I mentioned the brilliant movie Rachel Getting Married in class the other day. After class, a student came up to me and said, “Dr. Kelley, I worked on that movie.” The student was part of the office staff of the movie’s production team. “Would you like to read the original script?” the student asked. “I would love to!” I told him. And, just a few minutes ago, I finished reading all 95 pages of Dancing With Shiva by Jenny Lumet (daughter of famed director Sidney Lumet). It’s been a few years since I last watched Rachel Getting Married, but as I was reading the script, the dialogue and the scenes came back to me. Kym has been invited to attend her sister Rachel’s wedding. Kym has been in Rehab for repeated drug problems. The family has appealed to the administrators of the Rehab program to allow Kym a weekend pass to attend the wedding. And like the straw that stirs the drink, Kym agitates the dysfunctional family in profound ways. I loved Rachel Getting Married and it was enlightening to read the original script. Dialogue was trimmed, some scenes were eliminated in the final cut of the movie. But reading the original script was a thrill!
Love the connection to the movie, which – somehow – we still haven’t seen. I’ll have to get the DVD.
And speaking of filming, we went to lunch yesterday and there were huge movie trucks, trailers and catering trucks all over the neighborhood (about two miles from us). At first the waitress was passing on rumors that it was (a) Sons of Anarchy (not bloody likely) or (b) a Steven Seagal movie (wishful thinking?).
In the end it turned out to be…wait for it… the idiotic new series PAN AM!
Don’t know what they were filming in Bay Ridge unless one of the characters lives there or escapes her humdrum Bay Ridge life for the glamour of being a stewardess.
We didn’t see any cast members, just crew hanging out in the rain.
Buffalo and Western New York has become a favorite movie setting (tax breaks I suspect), Jeff. It was a thrill for me to hold a Real Script in my hands (a first for me!). I’ve read scripts collected in books. I have a volume of Woody Allen’s early scripts for PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM and SLEEPER and some others. But this was different. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED is a bit bleak so be prepared.
What a treat. I loved that movie. It had the courage to make its characters flawed but believable. And yes, it is bleak but some stories are.
I thought Anne Hathaway played her role as Kym the druggie in remarkable fashion, Patti. From THE PRINCESS DIARIES to RACHEL GETTING MARRIED is a huge leap.
Well, Hathaway is talented…and while the family experience in some ways in RACHEL seemed a bit preciously removed from most people’s, the problems everyone was having certainly helped ground it…as I’ve observed second-hand, wealthy artsy families have plenty of potential for problems, too.
It is interesting reading a working script for the first time, isn’t it? One of the minor perks of my job used to be getting access to working scripts for tv productions. Less so these days…
You’re right, Todd. It was interesting to see a working script for the first time. The differences between this script and the actual movie surprised me.