Photo credit: Saeed Adyani for Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions
“A pair of aging con men try to get the old gang back together for one last hurrah before one of the guys takes his last assignment — to kill his comrade.” Stand Up Guys
Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin and Al Pacino
Hollywood on the Potomac participated in a Livestream screening of Stand Up Guys and Q and A with director Fisher Stevens.
“I was inspired by many films from the 1970s including Dog Day Afternoon, Five Easy Pieces, Straight Time, and The Dirty Dozen. I loved the films from the 70s because they were about characters and not so much about big plot points and big set pieces. I made sure there were no cell phones, no computers, nothing very modern in Stand Up Guys except for the car they steal. Most of the clothes were vintage that the actors wore. The colors were muted. It was like time had forgotten this town and these people,” said Fisher regarding the inspiration for the film.
“The script came about because the writer Noah Haidle was riding his bike in Coney Island one day and saw three old gangster-type looking guys sitting on a park bench drinking coffee out of paper cups. He was imaging what their lives were like and this is what he came up with. I was sent the script years later, made a bunch of tweaks and changes with Noah and with the producer Tom Rosenberg, and that is the film you’re seeing.”
On directing three Hollywood Icons Fisher acknowledged that being an actor absolutely helped him direct — especially directing actors of this caliber. “I think they had an inherent trust in me that saved me a lot of steps in earning it. The other thing about Alan Arkin, Chris Walken, and Al Pacino is that they all come from the theatre, as do I, so we shared a common language,” he said.
“When I started the movie, Al and Chris told me that they had done a reading a few years earlier of a different version of the script. Al played Doc, Chris Played Val. So when I called Chris to say I was directing the film, he asked who was going to play Doc and expressed interest in playing Doc himself. He said he really enjoys that role because as he is getting older, he enjoys playing grandfathers.
So I went in a round about way to try and get someone else to play opposite Chris, not going to my friend Al Pacino, because I was told he wasn’t interested. I kept sort of striking out until my phone rang one day and it was Al calling me after he had seen a Woody Allen documentary I had executive produced and asked me to work on the doc with him. And I said, “No, I don’t want to work on a documentary with you. I want you to read Stand Up Guys again and consider being in it with me directing.” There was a long pause and Al said, “You’re directing?” And I said, “Yeah,” and he read it and said, “Of course.” 4 weeks later we were in pre-production with Al and Chris.
The first person I thought of for Hirsch was Alan Arkin. I had worked with him as an actor in the film ‘Four Days in September’ 20 years ago. I guess because Chris and Al were already attached to the film, it peaked Arkin’s interest and thank God he said yes. It was like a dream come true.”
Stand Up Guys opens in theaters on February 1st.
The Trailer:
