George Gallo sold his first screenplay at age 19, despite not knowing anyone in the business. “The movie never got made,” he said about his bittersweet lucky break, “but I had a possible vocation as a screenwriter. Then I just started writing a lot of scripts.”
Eventually, one of Gallo’s scripts did get made. The comedy-crime movie Wise Guys, starring Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo, which revolved around two errand boys from the mob. This was the beginning of a string of popular action-comedies from the screenwriter/director.
“When you’re younger, these influences come into your life. As a teenager, you’re vulnerable and impressionable in this hyper state of discovery. There are a few movies like 1972’s The Hot Rock I saw that had a very lasting impression on me,” said Gallo.
Following the “tough movies with humor” category, Gallo eventually sold scripts for movies like Midnight Run, Bad Boys, The Whole Ten Yards, Middle Men, and most recently, Vanquish and The Comeback Trail.
Modern Challenges
Writing buddy comedies and crime comedies has been somewhat challenging over time as newer movies have newer technologies and more research to consider. “Because of my age, growing up with no computers or cell phones, my storytelling instincts are classical, and more structured. A lot of times, I’ll come up with an idea, but then I have to ask myself, can I get away with it today?”
Gallo added, “It is more difficult as we are certainly more observed than we were then. Cameras are everywhere. Everyone can track us through a cell phone. Cars have devices on them. In Vanquish, the whole film is about being watched.“
George Gallo
In his latest film Vanquish, a mother Victoria (Ruby Rose) is trying to put her dark past as a Russian drug courier behind her, but retired cop Damon (Morgan Freeman) forces Victoria to do his bidding by holding her daughter Lily (Juju Journey Brener) hostage.
The original screenplay came from Samuel Bartlett. Gallo came on as the Director and also worked on a rewrite. He brought in his friend Morgan Freeman to play the lead antagonist. Freeman and Gallo have now made three movies together.
“Once Morgan got on board, the storyline changed substantially. Still took place in one night. Still kidnapping. But the original draft, the Ruby character was more of a victim than she is in this version. I didn’t want to make a movie about a woman being victimized. I wanted her to be equally as badass as the men, if not more.”
Gallo wanted the movie to be more believable than perhaps a John Wick movie where hundreds of people get killed. He wanted the character of Victoria to be more relatable. “I love those films, but I wanted people to believe the universe they’re in.”
Writing Scripted Action
When writing an action sequence, some screenwriters go into great detail while others simply write “they fight” to describe a 5-minute battle. For Vanquish, the 93-minute movie came from a 65-page shooting script, so much of the action and style came on set.
“For movies like this, a lot of it is style. The movie I did before this is a big comedy. There is some action, but a lot of it is just dialogue.” He added, “With Vanquish, there’s a lot of time where Victoria pulls up on a motorcycle, walks into a creepy place, and then there’s 3-4 minutes of screen time with her gun down. That might be a half a page, but if you wrote every beat, it would be 3-4 pages.”
It’s hard to tell a financier that a 65-page screenplay will be 100 minutes long, so novice screenwriters might not be able to pitch a script this short on style alone. “They get used to thinking it’s a minute a page, but that’s not always the case. Luckily, the producers trusted me.”
Coincidentally, mainly due to the quarantine, Gallo actually has two movies coming out around the same time. The comedy described above is called The Comeback Trail, which stars Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Zach Braff, and Tommy Lee Jones.
The movie, which is shot more like a stage play, is somewhat of a mix between The Producers and Hooper. The description reads, “Two movie producers who owe money to the mob set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. But they wind up getting more than they ever imagined.”
“I’m lucky that I haven’t been stuck making the same movie over and over again,” joked the screenwriter about his upcoming releases.
Writing The Comeback Trail
“There’s always a danger of worrying too much if a character is going to be empathetic to an audience,” said Gallo about DeNiro’s character, who is a movie producer who wants to kill a stuntman on set for the insurance money. “I think you just have to make the character relatable. That’s all you really have to do. A person can act despicably in a comedy as long as you know their motivations. He’s so desperate that he’s not thinking straight anymore.”
About the character, Gallo said, “He’s a hustler and a pathological liar. But, to be honest with you, I’ve yet to meet a producer who’s not a pathological liar,” he joked. “It’s the nature of that beast. People look at you with sincerity, but they’re hustlers. That’s what they do for a living.”
Since DeNiro and Gallo go back to Midnight Run in the mid 80s, DeNiro knew the Grindhouse producers Gallo was referencing in the fictional movie. “We had both been victimized by these guys early in our careers.”
Damon (Morgan Freeman)
Since the character owes so much money his own life is in danger, it’s more relatable that he might be okay with watching a suicidal stuntman die. However, the scheme backfires, like any Mel Brooks-esque film would do.
Writing Original Screenplays
Over the years, Gallo said the model for the movie business has changed. “I’ve written a lot of screenplays that I couldn’t give away. I think some of the better things I’ve written never got made. But, it has changed a great deal—the model of the movie business.”
Back in the day, studios wanted original concepts, whereas now they want movies based on IP. “You say original screenplay today, people hide under their desks. Five or six years ago, I thought about retiring, because I like coming up with something new, but I got lucky in that I realized I could do original content by making independent movies.”
Making his own comeback trail, the idea was making small original movies. “I’m lucky that I can write an independent movie and call people that I’ve worked with. I can put together a good cast.” When he pitched The Comeback Trial, the studios said, “It’s funny, but nobody is going to make this movie.” Ignoring their advice, he called up a few actor friends and suddenly, he had a movie.
In terms of advice for novice writers, Gallo said, “Part of being a young writer is being stubborn. I was as stubborn as it got. It probably got me into trouble. But, as you get older, you realize other people are completely entitled to their points of view, but that comes with age.”
“I think if you respect the person you’re working with, it would certainly be wise to listen, unless the person you’re working with truly is an idiot, which can be the case sometimes. Making a movie is a learning process. There are a lot of pitfalls. Directors have ideas. Actors have ideas. It changes, but you have to be smart enough to maneuver through those things.”
Gallo concluded, “You have to be patient and realize that if someone is paying you a fortune for a screenplay, they’re going to have something to say about it. If you’re going to cash the check, you’ve got to go along with what’s coming.”
This interview has been condensed. Listen to the full audio version here.
