Sunday, August 14, 2022

Melissa Mathison: True to the Book



“We’re all going to die and they’re never going to give me my license!” “I’ll believe in you all my life everyday. E.T…I love you.” “Is he a pig? He sure eats like one.” “I’ll be right here.” 


These lines were written by Melissa Mathison for Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which celebrated a 40th anniversary release on August 12th, 2022. Mathison had a career as a screenwriter that lasted for 36 years, writing screenplays based on children’s novels such as The Black Stallion (1979), as well as original screenplays like “E.T.,” which earned her a Best Original Screenplay Oscar Nomination. Though her career was relatively short, it was remarkable.


Mathison was born in Los Angeles, California on June 3rd, 1950. She was born into a family of writers: her father, Richard, was the Los Angeles Bureau Chief of Newsweek and her mother, was a food writer and convenience-foods entrepreneur, so she naturally developed the desire to write herself. She studied writing at the University of California, Berkeley, and her career officially took off when Francis Ford Coppola tapped her as his assistant on The Godfather part 2 (1974). (The Mathisons were family-friendly with the Coppolas and she even babysat his kids!)


After “Godfather 2,” Omni Productions was looking for a screenwriter to adapt the beloved children’s novel The Black Stallion written by Walter Farley. Coppola recommended Mathison, and she was hired, writing a script that stayed true to Farley’s novel. The film not only exceeded Farley’s expectations, but it even caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who was looking for someone to write for his next film project “E.T.” Originally conceived as a “sort of” sequel to Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Spielberg became involved with “E.T.,” but he was not interested in making sequels. He agreed to produce it, but not direct, and originally had summoned screenwriter John Sayles to write the sequel, which was going to be called Night Skies. When Spielberg was displeased with Sayles’ draft, he read the story to Mathison, who re-wrote the screenplay, thus re-imagining it as “E.T.,” and became director again.    


In addition to a screenplay nomination, the film received a total of nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won four. Spielberg and Mathison collaborated again two years later on Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), a film based on the television series of the same name, and in which Spielberg shared directing credits with Joe Dante, John Landis, and George Miller; Mathison shared writing credits with Landis, George Clayton Johnson, and Richard Matheson.


Besides her collaborations with Spielberg, Mathison also wrote the screenplays for The Escape Artist (1982), the television film Son of the Morning Star (1991), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), and Kundun (1997), each of which were based on original books. While writing “Kundun,” she befriended the Dalai Lama and began a second career as an advocate for Tibetan freedom and was even on the board of the International Campaign for Tibet. In 1998, she and then-husband Harrison Ford lend their voices to the audiobook The Emperor’s New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale, voicing the con artist husband-and-wife hired by the emperor’s seamstress to design the new clothes.


In 2008, Melissa Mathison was hired by Disney to write the English-translation for the Japanese Anime film Ponyo, produced at the Japanese Animation Film Co. Studio Ghibli and released under Disney’s label. The final film she wrote the screenplay for was Disney’s live-action adaptation of The BFG (2016) which was directed by Steven Spielberg (marking the first time ever Spielberg directed a film produced and distributed by Disney!) and starred Mark Rylance as the title character. Rylance had previously won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar under Spielberg’s direction in Bridge of Spies (2015) just the year before. Mathison was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer towards the end of the film’s production and died on November 4th, 2015, at the age of 65, eight months before the film’s July 1st release. The film was dedicated in her honor, reading “FOR OUR MELISSA” in the closing credits.


Melissa Mathison was a screenwriter who knew how to bring a book to life on film, but to stay true to the book, which is an exceptionally rare quality for writers. It’s unfortunate that she never won an Oscar for any of her screenplays and it’s also unfortunate that she is no longer with us. But she had an incredible career and every movie lover can agree that, had it not been for her skills as a screenwriter, “E.T.” wouldn’t be the beloved classic it still is today.

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Review: "Luck"



Skydance Media is a film company officially founded on April 4th, 2006, by David Ellison, who continues  as the company’s CEO. Since its founding, Skydance has co-financed and co-produced films with Paramount Pictures, beginning with Flyboys (2006) starring James Franco, and the remake of True Grit (2010) which starred Jeff Bridges and garnered 10 Oscar nominations. Their most recent work Paramount was this summer’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick (2022). In March 2017, they teamed with Illion Animation Studios (based in Madrid, Spain) and Apple Original Films to begin producing CGI Animated movies. Their very first animated film, distributed by Apple TV+, is Luck. This is my review: 


Sam is the world’s clumsiest 18-year-old. She grew up in an orphanage, but is now too old to live there and has begun to live independently as a working adult. Her best friend is a five-year-old orphan named Hazel, who is desperate to be adopted. Sam wants to help her find a family. One day, Sam finds a penny in the street that she believes will bring good luck to both her and Hazel. She has difficulty keeping the penny on her person and magical adventures ensue, including a new friend: a loony, but soft-hearted cat named Bob.


The inspiring message of this movie is that no one is born with only good luck or bad luck. Life is all about enduring bad fortune whenever it happens, and one has to balance those two. It seems that bad times make you love the good times even more and it’s the bad times that help you tell when the good times are.


The film’s voice cast includes Tony-Nominee Eva Noblezada as Sam and Simon Pegg as Bob. Supporting voice cast Members include Oscar-Winners Whoopi Goldberg and Jane Fonda as well as veteran voice-over artists Grey DeLisle and John Ratzenberger. The film’s producing credits were shared by four people: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, David Eisenmann, and John Lasseter. This is Lasseter’s first return to animation since his departure from being the Chief Creative Officer of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. The film was directed by Peggy Holmes, who directed Disney’s Secret of the Wings (2012) and The Pirate Fairy (2014). It was written by Kiel Murray who wrote the screenplays for Disney/Pixar’s Cars (2006) and Cars 3 (2017). 


All in all, 2022 has proven to be a great year for animated movies from Turning Red to The Bad Guys to Minions: The Rise of Gru. Luck is part of what has been a really good run. Each film has been uniquely entertaining and told an inspiring message, but “Luck,” may be the best. Balancing bad luck, and knowing that good luck can still surprise us when we least expect it is a great message for kids and adults alike.