FoEM’s review of Stardust, along with a report from Neil Gaiman’s private screening of the film, can be found here. Martyn
finance as much of the film by himself (from what I’ve been reading),
rather than rely entirely on studio money. I assume that because of
that, it has allowed you both more creative control over proceedings.
Did this have an impact on the screenplay’s development? Did Paramount
‘interfere’ or demand any particular changes in the script, or even
during the editing stage?
Jane: Well, they weren’t actually involved at the
development stage. Matthew and I developed the script together (and we
had the great benefit of Neil giving us his feedback at various stages
too, of course), and then Paramount bought it. Of course they had
opinions at edit stage, but opinions are a good thing, and I don’t
recall any that differed too dramatically from our own instincts, or
Neil’s, or those of Jon Harris, our brilliant editor.
Martyn: Has there been any particularly frustrating
moments during writing the screenplay? How many drafts were needed in
the end, and how often did it require a rewriting because somebody had
thought of something new that might work?
Jane: We never went back to square one, so the first draft
isn’t a million miles away from the finished movie. Some tinkering was
prompted by budget and schedule, which is always sad but unavoidable.
But tinkering when somebody thinks of something new and good is always
a pleasure. I see it as polishing, rather than rewriting, and there was
a healthy amount of that. It was always modest revisions, though,
rather than new drafts. There was plenty of minor tinkering while we
were in production and even on set – as there’s nothing more inspiring
than seeing the story unfold in front of you.
A lot of the most experimental changes tend to happen in the
editing suite, afterwards, though. It’s then that you get to try scenes
shorter, break long scenes into two parts, or run two scenes together,
or switch round the order in which we see things happen ‘ you can play
around a lot more and actually discover right away whether it works or
not in terms of how the story builds and flows.
Martyn: Do you know why, despite the film being shot in
the UK, using UK post-production facilities, and taking advantage of
the government’s tax break system, that according to the IMDB release
dates schedule, we’re one of the last countries on the list to receive
the theatrical release of the film?
Jane: It certainly wasn’t something imposed from outside.
I was present at the international marketing meeting where the dates
were finalised, and all the reps from the different territories had
dates they were happy with. The UK date was no exception, and had been
put forward by the UK distributors. It was their date of choice.
A simultaneous release with the US just wouldn’t have given the movie the fairest shot at reaching it’s audience.
Whereas Summer is THE time for cinema-going in the USA, it’s actually
much less the case in UK, I believe, and August is apparently
especially quiet ‘ I guess we Brits like to get outside more and make
the most of the good weather while it lasts! Also, I understand August
is the most popular month for UK residents to go on holiday.
From the point at which the movie was available for release, the
October date was the closest big, good date for our kind of movie to be
released. It coincides with the school half term, so it’s a big
movie-going week, and I also have been told that it’s also historically
a time that movies in a similar vein to Stardust thrive best. So for
all those reasons, that date was deemed the top choice on which to
release the movie in the UK, by the people whose job it is to know and
decide these things.
Martyn: Given Captain Shakespeare’s extended role in the
film, does this mean that has more influence as to how the film ends?
The trailer gives the impression that he’s certainly a major force in
helping Tristan and Yvaine by teaching Tristan sword fighting. I also
notice in the trailer that Tristan is doing *a lot* more sword fighting
in the movie than I remember from the book.
Jane: No, I wouldn’t say that Shakespeare has any
influence on the film’s ending at all. I’d also say that the most
important part of his influence on Tristan’s development is emotional
rather than practical. Don’t worry ‘ we’ve not turned Stardust into
Karate Kid! He’s really not a mentor in that sense, and Stardust isn’t
a story in which it would make sense for fighting skills of any kind to
be the key to achievement or survival. I don’t want to give anything
away, but I do want to assure you that it is absolutely not a case of
‘Tristan learns to sword fight and ultimately uses his new skills to
defeat the baddies.’ That’s not even close to being the case.
Physical sequences work well in trailers, because they’re dynamic, so
that’s what trailers tend to be made of, even if proportionately, the
personality of the film may be just as readily found elsewhere. (And I
would encourage Martyn readers to check out Neil Gaiman’s recent
journal entry on this subject for some very wise words on the matter).
There is some sword-fighting in the film, but there’s not an unusually
huge amount of it, and it’s not a film in which primary objectives are
achieved through fighting, if you get me.
