November 18, 2003

Hollywood happens in the darndest ways…

The first things that jump out at you about John August are his head and his voice. The rumble and the pate combine into a walking revival of Rollercoaster in the Cinerama Dome. But then, you start to notice the gentility of the man. Perhaps that's why he is known far and wide as "The Michael Stipe of Screenwriting." (Actually, I have no idea if anyone has ever called him that before, but the thought of it amused me.)

There is a reason why this man has built a career on writing women, whether anyone else has noticed or not. Go is a movie about women. Charlie's Angels is, obviously, about women. You get the sense that this is a man who really listens to women and gives them the room to be themselves.

Perhaps that is why August is one of the few screenwriters you will meet who has been as involved as he is with the projects he's made. In an era where screenwriters are a 40 million dimes a dozen, August sticks. He was a producer and the 2nd unit director on Go, his film feature. He was the sole survivor of Charlie's Angels, staying with McG and The Girls for the second film. (The possibility of a retro Charlie's Angels, pre-series and girl-powerless seems to intrigue him.) And now, The Fish.

Really, Big Fish is the story that seems to come closest to home for August… a movie about men, but the men in all of our lives, whether we are sons or daughters, brothers or sisters. Though Big Fish will forever be imprinted on the world as "A Tim Burton Film", it is August who started the ball rolling, pitching the Daniel Wallace book to Columbia, where they finally bought it based on his pitch about how he would adapt the tale, which was seen as unfilmable.

When you see Big Fish, you will understand how critical the tree on which Burton hangs his visuals and even the quiet intimate moments, for which he is not known. John August grew that tree. He tended to it as directors came and went, as ideas of "how to do the film" came and went and into a relationship with Tim Burton, for whom he is now doing a rewrite of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

The thing about that tree is that Tim Burton's allegiance to August's "tree" has resulted in a major growth leap for Burton as well. While Burton has been best known for his leaps of fancy, and in the case of Planet of the Apes, some disinterest in narrative, Big Fish explores similar issues of truth and illusion, but is triggered by one of the landmarks of maturity, the imminent death of a parent.

Where Burton seems to be making a leap, it all seems to fit into a natural course of growth for John August. From the raves (Go!) to youthful exuberance in the face of a serious job (Charlie's Angels) to this, the moment in all of our lives when we must grow up. It even occurs to me that Willy Wonka's story, which August and Burton intend to explore in greater depth than the Mel Stuart film did (much more like Dahl), is a natural next step. Wonka is a successful man whose success has left him isolated. That seems to be more Burton than August, but still, you can see the step.

August does not seem to be alone behind the factory gates. In his five or six years as a working screenwriter, he has maintained a workmanlike methodology. He's one of those writers who goes into his office (in his case, just feet away from the back door of his home) and works, eight or nine hours a way, five or six days a week. He's clearly no automaton, but his discipline moves him along. He does his rewrites and polishes, the fiscal lifeblood for all screenwriters who like land ownership these days. When he says that he's "booked for the next six months," you know that he means it. He's not panicked, but he is obligated in a thoughtful and mature way.

His commitment to the work seems different than it is for many screenwriters. He is involved. He is interested. And despite some disappointments, he is not anxious to rip into his tormentors. Truth is, he seems to have been irritated at times, but never tormented. He is a professional screenwriter, circa 2003. And fortunately for us, he is quite a good one… who is likely to be buying himself a tuxedo for multiple engagements in the coming months.

EARLIER TODAY...

Nothing!

That’s what I am coming up with to write about tonight… nothing.

There is this reader e-mail… “Being a Dane I just want to clarify something in your otherwise brilliant column. Neither The Green Butchers nor The Inheritance are Dutch films (as in from Holland (or The Netherlands)) - they are Danish (from Denmark).

The same goes for the documentaries The Purified and The Five Obstacles and for the feature festival winner Old, New, Borrowed And Blue by the way. (I guess they showed a lot of Danish films at the festival).

Regarding The Inheritance you should definitely get a chance to watch Per Fly's first film The Bench. It is even better in my opinion, and Jesper Christensen in the lead role is utterly unforgettable.”

Brilliant. Cool. Uneducated, but still…

I spent sometime with a terrific screenwriter (and a fine human being) on Monday, but it’s not really time to write about that.

There was a lot of mail on the mail about Peter Jackson vs. George Lucas. Here’s a sample:

“NO! The artistic entitlement that CD DA MILLE and all the rest of the whiny net-crowd wish to possess over movies like LOTR does not exist. They have absolutely no rights regarding the content of a movie. All they have is the right to not go and see it. Crying over speculation is ludicrous, irrational, and pointless.

As for the claims that Jackson didn't talk to Lee or emailed Lee afterwards--where's the proof and why does anyone care? Do you honestly think that Jackson has to (or should) consult in advance with an actor in order to decide how his movie should be edited? Jackson has the right to make whatever decisions he has to in order to make ROTK the best movie it can be and then he has to take any hits that follow. I doubt, however, that his decision to cut Lee will have any negative impact on the success of the film and, if Jackson is half the director I think he is, it will positively impact both the ROTK's box-office and its critical success.

As for Lucas, he can do whatever the hell he wants to as well and for the same reasons.”

But the more popular comment was along this line: “There is no parallel at all between Peter Jackson and George Lucas. George Lucas is a crummy writer and an even crummier director. He got lucky once 20-some years ago and has done nothing but defile his achievement over and over ever since. (The only times he's done right by said achievement is when he's stepped aside into a producer's role and allowed more competent folks to actually make his movies). Jackson's a dedicated craftsman and his instincts are peerless. If the fanboy community gives him a pass, it might very well be because they trust him. And maybe they trust him because he's never let them down.

Aw heck, I don't know anything about any of that. Where's the goddamned Matrix review?”

Oh yeah…

I’m thinking Thursday…

I have an 8:30am meeting with Capturing The Friedman’s Andrew Jarecki today (early bird gets the child molester on family videos), so I will be tired and I hate to promise a column, but I will make a run at it this morning. If it’s not up by 12:30p, it ain’t going up. Great Doc Day continues with an afternoon sit-down with the filmmakers behind the amazing My Flesh & Blood.

There’s just nothing in the news to really write about. I am almost done with a great new book about the real Last Samurai. I’ll let you in on that when I’ve finished. Have I mentioned that The Statement sucked? More on that car wreck at some other time. What could be worse than all this Britney Spears crap? She could hook up with Ben Affleck. MCN launched Oscar City Centre yesterday.