In less than ten years as a professional filmmaker, John Hamburg has already worked with one of cinema’s most revered actors, broken a box office record, and fueled the pop culture fire of movie quotes and catch phrases. His latest film, “Along Came Polly” opened on Jan. 16, earning the highest January opening weekend gross of all time.
Q: When did you decide to become a professional filmmaker?
A: I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker my junior year of high school. At the end of my sophomore year, my parents got me a video camera for my birthday. By today’s standards, the thing was enormous – but I became obsessed with making short movies. One of them, a comedy called “Ernie,” was about a wimpy freshman who became a superhero. We showed it in a school assembly and everyone laughed and I realized what I wanted to do with my life.
Q: Was film school at NYU a valuable experience?
A: Film school was great for the first year. I made a short film called “Tick,” which got into Sundance and jumpstarted my career. I met a lot of interesting, talented people who I’m still friends with today. I had some really good professors. After the first year, I started to feel like I wanted to make a feature – I was getting antsy to do it – and I felt I wasn’t learning a huge amount from my classes, so I decided to leave. It was the right decision for me, but friends of mine who stayed benefited from staying there.
Q: You dropped out of NYU to make your first film, “Safe Men.” How did that project come together?
A: “Safe Men” came together because I had met some independent producers when my short film was at Sundance. Basically, I showed the script around to a bunch of producers, both ones in Los Angeles and New York and two of them managed to independently raise the money to do it – from private investors. I really got lucky. It wasn’t one of those movies that took years to put together. It just sort of happened quickly because people liked the script and the short I had made. “Safe Men” had a very small release but has garnered a nice cult following which makes me happy.
Q: “Safe Men” drew the attention of Ben Stiller, who you’ve since collaborated with on “Zoolander,” “Meet the Parents,” and now “Along Came Polly.” Is Stiller the De Niro to your inner Scorsese?
A: Who knows? He and I have a good time working together. We have similar senses of humor. I think we’ll continue working together on some things and apart on others. We never planned to do all these movies together, it just sort of happened.
Q: Speaking of De Niro, in an Entertainment Weekly article, he credited you for the success of “Meet the Parents.” How did it feel to win the support of an acting legend?
A: That’s cool that De Niro said that. I was very nervous the first time I met him – I’m still nervous when I work with him. You never really get over the fact that you’re talking to Robert De Niro, or “Bob” as those of us in the know call him. It took me a while to call him “Bob” and the first time I did I was petrified he was going to correct me and ask me to call him Mr. De Niro – which he didn’t. He just nodded, and walked away.
Q: Besides De Niro, you’ve also got a generation of pothead fans thanks to “Zoolander.” How did you go about turning a VH1 sketch into a full-length movie?
A: Yeah, “Zoolander” did well when it opened, but not great. But a lot of people have discovered it on DVD… I had a waiter quote a line from it the other day – not knowing that I had actually written the line he was quoting. We spent a lot of time working on the script. Ben and a writer named Drake Sather created the character and the original sketches, and they wrote the early drafts of the script, then I wrote a lot of the later drafts… but it was very collaborative. Unlike “Meet the Parents,” where I didn’t meet the other credited writer until the first preview screening.
We were very careful to try to make “Zoolander” different from the typical SNL sketch movies. We just tried to treat it like any other story – where Derek goes through an emotional journey, changing a bit in the end. We did a lot of work on the Derek/Hansel storyline. Their friendship is my favorite part of the movie. And hey, if people like to get high and watch the movie, more power to them. I seem to have a knack for that – a lot of people tell me that “Safe Men” is quite the stoner movie as well.
Q: You’ve also done a considerable amount of uncredited doctoring of other writers’ scripts. When a studio sends you a script, how do you decide whether to take a stab at rewriting it?
A: I decide to work on a script for a couple of reasons. The first thing is I have to think that the script I’ve been sent isn’t working as well as it could. Then I have to think that I have an idea of how to fix it. Usually, the movies I’ve script-doctored have come about because of a relationship I have – either with an actor, a director, or a studio.
Script-doctoring is unique in that you have to be able to deliver a lot of good material in a short amount of time. The writers who are good at it get paid well, because there is a lot of pressure involved. There are great writers who aren’t good script doctors because they just need to take more time with their work. Then there are other considerations. A lot of times, when you get involved, the movie is almost ready to start shooting. So, there are actors involved, and you often meet with them and hear their thoughts about the script. You meet with the director or the producer, hear what they have to say… why they don’t think the script is working… Also, sometimes the sets are being built, so you can’t change where a scene takes place – you can only change what happens in that scene. There are many factors. And you can’t be too precious. You just have to write and send your pages in and hope your agent doesn’t get an angry call asking why you’re wasting all of the studio’s money. But I like it. Writing an original script for me takes a lot of time… so I like the challenge of having to deliver something really quickly.
