In this edition of Interview, Last Resort Films president Phil Dolan sits down for an interview with writer Chad Taylor (Gambit and Rogue, Oklahoma!) to discuss his recent films including his upcoming film with the Coen Brothers, No Laughing Matter.
PD: Having worked with the Coen Brothers prior with An Honest Mistake, did you write this one specifically for the Coens to direct?
CT: Well don't tell them this but no actually! The idea for this movie came relatively out of the blue but it was while I was watching some episodes of Veep (which obviously had an influence on the casting of Timothy Simons in a role that I can't picture anyone else doing). So as it started to form in my head, I started to imagine it in the form of an Armando Ianucci comedy. There were also elements of Christopher Guest sprinkled in as well, although that was more as an influence than an actual candidate to direct. But when writing a dark comedy, it was hard to ignore the influence that the Coen Brothers have on the genre and thus on myself writing this piece. And then everything started to click as I could it seeing similarities with some of their other dark comedies - even moreso than An Honest Mistake (which I think both they and I agree wasn't the perfect fit for them). So yeah, once I figured out that they were my top option, I started to tailor the characters to their skill set as they have a knack for making morally complicated characters entertaining.
PD: Was it tricky to find the three lead actors in No Laughing Matter who could be convincing as brothers?
CT: Very much so. I mean, it is always a bit tricky casting a family, right? But here, we had to make sure to balance that with also getting actors who fit their unique character type (as each brother utilizes a different kind of comedy). Looking back at our initial cast lists, we were considering over 30 actors for the three parts in total. So it became a bit of a game of finding the right pieces that fit together (which is one of my favorite parts of my job) while also being aware that the age of one actor could then affect the other two roles (I didn't have set ages for any of the characters, just that they all range 40-60). But it's one of those things that once the first piece was in place, the other two started to become clearer. In this case, I knew I wanted the youngest brother to have a sort of smarmy deviousness to him and it came down to Glenn (who I knew from the JLI set) and Sam Rockwell (who's also had a successful career here at LRF). Once Glenn signed on, I could then start to look for people that would be believable brothers to him (which narrowed down the pool). The oldest brother was this close to going to Alfred Molina, who I was very happy to work with in his award-winning performance in "Lady of the House". Our directors knew Steve, though, and put in a good word for him so he was the next piece. There are about 20 years in between Glenn and Steve so that helped narrow down the last part even more to someone around 50. But despite that, that role became the hardest to fill as the likes of Michael Stuhlbarg (who's worked with Joel and Ethan before), Ben Stiller, Matt Damon, and Steve Carrell all came into play before settling on Jason - partly because he seems like a neutral balance between Glenn and Steve (both in age and demeanor). So that is how the three were ultimately set.
PD: Gambit and Rogue was a pretty huge success for the studio and its new Marvel Universe. Do you plan on making further films set in the Universe?
CT: I'd love to! Despite getting my start here at LRF in the DC Universe, I was always actually a Marvel kid growing up. The likes of Spider-Man and the X-Men were on my TV and in my toy chest constantly so I've always dreamed of writing some Marvel films. Of course, Marvel has famously been doing their own thing in the cinematic realm to great success so it never felt like there was much room to maneuver there (unless I went to a real marginal character like Booster Gold is in DC). So once it was announced that LRF was going to be moving forward with its own Marvel films, I wanted to participate but only if I could find a unique angle to tell a new type of story. A legal comedy about a superhero trying to balance her celebrity and professional and personal lives was the first step of that with 'She-Hulk'. And then I was very pleased at the reviews for Gambit and Rogue because they emphasized the different angle it took. Even if the film wasn't perfect, I just wanted to make sure it did not follow the same formula. So with that in mind, I would love to see if there are any other Marvel properties that I can forge that new path on. There is a character that was mentioned in 'She-Hulk' that I wouldn't mind exploring on film. And there's already been early talks to make another Gambit movie (especially given the open ending of the first). Outside of that, who knows what the future holds?
PD: You had multiple films lauded by the critics this season. Is there more anticipation than usual for the Golden Reel Awards for you this season?
CT: Yes and no. I always look forward to the GRAs and this season is no different. I've repeatedly said on my blog that my Season 16 releases are all very different from each other and now you all can see that: a musical, a superhero movie, a sports drama and a dark comedy. Honestly, that alone adds some uncertainty as none of those genres have a proven track record on the awards circuit (both in and our of LRF). But then on top of that, the competition this season is very stiff. People have been building up anticipation for these GRAs as the studio has consistently churned out high quality content. So I think it's very possible that a lauded film - mine or someone else's - can get lost in the shuffle just because of sheer numbers. Only four people can get in to each category and so some good things are going to miss out. Which means that it'd be hard to upset at something getting snubbed because it just means that the studio is on another level right now - which i think we all can be happy about as viewers and as a community.
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