McKee is superb. I don't need McKee to have made more movies--I'm perfectly happy with looking at the number of professional writers, producers and directors who swear by him.
Wow! What a candid comment. "I should've been gay"! Gay people have all the time in the world (no family obligations) and this is why they tend to excel at the arts. Is that why Little Richard is the architect of rock and roll? Why James Baldwin and Truman Capote were such great writers is because of their sexual preference? Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.
"The Post" was a spec. screenplay written by 31 year old Liz Hannah. She had previously written one other spec. script. "The Post" was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay.
Your first book was a "bestseller in Asia". What was it? Are you writing full time now? Did that "bestseller" liberate you financially to become a "professional"? Many great screenwriters and novelists and composers (including Mozart) were writing for more than ten years before finding real success that made them 'professional'.
mckee should read the manga one piece by oda ichiro.. he made huge story that is more creative then anything that i have ever seen in my life.. and he is in his 30s.... age does not matter its your imagination that counts.
I think that I read somewhere that Mark Twain said he became a much better writer after getting married. I heard a Christian writer who had written 3 books this way; his wife worked a normal 9-5 while he stayed at home raising the kids. She came home, they all had together time and then she locked him in his room for 3hrs so he could write. He said it worked beautifully. Guess every situation is different.
ToshiroHoshi It's mostly a bad joke because actually Nobokov's wife took such care of him it allowed him to write prolifically, at the sake of her own career. It's very hard to concentrate on your art and be domestic at the same time.
XieYali Gotchya. That is very true.....unless you are blessed with an incredible spouse. Someone told me that Mark Twain said that he became a better writer after getting married. idk, I never researched it. I knew a guy whose wife was a brain surgeon and their deal was, she pays all the bills but if he wants to buy himself bass boats and other toys, he had to buy them himself so, he bought a semi-truck and made enough deliveries part time. Wish I had a benefactor to give me one year off to finish my children's books and a screenplay.... like 19th century impressionist painter Alfred Sisley. His finest work was done in a few short weeks when a wealthy family let him stay in their home and do nothing but paint and socialize. Servants took care of everything else. Stress over financial concerns hindered his work before and after that time.
Johnathon You might want to get out on the blogosphere a little more. There are many bloggers who are not mommy bloggers who talk about their mundane day but instead write stories. I for one like using my blog as a forum to start longer story ideas. I agree it does give me instant feed back and it also gives me a chance to hone my craft.
hey! i'm 18 and i have plenty to say as a writer. i cover themes like bullying, self-harm, the divide between rich and poor and many other universal issues. it isn't hard to have insight to life if you are young, you just have to pay attention to what is going on around you and be able to empathize with different kinds of people. people can be stupid and ignorant for their entire lives so age definitely doesn't determine whether you have something important to say or not
Come on people. Be mature. He said it badly but we all get what he means. Traditional roles of sexuality stereotypes that "straight" people start families earlier than gay people due to the lack of necessary anatomical equipment. So gay people in the industry can apply more focus and hours because generally from 19-28 there most likely isn't a child-spouse (family) waiting for them for dinner. There are exceptions but they are far between. So that is a valid generalization.
Does history confirm his statement that you have to fail 10 times? My first book was a bestseller in Asia with no promotion; only word of mouth. It was non-fiction though.
Quentin Tarantino never picked up a Screenwriting book. He learned through trial and error. Just sit down and write. Learn from your mistakes. A Writer writes.
That's one way of doing it. There are also plenty of pro writers who have been helped by screenwriting books. Depends on the person. Also, Tarantino is a writer/director, making his own films. He can get away with certain things in his writing that other people can't. There's also value in learning the basics of what makes an entertaining story, although that is best done by watching other films and reading screenplays. A basic grasp of Aristotle's Poetics helps though.
@@absw6129 , Most Screenwriting books repeat themselves, the only three I would highly recommend are: 1) The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, 2) Inside Story (the power of thr Transformational Arc by Dara Marks , and 3) Dramatic Construction (An Outline of Basic Principles) by Edward Mabley. Wish you luck.
