Nicholas Stoller and Shauna Robertson Interviews
First-time director Nicholas Stoller and producer Shauna Robertson joined the cast of the movie 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' at the 2008 Wonder Con in San Francisco to discuss the romantic comedy.
Transcript: Nicholas Stoller and Shauna Robertson Interviews
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 2008 San Francisco Wonder Con.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall Director Nicholas Stoller
You and Jason (Segel) have been friends for a long time. Is that how it worked out?
Nicholas Stoller: "For seven years. He was on Undeclared and I wrote for Undeclared. We're both obsessed with guys who cry. We think that's a very funny thing. Like a grown man crying, there's nothing funnier to us."
That's kind of sick.
Nicholas Stoller: "Yeah, it's a little sick maybe. There's something hilarious about it. And so I wrote some of the episodes that Jason was in, so basically on the set of Knocked Up I asked Jason what he was up to. He said he was writing this script and it sounded like something up my alley, exploring relationships, there's a lot of a guy crying… And so we ended up, I asked Judd if I guided Jason kind of through the writing process, if he would support me as a director. He said yes and suddenly it was just happening. I tricked a lot of people. I tricked all of Universal."
They gave you money.
Nicholas Stoller: "They gave me money. They flew us to Hawaii. It really felt like a giant prank."
Has directing been something that you've been aiming to do for a while?
Nicholas Stoller: "Yeah, I mean it's been a dream of mine to be a writer/director for years. It honestly happened much faster than I thought it would. When I presented this idea to Judd I was like, 'Might as well try,' but I didn't think it would happen."
How tough is it to get these guys to stop? I know they like to improv and keep throwing things out there so how do you call cut?
Nicholas Stoller: "Usually run out of film. But there's a moment where even they get tired. And if I think it's going off-course, because we've known each other for years and because we all have this mutual trust, there's a moment where I'll be like, 'Cut. This felt like it was going in the wrong direction.'"
And it's a lot more freeing being that you guys always do R-rated comedies?
Nicholas Stoller: "Yeah. Honestly, it would be really tough to do like a PG-13 because R is just how people talk. People curse. People say dirty things. We're not trying to make life dirtier, we're just trying to recreate life."
Forgetting Sarah Marshall Producer Shauna Robertson
How tough is it to figure out where your next film is going to go?
Shauna Robertson: "It's usually not that bad because we love working with all these people and they write scripts, and it's pretty easy. It's all kind of fed into the system. Judd has such great taste and has nurtured so much wonderful talent, that it's kind of really easy."
They must have ideas that aren't going to float. How tough is it to sell an idea that might be a little different, might be outside the box?
Shauna Robertson: "It's getting easier and easier as these movies make more money. It was very hard to sell Anchorman, for instance. But as those movies succeed, I think the studios are kind of starting to trust that these guys know what they're talking about. If it's making all of us laugh, hopefully it will make America laugh."
Do the studios now give you free rein?
Shauna Robertson: "The studios have been really supportive. They're really great. They laugh a lot at our stuff and they let us do crazy stuff."
For fans of all the other movies, what can they expect out of this one?
Shauna Robertson: "This one's really dirty and raunchy, like all of our other movies, but it's more romantic. It feels like a real story."
It feels like a real story? The other ones were real stories too.
Shauna Robertson: "Kind of. I mean, Superbad is about kids who are trying to get some beer so they can get laid. That is a real story and an important one, but this one really has a story arc. It feels more romantic, even though Knocked Up was very romantic. This is more of a romance comedy than our other movies."
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