24th June 2016 | for Creatives | creative process, film, Ed Catmull, protect the art, ideas |
"Think of how a movie starts out. It's a baby. It's like the fetus of a movie star; we all start out ugly. Every one of Pixar's stories starts out that way. A new thing is hard to define; it's not attractive, and it requires protection. ... Every new idea in any field needs protection. Pixar is set up to protect our director's ugly baby. Of course you can't protect the baby forever. At some point, it has to grow up and change into something, because the beast is still there. That's a positive thing. Because sometimes the ugly baby would rather play in the sandbox forever. It's a lot like raising a kid. It's complex and interesting. But most people want to make it simpler than it is."
"I don't think we should discuss ideas. I think we should just write, and then go in with the book and say, 'here's the book.' Now, sometimes you have to say something. But I wouldn't listen to what they say back—because they're not prophets. ... Agents particularly are really not in the business of being prophetic. They know what has worked, and that's it."
"You've got to protect your voice and your vision from everybody, really. Even the best-intentioned editors. And I mean, I love my editor; I've been with Vicky Wilson for over 35 years. She's wonderful, and her remarks on the finished manuscript are always terrific. But I don't go to her to discuss a germinating idea."
"There are plenty of places that are built on the business model of exploiting writers by not paying them. Are you going to let them do that to you?"
"I always start out with an idea, even a boring idea, that becomes a question I don't have answers to."
"Protect your voice and your vision. Protect it—and if going on the Internet and reading Internet reviews is bad for you, don't do it. It's awfully rough right now. It's a jungle out there. Do what gets you to write, and not what blocks you."
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