I was flipping through channels last week and found this show on PBS: AMERICA IN PRIMETIME: The Misfit. It was filled with interviews with Alan Ball, Diablo Cody, Mitch Hurwitz, Mike Judge, Judd Apatow, Alex Baldwin, Jeffrey Tambor, Larry David, Ron Howard, Paul Feig, among others that are drool-worthy talents, talking about character, and what draws them to story and what makes comedy tick, and ultimately, why the “misfit” character works on TV.
This is the kind of stuff that I loved studying in film school. When theory finds common ground with what makes TV (or film, or theater) tick. What makes this bright box and talking heads draw us in and keeps us captivated, for years, generations. Hearing icons talk about what thrills them, what quirks they brought to the table….this is the stuff I could soak up all day long.
What immediately drew me in, wasn’t that Alan Ball was talking about what’s cool about vampires, Mike Judge wasn’t talking about how he found Beavis and Butthead’s laugh, but they discussed how their personal philosophies trickle into their work. Why Ron Howard was attracted to the Bluth Family in Arrested Development. Why Judd Apatow and Paul Feig had similar goals at the outset of making Freaks and Geeks.
The commonality is that they all brought themselves into their work. Paul Feig had a more horrific and embarrassing high school experience than most of us (seriously, read his books, they are hilarious yet painful at the same time), Alan Ball’s sister died in a car crash when he was 13, is often why death is something he explores so often and readily. Who these writers are trickles into their work. 
All of them are willing to put themselves into their work to make their characters as honest and real as possible. What makes writing work so often, especially comedy I would say, is honesty and relate-ability. If an audience can’t find your high school horror stories at all real, they are not going to laugh in the same way.
In the PBS Show Judd Apatow said a great thing, “How many people actually relate to Brad Pitt?”
That’s kind of a great point. That’s why there has never really been a movie about Brad Pitt struggling to get a girl, because really? Would anyone buy that? Would anyone relate to that? Seth Rogan? Yep, audiences gravitate to that version because it’s more honest and speaks to the everyman.
Another great quote:
“It has to have some element of truth that we recognize.” – Julia Louie Dryfuss.
While all of this might seem like writing 101, it’s amazing how often that honesty gets lost in the process.
This is why writers rooms often create such close bonds, because writers have to be willing to share their embarrassing stories with each other to find these kernels of truth to lay into their characters.
Apparently Judd Apatow and Paul Feig had all their writers fill out a questionnair about their most embarrassing high school moments at the start of the Freaks and Geeks season in order to capitalize on that brutal truth of adolesence.
If you find yourself glossing over the truth because the truth isn’t interesting or dramatic enough, chances are you might be missing the point somewhere. The truth in writing is what hooks readers and takes them into your world; it’s what takes your project from feeling like a movie to feeling like an experience.
Be real, be honest, and I think you’ll be surprised.
