Interview with Producer Lauren Shuler Donner (Part 1 of 2)


IGN FilmForce interviewer Kenneth Plume recently had an opportunity to talk to producer Lauren Shuler Donner.

In her 22-year career as a producer, Lauren has produced such popular films as Mr. Mom, St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink, Dave, You've Got Mail, Any Given Sunday, the Free Willy movies, and this summer's The X-Men. She has also executive produced various films, including Assassin, Volcano, and Bulworth.

In her two-part conversation with Ken Plume, Lauren Shuler Donner discusses getting into the industry, what a producer does, when a producer's job begins and when it ends, meeting her husband, director Dick (Richard) Donner, the experiences she's had producing her various movies, the differences between a producer and an executive producer, and what future projects she currently has in development.

PLUME: Tell me a little bit about your background¿

SHULER DONNER: I grew up outside Cleveland, Ohio, and I went to college at Boston University. I majored in film. Then I came out to Los Angeles. My first job was as an assistant editor of medical and educational films. Then I went over to NBC ¿ they have a vacation relief program. I did a lot of things, and I ultimately ended up a camerawoman in television. I left NBC and freelanced around as a camerawoman. I got tired of that and crossed over into production ¿ I became an associate producer in television. After that, I had an accident ¿ a woman ran a red light and I crashed into her and I had to have surgery. It put me out for months. So I started working with my friends who were screenwriters, and that led to my next job at Motown Productions ¿ which was a very active film company ¿ as a creative executive/story editor and then an associate producer on Thank God It's Friday. The first movie I produced was a movie that Joel Schumacher wrote and directed called Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill¿ It was for NBC. It was sort of hailed as one of the 10 best TV movies ever, for a while there. It launched us both ¿ but I was a little too young to go out on my own. I joined a company ¿ briefly ¿ and then I left to be on my own. I had made enough relationships with writers to make development deals and live. The first writer I developed a script with was John Hughes, and that was Mr. Mom. That was my first feature film. It was followed by Ladyhawke. After that was St. Elmo¿s Fire ¿ with Joel Schumacher again. Then John Hughes asked me to work with him again, and I produced Pretty in Pink ¿ which he wrote and Howard Deutch directed.

PLUME: Was it difficult, as a woman, getting into the industry at that time?

SHULER DONNER: It was really hard ¿ really, really hard. It was crazy. I sort of had blinders on and just wanted to be in the business¿ so I just kept pursuing it. But it was very rare. There were hardly any women in the business.

PLUME: What were the main roadblocks that would be thrown up? Was it something that was clearly evident or was there a subterfuge to it?

SHULER DONNER: Both. The worst thing was what one guy said when I was first looking for work. He said, "Do you know shorthand?¿ I said, "No. I want to make films. I want to be an editor or a director.¿ And he said, "Honey, either learn shorthand or get yourself a see-through blouse, because that's the only way you're going to get a job in this business.¿ I was shocked! Then I got very angry.

PLUME: That was definitely the less subtle roadblock¿

SHULER DONNER: That was the less subtle version, yes. And then there were the subtle things, like "no job available¿.

PLUME: Do believe it was just a matter of persistence that you finally broke through?

SHULER DONNER: Yes. I do. I think if you stay at it long enough, you can make it

PLUME: Compared to today, would you say it¿s easier for women to get into the industry today? Or do you think the opposition is less blatant than it was then?

SHULER DONNER: It's not as blatant, no. But I do believe that it's a lot easier¿ look at the studios. Every major studio, except for Warners, is run by a woman. That alone has changed everything. And there have been enough female producers who have been quite successful that I believe that we have opened doors for other women to step through. The same with writers. Not quite as many directors, unfortunately, but hopefully there will be more and more.

PLUME: Was the shift palpable to you? Did you notice more doors opening up to you? Or did you have to fight a lot?

SHULER DONNER: I had to fight a lot, but with each success it became easier and easier. It's interesting, because I was under contract at Disney in the late ¿80s, and I noticed they had a number of female producers under contract. I think that's when I sort of looked around and saw that ¿ while there was still a small handful of us ¿ at least there was a handful of us. And now it's grown more and more.

PLUME: Predominantly, are you brought into projects or do you find projects?

SHULER DONNER: Predominantly I find projects and develop them. Our company develops them. Either we have an idea or we receive a pitch from a writer that we've made a relationship with or we get a script or find an old movie to remake or read an old book to remake ¿ that sort of thing.

