USC Moment #5 - Jon Favreau is So Money, Baby

Ya know, in my years at USC I've had a couple of pretty worthless professors (some of the "those that can't do, teach" variety), countless Red Tape Wars on everything from class schedules to copyrights, and have spent enough money to save between 10-12 starving villages in Africa (I did the math. Sorry Kymabai, Kenya! Got movies to make!). But, despite those problems (and many, many more), overall I have felt incredibly fortunate and thrilled to have spent my last three years in at the over-groomed outpost of excess that sits in a sea of urban blight known as USC.

Now, as I mentioned a little while back, I'm taking (Brokaw voice here-->) "a look back, at the top five moments I've had at USC's illustrious and overpriced School of Cinematic Arts." 

My #5 top moment of these past years of USC film school is when Jon Favreau came to campus to talk about IRON MAN and me and a few friends were lucky enough to be clued into it.

Now, there's been a LOT of celebrity filmmaker types who've slummed it into USC's stuck-in-the-1970s iron gates all these past few years. LEGENDARY types. Plus, plenty of really famous alumni. So, with all due respect, why put this guy in the Top 5?

Taking a Matt Dillon-esque tone....

What the Hell is Jon Favreau doing here?

Well, to begin, I want to set the mood a little bit. This was back in the 508 semester (Fall '08) and my friend Jose was assisting for a class that was studying the film IRON MAN and had invited a select few (Smug Alert) friends to the "Favreau class" that night. Now this class was held in a cramped little room in the old, crappy community college-esque Lucas Building, with probably a capacity closer to 25-30 versus the usual 300 that would pack regular big speaker events in the cavernous Norris Theater.

The quarters were so tight you could almost smell the Downey Jr. on him. With such a small setup, Favreau didn't just speak to us, he spoke with us--it was a conversation as close and casual as chatting with a friend at a movie or that annoying guy in the edit lab.

Maybe because of this much more informal setting (more likely irregardless of it) I found it incredibly easy to relate to Favreau and think that "as brilliant as this guy is, he's also a lot like me. Maybe I could be him someday!...not in a creepy 'Mr. Ripley' sort of way or a wacky 'Being John Malkovich' thing, but I could be like him...I could end up making entertainment for a living...maybe".

Why exactly did this relate-ability come across? 

Mostly, because Favreau could not hide how much of a total fanboy he was. Granted, anyone who makes movies is a movie fan, but Favreau wore his obsessive, nerdy fan-ness like a badge of honor: quoting the Simpsons, geeking out over visiting Skywalker ranch, and talking about how surreal it was for him to helm a giant action picture like "Iron Man".

"It's like this big machine, with all these moving parts..." he said about directing Iron Man. "its an unstoppable force--the release date is set: MAY 2ND---and you just have to try and guide it as best you can."

He talked about how different the epic scale of Iron Man was vs. the run-and-gun scrappiness of making an indie film like "Swingers"...at which point I'm thinking..."I'm scrappy! I have guns in my movies...and I run".

He told stories from his early days about being cramped in tiny locations and making split decisions when everything seemed to be falling apart, while also joking around with actors and having a general blast on set. "Now", he said "things are a bit more organized and professional. You can't be making all kinds of on-the-fly decisions when the scene you're shooting that day has been in pre-viz by the VFX people for the past 10 months".


That was what really did it for me: to think that Jon Favreau - who was now an audience-tested, studio-approved A-list director - was once running around, doing shit on the fly, creating and owning his own material, and generally making movies as a guy who's a total nerd for movies.

It was really inspiring, to put not-to-corny spin on it all.

Plus, he was just so f$#*ing C O O L. Favreau was laid back, funny, happy to be there, talked to people after, and just came off as an all-around nice guy. This was also good news, because you often get the idea that evreryone who works in movies is a complete and total dick who like to throw hot coffee on underlings or send Native Americans to pick up awards for them....geez, talk about LAZY.

So just seeing that he was outwardly a pretty regular guy (but still a BRILLIANT storyteller inside) and that he had certain experiences that had, in some ways, mirrored my own - made his visit really stand out to this day...obviously.

BUT, all that "inspiration" and "he's a nice guy" stuff still may not be enough to get to Top 5 range, and the cherry on top came after he spoke.

I split cuz I was incredibly stressed that night (week, month, semester) with 508 and didn't stick around to bend his ear any more. While I was walking back to my car I passed the USC "special guest" parking spots and there it was - a beautiful, silver, straight-off-the-showroom floor Maserati. Parking pass on the dash - "JON FAVREAU"....

Hell yeah!

It was so choice. If you have the means I highly recommend picking one up.

So yeah - he's cool, he makes awesome movies, he's a fanboy, he used to be a run-and-gun filmmaker and he now he drives a kick-ass Mas.

TOP. FIVE.

