I found this Q & A between interviewer Linc Leifeste (Oxford American Southern Magazine) and Jeff Nichols to be particularly insightful:
I think the bolded part (my emphasis) has been an important growth area for me as far as writing goes. Perhaps somewhere hidden within that is the secret to developing a "voice."
Full interview: http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articl...-jeff-nichols/
LL: Your films are full of working-class and small-town characters. Those types of characters often feel stilted or inauthentic in film, but you treat them with respect and dignity.
JN: I think that a lot of time people-storytellers, filmmakers, directors, whatever-use their characters to do things for them, to serve some narrative goal that they have. Plot's never been that big of an issue for me-it's always been a secondary goal. The primary goal has been to connect with the audience out of emotion. In order to do that, I'm not thinking about these characters as chess pieces on a board to move around. Instead, I'm really trying to put myself in these people's shoes. A lot of the time they are manifestations of some part of my personality, and I really genuinely care for these people.
JN: I think that a lot of time people-storytellers, filmmakers, directors, whatever-use their characters to do things for them, to serve some narrative goal that they have. Plot's never been that big of an issue for me-it's always been a secondary goal. The primary goal has been to connect with the audience out of emotion. In order to do that, I'm not thinking about these characters as chess pieces on a board to move around. Instead, I'm really trying to put myself in these people's shoes. A lot of the time they are manifestations of some part of my personality, and I really genuinely care for these people.
Full interview: http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articl...-jeff-nichols/
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