How I Wrote Arrival

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Arrival is not what you might think at first glance. It isn't really about Earth's first encounter with aliens, but with something more personal. Listen to Eric Heisserer, screenwriter of Arrival, talk about his process adapting Ted Chiang's short story for the screen.
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Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer. It is based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang and stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. The film follows a linguist enlisted by the U.S. Army to discover how to communicate with aliens who have arrived on Earth, before tensions lead to war.
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This channel is a way for me to share the best nuggets of knowledge for filmmakers I find. It's an attempt to take a look inside the greatest films and TV shows and learn from the creators themselves how they do what they do.
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Arrival Interview With Screenwriter Eric Heisserer - Collider
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Science vs Cinema - OSCAR-Nominated ARRIVAL Screenwriter Eric Heisserer extended interview
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DP/30: Arrival, Eric Heisserer
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University of California Television - Arrival - Script to Screen
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On Story 804: Script to Screen: Arrival
• On Story 804: Script t...
Arrival Premiere with Writer Ted Chiang
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Arrival - Making Sci-Fi Personal
• How I Wrote Arrival
#DenisVilleneuve #DuneMovie

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Talk about Arrival and filmmaking on our official Discord server: discord.gg/xxTqXXd

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

Another absurd way to communicate that would never work let alone evolve. Its pretty good part of the story tho!

[@Voidelle]

“You CANT do-… wait, can you?” Is such a beautiful example of getting direction from an outside source. From someone who isn’t thinking inside your box. Love that

[@zachquinones]

Especially after complaining about screenwriters trying to be novelists on a script then goes and does the most novelist thing to his lol

[@davecrupel2817]

"The only rules that really matter are these: What a man can do And what a man can't do."

[@davecrupel2817]

@@Limbless Precisely.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

​@@zachquinonesit's fitting. Vonnegut write with graphics and was obviously huge influence on thus movie. Not the scribble so much as the concept of being unstuck in time.

[@JaydevRaol]

'Feeling Uplifted and Hopeful and also completely Shattered' That's exactly how I felt when I saw Arrival for the first time.

[@vhampyre01]

That really is the best description I've seen for it. It's heartbreaking and beautiful.

[@brianlove8353]

Cry in picture hse

[@huw3851]

yes, I agree. Even watching this interview brings some of that impact back. So now I have to go get by copy and watch it again.

[@aeron6052]

@@huw3851 Same here! This entire film and soundtrack profoundly impacted me!

[@edde591]

Same here

[@Mylesperhour20]

arrival is a cinematic masterpiece. it is genuinely the perfect movie in my opinion and had a profound effect on me. 3 years later and i still think about weekly

[@Renzsu]

Did you read the book after watching the movie? Because that's what I did and can definitely recommend it.

[@Mylesperhour20]

@@Renzsu yep, the book was perfect but im happy i read it after the movie because i don't think the twist in the book would have evoked the raw emotion that the twist in the movie did. I think that's just a testament to the medium of a feature length film vs a short story though. I actually went and read all of ted chiangs stuff after the movie. I even went to meet him at a book reading in some tiny book store in Brooklyn this last summer! He was reading a part of his newest short story collection called Exhalation which is straight up phenomenal. He was such a humble man too, you could tell he was 1000x smarter than everyone else in the room but still took the time to answer every ones questions thoughtfully and respectfully.

[@Mecz2]

Absolutely the same. For me it's the pinnacle of storytelling and cinematography.

[@nahuelma97]

It's such a beautiful movie, totally. It had a lasting impact, I still think about it to this day. I love good storytelling and also linguistics, so it's like a perfect mix for me lol

[@dylanvickers7953]

Agreed. I watched a bunch of KZbin movie channels and I thought I liked good movies and felt like I was pretty movie literate, but Arrival is the movie that taught me to really love movies. This movie moves me every time I watch it. I can't begin to explain it beyond saying "It changed me."

[@kihwanlee5617]

"How can I torture a greater audience with this?" lol

[@whatdothlife4660]

If only we had dozens of screenwriters like this. Charlie Kaufman and Adaptation must have had some sort of influence on this.

[@gasperettiarts]

“Abbott is death process” is such a great line, isn’t it? And Amy Adams is just perfect for a film that, in my opinion, is a precious gem. Great great great film, I just love it.

[@NikHem343]

It's just remarkable (the line)

[@paradise_valley]

It sounds like something a robot would say (aliens too) in an attempt to seem familiar and emotionally vulnerable to us as best as they can.

[@VikasSBhat]

Especially when you realise that Abbott and Costello already knew about it even before they set on their journey to earth.

[@tonoornottono]

@@VikasSBhat before? lol

[@Girl95szia]

@@tonoornottono before, as we percieve. You know they don't live by our timeline - so yes, we can say he must knew it.

[@icarus-wings]

I always took away from this movie that Amy Adam’s’ character not only chooses to relive the same joy and grief, but that because she now experiences time as non-linear, she experiences that same joy and grief *at all times*. She’ll now be constantly living with the loss of her daughter, but also constantly living with the joy her daughter brings, experiencing each as though for the first time, endlessly.

[@jublington]

​@modest mouse colored person she asked if he could see everything that he'll ever do if he'd change anything and he said he would just open up to people more. That's why Louise's choice is so powerful. I'm sure that if you ask any parent of a child who passed away at a young age if they regretted having that child I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who says yes.

