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| 'The Beaver' screenwriter Kyle Killen; talks about stalled Jodie Foster film playing SXSW | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 10 2011, 12:53 PM (268 Views) | |
| TitaniumX | Mar 10 2011, 12:53 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.austin360.com/movies/the-beaver-screenwriter-kyle-killen-talks-about-stalled-1309532.html 'The Beaver' screenwriter Kyle Killen talks about stalled Jodie Foster film playing SXSW Kyle Killen is on the best bad-luck streak of his life. His high-profile foray into television, 2010's signature Fox drama "Lone Star," was the first casualty of the fall season. And though his screenplay for "The Beaver" made the Black List an annual tally of the best unproduced screenplays that lands in the hands of Hollywood movers and shakers the fate of the Jodie Foster-directed film became uncertain when the film's star, Mel Gibson, had a spectacular public meltdown last summer. But the film is finally being released (it will premiere Wednesday at the SXSW Film Festival) and Killen has a new TV project — a one-hour drama pilot he's creating for NBC. The writer took time away from that project to discuss "The Beaver." Here is an edited version of that conversation: American-Statesman: How long ago did you write the script for ‘The Beaver'? Killen: It was in 2008. The story is, I had had some success — I had had some short stories published and was trying to do a collection. The agent who I was working with felt I needed one sort-of-long short story to finish the collection. So I had this idea for "The Beaver," which began as a short story. Then I got wrapped up in some other things. My wife got pregnant with twins and we sort of decided that ... I needed to earn money writing, not just get things published, or I needed to go on to something else. So, we sort of gave me that nine-month deadline. And the short story grew. It became a novel. At, like, five months into the pregnancy, I had hundreds of pages of this novel, but I was still very early on in the story. It felt like it was going to just spiral on forever, like I just kept typing without getting anywhere. So, I decided to make it into a screenplay — the discipline of having to do it in 100 pages, that just felt really easy compared with the hundreds of pages I'd already typed. And, of course, it wasn't; it's very difficult. I finished it a week before the twins were born and sold it a week after, and that sort of changed everything. How involved were you in the making of ‘The Beaver'? I spent a lot of time in pre-production working with Jodie on her thoughts and changes to the script. I was in New York, I think, for three weeks out of three months, visiting and just sort of soaking it in. Then, toward the end of that, "Lone Star" got picked up and took off, and then that kind of took over my life. I understand that you haven't seen the finished film. Do you have any thoughts on how you think it might have turned out? I've seen the trailer, and I've seen the early cuts of the film. I was able to be more involved until "Lone Star" took over my entire life. I think Jodie has achieved what she really hoped to set out to do. I think that Mel's performance — whatever people think of Mel — it's a pretty arresting thing to watch. It's hard not to look at it through the lens of what has gone on very publicly with him and, in a way, that adds a layer to what you're watching that I don't think you would get with any other actor. I mean, there's a way you think about what you're seeing that you just wouldn't have had he not had his own personal struggles. I don't know whether that will end up being a plus or a minus for the movie as a whole, but it's definitely something that keeps you transfixed. Do you think that the trailer for ‘The Beaver' is an accurate representation of the kind of film it is? From the subject matter, you'd think it would be quirky — a dark comedy. But the trailer makes it seem more like an inspirational drama. How would you describe the film? It is hard to boil down. So much of the tone of it is going to be in how it's finally cut, what music has been chosen and so on and so forth. All those choices matter. I would say it's unlikely that — I just know how involved Jodie is and how specific she is — it's unlikely she wanted them to put out a trailer that didn't represent the film that she was making. So I think that inspirational sort of drama is exactly what — I imagine that's how she would describe it. But that's probably a question for her. And I wouldn't be, you know, inasmuch as you can have an inspirational drama about a man with a beaver puppet, I suppose that's not an inaccurate description. Why has it taken so long for this movie to come out? I guess that's something you'd have to ask Summit (Entertainment, the film's distributor). My guess is that when you've invested an incredible amount of money in something that you care about and you're going to have to invest an incredible amount more in promoting it, you want to know that the situation is one in which you have the best hope that