The metro section of the newspaper every day is full of stuff I can use. It’s the greatest inspiration for me because it’s full of endings. That’s where the ends of stories show up.
‘FlashForward’ was a really fun show to make. Not to mention, I only worked, like, one day a week, and it paid the same as ‘Happy Endings.’ I got to make out with beautiful women on that show as well.
I’ve never done a film before where every single person in the audience knows the ending. I mean suspense, twists are almost impossible these days. People are blogging your endings from their cinema seats.
Oddly, the meanings of books are defined for me much more by their beginnings and middles than they are by their endings.
I think too often in films, people think endings are a summation of plot, and I don’t like that. Because once you know where you’re going as an audience member, then it’s like a video game. You’re just waiting for them to get through the levels and beat the bad guy. And I just think that’s boring.
I think a lot of people want stories or lives to have very distinct beginnings, middles, and endings. Generally, I think things are a little more fluid than that.
Endings don’t have anything to do with what your movie is about. Now, there is an emotional climax, there’s an emotional resolution that is 100 percent important. If I get that wrong, get your money back.
These happy endings all express the weak and sly promise that the world is not rotten and out of joint but meaningful and ultimately in excellent condition.
Something that’s good in the mini-culture of ‘Happy Endings’ is that the goal is to try and make each other laugh. There is a pretty high bar, and you want to make the writers laugh, and you want to elevate what’s already great material – and also, we’re like, ‘Who is even watching this? Let’s just go for it.’
As a writer, I try to appeal to the ‘elusive boy audience’ the same way I try to appeal to everyone: I do the very best I can to create interesting characters, addictive plots, tons of conflict, believable settings, unexpected plot twists, intriguing beginnings, and satisfying endings.
The Rolling Stones are violence. Their music penetrates the raw nerve endings of their listeners and finds its way into the groove marked ‘release of frustration.’
‘Pride’ is my first film with a happy ending. Before, I naively thought they were a cop-out, but now I’ve come to believe that happy endings and wish fulfilment are an incredibly important part of our cultural life.
My parents believe in the happy endings to the stories of their children.
Fantasy-based ideologies invariably have neat happy endings where all the bad people and all the bad behavior goes away when the volume is turned up and enough force is applied.
Endings are always tough, but I believe when something ends, there are new beginnings, new opportunities and new things to be excited for, too.
When I did ‘Scrubs’, we were able to always do one as scripted, and then we got to play a little bit and do some stuff. I thought that was pretty loose, but then coming on ‘Happy Endings,’ it’s even looser.
I’m incredibly cheesy. I’m all about happy endings and all of that.
I love the ambiguous kind of endings. I think, oftentimes, that’s what life really is – there’s no concrete path for you to take. It’s always kind of a jumble of variables. Behind this door could be a beautiful woman, and behind the same door could be a tiger, you know? You don’t know.
It is hard to imagine two more final endings to the ‘war on terror’ than the popular revolts against the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and the death of bin Laden.
I’ve never done a film before where every single person in the audience knows the ending. I mean suspense, twists are almost impossible these days. People are blogging your endings from their cinema seats.
That’s kind of the weird thing that M. Night Shyamalan has sort of unleashed upon the world is this need for every movie to have these ridiculous endings.
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