Dane that hurt my feelings, he just said that songwriters and poets is young people stuff.... (8:30) Ummmm since when did time brackets have to do with how good your work is? I'm confused what is "young people" writing? someone please explain that to me. and no you don't have to be gay; i really don't understand how your sexual orientation has to do with anything.... so i don't know about this guy. Some of his views i disagree with.
A blog is a report or an opinion piece. It's akin to reporting for a newspaper or writing an editorial , without the annoying inconvenience of having to get hired as a reporter or editor for an actual newspaper. Thus, it is a form of journalism. Homemade journalism, conveniently free from the bothersome deadlines and legal constraints of professional journalism, and woefully free of the editorial controls of an experienced editor. Either that or it's someone maundering on in some schlocky dear-diary-style tale of some boring soap operatic non-event they experienced. Blogs are highly self indulgent, always too long, frequently suffer from dreadful grammar, punctuation, spelling and English construction and are generally tiresome and dull. One thing a blog is not is storytelling. I have not read this person's blogs but given the general adolescent tone and level of professionalism of the genre, I probably wouldn't. I apologize in advance if I have offended the host of the program, as I greatly admire Mr. McKee and am delighted that Fields was able to post another interview with him. McKee is a treasure to all of us who are writers.
I spent 3 days with him in 1989. Good lord he’s a genius. Breath-taking mind. Lovely man. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
McKee is superb. I don't need McKee to have made more movies--I'm perfectly happy with looking at the number of professional writers, producers and directors who swear by him.
Wow! What a candid comment. "I should've been gay"! Gay people have all the time in the world (no family obligations) and this is why they tend to excel at the arts. Is that why Little Richard is the architect of rock and roll? Why James Baldwin and Truman Capote were such great writers is because of their sexual preference? Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.
Thank you so much for this Robert McKee interview. Love the bit about the fall-back position 5:10
"The Post" was a spec. screenplay written by 31 year old Liz Hannah. She had previously written one other spec. script. "The Post" was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay.
I'm 51 and I have to admit not having kids or getting married has been a premeditated advantage to being an artist.
damn you!
Thank you
Your first book was a "bestseller in Asia". What was it? Are you writing full time now? Did that "bestseller" liberate you financially to become a "professional"? Many great screenwriters and novelists and composers (including Mozart) were writing for more than ten years before finding real success that made them 'professional'.
mckee should read the manga one piece by oda ichiro.. he made huge story that is more creative then anything that i have ever seen in my life.. and he is in his 30s.... age does not matter its your imagination that counts.
I think that I read somewhere that Mark Twain said he became a much better writer after getting married. I heard a Christian writer who had written 3 books this way; his wife worked a normal 9-5 while he stayed at home raising the kids. She came home, they all had together time and then she locked him in his room for 3hrs so he could write. He said it worked beautifully. Guess every situation is different.
The Nobokov effect.
XieYali I'm not familiar with that.
ToshiroHoshi It's mostly a bad joke because actually Nobokov's wife took such care of him it allowed him to write prolifically, at the sake of her own career. It's very hard to concentrate on your art and be domestic at the same time.
XieYali Gotchya. That is very true.....unless you are blessed with an incredible spouse. Someone told me that Mark Twain said that he became a better writer after getting married. idk, I never researched it. I knew a guy whose wife was a brain surgeon and their deal was, she pays all the bills but if he wants to buy himself bass boats and other toys, he had to buy them himself so, he bought a semi-truck and made enough deliveries part time. Wish I had a benefactor to give me one year off to finish my children's books and a screenplay.... like 19th century impressionist painter Alfred Sisley. His finest work was done in a few short weeks when a wealthy family let him stay in their home and do nothing but paint and socialize. Servants took care of everything else. Stress over financial concerns hindered his work before and after that time.
ToshiroHoshi Or how Harper Lee's friends funded a year of writing for her. I need a benefactor too so I can concentrate on my film... Any takers?
Johnathon You might want to get out on the blogosphere a little more. There are many bloggers who are not mommy bloggers who talk about their mundane day but instead write stories. I for one like using my blog as a forum to start longer story ideas. I agree it does give me instant feed back and it also gives me a chance to hone my craft.