[@LeeyaMakesNoise]

@@modestmousecoloredperson while I understand this viewpoint, I think it kinda is still too linear/black & white humanistic thinking . There’s no good or bad in this choice, it just is- whether she knew or not it likely would’ve happened as it did- to me that’s less of a decision on her part and just accepting. Also something tells me she could’ve told him and he would’ve dismissed it and got angry later from what we know of his character 😅. Remember who she learned the non-linear ability from, a whole society of beings that likely are born knowing how they will die, knowing all the joys and sorrows of not only their lives but possibly their children’s lives and whole society. I do wonder how many possibilities of futures they can see- or is everything predetermined in a way?.It doesn’t stop them from making choices and moves forward, and death isn’t considered a bad thing- just a part of the circular process. With her now adopting this mindset, it makes sense why she made the choice she did and how she did it.

[@shaimawahab5916]

@@modestmousecoloredperson assuming that the future isn't predetermined, when does it stop being selfish? Scenario: Louis tells Ian about what was coming. So theoretically speaking, he has five up front options now: 1) He doesn't marry Louis and marries someone else and has a child with them. 2) He marries Louis but they don't have a child. 3) He marries someone else and never has a child. 4 He never marries or have any children. 5) He goes through with the future Louis saw, being fully aware of the outcome. For the sake of this argument, let's assume he didn't go for the 5th option. He picks one of the other 4 options, and the future changes. Louis still knows what's gonna happen, and it's an even worse fate than scenario 5. So should she tel him so he can have the choice to pick the lesser of the two miseries? Should she tell him so he can avoid both options? Let's assume she tells him. Then what? He left with 3 options. He picks one. Future changes. Louis sees the future. Even worse the the first two scenarios. Now what does she do? Each time she tells him the future, it changes and gets worse based on how he changes his life trajectory. The cycle keeps repeating itself. When does it stop being selfish for her to just let him live out his destiny? Knowing the future is a tricky slope, and you just can't make the right choice. For Ian, life basically happened the way it would happened had Louis never seen the future. That's what happens to literally every human anyways.

[@shaimawahab5916]

@@modestmousecoloredperson that's not a problem with my scenario at all; that's literally the first hypothesis that comes to anyone's mind when they're on tricky slope like that. Also, hypothetically, why don't you answer? Assuming things keep getting worse as they change their decisions, when does it stop being selfish for her to not tell him?

[@shaimawahab5916]

@@modestmousecoloredperson you're over-simplifying it, when it is nowhere close to being as easy as you're making it sound. And if you're aren't willing to look at the things from a different perspective - which is literally the first perspective that comes up when they do what you're saying is the not selfish option - you don't get to say, "that is selfish, period." She asked him if he would change anything if he could see his life from the start to end, and his response made her come to the conclusion that it was better to not put him through the same dilemma. That wasn't selfish. And unless you're willing to offer a perspective on how things would be had she told him, "She was selfish because I say so," just sound obnoxious.

[@ReasonMakes]

Everyone cared so much in the process of making this film, that's why it became such a masterpiece. The screenwriter cared about capturing the feeling from the book, the director cared about understanding and staying true to the writing. And those ideas that they were genuinely trying to preserve and communicate were really profound. That's rare.

[@jaysway9251]

So it’s true. Dennis Villeneuve is not only a great director, but an even better person to work with.

[@LuisSierra42]

il est un bon croissant

[@LuisSierra42]

@N. Vandervort How did you get to talk to him? are you a filmmaker?

[@Xero_Wolf]

This is why I have total faith in him on Dune. I’m shaking like a crackhead missing his fix waiting to see what he does with it.

[@LuisSierra42]

@N. Vandervort wow that's amazing

[@TheRamilyna]

@@Xero_Wolf I was really excited for Dune cause I read the book and he's a great director but then I found out there are no MENA actors in the cast. Disappointed but not surprised.....

[@Gunnumn]

"Can you put a graphic in a script?" Changes the script writing game forever.

[@anomiceleven]

As a language teacher/linguist - I love this film where a linguist is the hero. It has never happened before, and will never happen again!

[@noxthenerd]

never say never my friend. It might not happen at that stage but I am currently working on a story which has a linguist as a protagonist.

[@albertrr3769]

Never thought I could cry by the end of a video essay but here we are

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Woohoo! We did it! I definitely got emotional at this one as well.

[@LA9263877]

@@BehindtheCurtain Thank you for this video! It is a stunning example of how technical skill MUST be conjoined to emotional commitment to result in excellence, and that the people who execute the tasks in a project are not commodities but uniquely qualified and gifted individuals who embody an amazing amalgamation of experiences. Anything less than that is robots going through the motions resulting in vacuous detritus.

[@pcuimac]

Seeing films in cinema is the same as wanking while seeing porn. It's artificial stimulation of emotions For some reasons one of those is held in high regard.

[@PilarBada]

I’m sobbing

[@BehindtheCurtain]

@@LA9263877 Which is a crucial lesson to learn for modern cinema today. Thank you for the taking the time to watch this video and comment how it made you feel.

[@alexdigg]

This movie is one of my favorite of all time

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

same, love the film

[@julian_frazer]

My god, I'm tearing up at this... even just hearing the screenwriter TALK about this film makes me weep

[@BehindtheCurtain]

It's a really beautiful film.

