Creative Principles

For nearly a decade, Benjamin Hardy felt a lack of purpose in his life. But, thanks to a church mission, he started journaling, found an interest in psychology, and then decided to become an author (while raising a family and acquiring his doctorate), despite the odds of achieving this goal in traditional publishing.

In 2015, Hardy started blogging because he knew it was a potential route to becoming an author. Through Medium, he built a massive following (literally becoming the #1 writer on the platform), and achieved his goal of finding an agent and publishing books in a traditional manner.

In addition to his first book, ‘Willpower Doesn’t Work,’ the author has recently published ‘Personality Isn’t Permanent.’ In the book, he “draws on psychological research to demolish the popular misconception that personality—a person’s consistent attitudes and behaviors—is innate and unchanging. Hardy liberates us from the limiting belief that our ‘true selves’ are to be discovered, and shows how we can intentionally create our desired selves and achieve amazing goals instead.”

In this interview, Hardy discusses deliberate practice, why writers often avoid goal-setting, lessons from Ryan Holiday, how to reverse engineer goals to find a process, why writers must be authentic today, strategic ignorance, and why kids shouldn’t take the Myers-Briggs personalty test.

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

While living in Mexico City, John Grillo saw an opportunity to work on a film set, so he came on as a translator for a Disney film. While meeting the crew, he was drawn to the lifestyle.

These days, Grillo is a Cinematographer known for ‘Westworld,’ ‘The Leftovers,’ ‘Snowpiercer,’’ Preacher,’ and various Michael Mann projects such as ‘Luck,’ ‘Miami Vice,’ ‘Ali,’ and ‘Collateral.’

In this interview, Grillo discusses what he learned from Michael Mann, how to see subtext in images, how filmmaking is like jazz, what drew him to television, the importance of paying attention on set, and why you don’t need film school.

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

Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion met while working on animation projects. They created a short film in the horror-comedy genre (called ‘Boob’) that was accepted at SXSW.

Thanks to this film, Elijah Wood’s company called to see if the duo wanted to pitch about a project called ‘Cooties.’ Thanks to their perseverance, they eventually landed the job (more on this in the interview).

For their latest project, ‘Becky’ is about a teenager's (Lulu Wilson) weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives.”

In this interview, the Directors talk about pace and character, what makes a good horror comedy, how to enhance the premise, how they divide up responsibilities as a Directing duo, and how Joel McHale and Kevin James came on board for ‘Becky.’

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

Anna Winger has done a little bit of everything. She got her start in photography, where she did some commercial work and some documentary work, then wrote a novel, but if you have to summarize her career, she’s a storyteller.

The writer-producer is known for Deutschland 83, Deutschland 86, Deutschland 89, and the new Netflix series, Unorthodox. Her latest project is the “story of a young ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman who flees her arranged marriage and religious community to start a new life abroad.”

In this interview, Winger describes her journey from photographer to novelist to screenwriter, trusting intuitive instincts, writing her first screenplay at age 40, an interest in humor and curiosity, and her fish-out-water formula for finding intriguing characters.

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

Between 2018 and 2021, Matt Liberman will have 9 features in the works. We spoke with Matt about the “creepy” and “kooky” 'Addams Family' not long ago for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, but now we’re catching up some of his other films like 'The Christmas Chronicles' (and it’s sequel), 'Scoob!,' and the new Ryan Reynolds comedy, 'Free Guy.'

In this interview, Liberman discusses how he’s so prolific, including why he’s a high-concept writer, the ironic hook of every idea, writing a script in 7 days, how to write wish fulfillment, separating writing from editing and “idea mode,” and why there is no blank page.

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

Australian Director Justin Kurzel got his start in the theater. He started working on short films and made music videos with his brother. Eventually, he made the jump - thanks to his clips - and started making films.

Kurzel was hesitant to take on the first project he was offered, ‘The Snowtown Murders.’ Essentially, the story uncovered true events, revolving around a local murder and a spree or torture.

Regardless, he made the movie (in the area where the event happened), and continued to take on challenging films, such as ‘The Turning,’ ‘Macbeth,’ ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ and now, ‘True History of the Kelly Gang.’

In this interview, the writer-director talks about making bold decisions, how toxic masculinity plays into the film, the history of Ned Kelly, why they chose to use the word “True” in the title, and the difference between Australian and American Westerns.

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

Trevor Forrest was a painter before he came a photographer. Even in his early days, he knew he wanted to tell stories with his photos. Eventually, this led him to a job in Cinematography.

These days, the English DP is known for work on ‘Underground,’ ‘The Leisure Class,’ TNT’s ‘I Am the Night,’ and Hulu’s ‘Little Fires Everywhere.’

The mini-series is based on Celeste Ng's 2017 bestseller, Little Fires Everywhere, and it follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

In this interview, Forrest discusses his unique journey to Cinematography, how to capture moments like a Documentarian, how to rest the creative mind, and why the best mentor comes from within.

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

After serving in the Army in Israel, Gideon Raff went to acting school and quickly realized it wasn’t a fit. He then got into advertising and then landed in the world of filmmaking. In the early days of his career, he worked in the horror genre, but then moved to espionage and political thrillers, like 'Prisoners of War' and 'Homeland.'

In Raff’s latest series, 'The Spy,' Sacha Baron Cohen stars as the Israeli spy, Eli Cohen. In the six episode series, audiences are invited to look at the intense life in this remarkable true story. He felt like a 2-hour version would have felt too much like a James Bond movie, so he expanded the idea to six hours, focused on character and identity.

In this interview, Raff discusses how stories stay within you, why everything he does puts character first, the differences between Homeland and Prisoners of War, why the story dictates the length, and how screenwriters need to show compassion for themselves.

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

Liz Feldman landed her first writing opportunity at the age of 16, on the Nickelodeon series, ‘All That.’ Years later, she got involved with the Groundlings and Second City, eventually meeting her manager, and stepping into a career as a screenwriter.

Feldman has credits for writing on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, ‘The Oscars,’ ‘One Big Happy,’ and ‘2 Broke Girls,’ but she’s also the creator of the new hit series, ‘Dead to Me,’ for Netflix. The series stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini.

In this interview, Feldman discusses what she learned writing jokes for Ellen DeGeneres, what it means to be a perfectionist in the Writer’s Room, the difference between a great writer and a decent writer, dealing with rejection, and the importance of finding comfort being vulnerable.

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

Mike Reiss’ new book 'Springfield Confidential' isn’t exactly a tell-all, but this is because there’s nothing to tell.

After writing the book, Reiss thought in hindsight that the confrontation-free Writer’s Room is perhaps “one reason for The Simpsons’ success.”

He added, “There is no dirt. There is not friction. It’s very rare in TV that everyone is pulling in the same direction. Everyone is trying to make the best show they can.”

In this interview, Reiss discusses the origin of his book, how Al Jean interprets fan comments, how writing the show has changed over 30 years, why screenwriting is Darwinian, and why hard work is recognized.

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