Podcast: Screenwriter Hossein Amini on Drive

When asked to adapt a script about a man with no name, no backstory, and barely any dialogue, screenwriter Hossein Amini knew he hit the jackpot. “I love silences,” Amini says of Drive, the film he adapted from a book by James Sallis. The story is about a stunt driver by day who runs a getaway car service at night. Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, and Albert Brooks, it’s one of the most anticipated indie films of the season. But no one talks, or has any backstory … ? That’s what makes it exciting, says Amini, whose credits include The Four Feathers, Jude, and The Wings of the Dove. Script sat down with Amini to talk about how much white space he likes to see on the page.

Podcast highlights:

• “I was surprised the studio wanted to make something so spare …”
• “The whole idea of a cowboy coming in from outside …”
• “There’s a difference between scripts written for studios and producers to read and scripts that are meant to be shot …”

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