[@whatdothlife4660]

It was achingly clear how much care was put into making this quiet yet wildly affecting movie.

[@kushagrasachan8933]

You are the person to put that into words before me. Indeed, this is true!!!!!

[@GoBlueO23]

I never cried so much....this movie is beautifuly sad....that's the how I feel. Some will understand

[@DawnDavidson]

Me too. Every time I watch it I am gutted. Tearing up right now from this little bit.

[@Lincoln_Bio]

The concept of a director checking with the screenwriter before changing something is (somewhat sadly) rather mindblowing

[@htspencer9084]

The trust and respect. It's so inspiring. Good directors either have to be auteurs or massive fans of their screenwriters imo.

[@joewilson9468]

@@htspencer9084 I’m mm mm mm mmopmpm. Pm😊😊m lpk😊kk😊k😊😊k😊m

[@CSpottsGaming]

​@@htspencer9084 I think sometimes people can write incredible stories that make garbage movies because the way you tell a story on a page just isn't the same. So for that reason I think it's sometimes good to have a director that takes charge and makes the changes that are necessary to make a great story into a great film. In this case it sounds like they had the perfect kind of trust you were describing, where the director recognized the story for the work of art that it was and made the small but crucial changes that were necessary.

[@blad...]

@@CSpottsGaming Well also a lot of stories don't matter as much as this when it comes to alterations. He could change something and it would break the very delicate believability/reasoning for an intricate piece like this. Versus something like a teenage comedy movie where he can just cut out a whole scene of the main character going home to change.

[@locutusdborg126]

The best science fiction movie ever, and I am 70 years old and read and watched sci-fi since 5 years old.

[@stevemurray5606]

Thank the stars for the Science Fiction Book Club, yeah?

[@brendansheehy8124]

Do u feel like you have made it by 70?

[@locutusdborg126]

@@brendansheehy8124 Yeah, pretty much have accomplished what I want if that is what you are asking. Retired from 2 careers. And I liked sci-fi back when one only a handful of young boys read it, and no women read it at all. Sci fi was not even considered a real genre back in the 50's.

[@pcuimac]

It was unscientif garbage that broke sooooooo many laws of nature.

[@michaelhenry3234]

@@pcuimac Like most sci-fi isn't?

[@Trans909]

Wow, I can see the framework now, how the "show, don't tell" thing works. God, it's so subtle. "Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." That's so timeless and universal, so magical. Ya done good, Eric. Better than good; you made magic.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Thanks for watching, Michelle

[@Trans909]

@@BehindtheCurtain You're very welcome. This was REALLY useful. I'm in the middle of adapting a book I co-wrote into a screenplay and that brief flashback technique really illuminated my own process. Eric noted that he wrote the brief bits with Louise and her daughter FIRST, then found places in the main narrative to insert those bits to drive the narrative and "show" how Louise comes to realize that the alien language is affecting her perspective. The "better to have loved and lost, than to never loved at all," meme brought it full circle. It was a "Eureka!" moment for me. I hope that Eric doesn't mind if I borrow the technique.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

@@Trans909 That's the best outcome I could hope for when making these videos. I'm glad that you had a breakthrough with your story. Good luck to you. :)

[@Trans909]

@@BehindtheCurtain Thanks! I'll let you know.

[@thecompanioncube4211]

_"In a war there are no winners, Only widows..."_ Fuck that's a deeply amazing line

[@alibushell6762]

That made me tear up.

[@AniruddhJain111]

I'd make a small adjustment: "...Only widows and orphans..."

[@phoenix9531]

​​​​@@AniruddhJain111Id argue that makes it more complicated as a sentence, which makes it loose that simple elegant duality thats poetic (and is empathized by the alliteration, that would also get weakend by adding a new word like orphan's)

[@josecasillas4081]

​@@phoenix9531so then "Worphans" should work.

[@phoenix9531]

@@josecasillas4081 If you say so

[@IndieFilmArmy]

Excellent! Exposition disguised as debate! Love it!! Also, I remember thinking by the end of the film that this is a climax done correctly. The climax in this film utilizes (In addition to the tremendous amount of research done for this script) story + plot recall and directly ties this into the main characters central conflict utilizing our emotional recall. That's what really made this ending work.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Excellent observation! This was a really great video to make and I loved how specific he got to his process.

[@IndieFilmArmy]

@@BehindtheCurtain Absolutely, he really is a modern master! Great Screenwriter and super innovative. Looking forward to your next video 🤓

[@JoeVirella]

I can't believe the guy who wrote this heartbreaking movie is so funny.

[@robward8247]

"hey, don't go"

[@khyunwoo1]

tbh most of what was on the screenplay was already well thought out and crafted by Ted Chiang's original novel

[@keelahrose]

He adapted it.

[@alienproxy]

@@keelahrose Having read the short story, I think the film can stand as its own work.

[@lukapesun]

funny is an essential part of personal depth. supposedly every comedian can be a dramatic actor, vice versa not so easily.

[@dylan10011998]

"to have love and lost, is better than never having loved at all"

[@Commandobreezy]

I respectfully disagree.

[@4Everlast]

@@Commandobreezy 100%

[@BoxFunk]

​@@Commandobreezy I don't disagree, I think, you understand this when you have a love so profound, it makes it worth it to have experienced it, when someone you love dies, you understand that the journey with them was well worth it to endure the suffering of their absence, the ending is not the goal, but the journey along, and in that sense, even living becomes worth it, we are all destined to die, and yet, the journey towards death is nothing short of a miracle

[@pommiebears]

I disagree. You don’t miss what you never had.

