STEPHEN MERCHANT - Writer/Director/Actor Interview

His new show is the HBO comedy 'HELLO LADIES'. His old shows include titles you may recognise, like 'THE OFFICE' and 'EXTRAS'. Along with Ricky Gervais he also created one of my favourite films, the subtle and brilliant 'CEMETERY JUNCTION'. 

Not only is STEPHEN MERCHANT one of my favourite comedy writer/directors, we also like a lot of the same stuff , which is precisely why I began this interview with Bruce Springsteen and Billy Wilder. 

We are both huge Bruce Springsteen fans. The great thing about his music is that he has a song for every mood, for every thing you could be going through. Which song of his are you relating to most at the moment?

I don’t know that I’m relating to it directly but I’ve been enjoying a fairly minor Bruce song called ‘I Wish I Were Blind’. Bruce is a very filmic songwriter, he creates vivid scenes that feel cinematic, particularly on albums like Born To Run. On ‘I Wish I Were Blind’ the lyrics - “I wish I were blind when I see you with your man” - immediately create an image of a lonely man forlornly watching the woman he still loves with her new guy. It’s such economical and evocative writing. It’s very inspiring when you’re writing scripts, which also have to be tight and to-the-point.

I think 'The Apartment' is the greatest film ever - I watch it regularly and have blogged about it here extensively and I know it's one of your favourites -- how do you manage to be influenced by someone like Billy Wilder without outright stealing? 

I’m influenced by everything in one way or another. Picasso supposedly said “steal from the best.” I think that’s good advice.  Woody Allen freely admits that he has stolen from Bergman, Chaplin, Keaton. There are only a limited number of story telling techniques, everything is a variation on what has gone before. All you can bring are the specifics of your experience and worldview and bolt them on to the formulas. Is 'The Apartment' the first romantic comedy to have one of the protagonists running through the streets on New Year’s Eve to be with the person they’ve just realized they’re in love with? I don’t know… but they did the exact same ending twenty-five years later in When Harry Met Sally and it’s just as effective, because the rest of the film is so good and you’re invested in the characters and their lives.

A recent theme on the blog has been longevity, about how long it takes to become successful. Could you share a little bit about your own journey, the failures, the near misses? 

I was lucky. I knew what I wanted to do from a young age. A lot of people drift through the education system, thinking that real life will start when they’ve finished their studies but I figured out early on that I would never have more free time and opportunity than when my parents were still paying the bills. So while at school I was in plays, I worked at a local radio station, I was writing stories and scripts, trying to teach myself how to do it. Then at university I was involved in student radio, I made short films, I took a comedy sketch show to the Edinburgh festival. 

After uni, I did more radio, started doing stand-up, wrote for a local magazine. I was very hard working and tenacious and always looking to get experience, learn from people, try a bit of everything. Basically to put myself in a position where an opportunity might arise. And when the opportunities did arise, I was ready. There are no ads in the job centre for writers or comedians or actors, so you have to muscle your way in and prove yourself to people.

How does it feel now looking back at 'The Office'? The UK has a proud tradition of incredible comedies, like 'Only Fools and Horses' and 'Fawlty Towers' - you are now a part of that. How does it feel to know you created something which means so much to people? 

Like I say, that was my ambition from a young age, so it’s very satisfying. I’m not doing something for the benefit of mankind like a doctor or a scientist but I still think there’s some small value in comedy. It forces us to laugh at ourselves and that’s a good thing. 

I feel like your show, 'Hello Ladies', and Ricky Gervais' 'Derek' -- they're not always judged on their own merits, but rather, how they compare to the greatest hits. Do you find that difficult? 

I’m reminded of a quote by the novelist Joseph Heller : “When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as Catch-22 I'm tempted to reply, "Who has?"”
The Office took on a life of it’s own that was beyond our control. It was influential and it reached a lot of people but I can’t set out to repeat that success because I don’t really know how it happened the first time. I try and make things that appeal to me, just like I did with The Office. I hope lots of people enjoy them but I don’t chase that.

