Rian Johnson's Best Advice on Screenwriting

In 2009, I interviewed Rian Johnson for almost an hour. Near the end, I asked him for some advice around writing and storytelling. Here I took a quote from the interview and made a quick video emphasizing his philosophy he hasn't strayed from in the decade since the interview. Below is the transcription: RIAN: Find your voice. Find the type of story you want to tell and how you want to tell it. Find what’s important to you and stick to that. That sounds really basic but by that I mean don’t give into the temptation of shaping yourself around some sort of perception of what the market wants or what people out there want. God forbid what critics want or what have you. Find your thing. Find what makes your voice unique. And stick to your guns because in the short term it’s going to seem like that’s what’s holding you back. It’s going to seem like that’s what’s making it difficult [to break in.] In the long term though that’s what’s going to make your voice unique. That’s what’s going to pop you up above the crowd and get you noticed. And on a fundamental level it’s going to sustain you creatively and keeps you honest with what you want to put out in the world. - Rian Johnson, 2009 full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gux9zyFPDeA #thelastjedi #starwars #screenwriting