Maguire Manifesto

I tripped across this on the Internet.

http://www.thisisawar.com/PurposeJerry.htm

It is the full text of the essay that got Tom Cruise’s “Jerry Maguire” fired from his job, triggering one of the best films of the 90’s. Certainly one of the best of Cruise’s career. I think that every one of us should consider doing what this fictional character does: genuinely examine our lives, and struggle to make every aspect of them in alignment with our core values.

And for those of you serious about a writing career: was this not one of the very smartest things you can even imagine a writer/director like Cameron Crowe doing? Making explicit the motivations of a complex character? Can you think of any reason at all not to do this with every lead character you write, from now on, for the rest of your life?

I thought not. Read it.