Lisa Carroll
If you’re stuck with writer’s block, you might want to try something radical – like going to France. And seeing an opera.
At least that’s what Oscar-winning scriptwriter Christopher McQuarrie did when coming up with a huge sequence for “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” After slightly freaking out executives on the Europe MI set when McQuarrie said he needed some time to think, he and his family made their way to a theatre in France and voila! Problem solved.
Moviehole caught up with McQuarrie (“The Usual Suspects,” “The Tourist,” “Valkyrie”), to hear his views on writing/directing, how new writers can get noticed and how rumors about Tom Cruise leaving the franchise are just plain wrong.
Moviehole: How did you start writing?
Christopher McQuarrie: I started writing — the earliest I was aware, I was writing a short story in class at 12 years old. The substitute teacher asked what I was doing, and I said I’m writing a short story. He asked if that was what I wanted to do when I grew up and I said yes. I was involved in theatre, I loved movies but never thought about writing for movies until I started hanging out with Bryan Singer. From the age of 12, he wanted to be a director. He later asked me to work with him on a project. From that moment on, that’s what I wanted to do and I never looked back. There were detours, but I always came back to writing.
MH: It’s hard to top the last “Mission Impossible.” How did you go about making this new film? What was your biggest challenge?
CM: Really just raising the bar, doing it in a way that the process doesn’t derail you. The first inclination is, is that I have to top the other movies; I let that go and thought, just make the new movie a good one, let’s do one thing the other films haven’t done and not worry about topping the other movies. The other thing I looked at was, I hadn’t seen a woman in the franchise who lived outside the team and challenged Ethan.
MH: Who are your favorite writers?
CM: For screenwriters, the Coen brothers — they are great and I especially admire what they write and what comes out on screen. Also the guy who wrote “Whiplash,” Damian Chazelle — I thought he did an extraordinary film. That’s what I would really like to do, that simple character-driven, very emotional story that ends in a poetic way. Jeff Nichols (“Mud”) is also really great.
MH: How do you get your ideas and what is your writing style?
CM: In the case of this film, it came from a list of things that Tom and I wanted to do. The underwater sequence came from “Edge of Tomorrow” and wanting to shoot a whole sequence underwater; the motorcycle chase came from “Jack Reacher”; and the opera sequence came from France. I was struggling with how to open the film, and the opera sequence was written to be the opening — it came at a point when I was struggling with the new script and I was under a lot of pressure. I said I was going to take a break and leave town for a little bit. My big rule as a writer is to walk away (if writers block) and make good use of it.
I went with my family to the opera and thought, my God, look at this venue, you could shoot a good suspense sequence. I was also inspired by the film “Key to Reserva,” it’s an opera sequence of a ten-minute commercial for champagne made by Martin Scorsese, supposedly finding a script by Hitchcock — it’s a real love letter to Hitchcock. I presented it to Tom to use as an opera sequence.
It never fails when you get into big budgets, people are going to get nervous (about having writers block).
My writing style comes from strictly from straightforward storytelling, I have goals for the end of the movie or the end of a scene, including certain emotions and how I can deliver in as straightforward a way as possible.
MH: You directed this film also, was it a tough challenge and why?
CM: It was definitely a bigger challenge, certainly my biggest challenge. It’s also more of a challenge from writing and rewriting the script which I’ve done before, but with the additional burden of being a director. I don’t believe you could have done it any other way.
An example is, when you see the film, there’s a sequence that takes place at the Tower of London that took four days to shoot. The dialogue was not written until the second day of the sequence — when you see the sequence, you’ll be stunned on how integrated it was in the story.
MH: What advice would you give to new writers just starting out?
CM: I would tell writers to not waste your time trying to sell your screenplay. I would say the odds are extremely difficult, you are better off making movies and by that, I mean short films, little tiny movies. Don’t wait around. The more time you spend making movies, the more you will learn about creating product that others will want to make. Bryan Singer is a good example — when he finished USC, he put himself in deep dept making a 20-minute short film with Ethan Hawke, right before Ethan was in “Dead Poets Society.” Then Bryan held another event with two other filmmakers; that led to an offer for a feature film.
Bryan didn’t wait around for people to give him his career, he went out and he grabbed it. Nowadays, you have access to all the equipment that Bryan spent tens of thousands of dollars on. Now you can buy equipment for $150, do editing and scoring and you can make a three-minute movie every week – you will learn more than you ever will in film school.
The industry very badly wants new material, but they don’t know what they want until they see it. There’s another thing, writers do not understand how movies are constructed and how they come together. The more you understand editing, the better writer you will be. I was in Los Angeles for a few months, I made “The Usual Suspects” and then didn’t make a movie for several years. You’d think you would be off and running, but it doesn’t mean you’ve figured it out.
MH: What are your next projects?
CM: I don’t know, I’ve had all sorts of things I was attached to and was supposed to do next, but I’ve been so focused on this film for so long, I’m living for the moment. I end up like this at the end of every movie, like, I’d be alright if I never made another movie again. What drives me is the movie I’m making — until I know that, I’m happy to live with the experience of what I did last.
MH: Do you see the “Mission Impossible” series continuing indefinitely?
CM: I have to imagine so, as long as Tom wants to do the movie. The idea of Tom wanting to move away from “Mission Impossible” is pretty inconceivable to me, he loves the franchise.
