The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna 289 | Crafting A High Concept Pixar Film w/ Hoppers Writer Jesse Andrews
Mar 12, 2026
Jesse Andrews, novelist-turned-screenwriter behind Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and co-writer of Luca, talks about moving from novels into Pixar animation. He discusses Pixar’s structured writing process, shaping character-driven comedy, building Hoppers around grief and nature, and the collaborative, ego-free approach that fuels animated storytelling.
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How Adapting His Own Novel Freed Jesse To Reimagine It
- Jesse adapted Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and found freedom because the book already existed, which let him be loose in rewriting it for film.
- Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon reframed a throwaway line about lives unfolding after death, which shifted the movie from jokey to heartfelt and transformed the script.
Pixar Hired Jesse Midway And He Never Wrote A Full Draft
- Jesse got into Pixar after his agent sent an unrelated script; he was hired during reels and never wrote Luca front-to-back.
- At Pixar he worked via animatics and iterative rewrites rather than delivering a full first draft.
Start By Shaping Your Writing Around The Director
- Jesse assesses the director's strengths first and tailors his writing to fit that director's toolkit rather than imposing his own style.
- He then brings a broad toolkit (character focus, structure, tone) and contorts himself into the shape that best serves the director's vision.