Q & A with Writer/Director Jake Kasdan
April 15th, 2008, at the Writers Bootcamp Headquarters at Bergamot Station, Santa Monica
Moderator: Jeffrey Gordon
Jake Kasdan is a writer and director who's credits include Freaks & Geeks, Zero Effect, The TV Set, Orange County, and most recently, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. During this session he spoke about his films, how he works, how he got his first film made, and advice for newcomers.
Growing Up In the Business
Jake began as a PA on Lawrence Kasdan's film, Wyatt Earp (Lawrence is Jake's father). Jake considered this time his "film school." His job included creating a picture book of the production. He did long interviews with everyone who worked the film -- department heads, horse wranglers, everyone.
He feels lucky to have the experiences he had, with his family, and recounted the surreal experience of having his film, The TV Set, be released 1 months before his brother's film, Land of Women.
Success
When asked to think of common traits among those he considers successful, he recalled what his father taught him about writing: it's really hard, it remains hard, and you need to give relentless hard work. So, a common trait is working hard, all the time. He mentioned colleague Judd Apatow. He is successful on many fronts, and still works hard every day.
Writer vs. Director
"For me, directing is an extension of writing, and my confidence stems from the script," he said. He began by directing plays that he wrote. Jake estimated he writes one project to every four decent ideas. Some of his scripts have taken 1 month, others a year. He's found the 1 month scripts tend to be higher quality. He has a dream of writing 2-3 scripts in one year. This dream has not come true yet.
Zero Effect
Jake was 22 when he directed his first film, Zero Effect, and literally the youngest person on the set. The idea came to him while sutck in traffic. He liked the genre (detective movie), and imagined the Bill Pullman character as an agoraphobic Sherlock Homes, and Ben Stiller's character plays his public face, the Watson character. The screenplay was loosely based on "Scandal in Bohemia," a Holmes story.
One thing he learned was that he spent way to much time on the mechanics of the mystery. He found those details inevitably forgotten, and are just a platform for the voice of the characters. It still was needed, though. A well done plot goes unnoticed, but a poor plot can sour an entire film.
What got it made? People liked it. They sent it out to actors for about a year. Once Pullman and Stiller were attached, they sold the project to a studio. Part of the selling the project, with him as the director, was a lot of advocating for himself, and saying how qualified he was. The truth is: no one is qualified to be a director, until they have been a director. You just have to jump in. As for the age thing, his confidence and authority came from knowing the script. He may not know how to act, or how the camera works, but he is an expert on Zero Effect.
Directing begins as you sell and develop the project. With those you speak with, like all collaborators, you have to find a common language.
Freaks & Geeks
He directed the pilot episode, the final episode, and three others. Jake had been living in San Francisco at the time. It had been one year since Zero Effect. Judd Apatow called him from out of the blue (they did not know each other), and asked him to direct the pilot. Judd had not even seen Zero Effect. Jakes thinks Judd had got the idea from Ben Stiller.
Without even reading the script, Jake agreed. Two weeks later, they were making it, along with Paul Feig. He didn't realize at the time that Executive Producers (like Judd and Paul) called more of the shots in TV, and he thinks his "naive assertiveness" complemented them.
The TV Set
Jake had made a pilot adaptation of Zero Effect for television, and found the experience frustrating. The pilot was not picked up. A friend of his, Mike White, had a pilot, as did other friends, and they all seemed to suffer the same nightmares in creating them. From this came The TV Set. Budget was $5 million.
He worried it was too insider-industry. His worries turned out to be right.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
A bio-pic parody. The idea came from noticing patterns in biography films. There is something about concentrating an entire life into 120 minutes that leads to a certain kind of filmmaking style, one without subtext, and many cliches (i.e., being literally haunted by people from your past). He and Judd listed all the cliches they could think of, and worked from that.
Being surrounded by musicians (wife, friends) it was important for them that the music be something great. Mike Andrews was the composer. Forty songs were recorded, in all.
