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Writer-Director Sacha Gervasi
by Lou Hirsh
(December 2000) |
It was 1993, and Sacha Gervasi was in the midst of a successful career as a freelance journalist, a job that had taken him around the world on assignment for several high-profile British publications. By that time, after career-changing from work as a rock drummer, he'd interviewed a diverse gallery of noted personalities, ranging from Johnny Rotten to Margaret Thatcher.
Then came a fateful assignment in Hollywood. Gervasi was to interview Herve Villechaize, the diminutive actor who played Tattoo in the popular 1970s TV series Fantasy Island but who had since gone into relative obscurity. Gervasi first looked upon the assignment, from London's Mail on Sunday, as a curiosity.
"I thought it would be this cheesy dinner-party story that I would tell my friends," Gervasi recalled during his talk at the Scriptwriters Network's December meeting. What he got was much more.
After protracted difficulties in arranging the interview, Gervasi finally met Villechaize at a Los Angeles restaurant. Gervasi's first surprise was the impression that the actor was one of the most cosmopolitan and urbane people he had ever met, willing to speak with more honesty than Gervasi had encountered on most of his show-biz assignments. The second surprise came a couple of hours later when, as the writer began to put away his notes and wrap up the interview, Villechaize pulled a knife on Gervasi and informed him, "I'm not finished.''
Needless to say, the interview continued, resulting in 11 hours of conversation over the course of three days. Gervasi says it was a fascinating but wrenching life story that unfolded, ranging from Villechaize's childhood illnesses -- and a series of failed operations to correct his dwarfism -- to the actor's later popular work in film and television and eventual rejection by a fickle Hollywood. Just days after the interview, as he was transcribing his notes back in London, Gervasi was informed that the actor had committed suicide. This was the last interview that Villechaize had given in his life.
Gervasi was moved by the Villechaize meeting in a way that he was not affected by most of his interview subjects. He wrote a piece, much longer than planned, that told the full story of his encounter, with all its strangeness and sadness, but his editors rejected it. They said the article didn't fit the tone of the magazine and would have to be rewritten. He refused to re-write the piece and was also told he could not shop it elsewhere, since he had completed it on assignment for the Mail.
Someone else rewrote the story to fit the Mail's specifications, and Gervasi began to re-order his own priorities. He credits the Villechaize episode with moving him decisively into work as a screenwriter, where he could tell the stories he wanted to, in the way he wanted to. He was also encouraged by ongoing advice from noted screenwriter Bruce Robinson (The Killing Fields), whom Gervasi considers a mentor, and through his later work in the graduate screenwriting program at UCLA, which he said "afforded me the chance to really write terribly" as a prelude to success.
Gervasi subsequently wrote a short script on the Villechaize encounter that garnered him a contract with the William Morris agency and caught the attention of Hollywood's elite. He has since gone on to write and co-produce The Big Tease with actor Craig Ferguson, a longtime friend from his London days, and has written the screenplay for the upcoming film Terminal with director Andrew Niccol. Next year, he will make his directorial debut with My Dinner with Herve, from his autobiographical script, for Sandy Stern and Michael Stipe of Single Cell Pictures (Being John Malkovich, American Movie).
Gervasi's relatively brief film career has also brought him many more lessons on the life of screenwriters, which he shared during a discussion with Program Director Georgann Grunebach. Some highlights:
* On the need to persist: "If your first one or two or three or four efforts don't receive a response, or you don't feel that they're good, or you feel frustrated because you're stuck, you've got to keep going. Because as much as anything, being a screenwriter is about persistence," Gervasi said, noting that even the top professionals in the business get fired like anyone else and must recover from rejection. "The thing you believe in that made you want to become a screenwriter -- you've got to keep trusting it. ... The only way to fail as a screenwriter is not to write. If you're writing, you're succeeding."
* On the importance of motivation: "If your motivation is to sell a script and become a part of Hollywood, that's one motivation. If your motivation is you really love films and you want to fulfill the career of a filmmaker and work with other interesting filmmakers who inspire you, that's another," said Gervasi. "For me, whenever I try to write something that will 'sell', it fails miserably. That's the kind of person I am. I think where you're coming from, your core motivation, really determines what happens."
Gervasi said all screenwriters need to be clear from the start on why they got into the business, because it will impact their ability to surmount the numerous obstacles ahead. "I know that for me, I can't write something I don't believe in completely. I can't sit there for two or four or five or six months, or whatever it takes, sit there and face the utter pain and misery, and typical and incomprehensible demoralization and potential failure, without some reason to be there."
* On surviving in Hollywood: Gervasi warned against becoming influenced by the glitzy trappings of Hollywood, and by the ways in which the Hollywood players may treat you. While it's important to be polite and diplomatic in your dealings with agents and studio execs, and while there are many executives with integrity, most are only interested in screenwriters to the extent that they can profit from working with them, he said. "The only thing people in this town respect is a fantastic script, or money."
* On standing your ground: While there are many things that are out of a scriptwriter's hands, such as "office politics" that affect how films are produced and marketed, Gervasi emphasized the need to be tough in the early stages of development, and to resist making suggested changes that alter the essence of your script. "Never go against your instincts. It's better to say, I can't do this for you, and walk away and give the money back, than be in a situation where you can't possibly satisfy the situation, and you can't possibly satisfy everyone." Gervasi reminded his audience that all scriptwriters have a creative advantage they shouldn't overlook. "The great thing about being a writer in Hollywood is that if the situation doesn't pan out, you can write yourself a whole new set of cards six months later... As soon as you write another great script, you have leverage again."
* On the need for passion: "If it's true and passionate and coming from the writer's heart, you can feel it, whatever the genre," Gervasi said, noting that passionate story-telling is a better way to sustain a screenwriting career than tapping into formulas or market tastes. "I know a lot of people who sell a script for a million dollars, and haven't worked in three years. The goal can't be that."
* On good writing: "What defines a good writer is the commitment to process -- not a commitment to the end result," Gervasi said. "You're committed to the journey of discovering what it is, rather than the end result of the "hit script." Because really you have no idea whether it will even be made, or will be a hit, or anything."
* On the perils of pitching: Gervasi is not a fan of pitching ideas for movies that haven't yet been written, because it can set others' expectations too high or bring feedback that douses the writer's enthusiasm. "To me, pitching is dangerous. You can give your power away, you can give away your passion, you can give away your enthusiasm. And all of that energy should go right on the page."
* On predicting trends: Gervasi also doesn't engage in predicting audience tastes or market trends, and doesn't even read the Hollywood trade papers. He says these are unnecessary for great screenwriting. "If you write the truth, whether it's the truth in action or a personal drama or whatever, it's going to affect people. It doesn't matter what trend or what the time is or what's going on," Gervasi asserted. "If you write a good, gripping story and you tell it well, if there's something real about this, it transcends predictions or fashions in film. A good story well told is all you need at any time, whether it's now or in 50 years."
Network member Lou Hirsh is a former journalist currently working at a Los Angeles-based Internet company.
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