Interview (Part 5): Craig Borten

I first met Craig Borten at the 2014 Austin Film Festival where he was a panelist in a session I moderated. We discussed the movie he co-wrote and was nominated for an Academy Award: Dallas Buyers Club. Seeing as The 33 is coming out this week, another movie Craig co-wrote, I reached out to him for an interview and Craig agreed. We had a great one-hour conversation.

Today in Part 5, Craig answers some craft questions:

Scott: Let’s jump into some craft questions. You mentioned you wrote this “Sheriff” project on spec, so you generate your own ideas as well as adapting other things. How do you come up with story ideas?

Craig: I read a lot. I have this app called Longform, and it collates all the writers in the world and all the articles, magazines, all the publications. I love reading human interest stories. It’s usually a germ of an idea. “Sheriff” was based on the LA sheriff scandal, which happened about five or six years ago.

That was about this gang of sheriffs selling drugs and extreme violence against prisoners. The FBI put an inmate in there with a cell phone and conducted an undercover sting. That got my mind going. I love the world of sheriffs, the Mexican Mafia, and I wanted to create that world.

Scott: Is it fair to say that most of your ideas come from the stuff you read?

Craig: Yes, absolutely. I’m constantly consuming, reading everything.

Scott: How about prep writing, brainstorming, character development, plotting, research, outlining? Which of those aspects do you tend to spend your most time with?

Craig: For me, it’s the characters, breaking the characters. That’s what I spend most of my time with. Once I’ve done that, character will speak to plot and story. Once I know who they are and where they’re headed, then the other stuff’s a lot easier.

Scott: How do you develop your characters? Do you have some specific paths or tools?

Craig: I really don’t, but there’s one tool that I use for everyone, and that is a series of questions. What’s their Achilles’ heel, and how does that impede them from what their goal is, and how are they going to overcome their Achilles’ heel and rise above it?

Scott: There’s that theme again, ask questions.

Craig: Yeah, ask questions.

Scott: How about dialogue? How do you go about finding your characters’ voices?

Craig: Dialogue is more like an exploration in creativity. That’s trying things out, seeing what you feel fits, knowing your character, writing, rewriting, getting a feel for him. Getting his cadence, the way he talks, the way he walks, what he says without saying it.

Scott: Theme. Do you think about theme? Is that important to you?

Craig: For sure, themes are very important. For the “Sheriff” show, there’s this theme I was playing with everything that’s going on with all the police departments across the country, the corruption, and the violence, and a lot of the murders. Everything that’s going on in our country.

I thought, “What does it mean to be a cop today? What does the badge mean to anyone? What are they upholding?” I thought, “Right now, it’s a cycle of violence and corruption.” So I thought break the cycle. That’s an interesting theme. How do they break the cycle of corruption and violence?

Then, I thought, “How does that relate to my lead character? What is he up against? Does he want to break the cycle, and if he does, how does he want to break the cycle?” I’m always thinking about themes.

Scott: When you’re writing a scene, do you have specific goals in mind?

Craig: Usually when I write a scene, I write from the inside‑out. It’s basically what is the scene building to, what is the heart of the scene, what is that moment, and I’m usually trying to capture that moment. Then, I’ll build things around how I get there and how I get out of there.

Scott: That’s interesting. It’s like what Ray Bradbury says. “When you sit down to write, don’t think. Feel.”

Craig: Exactly.

Scott: How do you go about writing entertaining scene descriptions?

Craig: I really try not to. I don’t think. It’s all an economy of words, so I’m trying to make it somewhat interesting but not too interesting, not too flowery. Get to the point, get in, and get out. I don’t try to write really entertaining scene description. I try to use an economy of words.

Scott: When you finish a first draft, how do you approach the rewriting process?

Craig: Usually, people are giving me notes. You’re trying to see where you have to cut the fat. The simple thing is does every scene move this story forward? Does every scene move your character forward? Is everything scene speaking to your character? You have to go in there and look at it.

Scott: How about your actual writing process? Do you write every day or sporadic bursts? Do you work in private? Do you go to coffee shops? Do you listen to music? Does it have to be quiet? How do you write?

Craig: I have a big 10 foot by 6 foot cork board. I will put images up, and I will actually pick music that fits what this movie is. Then, I’ll play the music and continue to put images up, and then I’ll put index cards over those images that speak to different scenes that I think have to happen. I’ll build like a world on a cork board. While listening to music and looking at images.

Scott: It’s like a holistic thing. You’re feeding your visual and oral sensibilities?

Craig: 100 percent.

Scott: Here’s a fun question. What’s your single best excuse not to write?

Craig: Anything.

[laughter]

Anything. Really, I’ll be honest with you, for the last three years, I’ve written almost seven days a week. To be honest, the more I write, the easier it gets.

Scott: What do you love most about writing?

Craig: What do I love about writing? It’s when you find those great moments that bounce off the page. You’re in it, and it feels great, and you’re telling this beautiful story. You’re speaking to humanity, and you’re speaking to your own humanity, and you’re tapping into a deeper part of life that we all seek. You’re capturing that within a page or two. It feels great.

Scott: Finally what advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters and TV writers about learning the craft and working in Hollywood?

Craig: I really think the best way to learn the craft is to go do it. I also think is to write something and actually go make it. It doesn’t matter if it’s good, it doesn’t matter if it’s bad. It matters that you went out, accomplished it, finished the screenplay, and then go make a movie. We live in an age where you can buy a camera and editing system and do it all on your phone or your computer. Form a group of other artists that want to write, direct, produce, and act and go make something.

That’s the best education, I think.

To read Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Part 4, here.

Craig is repped by UTA.

The 33 opens in North America, Friday, November 13th.

The movie’s website here.

Twitter: @CraigBorten.