Father Geek here posting the lovely Ms Moon Yun's talk with the X2 screenwriters...Moon Yun reporting in on the super cool X2 writers …
When I interviewed Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the screenwriters of “X2: X-Men United” in Hawaii, the “X-Men” sequel had had a massive opening weekend. As far as whether the film had wheels, Dougherty had a wait-and-see attitude.
Now a month later, “X2” has held in the top 15 spot of the U.S. Box Office earnings. And the resulting box office earning (gross) for mid-June in the U.S. only is an estimated $209,628,658.
Not bad for two guys who’re only in their 20’s. Does this mean they get to pick up a big, fat huge paycheck? Harris, who’s only 23, and Dougherty, who’s 28, won’t however be the ones getting a big cut of the profit. It was their first big project and since coming aboard “X2” with few credits behind them, they essentially said it was a project where they paid for the experience, which in return, they hope will lead to more work.
Dougherty and Harris were in Hawaii to participate in a panel discussion about “X2.”
The University of Hawai‘i at Mânoa’s Cinematic and Digital Arts Program presented “A Conversation with Director Bryan Singer” on May 9. Shawn Ashmore, 23, the actor who plays Bobby Drake/Iceman in both “X-Men” movies was also among the panelist.
Chris Lee, former Columbia/TriStar head and current co-founder of the University of Hawaii's Cinematic and Digital Arts degree arts program/UH film school, hosted the event and served as the moderator. Lee announced that Singer will be on advisory committee of the new U.H. film school.
Check out the photos of the “X2” event: By Clicking Right Here
A day before the event, I got to interview Harris and Dougherty. They were quite a pair – funny, intelligent, and amiable.
When I interviewed Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the screenwriters of “X2: X-Men United” in Hawaii, the “X-Men” sequel had had a massive opening weekend. As far as whether the film had wheels, Dougherty had a wait-and-see attitude.
Now a month later, “X2” has held in the top 15 spot of the U.S. Box Office earnings. And the resulting box office earning (gross) for mid-June in the U.S. only is an estimated $209,628,658.
Not bad for two guys who’re only in their 20’s. Does this mean they get to pick up a big, fat huge paycheck? Harris, who’s only 23, and Dougherty, who’s 28, won’t however be the ones getting a big cut of the profit. It was their first big project and since coming aboard “X2” with few credits behind them, they essentially said it was a project where they paid for the experience, which in return, they hope will lead to more work.
Dougherty and Harris were in Hawaii to participate in a panel discussion about “X2.”
The University of Hawai‘i at Mânoa’s Cinematic and Digital Arts Program presented “A Conversation with Director Bryan Singer” on May 9. Shawn Ashmore, 23, the actor who plays Bobby Drake/Iceman in both “X-Men” movies was also among the panelist.
Chris Lee, former Columbia/TriStar head and current co-founder of the University of Hawaii's Cinematic and Digital Arts degree arts program/UH film school, hosted the event and served as the moderator. Lee announced that Singer will be on advisory committee of the new U.H. film school.
Check out the photos of the “X2” event: By Clicking Right Here
A day before the event, I got to interview Harris and Dougherty. They were quite a pair – funny, intelligent, and amiable.
Not bad for two guys who’re only in their 20’s. Does this mean they get to pick up a big, fat huge paycheck? Harris, who’s only 23, and Dougherty, who’s 28, won’t however be the ones getting a big cut of the profit. It was their first big project and since coming aboard “X2” with few credits behind them, they essentially said it was a project where they paid for the experience, which in return, they hope will lead to more work.
Dougherty and Harris were in Hawaii to participate in a panel discussion about “X2.”
The University of Hawai‘i at Mânoa’s Cinematic and Digital Arts Program presented “A Conversation with Director Bryan Singer” on May 9. Shawn Ashmore, 23, the actor who plays Bobby Drake/Iceman in both “X-Men” movies was also among the panelist.
Chris Lee, former Columbia/TriStar head and current co-founder of the University of Hawaii's Cinematic and Digital Arts degree arts program/UH film school, hosted the event and served as the moderator. Lee announced that Singer will be on advisory committee of the new U.H. film school.
