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Billy Morrissette gave up a career acting in front
of the camera to step behind it to write and direct his debut feature,
Scotland, PA.
Many of Hollywood’s most accomplished directors owe
their success behind the camera to their experience as actors in front of
the camera. Screenwriter/director Billy Morrissette spent 12 years acting
in film and television. His film credits include
FOR THE BOYS, PUMP UP THE VOLUME
and NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VEGAS VACATION,
and he also appeared in numerous television series including Party of
Five, Mad About You, and Family Ties.
Originally from South Windsor, Connecticut, Morrissette
got the idea for an adaptation of Macbeth that takes place in a fast
food restaurant from his school job working at the local Dairy Queen. He
eventually shelved the idea because he was unable to raise the necessary
funds to produce the project on his minimum wage salary of $3.25 an hour.
Twenty-two years later, Morrissette shared the idea for
SCOTLAND, PA with his wife,
actress Maura Tierney (E.R.) who thought his black comedy retelling of
Shakespeare’s Macbeth sounded brilliant. He completed the script and
presented it to Tierney’s former NYU classmate, producer Richard Shepard,
who then signed on to the project.
The strength of the script eventually attracted several
notable actors including Christopher Walken, Andy Dick and James LeGros.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001 and was picked up
for distribution by Lot 47.
What made you decide to become a writer/director?
It was very simple. I was a bitter actor. I was a
troubled little actor driving around L.A., and an idea that I thought of
years ago came back to me and I decided to buy a computer and write it. I
started writing and I loved it. It was really fun, but the process of
making an independent film is not so fun.
The reaction that I got from people was really nice and
positive and it was so thrilling not to be an actor anymore because it was
so horrible, especially when you’re a bad actor (laughs).
When I was younger and I became an actor I had such
passion for it, and ironically, for Shakespeare. It was the first stuff I
really got into and I had such passion and then I sold my soul, I went to
L.A. and I did very bad television. I did so much bad work that I totally
lost my passion for acting.
Then when I started writing it was great, I loved doing
it, and it made me feel like I felt years ago as an actor and in the same
exact way the new passion came back. Directing was exhausting and
impossible and I was scared to death and I’m going to do it again.
It’s so funny because writing is so lonely. You spend
so much time alone and then directing there are thousands of people all
around you. It was an amazing process. I was so lucky to be able to have
the chance to do this and I’m just so happy with it. I’m happy if anybody
likes my film so that I can do it again.
Christopher Walken, who was in the film said to me, ‘I
was really happy about you being an actor because I find when directors are
actors they can connect with actors better.’
Which is probably why so many great directors were
also actors.
That was the best time for me when I was working with
the actors. Because as an actor you know the needs of an actor more, you
have more compassion for it and what they’re going through and what they
need.
Especially with an independent film you make them sit
around for five hours and then you shove them up there and it’s all so fast
and we have no money and it becomes such a labor of love.
SCOTLAND, PA
was in the Dramatic Competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. How was
your Sundance experience as a first time writer/director?
I hated the competition and I loved Sundance. I loved
it, all those people together. You hear all this stuff about how it’s so
Hollywood now, but when you’re in that group of directors it’s all so
wonderful. Everyone’s just thrilled to have their movie seen and it’s so
exciting and the theaters are great and the people are great and the town is
great. It was unbelievable that we were there. We couldn’t believe that we
were actually there.
I wish there wasn’t a competition. I sound like a
bitter writer/director because we didn’t win, but it’s too bad that in the
end, rather than having a banquet that just salutes everyone, I wish we were
all just films being shown and just had a party at the end. After all that
you’re exhausted and you can’t help going, ‘Oh, I want to win,’ and then
you’re disappointed! (Laughs.)
It was so exciting, it was such an honor and so great,
I just wish awards didn’t exist.
Was your distributor, Lot 47, involved in the
project after Sundance or during the festival?
Our audiences were so great to our movie and Lot 47
wanted it immediately, but what happened was the producers involved were
holding off a bit and then by April [2001] we signed with Lot 47. Because
of that it kind of put things behind, and Lot 47 was debating putting us out
in the fall [of 2001] or in the winter [of 2002] and they chose winter.
