The tricky thing with a movie — because you can have a great script and a great director, and everyone’s heart can be in the right place – you still need to get massively lucky to pull it all off.

I love how matter of fact and humble Brian Helgeland is (not to mention his eerie resemblance to one of my favorite actors of all time, Mr. Michael Keaton). Even with sixty-plus screenplays under his belt, eighteen of which have made it to the screen, he doesn’t label himself a writer: He’s a filmmaker, goddammit. As far as he’s concerned, writers are novelist, playwrights are dialogist. He stands along side the many technicians and craftsmen who come together and make a movie. Just another cog in the machine. There’s something very genuine about that sentiment, especially considering it comes from the guy who is Mr. Adapation ’round town, with films like L.A. Confidential, Mystic River, Man on Fire, and The Bourne Supremacy under his belt. [Read more…]