSEMBLE
THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER

AND REALLY SEE WHAT'S THERE
AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE WORKED ON,

SO THEN I'M KIND OF PAINTING
TOWARDS THE MIDDLE.

IF YOU'RE PLANNING A ROAD TRIP,

YOU GOT TO KIND OF KNOW
WHERE YOU WANT TO END UP.

YOU DO GOT TO KNOW
WHERE YOU START

AND WHERE YOU'RE GONNA END UP,

AND THEN YOU CAN TAKE REALLY
FASCINATING WAYS TO GET THERE,

BUT IT'S IMPORTANT
THAT YOU ACTUALLY FINALLY

GET TO THE PLACE
YOU'RE TRYING TO GET TO.