Using the template of someone else's autobiography in writing a screenplay leaves room for some creative exaggeration, but no space for mistakes in characterization or setting. The character arcs can't be changed to fit the plot – the story is what it is.

Ryan Murphy ("Running with Scissors" writer/director and "Nip/Tuck" creator/director) and Augusten Burroughs ("Scissors" author) spoke about working within these parameters and the creative process from start to finish in a conference call from Los Angeles.

Writing someone else's biography

Both Murphy and Burroughs are gay (not a point that is politicized in the film; again, it simply is portrayed as what it is), and Murphy felt the story was very "personal" to him.

So when Murphy admittedly "kind of stalked Augusten for the rights," he had to show Burroughs that "what was important to (him) as a filmmaker was not to judge them (the characters)," Murphy said. "What we should do is show these things, and show you why they did them."

Burroughs agreed that their creative visions aligned. He didn't want the book, which is full of deep-seeded issues but also full of humor, to be pigeonholed into one genre.

"Ryan convinced me that life isn't a comedy, or a drama, or a thriller," Burroughs said. "It can be all these things in the space of 90 seconds."

Murphy also didn't shy away from the deep issues for a cheap laugh.

To him, the film "tells people you can survive an unhappy childhood, can survive sex abuse, can survive your father being an alcoholic," he said. "People don't want to talk about child abuse."

This focus on survival instincts helped Murphy cast the film.

Getting the cast of your dreams

After auditioning hundreds of actors to play Burroughs, Joseph Cross was the only one who made Murphy cry.

Burroughs could only describe the casting as "surreal," as if looking through a mirror that lets you see back in time.

"What really struck me was how much Annette (Bening) reminded me of my mother," he said. "It was an accurate performance, and that's sadly so."

This accuracy with the other characters came with a price: The family portrayed as the Finch family in the film recently settled a lawsuit with Sony because their identities were so obvious.

Bringing the story to a wider audience

"People find the story overwhelming and just difficult to believe," Burroughs said, also noting that he doesn't think many people have a "normal" childhood. "Writing the book was a very therapeutic and cathartic experience," he said. "The movie has further proven to be liberating."

Burroughs also said people come up to him and share their different childhood experiences, while others don't want to see the not-visually explicit sexual relationship of Neil Bookman and Burroughs. As to the mixed comments Burroughs receives, he said, "They don't affect the reality of my childhood. I don't regret anything that happened to me as a child."

Murphy mentioned that Burroughs has said the movie serves as a counterpart to the movie. In contrast to the narrative's reliance on words.

"It's a very visual kind of film," Murphy said.

Future plans

Unlike the delusions of fame his mother harbored, Burroughs said, "I would never have my books adapted just so I could have movies made, and go to premieres and shake hands with stars."

His next, and last, novel is about the "very tiring work" of his relationship with his father." He and his mother do not have a relationship, and he and his brother – who is not featured in the movie – are very close.

After the mostly positive reception of his first feature film, Murphy has another project in production, also starring Bening, in addition to "Nip/Tuck."