THAT'S WHERE I START -- TAKING AN IDEA,

WHETHER IT'S FICTION OR NONFICTION

AND FIGURING OUT WHY -- NOT JUST WHAT YOU'RE GONNA TELL,

NOT THAT IT'S ENTERTAINING OR INTERESTING,

BUT WHY ARE YOU TELLING THAT STORY?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THAT STORY?

FOR ME, IT'S ALWAYS HOW DO I MOVE THE NEEDLE?

HOW DO I CHANGE THE CULTURE NOW?

ALL RIGHT, THIS IS THE CLOSET IN MY OFFICE

WHERE I KEEP ALL OF THE RESEARCH

FOR THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS I'M WORKING ON.

I SPEND USUALLY AT LEAST A YEAR,

IF NOT LONGER, RESEARCHING THE PROJECT.

I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO GET TO THE TRUTH,

AND THAT MEANS FIRSTHAND INTERVIEWS.

THAT MEANS MEETING THE REAL PEOPLE.

I MEAN, IT BECOMES JUST VOLUMES OF MATERIAL.

THE BOXES ARE JUST, LIKE, FILLED WITH CRAP, REALLY.

SOME OF IT I USED, SOME IF IT DIDN'T.

SOME OF IT IS JUST RESEARCH ON MORMON AMERICA

BY THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER.

THAT WAS A NEW SORT OF STUDY.

PICTURES, ARTICLES, DRAFTS.

I THINK THERE'S WAYS YOU GO ABOUT

TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STUFF IS UNIQUE,

AND TO ME THAT JUST MEANS SPECIFIC.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S A TERRIBLE STUDIO NOTE,

WHICH IS LIKE, "WELL, JUST MAKE THEM RELATABLE."

AND I'M LIKE, "YOU KNOW WHAT? NO.

MAKE THEM REALLY THEM AND REALLY SPECIFICALLY THEM,"

AND IT BECOMES VERY UNIVERSAL, AND THAT COMES FROM RESEARCH.

WHAT I DO IS START TO TAKE THAT MATERIAL,

WHATEVER IT IS, AND TO BOIL DOWN

THE MOMENTS THAT I THINK ARE CINEMATIC,

THE MOMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR THIS STORY,

AND I START TO PUT THEM ONTO NOTE CARDS.

EACH NOTE CARD SHOULD BE

AS PURE AND SINGULAR AN IDEA AS POSSIBLE,

BECAUSE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE ALL THE PIECES AROUND

AND TO CREATE A FILM.

AND A FILM IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

A FILM IS AN IMPRESSION OF WHAT HAPPENED.

THIS IS WHAT A SCENE ENDS UP BEING.

EACH ONE OF THESE CARDS HAS A COLOR.

IT HAS A -- WHICH MEANS SOMETHING.

LIKE, THE COLOR MEANS WHICH CHARACTER IT'S FOLLOWING.

IF IT'S HANDWRITTEN,

MOST LIKELY IT WAS AN INTERVIEW THAT I DID.

IF IT'S PRINTED, IT'S PROBABLY RIGHT OUT OF SOME PERIODICAL.

BUT THEN YOU CAN FIND STUFF LIKE THIS.

THIS PROBABLY USED TO BE A TOP CARD.

I HAD AN IDEA OF WHAT THE SCENE WOULD BE,

TO DO ALL OF THIS VISUALLY,

OR, YOU KNOW, EVENTUALLY, THIS WAS NO LONGER THE TOP CARD.

EVENTUALLY IT BECAME ALL THESE CARDS.

AND THEN IT WAS DISTILLED INTO THIS DESCRIPTION OF A SCENE

THAT TAKES PLACE ON WHAT THEY CALL THE FARM.

YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT THEN TAKING THESE CARDS

AND, FOR ME, OVER THE COURSE OF WEEKS TO MONTHS,

LAYING THEM OUT AND DISTILLING

WHAT'S NECESSARY TO TELL THE STORY.

ACT I -- I START WAY UP HERE IN THE CORNER.

AND IF I CAN'T GET TO THE END OF THE MOVIE BY THAT CORNER,

IT'S TIME TO TIME TO START CUTTING.

ONCE IT'S LAID OUT, WHICH WILL TAKE WEEKS,

I START TO HAVE TO WHITTLE IT DOWN.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REASON TO WRITE ALL THAT STUFF

AND THEN HAVE TO CUT IT LATER.

I MAY AS WELL CUT IT BEFORE I HAVE TO WRITE IT.

IT'S PAINFUL, BECAUSE YOU'VE DONE SO MUCH WORK

TO GATHER ALL OF THESE INTERVIEWS AND THIS INFORMATION,

AND 90% OF IT IS GONE.

90% OF IT YOU'LL NEVER USE.

THESE ARE THE LAND OF LOST SCENES.

THESE ARE MY PRECIOUS LITTLE CHILDREN THAT I'VE HAD TO KILL.

AND I COME BACK OVER HERE ALL THE TIME,

USUALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND GO, "OH, MY GOSH.