'Hello Ladies' is hilarious, but depressing to me. I have always expected my failure with women to end suddenly when I'm a successful, LA-based writer/director. Is that not going to be the case? 

It shouldn’t depress you because 1. the season isn’t over yet, so you don’t how Stuart’s fortunes might change. And 2. I’m not playing myself in the show. Believe me, life as a successful writer/director is just fine.

Even though I absolutely loved 'The Office' and 'Extras' - the moment I realised you are truly among my favourite writer/directors was when I saw 'Cemetery Junction'. It's one of those rare movies that I can watch again and again and again. Did your prior success mean that it was easier to make a movie that you wanted to make, or was it difficult to get it funded and distributed? 

It was relatively easy to get it made, yes, but I realized afterwards that the problem with Cemetery Junction was that it wasn’t an easy sell to audiences. With movies, you need a clean, simple idea to market to people : for instance The Hangover. “Some men get drunk in Vegas and lose their friend.” Simple, funny idea. Whereas Cemetery Junction was kind of vague. You have to watch the film to understand what it’s about. 

I would even enjoy 'Cemetery Junction' as just an audio file through my headphones, the soundtrack is that good. My favourite song in the film is 'The Rain Song' by Led Zeppelin -- did you always know you were going to use it in that way? It's really beautifully done --- I often get out the DVD just to watch that scene -- it's wonderfully edited --- reminds me of 'Tiny Dancer' in Cameron Crowe's 'Almost Famous', it took a track I already loved and made me appreciate it on a whole new level. 

The hope when you’re using music in a film or TV is that you can invest it with new meaning and let it work in tandem with the images. We had Led Zep in Cemetery Junction from an early cut and were very lucky to get permission from them to use it. If we’d had to replace it with score it wouldn’t have worked as well. I’m very pleased with the music in Hello Ladies too, which is a lot of soft rock from the 70s and 80s. We imagined this was the sort of music that Stuart associated with adulthood and glamour when he heard his parent’s playing it while growing up.

You've mentioned in many interviews your love for Woody Allen's work. Have you met him? 

I have met him only briefly to shake his hand. There was no real conversation. It was way more significant for me than it was for him.

How do you like to write? Where are you? What are you listening to? How do you get 'into the zone'? 

I normally write with other people, either Ricky or in the case of Hello Ladies, two US writers, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. So we sit in an office and just slowly hammer it out. There’s no time to sit around and get in the zone or wait for inspiration. You just have to meet and work everyday until it’s finished. Half way through every project Ricky inevitably says : “Is it always this hard?” And I say “Yes, it always is.”

HBO is seen as the perfect place to have your own show - their record in recent years for great TV is astounding. What is it that is so great about them, and how do they help you achieve your creative vision? 

They hire you because they trust that you know what you’re doing. Unlike a lot of people in the entertainment industry, they don’t assume that they know better. So they discuss things with you and they have ideas but they don’t dictate. They let you take the project where you want it to go.

You have made bold decisions in the past in terms of the life-span of your TV shows -- keeping them to only a couple of seasons -- do you expect the same with 'Hello Ladies', or could you see it lasting for much longer?

It’s up to HBO but there are lots of places to explore because it’s about relationships. So in theory you could have Stuart get into a relationship, move in with someone, get married, have a kid. It could run and run.

By doing more stand-up and acting in recent years, you have become a lot more recognisable. What is the most difficult thing about fame? 

When we first started writing The Office we could sit in cafes and pubs and listen in on conversations or watch people for inspiration. It’s harder to do that now and that’s a shame.

When you're not being creative - what are you up to? how do you relax? 

I’m lucky that I turned my hobby into a career. So when I’m not working I like being out in the real world, with friends, living a real life instead of making up fictional ones.

What's next? 

At the moment I’m just waiting to find out if HBO want to do another season of Hello Ladies. If so, I’d start work on that very soon. 

