I find the most interesting and most daring scripts tend to be for independent films.
I'm pretty sure no one's reading action scripts saying, 'This has got to be Ed Helms. '
I love working that way, and that's sort of the way that Mark, Jay, and I have been working for years, where we start with scripts that are really solid and well-written. But once we get into the scene and we start doing the work, we definitely loosen things up.
A lot of people have an opinion on scripts, but they aren't equipped to diagnose what the problems are. You realize that scriptwriting is such a specialist subject, but because it's so common, everyone thinks that they can talk about that. I think it's something that writers only know, that they can see.
What I learned is that I should probably read a screenplay every once in a while before I said 'yes'. You could make bad film out of a good script, but you're never going to make a good film out of a bad script.
I've always felt that I'm in a spontaneous business and if you script something, if you plan something, it will sound that way.
My approach to acting is that I am totally intuitive. I read the script and I get it. If I don't get it, I can't do it.
If it's a terrible script, it's a terrible bore.
When I read the scripts, I'm always so excited to see what's going to happen because it's unpredictable.
Something like Shakespeare in Love, which became such an established hit that it now seems like a foregone conclusion. . . but it really wasn't. The script was around for a very, very long time and had people chickening out all the time.
I write plays instinctively. I don't like writing movie scripts.
I tend not to read the size of the production into a script when I'm reading it. It's just something you respond to or not and I do think it's very dangerous to say it's time now to do this or it's time now to do that.
No matter how great the script, the actual film will only be a distant relative of it - it will never be an identical twin.
I tend not to have any references to anything. I just jump into the script in front of me. If you reference too much, you have no idea if the performances are right.
They sent me the script and I thought that there was something very appealing and funny about it. Also, I was familiar with Mike Myers work in Saturday Night Live, but I did not know the extent to which he would make this creation.
I mean, Deadpool has a script, but it's a very complicated process to find the right filmmaker. We'll see.
Take a favorite trick of yours and write a 'gestures script' how could you improve clarity [using gestures].
I like to hold a book. When someone sends me a script, I ask for a hard copy or print one out.
Sometimes I'll read things in the script and think, "That's not how humans behave," or "I don't understand how to do that role and make it seem like I'm not some kind of strange alien or on a sitcom. " I don't get it, and when I feel that way, I have to listen to my instinct. My initial instinct does lead me in a direction that I can trust.
I read a ton of scripts. I read a lot of scripts, and you read one, and first of all, you felt like you read it in 14 minutes, because you're turning the pages so fast you can't wait to see what's going to happen.