[@pommiebears]

⁠​⁠@@BoxFunk But, you’re assuming that we don’t love profoundly? We love so profoundly, we know what comes after tragedy. Tell a mother that she didn’t love profoundly enough to just be grateful. When her heart is breaking into metaphorical pieces because the light of her life has gone. Is that profound enough for you? You can romanticise all you like about love and death…. But what it really comes down to, is pain.

[@Zygmunt-Zen]

This film transcended being a movie, it was an experience. The visuals, the sound, it unlocked your senses like few films do these days. An absolute masterpiece. One of my all time favorites.

[@shoesncheese]

10:52 - my wife is a childhood cancer survivor. She underwent treatment for ALL from age 13 to 15. She just turned 51 earlier this month. I know she has touched many hearts in her life, especially mine. I know the joy she gave her parents since her mom wasn't supposed to be able to have children. This part of the video made me cry tears of happiness at what I have been able to experience with her and bittersweet loss at the knowledge of how many of the kids she went through treatment with didn't make it. Life is precious. We need to make every day matter. We need to hold on because each of us matters, even if we don't know it, even if we don't believe it. We matter.

[@patrickdelomais496]

Wonderful Comment !

[@iTzKneecap]

Denis sounds like the most incredible guy. Every time I hear someone talk about him it's nothing but positive and enlightening stories about his passion and care for film and people.

[@iTzKneecap]

@N. Vandervort Glad to hear his positivity extends beyond the cameras! And what a cool experience! Would you be willing to share what you two talked about?

[@columbus8myhw]

I love the mindset. "I don't know how to describe this thing!" "Describe what?" "Well, it's… [blah]. How do I put that into words?" "Use the words you just told me, in that order"

[@virginiabrowning8457]

This was one of the smartest, most nuanced films I’ve ever seen. It’s beautifully crafted.

[@ddxgad]

"What she is talking about is her daughert's contributions to the greater world and how she affects many other people, possibly even inspires other people. And how if you remove Hannah, even from the short time that she's there on the planet, how many of the people she is affecting possibly even negatively. And the thought about even if she knows that there's a horrible heartache at the end of this journey with her daughter and she is gonna lose her after that time, the fact that she manages to touch other people during the years that she is on this planet and what that effect has on everybody else and what a possibly even her loss has on her friends and the family of her friends that there's far greater consequences to that. So there's some selflessness involved in her going through with her choice and there's also the fact that she would rather have loved and lost than to never had Hannah at all"

[@AngryGoats555]

Ah yes, the aliens who speak in coffee stains

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

Well that’s one creative funny way to look at things

[@twheeler1980]

🤣🤣🤣

[@StupidusMaximusTheFirst]

Arrival was one of my favorite films, so well made, even the concept of language affects your world, the concept of having no arrow of time, etc. so groundbreaking... I even love hidden things here or there... then I read your comment. You just ruined the film for me, I don't mind hidden stuff, as long as they don't let stupid hide easter eggs, and apparently, they did.

[@AngryGoats555]

@@StupidusMaximusTheFirst It’s just a joke my man. Don’t take it seriously

[@coffeeanddavid]

As a writer, I find this channel incredibly valuable. Thank you for your hard work in finding and gathering these interviews and crunching them into something digestible and comprehensive.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

same. Great stuff.

[@3xxiled]

The first time I watched this movie at the cinemas, I was alone. I'll never forget this, but I walked out of that cinema with a totally different sensual experience of the world. I would look around and everything was different. Colours, shapes, sounds. All felt vividly real. The movie transported me to a different world, and when I came back to this one, it literally felt different. I walked home very slowly and I was in a meditative trance for the next few hours. I got home and sat in total darkness and think I eventually woke up the next day.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

I only wish to make movies that can have such an impact on its audience. That's amazing

[@NickLiang]

Which cinema did you go? sounds like they sell class A's alongside their tickets lol

[@Lapse-a-lot]

I wholeheartedly understand EXACTLY the feeling you're talking about

[@leaott8367]

I had a similar experience after Ex Machina

[@ohmydaz3]

Watched this for the first time yesterday and I am still emotionally recovering. So captivating! Ordered the book by Ted Chiang and can’t wait to read it.

[@headcode]

I went to see "Arrival" with a friend. At the end of the movie, I was just blown away by the message, and I looked over at my friend, and he's just staring at the credits. He looked at me and said, "Dude, what?" The trailers and marketing behind the movie was just as perfect. It hooked us on these cool looking space ships and aliens, but they left the true treasures up for us to discover while watching the movie.

[@zhengzhichen1316]

As a writer, this 12-min clip gave me so many creative solutions to writing that it touched me deeply-as deeply as 'Story of Your Life' touched Eric Heisserer 🥺

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Wow! That's great to hear.

[@MrFreakazoid24]

Im so glad this guy got the Dune franchise. A quality director with the right view of his projects.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Absolutely!

[@gerryboudreaultboudreault2608]

Would somebody find the title of the Frank Herbert short story which has a similar theme to Arrival??