I see a subtext to your question, and I’d like to address it by
promising you that the mood and the smartness and humour and human
drama of Stardust the book, all the things that you and the readers of
your blog and Matthew and I all love about the book, is all there in
the movie. The trailer is, in a sense, designed for people who aren’t
familiar with the book ‘ it communicates the essence of the story, and
it hopefully also communicates that the story is going to be exciting
and funny and romantic and beautiful to look at, and is going to be
told by a cast of great actors.
Martyn: Was Ferdy the Fence specifically written with Rick
Gervais in mind? If he had refused, was there anybody else that would
have been able to pull it off?
Jane: In answer to your first question, yes and no. The
character came first, and initially, Matthew and I discussed him as a
traditional ‘hard man’ type. But the moment we started talking about
Ricky, Ferdy completely shifted in our minds, and the nature of the
character changed and became much more interesting and complex ‘
someone who was more of a weasel, more of a con artist. Creepier and
more of a liability, but also more hapless and deluded and ultimately
more sympathetic. All qualities that Ricky has the ability to bring so
brilliantly to life. So in that sense, the part became absolutely
Ricky’s, and the Ferdy of the film is someone that no one else could
have played in the same way.
I’ve no idea who we’d have approached if he’d said no, because
fortunately he didn’t, so it’s not something we ever had to think about!
Martyn: I’ve been thinking about the various comparisons
in the press (mainly from the preview audiences) that Stardust
resembles The Princess Bride and The Pirates of the Caribbean, who
would win at a sword fight between Tristan Thorn, Inigo Montoya, and
Captain Jack Sparrow if they were all up against each other?
Jane: Well, I’d have to say probably not Tristan. I can’t
imagine him even wanting to get involved in a sword fight unless he
really had to, for some reason he felt really passionate about.
Skill-wise, my money would probably be on Inigo, especially if
Captain Jack had been drinking, but Jack seems to be one of those guys
with luck on his side, so I imagine that perhaps a piece of heavy
furniture might fall on Inigo at the last minute.
I wouldn’t like to see them fight, though. I’d hate any of them to
get hurt. I like them all too much. Could they perhaps all wrestle each
other instead? I’d definitely watch that.
From “Stez”: Do you think the finished Stormhold now looks every bit as lavish as you imagined it?
Jane: I really do. Matthew had a very clear idea of how he
wanted everything to look, and the production designer, Gavin Bocquet
is incredible. Matthew and I have always been uncannily on the same
page with almost everything, so I don’t think there is anything wildly
different about Stormhold to how I had pictured it in my mind. It
really does look breathtaking.
As a writer, it was incredibly exciting to see little bits and
pieces that I’d thought of suddenly sprung into three glorious
dimensions. And of course, Neil has that sense ten times over. We were
talking about it as we walked around the flying pirate ship when he
visted the set one day. It was a gigantic, beautiful, life-size, actual
ship and there were dozens of guys beavering away to get it finished.
Of course the oddest thing, which he observed as we surveyed the scene,
was that it takes a writer mere seconds to type ‘a flying pirate ship’,
which you blithely key in to your laptop while taking a sip of tea’
Then it takes a vast team several months to actually build it!
From “emilyrln”: What would you say was the most difficult part of the book to adapt?
Jane: I’m not sure if I can think of a particular part.
But the most challenging thing about adapting any book ‘ including this
one ‘ is essentially having to condense a story that takes several
hours to tell (most books, if you shot them scene for scene, would end
up over six hours long), into one that you can tell in around two
hours, whilst still retaining the essence of everything that is
wonderful about the book. You always have to sacrifice things you love
‘ it’s unavoidable – and that’s always difficult.
I guess that one challenge particular to Stardust was that in the
‘third act’ ‘ in other words, the part where all the different
storylines resolve ‘ things happen separately and in turn, whereas
Neil, Matthew and I all felt that for the movie, it would work best to
try and bring all the storylines together. That happened quite
naturally and organically, in a way we were happy with, but it was
certainly a challenge. Then again, I enjoy a challenge, so I wasn’t
complaining!
From “emilyrln”: Were there any parts of the book which
you particularly wanted to keep in the script but which proved to be
incompatible with the movie (technical/thematic/time issues, et cetera)?
Jane: There were things that I personally loved in the
book, but that I suspected from the start we probably wouldn’t be able
to keep in the movie.
When books are being adapted, these issues are almost always about
time and pacing. In order for us to tell Tristan’s story in sufficient
depth, and to see his relationship with Yvaine develop, it was
important for him to meet her sooner rather than later. And that in
itself dictated quite a lot.
