He may have stumbled with the tonally inconsistent “Virginia,” but Dustin Lance Black still remains an in-demand writer (an Oscar win would do that for a person). As part of the “Academy Originals” series for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Black stars in a video detailing his writing process.
Lasting just under seven minutes long, the video is must-watch for any of you aspiring writers out there or just those interested in what it takes to write a movie. Black may be something of an outlier with his thorough researching process – he says he often takes a year just to research the film—but it’s hard to argue with his reasoning that specificity is key to creating unique and interesting characters.
While you watch the video, keep an eye out for the drafts of some of the films Black has been attached to over the past couple of years. Watch Black’s creative process below. [No Film School]
"he says he often takes a year just to research the film.." that's weird as it only took me about an hour and a half to watch the documentary on Harvey Milk, you know, the one that just about every emotional beat of his script was taken from.