In light of what happened in fall 2001, winter 2002
was the best choice.
I know now.
Why Scotland, Pennsylvania?
I grew up in a little suburban town called South
Windsor, Connecticut, which is pretty much what I wrote the movie after.
Every time somebody says, ‘Connecticut’ they sound rich and I didn’t grow up
rich. Whenever I’ve driven through Pennsylvania, we live in L.A. and New
York – we’ve gone back and forth for years – there are so many strangely
named towns in Pennsylvania. It seemed so natural and parts of it are so
rural that Pennsylvania seemed perfect.
But the film was shot in Nova Scotia.
We shot in Nova Scotia because I thought there’d be a
lot of fog and then we didn’t have a foggy day. We had a lot of fog during
pre-production and the sunniest time I’d ever seen during the shoot.
Why are you bi-coastal rather than simply staying in
Los Angeles or New York?
There’s just no letting go. We can’t let go of New
York. We just refuse to, we love it so much, my wife and I.
It’s the old story, L.A. versus New York, but we just
never could let go. It’s always nice to know it’s there. It was extremely
hard this year because we couldn’t get back until October and when this
happened [the terrorist attacks] we never felt so far away. It was a very
odd feeling.
What inspired you to write a black comedy adaptation
of Macbeth?
The main reason is whenever I’ve seen the play and –
please don’t take this wrong because I love Shakespeare – but whenever I’ve
seen Macbeth, and it’s famous for this it fails every time. When you
do the play as an actor you’re not supposed to say the word Macbeth
because it’s cursed. You’re supposed to say, ‘That Scottish play,’ because
it always fails. I’ve always thought that Macbeth fails because as
soon as the second act is over you just want the Macbeth’s to be murdered
because they are awful people and they’ve killed and you just want them
dead. I think the play drags a bit because of that so I want them to be a
good time and a partying couple who we kind of root for a little bit. A
couple of people have told me that they actually find themselves really
liking the couple. The only way to like the murderers is to make it a
little fun. I swear the first time I read [Macbeth] I found it funny
that everybody had ‘Mac’ in their name. It was a reaction I had and I
always thought it belonged in a fast food restaurant.
Have the similarities between McBeth’s and
McDonald’s caused any problems?
It’s amazing when you make a film every singles thing
has to be cleared. From the beginning about McDonald’s the idea was always,
‘You would love for them to sue you,’ (laughs) which to me is not a
great statement. But everybody said, ‘Oh, you want that kind of press,
that’s perfect.’ I was like, ‘All right you guys, I’m not in charge of this
so let’s cross our fingers.’ I think they should take our movie and put it
in their Happy Meals and make little cups with Maura Tierney’s face on it.
Everybody knows how Macbeth is going to end,
but somehow you are able to keep the audience wondering. How did you
approach the adaptation to keep it fresh and original?
I read the play many, many times and I kept reading it
over and over again and each time I did I would find things. More than
anything I found it simple. I found that that story – of course it’s
Shakespeare – was so perfectly structured that it was simple to adapt it.
It was so simple to make it modern. One of my favorite things is the
relationship between Macduff and Duncan’s son Malcolm. It’s as if he wrote
it this year, there is a modern relationship between the two of them because
one had just lost his father and the other one is away from his family and
there’s this strange connection. I think when the play is done everybody
tries to make a little something out of it. I think George Wolf at The
Public Theater even made them lovers.
When I see our movie and I see the scene between
Macduff and Malcolm I think, ‘Wow, isn’t that amazing.’ I’m watching this
and it’s all Shakespeare, it was all there already this relationship between
these two, and when he says, ‘So, Mr. Duncan,’ to Malcolm I always get
little chills and think, ‘Oh, my God, this guy wrote it 400 years ago and
here it is, exactly the way I think that he wanted it in the first place,’ I
guess what I’m trying to say is that I found that it’s such a great play and
it’s such an insanely talented man who wrote it that adapting it was a
breeze to me. It came so easily to me then I stole from about twelve
Columbo episodes, which also made it easier. And of course my life, all
I remember in the 70’s was Bad Company and Camaros and that’s what I wanted
there.
