Dan Mazer
Dan Mazer has made the move from writer and producer into feature film director with British comedy I Give It A Year - which has just been released on DVD & Blu-Ray.
We caught up with the filmmaker to chat about the movie, the idea behind the story and what lies ahead for him.
- I Give It A Year is about to be released on DVD so for any one who hasn't seen the movie can you tell me a little bit about it?
Essentially it is a film that starts where every other romantic comedy finishes; so it kicks off with the big and romantic wedding. It asks the question what happens to the couple when the confetti has landed and the sun has set on their big day? How do they make their relationship work when, ultimately, they are not really that suited to one another?
- You are in the director's chair as well as penning the screenplay so where did this movie start for you? And what inspired the story?
I was at a real wedding of a friend, she was getting married to some chap that she hadn’t really known for very long and they had had this whirlwind romance. It was glaringly obvious to everybody in the congregation that they were absolutely and fundamentally not suited for one another.
There was this incredible atmosphere in the church of just ‘please don’t do it. Oh no they have done it.’ This was highlighted at the groom’s speech as the best thing that he could think to say about his new wife was how adorable he found it that she found it so difficult to find her mobile phone in her handbag; that’s not necessarily a great recommendation for their marriage.
So at that moment I thought what are they going to do? What is going to happen in the first year of their marriage? How do two people who have had this fairytale wedding deal with the more mundane realities of everyday life?
- As you say it is an anti- rom com movie in a way as it does start where most films in this genre end so how much did you think about that as you were writing the story? And how much was that partially the draw for you?
Definitely. We have all seen these romantic comedies that are neither particularly romantic or particularly comedic and I wanted to do something that somehow subverted that and gave a fresh angle to all of those things. So it was almost like thinking about the romantic comedy in reverse.
- How did the story evolve and change from when you had the initial idea to what we see on the screen?
Bizarrely it was kind of a painless process. I have been involved in scripts that have taken many many years to complete but this was only a couple of drafts. It was quite a clean concept and the journey of A to Z in my head was quite clear.
I knew, for people who have seen the movie, the final two scenes are quite unique and different and I had those in my head and I knew what I was working towards.
Ultimately that journey was quite linear and while it wasn’t simple but it was much less complicated that other projects I have worked on have been.
- You have brought together a fantastic cast with Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne playing Josh and Nat so can you tell me a bit about the casting process and what you were looking for with these roles?
I wanted people who felt real and authentic and not too glossy and Hollywood but people who were funny. Rose Byrne is sort of amazing in so far as being ridiculously beautiful but having no vanity and being unbelievably sharp and funny and willing to put herself out there.
As soon as I saw her Bridesmaids I knew that she was the person that I wanted for the role. I was delighted when she said yes.
It is always the challenge when making a British movie to find the next guy who could be a Hugh Grantesque character; so you are looking for someone who is a brilliant actor but is handsome, charming and funny.
Often you have two of those but not all three; Rafe is in the slightly unique position of having all three of those. The minute that I met him I thought ‘you are my man’.
- Rafe Spall in particular is an up and coming British actor who has had a great 12 months or so how did you find working with him?
It was just a pleasure from start to finish. What was great is he was incredibly keen to really crack this as he knew that it was a big thing for him to be the lead in a Working Title comedy.
He put in the hours from making himself look lovely and brilliant and perfect and perfect to absolutely nailing the character and being funny. He was just a joy to work with.
In the process of casting I did have a unique approach to it as opposed to getting people to come in and read the part and leave - which is the traditional way - I wanted to spend time with people.
So I sat down with them and talked with them and got to know them and check out that they shared my point of view and my comic sensibilities; there is nothing worse than explaining why a joke is funny or how to be funny.
Rafe is just so naturally funny, charming and sharp that there was never that disconnect as he was immediately on the same page as me.