Who is McKee referring to at this point 05:28 ?
How massive is that cup and saucer?
The Oscar winner Good Will Hunting was written by 25 yr-olds who were writing their FIRST screenplay, so... you're wrong.
hey! i'm 18 and i have plenty to say as a writer. i cover themes like bullying, self-harm, the divide between rich and poor and many other universal issues. it isn't hard to have insight to life if you are young, you just have to pay attention to what is going on around you and be able to empathize with different kinds of people. people can be stupid and ignorant for their entire lives so age definitely doesn't determine whether you have something important to say or not
Rob Mark how do you feel now, three years later?
Come on people. Be mature. He said it badly but we all get what he means. Traditional roles of sexuality stereotypes that "straight" people start families earlier than gay people due to the lack of necessary anatomical equipment. So gay people in the industry can apply more focus and hours because generally from 19-28 there most likely isn't a child-spouse (family) waiting for them for dinner. There are exceptions but they are far between. So that is a valid generalization.
Does history confirm his statement that you have to fail 10 times? My first book was a bestseller in Asia with no promotion; only word of mouth. It was non-fiction though.
Look at that giant tea cup
Black coffee methinks.
Well, Robert. Now many gay folks do have a spouse and children.
Slightly annoying that the host seems to think that the video should be equally about him! Don't mind a bit of chat like, but come on.
yeah...more than 'slightly annoying'..
Nick Stradling the video is called the McKee-Fields sessions
Quentin Tarantino never picked up a Screenwriting book. He learned through trial and error. Just sit down and write. Learn from your mistakes. A Writer writes.
That's one way of doing it. There are also plenty of pro writers who have been helped by screenwriting books. Depends on the person. Also, Tarantino is a writer/director, making his own films. He can get away with certain things in his writing that other people can't. There's also value in learning the basics of what makes an entertaining story, although that is best done by watching other films and reading screenplays. A basic grasp of Aristotle's Poetics helps though.
@@absw6129 , Most Screenwriting books repeat themselves, the only three I would highly recommend are: 1) The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, 2) Inside Story (the power of thr Transformational Arc by Dara Marks , and 3) Dramatic Construction (An Outline of Basic Principles) by Edward Mabley. Wish you luck.
@@demetriusdion286 thanks for the list. I've read truby, but not Dara Marks. I just bought Dara's book on kindle.
Johnathan would have been wise to not talk half as much...check that--an 1/8 as much.
Glenn LaFaye Crypto, Stocks & Sports agreed
Tarantino only ever made good films, I think he has the passion and that's enough
Dane that hurt my feelings, he just said that songwriters and poets is young people stuff.... (8:30)
Ummmm since when did time brackets have to do with how good your work is?
I'm confused what is "young people" writing? someone please explain that to me.
and no you don't have to be gay; i really don't understand how your sexual orientation has to do with anything.... so i don't know about this guy. Some of his views i disagree with.
bad writing pisses him... I guess he must piss himself off quite a bit then.
Full of 'story'.
i dont use film I dont read books and i dont go to plays... any real writers that live in 2018?
That's crap. Saying you have to fail first.
A blog is a report or an opinion piece. It's akin to reporting for a newspaper or writing an editorial , without the annoying inconvenience of having to get hired as a reporter or editor for an actual newspaper. Thus, it is a form of journalism. Homemade journalism, conveniently free from the bothersome deadlines and legal constraints of professional journalism, and woefully free of the editorial controls of an experienced editor. Either that or it's someone maundering on in some schlocky dear-diary-style tale of some boring soap operatic non-event they experienced. Blogs are highly self indulgent, always too long, frequently suffer from dreadful grammar, punctuation, spelling and English construction and are generally tiresome and dull. One thing a blog is not is storytelling. I have not read this person's blogs but given the general adolescent tone and level of professionalism of the genre, I probably wouldn't. I apologize in advance if I have offended the host of the program, as I greatly admire Mr. McKee and am delighted that Fields was able to post another interview with him. McKee is a treasure to all of us who are writers.