Then, after standing in admiration for while - and mentally debating "hanging around" the car for an extended amount of time....eventually realizing that'd be both creepy and a little bit threatening...even though Favreau was in "ripped" mode by then...still....I could have had a knife on me....- finally deciding to continue walking, after a while he drove past in his "fuck-you!-in-a-good-way" Maserati down 34th street and made a u-turn by the fountain to head back out the entrance.

I attempted my best casual wave thing....it must have looked like I was flicking some gum off my wrist...I doubt he saw me or let alone remembered me from the class...and I watched him drive away.

I don't know what his music choice was for that ride home to whatever palatial pad he so richly deserves that night, but in my head he got on the 10 at Hoover, looked at that L.A. skyline and busted out the Sabbath.

Or SOME kick-ass -"My Life Rules" song. Some song that would be really....."money".


Yeaaaahhh, didn't think I'd go there, didja?


Well, I did, cause that's what its all about. Iron Man to Elf to mansions and the Mas, all came from one tiny movie he wrote that told a story about a guy who couldn't get over a girl.

Now THAT'S money.

Thanks USC! #TopFive!


-MK

The G and S Show: Part II

See? Told you it'd be a two-parter. How could I not follow up on my promise?

The big celeb-ridden party was a big success, apparently. A few of my classmates who worked for the Cinema School and acted as "tour guides" for the open house spotted Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Harrison Ford, among a sea of others. Obviously on hand were the ubiquitous Spielberg and Lucas, who gave speeches and did a lot of glad-handing for the new building bearing their names. In addition to being covered by Variety and L.A. Times, I also got some info over Facebook, wheres some friends have posted some pretty rad pics of the industry titans schmoozing in our school.

It's funny, with Spielberg and Uncle George, because they are elevated to such heights - especially among young film nerds, and even more especially at USC - and such a record of hits that they are almost like these fictional characters...more a state of mind than actual people. Its also fair to say that they've both incurred some recent scorn (Lucas more so) since Indy 4 came out and looked more like a G'd video game than an adventure film. Lucas has also come under more local criticism at USC because everyone likes to complain about little problems with the new building. Not that I'm complaining, but people may say thing like its too big, its too flashy, it more for architectural aesthetics than functionality, there's not a lot of areas to sit and work and meet, and that the money could have been better spent on scholarships....(I may share some of the opinions, but whatever).

Anyway, it almost is an afterthought that these two men crafted some of the greatest, coolest, most exciting movies in Hollywood history. This fact is made obvious by an amazing little item that has danced its way around the Internet and right here onto MGH.

It is a complete transcript from 1978 of discussions had between George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Larry Kasdan about the script for Indian Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Now, some of my more film nerd friends may already be aware, but to anyone who loves Raiders but hasn't read this yet it is AMAZING. The link to download it right HERE.

At 125 pages, it's quite a tall order to tackle but scrolling down to any piece of it is worthwhile, as the whole time they bat ideas back and forth. Lucas talks the most, but Spielberg's got the best ideas, and writer Larry Kasdan (who also wrote Empire Strikes Back) is just listening, occasionally stopping for clarifications.

There's a million great moments and I'm especially surprised by how often G and S mention the production realities and sometimes go into detail, like about the use of a tiger:

G - Then he finds an exit. I like the idea of Nazis putting tigers in there....You know what its like to fly a tiger in from South Africa.


S - It would have to be a neighborhood tiger.


G - There aren't any tigers out there.


S - I'm not in love with the idea.


G - You could have bats and stuff, make it slightly spooky.


So, yeah, apparently "Raiders" might've had a tiger. Then again, Spielberg isn't in love with the idea....how cool is this thing?! It's like sitting in, being a fly on the wall, in one of the most important conversations in moviedom.

Another excerpt I'll share is when G and S talk further about the action in the 2nd half of the first act and they broach the classic "snakes" line:


G - We shouldn't have any snakes in the opening sequence, just tarantulas. Save the snakes for now.


S - It would be funny if, somewhere earlier in the movie he somehow implied he was not afraid of snakes. Later, you realize that is one of his big fears.


G - Maybe it'd be better if you see early, maybe in the beginning that he's afraid "Oh God, I hate those snakes." It should be slightly amusing that he hates snakes, and then he opens this up "I can't go down there. Why did there have to be snakes. Anything but snakes." You can play it for comedy. The one thing that could happen is that he gets trapped with all these snakes.


Who knew? Its just so cool to see that, almost 30 years ago, these guys went through the same idea tossing and brainstorming that all writers go through. I mean, this could have easily been just like a conversation I had with the Red and Yellow team about "Chhk Chhk Boom" back in Glen Ellyn (somewhere on Bryant, perhaps?) or in my writing classes at Second City or here at SC.

It's just very refreshing to take away the Oscars and the blockbuster records and the mutli-million dollar new building and the legendary status and see that it all comes from a couple of guys sitting around, talking about a story they want to tell.