bruce joel rubin study guide

8/13/2019 Bruce Joel Rubin Study Guide

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AN INTERVIEW WITH SCREENWRITER BRUCE JOEL RUBIN

QUIZ & SUGGESTED EXERCISES

(RECOMMENDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE STUDENTS)


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EXCERPTS FROM BRUCE JOEL RUBINS INTERVIEW:

JAY FERNANDEZ: How do you approach writing dramatic scenes, where youre trying to developrelationships?

BRUCE JOEL RUBIN: You live it. You sit down and you start to be that person.

FERNANDEZ: You imagine the scenarios playing out?

RUBIN: You imagine you are those people. Youre talking their dialogue, youre saying their words toyourself, not out loud usually, although sometimes out loud [The characters] are arriving and theyredoing their number and I am a participant in that. Sometimes they lead me. Sometimes I say, no, no, no,you shouldnt go there, and theyll go, what do you mean, thats where Im gonna go. They have startedto have such real life that they determine their own truth. Thats a great thing when youre writing, whenyour characters start to tell you what to do.

FERNANDEZ: How do you know when the dialogue and the direction of the scene has gone where itshould go?

RUBIN: The way you know the ice cream cone tastes good. [Mimes licking an ice cream cone.] Mmgood. Its the same exact thing. You just write the scene, you go, mmgood. Tastes right. Feelsright. Next. You gotta keep moving on, thats the hard part.


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QUIZ:

As you watch the interview, see if you can answer the following questions.1. How does Bruce Joel Rubin use meditation in his writing process?2. How did an LSD trip and a dream inspire Jacobs Ladder?

3. What is the carpet laying theory of writing?4. How does Rubin feel about film critics?5. What three twists does Jay Fernandez identify in the mugging scene in Ghost?6. How long did Rubin pitch the idea for Ghost before it sold?7. How does he describe his visit to the set of Brainstorm?8. How did winning an Oscar change his career?9. Why did Time Magazine call Rubin the Dr. Kevorkian of American cinema?10. What research did he do for Deep Impact?11. Why might he advise a young writer not to buy a house?12. What is his approach to rewriting other peoples scripts?13. Why does Rubin say studio executives dont want to hear the truth about a deeply flawed script?

14. How can Hollywood be a good training ground for spiritual development?15. What is the best advice about writing he has received?

Bonus question: 16. Whats the name of Rubins maverick yogi?

SUGGESTED EXERCISES:

1. Bruce Joel Rubin says several of his scripts were inspired by vivid dreams. Have you ever dreamed ascene that you could imagine in a film? Using a dream of your own or one that someone else describes to

you, write a scene, staying as true as possible to the scene as you remember it, or as it was described.2. Rubin describes a method he calls slamming it out, involving a writer typing anything at all, evenmeaningless phrases, until he (hopefully) finds some inspiration. Try this type of automatic writingyourself, for 10 minutes. Do you find it difficult? Are you able to move beyond simple typing?

3. Rubin describes himself as a internal writer who seeks anwers through meditation, rather than anexternal writer who looks outside himself to other people and places for inspiration. Which type ofwriter do you think you are? Can one be a combination? What kind of material do you think aninternal writer might gravitate towards, versus an external writer?

4. A small bust of Vladimir Lenin inspires Rubin to generate several characters and situations. Can youcome up with your own story based on the same object?


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bruce joel rubin study guide

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