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| Allison Janney and Chris Cooper in Everything's Going To Be Great |
Scottish director Jon S Baird and American screenwriter Steven Rogers' Everything's Going To Be Great is set in the world of regional theatre. It's a story about chasing one's dreams while contending with the challenges life throws at you. Buddy (Bryan Cranston) and Macy Smart (Allison Janney) try to raise their two sons, while Buddy keeps his dream on track and Macy keeps the family together.
Baird's previous credits include the adaptation of Scottish writer Irvine Welsh's novel Filth, the comedy-drama minseries Stonehouse, about a politician played by Matthew Macfayden who fakes his own death, and episodes of Babylon, Feed The Beast, and Vinyl, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger.
Rogers has written screenplays for I, Tonya, P.S. I Love You, Christmas With The Coopers, and was the series creator of Mike, about the turbulent life of pro boxer Mike Tyson.
In conversation with Eye For Film, Baird and Rogers discussed identity and perception in the film industry, finding actors who understand the nuances of storytelling, and a shared curiosity in the human condition.
Paul Risker: What compelled you to believe in this film and decide to tell this story at this particular point in time?
Steven Rogers: This one was sort of autobiographical, and so, there's a lot of that in there. My dad produced regional theatre for a living, and I hadn't really seen that in a movie before.
I had written a movie called I, Tonya, which is a true story, and after that I was only offered true stories. I thought, well, why don't I just do one that's based on my experiences growing up. So, that sort of pushed me forward, I guess.
Jon S Baird: Well, I wanted to be an actor when I was growing up. I grew up in a fishing port and didn't have much excitement in my youth in terms of theatre, film and such — it was my little secret that I wanted to be an actor.
I was obsessed with musical theatre, and I eventually chased my dream. I moved to London and worked in the TV industry and now in film. So, when I read this script, a lot of it resonated with me in terms of never giving up on your dreams, dealing with family tragedies and finding a place that you feel you belong. All of these themes that were in Steven's script I responded to, and it was very easy for me to say yes to this film.
PR: Jon, how do you see the way Everything's Going To Be Great fits into what appears to be a diverse filmography?
JB: My first film [Cass] was about football hooligans, the second was an Irvin Welsh adaptation and the third film was a true story about two comedy legends [Stan & Ollie]. Then I did Tetris. I just enjoy watching different kinds of movies. I think it might have been the worst decision I ever made to do different films, because producers are like, "Who is this guy? What does he do?"
I'd look at actors who do a lot of different genres, and I thought to myself, 'Why can I not do that as a director?' But I've definitely enjoyed my career up to this point, and all the films that I've made are the kinds of films that I would go and see. This one's particularly special to me because of the experience we had making it. Steven is such a brilliant collaborator — he's egoless. The producers were supportive, and I felt as though they had my back. And the studios, eOne and Lionsgate, have been incredibly supportive as well.
In terms of stylistically or thematically, it's very different from what I've done before. But in terms of the filmmaking experience and the family that we created doing it, I think it's at the top for me.
PR: The film brings together a wonderful cast of actors. Did any of the cast reveal things about the characters or story that you didn't see in the writing or early development stages?
JB: When we shot the film, it was the writers' strike, and so, Steven unfortunately wasn't allowed to come on set. I'm sure he can talk about whether, from script to screen, he saw something different.
SR: I remember that when we were talking about casting, we were celebrating producer Scott Morgan's engagement, and we were talking about the part that Allison [Janney] ended up playing. We were talking about different actors, and I said, "You know who would be great, is Allison Janney", because we had just done I, Tonya together. Scott was staring hate rays at me, and I said, "No, no, because in real life, my mom was much younger than my dad." Scott said that it was literally one line in the script, and not even a good line, so why don't we just cut it?
Allison, as far as I'm concerned, is the best actor we have — she's a treasure, and so is Bryan Cranston. Both of these actors are experts at comedy and drama and everything in-between. And, you know, when I'm writing something, I don't want to just write a comedy or just write a drama, because I feel life is so much more than that. It's comedy and drama, and that's why those comedy and tragedy masks are right next to each other. So, I was just trying to think of people who were very talented at both.
JB: Also a special mention for Chris Cooper, who I was astonished by. I've never seen a crew react to an actor like when we saw Chris Cooper in the flesh. He was absolutely astounding.
PR: Are storytellers naturally curious people with an interest in human nature?
SR: That's why I want to be a storyteller, and it's not a knock-on superheroes or this and that, but I'm more interested in the human experience. And even though my experience was not everyone else's, there are elements about it that are universal.
Everyone has an odd family, it's not just me, and that universality goes back to the cavemen, where they were sitting around the campfire telling stories. That hasn't changed because that's part of our DNA.
JB: I was just thinking about what you asked earlier about my filmography, and although the films that I have done, on the face of it, have been very different, I think there's an element that connects them, which is in the humanity. Even in Filth, which is quite a wild ride, it's about this guy who's scrambling around in the dark to find the light switch. And a lot of that seems to be a human theme or about the human condition and why we love and why we want to be loved. I suppose if I break down the films, there's an element of that in them. Thank you for making me think about that.
Everything's Going To Be Great is released in select theatres June 20th.
