Masculinity, Shame, and the Search for Truth in COME with Kole Lee [Podcast]
What happens when a screenwriter abandons outlines, structure, logic, and simply follows an idea wherever it leads? In this episode of the Kinolime Podcast, Meara and Danny sit down with Kole, Kinolime’s own Social Media Manager and one of the standout voices from this year’s Shorts Competition, to discuss his enigmatic screenplay COME.
Written in a burst of pure instinct and emotion, COME defies easy categorization. It’s part dream, part confession, and wholly original, an experiment inspired by David Lynch’s creative philosophy of “fishing for ideas.” The trio explores how shame, guilt, and addiction shape Kole’s story, the freedom of writing without a plan, and the power of embracing uncertainty in art.
Whether you’re a screenwriter searching for inspiration or simply fascinated by the creative process, this conversation dives deep into what it means to let go of control and trust the idea itself.
Full Transcript: Kinolime Podcast Episode 22: Masculinity, Shame, and the Search for Truth in COME with Kole Lee
Participants
Danny Murray - Creative Executive, Kinolime
Meara Owen-Griffiths - Creative Executive, Kinolime
Kole Lee - Social Media Manager, Kinolime
Meara:
Kole Lee over in LA, good evening to you from Ireland. We managed to sync up all three time zones to get everyone here together on this call. Welcome, guys. How are we all doing today?
Danny:
Great. Doing great.
Kole:
Incredible.
Meara:
How is it going?
Kole:
I am good. It is amazing, the 99 degree heat every day in LA is finally over, it feels perfect right now.
Meara:
We work in Celsius over here, so I have no idea what that means, but it sounds bad.
Kole:
Yeah, it is really hot.
Introducing the Script
Meara:
Today we are talking about a short script that came through our Kinolime Shorts Competition this year. Everything in the competition is anonymized, we do not know who wrote what until the very last stage, when we double check for any potential conflicts of interest.
It turns out one of the Top 26 scripts was written by our very own Kole.
Danny:
So we wanted to get together and talk about that script.
Meara:
Kole, you can say the name of it, because I do not want anyone clipping me saying it.
Kole:
It is called COME.
Meara:
That is correct, C-O-M-E. We wanted to bring you on because we loved the script. It shows how many great screenwriters are part of this company, whether they are creative executives, development leads, or social media managers like yourself.
Kole:
Yes, Social Media Manager.
Meara:
Awesome. We have great writers at all levels here, so let us talk about your screenplay COME.
What the Story Is About
Danny:
Congratulations again, Kole. Can you give us a brief logline or synopsis? Meara and I are huge fans, but it is hard to pin down what this screenplay is. It is weird, it is Lynchian, a little experimental, almost Jodorowsky at times.
Kole:
This is my worst fear, I do not have a logline. I cannot summarize it cleanly. To me, it is an exploration of a young man who struggles with shame and guilt while in a relationship. That is really all I can say.
I did not want to overthink it. Normally I outline and plan everything, but for this one I just followed an idea.
Inspiration and David Lynch’s Influence
Meara:
You are one of social media’s go to voices for screenwriting advice and inspiration. Was there any particular filmmaker who influenced this story?
Kole:
It was David Lynch. He is my favorite filmmaker, and Mulholland Drive is my favorite movie of all time.
When Lynch passed away, I revisited his work and interviews. His process really struck me, he talks about fishing for ideas, meditating on one, letting it consume you, and following it wherever it leads.
I have always been an overthinker. Usually I plan everything to death and lose the initial spark. This script was my attempt to take his advice literally, find an idea, let it consume me, and write without an outline or plan.
It was my best and most freeing writing experience.
The Writing Process
Meara:
You can feel that spontaneity in the script. It straddles the line between narrative and experimental, it feels unique.
Danny:
Exactly. When we read it, it felt like the writer opened a faucet and let something flow out, scene to scene without overthinking, yet it still means something.
How much editing did you do afterward?
Kole:
Honestly, barely any. I wrote it in about four hours over a couple of days. No outline, no second draft, just scenes as ideas came.
It was almost subconscious, leading with emotion, not intellect, like painting from instinct.
Normally I procrastinate or overanalyze, but this time I did not. I treated it like an experiment, something raw and unfiltered.
Meara:
That is wild. I do so much preplanning, very long vomit drafts and endless rewrites. The fact that you wrote something so polished, so quickly, is mind blowing.
Themes of Shame, Guilt, and Addiction
Kole:
Looking back, the idea was about exploring shame and guilt, especially around addiction, including porn addiction, and how it affects relationships. The conflict of lusting for others while still loving someone deeply.
Rather than plot it out, I meditated on how that feels and what visuals could evoke those emotions for others. That is where the imagery came from, the woman in the field, the scribbles, the surreal transitions.
It was not about telling a linear story, it was about making people feel what I felt while thinking about those emotions.
Interpretation and Symbolism
Danny:
On my first read, I interpreted it as the suffocating feeling of wanting someone you think you are not good enough for, almost a parasocial fantasy. On my second read, it felt like a man trapped in his own life, very Eraserhead.
Where did the two elder characters come from?
Kole:
I have not fully cracked them. I like that everyone reads it differently, that was intentional. After finishing, I sent the script to about fifteen friends and asked for their interpretations, and everyone saw something different.
That is the beauty of cinema to me, it is subjective. I wanted people to project their own experiences onto it.
For me, the older man might represent the protagonist’s future self, where he could end up if he does not change. The older woman might symbolize the archetypal feminine, the judging force some men feel when they do not think they are enough.
But your interpretation is as valid as mine.
Final Thoughts and Favorite Moments
Meara:
Congratulations again, Kole. I would love to see you shoot this someday, it feels cinematic already. My favorite moment is the shot of the child being wheeled backward out of the room. It stayed with me long after reading it.
Danny:
Same for me. That, and the older man saying, do not worry, you still have a lot of time. Those lines were beautiful.
What is your favorite moment, Kole?
Kole:
Probably the scene with the child in the wheelchair. I have a special needs daughter, so that moment came from a deeply personal place. Seeing that child wheeled backward, surrounded by shame and guilt, felt very real to me.
Closing
Meara:
That wraps it up, everyone. Thanks for joining us. It is getting dark here in Ireland, so we will call it. Congratulations again, Kole, and thank you, Danny.
For everyone listening, check out Kole’s screenplay COME, we will link it below.
Danny:
Maybe read it before listening to this discussion. It is surreal and ambiguous, and your interpretation will probably be different from ours.
Kole:
Exactly.
Meara:
Thanks, everyone, and do not forget to follow Kinolime across all platforms for screenwriting, industry news, and filmmaking insights.