Care to share?

Tweet

David Jason's Autobiography - A Lesson in Longevity

For those of you in the USA, you might not know who he is. But here in the U.K., he's television royalty.

We love him for many reasons, but mostly for 'Del Boy' in "Only Fools and Horses". I feel happy just thinking about that show. Makes me feel all warm and English and proud.

And I've not even got to the part in the book where he talks about the show. I'm still reading about his humble upbringing, the embarrassing auditions, his struggles with women and his insecurities about never having gone to drama school.

Did you know he was offered a role in "Dad's Army" which was then retracted only hours later? Did you know he was in a TV show with three Pythons in the 1960's? The show was called "Do Not Adjust Your Set".

Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones were all on the show, but they got frustrated by the limits of children's TV; creatively stifled by the producers and the censors, so they left after two seasons.

And David Jason was left bitter, jealous and unemployed. Everyone was off making "Monty Python" and "Dad's Army", and he was NOWHERE.

But isn't it funny when you have hindsight. When you realise that David Jason on "Monty Python" would have meant no "Open All Hours" for him, and no Derek Trotter.

The year the Python's ditched him was 1969. Seven years before "Open All Hours", twelve years before "Only Fools and Horses". Makes you realise how long a career takes.

I wonder if it's a modern problem for people to want success so immediately. Everyone seems so depressed that they don't have their own "Only Fools and Horses", yet they don't seem willing to pay their dues to get there. How many years of failures have you had? How many times have you nearly got an opportunity only to see it swept away from underneath you?

And paying your dues isn't about doing enough for other people, it's not about doing what you've got to do to deserve something, it's about what needs to happen for you to be GOOD ENOUGH.

I was reading some comments on Twitter earlier, where a heap of people were ripping a famous actor to pieces -- full of criticism, judgement and hate. Some of them were actually actors themselves. They just don't GET IT, they don't realise that what they're saying comes from a place of jealousy. The person they're bullying is in that position because of years of industrious hard work. 

Paying your dues means staying up late; it means reading, it means extra rehearsals, it means missing the party, it means twenty years. You can be that actress who bitches about how crap Keira Knightley is, or you can realise she had ten years of credits even before "Bend It Like Beckham", and you can be aware enough to know she's a better actor than you are. 

"Only Fools and Horses", "A Touch Of Frost", the OBE, they weren't accidents. They're the result of dedication, of longevity, of a man who worked tirelessly at his craft. Who failed more times than most of us have dared to try. David Jason, you're my hero and I'm not even halfway through your book yet. 

Lovely Jubbly. 

Care to share?

Tweet

The Longevity Factor: Your Acting Career Is Not What You Think It Is

Recently I watched a film from the 80's, 'Turf Turf' starring James Spader and Robert Downey Jr. Spader was the lead. Later on Downey would get the Oscars and the franchises, but for a time, James Spader was the man. 

And I watched 'Say Anything' and 'Singles', where we see tiny parts for Jeremy Piven. He was fun, he was engaging on screen. But he wasn't Ari from 'Entourage.' It just wasn't his time yet -- twenty years would have to pass. 

If we're gonna stick with the Cameron Crowe theme, I also re-watched 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High'. So many of those actors, you say; 'where the hell are they now?' But Nicholas Cage is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. 

But wait, Nicholas Cage was in 'Fast Times..'? Yes, as an extra, just like how Paul Giamatti had one line in 'Singles'. 

Some actors peak early. Ione Skye was perfect as Diane Court. But who would have thought 'Say Anything' would be the pinnacle for her? Who knew John Cusack would go on to have such a great career? 

It's like when I'm making a film, some actors that know me get offended that I only had a role for them with two lines, whereas someone else got the lead. 

But two lines is two lines and twenty five years from now might be your time, when you wouldn't even do my movie because you're too big for me; you're an Oscar winner who commands twenty million a flick. 