[@OB.x]

I studied linguistics in college, this is nearly my favorite movie of all time. Couldn't believe they incorporate linguistics in a scifi of all things. Why I like MGSV the game, because it has a lot to do with language

[@dreamer7770]

You'd want to read to read Embassytown by China Miéville. It goes into how a species that can only speak the truth learns to lie.

[@nahuelma97]

I love learning stuff about linguistics, so when I watched the trailer for the first time I already knew I was gonna like the movie. Watching it you could tell it wasn't just some stupid plot point, it was actual research put into it, people who knew their shit and incorporated it into a context you wouldn't necessarily expect to find it, as you said. Just great

[@MrXBOCAX]

Same for me. As a linguist this movie also had a great effect on me, and it was so interesting because it did such a good job regarding languages and all. Never thought I would see Sapir Whorf being mentioned in a sci-fi movie!

[@jaredcrawford-levis978]

Yay linguistics undergrads! There was only one line where I felt like they got it wrong, where she says "they represent meaning directly unlike human languages" but the Heptapod language is pretty much analogous to Chinese ideograms.

[@TR-ru7wl]

@@dreamer7770 Seconded. Embassytown is trippy and definitely worth reading.

[@reynardthefox9072]

i know 4 languages and studied linguistics in uni and i love sci-fi. arrival hit every spot with me. instant all-time favorite

[@BehindtheCurtain]

So good

[@beyond_software]

I'm a game designer student, and this stole my heart. I only saw it yesterday with a friend. I feel like it's become my favourite movie

[@MrRickle]

One of my all time favorite movies. Hearing that so much thought and care went into it really shows in the final product. What an amazing achievement. And thank you for helping me with my own grief with my late husbands passing which was right before the movie came out and he died extremely quickly of cancer.

[@darrenbrown7037]

This movie is a gem. Incredibly impactful and moving, such a refreshing take on the aliens coming to Earth story. Superb ending, speaks to the heart of the human experience.

[@blacktrout]

thanks for this episode, I remember watching Arrival in the theater and thing wow.

[@h870]

you lucky bastard. found out about Arrival a year too late. Still one of my all time favorites

[@Jinxaire]

Yes, I saw this in the theater by myself because I didn't think my friends would enjoy it. I loved it so much, managed to bring a couple friends to watch it, and since then, have shared it with more friends on the small screen. It's one of my favorite movies.

[@Kowzorz]

When you see the glass as already broken, every moment with it is precious.

[@sjkdec18]

You have wonderful tastes in movies.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Thanks! :)

[@JaydevRaol]

Oh man, I feel like crying. I need to re-watch this film again. It's definitely one of my all-time fav films. Also, No wonder this film was so deeply profound and emotionally resonating with so many people. Because if you have writers like this and a director like Denis who cares about every aspect of the film, it's going to touch the people the way they intended it to be.

[@aerobique]

Play it loud

[@malcelinho]

I can't believe only now KZbin showed me this. Arrival is one of my favorite movies, and everything I know about how everyone involved gave their best makes to me pretty clear why it have such quality

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheFiown]

I am not often impressed by movies anymore but this one hit home. The future is the past, the past is the future, fits my mindset. And the music also contributed greatly.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Absolutely stunning score, I agree

[@thousandfire]

6:40- Being intrigued with Arrival's approach to time travel, it's astounding to me that, if we go by the screenwriter's vision, that said screenwriter so nonchalantly threw the film's metaphysics and self-consistency out the window with a single decision. Louise's being able to "change her future, and yet choosing to have Hannah" is in stark contradiction to her living in a world where it is possible to perceive past present and future simultaneously, i.e. a deterministic world. Given how obvious this seems to me, it's hard to wrap my head around how Heisserer made such a huge oversight. Am I just crazy for seeing things this way? My best reading of the movie is that if Louise claims to have or feels like she has a (radically free) choice in whether she has Hannah or not, that we can't believe this to be the case. That at best we must assume a compatibilist view of things and see her "choice" as being the result of an intelligent being choosing the most rational option among many, but not as a mechanism for changing her future outcomes. Because otherwise the internal logic of her world and the movie breaks.

[@trouncerrredits]

in 2013, I stepped foot on the Presidio of Monterey in California which is home to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. There, I began studying my assigned language which, before enlisting, I had never heard of. Having only studied some Spanish at a Kentucky public high school level, Pashto was so completely foreign to me that it was intimidating. For some clarification, Pashto shares an alphabet and many many words with Arabic. It's also very dependent on cultural nuance as opposed to a language that's more literal. It was such an eye-opening journey to learn this language that my perspective was changed forever. Just a couple years after graduating, I saw Arrival not knowing that it was going to be about language and its capabilities. The whole time watching it, I felt as though the movie was speaking directly to me and it remains one of my all time favorites and I don't think that will ever change.

[@Jdjsucbebakzicufbr]

Nice, I was the kid who was chugging cough syrup

[@trouncerrredits]

@@Jdjsucbebakzicufbr at DLI? or just in general?

[@Jdjsucbebakzicufbr]

@@trouncerrredits bro chill, opsec

[@trouncerrredits]

@@Jdjsucbebakzicufbr idk what you wanted me to take away from your comment about cough syrup XD Is there a chance I know you?

[@Jdjsucbebakzicufbr]

@@trouncerrredits i was there same time as you but we probably dont know eachother

[@Numenor76]

This, this right here is what makes a brilliant movie differentiate from a mediocre one. You know now, everyone put a bit of their soul in it. Pure passion baby! Thanks.

