Hollywood’s Priceless Sounding Board
Sarah Shatz/Columbia Pictures
A draft of “Premium Rush,” with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was read by Steven Spielberg.
By TOM ROSTON
Published: March 1, 2013
When the action hit “Cloverfield”
thrilled audiences in 2008, few in theaters could have guessed that
they were, at least in part, under the creative stewardship of Steven Spielberg.
That’s because Mr. Spielberg has no credit on the production. But that
didn’t stop him from giving the movie’s director, Matt Reeves, and its
producer, J. J. Abrams, advice on how to improve the film.
“He had this idea about the ending,” said Mr. Reeves, who, with Mr.
Abrams, had sent Mr. Spielberg a cut during postproduction with the hope
that he would give them creative notes. That version showed the giant
monster that wreaks havoc on New York being last seen on the loose, at
war with fighter jets. “The movie was meant to be open ended, but
something was missing.”
Mr. Spielberg suggested the inclusion of air-raid sirens to give the
impression of a countdown. “It prepared you so that even though the
ending was still inconclusive, it wasn’t letting you fall off a cliff,”
Mr. Reeves said. “It helped the movie a lot.”
Mr. Spielberg, 66, is considered the most influential director of our
time, thanks to the impact of the 27 features that he has directed
(which now include “Lincoln”).
And then there are the more than 175 films that he, in one form or
another, has been ultimately responsible for, mostly through his
production company, Amblin, and his studio, DreamWorks.
But less recognized is the feedback that Mr. Spielberg has provided as a
sounding board for filmmakers not necessarily under his authority.
Being the recipient of such creative input is as close to receiving a
benediction as one can hope for in Hollywood.
“His love of movies and desire to collaborate extends far beyond those
projects that he is required to work on,” said Mr. Abrams, who has been
hailed as a Spielberg protégé. “But he is so frequently cornered by
people and asked to give notes. I feel guilty about being one of them.”
Mr. Abrams, 46, asked Mr. Spielberg to read the scripts for 2006’s “Mission: Impossible III” and 2009’s “Star Trek.”
For “Trek,” which he saw in an early cut, Mr. Spielberg suggested
lengthening several scenes and advised that the female communications
officer, Uhura, be developed further.
“I think, for Steven, sometimes it’s the most fun to weigh in on someone
else’s work when there are no consequences,” said David Koepp, who has
worked as a writer and director on several Spielberg productions. “He is
free to just talk about the creative part.”
Mr. Koepp asked Mr. Spielberg to read an early draft of the script for 2012’s “Premium Rush,”
which Mr. Koepp directed but to which Mr. Spielberg had no affiliation.
The film features a bike messenger engaged in several chase sequences
from one tip of Manhattan to another and back again.
Mr. Spielberg’s advice to Mr. Koepp was to show the main character
entering the screen consistently from one side when he was going
downtown, and to enter the other side when he was going uptown, to help
orient the audience.
“He is exceedingly practical and grounded in the storytelling,” Mr.
Koepp said. In giving his notes Mr. Spielberg referred to how Peter
O’Toole’s character, in “Lawrence of Arabia,” does the same thing when his character crosses the desert.
“Premium Rush” benefited from that “simple geographical clue,” said Mr.
Koepp, who added that while it was not uncommon for well-acquainted
filmmakers to ask one another to give notes, Mr. Spielberg’s come with a
signature “undercurrent of kindness.” “The times when I have seen him
the most happy are when he has been in the process of making stuff up,”
he said. “There is so much that can slow you down when you are making a
movie.”
Mr. Abrams said that Mr. Spielberg’s enthusiastic note giving does not
infringe on the autonomy of directors who work under him. “He doesn’t
mandate,” said Mr. Abrams, who directed 2011’s “Super 8,” which Mr. Spielberg produced.
When Chris Columbus wrote 1984’s “Gremlins,”
which he directed, it was originally a horror film with a “hard R”
rating, he said, about critters that tear up a town. But Mr. Spielberg,
his executive producer, suggested not letting all of the gremlins turn
malicious, and keeping one of them, Gizmo, good. It was a change that
“taught me how the audience could become emotionally attached to the
film,” Mr. Columbus said.
Mr. Spielberg’s advice ranges from what sounds apocryphal (telling Sam Mendes, the first-time director of 1999’s “American Beauty”
to wear comfortable shoes on the set) to the technical (advising Robert
Zemeckis to use wide camera lenses on his 1978 directorial debut, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”)
“He is so aware of the geography of storytelling,” said Mr. Abrams, who said he plans to show Mr. Spielberg a cut of “Star Trek Into Darkness,” due this May, within the next few weeks.
After “Cloverfield” Mr. Reeves asked for Mr. Spielberg’s advice on how
to work with children for his independently produced 2010 film, “Let Me In,”
about a young vampire. “He reminded me that I was trying to remember
what it was like to be 11, but he said: ‘Your actors are actually 11.
You should ask them what they would do.’ ”
Mr. Reeves followed through, and he credits a moment in the film, when a
police officer is hunting a child in his room and mistakenly steps on a
toy, as coming from one of his young actors. “It was true,” he said. “I
got gold from them.”
A spokesman for Mr. Spielberg said that he “considers his conversations
with other filmmakers to be private,” so he did not comment for this
article. But his longtime producing partner, Kathleen Kennedy, president
of Lucasfilm, might provide a clue to what it feels like to be the
ultimate sounding board.
“I once overheard Steven say to another director, ‘Never tell anyone
what you’re doing,’ ” she recalled. “I realized that it is a way to
protect creative vision, and at the same time give yourself the room and
flexibility to change an idea.”
