LOL. Obligatory disclaimer: I have not seen “The Passion” and don’t especially plan to. But I thought this exchange was a hilarious commentary on how oblique and intuitive the creative process often is to the artist. You can train yourself–you have to train–but the point of that training is to shape your instincts and intuitions, because very often you make the artistic choices and figure out the reasons why later, if at all. (Barbara discusses this more eloquently if you follow the link below.)

The minister was not happy with me. He waited a few cold seconds of silence and then talked past me to Mel. “And that scene with the ugly baby. What was that?”

Mel said, “I dunno. I just thought it was really creepy. Didn’t you think it was creepy?”

Minister guy: “But what is it supposed to mean?”

Me: “Satan brought a friend. He wanted to share it with a friend.”

Mel laughed. “Yeah, he brought a friend!”

Minister guy persisted with exasperation, “But WHERE did you get that from?”

In other words, “You DIDN’T get it in the Bible, because I KNOW the Bible.”

Mel, at this point was getting just as exasperated, “I dunno. I guess I just pulled it out of my ass.”

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