I enjoy scenes in films, which do not have the pressure of the story so much... and it flows. I've tried to go in that direction.
My first student film was Orientation, which was basically the set-up for Animal House. There are a couple of scenes that we later borrowed in some form.
Every artist joins a conversation that's been going on for generations, even millennia, before he or she joins the scene.
When you print out your manuscript and read it, marking up with a pen, it sometimes feels like a criminal returning to the scene of a crime.
I think I tried on the hardcore scene's outfits maybe once, and then I just figured I'd stick to Hawaiian shirts.
Directing is something I always wanted to do. I started when I was 13 directing scenes in high school and then plays in college with my theatre company.
I've been in scenes with my brother where I've been absolutely emotionally terrified to go somewhere. But because he's my brother, I feel safe.
No more bare bodies in film scenes for me. For my children's sake, I must stop. The other kids at school keep throwing it up to my children, and they are not kind.
My characters have to talk, or they're out. They audition in early scenes. If they can't talk, they're given less to do, or thrown out.
Practicing going over scenes and in front of the camera just to see how that feels, and then ultimately just finding a way to expose yourself to people. That's what I did.
I'll find myself having dinner with people and someone will mention something and I will say I was in that situation once. Then I'll say, forget it, it was a scene I was in. That can get to be quite confusing.
Once the state has been founded, there can no longer be any heroes. They come on the scene only in uncivilized conditions.
I think there's a natural system in your own head about how much violence the scene warrants. It's not an intellectual process, it's an instinctive process.
Usually when I read something, first of all I'm looking for the story and then when I reread it, I'm sort of checking every part of it to see if every scene is necessary.
I don't believe in myths of decline or myths of progress, even as regards the literary scene.
If you think you are beautiful in a scene, you will come across as beautiful. I don't think looks are important; I think what's important is if someone is sexy.
In films, the fact that you can always do a scene again takes a load off your mind, enabling you to strive for perfection, which I always wanted.
Going out on a stage publicly and not knowing how people are going to react to you - once I experienced that, it made me feel much more comfortable about going into a scene.
With most of my books, I'll actually go out and look at the setting. If you describe things carefully, it kind of makes the scene pop.
You have to examine a scene on the page first. Then you get into the basics of acting: Who are you? Who are you talking to? How do you feel about that person?
When I first hit the scene, it was just a lot of go, go, go, go, go. I have a lot of natural energy anyway, but it was over the top.
