“Kindness is free.”
Writer/director Garry Marshall
Smallfoot came in number two in the box office over the weekend, but according to Box Office Mojo it actually edged out Night School on Sunday. So at least for one night, Smallfoot was the number one box office movie in the United States.
Here’s the second part (of three parts) of the interview I did with Clare Sera, the co-screenwriter of Smallfoot:
Scott: I think it was Pirates of the Caribbean screenwriter Terri Rossio who said that you never really break into screenwriting, you just get one job and hope that the next job comes.
Clare: It’s true.
Scott: I know worked as an actress on The Princess Diaries with Garry Marshall who died in 2016. What’s what’s the one takeaway that you remember from working with Garry?
Clare: I don’t know if I could say one. I’ll start with my favorite though. I was getting ready to direct a short film and I was asking his advice about directing and he said, “When something goes wrong take the blame because you’re the director, you’re the boss, if you take the blame everyone just goes, oh OK, and you move on. There’s no fuss, no muss.”
And that everybody else is always trying to prove himself or make sure they’ve still got a spot, but as a director— this is a moving train—you just want to keep it moving forward. So you go, “Oh, that was my fault, I didn’t tell them” or “Oh, that was my fault, I put that down there.” You know? That’s the greatest. He really created joy on a set and I think that his life essence was about friendship. I actually got to tell him that the week before he died.
All of his movies have either friendship at the very core and that that they’re absolutely about friendship, from Laverne and Shirley to Beaches. But he did that on set. And the way he would just introduce us all to each other—he put me in the makeup trailer next to Julie Andrews. That’s crazy. There is no way that I should be sharing her makeup trailer. But he did that because we had a few days where we were doing scenes that was just Joel and myself and Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo, and so he made us friends because you sit there and make a trailer you end up chatting.
And one day on every shoot he would take a day off—nobody does this, nobody in Hollywood takes a day off— to have a parade. You don’t know what day it’s going to be and you show up and he says we’re doing a parade and the theme is pirates the best “float,” I say in quotations, will get a prize. We did it on both Princess Diaries movies. And so you get to go the props and to costume and you have an hour to create a float. So it’s, you know, not powered — unless you can get a golf cart. And you grab a couple of people from cast and crew and create a float and Julie and Anne Hathaway and Garry were the judges, and literally parade through the studio backlot. Nobody does that, but it just changes the whole atmosphere. He really believed in the day. It’s like this isn’t just about the product that goes up on the screen, this is about what we’re doing today.
Scott: That’s great. I heard a Zen line the other day that was “Sit, sit. Walk. walk. Don’t wobble.” which basically means when you’re talking to somebody in front of you, don’t be looking at your phone, don’t have a conversation looking at who else is in the room you need to talk to, try to be present. Try to be in the moment. And I like that thought. I read that Garry didn’t so much make a film as he hosted it.
Clare: [Laugh] That’s perfect.
Scott: So while you have done some acting in films, I know screenwriting has been your main emphasis for the past 20 years or so. After years as a writer’s assistant, then working on stuff that got sold but not made, then as an uncredited writer, what was it like to see your name on the Blended poster a few years ago, getting a little notoriety and doing interviews and all that stuff?
Clare: I loved it.
Scott: Did anyone call you and say “Why you?” [Referencing the jealousy shown in Don’t Think Twice when one of the performers breaks out of the pack that we spoke about earlier in this interview.}
Clare: [Laugh] Yeah, because my friends are so hateful. Well, you know, it did not come quickly for me. I think that was part of the thing that’s true in Don’t Think Twice that’s true for us. You know it happened so quickly for those guys. And I think with acting that can happen quickly like that. And then also your face is famous, with writing it never happens quickly even if it was your first film. It still takes a year and a half to write. A year and a half in production. Your friends know that it’s coming a long way off. So it’s kind of a different build. So I just felt like the world hugged me and was happy for me. And I loved it. It was a thrill and then came the [negative] reviews. Took a step back— but overall it was just a real joy. That whole experience was an absolute joy.
Scott: You moved to LA in the 90s, correct?
Clare: Yeah, ’96 I think.
Scott: A lot’s changed in Hollywood over the last 20 years. Today you have a lot of big budget superhero movies and low budget indie films, but the middle class of films is hollowed out. What do you tell the young writer today that either you know lives in Iowa or Scotland or anywhere outside the mainstream of Hollywood? Do you tell them to just keep writing feature scripts, aim for TV writing, or you’ve got to wear a couple of creative hats, or just make their own films or webisodes?.
Clare: I would say yes to all those things. If I were in [cough,cough] my 20s I would really search to find the thing that only I can say. Or if I find a thing to say, make sure I’m saying it true to my voice. I feel like that’s what takes people the longest to get to. It’s like when we first start writing we are imitating all the movies that have come before us even without realizing it — which is a fine phase—but to try to get through that phase as fast as you can, and find your own voice and make it. And if you really don’t want to be a director, find a friend who does who will direct your scripts. Like you said, make three-minute movies, make a five- minute movies, make webisodes, because it is a maker culture now. And that’s how people get noticed and get movement, with distinct voices and things that are made and not just on the page.
Note: Look for Part 3 of this interview tomorrow.
Related post:
Garry Marshall Month—Day 1 (There are a full month of posts if you follow the links)
Finding Your Voice
Start Small…But Start Somewhere
‘Smallfoot’ and the Legend of Screenwriter Clare Sera and Her Unlikely Journey from Scotland to Hollywood (Part 1)