But you also managed to include so many other
details from the 70’s like Rock Blocks and Fondue.
I drive my wife crazy, but those are the kinds of
things that I can’t get out of my head, but I don’t remember when she told
me to pick up the clothes from the cleaners yesterday. My memory has Fondue
in it and things like that. It’s weird the things that stay with you.
Why did you decide to set the story in the 70’s?
There are two main things. One is when I remember a
drive-thru showing up in my little town. I remember it like it was
yesterday. I remember how exciting it was that we could drive-thru. My
town is much bigger now, but it was a small town. Now everything is
everywhere, Starbucks – we’ve crossed the country so many times because
we’re bi-coastal and you could literally watch the states all become the
same. Everything is everywhere. Banana Republic is everywhere; all those
things now are just everywhere. Everything is so homogenized and in the
70’s I felt that still there were those little places that didn’t know about
a lot of things. There still was this one fast food restaurant in the whole
town. It seemed like long enough away – not to mention the fact that it was
also a hard time because of the recession. I wanted the McBeth’s to be in
this place that they needed to move up because nobody had any money. I
wanted it to be rough. I didn’t want to get into the gas lines or Vietnam
or anything, but I just wanted the feeling that everything was wrong,
clothes, money, everything just was a problem.
When you were writing the script did you have your
wife Maura Tierney in mind to play the role of Mrs. McBeth?
No. The funny thing is I was thinking more of a sort
of Holly Hunter in RAISING ARIZONA sort of crazier, insane thing at first then I
started writing it then all of a sudden I realized I’ve got Maura Tierney
here in my house. It was funny that within a month or so I realized that I
was writing it for her. Of course she was perfect for this – I don’t now
why I was thinking bigger or odder and then all of a sudden I completely
started writing it for Maura.
You originally wanted James LeGros to play Joe
“Mac” McBeth, but did you have Christopher Walken in mind for Macduff?
We would kill to have him, but he always seemed so
untouchable. He was in a play that closed in New York and he got the script
then he called me. He said, ‘I really like the idea of playing a nice guy.
No one ever gives me roles as nice guys.’ We had such a great talk and then
he decided to do it. He was incredible. He was just hysterical in it.
When I wrote Macduff I always wrote it much more
casually like whatever a quirky actor wants to bring to it. I always
thought he could be anything. He could be younger, he could be
African-American, and instead I got Christopher Walken. When we were
getting him we were just out of your minds, we were so happy, then I was
scared to death, and he was wonderful.
And directing Christopher Walken for your first
film –
His script was full of notes and he talks about so
many specific things and it’s wonderful. He does crazy things. He dances
in the movie and I didn’t write that. That was the first day of shooting
and he was dancing.
When you’re working with a cast that is so talented
–
It makes your job easier.
Had you written screenplays before
Scotland, PA?
No, I didn’t have a computer. This is the first thing
I ever wrote. I was very lucky.
How did you learn the craft of screenwriting?
I have two close friends who are writers. I told them
I was going to do [Scotland, PA ]
and they told me to get Movie Master, which I still use and it’s
about 100 years old compared to what everybody else uses. I wrote what must
have been a horrible first draft and then I sat down with them and Maura and
a couple of other friends. As an actor I had seen a lot of scripts so I had
an idea exactly how it was done. But basically I just had a roundtable
discussion with friends and they said, ‘Okay, you want to stay away from
this, this and this.’ Plus I was very lucky because structure-wise I had
William Shakespeare, so you get a little edge there. He helped me a lot.
One of the benefits of making a film independently
is you avoid the whole development process with all the notes and the
possibility of being replaced and the whole issue of studio interference.
Yes. We were in heaven since there was none of that.
I would love to continue this way. I’ve heard so many horror stories about
all the other stuff. It would be great to just make independent films for
the rest of my life.
Is being bi-coastal or living in Los Angeles
necessary for actors and writers?
If Maura weren’t on E.R. we wouldn’t live here
now. We would be coming out here a lot. I’m sure anybody would tell you
absolutely it is, but as a writer I would be out of here in two minutes. I
don’t understand the point. I guess if you’re making studio films you have
meetings, but you know, get on a plane.
