HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM
Craig Kellem
out Judy’s interview right before the film premiers, which is
tomorrow.
BOOKS TO FILM – AN INTERVIEW WITH WRITER
DOUGLAS LIGHT ABOUT THE UPCOMING PREMIERE OF HIS NOVEL-TURNED FILM
A new dark comedy, “The Trouble with Bliss” will premiere tomorrow,
March 23 in New York City. The film is an adaptation of Douglas
Light’s novel, East Fifth Bliss, originally published in 2007. Mr.
Light was kind enough to grant Hollywoodscript.com an interview about
the process by which his novel came to be adapted to screenplay.
Q: Please start by telling us about yourself, what kind of books you
write, what books you have written and if you have been writing books
with the intention of having them turned into a film script or not.
A: The Douglas Light Cliff Notes: Born in Indiana, I lived in Seattle
during the early ’90s, then moved to New York City in ’95. I started
writing in 2001. My first novel, East Fifth Bliss, came out in 2007,
and my story collection, Girls in Trouble, came out in November 2011.
In addition to East Fifth Bliss, I’ve written six other novels, though
only two are strong enough to withstand the wilting light of day. The
remaining four I chalk up to practice.
As to the types of novels I write, East Fifth Bliss is a dark comedy
about 35-year-old Morris Bliss, a man who’s coming to age at a very
late age. My recently completed novel Where Night Stops, which is
currently being shopped with publishers, is part Double Indemnity,
part Bukowski’s Barfly, and part Gen X coming-of-age.
I’ve been asked if, while writing a novel, I think about the film
translate/adaptation. Oddly, I don’t. I just focus on getting the
story right, creating a vibrant, engaging and poignant tale that jumps
off the page. If I can accomplish that, then I feel the film
adaptation can easily happen.
Q: Please tell us about how you came to have your book, East Fifth
Bliss, adapted into a movie, i.e.: How did this come about?
A: All good things are born of vice. “The Trouble with Bliss”, the
film adaptation of my novel East Fifth Bliss, which star Michael C.
Hall, Lucy Liu, Peter Fonda, and Brie Larson, came about because I
smoke cigars. I met the director, Michael Knowles at a cigar bar.
He’d just completed his second feature, “One Night”, which stars
Academy Award winner Melissa Leo. My novel had just been published, so
I gave him a copy. He read it, loved it, and asked if I’d ever thought
of turning it into a film.
I hadn’t. I had never written a screenplay. So he and I spent the
spring and summer of 2007 adapting the novel together. Four months
and too many cigars later, we had a really solid screenplay that we
shared screenwriting credit on.
From there, Michael started the standard process of finding a
production company to fund the project. But it was a chicken and egg
scenario: production companies loved the script but held back support
until we had bankable talent attached; talent loved the script but
wanted to know we had funding before signing on.
After a year plus of showing to numerous companies and people, Knowles
was able to get the script to Michael C. Hall. He loved it and signed
on. Things quickly fell into place after that.
As for brokering the screenwriting deal, I was very lucky and very
naive. Being that Knowles was a friend, we worked through the entire
process without a contract. We were a week or so out from shooting
when Knowles and I were like, “Hey, we should get something down on
paper.” We hammered out the details for the book option rights,
payment, and the screenwriting credits. I then got an attorney to vet
everything. A very straightforward process.
I think it’s important to note that my primary objective for the
project was to see the film come to fruition. That may sound like a
given, but I honestly don’t know if it is for many writers and people
involved in film. For me, I wanted to see the film not only get made
but play in theaters, get reviewed in the major papers, and be up for
prizes. Money was secondary. No, I didn’t want to get screwed, but
then I didn’t go into the project thinking “It’s all about the cash”
either.
Once the film was completed, we did the festival circuit, premiering
opening night at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2011. It was an
amazing experience. 1,100 seat theater. An 80 foot by 40 foot screen.
Sold out with people sitting in the aisles. The film then went on to
the Woodstock Film Festival and San Diego Film Festival, where it won
the best Narrative Feature. Through that exposure and Knowles’s
diligence, we got distribution. The film premieres in New York City
on March 23, 2012 and on VOD at the same time. It then plays in LA
the following week with a roll-out to additional cities throughout
April and May. For dates and cities, check out
www.thetroublewithbliss.com <http://www.thetroublewiht>
Q: Were you happy with the way the movie turned out? Did you feel it
was a fair representation of your book?
A: I’ve been asked which is better, the book or the film. It’s like
asking which you like better, steak or cheese. They both come from
the same place but are entirely different. I’m pleased, and proud, of
both.
Q: Do you have any advise for other writers, from a writing POV and an
industry/marketing POV?
A: I’m not big on giving advice because I feel everyone’s path is
different. What I do and have done probably won’t work for others.
That said, I try to be flexible. Most things don’t turn out as
initially planned. I grab what’s good and build from there. I strive
to use failure as a fuel, to take each mistake and learn from it. And
most important, I move on as quickly as possible to the next project.
Lingering with the ghosts of mistakes and missed opportunities slowly
kills you.
For more information about the writer and his upcoming film, please go to:
www.douglaslight.com <http://www.douglaslight.com>
www.thetroublewithbliss.com <http://www.thetroublewithbliss.com>
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