Like I said, I didn't really intellectualize it. I mean I spent my 20s reading screenwriting books and going to screenwriting seminars—It gave me writer's block. And it made me feel that everything I did was wrong. That I was getting some science wrong. So I just forgot all that and did what felt right. What I wanted to see. So I really didn't think about it like that.
Could it be possible to have too much knowledge? That appears to be the case in creative endeavors. So many books, blogs, talks espouse Best Practices on how to "do it." Very few are willing to say that what has worked before might not work every time, or for every individual.
It's a problem I've run in to more than a few times. The treacherous thought that nothing I create will be as good as what come before. Or that it will be a pale imitation of interesting things that already exist.
The problem lies in learning too much about approach your endeavor, and not learning enough about the world. In another part of this interview Cornish talks about sitting down with the script and actors to make sure the language was consistent with what you'd hear on the streets. A whole scene was written around a conversation he had with a kid during the casting stages.
Learning is important. Especially starting out. But in order to make new, interesting things you have to cast aside a bit of what you know. Unless you want it to look and feel like everything else.
And make sure to see Attack The Block if you haven't. It's Sci-fi in a way that should happen more often.