Q: The tremendous box office success of “Meet the Parents” probably opened a lot of doors for you. What made you decide to return to writing/directing with “Along Came Polly”?
A: I never got into the business to be a screenwriter. I always made movies. So as soon as I finished “Meet The Parents” I knew I wanted to write and direct another movie. I actually made a deal to write and direct “Along Came Polly” before “Meet the Parents” came out. I basically just walked around New York trying to figure out what I wanted to write, and gradually the story and characters for “Along Came Polly” came to me.
Q: Granted there aren’t that many neurotic, Jewish leading men around, but were you at all reluctant to re-team with Stiller?
A: No, I wasn’t reluctant at all to re-team with Ben. We had never worked together as director and actor, so that was a new challenge. But Ben is an amazing actor. He makes it look easy, and he gets far too little credit for how good he is… trust me, I’ve seen him work, and he’s very precise, very specific. I felt really lucky when he agreed to star in “Along Came Polly”– and I’m really proud of his performance. I think it’s obviously in a similar genre to what he’s done before – but he goes a little deeper – plays a more vulnerable character. Most people won’t realize all the subtle things he’s doing – but if you watch the movie a second or third time – I think you will pick up on a lot of that stuff.
Q: While the movie retains your unique comedic perspective, it’s definitely a bigger production than anything you’ve done before. What was it like that first day on the set when you’ve got a handful of millionaires and an army of crew waiting for you to tell them what to do?
A: To be perfectly honest, it didn’t feel all that different than when I made my low-budget movie… or even my short films. The actors don’t act like millionaires – they’re just people – wanting to do a great job. Making a movie on a higher budget is different of course – but it comes down to the same things. A couple of actors on a set, trying to make a scene work as the crew films them.
Q: How much creative control did the studio give you?
A: The studio was very cool with me. I had worked with several of the executives on “Meet the Parents” and we had a good relationship. I love collaborating and listening to other people’s ideas… so, while they never, ever forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do – they also knew that I was open to their thoughts… I don’t treat the studio like the enemy – which is part of the reason I’ve been able to do okay in the studio system. We all have the same goal… making a good movie.
Q: I’m assuming the studio wanted test screenings. What’s that experience like?
A: We had several preview screenings. They are very nerve-wracking – having an audience of 400 people “grade” your movie – but they are necessary. Hollywood movies have done test screenings since movies began… I like them, actually. I make comedies. I don’t make my movies for critics – I make them for general audiences. So if I’m trying to make them laugh – and they’re not laughing, there is a problem and I have to address that. As nervous as I get for the previews screenings, I also learn a lot from them. Fortunately, on “Along Came Polly”, our previews went well and they tended to get better as we kept working on the movie. Our last preview – which was just a few weeks ago – was our best in terms of vocal audience response (laughter, applause) – and what the audience wrote about the movie in their comment cards. If it hadn’t been, I don’t know what the hell I would’ve done because we had to hand the movie in a few days after that.
Q: So far, you’ve only done comedy. Your cousin, Doug Liman, segued from directing hip Indie fare like “Swingers” to the summer action blockbuster, “The Bourne Identity.” Do you want to make a similar transition into other genres?
A: For now, I’m happy doing comedy. Maybe someday I’ll venture into other genres, but I’ve always had a comedic mind, so that’s what comes naturally to me. I love watching an audience laugh at something I’ve written or directed. It’s scary with comedy because you can tell if the movie is working or not if the audience is laughing or not. And if they’re not laughing, and they’re supposed to be, you’re screwed. But when you screen your movie for the first time – and the audience laughs at that first joke… it’s tough to beat that feeling.
Q: So what’s up next for you?
A: I’m going to do some work on the “Meet the Parents” sequel, “Meet the Fockers” – which is scheduled to shoot sometime in the spring. Then I’m going to take some time off – and start thinking about what my next script might be. I have a few ideas… but nothing concrete yet.
Q: What advice do you have for the Wesleyan film majors who dream of filmmaking success?
A: The big piece of advice is to try to find your voice, find what you are good at, and pursue that obsessively. Don’t try to write a script you think will sell, but is not what you really want to write. The people I know who have made it in the business all did so because they worked really, really hard and stayed focused, and didn’t let rejection stop them. I’ve had scripts of mine passed on by every studio. I’ve been replaced as a writer on a script I originated. I’ve gotten good reviews, bad reviews. But through all of it, I just kept working and kept trying learn more, and get better. I read every screenwriting book out there. I read and analyzed a lot of scripts. I read interviews with writers and directors, watched a lot of movies and just wrote, a lot. There is no secret to succeeding. It’s just a combination of hard work, talent, and lucky breaks.
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