“Home Alone In The Bat Cave” Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost, & Josh Koenigsberg Talk ‘Secret Headquarters’

We get it. Your dad’s always got some feeble excuse about why he can’t spend time with you. But what if he has a really cool excuse for his persistent absence? Is he really a bad father? We’re listening…

Screenwriting trio Ariel (Rel) Schulman (Nerve), Henry Joost (Project Power), and Josh Koenigsberg (High Fidelity) spoke to Creative Screenwriting Magazine about cowriting Secret Headquarters – their foray into the superhero genre. The original screenplay was written by Christopher Yost, known for his work on the Thor franchise, but ruminated for severa in development limbo.

“Although there was technically source material to Secret Headquarters, there was no background comic, no mythology, or best selling novel,” began Rel. Yost’s story had a solid foundation about a boy who found out that his father was secretly a superhero – hence the extended, unexplained work trips and last minute cancellations. “The idea of growing up with an absent parent who’s always working and you long for them to be around more is emotionally interesting,” he continued. Jack Kincaid’s (Owen Wilson) moonlighting secret is finally revealed when his son Charlie (Walker Scobell) and his friends discover the secret headquarters is beneath his dad’s house. Perhaps Charlie may never have discovered it if Jack had actually been there taking care of him during his access weekend?

Henry Joost and Rel Schulman. Photo by @blvxmth

The initial screenplay was more contained and it mainly took place within the walls of the secret headquarters. “Paramount, Jerry Bruckheimer, and the three of us writers wanted to expand it,” Schulman continued. “What would happen if Charlie Kinaid took the gadgets he found with his friends and took them to school?” How would his dad,  react? Would Charlie be grounded for life? Not quite. But Jack has some explaining to do.

“The concept of the source material was a total slam dunk,” added Henry Joost. “Jerry Bruckheimer’s original pitch for the film was Home Alone in the Bat Cave.” The writers honored that mission and went to work.

“When we first read Chris Yost’s draft it was a little claustrophobic despite its solid foundations of character and story,” Joost continued. The writing team was in synch and embarked on an ambitious eight-week rewriting journey in collaboration with Bruckheimer. No pressure!

“By moving action away from the headquarters, we got to spend time with the kids to set them up and find out what was at stake for each of them,” added Josh Koenigsberg. “They were all part of a Goonies/ Stand By Me/ ET posse where each kid had their own individual skills.” As the story progresses and certain gadgets were taken away from them, they had to rely on their skills to survive. “They had make choices and either grow or stay the same and always be afraid of everything in life.”

Josh Koenigsberg

The kids were just about to enter high school and this set the tone for Secret Headquarters.

In a nod to big action movies, Josh also cited Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade as creative inspiration. The reference to the father-son high-stakes dynamic in which Indy and his dad shared a moment as they were tied up back to back as the world was burning around them lent itself beautifully to Secret Headquarters. “Indy and his dad shared what annoyed them about each other while the building was on fire. Let’s compartmentalize that and figure out a way out,” said Josh.

“Jerry [Bruckheirmer] also pushed the characters into the Indiana Jones space. Don’t resolve the conflicts too early or easily, because that’s what’s keeps you watching. If you resolve them too soon, the movie’s over,” said Henry. The writers found a way to bake this idea into the action so that “the action is always based in character.”

Although the issue of parental absenteeism isn’t fully resolved by the end, Jack and Charlie reach an understanding and learn to trust each other again in a mature way.

Same But Different

Despite the winks to adolescent coming of age and big action movies, Secret Headquarters is still a superhero movie. “We don’t want to be compared to the DC and Marvel universes because they do what they do so well,” commented Schulman. “Audiences will inevitably draw comparisons, so we leaned towards comedy – a send up. We cast everyone for their sense of humor.” This included giving Owen Wilson and Argon (Michael Peña) dad bods rather than washboard abs. Moreover, Secret Headquarters isn’t so much about a superhero, but more about the son of one who contends with his father lying to him his entire life.

“It’s a self-aware superhero movie,” added Koenigsberg. “There were Iron Man, Green Lantern and Batman elements all rolled together in the stew.”

Secret Headquarters began its life with a PG-13 rating and later demoted to the PG arena to broaden its audience. The differences between the two ratings are nuanced, but both issue a “parental guidance” warning as some material may not be suitable for children. The former is a stronger warning. A test screening revealed that most parents preferred a PG rating. “That was its natural state,” declared Joost. “We channeled our memories of being kids and big movie fans into it. We thought about our past selves and what we want to see on screen.”

Jack Kincaid (Owen Wilson) Photo by Hopper Stone/ Paramount Pictures

The success of Secret Headquarters relies on balancing big superhero action sequences with warm family-friendly character moments. Since the producers could only secure Owen Wilson for a limited number of days on set at the beginning and the end of the shoot, it was imperative to get those sparse moments correct given that the film is largely told from Charlie’s perspective. Ironically, this allowed Charlie to deal with his absent father issues alone.

“Every character’s journey had to make sense from their point of view,” said Henry Joost. “Jack has been given a power source that gives him the ability to be a superhero. He decides that this isn’t something Charlie needs to know about right now. You can see how the lie builds as it becomes increasingly difficult to come clean.” Jack’s persistent absenteeism eventually took its toll on his marriage. “You can also understand why Charlie is upset and understands that he doesn’t always need his dad around. They needed to compromise and they’re both right.”

The best compromise is one when both parties are dissatisfied

There cannot be a perfect resolution to this conflict. Jack was thrust into the superhero world and wants to create a better world for Charlie. He also can’t always be there for him.

“Charlie’s friends and his mother Lily Kincaid (Jessie Mueller) should constantly bring up these parenting issues throughout the film,” said Schulman. “We were looking for ways to make his dad feel present without actually being there. By the end of the film, Jack and Charlie’s stories merged.”

This merger of points of view occurred at the suggestion of Jerry Bruckheimer. Josh Koenigsberg called it the “Dell Of Bruck. The act three stakes aren’t about something, they are about someone. It’s not about the city that’s being destroyed. It’s about the person in the city that will also be destroyed. You need that level of specificity.”

Big Bruckheimer movies like Armageddon are really about those small, tearful, intimate moments more than an asteroid crashing into earth,” said Rel Schulman.

Jack Kincaid (Owen Wilson) and Charlie (Walker Scobell) Photo by Hopper Stone/Paramount Pictures

A key moment in Secret Headquarters is when Jack is so distant, he forgot Charlie was left-handed when he gave him his right-handed baseball glove.

What About Charlie’s Mom?

Charlie’s mother Lily is also integral to the story because she knows what Jack’s up to. She even obliges Jack by keeping his secret from their son. “We didn’t want to have the mom at home worried all the time and nagging Jack. We wanted a more realistic dynamic between two separated parents. They are two people we like who drifted apart,” said Henry. Much of their relationship occurred off-screen. “In the beginning, when Jack acquired the [power] orb, they were collaborators, but eventually the toll and responsibility of being a superhero got too much.” This part of the story was conveyed in minimal scenes.

“Lily couldn’t just be a plot device,” added Josh Koenigsberg. “She had to feel lived in.” Her main point of conflict was in deferring to Jack as the best way of revealing the news to Charlie. “Maybe the truth that she wants to reveal to Charlie isn’t the same as Jack’s?“

by Staff Writer

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