Courtney Miller, Filmmaker/Producer/Author/Editor: And I was like Oh my gosh. I literally paused the movie, got up and walked out because I was just bawling.
Film Courage: Would you say good writing demands emotional honesty?
Courtney: Oh gosh yeah, definitely. Good writing definitely demands emotional honesty. I the only way for the audience to buy in is when we feel the emotion. That’s what it’s all about and I would say the same thing with good directing. When I see a scene work, when we feel that emotion and when we feel it’s authentic, we can tell when things are just being done or said or being preached to and it does it feel authentic. We can learn lessons and be told things in a non-preachy kind of way that feels real, that feels authentic. A good example I think of because it just got voted the number one screenplay, what was it of the decade or the 21st century, Get Out. When you look at Get Out (I’ve read the script a couple of times, I’ve watched the movie a couple times, I’ve even watched the other ending) how the original ending of how he wanted it to end which was on a downer actually those that have seen it before they know how it ends and the way it ends. Actually it is a movie that is telling the story about racism, it’s telling a story about historical injustice and a lot of other things that are being said there but you don’t feel like you’re being preached to. I think that’s why it worked and that’s why people of various melanin shades went to go see it because it didn’t feel that way even though we got it. It didn’t feel that way and I think that’s the big difference in how stories are being told. It was an emotional story but you didn’t feel like you were being preached to. It always comes down to emotional integrity for any script, any scene and if you’re able to hit that. This Is Us, people cry on that show all the time because we feel what those characters are feeling and it feels organic. It doesn’t feel like it’s forced and I think that’s why it works…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
CONNECT WITH COURTNEY MILLER
BIO:
Courtney Miller is a 5-time award winning director who has worked with the biggest names in entertainment including Michael Jackson, Usher, and Britney Spears. His award winning short film REPAIRations! – The Musical, has garnered him meetings with top studios and networks including Lionsgate, TBS, and Viola Davis’ company, Juvee Productions. He has directed commercials for Nike & Apple, and has written several television and film screenplays in the Drama, Comedy, Musical, and Horror genres’.
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