Creative Principles

Early in his career, Gavin Rothery’s goal was to have two jobs: one that pays your bills and you that you enjoy. Then, simply transition the one you enjoy into the one that pays your bills.

Starting in the Art Department, Rothery worked on games like Grand Theft Auto III, Battalion Wars, and movies like Moon, which starred Sam Rockwell. All of this, of course, led to Rothery writing and directing his first feature.

In Archive, Theo James and Rhona Mitra unlock the year 2038. In the film, “George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs: being reunited with his dead wife.”

In this interview, Rothery discusses how he used his skills as a comic artist to move into the game industry and eventually filmmaking, how story relates to visual art, his fascination with Mythbusters, why you should hang on to ideas, and what he learned from Duncan Jones on the set of Moon.

If you enjoyed this interview, join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Last time we spoke with Eric Newman (Ep 162), we discussed his work on ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ ‘Children of Men,’ ‘In Time,’ ‘RoboCop,’ and ‘Hemlock Grove.’ This time, we break down his fascination with the world of ‘Narcos.’

The new series stars Diego Luna and Scoot McNairy. It focuses on “The rise of the Guadalajara Cartel as an American DEA agent learns the danger of targeting narcos in Mexico.”

In this interview, Newman discusses bad guys and very bad guys, self-preservation versus self-elevation in character, why his favorite character is Pacho Herrera, and why you should be empathetic to monsters.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Lenny Abrahamson describes his path to filmmaking as a “wandering” journey. Obsessed with books and storytelling, a few friends inspired him to create a “filmmaking society” at Trinity College near Dublin, Ireland.

Abrahamson is known for the Brie Larson film ‘Room,’ the Michael Fassbender film ‘Frank,’ and now, the BBC romance series ‘Normal People,’ which is set in Ireland. The new series follows “Marianne and Connell, from different backgrounds but the same small town in Ireland, as they weave in and out of each other's romantic lives. “

In this interview, Abrahamson discusses his obsession with projects between genres, tensions versus attention, what makes undefined characters so appealing, how to make character POV in a contained space, how excess metaphorical scaffolding in the script disrespects the viewer, and why you need to think beyond rule-based approaches to directing.

If you enjoyed this interview, join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Megan Ganz was introduced to comedy by her father, who would show her Marx Brothers movies and let her stay up late to watch David Letterman. Then, as she started to write as a teen, she fell in love with The Onion and the idea of satire.

In college then did an internship with Mad Magazine, but then landed a job at The Onion soon after. Today, Ganz’s credits include ‘Community,’ ‘Modern Family,’ ‘The Last Man on Earth,’ ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ and Apple’s new series, ‘Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet.’

In this interview, we break down all of the shows mentioned above, and discuss writing character-driven, impactful jokes, the goal of good satire, what it means to have a strong comedic vision, why dialogue comes last, and why she’s always been obsessed with ‘Always Sunny.’

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Kenya Barris jokes he only started writing screenplays because he was a “kid with asthma.” But in reality, storytelling found Barris because of his love for reading.

One of Barris’ first jobs was writing for The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, followed by writing gigs on Soul Food, Girlfriends, Are We There Yet?, and America’s Next Top Model. But, he’s most known for creating Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish, and #BlackAF.

On the road to selling Black-ish, Barris wrote and pitched about 19 different pilot episodes, with no success, but it taught him how to build worlds and how to create characters to inhabit those worlds.

In this interview, Barris discusses his undiscovered pilot Urbanity, how writers can mine from the lanes they know, why he prefers just talking over breaking story in the writer’s room, how narration can haunt you, and how to defend statements as a writer.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Veena Sud, screenwriter behind Seven Seconds, The Killing, and Cold Case returns to discuss her latest venture, Quibi’s short-form series, The Stranger.

Quibi is a short-form mobile platform from founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, the producer of movies like Shrek, The Prince of Egypt, and The Road to El Dorado.

In a previous interview, we spoke with Sud about “slow burn storytelling,” which applied to the rhythm and tone of our work. The Stranger, of course, is somewhat the opposite of her previous formula.

