Week Of August 28, 2006 - Mon Love / Wed / Fri

August 30, 2006

Andrea Berloff is one of those people…

A New York theater chick eventually decides to move west and to write movies… her first job is a pitch bought in the meeting… a legendary director who has a screenwriting Oscar of his own (not to mention four other nominations) is hired to make the movie… and he pretty much makes the movie that she wrote.

Geeeeeeez!

Howard & Myra's little girl is only 32 years old. She got a loving husband, an eight-month-old son, and is still cutting through Hollywood like a hot knife through room temperature butter. After working with Stone and seeing her script shot as is, she is now working with Ridley Scott… rewriting one of Ridley's regular writers, who got a similar kind of respect from Ridley on a recent project.

If you had to cast an actress to play Ms. Berloff, it would be Heather Graham… back when Heather was an actress and not just a body. She has calming, large pale blue eyes and an expressive mouth, which can go from serious to comedic in a second. She is a listener, though she is not shy about talking. And she creates a sense of almost immediate intimacy with her willingness to be direct and on point, even on subjects where it sometimes would seem like a better political call to keep her own counsel.

The experience of getting the World Trade Center job was, she explains, a lot like the experience of the movie for people who like the film… lots of anticipation followed by tears in the room. The pitch, long before Oliver Stone signed on, was to Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg, who were newly out of their deal with Jersey Films, and was apparently quite different than the screenplay Berloff ultimately delivered. But still, the passion with which Berloff told her take on the tale left the execs and her in tears. And, as she left the room, she had already been given a clear enough signal to tell her agent, "I think I just got hired," before she even reached the parking lot.

What changed the direction of the screenplay for Berloff was meeting Allison & Donna, the wives of Jimeno and McLoughlin. Once she got to know them, she couldn't imagine a World Trade Center without their experiences being a big part of the story. And she took most of the drama directly from life. Allison Jimeno really was at the drug store picking up a prescription to keep her calm when she realized that they had no cell phone and then couldn't stand to sit another second in the car as they were stuck at a red light on the way home. Donna McLoughlin really did need to coax her son out of the family car when he insisted he wanted to go to Ground Zero to search for his father.

Berloff's relationship with these families lasted longer than anyone expected. In the process, she has become a part of their families. Still, to this day, the phone rings or the e-mail inbox lights up with notes from her friends. The discussions are painful… some so painful that they went beyond what Andrea could consider putting in the movie. But she seems to be that kind of person. She is willing to go there… even if she certainly doesn't expect that kind of personal involvement on every movie she makes.

Giving birth was part of the World Trade Center for Berloff. She had her baby in December, while the film was still in production. But she took it in stride. And even now, lest than a year into motherhood, she seems to be one of those rare people capable of having it all.

There is a little showbiz there. Her husband never comes up in the 90 minutes or so we spend together. Her son, about four times. It's not like she's avoiding the topic. Her wedding ring makes lifting the fork to her mouth a bit of a challenge. And she offers, in small ways, signs that she is feeling, well, not quite in racing form physically after becoming mom. (The quick show of vanity is unexpected, but so slight as to charm.) But I took these things as a sign that she knows how to compartmentalize and to maintain her focus on her goals, whether they be for the length of a lunch or the run of a screenplay from first draft through production.

Ms. Berloff is far too much a straight shooter to pretend that the box office and the awards race to come are not on her mind. She seems very clear on the fact that she has already won the lottery in a big way… and that her talent made up a bunch of the numbers. But you meet this young writer and you find yourself rooting for her within minutes. She is one of those people too. Like Josh Olson or Mike Giacchino or Tom Bezucha, you know she has the talent, but you are immediately struck by the humanity. She's one of those people whose success will make you feel like something is right about how this business goes.

Oh yeah… and she wrote a screenplay that we really do hear in this movie… and she makes us laugh and she makes us cry and she tells the true story with love and respect for her subjects. There were adjustments - the now infamous-in-some-circles card explaining Dave Karnes' future in Iraq was added because some audiences didn't really believe he wasn't some fictional creation - but basically, this was her vision, in tandem with the vision of many others, from Sher & Shamberg to Oliver Stone to the grips to us.

Will Berloff be this year's Danny Futterman (the first time screenwriter who gets awards for months)? Could be. But even if she isn't that, she already seems at home in the community and ready for a solid future… a future to be respected… a future to be envied… a future to be shared.

We need more of those people.

E Me.

---

Week Of April 3, 2006 - Life In the Bubble - Mon / Wed / Fri
Week Of April 10, 2006 - List Week - Mon / Wed / Fri
Week Of April 17, 2006 - Review Week - Mon / Wed / Fri
Week Of April 24, 2006 - Overlooked Week - Mon / Wed / Fri
Week Of May 1, 2006 - Mystery Week - Tue / Wed / Fri
Week Of May 8, 2006 - How We Watch Week - Mon / Wed / Fri
Week Of May 15, 2006 - Premature Week - Oscar Mon / Wed / Fri
Week Of May 22, 2006 - B-13 Mon / Inconvenient Wed / Fri
Week Of May 29, 2006 - Wed / Fri
Week Of June 5, 2006 - 666 Tue / Iraq Doc Wed / Seattle Fri
Week Of June 12, 2006 - SIFF Mon / SIFF Wed / Fri
Week Of June 19, 2006 - Cinevegas Mon/Deliver Us Wed/Prada Fri
Week Of June 26, 2006 - Pirates Mon / Super Again Wed / Fri
Week Of July 5, 2006 - Wed
Week Of July 12, 2006 - M. Night Mon | You, Me & Wed | Monster House Fri
Week Of July 17, 2006 - 8 A Year Mon / Water Wed / Revamp Fri
Week Of July 24, 2006 - Comic-Con Mon / Gossip Wed / Fri
Week Of July 31, 2006 - Mel G Mon / Talladega Wed / Fri
Week Of August 7, 2006 - Mon / Wed
Week Of August 14, 2006 - No Column Mon / Wed / Snakes Fri
Week Of August 21, 2006 - Snakey Mon / Anniversary Wed / Scoundrels Fri