Check out the photos of the “X2” event: By Clicking Right Here
A day before the event, I got to interview Harris and Dougherty. They were quite a pair – funny, intelligent, and amiable.
The University of Hawai‘i at Mânoa’s Cinematic and Digital Arts Program presented “A Conversation with Director Bryan Singer” on May 9. Shawn Ashmore, 23, the actor who plays Bobby Drake/Iceman in both “X-Men” movies was also among the panelist.
Chris Lee, former Columbia/TriStar head and current co-founder of the University of Hawaii's Cinematic and Digital Arts degree arts program/UH film school, hosted the event and served as the moderator. Lee announced that Singer will be on advisory committee of the new U.H. film school.
Check out the photos of the “X2” event: By Clicking Right Here
A day before the event, I got to interview Harris and Dougherty. They were quite a pair – funny, intelligent, and amiable.
Check out the photos of the “X2” event: By Clicking Right Here
A day before the event, I got to interview Harris and Dougherty. They were quite a pair – funny, intelligent, and amiable.
AICN: You're both so young and with so few credits behind you, how did you get hooked up with a big project so quickly?
MD: We were both short filmmakers beforehand. Bryan had seen our film and has been familiar with our film for a while because we knew him and he knew that we had started working together. My spec scripts are already getting passed around the studios. Bryan said can you come in and pitch a horror film to us and I said ‘sure.’ I called Dan and asked him if he wanted to do it with me just to give it a shot. And they bought that. Bryan called us and said I some need people to come on board “X2” because the first writer, David Hayter (the screenwriter for “X-Men”), was splitting to go to a TV pilot.
DH: There was an opening and Bryan has a history of finding new writers and talents to work on his projects.
MD: Bryan had read our individual scripts and he was happy that we had sold our first pitch.
DH: It was all kind of serendipitous timing.
AICN: Michael, you’re into making sci-fi and horror films. Did Bryan think that would transfer over to “X2?”
MD: No, he knew we were FANS first. He knew that we were young and hungry so that we’d be dedicated to the project. He knew that we were fans of the X-men so that we’d have knowledge and experience. I think it was those three main factors.
AICN: What’s your reaction to the huge success of movie?
DH: It’s pretty overwhelming, but I’m not going to say that it wasn’t unexpected because I’m really proud of the movie and really proud of what everyone’s accomplished and the kind of movie that Bryan’s made. I think it reaches a lot of people. It’s just exciting to go see people cheer throughout the film.
MD: I’m a little bit more cynical so I was hugely surprised. [Laugh] I knew it would have a big opening. I think a lot of films these days can have …
DH: … a massive opening
MD: Yes, massive openings and be very popular but what I think was unique about our film is people are walking out very happy and spreading the word and saying this is a great movie. We were reaching people we’d never thought we’d reach.
DH: It was a conscious decision on everyone’s part to make the film appealing to as many groups as possible. We have a cast of characters that range in age from 17 to 70. They all have integral stories, problems and issues. By making the film big and expensive and universal in the sense of a lot of subplots and interesting storylines, it hopefully reaches a lot of people.
MD: What we’re hearing is that it has a reach across all the demographics, not just the kids but the mothers and aunts. Movies like the “Flintstones” had opened big but no one really liked it. People don’t sing its praises and tell their friends to go see it. A lot of people were curious when it came out so they went to see it. “Godzilla” opened up huge but it went downhill from there and no one walked out feeling satisfied and happy.
AICN: In this collaborative effort, was there one person who had the final say?
MD/DH: [They both say at same time] “Bryan.” [Laugh] “Absolutely.”
MD: The key person behind the story is really Bryan. Story wise, foundation wise, a lot was him.
DH: I don’t think he gets as much credit as he deserves for this because he’s the director of the movie but he has such a strong role in the development of the script that he’s responsible for the every choice made in some way for his film. He’s the guardian of the story ‘X-men 2.’
MD: If there were any ideas we came up with, we would have to pitch it Bryan or let him read it in the script and he would have the final say as to whether or not it would go in the movie. There were a lot of times, a lot times, where he would say ‘no’ to something and we’d have to fight for it.
