I had the pleasure of catching up with Academy Award nominated writer, Kim Krizan, best known for originating the story and characters in The Before Trilogy.

 Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013) are set and filmed in nine year intervals and chronicle the romantic relationship between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) at three periods of their lives. The trilogy received widespread critical acclaim, nominated for two Academy Awards, two Writers Guild of America Awards, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Delpy for Before Midnight.

Alongside developing future projects, today Kim dedicates time to sharing her writing tips on Patreon.

Ella Valentine: Hi Kim! It’s so lovely to have you, thank you for taking the time! As the creator of one of the greatest (and my personal favorite) trilogies of all time, you don’t need an introduction! How are you these days and what inspires you today? 

Kim Krizan: Hi Ella!  Thank you for asking me to be a part of your new film magazine!  These days I seem to be looking at the big sweep of my life — the arc — and trying to find meaning.  I think human beings have a craving to create meaning so we feel like we have purpose, even when life is chaotic and seems to have no rhyme or reason.  

I’ve been talking about character arc with my students.  I’ve also been watching the news a lot and I’m rather amazed at how Shakespearian it can be!  Of course some people believe in forces that bring on karma.  I’m thinking a lot about whether we have true free will, whether things are more random …  I like the way and especially literature and film explore these ideas.

Ella Valentine: I love that! I often think about free will too. In the Before Trilogy you successfully dig into the human psyche and I’ve never seen two characters as realistic as Celine and Jesse. Can you talk us through the process of such thorough character development?

Kim Krizan: Richard Linklater asked me to write a film with him.  I told him I’d never written a screenplay, but he said it didn’t matter.  So I told him I’d had interesting experiences traveling alone.  And from there we just talked together.  

So I think the characters have the two of us imagining we’d met on a train and just hitting it off, getting off the train to sight-see.  It was a very organic process and I really believe that to “find” your character you go inside rather than outside, if you know what I mean.  You find that person inside of you, because we have a lot of complexity within us and can find our characters internally. 

Ella Valentine: Someone else I interviewed recently, the amazing horror director, Jill Gevargizian said something to me that has been stuck with me ever since. She said that character is more important than story. I couldn’t think of a better person to ask if you’d agree since your character craft is absolutely divine!

Kim Krizan: Oh, I completely agree.  I think you start with a character or characters first.  The plot comes out of them, because they’re the ones who are making things happen, making choices, making mistakes, saying things that cause reactions.  A story doesn’t just hang in the air.  A story happens because people have distinct personalities and predicaments and they try to solve them — successfully or unsuccessfully!

Ella Valentine: Which are some of the horror or thriller films that you like? 

Kim Krizan: I really like noir thrillers, so DOUBLE INDEMNITY would be on top of my list.  It came out in 1944 and starred Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.  Barbara’s character is just a housewife named Phyllis, but she subtly sweeps an insurance salesman named Walter into a seemingly thrilling situation with horrifying results. This movie was based on a novel by James M. Cain and you know what also comes to mind is his novel MILDRED PIERCE.  It was made into the best miniseries by director Todd Haynes with Kate Winslet starring as Mildred. One of the last scenes in the story is nightmarish!  I adore the way it was filmed.  In it, Mildred’s daughter Veda, played so beautifully by Evan Rachel Wood, is basically “caught” showing her true colors.  The horror of the scene is psychological, and when I think of the kind of horror and thrillers that I like, the drama is all based on psychological trickery.  If you haven’t seen this miniseries you must!    

Ella Valentine: I definitely will! Besides horror, what are you watching or reading right now and what does it have you pondering?

Kim Krizan: I’ve been wanting to escape reality!  But then I think, “No, we’ve got to get in there and make things better.” You know that quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” by Mahatma Gandhi?  That idea is great because it hands you the ultimate power to make your own reality, to make it what you want it to be.  This is why I love writers, because they create their own worlds and really transform reality.  

Ella Valentine: I know that you love poetry like me. 

Kim Krizan: Yes — I think we both love Bukowski.  See — there’s a guy who somehow made even watching garbagemen collecting garbage exciting in his poetry! He understood the romance of that life, amazing as it sounds. That’s true vision and power.

Ella Valentine: Absolutely, Bukowski was a true romantic! How would you say that all kinds of literary or creative mediums in general can be utilised when working on one specific project? How can it all come together in one piece? Sometimes it can be difficult to pour everything that has inspired you into one single project, or even just to stay focused on one thing.

Kim Krizan: I do think a person will get overwhelmed if they think they have to pour everything into one project, so maybe start with something small, even tiny:  one poem about one feeling or one screenplay about one experience.  That’s why I suggest that people write for 30 minutes a day.  Creative projects are really organic things and you can’t demand that they be this or that.  You have to let them be whatever they are.  Just putting the time in will yield results.

Ella Valentine: When you were starting out in the industry and you didn’t know as much as you do today, what did you find useful in terms of developing your skills and talent and finding opportunities? 

Kim Krizan: I was open to trying things, even though I was scared, didn’t know what I was doing, and didn’t really have confidence.  I think these days people are told to have confidence, but I think confidence comes after you’ve had a lot of experience and have made mistakes, stumbled around, and also had a few things go well.  So my advice would be to try, to do things that come your way.  In time you’ll figure out who you are and what your strengths are.    

Ella Valentine: What would be your advice to our mostly female audience trying to pursue a career in film?

Kim Krizan: To love what you love.  Your unique taste and vision will lead you to certain things in life. You don’t really have to look to see what others are doing or like what they like.  Pursue that which is blissful for you.

Ella Valentine: You are also a writing instructor on Patreon! That would be very useful for our readers to know! Can you tell us more about how you decided to embark on this journey and how can people sign up to it? I am sure many will want to find out all your writing secrets! 

Kim Krizan: I had people from all over the world asking me for creativity advice on Instagram, which was very sweet.   

During the pandemic, I finally realized that I could answer them and connect with them if I created a low-cost writing sanctuary where I answered their questions. It’s called The Magic Hour because I often feel that the time I get to write can be a magical part of my day.  I almost forget who I am entirely and just dive into this wonderful place of expressing something, of being a channel.

I’ve helped students do this in classrooms, but maybe it works even better when my virtual students are in their cozy homes or in a cafe or something — and they can do it whenever they want.  And my students are working on whatever they want — screenplays, poems … some are just wanting writing prompts.     

Ella Valentine: And finally, if you could leave us with a little bit of wisdom or encouragement, what would you say to us today?

Kim Krizan: I always encourage my writing students to keep a diary, but if you’re also a visual person who loves film, you have the technology (via your phone) to play around creating a visual diary of whatever touches you.  Some day in the future you’ll look back and be really moved by your journey.  You’ll think of yourself with a lot of love and admiration.  

You can sign up to Kim’s Magic Hour and get writing tips directly from her here.