Franklin Leonard: Movies are a very special thing. Um, in, in, in contemporary life, there are very few times where we as a community or as a world or as people in any of those things sort of gather together and have a shared experience, um, you know, you, you see it in sporting events, you see it in live music, you see it in religion, you know whatever, depending upon what faith you are, one day a week you go into a room and you have a shared human experience with a bunch of people that you may or may not know, um, and, I think film is similar. You know, every friday night there’s a new movie, and you go to a theater, and with people you don’t know, and you have an experience – an emotional experience, if the movie is good – uh, and you leave the theater seeing the world maybe a little differently than when you came in. Um, I think, I think it’s a sacred responsibility. Um. The. The stories that you tell, the stories that you attempt to tell, the stories that make into film that are shared with the rest of the world – do have an effect. Um, it may not be an effect that’s knowable, um, but it all – but it is an effect that in aggregate is undeniable. And so I think it is really important that as writers write, you know, think about what you’re putting into the world and aspire for greatness because there is no point in doing it otherwise. (http://www.scriptsandscribes.com/2014/05/podcast-franklin-leonard/)

“Ums” and “Ahs” in this ‘factual fiction’ transcription are not meant to be disrespectful…