DH: My favorite quality of Bryan is that he’s an excellent arbiter of taste. He’s an incredible filter through which all information passes and the best possible ideas come out in the end.
MD: He can be really competent in an idea if he knows it’s good. He’ll just say, ‘Great I love it.’ But if he has any questions, he’ll question the idea and he’ll make you prove to him why it’s a good idea and why you should do it. He respects people that fight for what they’re passionate about. The whole museum sequence weeks up until the point we shot it he kept asking us to make sure we need this scene. We [ended up] keeping this whole museum scene in. We had to fight every single day to keep it in.
DH: Ultimately in the end it was half us telling him ‘You were right’ and half him telling us ‘you were right.’ That’s why our relationship works so well.
AICN: I'd like to get your comments into the issues about authorship of the film. Is it the director's film or the writer's film? Singer was also given story credit.
DH/MD: It’s collaboration. It really is collaboration.
DH: Personally, unless you’re the writer/director, that’s when you can really say, you’re the author.
MD: James Cameron can say he’s the author of a lot of his film.
DH: I think the film by credit should be given only to writer/directors but I see the turf theory in action until you see the fact that Bryan worked on the movie from its early stages of development until editing. People say this movie was written three times. It was written in the script. It’s written when the actors deliver the lines and it’s written again when it’s edited. And so the only person who stays through all those stages is Bryan. He’s the director. Out of anybody in the ‘X-Men 2’ case, it’s Bryan’s film.
MD: Yeah, I think it’s egotistical. There are a lot of writers who are really stuck up and think ‘if it wasn’t for us, the film wouldn’t get made.’ And the directors say the same thing.
AICN: It's a good controversial topic that pretty much everyone has an opinion on.
DH: It’s a good controversial topic. These people feel strongly about it. Nobody is fully right and nobody is fully wrong.
MD: In this film for example, we were so involved everyday that we intend to feel that yes we are also part of the authors but we also understand that this is Bryan’s.
DH: We feel ownership over this movie but at the same time we recognize Bryan as the guy that’s been there from start to finish.
MD: They could’ve given our script to any other director and they could’ve made a horrible script out of it. I read a quote somewhere saying that it’s a team effort and the name of the team is the director, in a way.
AICN: You both come from a short filmmaking/directing history.
MD: Dan’s about to direct a feature.
DH: I’ve always wanted to be a director and not the other way around.
MD: I kind of used screenwriting as a junior directing in a way. It’s a way to learn and watch other directors at work. This film made a great example of that. Eventually, I do want to direct a feature but I’m not in a rush to get there.
DH: It’s a great way to learn how to construct a storytelling structure, and also to deal with production day to day and to deal with actors and to deal with rewrites and dealing with people.
AICN: What’s the name of your feature?
DH: The feature is called “Imaginary Heroes,” starring Sigourney Weaver.
MD: Riiiiplleeey… [Jokes]
AICN: What’s the movie about?
DH: Death. [Laughs] No, it’s a dark, family drama about secrets and lies of a middle-American family. We’ll hopefully start shooting September 7. It’s an independent production.
AICN: Did you two get paid a lot for working on the ‘X-Men?’
MD: Fee wise, we didn’t get paid a lot.
DH: We paid for the experience.
MD: Money wasn’t the most important thing because it is an investment. This film will lead to more films and residuals. We’ll probably make more money off the residuals than the film itself. So we’ll start getting those checks.
DH: Let’s hope so. So buy the DVD.
MD: Yeah, buy the DVD.
AICN: Did the director mind having the writers on the set?
DH: He made us. He demanded us.
MD: That’s part of our deal with him was that we had to be around for everything. Always on call.
AICN: If they asked you both to come back for “X3” would you say “yes?”
DH: We can say safely yes that we’d be interested in coming back for the third ‘X-Men’. I thought you were going to ask us about other actors. I was going to say, ‘I don’t know.’
MD: It’s just that there were certain events set up in the second film that needed to be dealt with in the third film that we want to make sure that they’re dealt with properly. And it was such a great team to work with. We made some really good friends on the movie.
Moon Yun signing out …