- Josh and Nat are not the only couple in the film as there is Naomi and Hugh, played by Minnie Driver and Jason Flemyng. They are terrific and there is a real comic element to them so was all of their stuff in the script or was some of it ad-libbed?
Most of their stuff was written, I have to say. It was sort of based on people that I know who superficially seem like they hate each other but underneath there is a deep love.
Ultimately they just annoy each other and are very honest about that and are very brutal about that and that is how they make their relationship work.
For me there is nothing worse than a couple who are pretending to get on well but underneath hate each other with a passion. This is the converse of that and they were both brilliant at doing it.
- How much do you encourage improvisation as a director as the comedy in the film just seems so natural and almost off the cuff?
As a writer you would imagine that I would want to be faithful to my script and clamp down on anyone who deviates. But the truth is I was really happy for funny people to be as funny as they possibly can. If you have Stephen Merchant, Rafe, Rose and Minnie you would be an idiot not to utilise their comic gifts and skills and allow them to be funny.
I was really happy to let them do their thing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but that is the nature of improvisation, but I would always let them have a go.
- The movie sees you team up with Working Title so how did you end up working with them?
We made the Ali G fill with Working Title over ten years ago and ever since then I have worked with them and written for them and done re-writes for them. So I have had this on-going relationship with them.
The truth is they are the leading people to make a movie with in this country because they do it properly and they do it brilliantly. You know that if you are making a Working Title movie that it has a good a chance as is humanly possible of succeeding - just because of their amazing track record. It is always going to be my first choice to make a movie over here with them just because they are the best.
There was also something appealing going into the citadel of romantic comedies - the pantheon of that genre - and slightly subverting it and toying with it while I was there. They were great and they were incredibly supportive of that.
- You have done a lot of work as a producer and a writer but I Give It A Year marks your feature length directorial debut so how did you find taking on that role for the first time?
I loved it and it really did seem incredibly natural. I have directed TV before and the films that I had done with Sacha (Baron Cohen) were very collaborative where everyone chips in and the roles aren’t that formalised. So I had felt that I had dipped my toe in the world of directing and this didn’t feel like a massive leap.
The really nice thing about it is being in charge; you are at the top of the pyramid and people bring you drinks and almonds and scrambled eggs and cakes before they bring them to anyone else (laughs).
The terrible thing will be coming back from that and just being a humble writer and producer again. But hopefully the film did well enough that I am still employable.
- As I said you have produced and written throughout your career but is directing feature films where you also wanted to be?
Yes. I love making movies and it is always a challenge to both get them made and then when you are getting them made to make them good. It’s not by accident that so many movies are terrible because it is a really hard thing to crack and it is difficult to make something fresh and new and compelling.
I love making films as I think it’s a real challenge and this is a genre that I love. The truth is if I had a TV idea then I would be happy to make TV - I am really just looking for a creative outlet. But I do love directing and I hope to get the chance to do it again.
- The movie has done very well, particularly in this country, so how have you personally found the response to the film?
It has been great. It is just incredibly nice to create something that people really love and really laugh at and the reaction has just been great. I have been lucky because people have almost universally laughed at it and loved it. Hopefully it will take its place on the list of comedies that people love and want to watch again.
The danger is and the reality is that most people make films that people don’t see and you are just a paragraph in The Guardian and you have wasted two years of you life on it.
What is great about this is people here and throughout the world have gone to see it in big numbers and, more or less have enjoyed it. So I do feel very lucky.
- Finally what is next for you?
I am trying to work it out actually. Having done something that I love doing and was really proud of I am aware of… the process of making a movie is a three year process - it is essentially a marriage - and you have to sit down and ask yourself ‘in three years time am I going to be happy talking about the DVD release of this thing?’ So I am just trying to work out what that thing is at the moment.
I am writing a couple of things and hopefully one will emerge as the thing that I want to do. But I am also reading lots of scripts that people are sending me. So hopefully I am employable and will work again (laughs).
I Give It A Year is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now.