Video: David Seidler

The screenwriter who won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The King’s Speech shares insights into his creative process.

Scott Myers

19 Oct 2021 • 1 min read

“Creativity is tapping into a hidden source. That’s what fascinates me. To be in touch with the unconscious or subconscious pool of creativity. Can I dip into that well and lift a bucketful of it?” — David Seidler

The screenwriter who won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The King’s Speech shares insights into his creative process.

A few years back, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences ran a terrific series of video interviews called Creative Spark. Here is one featuring David Seidler (The King’s Speech).

Seidler’s process in “breaking story” involves two elements: He uses virtual index cards which he then prints out as actual cards.

He also writes out a lengthy treatment which expands on what story notes and information he includes in his cards.

I guess there’s a third component: He goes fly-fishing which he uses as a metaphor for the writing process:

“I’m trying to cast out something onto the surface, and hopefully something magical and unknown is going to come up from the depths of my subconscious.”

It’s actually a great metaphor for writing: fishing around for ideas. Once you get them, bust out the cards and write a treatment to land the story!

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