Definitely Adam

When I was but a film school pup, I traveled with a pack of future illustrious moviemakers that included editor Sally Menke (Pulp Fiction), Oscar-winning sound man Lee Orloff (Terminator 2), cinematographer Joey Forsyte (Naked in New York), producer Paula Mazur (Corrina, Corrina) and director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest).  Another member of this clan -- which spent inordinate hours figuring out which restaurant to go to and once ensconced in one, drank and ate film, film and more film until dawn -- was Adam Brooks.

Readers of this blog probably best know Mr. Brooks as the screenwriter of Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss, beloved by many rom-commers for Kevin Kline's indelible performance as a quintessentially Gallic con-man.   In addition to co-writing Bridget Jones 2, Wimbledon, and Beloved, Adam wrote and directed an adaptation of Jennifer Egan's novel The Invisible Circus in 2001, and has now auteur-ed arguably his most personal movie to date.  A passel of critics led by the NY Times' A.O. Scott, who only weeks ago was decrying the dearth of good romantic comedies, have declared his Definitely, Maybe to be "nimble and winning" and a "sparkling comic enchantment" -- while noting a strain of almost elegiac melancholy in its subtext.

I'd wager that the film's attempt to do something a little different with the romantic comedy genre is key to the reception it's received.  Meanwhile, its undertone of cineaste seriosity entwined with a mischievous playfulness seems to me to be very Adam Brooks -- who answered Living RomCom's questions about Definitely, Maybe this week via e-mail.

Your movie has an unusual structure and a fresh point of view in terms of what's considered the standard rom-com "formula." Did you consciously set out to tweak the traditional form?

Yes, in that I had just done a number of big rewrites on rom-coms and felt exhausted/bored/depressed with the ‘formula’. I wanted to surprise myself, keep myself interested, and have no idea what would happen. No, in that once I started writing I no longer thought very much about other films or the rules of the genre, I really tried to write within myself, if that makes any sense. When I teach screenwriting classes, I notice how quick students are to look for solutions outside themselves. They want hard and fast rules about when they should end the first act, how to structure the ‘b’ story, etc. etc. Okay, it’s a natural tendency, and writing is a scary, murky, stomach-churning process; but obsessing about rules is a distraction from the real work at hand. It also ignores a basic truth - that storytelling is practically genetic - conflict, heroes and villains, cliffhangers, the three act structure, I really think they’re all embedded in our sub-conscious. I don’t need to give Robert McKee a lot of my money to find out something I already know, if I just make the effort. Ask any parent who has told a bedtime story to their child.

How did the idea for your story develop? What is it about the character of Will that comes out of your own experience, passions and predilections?

I started with a couple of very broad notions. The first was ‘young man comes to the big city’. It’s an old story, especially in novels. The young man comes with all his ideals, dreams and immense ambition [In the movie, hero Will Hayes arrives in New York to work on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992.] -- to pursue his career and find true love. Which is what a lot of us do in that period after college until we're in our early thirties, when we have to come to terms with what has (or hasn’t) worked out professionally, and is also when we often settle down and start a family. It’s something I related to on a personal level. I came to New York to attend NYU film school and pursue my dream of being the next Truffaut. Meet cool wonderful exotic young women. Conquer the world. It didn’t work out badly, but it definitely didn’t work out the way I had planned.

The second notion I had was to write a love story that took place over many years - with ellipsis, unexpected twists and turns. Story lines in movies have become incredibly compact. Even when a story takes place over months, it often feels like it’s happening in a single breath. I miss films that feel more elongated, novelistic, that allow you to watch the characters evolve and then feel more invested in what happens to them.

The last ‘big’ story idea I had, a couple of months into writing, was what became the framework for the movie. Will, in the middle of a divorce, tells the tale of his youth to his ten year old daughter, as a kind of mystery love story [She has to guess which of three different women he got involved with became her mom.] By telling her his story, he comes to terms with something very important about himself, and his daughter comes to terms with what's happening to her family. Often romantic comedies are too focused on the basic boy meets girl of it all, and ignore the chance to create a real, complicated world around the particulars of the characters.

Let's talk about your writing process. How much is predetermined (i.e. outlined) and how much discovered in the writing? Did you always know, for example, which woman Will would ultimately end up with? Or did this change and surprise you over the course of a number of drafts?

I decided to completely change my writing process for this script. I didn’t outline the story, a first for me, and I had no idea which of the three women Will would end up with. When I started I didn’t even have the idea of the flashback structure. It was a bit scary, like not having a safety net, and it took a lot longer to write a first draft. But it was a very satisfying process and ultimately I think it paid off. Usually I write about 150 pages to get to a 120 page draft. With Definitely, Maybe I wrote well over 200 pages. I wrote sections in prose and then adapted them. I wrote in diary form. And for the first time ever I allowed myself to write badly. By which I mean I didn’t put the pressure on myself to write a good scene, just to write the scene - long, rough, and bad as it might be. It’s what I always tell my students, I decided to follow my own advice.

