Sean Collins-Smith

Fun Fact: That's My Boy and Him were both "best unproduced screenplays" nominees on The Black List.

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Lawrence Kasdan on how George Lucas helped him to make "Body Heat" (1981) & the most important advice George Lucas gave Kasdan before his debut movie: "Interviewer: What was it like making the jump into directing? Kasdan: Part of it had to do with George, because Alan Ladd Jr. said "You have to get a sponsor," because that's what was happening then. So I went to George and he said "I can't put the Lucasfilm name on Body Heat because it's too dirty. But I will sponsor you." So he went to Laddie and said "I'll sponsor Larry to do 'Body Heat'. Here's a quarter of a million dollars, and if he goes over (budget), you can use that to cover his overages," which just astounding! George never came to the set, but when we were editing, George spent one day in the cutting room with me, which was very helpful. But making the jump was not hard, because I had been imagining directing for a long time (laughs). Every movie I had written, I had already directed in my head, so it turned out to be not that big a deal. I was so happy. People don't talk about that too much. We have a way of being cool about our careers. The truth is, I'm happy about it, that I get to (make movies). It was true 20 years ago, and it's true now. (...) Interviewer: Any advice for first-time directors? Kasdan: George Lucas said the most useful thing to me as I was about to do 'Body Heat'. I said "George, I don't know that much about the technical stuff." And keep in mind that George is Mr. Technology, right? He said "Making movies has nothing to do with the technical stuff. It has everything to do with what kind of person you are." It was the most important thing anyone ever said to me about directing. I had a lot of confidence in the sort of person I was. I knew the kind of stories I wanted to tell. I knew the kind of atmosphere I wanted to create on my set. I knew the kind of life I wanted to live and how I wanted my work to embody that life, so the fact that I didn't know anything technically didn't really matter. You can learn the technical stuff like that (snaps fingers). So the fact that it was George who told me this was very comforting. And it turned out to be absolutely true." (Lawrence Kasdan's interview with Alex Simon, Venice Magazine, 2001)

Mind you, this happens 30 min into the Mad Men pilot:

does the writing on Mad Men get … better?

One of the more devastating MAD MEN Betty moments, underscored by January Jones' amazing performance. The real heartbreaker is: "Honey. It has nothing to do with you," referring to any number of things, including the fact that she's just a pawn in Don and Jim's back-and-forth.

does the writing on Mad Men get … better?

Watching movie with ur mom is just her asking u questions only the director would know the answers to

Going to the movies late at night or early in the day is beautiful because it feels like you have an entire amusement park to yourself

It’s crazy how Mad Men really is the greatest show of all time