Screenwriting 101: Amma Asante

“You know what I do? When I’m starting a script, I write two or three thematic words down on little pieces of paper. I fold them up, stick them in a drawer, and try and forget about them. My wish and my hope is that somewhere in my subconscious those words will stay with me and that those words will come back at me through audience reactions and in what people say to me.

The one thing I think we all as writers and directors wish for when we’re writing a story and making a movie is that people don’t leave the theater and immediately think, “Oh, what are we going to eat now? What flavor milkshake?” but that we’ve had enough of an impact on our audience so they want to talk about the movie.

They want to have discussions about the movie. They want to have discussions about issues, themes, plot points in the movie. I hope it’s going to inspire debate and discussion.”

— Amma Asante

From Go Into The Story interview, May 2014

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