Andrew Stanton, Part 8: “The Clues to a Great Story” (TED Talk)

Last week, I brought up the Andrew Stanton TED Talk from 2012 in the context of a discussion about storytelling. It reminded of how great his presentation was. So great, when I went into the archives to check the series I ran at the time, I had actually taken the time to transcribe the entire 19-minute talk. So for the next two weeks, I will reprise that series from one of the principal figures in the phenomenon which is Pixar Animation Studios.

A few weeks back our featured video interview was a TED Talk given by Andrew Stanton, one of the key members of Pixar’s ‘brain trust’ whose screenwriting credits include Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Wall-E and the current live action movie John Carter which he also directed [along with A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo and Wall-E].

The subject of the TED Talk: “The Clues to a Great Story.” Given the success of Pixar and Stanton’s participation in it, I decided to produce a transcription of the entire 19-minute presentation. I will be posting it segment by segment for the next week or so because Stanton packed a lot of big ideas into his short talk.

Today: Part 8.

Before I decided to make storytelling my career, I can now see key things that happened in my youth that opened my eyes to certain things about story.

In 1986 I truly understood the notion of story having a theme. That was the year they restored and re-released Lawrence of Arabia. I saw that thing seven times in one month. I couldn’t get enough of it. I could just tell there was a grand design under it — in every shot, every scene, ever line. Yet on the surface, it just seemed to be depicting his historical lineage of what went on. Yet there was something more being said, what exactly was it. It wasn’t until one of my later viewings when the veil was lifted. It was in a scene where he walked across the Sinai desert and he’s reached the Suez Canal, and I suddenly got it.

[Scene from Lawrence of Arabia where a driver from across the Suez Canal calls out to Lawrence twice: “Who are you?”]

That was the theme: “Who are you?” Here were all these seemingly disparate events and dialogue that were just chronologically telling the history of him, but underneath it was a constant, a guideline, a road map. Everything Lawrence did in that movie was an attempt to figure out his place in the world.

A strong theme is always running through a well-told story.

A few things:

* “I saw that thing seven times in one month”: You want to be a successful screenwriter? That is the kind of passion you need for the craft, to see a movie seven times in thirty days.

* “That was the theme: ‘Who are you?’”: Literally dozens of memorable scenes in Lawrence of Arabia and I don’t even remember this one. Yet Stanton is right: There’s the central question of the movie, tied to the Protagonist’s issue of self-identity, torn between two worlds. Two points here: (1) Keep your eyes peeled because you never know where you might find something of enormous meaning and potential value to you as a storyteller. (2) I think it’s fair to say that most movies have as a key dynamic the question of a major character’s identity, their attempt to discover who they are.

* “A strong theme is always running through a well-told story”: Absolutely. But then again… what does he mean by ‘theme’? What does anybody mean when they use that word? In my years of learning and practicing this craft, I have found that theme is perhaps the single most confused and confusing aspects of what we do. SHAMELESS PLUG: That’s why you should take my upcoming Core VII: Theme class which covers the subject in a way I’ve never seen before, actually makes sense, and provides you with a set of tools to discern and use themes to enhance your stories.

For Part 1 of Stanton’s TED Talk, go here.

For Part 2, go here.

For Part 3, go here.

For Part 4, go here.

For Part 5, go here.

For Part 6, go here.

For Part 7, go here.

Tomorrow: Part 9