kaufman on storytelling

(@ 14 mins in...) "...at the speed of light, the speed of sound, at the speed of thought. trying to convince you that your two hours with me are not going to be resented afterwards. it is an ancient pattern of time usage for me. and i am trying to move deeper, hoping to be helpful. this pattern of time usage paints over an ancient wound. it paints it with bright colors. it's a sleight of hand; a distraction. so to attempt to change the pattern, let me expose the wound. i now step into this area blindly. i do not know what the wound is. i do know that it is old. i do know that it is a hole in my being. i do know it is tender. i do believe it is unknowable, or, at least inarticulable. i do believe you have a wound too. i do believe it is both specific to you and common to everyone. i do believe it is the thing about you that must be hidden and protected. it is the thing that is tap-danced over, five shows a day. it is the thing that won't be interesting to other people if revealed. it is the thing that makes you weak and pathetic. it is the thing that truly--truly, truly makes loving you impossible. it is your secret even from yourself. but it is the thing that wants to live. it is the the thing from which your art, your painting, your dance, your composition, your philosophical treatise, your [performance] is born..." http://guru.bafta.org/charlie-kaufman-screenwriters-lecture-video