There is always an argument for keeping things in just for the
sake of atmosphere and colour, even if they don’t contribute to keeping
the main plot moving, but there is another, much stronger argument for
keeping movies at a reasonable length ‘ I can think of one particular
movie from last year that was hugely entertaining and likeable but that
I would have loved SO much more had it been about half an hour shorter.
In movies, I truly believe that you CAN have too much of a good thing.
So whilst it’s always sad to sacrifice bits you love, it’s all part of
the job, and it’s something that, as a writer, you have to make your
peace with.
Of course, having Neil as such an intrinsic part of the project
made all of those moments of sacrifice so much easier. If he was
comfortable with changes, then I felt that I had no right to lament
them! I love the book as a reader ‘ and I know that as a reader, it’s
easy to develop a very powerful sense of ownership – but it is his
creation. So it was a great benefit to be able to draw strength and
comfort from his creative and pragmatic attitude towards the adaptation.
From “emilyrln”: What is your favourite scene from the movie, and why?
Jane: It’s really hard to pick a favourite scene, as I’m
fond of so many. There’s a great sequence around half way through where
several of our characters paths intersect for the first time ‘ for
those who have read the book, I’ll just say it’s at the Inn that is
created by the Witch Queen (who, in the film, is called Lamia, and is
played by Michelle Pfieffer.) It’s absolutely brimming with tension,
danger, a dash of humour and a few surprises, and I find it still
delights me every time I watch it.
There’s also a beautiful romantic scene that I’m very fond of
between Tristan and Yvaine much later on, where they are talking
somewhat at cross purposes, and connecting while not yet fully
connecting. Charlie and Claire’s acting is just wonderful in that
scene, the chemistry is magical, and they ‘ and indeed the whole scene
‘ just look gorgeous.
Humour-wise, I also adore a scene of treachery and subterfuge that
takes place between Septimus, Primus and Tertius over the coffin of
their late father, and there’s another that I think everybody loves
involving Captain Shakespeare (who is Captain Alberic in the book), but
which I can’t say too much about, as it’s not in the book and is a
great surprise and seriously funny. And Ricky Gervais’s scenes are just
as brilliant as you’d imagine. His timing is incomparable, and he and
DeNiro together are a delight.
There’s also an incredibly cool element of the final showdown
involving Septimus, Tristan and Lamia that still thrills me deeply to
watch ‘ it’s just incredibly cool.
See, I told you I found it hard to choose!
Martyn: Based on your experience with Stardust, would you do this all again?
Jane: You bet! Although I acknowledge that my experience
as a writer is atypical. I really have Matthew to thank for making it
such a rich experience for me. Frequently writers are out of the
picture once the script is finished, but I’ve had the privilege of
being part of the production team from beginning to end. It’s been
wonderful, educational and hugely satisfying, and Matthew has
completely ruined me for other directors! He’s a hard act to follow.
And of course, I’m eternally grateful to Neil, for introducing me
to Matthew in the first place, and for trusting me with his wonderful
book. The whole thing has been a delight.
Martyn: Has the experience been a good one? Is there anything you would do differently?
Jane: See above. And no, I don’t think there’s anything
I’d go back and do differently, except perhaps eat slightly fewer of
the far-too-delicious puddings from the catering truck. I’ve only just
recently managed to get back into my pre-Stardust jeans!
Seriously, though, although I’ve certainly learned an enormous
amount about working on a big-budget movie, and I know that everything
I’ve learned will greatly inform my approach to my next project, I’m
just thrilled with how Stardust has turned out, and there really isn’t
anything I’d want to do differently.
Martyn: Is there any chance of the screenplay being published in book form (perhaps with some pictures and notes to accompany it)?
Jane: Yes, there is going to be a draft of the screenplay
published in the ‘Making of’ book, which will be published to accompany
the film. It’s essentially the shooting draft, but Matthew and I
decided to also put back in a lot of the lines and scenes that were cut
for length or budget reasons, as a kind of printed equivalent of a DVD
‘deleted scenes’ bonus feature. So the draft is not the exact
screenplay you see onscreen, and nor is it a complete early draft, but
rather a mixture of earlier and later drafts put together especially.
Martyn: Are there any plans (concrete or otherwise) to
develop more screenplays that you can tell us about? Any other movie
projects on the horizon?
Jane: I’m afraid I’m not able to give details about
anything right now, but on a more general note, Matthew and I
definitely intend to work together again in the future, which I
couldn’t be more delighted about.
