Douglas McGrath: Uncomfortable Silence is Golden

Although Douglas McGrath's first break came penning sketches on "Saturday Night Live," his face, words and directing talents have each been utilized in some of the most recognizable film projects of the last twenty years: The "Director" earned critical praise for Emma and survived the redundancy of Company Man to helm Nicholas Nickleby; "the Actor" has worked with directors Robert Redford (Quiz Show), Michael Mann (The Insider), the controversial Todd Solondz (for Happiness) and Woody Allen (Celebrity, Hollywood Ending and Small Time Crooks); and it was with Allen that "the Writer" picked up an Oscar®-nomination for co-scripting Bullets Over Broadway.

On his Oscar experience, McGrath mentions that it would have been nice had the Academy's nomination been forthcoming earlier in his career (or rather, prior to his birth) so he could have gloried in the banquet with idols Fred Astaire and Charlie Chaplin. However, acknowledges McGrath, it was "pretty cool to see Sly Stallone, Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster."

The latest film from the former grammar teacher is steeped in literary history. Infamous is a tale about Truman Capote, set during the period in the author's life that was blanketed by his ground-breaking non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood.

Sounds familiar, right?

Due to the existence and success of a similarly themed film earlier this year (directed by Bennett Miller, scribed by Dan Futterman and starring a now Oscar® winner), Douglas McGrath issued a press statement that bears reprinting as an example of succinct beginning/middle/end storytelling, as well as for its candor and humor:

I remember when I first heard about the other movie. I had called Bingham Ray, for whom I had made my film of Nicholas Nickleby, to say that I wanted to send him my new film about Truman Capote. In his characteristically economic way, he said, "It's on my desk."

I glanced down at my desk where the script was. "How can that be," I asked, "since it's still on my desk?"

He said, "I'm looking at it right now: Capote by Dan-" At this point, there followed what we in the WASP community call an uncomfortable silence...

Starring the relatively unknown British actor Toby Jones in the role of the literary giant and Bond-bound Daniel Craig as the merciful-yet-murderous Perry, the film boasts supporting roles filled by famous faces, including Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sigourney Weaver. Infamous is slated to open the Orrizonti (Horizons) section of the 63rd Venice Film Festival in September, which, McGrath admits, "is a beautiful way to bring the film into the world."

As Infamous started shooting a few months after its predecessor, Warner Independent Pictures held the film for an October release Stateside while the air cleared. It's worth the wait. While Capote is undeniably brilliant, Infamous differs significantly in tone (deep without being dark) and attitude (more comically entertaining). McGrath's focus on Truman's arc from bon-vivant of Manhattan's highest society to destructive souse, and on Perry's delicate balancing act ‘twixt cold-blooded killer and pained artist are each arrestingly portrayed.

While many resources attribute the end of Truman's literary life to the moneyed success of In Cold Blood, the director doesn't hesitate to stipulate heartbreak as the true cause for the necrosis of Capote's creativity. "I don't think it was the money, for many reasons. Firstly, if you're friends with the Paleys and they invite you to holiday with them, and the Guinesses host you on their yacht, you are rich. These socialites loved Truman, so it would never have mattered if Truman never achieved the wealth that the novel brought him. And he'd had some success already. He'd had success with Breakfast at Tiffany's and sold that for a lot of money. He'd had other scripts made, too - Beat the Devil and The Innocents, which is an incredible film. I believe it was the loss of that love, or that potential love, with Perry that he mourned."

Continuing, McGrath reveals, "It was something in George Plimpton's book that first suggested to me something physical may have happened between Perry and Truman. The book mentioned that Truman bribed the guards to not walk past Perry's cell when they were talking. While it may not have been so that they could engage in sexual acts and may just have been because it was so hard for Perry to open up and trust him... that situation may have lent itself to the physical situation that occurs in the film.

"I thought about what was worse and what made sense, and I felt that, owing to the effect on Truman, he and Perry had been together once. If he'd never had Perry, the effect would not have been as devastating, and if he'd had Perry many times... then he would have started to write about it or deal with it more normally than was the case."

Rather than exulting in his own achievements on the ladder of fame, McGrath guides those on the lower rungs through Hollywood's game of chance as an advisor to up-and-coming scribes at the Screenwriters Lab at Sundance. "I had two great pieces of luck in my career: one was being hired on "Saturday Night Live"; and the other was through my wife; well, she wasn't my wife then, but meeting Woody... without those happening you might be talking to someone else right now and I'd be helping someone try on shorts at Banana Republic. So if I can give back some of that to someone else, well... it's a great feeling when you're watching the credits roll on a film (often for several minutes) and you see ‘Special Thanks...'"