GITS Q&A, Part 6: Mary Coleman (Pixar)

Today we conclude my week long exclusive interview with Mary Coleman, senior development executive at Pixar Animation Studios.

SM: Okay, a few more questions. You’ve had a chance to work with some great screenwriters. Joss Whedon, Tom McCarthy, Dan Fogelman, Mike Arndt. Beyond creativity — and you’ve already said you’re looking for writers who are good with character — are there other qualities you’re looking for in a screenwriter?

MC: When you think about those writers and the other movies they’ve written you’ll see they’re all smart comedies with a lot of heart. Tom McCarthy was hired based on The Station Agent.

SM: I love that movie.

MC: Me, too. And it’s a very small canvas. So you wouldn’t automatically think of him for a big budget animated feature. But I always start by asking the directors, ‘What movies have you loved in the past few years?’ And Pete [Docter] said The Station Agent.’ So I said, ‘Okay, let’s see if Tom McCarthy’s available.’ Lucky for us, he was.

We hire comedy writers, but we’re not going for ‘jokey’ writers. We’re going for a deeper kind of humor that comes out of how flawed the characters are, that comes out of their relationships to each other, not out of a string of jokes or pop culture references.

SM: Let’s talk about Brave. Did having a female Protagonist affect your creative process?

MC: Sure. She’s not only female, she’s a teenage female. We watched a lot of movies that are driven by teenage girls. We got women together and asked them about their own teen years, their relationships with their moms, with their teen daughters. We’re not only researching ancient Scotland, we’re researching character psyche, in this case how to approach things from a teenage girl’s point of view.

It’s also the first time we’re tapping into the deep roots of fairy tales and that’s really exciting because it has a different tenor, new territory for us in a great way.

SM: Great. Let me end with this big question, put you on the spot. In your view — speaking for Pixar — what makes a good story?

MC: This is going to sound very sappy, but I said we’re unafraid of sentiment so here goes… coming from the heart. Telling your story from the heart. All the other mechanics of storytelling are useless unless without that.

When I thanked Mary for her time, she said, “It’s easy to speak passionately about Pixar because it’s an exciting place to work.” From a writer’s standpoint, this interview reveals a really big reason why that would be the case: Pixar’s consuming commitment to story. By all appearances of their creative process as well as what ends up on screen, story is the Alpha and Omega of what they do.

I want to thank Mary Coleman once again and hope you find the time to hit “Leave a reply” to express your gratitude as well.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, go here.

Part 3, go here.

Part 4, go here.

Part 5, go here.

Comment Archive