[@n-da-bunka2650]

One of THE very best written and delivered stories I have ever been fortunate enough to have seen.

[@concernedspectator]

Ted Chiang's "The Story of Your Life" is an ingenious and beautiful short story, and I hope this adaptation inspires people to go check it out. If you have only seen the movie, you are seriously missing out.

[@htspencer9084]

Arrival is so great cos its about esoterically communicating ideas and emotions and in doing that it esoterically communicates ideas and emotions to the audience. It feels like a fractal of a film.

[@AdamDrew]

This just came up in my recommendations and I'm so glad I watched it. It reminded me about how powerful this story is, how powerful the movie is, how amazing everyone involved with it was.

[@VonSC2]

Every time I watch this film it moves higher on my personal list of the greatest sci-fi films of all time...and in fact my list of favorite films of any genre. So moving and mesmerizing on so many levels

[@LARUM9316]

That was so beautiful. Thank you for bringing a new light to this already wonderful film.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Thank you for watching!

[@l0uisinana]

i remember watching the movie for the first time in the middle of the night in a hotel room the last night of our trip and while i started watching it thinking it was a horror movie i fell asleep afterwards feeling so soothed. i was so surprised by what i was seeing but the entirety of the movie was so… calming. i’m probably barely making sense but i’m a very tense and stressed and uneasy person and i’ll never forget the experience of watching the arrival that night.

[@gunrodoplu]

This is one of the best video essays I have seen in youtube for a long time. Not just one of the best, but maybe the only one I have watched until the end. Thanks!

[@deeliciousplum]

Me, too.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Wow, that's incredibly encouraging. I appreciate that, Gün.

[@rorysimpson8716]

I have come to recognize Dennis as the one director that speaks to me in recent film, an artist surrounded by businessmen making boring little derivative plays that evaporate from your mind even as you are watching them. The fact that the writer featured here got through the vetting process speaks very well of him in my opinion, and this is further enhanced by the way he talks about his craft.

[@hvanmegen]

Arrival is one of my favorite movies of all time.. the fact that it leaves me in pieces after each time I watch it is something I take for granted.

[@MarkArandjus]

If Denis ever makes one of those Masterclass things, I legit think I might get it because I can't think of any director who can manage so much quality and quantity at the same time. Enemy, Prisoners, Arrival, Sicario, BR2949, and Dune - these six films were all made in about seven years. WHAT. HOW.

[@hazuinf]

Scorsese, Sorkin, Lee, aren’t grabbing you, but Villenueve would ? You’re missing out, get Masterclass man

[@EskimoCreamKing]

Polytechnique is also incredible. One of the most visceral film experiences I've had

[@JonasPedersenTV]

Just watched incendies a couple of days ago. Do yourself a favor and watch another one of his films

[@dr3357]

Very few movies really touch me, cause most possible outcomes has in some form or another crossed my mind before "the reveal". Arrivel was a gut punch out of nowhere. Amazing job. Amazing presentation. Just, bravo, and thank you for the experience.

[@MauricioDreiling]

One of my favorite movies ever. It's impossible for me not to rewatch it every now and then. And I cry every single time, like clockwork. For me it's a near perfect movie and I treasure every second of it, every sound, every word, every nuance in Amy's acting.

[@klartext2225]

So you did not see 2001 by Kubrick??

[@JC06NJ]

This movie is top 3 scifi film. The cinematography, story, characters and message was superb! Love this film

[@into_the_void]

I remember watching this movie in a movie theatre on lsd.. it was honestly one of the most profound experiences of my life

[@RamzaBeoulves]

I spent weeks thinking about this masterpiece and the more I did, the better it got Absolutely brilliant

[@togaassassin]

I had a fun moment when during the Q and A portion of a WGA screening of Arrival Eric told a story about how he gained some notoriety writing creepy pasta stories on the internet in the early 2000's. He talked about how he worked at a job where he was treated like crap and had to walk a mile up a windy hill to get to the office building. As he said that I flashed back to him talking about the heat he was getting on those stories in 2002 when we both worked at THQ. It's really crazy how much you end up forgetting about your own life until it's right there in your face.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Yeah I was really fascinated about the start of his career. Seems like a nice guy.

[@stellistin]

I am not into writing myself. But I keep getting suggested these videos and blogpost about writing. All the resources writers get today seem so great. I hope they help future writers write the best stories and screenplays. Looking forward to discovering them : )

[@bellamaz1972]

The change from the rock climbing accident worked better for film adaptation b/c reading a short story provides a lot more opportunity to get into the protagonist’s mind. I think if they had kept it the same for the film, viewers might have been too distracted by their harsh judgment of Louise to understand fully the compelling philosophical issues it raised. Ted Chiang praised the adaption. I also love how, in the context of how we experience film vs. reading, we first assume the visions are flashbacks... as does the character herself; a wonderful use of the big narrative reveal occurring at the very same moment for the viewer as for her within the fictional narrative.

[@TheShapingSickness]

This says a lot about Denis and why he's one of my favorite directors currently.

[@norththelemon]

My ex and his dad didnt understand this movie and i remember him coming to school and being like "it was a romance disguised as a sci fi and we didnt like it." and i was ENRAGED i was like this thing was GENIUS i can't believe you guys didnt get it!!!

