John August

QandA

How old is too old?

Psych 101, QandA

All my life I’ve been fascinated with the process of movie making.
Throughout my twenties I focused on acting (workshops, plays, student films,
local commercials, etc) but never found much enjoyment or satisfaction. I’m
now 32 and just starting my college education and wondering what road to go
down (writing, producing, etc). I guess my question to you is have you seen
many 30-somethings start later in life and manage to be taken seriously in
our unfortunately youth obsessed culture?

–Dave

You read so many stories about young people storming the film world that it’s
easy to think that no one successful was born before 1970. The truth is, most
of the movies you see were written, directed and produced by people in their
30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. The reason why 19-year old wunderkinds are so fascinating
is because they are so rare.

I started working in Hollywood when I was 22, ten years ago. I’m a better
writer now than I was then, partly through experience in the industry, and
partly through the simple passage of time. As you experience more of life,
you simply have more to write about, and a better understanding of the subtleties
of the world.

Will you have a tougher time starting out in your 30’s, rather than your 20’s?
Maybe. But starting a career in film is difficult at any age, so if it’s 15%
more difficult, I can’t imagine that would deter you. Yes, Hollywood can be
youth-obsessed, but it’s also a meritocracy at a certain point. People don’t
care where you come from as long as you can do the job well.

Looking back, I think the only real advantage I had with youth is that I was
willing to be poor. Since I came straight out of college, it didn’t really
bother me to eat spaghetti five nights a week, to sleep on the floor rather
than a bed, or drive a rusted-out Honda. If I had been better established in
life, with a comfortable job and a distaste for ramen noodles, it might have
been hard to give those things up.

Writer on-set

Film Industry, QandA

If you sell a screenplay and it goes into production, is
there any way to get on-set to watch your movie being filmed, even if it
has been re-written?

–Matt

One of the issues that came up in the latest negotiation between the Writers
Guild and the studios was whether screenwriters should have guaranteed access
to the set. Surprisingly, the biggest opponent to the idea was the Directors
Guild, perhaps concerned that having writers on the set might diminish the
director’s power and control.

In the end, allowing writers to visit the set was added to a new list of "preferred
practices." It’s a compromise, but certainly a step in the right direction.

Even without the latest ruling, in my experience the level of the writer’s
involvement during production has everything to do with his relationship with
the director and producers. On GO, I was there for every frame shot. On CHARLIE’S
ANGELS, I trekked down to the soundstages occasionally. MINORITY REPORT, just
once. (And that was mostly just to see the sets, which were the most elaborate
things I’ve ever seen.)

What few writers understand before visting a set is just how boring they are.
Shooting a movie is like running through mud, and if you don’t have a job on
the set, it gets old incredibly fast. For my money, a writer’s time is better
spent in the editing room, helping to find the best movie in the footage that
was shot. You don’t get to hobnob with big stars, but you’re more likely to
actually improve the movie.

Writer control

Producers, QandA

When working on a big budget remake, does the writer have complete control
over how the characters behave and talk? It must be difficult to shape the
main characters when people all around you have their own personal ideas about
them.

–RBC

Once the script has left the writer’s hands, he never has complete control
over anything. That’s the first and possibly the most frustrating truth about
screenwriting.

In order to be filmed, your perfect vision has to be mucked up by directors,
actors, editors and cinematographers, each of whom will change it to greater
and lesser degrees. The hope is that each step of the way, they’ll make it
better. Surprisingly, sometimes they do.

Your question is about remakes, where there’s a general familiarity with the
characters and the concept, and your instincts are right. Since everyone involved
on the project knows the underlying material, they all have strong opinions
about how to proceed.

The writer’s job, in this case, is to try to capture as much as possible of
what’s beloved about the original, and yet still make a movie that can stand
on its own.

In the case of CHARLIE’S ANGELS, the producers and I had long talks about
the tone and characters, independent of the plot. Rather than mocking the original
series, we wanted the movie to be a giant hug around it. We wanted the angels
to be super-competent on the job, and approachably dorky in their off-time.
Despite all the action, this would be fundamentally a comedy, and cool people
just aren’t funny.

All of this seems pretty obvious watching the final movie, but getting everyone
to agree to this approach was easily half of my job. It would have been easier
to make a straight-out spoof (like SCARY MOVIE), or a full-on action movie
(like James Bond), but I don’t think either would have been as successful.

Reading reviews

Go, QandA

I was wondering,
do you read reviews of films you’ve worked on? When you’re in a bookstore,
do you go to the film section and check out how many stars Maltin or Ebert
have given the films?

–Brenton

Thanks to the Internet, not only can I read what Maltin and Ebert say about
my movies, I can find out what the Pioneer Press and the Times of London thought.
And yes, I read them obsessively when the movie comes out, to the point where
I’ll be at my computer from midnight until 2:30 a.m. reading the Friday morning
reviews online, before the papers are even printed.

In addition to the "Reviews" links on IMDB, I love Rotten Tomatoes
because it gathers the reviews from thirty or forty different sources. I also
read the "User Comments" section on IMDB,
and sometimes the various be-your-own critic sites.

Honestly, my fondness for reading reviews is more a function of pride than
vanity. I don’t get excited reading my own name, but rather seeing what someone
thought of my baby. And of course, my attachment varies based on my involvement.
For GO and CHARLIE’S ANGELS, I was a veritable soccer mom. TITAN A.E., on the
other hand, was like a friend from summer camp you were never sure you’d see
again.