"HOW CAN I NOT HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS SCENE?

"HOW CAN I NOT HAVE THAT?

"WHERE RON MARRIES 19-YEAR-OLD REBECCA?

"THAT WOULD BE SO CHILLING AND HORRIFIC

AND TELLING ABOUT HIS CHARACTER,"

BUT I JUST HAVE TO SAY, "THERE'S NOT ROOM.

I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE ROOM ON THAT TABLE."

SO, LITERALLY, YOU CAN JUST SEE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THINGS

I LOVE THAT I'VE HAD TO KILL.

I GUESS, FOR ME, IT'S JUST DOING SOMETHING NEW.

THAT'S A BIG PART OF WHAT IT IS FOR ME TO BE CREATIVE.

I THINK IT'S NOT JUST CREATING SOMETHING NEW AND ORIGINAL.

IT'S, LIKE, ACTUALLY FINDING A WAY

TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND ORIGINAL THAT WORKS.

I THINK SOMETIMES ARTISTS THINK, "WELL, IT'S ALL BEEN DONE,"

AND I HEAR THAT ALL THE TIME.

LIKE, "EVERY STORY HAS BEEN TOLD

AND EVERY CHARACTER HAS BEEN DRAWN."

AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, THAT'S BULL.

IT'S NOT TRUE.

THE SPECIFICITY WITH WHICH AN AUTHOR OR A FILMMAKER

PAINTS THOSE CHARACTERS AND PAINTS THOSE STORIES

AND THE DETAILS THAT ARE PUT INTO THEM, YOU KNOW,

THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE ORIGINAL FOREVER.

ONCE I GET THE CARDS IN A PLACE

WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE SCENES ARE LAID OUT

IN SOME ORDER THAT STARTS TO MAKE SENSE,

I JUST WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, WALK INTO THE KITCHEN,

AND WATCH MY MOVIE.

AND THAT MEANS JUST READING EVERY CARD

AND VISUALIZING EACH SCENE,

AND IF I GET BORED OR IF I GET STUCK

OR IF I FIND SOMETHING THAT'S NOT LOGICAL

OR IS REPETITIVE, I STOP AND I FIX IT.

AND THEN I START OVER AGAIN.

I JUST KEEP DOING THAT DAY AFTER DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK,

UNTIL I LITERALLY CAN GET THROUGH THE MOVIE A FEW TIMES,

I'M NOT BORED,

AND AT THAT POINT, I CALL IT AN OUTLINE.

NOW I SAY, "OKAY, THIS IS DONE."

I READ IT. IT FEELS LIKE A MOVIE.

AND I'M GONNA PUT IT IN THE BOX.

AND I'M GONNA PUT IT IN THE BOX IN THIS ORDER,

AND THIS IS THE ORDER THAT I'M GONNA WRITE IT IN

IN MY FIRST DRAFT.

OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF WEEKS, I START WRITING.

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING, I'VE BEEN SEEING THE SCENES

IN MY HEAD FOR SO LONG AT THIS POINT

THAT IT'S ALMOST LIKE JUST REGURGITATION.

LIKE, I'M JUST GETTING OUT.

AND I CALL IT MY VOMIT DRAFT.

I WRITE THE FIRST 10 PAGES IN A WAY THAT'S VERY READABLE

AND SOMETHING THAT I WOULDN'T BE TOO ASHAMED OF SOMEONE READING,

AND THEN THE NEXT 90 TO 120, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE,

I JUST SPILL IT ALL OUT,

AND I ALLOW MYSELF TO MAKE MISTAKES

AND TO IMPROV AND TO PLAY.

I KNOW THERE'S THE WRITERS LIKE KURT VONNEGUT WHO SAID,

YOU KNOW, HE JUST GOT IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

AND THEN HE WAS DONE.

I'M NOT THAT GUY.

I SORT OF LIKE -- I SORT OF, LIKE, SPIT OUT

THIS GIANT PIECE OF CLAY AND THEN I START TO SHAPE.

I GET UP AT, YOU KNOW, 8:00.

I AM IN HERE WRITING BY 8:30 OR 9:00.

I TAKE MAYBE A BREAK FOR LUNCH,

A BREAK TO GO, YOU KNOW, SWEAT IT OUT AT THE GYM,

AND THEN I'M IN HERE UNTIL ABOUT 1:00 IN THE MORNING,

AND THAT'S SIX TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

I LOVE AND HATE WHAT I DO.

IT'S LIKE AN ADDICTION.

I WANT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.

I WANT TO MAKE IT WORK.

IF SOMEONE BELIEVES THAT THE WORLD IS GOOD AS IS,

THAT THIS IS IT,

WE'VE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE,

THEN YOU KNOW WHAT? DON'T WRITE.

GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS.

GO LOUNGE SOMEWHERE.

I WRITE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'RE DONE,

AND I THINK THAT WE MAKE PROGRESS

BY TELLING OUR PERSONAL STORIES.

YOU KNOW, THE PERSONAL STORY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.