Midnight beer... Characters...

[openup]

So here I am, it's over 1:31 here (night), in France, and I just watched an interview with Christopher Nolan. Yes, it was an "Inception-related" interview, but my question here is not Inception-related.

When asked about how he writes his characters, and afterwards, how he chooses the actors, he said he never thinks about a certain actor when he's writing a script. The actors are picked up only when the script's finished. Everything's kept fresh.

I find this approach... Probably the best. Really. But my "problem/question" is the following one:

When I write, I always assign faces to my characters. I can't escape this. Even when I read a book, or I listen to a story - I assign faces, I create the places ("sets"). I see it/them all in front of me. Now, when writing a script for a movie, I tend to assign the faces of actors I know, actors that "bode well" with the story, to the characters. It helps me "see" them. Nolan's approach got me thinking. Am I impairing my writing process? I understand that in the end, it's what works the best for everyone, but hey... Maybe what I'm doing isn't "fit" for filmmaking? Don't get me wrong, I use the faces purely for imagination reasons. I HAVE to see what I'm reading/writing. But maybe I shouldn't? Maybe this method creates false hope? Maybe Nolan's approach is better?

What do you think? How do you write? Do you "see" the characters in front of you like I do, or you try not to think about it, like Nolan does?

It got me thinking, so I figured I'd share my thoughts with you...

[speakingofsegues]

I don't think what you're doing necessarily hinders your writing process. While I can't necessarily give my characters a 'face', I can definitely see them acted out in terms of a voice or a walk or an overall manner of carrying themselves. But this could be performed by any number of qualified actors.

I guess there's a few way to look at your situation.

Ultimately, at the end of the day, if you write something, until you're at a stage where you could do so, there won't be *as* good a chance of you getting the actors you're thinking of. Sure, it's not impossible depending on whose hands your script winds up in, but let's assume it won't happen for this one. There are plenty of other actors out there that you've never heard of who can pull off everything all the people you're picturing can, and maybe even better. They're just not at the same level as those people and are looking for an amazing character piece like yours in which they can showcase their talent and go to the next level (that's the actor part of me speaking).

Also, if it helps you build character by picturing an actual actor do that role, I don't think that hinders anything. Remember that, at the end of the day, you are writing a character, not an actor. If you think that character would be best played by so-and-so, great, but you are still writing a character. Unless you're writing something like Being John Malkovich, where's it's actually crucial to the story that it BE a certain person in the script, picturing an actor you know and like to help you visualize and realize the character shouldn't hinder the script, because nobody else reading it knows to think of that same person.

I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you. Whatever works to help you flesh things out should be fine, so long as you don't necessarily expect to be able to attach them to the script before you have a reasonable shot at doing so.

Hope that some random insight from a complete stranger at 1:15am (Toronto) helps!

[openup]

;D speakingofsegues, thanks for your 1:15 AM thoughts on this.

As I mentioned, I can't stop it. First comes "some face", and then it transforms into another face, the way I imagine my character, etc etc. I was just interested if I'm alone in this, or not.

I guess at the end it's probably what works best for the writing process, since I believe everyone's using a different approach.

[songswithoutwords]

Speaking: My parents live in Toronto.
Openup: I live in France.

Now, with all that established -

My own 1.15 am reflection is, I don't want to write anymore. It doesn't drive me, and I don't take it seriously enough. Since I so rarely make movies, and since they usually happen so quickly that the screenplay is more of an outline-on-a-napkin, I don't see myself developing this craft very far.

I will still participate on this board though. Will still give feedback on others' stories occasionally, more as a hypothetical audience member than as a fellow writer. I hope my feedback will still be accepted, even if not coming from a peer.

I think what you're all doing here is awesome and inspiring. I can't wait to read more and to see you all develop further.