• Previously: We Are All In This Thing Together: Liveblogging The Oscars [Defamer]

I was lost at the beginning of it, Futterman matter-of-factly conceded.

But I had no idea how to get into it. I had never written a script before, and I had started writing sort of random scenes with Truman and Perry talking about what I considered to be interesting things in the jail cell. But it was not going anywhere; there was no narrative drive. And [his wife, TV writer-producer Anya Epstein] was extremely clear with me about the fact that I needed to have a narrative drive, I needed to have an outline where one scene led to another ... And that was a revelation to me. It s probably perfectly obvious to anybody who s written a screenplay before, but I hadn t. I think had I not met her at the beginning of this process, it would never have gotten done.

Actually, it's pretty sweet that Futterman recognized his wife's contribution to his accomplishments, especially in a town where many would have their spouse quietly drowned in the Pacific before admitting every ounce of genius wasn't completely self-generated. And all of the unproduced writers out there ready to blow out the part of their brains that convinced them to spend hundreds of dollars on yearly trips to Robert McKee's Story Seminar should take heart, realizing that if they invest some of their frustrated creative energy in revamping their J-date profiles, they could be well on their way to finding that special someone with a strong grasp of narrative structure.

• Capote screenwriter humbled by Oscar nod [AP]
• Previously: Philip Seymour Hoffman Hits The Campaign Trail [Defamer]
• George Clooney Glad He Didn t Get That Facts Of Life Spinoff [Defamer]

Fresh out of New York University s drama school, Hoffman was lured into New York City s fast life. "It was all that [drugs and alcohol], yeah, it was anything I could get my hands on I liked it all," he tells Kroft.

But he saw the need to change early. "I went [to rehab], I got sober when I was 22 years old," says the 38-year-old Oscar nominee. "You get panicked and I got panicked for my life," says Hoffman. "It really was just that."

He also realizes that getting sober before he got famous was a blessing. It makes him look at today s young acting stars in a concerned way.

"I have so much empathy for these young actors that are 19 and all of a sudden they re beautiful and famous and rich," Hoffman says. "I m like, Oh my God. I d be dead. You know what I mean? I d be 19, beautiful, famous and rich. That would be it," he tells Kroft. "I think back at that time. I think if I had the money, that kind of money and stuff. So, yeah [I would have died]."

We're happy that Hoffman, one of our favorite actors, decided to make this campaign trail stop instead of going the clich d, undignified route of breaking down in front of Barbara Walters. Walters, we imagine, will soon be trying to induce Ledger into crocodile tears by making him consider the dark journey that lead him from the forgettable rock-and-roll jousting of A Knight's Tale to that tender, indelible cinematic moment atop a compliant Jake Gyllenhaal.

• Philip Seymour Hoffman Gets Candid [CBS News]
• Previously: Venn Diagram Oscar Predictions [Defamer]

• Marketing Strategies 101 [Cuts]