About halfway through the first draft (three months in) I stopped, totally confused and lost. I showed what I had to my wife and a few trusted friends. They gave me the encouragement to go on at a moment when I desperately needed perspective. When I started back in, confidence renewed, a mental outline for the rest of the story quickly and easily evolved, and I pretty much knew what would happen.

The movie features a stunning ensemble cast. What was it like to work with relative newcomers like Isla, and vets like Kevin Kline?

I got lucky with the cast - not just because there are a lot of wonderful actors in the film, but because they worked so well together, they complimented each other. I try to create a relaxed and safe environment for the actors so they can try anything, so that they can fall on their face in one take without having a nervous breakdown, and then find what they’re looking for two takes later. My other main rule was that I never wanted to hear the script. I didn’t want the writing to sound clever, or the humor to sound like jokes. I encouraged the actors to play with the words, to overlap, to mess it up. I think they were surprised and relieved that as a writer/director I wasn’t precious about what I had written. I told them not to worry, I would be happy to take credit for any fantastic or funny line they came up with. And they always would surprise me. Ryan and Isla especially. And Kevin Kline of course. Give him 5 takes, and sometimes he will give you five different readings. Tell him you like one in particular, he’ll never do it again.

How close is the finished movie to the one you originally envisioned? How did it change?

More than any other movie I have written, Definitely, Maybe turned out closest to what I had imagined, especially in the general feeling, pace, look and emotional palette. We were meticulous in preparing the design and choosing the locations, and about how we would portray New York visually over the 16 years the story takes place. That said, I decided early on not to have too narrow an idea about how the the scenes would play out. And because of that, the shoot was a very enjoyable process of both realization and discovery.

Thank you, Adam, for sharing all this with us re: Definitely, Maybe -- certainly not your same old cookie-cutter rom-com.

Comments

[E.C. Henry]

Saw "Definately, Maybe" over the weekend and was blown away at how creative the romantic plotting of this story was. Billy, tell Adam that all of his hard work totally paid off. "Defiantly, Maybe" gets my vote as the most original romantic comedy since Charlie Kaufman's "Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind." Yeah, I thought it was that good.

Isla Fishler's and Rachel (didn't think she had rom-com in her) Weitz performances are perfect. And Ryan Reynolds more than holds own as the lead.

The only real negative I walked away from "Definately, Maybe" was that I was hoping the characters with an inside postion to the Clinton election campain would shed some some light on what Bill was like behind closed doors. The story did have Jennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinski, BUT everyone in America is well versed with that. I was hoping for something deeper.

Anyway, Adam Brooks ROCKS! I hope his next project ends up being as special as "Definately, Maybe" is.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[Rachel Hauck]

Just came from the movie and loved it. Except we never knew whey "Emily/Sarah" and Will were getting divorced after finding each other a second time!

However, I loved the story. And will take some of Adam's advice for my own work.

Rachel

[Robin]

Thanks for that, I couldn't find an interview with him anywhere.

[The Big Snake]

Delightful film - wonderful cast. But I have to second Rachel's comment above. The huge gap in the story is the unexplained divorce. And in a film with a framing device designed specifically to explain to the daughter how the two of them got to where they are in their lives, it is an aching gap - almost to the point where I felt a reel was missing from the film.

[Janet]

I feel in love with Abigail Breslin (little Maya) while I was reviewing "The Ultimate Gift" a year and a half ago. I'm glad to see that her acting has continued to evolve since "Signs" and is still adorable at it. That said, I sometimes thought that her script wasn't true to her character... anyway...
I did like this movie. I have to agree with The Big Snake about the lack of explanation regarding the divorce, but overall the movie was (I thought) very original.

I absolutely loved Isla Fisher (April). I'm going to browse around and see what else she's been in. All the characters were quirky and complex. I only think that they might have worked with the script a little longer so that they fit the characters better.

[mernitman]

EC: The Clinton stuff is weirdly timely, isn't it? Not that Adam meant his movie to be a vote for Obama...

Rachel: Apparently you're not alone in raising that question...

(You're welcome, Robin!)

...given The Big Snake's take. Perhaps the answer lay in one of Adam's original 200 pages?

Janet: We heart Isla!

[Moviequill]

Thanks for a look inside the process -- I adore these

[sal]

Interesting post, thanks Billy.

I really enjoyed Definitely Maybe (but echo the "why divorce?" issue) and was amazed to find that the bloke behind it was also behind BJ2 and Wimbledon, which IMO are two of the worst and most painful romcoms of recent years

[free movie]

I love Adam Brooks and his films, he always success in accomplishing the story with lots of details that comes just to the right position in the end.