Jake felt a script like this would be difficult to write alone. The jokes benefit from a collaborator. Much of the best stuff comes from the exchange of two people, trying to crack the other up. Plus, just the sheer number of ideas needed is massive, and having two people working on it helps.
Preparation for the film included recording the songs. It took 6 months. Jake said John C. Reilly is brilliant -- truly one of the great actors of our generation. That is him singing, in character, on all those songs. During the promotion of the film, John did a 10-stop tour with the band, performing the music in the character of Dewey Cox.
Key to comedy is to keep it honest. Play it like it's happening. It was John's commitment that often made it work. While shooting, Jake and Judd would call in dialog. For example, the line, "Go mop the floor!" is not that funny. They did a bunch of takes, trying different lines, making stuff up as they went, until they got some good stuff. They were shooting on HD, so they had the freedom to let the camera run.
When is a scene ready to shoot? When it has strong ideas, and strong jokes. Many of those lines are improvised, but it started with he and Judd having runs of stuff for the actors to try. They also wanted to avoid "rug pulls", and going for the "dim sum" of pop culture references.
Casting began with John. He was involved before there was a script and he officially committed after the script was written. The rest of the cast was a rotating crew of massively talented actors and actresses, all under-used.
Budget was in the $30-35 million range. Made with Sony, who didn't give them much trouble.
Directing
With directing, how do you build your confidence, and in turn the confidence of others? Jake said, "It is better if you can write. That confidence comes from the writing."
At the end of the day, to make a movie, all you need to do is convince a few actors and someone to pay for it. Again, it is your authority of the script that qualifies you. Also, having answers for the obvious questions (How will you get actors, etc.). Plus, the studio is always looking for something new and good (and cheap). It helps if your project is affordable, and can be done at any price.
On the set, it's not just having all the answers, and making people think you know. It is actually knowing those answers, and when you don't, having the confidence to ask your collaborators for their ideas.
Work Habits
Jake said he writes a couple hours a day, often at night, and at home on the back porch. He has no rituals he uses to write, and needs about 7 hours of sleep a night.
His next project? He's taking a few months off.
Moderator: Jeffrey Gordon
Jake Kasdan is a writer and director who's credits include Freaks & Geeks, Zero Effect, The TV Set, Orange County, and most recently, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. During this session he spoke about his films, how he works, how he got his first film made, and advice for newcomers.
Growing Up In the Business
Jake began as a PA on Lawrence Kasdan's film, Wyatt Earp (Lawrence is Jake's father). Jake considered this time his "film school." His job included creating a picture book of the production. He did long interviews with everyone who worked the film -- department heads, horse wranglers, everyone.
He feels lucky to have the experiences he had, with his family, and recounted the surreal experience of having his film, The TV Set, be released 1 months before his brother's film, Land of Women.
Success
When asked to think of common traits among those he considers successful, he recalled what his father taught him about writing: it's really hard, it remains hard, and you need to give relentless hard work. So, a common trait is working hard, all the time. He mentioned colleague Judd Apatow. He is successful on many fronts, and still works hard every day.
Writer vs. Director
"For me, directing is an extension of writing, and my confidence stems from the script," he said. He began by directing plays that he wrote. Jake estimated he writes one project to every four decent ideas. Some of his scripts have taken 1 month, others a year. He's found the 1 month scripts tend to be higher quality. He has a dream of writing 2-3 scripts in one year. This dream has not come true yet.
Zero Effect
Jake was 22 when he directed his first film, Zero Effect, and literally the youngest person on the set. The idea came to him while sutck in traffic. He liked the genre (detective movie), and imagined the Bill Pullman character as an agoraphobic Sherlock Homes, and Ben Stiller's character plays his public face, the Watson character. The screenplay was loosely based on "Scandal in Bohemia," a Holmes story.
One thing he learned was that he spent way to much time on the mechanics of the mystery. He found those details inevitably forgotten, and are just a platform for the voice of the characters. It still was needed, though. A well done plot goes unnoticed, but a poor plot can sour an entire film.
