Michael Hirst
Michael Hirst
difficult director friend god passion position welcome wrote
When you're a screenwriter working on a film, you're not really even welcome on set, even if you know... When I wrote 'Elizabeth' and Shekhar Kapur was a friend of mine, but I wasn't really welcome on set, because the director is God and it's a very difficult position for a screenwriter who's put so much passion into that, into the writing.
information
When I did 'The Tudors,' there was massive information available and a ready-made market.
good love people
People love cliches. If you can give people cliches, that's very good TV, then.
loads love maybe might offer people sort
People offer me loads of stuff, and some of it I like, but I just can't do it because I can't write it all. So I might get in the position where I have some sort of company and just write maybe the first episode, but these are love projects, in a way.
asked aspect changes consuming difficult god however music outlook respect responsibility treated tv
When you're making a TV drama, the showrunner is God, and so however onerous and difficult and consuming that responsibility is, you're being treated with respect, so it changes your whole outlook to the production. You're being asked about costumes, set design, music, every aspect of the show.
amount huge stories strip stuff trying
With 'The Tudors,' I had a huge amount of material, I mean so many books and so much stuff about what they really said. So, in a way it was kind of trying to strip it out and find the stories inside all this material.
america appeal asked interest knowledge setting
I wasn't setting out to write a documentary; if I had, I would have done it in a completely different way. I was asked to write a drama that would appeal to a big audience in America that had no knowledge or interest in The Tudors at all.
flies historical obsession questioned slightly
The American obsession with 'Downton' amuses me slightly because it's such a fiction. I've always been questioned about my historical veracity, and 'Downton' just flies past, when it's completely made up.
writing thinking comedy
I think comedy is the hardest actual form of writing there is.
idols lennon
I only have one idol: John Lennon.
character interesting perfect
It works better if your lead character is complex and interesting and not perfect.
love reading age
Once I engage in something, I really engage in it, and I love the process of reading and researching because I come from an academic background.
bit characters goes hemingway historical honestly human knowledge material writers
The key for me with historical characters is they're interesting because they're human beings. A little bit of Hemingway goes a long way here, but journalists and writers should honestly look at their material and have a real interest, a real passion in what they want to write, and they should also have a lot of knowledge as well.
democratic exercising far felt popular social structures time
I felt that a lot of Viking culture had been caricatured and misconstrued. After all, they were far more democratic than the Saxons and the Francs, who were exercising really hierarchical social structures at that time. The Vikings had popular meetings where everything could be discussed.