people will be able to see and enjoy the film for what it is. And I think that probably meant they felt like they needed to wait and just sort of see how the situation developed. What are you going to be doing at SXSW besides showing the film? Are you doing a Q&A? The (NBC) pilot is scheduled to shoot right at the same time. Regardless, I'll be here for the film. I wouldn't miss that. But beyond that, I haven't actually built an itinerary. droe@statesman.com; 912-5923 ————————————————— ‘The Beaver' premiere When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 Where: Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave. Information: Open to SXSW Film badge holders and pass holders. If seats remain, individual tickets will be available for $10. SXSW recommends arriving one hour or more ahead of screening time for the best chance of obtaining tickets. |
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| Andreas | Mar 12 2011, 10:30 AM Post #2 |
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Administrator
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Thank you!! |
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| ohman | Mar 14 2011, 10:25 AM Post #3 |
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Will Jodie join the premiere in Texas? I thought she is still busy for a while in Paris?? |
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| themoviequeen | Mar 14 2011, 03:18 PM Post #4 |
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I had read early on that Jodie would appear at the premiere of The Beaver at SXSW. If Carnage has truly wrapped then it could be even more likely. What is absolutely killing me is that I'm only an hour and a half away from where it will premiere but the cost of attending is $$$$$$$ and the hordes of people and impossible parking in a heavily congested downtown area make it next to impossible...
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| Artful_Dodger | Mar 14 2011, 03:59 PM Post #5 |
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Same here
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| leslieUK | Mar 14 2011, 08:33 PM Post #6 |
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Are you sure you don't want to try and go? I thought it was a given that shed be there, I think I read it somewhere again only a few days ago? There were saying Mel Gibson wouldn't be attending but Jodie would.
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| leslieUK | Mar 14 2011, 08:59 PM Post #7 |
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I couldn't find it... hmm... But I did find the following article, stating that the Polanski film has wrapped so Im sure Jodie will attend the festival, what do you guys think? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1365951/RICHARD-KAY.html Kate raises a glass to Polanski in Paris at end-of-filming party Kate Winslet was less than two when Roman Polanski was arrested in California and charged with unlawful sex with a minor. To avoid jail he fled to Europe and has lived in France ever since. As a result the 77-year-old director of The Pianist, The Ghost Writer and Oliver Twist will be unable to celebrate the launch of his latest movie God Of Carnage in Hollywood, as has been the pattern for the past three decades. But Kate, 35 who stars in his screen version of Yasmina Reza’s play about parents who row over their children’s behaviour, raised a glass to Polanski in his adopted home of Paris as they celebrated an end-of-filming party. She was joined at Le Reservoir club by Jodie Foster and John C Reilly, who helped Kate to lift the diminutive Polanski off the floor and swing him about the room. Polanski didn’t look in the least bit perturbed. But then it’s a lot better than a tap on the shoulder from the U.S. marshals department.
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| celluloidkid | Mar 15 2011, 02:43 AM Post #8 |
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SXSW sent out a press release for The Beaver to underline the fact that there will also be some kind of mental health event with live bands in conjuction with the screening. And they confirmed that Jodie and Anton Yelchin would be there. No word about Mel, but if he is going they'd probably want to keep that a secret. |
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| Gogo | Mar 15 2011, 08:36 AM Post #9 |
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observation: Is it me or did they go all the way around to make sure it mentioned that Polanski can't be in the US because of the allegations?
Edited by Gogo, Mar 15 2011, 08:40 AM.
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| ohman | Mar 15 2011, 11:44 AM Post #10 |
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Do you really think, that Carnage is already done?? I thought I could go to Paris to have a look becaus I Imust go there anyway in two or three weeks...
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4:46 PM Jul 11
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Same here

There were saying Mel Gibson wouldn't be attending but Jodie would.

4:46 PM Jul 11