There’s a fascinating interview with my friend Paul Bernbaum about the writing and production of his spec script TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY, which has become the movie HOLLYWOODLAND.
Focus
courted a couple of stars and a couple directors before they were lucky
enough to get Allen Coulter. They also began pressing for me to shift
the story more toward Adrien’s character and away from Reeves, which I
strongly disagreed with. I did a number of drafts with Allen, who is a
terrific filmmaker, and a great guy. But apparently, Focus wanted more
of Adrien’s character than I was willing to give them, at which point
they hired another writer. Needless to say, this was heartbreaking for
me, as this movie was a deeply personal one.
Paul and I have known each other for over a decade (and worked on three series together). This script has been his passion project for years…I wish it had been shot the way he originally envisioned it. Despite the rewrites by another writer, Paul ended up with sole screenplay credit.
Great interview.
See, Lee, you should move to AZ.
There are two movies I can’t wait to see: Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia. I figure the apple won’t fall far from the tree.