What got it made? People liked it. They sent it out to actors for about a year. Once Pullman and Stiller were attached, they sold the project to a studio. Part of the selling the project, with him as the director, was a lot of advocating for himself, and saying how qualified he was. The truth is: no one is qualified to be a director, until they have been a director. You just have to jump in. As for the age thing, his confidence and authority came from knowing the script. He may not know how to act, or how the camera works, but he is an expert on Zero Effect.
Directing begins as you sell and develop the project. With those you speak with, like all collaborators, you have to find a common language.
Freaks & Geeks
He directed the pilot episode, the final episode, and three others. Jake had been living in San Francisco at the time. It had been one year since Zero Effect. Judd Apatow called him from out of the blue (they did not know each other), and asked him to direct the pilot. Judd had not even seen Zero Effect. Jakes thinks Judd had got the idea from Ben Stiller.
Without even reading the script, Jake agreed. Two weeks later, they were making it, along with Paul Feig. He didn't realize at the time that Executive Producers (like Judd and Paul) called more of the shots in TV, and he thinks his "naive assertiveness" complemented them.
The TV Set
Jake had made a pilot adaptation of Zero Effect for television, and found the experience frustrating. The pilot was not picked up. A friend of his, Mike White, had a pilot, as did other friends, and they all seemed to suffer the same nightmares in creating them. From this came The TV Set. Budget was $5 million.
He worried it was too insider-industry. His worries turned out to be right.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
A bio-pic parody. The idea came from noticing patterns in biography films. There is something about concentrating an entire life into 120 minutes that leads to a certain kind of filmmaking style, one without subtext, and many cliches (i.e., being literally haunted by people from your past). He and Judd listed all the cliches they could think of, and worked from that.
Being surrounded by musicians (wife, friends) it was important for them that the music be something great. Mike Andrews was the composer. Forty songs were recorded, in all.
Jake felt a script like this would be difficult to write alone. The jokes benefit from a collaborator. Much of the best stuff comes from the exchange of two people, trying to crack the other up. Plus, just the sheer number of ideas needed is massive, and having two people working on it helps.
Preparation for the film included recording the songs. It took 6 months. Jake said John C. Reilly is brilliant -- truly one of the great actors of our generation. That is him singing, in character, on all those songs. During the promotion of the film, John did a 10-stop tour with the band, performing the music in the character of Dewey Cox.
Key to comedy is to keep it honest. Play it like it's happening. It was John's commitment that often made it work. While shooting, Jake and Judd would call in dialog. For example, the line, "Go mop the floor!" is not that funny. They did a bunch of takes, trying different lines, making stuff up as they went, until they got some good stuff. They were shooting on HD, so they had the freedom to let the camera run.
When is a scene ready to shoot? When it has strong ideas, and strong jokes. Many of those lines are improvised, but it started with he and Judd having runs of stuff for the actors to try. They also wanted to avoid "rug pulls", and going for the "dim sum" of pop culture references.
Casting began with John. He was involved before there was a script and he officially committed after the script was written. The rest of the cast was a rotating crew of massively talented actors and actresses, all under-used.
Budget was in the $30-35 million range. Made with Sony, who didn't give them much trouble.
Directing
With directing, how do you build your confidence, and in turn the confidence of others? Jake said, "It is better if you can write. That confidence comes from the writing."
At the end of the day, to make a movie, all you need to do is convince a few actors and someone to pay for it. Again, it is your authority of the script that qualifies you. Also, having answers for the obvious questions (How will you get actors, etc.). Plus, the studio is always looking for something new and good (and cheap). It helps if your project is affordable, and can be done at any price.
On the set, it's not just having all the answers, and making people think you know. It is actually knowing those answers, and when you don't, having the confidence to ask your collaborators for their ideas.
Work Habits
Jake said he writes a couple hours a day, often at night, and at home on the back porch. He has no rituals he uses to write, and needs about 7 hours of sleep a night.
His next project? He's taking a few months off.