Screenwriting 101: Craig Mazin

“I like to think of characters as struggling with something philosophical. I think we’re all philosophical by nature. I think that we believe things because they’re comfortable and they work for us. Yet, there’s a price for that comfort. I like to think about people who have achieved some sort of state of acceptable imperfection. Their philosophy keeps them safe, but at a cost. Then I ask, ‘How could I make them unsafe? How could I force them to confront the nature of their own personal philosophy and whether or not it’s true? What can I do to lead them, or instruct them into another possible way of living? What choice can I give them that would prove their faith in a new philosophy and a new way of living?’ If I can follow that sometimes, I start to see how this character can change.”

— Craig Mazin

From Go Into The Story interview, August 2013

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