“We were thinking about a comedic version of Psycho,” said Justin Long, about his latest project, Lady of the Manor. “If an overbearing mother passed away, and she continued to haunt the guy, but not so it led to him murdering anyone, just in an obnoxious way.”
This idea morphed into more of a buddy comedy, involving Hannah, a ne’er-do-well, played by Melanie Lynskey and the ghost of a mansion, Lady Wadsworth, played by Judy Greer. The two meet when Lynskey’s character ends up working as a tour guide in the historic estate Greer’s character haunts.
“Christian and I grew up loving comedies like What About Bob? and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, so we knew that we wanted that to be the general tone,” said Justin, about comedies involving a straight man type and a more ridiculous character.
“This felt like our version of those movies we love. We never dared to put it on the level of those classics, but they inspired us,” said Christian. “It was our version, but with two really funny women. That was something we hadn’t seen.”
“People were surprised to see Melanie Lynskey in a stoner, fart-joke laden comedy,” joked Justin, “but I think she took to it and was excited to do something like that, because she hadn’t in the past. We know she’s funny and we’re excited for others to see it.”
Justin Long and Christian Long. Photo by Brian James/Lionsgate
In addition to Melanie Lynskey and Judy Greer, the comedy also features Ryan Phillippe, Patrick Duffy, Angela Alise, Luis Guzmán, and Justin Long stars in a supporting role as Max.
The Modern Buddy Comedy
As comedy movies move towards action-comedies and other sub-genres, the Long Brothers say comedies today need to be more specific. “It was hard for us [to get this made], because we had no frame of reference. We hadn’t made a feature before,” said Christian, who had worked on several shorts with Justin, including Trump Baby.
“We miss those movies,” said Justin. “The classic, odd couple set-up. And, we thought, how do we get as odd of a couple together as possible? We started to think about women of that era and how much has changed.”
To create the ghost character of Lady Wadsworth, the screenwriters found a book called The American Woman’s Home (1869) by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book is described as, “A comprehensive guide to elevate the honor and remuneration of domestic employment.”
Tanner Wadsworth (Ryan Phillippe) Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
“It’s a plot point in the movie, but the book was very popular and very progressive in its time. There’s a line where she says something like, ’Now a woman’s place isn’t just in the kitchen. She’s needed all over the house, in every room.’ It’s relegated to the house, but we started to think about the character as a woman from that time, interacting with a modern woman today.”
The writers also looked to Margaret Dumont, an actress who often played the straight role with the Marx Brothers. “Apparently, she was so straight she didn’t get their sense of humor, which made her the perfect straight person. She was so real and so good. We had a neighbor like that growing up. There has to be a balance or someone who amplifies the comedy.”
Meanwhile, Justin’s character Max somewhat represents the audience. “He does sort of represent a participant in this thing. He likes Melanie. He’s attracted to her right away. Melanie, as an actress, is charming and inherently likable, that she infused characteristics of the pot-smoking ne’er-do-well, and it’s actually charming.”
Supporting Characters
Justin’s character Max is a visitor of the Manor and a local Professor. When he meets Melanie’s character, she’s essentially making up facts as a tour guide. He calls her out, but also feels sorry for her. “She’s just winging it, but I’m charmed by her and want her to succeed,” said Justin.
As for the other roles, even though Justin and Christian casted several friends, they didn’t necessarily write with other actors in mind. “We wrote about people from our real life, who weren’t actors, like a neighbor or an ex-girlfriend. So we wrote something specific, and then had to find people to fit it.”
Luis Guzmán plays a bartender. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate
“Since the ghost element was heightened, we really wanted actors to ground the story,” they said. “I was proud of the script and thought it was funny, but there’s no way to have the chemistry without these two actresses. They performed it in a way that brought in a new dynamic. That’s the lucky element and that’s what makes the movie.”
Justin added, “They were so connected to one another that I was blind-sighted by how moving the ending actually was.” Christian added, “Judy Greer called it a ‘Fart-Warming Comedy,’ and there is that element. It’s heart, but it’s full of fart jokes. They brought real pathos to it.”
The writers also used the setting of Savannah, Georgia as a character for the Manor. “We love Savannah and the ghost history, but we actually shot it in Florida, in Tampa and St. Petersburg. There are parts of Tampa that looked like Savannah, which surprised us.”
“The history behind the house is a character in its own. That was another motivation for the story. We wanted to make it an affordable shoot, so we were trying to place an entire movie in one location, in this house. We didn’t succeed, but a lot of the movie takes place in the house and made it affordable.”
Writing Comedy
For this movie, the writers said they like to talk through the outline, map out the plot, and move the scenes around on a cork board. Then, they alternate scenes and do the writing separately.
“Sometimes there are no revisions, but sometimes we both punch it up or change things.” Justin is more long-winded where Christian is more efficient with words and editing, but their sensibilities and type of jokes are very similar. “We generally find the same things funny.”
As creatives moving from shorts to their first feature, the writers said if they could go back, they would have been more conscientious about the budget. “And more patient,” added Christian. “Not letting little things seem catastrophic. There are so many bumps along the road, where you feel like this is over or it’s falling apart. I would have told myself, ‘Don’t get so emotional about these roadblocks.’”
“Save money for music,” Justin added. “Lionsgate helped us out with that, but set aside money for music because it’s such a huge component and producers on low budget movies often short-change music, so you have to be diligent about that. We got lucky on that front.”
Finally, the writers said, “Don’t be afraid to reach out to people for advice. That ended up being invaluable. I had worked with actors and directors, and we leaned on friends for advice. So our advice is to get advice.”
This interview has been condensed. Listen to the full audio version here.
