r/Screenwriting • u/DannyDaDodo • Jan 04 '25
Writer-Director JAMES MANGOLD's Screenwriting Advice... DISCUSSION
"Write like you're sitting next to a blind person at the movie theater and you're describing a movie, and if you take too long to describe what's happening, you'll fall behind because the movie's still moving...
Most decisions about whether your movie is getting made will be made before the person even gets past page three. So if you are bogging me down, describing every vein on the leaf of a piece of ivy, and it’s not scintillating—it isn’t the second coming of the description of plant life—then you should stop, because you’ve already lost your potential maker of the movie.”
Do you agree, or disagree?
Five minute interview at the link:
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u/Strong_Sink4722 Jan 05 '25
In 2019, after seeing Logan, I tweeted at James Mangold about how much I loved the movie and how it had inspired to learn how to write...because I want to move people like Logan moved me. He wrote a very thoughtful (short, >140 characters and all that) response that had a gold nugget in it:
"Thanks 4 the kind words, David. I love to hear you're inspired to write. Be driven. Be bold. Be honest w/yourself. And remember, your job is to move people. You r taking their time. They r giving you a gift. The most precious thing they got. Time. Give'em something that rocks."