THE AWARDS EDITION 2011-2012

Jim Burke and Jim Taylor:Giving Birth to Alexander Payne’sThe DescendantsBy Ari KarpelJim Taylor is the lesser-known writing partner of director Alexander Payne, with whom heshares credit on such films as Election and About Schmidt, and an Oscar © for 2005’s Sideways.For The Descendants, starring George Clooney,Payne wrote solo while Taylor stuck to producingalongside Jim Burke, his longtime partner in AdHominem Productions. On the eve of the film’s release,Taylor (who goes by “Jim”) and Burke (who goesby “Burke”) talk about the film’s favorable festival start,editing at Clooney’s Lake Como villa and why Taylor satout the writing of this one.AWARDSLINE: Fox Searchlight optioned the book The Descendants foryour production company, Ad Hominem, about four years ago. Tell meabout the process that followed.BURKE: I read a manuscript that was sent to us by a literaryagent in London. I forwarded it to Searchlight. I think theagent who sent it to us, also mailed it to a number of (production)companies like ours since there was a lot of interestfrom the competition. Searchlight acted quickly on ourbehalf to acquire the option on this book before we had fullydecided who would even direct it. Jim and Alexander at thetime were writing an original screenplay called Downsizingwhich was intended to be Alexander’s next film [to direct].clooney, left, SHAILene WOODLey26 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 01So we figured The Descendants would be our next picture toproduce at Ad Hominem and we proceeded along thoselines. We went out and looked for screenwriters to adaptthe book and arrived at Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Theydid a terrific job but it became clear at some point alongthe way that Downsizing was [going to be too big a movie,and take too long to be ready].Alexander became more anxious about starting aproduction shoot and we realized it was going to takelonger [to get Downsizing made]. He became more andmore attracted to Descendants and he decided, ‘I’ll takethis one on.’ Because he decided that it could be donemore in the style that he’s used to, with very little greenscreen.AWARDSLINE: Did Alexander take the script that those guys had writtenand start revising it?TAYLOR: No. They wrote a great script, but the way Alexanderworks is he needs to make what he directs, his own.He went in and made it more personal for himself.AWARDSLINE: So, you’re saying that no matter how good their scriptwas, he had to throw it out and start from scratch in order to write inhis voice and make it his own? And there’s that WGA rule, as therealways is, where they get credit as well.TAYLOR: Yeah, and they wrote a great script, but that isexactly what happened.AWARDSLINE: Jim Taylor, why didn’t you collaborate on this script asyou have with Alexander in the past?TAYLOR: This is a little less comedic than our othercollaborations, so this didn’t feel right for me. Togetherwe tend to write more comedy and the plot of this wasmore emotional.AWARDSLINE: The film received a good response at festivals. Howimportant is it to launch the marketing at a festival like Telluride?TAYLOR: I don’t know. I think that if it’s a strong movie, nomatter where it emerges, it’s still strong and people talkabout it, whether it’s Sundance, Toronto or Telluride orwhatever. Telluride’s such a great festival to be at. It’ssuch a filmmaker-oriented event. We like it because it’seasy to see films there.AWARDSLINE: It’s so hard for an adult drama to get attention now. Itseems like a festival like that really helps it.TAYLOR: Definitely, it does. And Searchlight, you know, they’resome of the only people really making movies like thatanymore, so we’re incredibly lucky to have our home there.BURKE: And I think that they’re equipped to deal with films that arenot easily categorized. I mean, they have many times in the past. It’snot a marketer’s dream (this movie). A marketer’s dream is somethingfrom a comic book.TAYLOR: But it doesn’t hurt to have George Clooney in themovie. In a lot of different ways, not the least of which iswhat a wonderful collaborator he is. But also, I think thatif people are just going looking for another Sideways, theymight be thrown a little bit. So, it’s nice that the only drawisn’t another Alexander Payne movie. It’s also that a lot ofpeople go to movies to see George Clooney’s performances.AWARDSLINE: How do you guys, Jim and Burke, divide yourresponsibilities? Was one of you more on the ground in Hawaii andthe other holding down the fort in L.A.?BURKE: Aside from being business partners, all three of usare very close friends. I think it’s safe to say that we’realways there for each other, whatever we need. It’s neverbeen any kind of an issue, like you do this, you do that.I’m not an artist. Jim and Al are, so they have an artisticrelationship, but they also value what I do for them andfor us; and I, of course, value and highly respect both ofthem. We just do what comes naturally to all of us.TAYLOR: Yeah, I think the term partners really implies what…you know, we’re not always doing the same thing, but we’rea team, and we make sure that everything gets done.AWARDSLINE: This movie was edited by your longtime editor Kevin Tent, but Iread that it was actually edited at Clooney’s Lake Cuomo villa. Is that right?BURKE: It’s sort of right. It was really edited in SantaMonica at our office, but they went over there to his villafor a couple of weeks in the midsummer, just to sort ofwork and, obviously, hang out with George.AWARDSLINE: The leading actor doesn’t usually host the postproductionso does that shift the dynamic a little bit? Don’t you needto shut yourself out and make decisions and not be worried aboutwhat the actor’s going to think?BURKE: Yeah. George, though, is more than just an actor.Not that that’s not enough, but he’s also a filmmakerhimself. He just said, “Hey, listen, man, I have an Avid inmy villa. Why don’t you just come on over and be in Italyfor a few weeks and cut it there?” He wasn’t intrusive atall. All he did was host dinner parties and things like that.And when Kevin and Alexander had a little sequence thatthey were prepared to show him, they did.AWARDSLINE: I’m curious, of course, about the Oscar © campaign forthe film. Clooney is certainly a natural contender; but he also hasIdes of March. Is there a bit of a balancing act with those two?BURKE: Here is how I’d say we feel about an Oscar ©campaign: It’s like the way I feel about getting on anairplane. I don’t pay too much attention to it because Iknow it’s out of my hands.I believe we’ve made a really excellent film and thatknowledge alone just edifies me. I hope other peoplethink that, but it’s so hard to make a movie that even youlike, and often, one of our goals for the three of us at ourcompany is to make movies that we like, that we wouldactually pay to see. I think we’ve done it; and whetherit wins an Oscar © , I don’t know whether it will or not.It’s hard to know. As for [Ides of March,] we’re really coolwith George, too. I know that George understands whata great performance he gave in The Descendants. I justmarvel at it and I feel like he understands that. He has to.Everybody’s telling him that. •burke, left, TAYLOr