But in the immediacy of right now, everyone is racing to reach the top - the top seemingly being the most lines, the biggest amount of pay. 

Paul Giamatti is a bigger actor than Campbell Scott now. But in 1992, when 'Singles' came out - Scott was the right person for the role, and Giamatti was light years from 'Sideways'.

Just like Forest Whitaker in 'Fast Times..' He was hardly memorable, but he did a good job. Thing is, you just wouldn't have given him a leading role then because he wasn't the Forest Whitaker we grew to know and love -- he was just a fairly anonymous actor learning his trade, struggling for roles. 

Actors size themselves up against each other. They get jealous that Marie is a regular on a sitcom, and that Fred got cast in new Ricky Gervais film. But when you look at the bigger picture, there's no need to get jealous in the short term - because someone else's career has nothing to do with your own.

Right now you might think you know what Felicity Jones' career is about, or Jennifer Lawrence, but they rarely work out how you think they will. There was a time when Kyra Sedgwick was in absolutely everything - but now the 90's are gone and times move on. 

And Jeremy Piven did enough tiny roles that eventually, he broke through. I mean, there are different levels of breaking through. But for years he had only two lines in movies. Then he played the best friend sidekick in movies like 'The Family Man' and 'Serendipity'.

That is already great success. 

But then 'Entourage' happened. And you think you know what his career is about and then he gets 'Mr. Selfridge.' Wow. 

What a great career! 

And what looked like struggling in the eighties wasn't struggling, it was the path. The struggling WAS the path. Struggling IS the path. 

You don't just walk into a great role. And sometimes you do, like Patrick Fugit in 'Almost Famous', but where's he now? He just has Cameos in Cameron Crowe movies. 

Right now someone is a superstar, and somebody else is nobody. But that has absolutely no bearing on where they'll be twenty years from now. 

It's a roller-coaster. Maybe it's your time right now, maybe it isn't. At the time of 'Jerry Maguire' it looked like Jay Mohr would be a major actor - but eventually the roles dried up and he stayed with stand-up comedy and, eventually, podcasting. 

The point I am making is that a career is long. James Spader has a fantastic career, filled with truly memorable roles. But it panned out differently to how it might have looked when they shot 'Turf Turf' back in 1985. 

And Robert Downey Jr had talent in that film. But did he stand out above Spader? Well no, not really. You wouldn't have known that seven years after that he'd get an Academy Award. Or that twenty-three years later he'd be Iron Man!

You don't need to guess at your career. You don't need to have it all figured out and you don't need to win an Oscar tomorrow. You just need to get better at your craft. If you're eighteen or twenty six or thirty-two, you might feel like now is the time. But maybe you're not Felicity Jones, you're not Ryan Gosling. Maybe you're Tom Wilkinson. You're Eddie Marsan. Maybe your career is landing in a different way, in a different time. 

It's a craft. And sure, there's luck involved. But if the history of film teaches us anything- it's that it takes time. 

You career is not what you think it is. The way it is now is just the way it is now, tomorrow is a whole different ballgame. 

Care to share?

Tweet

LET ME WATCH WHAT I WANT TO WATCH!

"Now I have already mentioned that there was a disturbance in my heart, a voice that spoke there and said, I want, I want, I want! It happened every afternoon, and when I tried to suppress it got even stronger. It said only one thing, I want, I want! And I would ask, 'What do you want?' But this is all it would ever tell me." 

-Henderson The Rain King

So, I really want to watch an episode of 'Seinfeld'. Specifically, I want to watch episode 22 from season 5, 'The Opposite', because it's such a classic and I'm just in the mood for it. 

And I'm also working my way through 'Frasier' again, so there's that too. 

But my brain is giving me such a hard time. On the one hand, I think watching these masterpieces of comedy is good for me as a writer, but on the other hand, my brain is telling me to branch out and watch some sci-fi or something. 

