Dawson Leery had wanted to be a filmmaker for as long as he could remember. Well, that's not quite true. But many of his earliest memories involved sitting around the TV with his parents watching a movie. When the movie finished, his parents would ask him what he thought, and he would respond with a lengthy diatribe. He would then ask his parents what they thought, and they would shrug and say something to the effect of "it was alright". Dawson wondered if they had payed attention, so he would ask a series of follow up questions, which seemed a bit like an interrogation.
Dawson's parents, Mitch and Gale, wanted to be supportive, but found this overwhelming. As a result, the bought him a TV for his bedroom, which would soon be followed by a VCR, and they gave him their membership card for the local video store, allowing him free reign to rent anything, as long as it wasn't R rated, which he took full advantage of. Dawson appreciated the quiet that came from solo viewing, but soon grew lonely, having no one to talk to about the films he was watching.
His parents suggested inviting some friends over. So Dawson invited his two closest (and only) friends, Joey and Pacey. Pacey quickly grew tired of the tradition, and showed up less and less frequently, until he stopped showing up at all. Dawson and Pacey didn't stop being friends, but they could always talk about movies at school, or wherever else. They didn't have to watch the movies together to talk about them. Joey however kept coming, and usually stayed overnight. The Leery house became more or less her second home. The fact that she was avoiding things at her own home may have also played a factor.
For his tenth birthday, Dawson's parents took him to see Jurrasic Park in the cinema and he was completely blown away. He had heard that the computer-generated dinosaurs were incredible, but it wasn't until he saw them on screen that he fully understood how much. This lead him to a revelation. Once they got home, Dawson made an announcement.
"I'm going to be a filmmaker" he said
This announcement/decision/revelation, would come to shape much of his life, and his choices, after that point.
Over the next few weeks, Dawson began researching film-making techniques, script-writing, special effects, Hollywood studios, film theory and history, and even how to join the Directors guild. His parents even let him borrow the family camcorder, to play around with. He now had everything he needed to make a film, except an idea.
But then tragedy struck. Joey's mother passed away, and her father was arrested for drug trafficking, tried, and subsequently convicted. All these events happened within a (seemingly) very short space of time. As a result, Dawson had to put everything else on hold and focus on supporting Joey through this very tough time. Eventually, things improved. While Joey never truly got over the loss of her mother, and incarceration of her father, she did ultimately learn to live with it. She assured Dawson that she no longer needed his support, and he could stop worrying about her. It took him quite a while, but he eventually came to accept this.
"Its time I stopped talking about becoming a filmmaker, and actually make a film" he said one day, to Joey, Pacey, and his parents. They all nodded in support. "And I'm going to need your help" he added.
Dawson's parents said they were quite busy with work, and so they couldn't help out too much, other than to offer moral support. Joey and Pacey however, had just finished the school year, and had quite a lot of free time on their hands. Added to this was the fact that neither wanted to be around their family too much, and they enthusiastically threw themselves into it. There was only one problem. Joey and Pacey were both friends with Dawson, but didn't really get along with each other. Fortunately, there was hope on the horizon.