People say when you’re not in L.A. you’re out of the
loop.
I certainly don’t think so. There probably is that
cloud over you if you’re not there in the middle of it, but it would be fine
with me to leave.
Especially if you’re writing independent projects or
spec scripts and you really don’t want to be a studio writer or rewriter.
Right and not doing those high-powered pitches.
When you’re writing do you think about what sells?
No, and I should.
Why do you say that?
Because I’m trying to get a film financed [laughs].
I should start selling out right now. But no I don’t. I don’t even think
of actors which is really weird because everybody says, ‘What actor are you
thinking of?’ and I always say, ‘I wasn’t really thinking of an actor when I
wrote this.’ Besides Maura I didn’t really write for anybody. When we
started talking about actors I knew exactly who I would want, but I didn’t
write the parts for actors.
It seems like many of the movies coming out of
Hollywood these days are about pairing this Oscar winner with that Oscar
winner with no regard to whether the actor works in the part.
Yeah and you think of
SNOW DOGS [laughs]. I think
they’re in trouble the day the script was written. A thing I learned
getting through the audition process on the other side was for this one
little part, this inept cop in SCOTLAND,
PA that Christopher Walken works with. I saw seven great actors who
were hysterical in it and one of them walked in and was exactly what I was
looking for, but I had to tell seven great actors that they’re not getting
the job. Some people are just right for it and some aren’t; they’re good,
but if you’re really truthful about it all, it would all be unknowns in my
opinion. I hate seeing the same actors in everything.
Good writing means focusing on what the character
wants rather than on writing what a name actor would want to perform.
I don’t see it any other way. It doesn’t make sense to
me. That’s such an exciting thing about writing. When you start writing
you start really loving these characters like you do the character when
you’re acting. It’s such an exciting process when you get to know them.
I find that you definitely need a basic structure, but
I find that a lot of different things happen once I understand the
character. Just like in acting when you really get to know a character you
can find so many elements of it. What I’m finding when I’m writing is that
if I start to really get them and see what’s happening with him or her, I
find it will change the story somewhat. It’s a nice process that way if
they’re not working you have to kill them or get rid of them.
Do you plan to return to acting at some point?
No I’m done. It’s so exciting not to want to do it.
Even if you write a character that you really want
to play?
I don’t know. Writing and directing was so much
nicer. I’m thrilled to stay away from it.
Unlike most adaptations of Shakespeare you avoid
using dialogue from the play, opting to include bits and pieces of more
familiar lines in Scotland, Pa.
Was that done to make it more accessible to a general audience?
All I wanted to do at he beginning was to get the story
down. I actually was thinking about me because I’m a bit of a geek about
Shakespeare because I really love it and I didn’t want to write it just for
me. It’s so easy to put every reference – I think in my first draft I did a
lot of that. Then I thought ‘I don’t need this. Why not be subtle about
this.’ The theme was enough. Everything is there and putting it in just a
little bit works so much better. Most people know the story, they know it’s
about greed, they know there’s murder in it. That’s about as far as they
go. Not that I was writing for a mass audience, but I didn’t want to write
for only people who knew the play. I thought that was boring and I thought,
‘You know what? You know the play then who the hell cares.’
One of my writer friends and the one person whose
advice I didn’t take said, ‘You’ve got a really good story here why don’t
you cut out this whole Shakespeare thing.” Well, I said, ‘I’m not going
that far.’ I really was trying to avoid that and in fact there are parts of
the movie that were cut out that were even a little too Shakespearean. It
started to get away from the story and sound a little more like Shakespeare
when we really didn’t need to do that. I wanted to stay in my weird
reality.
Do you have any closing thoughts or advice you’d
like to share?
I would say to anybody who is thinking about
screenwriting, if you don’t have one buy a computer and give it a shot. We
ended up having such a great time and there are so many people you can steal
from. Pick up some [Anton] Chekhov, pick up some Jane Austen and you’re
set. Steal, steal, steal, that’s my motto. Steal and make it your own.
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