But on the other hand (this is now my third hand, which either means I am an alien or that you think I'm referring to rude body parts) who gives a shit what is good for me as a 'writer', how about just chilling out for an evening and watching what the fuck I want to watch?

But my brain doesn't work like that, not anymore. In fact, in many ways I doubt it works at all. It's just a big jumble. I want to watch a film but I want to write a film but I want to watch a sitcom but I want to go and have a great random day out in the sunshine but 3 ]pokwegop]jrw pi4q[rnwp]w4 (that is my brain spazzing out).

I don't even know what I want anymore. 

I want to write the best script I've ever written.

But how? Should I first get a killer idea? 

Or should I just write and write because many writers just write and write? 

Or should I watch a sitcom. 

Or should I watch a crime thriller.

Or should I go surfing. 

I don't know anymore. I have no clue where I am or what I'm meant to be doing. 

And you'll give me advice. Like, 'go write,' or 'go take a girl out' or 'go surfing' and I'll be all adamant that you're WRONG because it's up to ME and not YOU. So fuck you. 

But I need you. 

I need you to tell me what to do without me knowing you're telling me what to do because right now I am sinking in my own lost confusion. 

'I want I want I want' just like Henderson The Rain King. My heart screams for so many things all at once in so many corners of life, the world, my mind. I want everything all at once and I am utterly, utterly paralysed. 

Care to share?

Tweet

A 'LIFE' Sentence

I re-watched the film 'LIFE' (1999, Dir. Ted Demme). And it's a film I've always loved. When you have great comedic talents like Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, all you need is a good concept for them to wrap their brains around and a director to give them a playground to work their magic in -- and that's exactly what 'Life' was.

That's what I love about Eddie Murphy, just seeing him go, seeing him riff on ideas. The guy is hilarious. And I know he's seen as one of the comedy greats, but still I think people don't realise just how exceptional he is.

And sure, people talk about how Murphy's career has nosedived, but to me, his career is HUGELY impressive. How many actors can sustain such a high level for thirty years?

Give Murphy a decent box of toys (a script, a good director and a talented cast) and he'll still produce the goods. Same for Martin Lawrence.

It just so happened that we were a little more lighthearted in the 90's. No-one would claim they're classics, but 'Life', 'Bowfinger', Nothing To Lose', these movies are endlessly re-watchable, full of hilarious moments.

But what gets me about 'Life', is that I've known this film for 14 years. In the movie, Murphy and Lawrence are serving life sentences for a crime they didn't commit. Just as we get comfortable, there's a flash-forward to '12 Years Later'. When that happens in a movie, it just seems like a cheap device, but then you realise, your life works in exactly the same way.

Your life flashes forward twelve years in a heartbeat. The characters in the movie age and so do you.

And it flashes forward again, and we see shots of characters evaporating, indicating that they've passed on. And one of those was a character called Jangle Leg, played by Bernie Mac. And it makes you realise how much you miss Bernie Mac, another unique talent who died way too young.

You look at Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and Bernie Mac, and you see a bunch of guys having a great time, making a great movie, and they're in the prime of their lives. And I bet they didn't even know it. Most obviously, of course, they didn't know Bernie's time here with us would evaporate so soon.

Life flashes by 12 years at a time. And just as soon as you've gotten used to that fact it flashes forward another 24 years. You may think  the age you are now is the age you are now, but a blink of an eye and the decades just fall away.

In 'Life', they're imprisoned, but you and me, we're free. At least that's the idea, but how much have you changed or grown in the last 12 years? It's shocking to me how, in so many ways, I am exactly the same, making the same mistakes; holding myself back in exactly the same way as I did in 1999. We don't need big metal bars, we all have our own prisons-- our own limitations, be they psychological, environmental, financial. I look at the same dumb errors I make in relationships, in my career, the same fears and roadblocks in my life that are put up by nobody but me.

You can want any life you want but if you don't change your habits, if you don't work on your limitations, you're nowhere, stuck in a life sentence. 

And it's all over in a second. 

Care to share?

Tweet