10 Screenwriting Tips from Taika Waititi - Interview with screewriter and director of Jojo Rabbit

Oscar winning screenwriter Taika Waititi funny ted talk interview about the screenplay writing process in his movies JoJo Rabbit, Thor Ragnarok (stars as Korg ), Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He is a New Zealand film and television director, producer, writer, actor, and comedian. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He directed and starred in the film What We Do in the Shadows with Jemaine Clement which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His short film Two Cars, One Night was nominated at the Oscars. He also stars in James and the Giant Peach. He directed and starred in The Mandalorian season 1. His upcoming films include Next Goal Wins and Thor: Love and Thunder.
tip 1 - 1:07 - The easy way ultimately becomes the hard way, because you pay the price which is mediocre work.
tip 2 - 2:00 - No matter how unconventional your characters are, always make them more human and more relatable.
tip 3 - 4:24 - Failure is a brilliant thing. It teaches you what not to do and you end up coming up with better ideas.
tip 4 - 5:27 - Start with the beginning and the end, then figure out the scenes in between. Outline your whole story, and only then start the actual writing.
tip 5 - 7:09 - First do your work and write your whole script until it’s ready to shoot, and only then go for finance.
tip 6 - 9:08 - Don’t try to replicate someone else’s career, stick to your own guns and follow your own vision.
tip 7 - 10:14 - Filtering your writing is key to ensure your scripts aren’t bloated.
tip 8 - 11:33 - Remember that film is an escape, so don’t be afraid to embrace human absurdity in your writing and find the right balance between humor and drama.
tip 9 - 15:33 - Write everything by hand first. Then when you got the structure down, only then type it out.
tip 10 - 16:40 - Tell normal stories about general human conditions, but tell them in a very unique place from indigenous authentic people who know the specific culture.
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#taikawaititi #screenwriter #screenwriting #jojorabbit #screenplay #outstandingscreenplays

[@gothxm]

When he said he only got into screenwriting in his late twenties i let out a sigh of relief lmao

[@wladynoszhighlights5989]

No matter what others say, it's never late. Better late than never

[@yigitcantekgoz1085]

Me too. I hear all the time that writers, directors started making movies in their childhood. Nolan said that he started in 7. It was very intimitading for me.

[@prettyaverage97]

@@yigitcantekgoz1085 Me too, I wanna someday get to make a movie and currently trying to write, but I'm 21 and feeling like it's getting too late for me. It's so tortuous

[@yigitcantekgoz1085]

@@prettyaverage97 Ridley Scott directed his first movie in his 40, Sam Mendes directed his in 34. Never too late

[@BarryWarne]

Rudolf better now than never, like, right now. Write.

[@redbanditfilms5905]

One of the biggest creative minds of our generation

[@gothxm]

Dont lie

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

@@gothxm he's not. It's his opinion.

[@thedowntownmovielounge]

I didn't want him directing Thor because I'm such a die hard fan of the comic. But as soon as I saw Wilderpeople, I knew Ragnarok was going to be amazing. Now I consider myself lucky as a Thor fan to have him. He basically saved the Thor movie franchise and made one of the best movies in the MCU.

[@PhilipClyde]

This didnt age well lol

[@vivianworden2706]

​@@PhilipClyde 🤣

[@Zorgan552]

Holy hell this aged like milk 😅

[@FixFilmsLtd]

Love Waititi's work - Eagle versus Shark remains an under-rated cult classic. So awesome to see him go onto make big budget films and not lose his identity as a filmmaker.

[@nem447]

Taika doesn’t live in our world, we live in his!

[@luckyDancer100]

“I’ll come back to it... and go, ‘who wrote this shit?’” Lmao me too 😂😭😂

[@demetreustaua5236]

Loved Taika when I saw 'BOY'. Taika is definitely a breath of fresh air for sure

[@marmantole]

Love JoJo Rabbit and Thor Ragnarock!! We need more movies like this!

[@63swbfj45]

Listening to this guy talk is more satisfying than the suggestions.

[@AtotheDamn]

"Boy" is such a good movie. Glad the vid concluded with a subject the film could be used to highlight.

[@theexpresidents]

I have to be honest: I am not a big fan of his, or Jojo, but I liked these tips a lot and at the end, when I saw the scene from Boy, I thought, "man, that movie actually looks fucking good, perhaps his best one."

[@AtotheDamn]

@@theexpresidents I get when people aren't fans. I know some people who overhype filmmakers which ruins their flicks..I even overhyped Jojo Rabbit for myself and don't quite love it first watch. (Not saying anyone should watch it again if ya didn't like it). Personally I think Boy came along at a time in my life where I was acutely sensitive to the relationship between a kid and their fractured hero father figure. 10 years ago I might not have liked it, I'm sure. And if you never find an angle into enjoying his films, as a fan, I'm a-ok with that, amigo.

