Lisa Carroll
Chris Morgan’s script writing career hinged on a script poking out of a backpack.
A production assistant noticed it when Morgan was assisting on a set, and asked to have a look. Eight months later, while Morgan was back working at a video store, he got a call from the people working on “Gladiator” at DreamWorks. They liked his writing and recommended him to some agents and managers.
Not bad for a guy who started off making up stories in a political science class about Russia politics.
Moviehole sat down with Morgan, below, to talk about how the script for “Furious 7” changed after the death of Paul Walker; plus the addition of Kurt Russell and also about how writers tend to be a bit apart from the rest of the human population.
Moviehole: How did you get started in the business?
Chris Morgan: The long version and short version of it, was that I always loved stories. My mom was a novelist and she put my brother and sister through college writing 18 novels; what’s crazy is that she made two thousand dollars a novel! Then I worked at a video store which was good story training. When I was in college, I was in a political science class to do with Russia politics and was bored, so I started drawing in a notebook and I drew up a story, a first screenplay.
What was strange is that, after I got a job as production assistant in a movie, another PA walked by and asked about my script in my bag and asked to look at it. She read the script and said it was good.
(The screenplay then got passed around, ending up at DreamWorks)
The only reason I have a career, was that someone who was really kind, reached out and made an introduction for me. It’s very funny and I think about it now, about the amount of time it is to bring in someone you don’t know and recommend. I’m grateful every day — I’m really thankful as it was a very big thing and changed my life.
Moviehole: What were the biggest challenges of making this film?
CM: If there was any other movie or an early one in the “Furious” franchise… the truth of the matter is, the loss of Paul goes far beyond the word “challenge.” Nothing ever would be bigger or more terrible to have to deal with, it’s singularly tragic. All the stories you hear — I’ve never heard so many good stories coming out (about Walker), I never experienced that before. He was just an awesome, cool, every day, normal, good dude.
Moviehole: Will there be new characters?
CM: There will be a bunch of new characters and we kind of teased him last time – Jason Statham. Also there’s Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey plus Kurt Russell. Kurt is a total hero of mine and to be able to sit and go over dialogue with him was one of best experiences of my life, lots of laughs. He is such a pro. We worked a lot on tailoring his dialogue. He knows his voice. I asked him about movies like “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China,” he is hilarious and a great guy. He just steps on and nails it. Everyone we added was an awesome addition. I’d worked with Jason Statham on “Cellular,” so it was fun to bring him into the “Fast” franchise.
One funny story, I was working on “Cellular” and my daughter was just two years old. She carried a pink purse with her to restaurants as she liked to collect mints and has a collection, and anyone who goes to her purse can’t get her mints. Well, when she looked at Jason Statham and he said hello to her – she hands him her purse. I was like, ‘I’m her dad, and I can’t touch her purse!’
He’s friendly and engaging, a very rootable character and he is going after our team in ”Furious 7” and has a reason for it – whether it’s good or bad, as long as they have a code they believe in, the audience will buy into that character and root for them. There is also Natalie Emmanuel from “The Game of Thrones.”
Moviehole: What is your writing style and how do you get your ideas?
CM: It’s not very different from any other writer. I write for the read, to shock or excite them. When you read it, you’re flying through it (the script) and experiencing it, rather than a technical blueprint of the script. I want them to feel that wish fulfillment and root for the characters. For me, it’s all about being open as you never know where an idea is going to come together.
As writers, I think we obsess about things more — writers are wired a little differently, connecting ideas that don’t normally fit together. I write on paper and feel when I write on the computer, it’s more of a commitment. And I tend to write in coffee shops, I need noise in the background. I get bored in a quiet room, while if there’s coffee to be delivered and noise going on, I tend to sit there longer.
Writers just are different – think about what it takes to write a novel or screenplay, it takes a person holding a universe in their head with surprises, dialogue, where it feels real. During the day with writing, you are noodling it and you feel it when it clicks. Someone once said to write your characters in a box and surprise yourself with how you get them out. That’s why they have so many cliffhangers and season hangers on television to break them out down the road.
Moviehole: How much did the script have to be revised after Paul Walker’s role was edited?
CM: I can’t give an exact percentage, it was significant. I had to come up with a new ending to make it feel right and to work and I wanted to give a fitting tribute to Brian (Walker’s character). We had to support it all the way through the film and touch on that. It was a lot, but I’m really proud of it, I loved what we did with his character. It was very emotional for me.
Moviehole: What was it like working with Paul’s brothers on the film?
CM: I’ll tell you this, those guys are incredible guys and all of us feel so lucky that Caleb and Cody stepped up to finish this for Paul. I can’t even imagine how difficult it was for them.
Moviehole: What about special effects, can we expect some things we’ve never seen before?
CM: We dropped real cars out of a C-1 cargo plane, there’s so much stuff in the rest of movie. A lot of craziness. We can have heightened big stunts because the audience really cares about the characters and you know it can be heightened, because it’s grounded with love. I feel super lucky because I’m literally playing in other people’s sandboxes with the early “Furious” movies. All the stuff we are doing, is an extension of what they already had in there. Such as, Brian started as an undercover cop and finds out these people have a code, that they are a good/bad family.
Moviehole: Do you have an update on the “The Legend of Conan” film? As well as other upcoming projects?
CM: It is incredible (“Conan”). Will Beall is our writer on that. Will knows the voice of Conan better than anyone I ever met. Arnold is excited, Universal is excited, it’s a worthy film. Alex Kurtzman and I are overseeing writers on Universal’s monster films “The Mummy,” “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” and “The Wolf Man.” We are given responsibility for shepherding new versions of the movies — it’s a ton of responsibility and a lot of fun to pitch ideas with monster films.
When I think about it, when I was a kid, I used to come to Universal Studios because I loved “Jaws” and “Conan” which had a live show, which was one of my favorites. I remember the dialogue from it, there’s a great hero moment from that show. There was a “Castle Dracula” show too.
Moviehole: Who are your writing idols that you look up to (screenwriters or novelists)?
CM: There are so many – Lawrence Kasdan, Shane Black, Scott Frank, George R. R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Frank Herbert — there are hundreds. Comic book writers like Garth Ennis. Or Brian Michael Bendis (“Ultimate Spider-Man” comics), he loves to write, you can tell, and he puts ideas together in a real unique way.
Moviehole: Any advice for screenwriters just starting out?
CM: The truth is, be ready — do the work now and be prepared when an opportunity comes up. I had a script in my bag when no one asked me to do it. You put yourself in position if an opportunity comes up. There are no rules. Just always be ready, never forget that every meeting is a sales pitch, always have something to talk about, be collaborative, don’t be precious, be cool, be open to new ideas, don’t give up, don’t get down and don’t get depressed.
Moviehole: I’ve heard of one screenwriter who only writes one line a day. What do you think about that, as far as being productive?
CM: Just writing one line? Suddenly one line can be “Luke, I am your father” — that one line can clarify everything.