[@norththelemon]

But that was just it. They werent smart enough. Too bad. Lol

[@sterlinglewis5700]

Thank you for this insight into how this wonderful film was born. My hubby and I watched 'Arrival' on Prime a few nights ago. I knew nothing about the film, except the trailer looked interesting, so I picked it. Only a few minutes into it, we realised that we were seeing something very special. We loved the thoughtful pacing of it, and thought the acting was superb. By the end of it, the fragmented story line made perfect sense, and yes, the ending was both uplifting and heartbreaking. An alien gift, based on the premise that 'we're going to need your help in 3,000 years' is a bit of a mind bender, but certainly comes together in the 'future' banquet scene, a vision of possible world unification. The banner with the Aliens' circular sigil said everything without saying it, as did the vision of unpacking her book. And I think by this 'time' the Chinese general had a sense of circularity too, as he showed her his phone with his private number saying "you know it now." Beautifully visionary, this is high on our list of favourites, and we're investing in the Blu-Ray.

[@batgurrl]

I never click so fast as when I see your videos. Your insight is brilliant. Kudos to another great one

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Ahhh thanks! I really enjoyed making this one a lot.

[@batgurrl]

Behind the Curtain you are so very welcome. Sci fi is my favorite movie genre

[@philipeick-vocalmusic]

Fantastic film in so many aspects. Material, screenwriting, directing, acting, music! So much talent everywhere. I just love it so much.

[@pranavbhagwat1734]

Thanks for the video, I wanted an explanation for all the deviations from the original story and I'm glad all changes had some logic behind them.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Yes, I think he was very intentional about his adaptation, which I really appreciate. This film introduced me to Ted Chiang, which I'm very grateful for.

[@MrMightyZ]

A beautiful movie, perfectly paced and literally awesome to me. Truly great. Truly wonderful.

[@aarond9563]

It almost makes her love for Hannah that much sweeter because now she knows not to take it for granted. But then again, once she inevitably messes up it hurts that much more. It’s an existential bummer.

[@nikeraje247]

I have no expertise in movies, but this one touched me deeply. I watched it with my friends who all felt asleep in the middle of the film. How, I don't know. I could not pull my eyes from the screen, it sucked me in. I am not a big fan of movies where aliens come to Earth and then is all about fighting them and killing and a lot of shooting everywhere. You know, more about action, less about story or messages. That is why, this one is exactly my cup of tea. The whole idea of spacecraft is also so awesome! Just this huge ass weird things hovering a little bit above the ground. An image that stucks with you. And the story flows very good from the start to finish. One of my favorites of all time.

[@VaultOfTheFuture]

One of the best written sci fi films of all time

[@leonidd00]

Thank you to screenwriters, artists, camera team, sound team, scientists, director, to all of you. Arrival is the best alien movie I ever saw.

[@user-nu4oy9yz7s]

just found your channel recently from your office episode and I just wanted to say great work! Its amazing to hear things from the writers point if view

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Welcome to the channel! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos

[@twraia]

One of my favourite movies of all time. Thank you for making the film, and thank you for sharing these behind the scene processes

[@d3adb0ne98]

Arrival succeeded in doing exactly what Interstellar attempted to do. Create gripping science fiction, having the force that drives the whole narrative being the unstoppable love a parent has for their child. Beautiful.

[@kurtistrego433]

Random stray.. Interstellar isn't half bad as a scifi

[@salientrogue3117]

Interstellar was great. Bad comparison.

[@J_P_B]

Interstellar is better than Arrival......easy

[@georgek2574]

dumb take

[@BlueZirnitra]

​​@@salientrogue3117 Interstellar *was* great, but that's in spite of its failings in certain areas, like the writing of the ending and the occasional long winded corniness. Arrival is a better movie, but you may be more fond of one over the other. OP was right, the incorporation of the love themes in the climax were much more impactful and relatable than in Interstellar.

[@BobMinelli]

That was perfect. Thank you. 🌱

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Glad you liked it

[@Mesfizzy]

God I love this channel.

[@killthecatpodcast6300]

Wish I had found this video before we recorded our episode on Arrival, it would have been a great resource to have! So many valuable information, thank you again for taking the time to put these together.

[@llanfairpwlgwyngyll7331]

best sci-fi movie in history.

[@stevegilman8141]

This was excellent, thank you. Truly enjoyed the story of how this amazing film came together

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Thank you for watching! Glad it was valuable for you

[@fragr33f74]

A genuinely wonderful film. And genuinely gets better the more you think about it. I'll be honest and say I felt a little underwhelmed after first viewing. Films can be deceptive like that, but if you pay attention to the lingering thoughts, great films can pull you back in. And, Arrival is definitely a great film.

[@GulshanSharmalive]

I love everything about this movie. Movies don't evoke much of an emotion in me but this one makes me cry everytime. I am crying again. Perfect movie. Unforgettable. The music score at the end just makes you overwhelmed with emotion. My brain doesn't know how to deal with all that emotion and all the beauty finds its way in tears.

[@AlexBerish]

I started watching this video because this movie is one of my favourite films of all time. I'm 3 minutes in, realising it's been 3 years since I last watched it, and I don't quite remember everything that happened in it. So, rather than letting the rest of this KZbin video spoil it for me, I'm going to go watch Arrrival again, and I'll come back after.