[@dheeshnelapatla8793]

Omg Korg be teaching me the secrets of story

[@DouglasJohnson.]

Another great video! Thank you so much for making these! I've never seen "Boy" but I'm going to seek it out. All of his other films have been wonderful!

[@sameerr0143]

Just idolize this guy.... Thanks guys for wonderful channel 🙏🙏

[@Lotsolov4u]

Ooooooooooomg thank you thank you thank you! I'm a kiwi so this is just fantastic!!

[@gothxm]

BIG KIWI IN THE HOUSE

[@Lotsolov4u]

@@gothxm Can't wait to see what he does with Star Wars!!

[@gothxm]

@@Lotsolov4u hopefully something better than the last trilogy. The Mandolorian was just what Star Wars needed. Also their use of that revolutionary tech was so incredible. Idk if you saw any behind the scenes stuff where they talk about it but its called ILM Stagecraft. The MCU is allegedly going to use it in some of their stuff on Disney+ and beyond.

[@GeoffKnoop]

So great!

[@Distractingly_Dope]

Dude his filtering system is BRUTAL. There’s a lot there to learn from tho.

[@georgemarquez4308]

Ive caught myself doing this but it truly helps !! I just recently came back to some of my material I wrote and made it better !!! I guess just living life and moving forward a bit just gives you more from recent experiences.

[@nikolajmadsen1002]

I really like the intros you do

[@blackjack-ks8zn]

2:24 Thor : Am I a joke to you? Waititi : yes

[@iamsakun3988]

Keep continue !

[@mahuexvii]

With his moustache he reminds me of my dad lol

[@Dufferwise]

Who is THOR? Taika Waititi - "A Rich kid from Space".

[@johnta17]

these are very good

[@OldSoAndSo]

Screenwriting Tip 2: Get a funny, charming actor to make the character more relatable

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

That's total farce.

[@lamouralice4533]

Cool really wanna learn about it

[@Battleganz]

That last clip was the meme of the century.

[@ruly8153]

Can you make a video on the Coen brothers ?

[@user-nr5tj4iv8l]

Тайка клевый. У него фильмы с прикалюхами всем заходят и некого не задевают. Но меня зеркалят Скорцезе, Тарантино, Балабанов, Тарковский.

[@kjwolfgramm]

I was just listening and when the guy asked the question that lead to tip 8 I thought it was Joaquin Phoenix lol

[@williamgriffin61]

He makes ya want to go make your stuff !

[@something65789]

I want a Video about Stanley Kubrick

[@avaduvall9611]

Love this guy. Can’t Un see him as hitler tho. 😂Brilliant!

[@jaymcmahon2646]

Can’t tell if I’m just high but he just shut the dude down at 11:49.

[@MikeWhiskyTango]

After seeing Thor, I'm not so sure about this guy's supposed talent anymore.

[@learn2draw716]

Do we have to relate to a character?

[@CloudManPT]

We don't have to empathize with a character but we should be able to sympathize with them.

[@GODFATHER-pq6yw]

@@CloudManPT isn't it the other way around?

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

@@CloudManPT You mean "We don't have to sympathize with a character but we should be able to empathize with them."

[@CloudManPT]

@@TomEyeTheSFMguy oops! Yes, that's what I meant. I mixed up the wording haha

[@chobovoyager7143]

Pedro waititi

[@jbeez_theahch]

This guy thinks he will live forever, don't touch draft 1 for a year?? Seems a little extreme but, he's there and I'm here so

[@MarshalTennerWinter]

Waititi sucks. Who the hell makes a movie that treats Hitler and the horrors of WW2 with wistful, silly nostalgia?

[@fashionablechangeling1988]

It's satire and from the perspective of a hitler youth kid. Taika is Jewish as well

[@MarshalTennerWinter]

@@fashionablechangeling1988 Nothing from WW2 should be portrayed as fun in any way. Even satire. Seeing Hitler dance around a forest isn't funny, It lkinda reminds people of the EIGHT MILLION FUCKING INNOCENT SOULS MURDERED. What is the message he's sending? Not a fan. Is his follow-up movie going to be a jaunty musical about pedophilia?

[@MarshalTennerWinter]

@@fashionablechangeling1988 And yeah. I'm sure Waititi, A PACIFIC ISLANDER, is a hardcore practicing Jew.

[@bestfoodreviews2770]

@@MarshalTennerWinter uhm yeah he could be. Do you know how religion works?

[@doctorstarcrumbs]

Nothing is profane. Everything is sacred.