With all of these parameters in mind, Sud created The Stranger, a story about an unassuming rideshare driver who picks up a nightmare passenger.

In this interview, Sud discusses writing for phone viewers meaning horizontal and vertical viewing, how Quibi programming is a hybrid of movie and TV writing, how to weaponize an audience, how she uses the zeitgeist of headlines for inspiration, and three ways to trick yourself out of writer’s block.

If you haven’t seen the series, watch for some light spoilers around the 16-minute mark, and make sure to also go back and listen to my original conversation with Sud in Episode 94 of the podcast. Both versions are also on the Creative Screenwriting website.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Ramy Youssef has always been a creative person. The New Jersey native didn’t see showbusiness as an achievable goal, but an underlying passion directed him to create more and more, eventually encouraging him to edit, to act, and to write.

Eventually, Ramy moved to Los Angeles, where he landed roles on shows like See Dad Run and Mr. Robot, along with a small role in the James Franco-Bryan Cranston holiday comedy, Why Him?

Fast forward to 2019 and Ramy Youssef landed a special with HBO called Feelings and a series on Hulu, where he plays a fictionalized version similar to himself in Ramy.

The new series is described as: “In New Jersey, Ramy, son of Egyptian migrants, begins a spiritual journey, divided between his Muslim community, God, and his friends who see endless possibilities.”

In this interview, Ramy discusses writing personal material, the pressure cooker of creating earnest Muslim material, the difference in stand-up and writing a series, his obsession with ego and faith, and how comics should spend their free time during the quarantine.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Mark Bomback’s screenwriting education came from reading hundreds of screenplays. While working in the mailroom, he volunteered to read and provide coverage on submitted scripts, which taught him how to write, but also how not to write.

These days, he’s known for Live Free or Die Hard, Unstoppable, Total Recall, The Wolverine, The Art of Racing in the Rain, the recent Planet of the Apes prequels, and Apple’s new series, Defending Jacob, starring Chris Evans.

The 8-episode story behind Defending Jacob started with a 13-page treatment based on the novel. The story is a character-driven thriller about an assistant DA who’s world is shattered when his son is charged with murder.

In this interview, Bomback discusses how writers can self-educate, how he uses something called the “silent partner,” why writing is a craft not an art, why writers need to occasionally just write the bad version of the scene, and how to improve bulletproof drafts.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Michael Tucker always wanted to be a filmmaker. After attending Film School, he joined some friends for what became Finite Films, a small production company focused on short films. “We spent a year making short films and web series,” he said, “then realized that short films and web series don’t pay the bills.”

Tucker spent a few years doing editing work and helping with documentary films and small features. After working in this field for a few years, he decided he wanted to get back into creative work.

With Lessons from the Screenplay, Tucker wanted to make videos that analyze movie scripts to examine exactly how and why they are so good at telling their stories. Part educational series and part love letter to awesome films, Lessons from the Screenplay aims to be a fun way to learn more about your favorite films and help everyone become better storytellers.

In this interview, Tucker talks about how to be authentic on YouTube, how to avoid toxic messages on the platform, favorite software and apps, how Patreon works with fans of the channel, and the misconceptions of having a popular YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this interview, join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5

Shannon Burke is the author of ‘Safelight,’ ‘Black Flies,’ and ‘Into the Savage Country.’ Recently, he decided to partner with his screenwriting friends - Brothers Jonas and Josh Pate - to write a coming-of-age action adventure story.

The idea of Outer Banks came from an article about a power outage on the Outer Banks. Pate said, “There was a photograph taken at dusk of these darkened mansions. It was just this evocative image that stayed with me.” Pate mentioned his fascination with this idea to Burke, and they started to unlock the story that would later become the Netflix series.

“We wanted to do something based on memories from high school and that period of adolescence.” According to the description, the series is about, “a group of teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks stumble upon a treasure map that unearths a long buried secret.”

In this interview, the writers discuss their fascination with 19th Century novels, how to cut the safety net to write professionally, lessons from Dennis Hopper, when to burn a bad novel, and why writers need resignation not confidence to build a career.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5