[@AlexBerish]

nice

[@elfalco101]

This just makes me even more excited for DUNE oh boy oh boy

[@djmx9237]

no cap, I believe the biggest hurdle in the screenplay for dune will be the fact that we can read their internal monologue in the book. im pretty sure we're not gonna hear the internal monologue like we did in the lynch version. So all the info we get from their internal monologue in the books will have to be presented in a different way. But even though i'm yet to read the original story for arrival, im pretty aware of the difficulties they faced adapting it to screen. But seeing how well they executed it (best scifi film ever imo) im pretty sure theyll do well when adapting the internal monologue and convey the ideas frank herbert intended.

[@elfalco101]

@@djmx9237 no worries on internal monologue not being conveyed because of the cast which is just ridiculously stacked with incredible talent but i get you

[@CADJewellerySkills]

I absolutely loved the writing of this movie, possibly one of the most elegant and beautiful pieces of science fiction in recent decades. Beautifully executed. And thank you for the story behind the script to enrich this.

[@marshallboice4629]

When I first saw the trailer I was excited because one of my favorite Frank Herbert shorts (Try to remember) was being turned into a movie. When the credits rolled I said "Who is Ted Chiang?" Seriously, read "Try to remember". Even the "weapon" is in the short story. Why doesn't Frank Herbert get any recognition?

[@chesterjohn3335]

Here's an idea, why don't read Ted Chiang's Story of your life?

[@marshallboice4629]

@@chesterjohn3335 I did. The movie has more in common with Herbert then Chiang. Having said that, Chiangs story is awesome. Can't wait for the movie!

[@HungryTacoBoy]

10:46 "In war there are no winners, only widows." Yep, that brought tears to my eyes. I did not expect that.

[@TheEpicImpaler]

Your rival, The Director's Cut, uploaded an Arrival video a couple week ago, but I liked this one more and how it was put together.

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Haha, Jillian at The Director's Cut isn't a rival. We are focusing on different aspects of the filmmaking process. Our videos are complementary to each other to give you a full picture of the making of these films.

[@Zralock79]

I really love this movie... I am very happy, that high quality and thoughtful sci-fi movies can still be made.

[@RicardoDirani]

That she realizes she has no choice is the best part of the book for me, and I really missed that in the movie. Having her retain free will breaks completely the mind bending nature of the original story.

[@EugeneBorzov]

The story is mindblowing but you wouldn't be able to adapt it faithfully. Not in Hollywood. General movie-going public would freak out if they saw her accepting what actually happened to her daughter in the book. And of course nobody would have even seen the movie if they hadn't tack on a generic "dumb military/politicians" subplot to insert some action

[@hibernate44]

Ricardo Dirani not having free will just doesn’t make any sense.

[@shAiDawn]

Watching this got me emotional. The craft of film is a true gift.

[@saloksingh7]

But I like Ted's argument better. Everything is predestined. The reason why she is able to see the future where her daughter dies is because there is only one possiblity: that she chooses to have her. If there is free will and she can change her future: she wouldn't see the visions of only her having a daughter and her dying. She would have millions of visions of all the possible futures that can happen because of the different choices that she can make.

[@Phorestphire]

No no no! There is no 'seeing the future' or ‘visions’ in the short story! Louise’s perception of time changes as she learns the heptapod language, and she starts remembering things (things that have already happened) all at once, rather than lineally. I love Arrival dearly, it is one of my all-time favourite films, but it does not do the central concept of ‘Story of Your Life’ justice.

[@MidnightSt]

"If there is free will and she can change her future: she wouldn't see the visions of only her having a daughter and her dying. She would have millions of visions of all the possible futures that can happen because of the different choices that she can make." I disagree. There's no reason for the future not to be "set" (or "known" (to the universe) would be a better word) even if everyone does have free will. Because whatever you will freely decide, the future knows what you have freely decided, and that's what you see. Or, if thinking about it from a "heptapod point of view" works better for you: your free decisions always exist, and are always decided in the way that you will decide/have decided. And your whole life trajectory always exists, being always ("instantly", and across the whole "timeline") influenced by all of your free decisions that you will make/are making/have made. Therefore visions of the future are always only of that one single future which your free decisions will create/are creating/have created. The fact that you don't yet know what you have freely decided changes nothing.

[@saloksingh7]

@@MidnightSt that just sounds like whatever I said with extra steps

[@MidnightSt]

@@saloksingh7 well, then your ability to pick up on important nuances is... limited. i will try to simplify for you: you are talking about the idea of everything being pre-destined. I am talking about the idea of nothing being pre-destined, and everything being up to our free will. I hope saying it in this simplified form made the difference clear.

[@saloksingh7]

@@MidnightSt "the future knows what we have freely decided" dude maybe I'm too dumb to understand you because I think that's saying there's only possible set of future which basically means everything is predestined 🤷

[@animatorFan74]

I love that the relationship between daughter and mother was the 'A' story and the aliens story just supported that.... that's awesome. :) I absolutely absolutely adore this movie.... just one of THE best movies, for sure. I really love this kind of sci-fi and this really interesting way of storytelling..... this movie is so so unique, I think it's very unerrated movie. Ansolutely loved it. 5 stars!

[@coles5908]

Please do Annihilation

[@mimoooo]

this is one of those few filmmaking-related channels on this site with actual great content, thanks for being here and thanks for touching this just beautiful film...

[@BehindtheCurtain]

Thanks, Matias! I appreciate the support.