CS Weekly Archive > From the Trenches > 12/04/09

A Fine Time:

Everybody's Fine Writer-Director Kirk Jones

BY JENELLE RILEY

"You're English!" are my first words to filmmaker Kirk Jones, after he introduces himself with an unmistakable British accent. The surprise comes from the fact that Jones made his feature writing-directing debut with the sweet comedy Waking Ned Devine, in which he perfectly captured the look and feel of the elderly residents of a quaint Irish village. Though his next film, the Emma Thompson vehicle Nanny McPhee, was indeed filmed in his native England, Waking Ned Devine felt like such a personal endeavor, one expects Jones to be Irish—and in his 80s. "People always seem to expect an old Irishman," he says with a laugh. "I suppose it's a compliment."
 
Judging by the authenticity of his latest film, Everybody's Fine, audiences might be equally surprised to learn Jones wasn't raised in middle-class America. A remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's 1990 film, Stanno tutti bene, the story centers on retired widower Frank Goode, played by Robert De Niro. When Frank's four grown children stand him up for a planned family BBQ, he embarks on a road trip across America to drop in on each one. Frank soon begins to realize his children are keeping secrets from him, and things are not as picture-perfect as they seem. It's one of De Niro's best performances in years as a blue-collar Everyman. "When you think about the legendary performances he's given, it seems impossible he's able to portray a regular, working-class father so convincingly," Jones admits. "So much so that people come out of the film and say, 'That's my dad.'"
 
How did Everybody's Fine come to you? Did you see the original first?
I did. It was a very unusual situation. Normally, I either develop my own ideas and I write them, or I get sent scripts, as in the case of Nanny McPhee. On this occasion, I received a DVD of a film that had already been made in 1990 by Giuseppe Tornatore. It was a very unusual experience for me to be offered a remake, and I have to say, I kind of enjoyed it. The whole process just became a lot simpler. I could sit and watch a movie that someone had already made and make a clear decision as to whether I wanted to get involved or not.
 
How long did it take you to make that decision?
Within minutes of watching the film, it really appealed to me. I've got three children, and I was very aware that the theme of family is probably the second-most accessible theme, behind the theme of love. Every other film or story or novel is about love. But the other thing everyone can connect to is family. I certainly connected to it very quickly.
 
Had you been eager to make an American film?
I'd been looking for a U.S.-based project for years, since Waking Ned Devine. I get sent a lot of scripts, which I find very difficult to connect to, like a high school comedy. I'd think, "Well, I could go over and I could do it and just look at it as a job, but I'd be handling a script that probably already had a dozen writers on it, and I don't think it's something I would feel passionate about." I'd been waiting for years, and when Stanno tutti bene was sent to me, I thought, "I can see myself relating to this, and if I can make it my own, it means I can go to the states and make a film that will feel like mine." I've seen a lot of directors make films that they don't seem very connected to when they come to the states. You hear all these stories of directors losing control of their projects, and I knew I wasn't immune to that situation, but I also knew if I wrote and directed it, I would ultimately have more control. The experience of working with the studio was actually fantastic and they were very respectful of my vision.
 
This is your first adaptation; how did you go about writing the script?
I always remember reading an interview with Anthony Mingella—he was a master at adaptations. He said something that surprised me. He said that when he adapts a novel, he'll read it twice and then put it aside and not got back to it all. After two or three reads, he feels he should know the work well enough to take it and develop it in his own style. So I think I only watched the original two, maybe three, times, and then I walked away from it. What I didn't want to do was just translate it, because I thought that would be pretty dull and it wouldn't feel like my project. And I don't think Giuseppe Tornatore would expect that of an adaptation. I haven't spoken to him or met him, but I think he would have encouraged me to make my own film.

What was the biggest challenge in writing the script?
I had the dilemma, because I was an Englishman, I realized this is an American story with American characters, set in modern-day America. I've been to the states a lot over the years, but mostly with work. So I took a flight to New York and I embarked on the journey Frank Goode took in the film. I went from New York to Pittsburg to Cincinnati to St. Louis to Kansas City to Denver, through the Rockies, through the San Rafael desert, and ended up in Vegas. That's roughly the route I took. I travelled on Greyhounds and did the whole thing and took about 2,000 photographs. It helped me develop a photographic style and see the United States in all of its incredible beauty. I did about 100 interviews; I would talk to anyone from hotel receptionists to cab drivers to guys in bars at night. I asked them a limited number of questions: what their thoughts on the environment, the president, and a couple of others. It was just four questions that would provoke conversations. I returned home to the U.K., really ready to take on my first American project.
 
Did you have Americans read the script for feedback?
When we started having read-throughs, I would hand the script to people and say, "Are there any English-isms in this? Is there anything here I've screwed up?" There were very few things. It was the odd word here or there, but in general, because I'd listened to the rhythm of how people spoke as I travelled, I think I was pretty close with the first couple of drafts.
 
What was the most difficult scene to write?
Without giving too much away, there's a point where we go to a dream sequence. I didn't want Frank to appear to be stupid in the movie, so I knew there had to be a confrontation scene where he says to his kids he's not stupid and he knows they're keeping things from him. At that point, his children need to say to him, "Just because we're not completely honest with you doesn't mean we don't care about you. Sometimes we feel the need to protect you and not disappoint you." I knew things needed to come to a head. The obvious way to do that would be for him to talk to his adult children, but I felt like I had seen that so many times before, it was so obvious. Throughout the film he's been trying to get everyone together for this BBQ. So why not have the BBQ, show them all together, but as young children? And it opened the opportunity for me to write incredibly honest dialogue, because children are very honest. They don't try to cover up. As we get older we become more polite and don't speak our minds. It was a way to get both the BBQ and have upfront conversations.
 
What is your writing process like: Do you have a set writing schedule?
I try to keep it to a daily, timed level, but I'm not always good. I'm sure I'm not the only writer in the world to say this, but the most difficult thing in the world is getting started. Sometimes I sit there and just can't get going, and other days you sit down and it completely flows. This is only my second official, produced screenplay, and I know myself better now than when I started writing Waking Ned Devine. I know some days will be good, and if the day is bad, I don't beat myself up about it. I used to. I used to feel so guilty. I'm trying to be a bit more grownup and stick to schedules, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I know I'll get there in the end.
 
What do you do if you encounter writer's block?
I find that the only way to get through it is to write, even if I write really stupid, bad stuff. Just get the fingers and the brain going. Once you stop and say, "I'm not going to write for another week," you get out of the rhythm of it.
 
What's up next for you?
I'm hoping to work with Robert De Niro again, and I think he's pretty keen, as well. There's a couple of projects I can't go into too many details about, but I'm trying to start a couple of them. Which would be a nice solution to not only making films more often, but also if I get writers block on one, I can switch to the others. That's the plan; I'm not sure how it's going to work out.

Jenelle Riley is mildly embarrassed about the depths of her love for Nanny McPhee.



Kirk Jones, Everybody's Fine courtesy Miramax

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