Filmmaking

How writers-directors turn chaos into craft

Writing vs. directing: two clocks

• Writing is “slow time”; directing is compressed and frantic.

• A solid script is the director’s “life preserver” on set.

• Past-you as writer is smarter than present-you in the chaos of production.

• Directors who throw out scripts on the day are seen as a different species.

Trusting the script — and the actors

• The script is a safety net: if you shoot what’s on the page coherently, it will work.

• Great actors quickly know more about their characters than the writer-director.

• Directors want actors to have “secrets” and an interior world the director doesn’t fully control.

• Once an actor is cast, ownership of the character largely transfers to them.

Editing: where the movie really locks

• The cutting room is the “last draft” of the script.

• Unlike shooting, editing feels anti-entropic: the film gets better each day.

• At first, assemblies feel off; the job is shaping chaos into clarity.

• Watching with an audience reveals boredom, confusion, and energy in real time.

Collaboration over auteur myth

• The “solo genius” director myth is rejected as outdated and unhelpful.

• Modern directing is presented as orchestration, not domination.

• Vetting ideas with editors, actors, designers and crew is framed as essential.

• Lifelong collaborators (like a trusted editor) serve as key creative partners.

Risk, scale and Barbie

• Big, risky movies (like Barbie) didn’t feel inevitable at the start.

• The writer-director “backs into” projects: starts by writing, then steps up to direct.

• Budget became a creative condition: Barbie needed a “big canvas” to work.

• The project advanced only after script, ambition and studio appetite aligned.

Transformation as the core story engine

• Across films, protagonists begin uncertain, unheard or constrained.

• Their journey centers on becoming more authentic, not just “strong.”

• The end state is inner change: clarity of voice and self, more than external victory.

• This pattern is treated as a universal “hero’s journey,” particularly resonant for women.

Process: writing from fragments

• Scripts often start as scattered notes: scenes, lines, images with no clear order.

• The writer collects “sticky” ideas that won’t go away, then assembles a spine.

• Structure emerges late, like quilting or collage, not from rigid outlining.

• Memorizing great writing (Tennessee Williams, others) is used as self-training.

Innovation and technology in filmmaking

• Earlier films (Terminator, Aliens) forced practical innovation to show the impossible.

• Effects teams, animatronics and actors had to invent new ways to realize images.

• Today, nearly any image is technically possible with enough talent and money.

• The challenge shifts from “can we do it?” to “should we, and why?”

Comfort with risk and being in over your head

• Both speakers see value in trapping themselves creatively, then solving their way out.

• Big, “impossible” projects force skill-jumps and new methods.

• They consciously step into endeavors that probably won’t work—but feel necessary.

• Staying “hungry” and a little scared is treated as a durable creative strategy.

Why It Matters

• For leaders, this conversation reframes creative work as a system: strong scripts, empowered actors, iterative editing and collaborative risk-taking. It highlights that real innovation happens when you deliberately get in over your head, trust your team’s intelligence, and use structure (scripts, edits, feedback) as guardrails—not shackles—while you push into new territory.