PLUME: If you were to encapsulate it, how would you describe the job of a producer and the sequence of the production process?

SHULER DONNER: Here's how I would describe it¿ every producer is different, but this is what I do. I believe that the producer is involved from the conception of the idea to the release of the movie. What I do is find material and then work with the writer to develop the material ¿ occasionally bring in a director to work directly with us. Obviously sell that material to the studio, because the studio now is financing all of this. Then get the script into such a shape that you do get a good director or get the script into a shape that the studio now will consider making it. Then, once the studio has agreed to make it ¿ and that often is a matter of budget and/or casting. With a director, we cast, find locations, determine wardrobe ¿ and also with the line producer ¿ schedule the movie, budget the movie, rework the script, fight for certain moneys to be in certain accounts so that we have enough for visual effects or that we have enough for casting. Then, once we start filming, it's putting out fires ¿ because there is always a problem to solve. It's being on the set and having another idea and carefully telling the director. It's helping things go smoothly ¿ working with a difficult actor, or you lose the location and now you have to go get another one¿ that sort of thing. Then, in post-production, working with the director and the editor in the editing room. By that point, we¿re also working with the studio in terms of the marketing campaigns and publicity.

PLUME: At what point does the producer divorce themselves from the project? At what point do you say, ¿I'm over and done with this project¿?

SHULER DONNER: About the fourth or fifth week of release ¿ when the studio will probably no longer advertise the movie any more, so the last thing you're doing is fighting for the studio to stay with your movie and keep promoting it ¿ even if it¿s a hit.

PLUME: The think that the jobs producers do are ofttimes overlooked by the public?

SHULER DONNER: Always. Nobody knows what a producer does.

PLUME: There¿s no Producers Guild that publicizes it...

SHULER DONNER: There is a Producers Guild, actually¿

PLUME: Oh, there is now?

SHULER DONNER: Yeah, there is now. But I think people really don't understand what a producer does versus what a director does. I mean, the producer is often the person that is on the movie the longest ¿ it's their material that they are then bringing the director onto to bring it to the screen. Are we overlooked? Absolutely. If the movie is a hit, the director is brilliant. If the movie is a bomb, then we did something wrong.

PLUME: Do think producers are often much maligned?


PLUME: Or seen as these horrible people that are just there as axe-men?

SHULER DONNER: Yes. Or seen as horrible people who are just holding the purse strings and not caring ¿ which is really not true. I mean, we care most of all. I will always fight for what's best for the movie. If it means spending a little more money, then I'm going to fight for that. If it means telling the director not to dwell on this one scene because it's not important, then I¿ll fight for that. Whatever we feel is best for the movie, we fight for. That's not the picture I think is it out there ¿ the cigar chomping, greedy big shot.

PLUME: Do you think it¿s sometimes a convenient scapegoat for studios and directors or actors ¿ this nebulous persona of the producer to blame things on?

SHULER DONNER: Yes and no. If you really pressed them, they¿d tell you how important we are. The studio¿s job is finding new material ¿ once the movie starts going, it's entrusted to us ¿ so they know what we have to do on a daily basis. Occasionally yes, you will catch the blame because they want to maintain a relationship with the director.

PLUME: Without being too specific, is there a project that automatically leaps to your mind where that sort of thing happened?

SHULER DONNER: I've been told that the studio would make my movie with Director X. I am not as enamored with Director X, but I want my movie made. We develop a script and, sure enough, it¿s not good.

PLUME: Is the nature of the industry that that could be very short-lived?

SHULER DONNER: I have a couple more movies in me before they would ignore me ¿ that's if there was a bunch of flops in a row.

PLUME: I know time is short, but I want to go through a list of the films you¿ve produced and get your quick impressions about what you think best sums up your involvement on the film¿


PLUME: Thank God it's Friday¿

SHULER DONNER: Well, I was really young. What was fun on that movie was casting Deborah Winger ¿ and, obviously, being in a disco every day was good. It was a movie of its time ¿ obviously, if you looked at it now, it's kind of silly ¿ but we had an interesting cast. This story of it was that I was at Motown, and Casablanca Productions ¿ which was Peter Guber and Neil Bogart ¿ had also developed a disco movie with Columbia Pictures, so Columbia said, "You get together and make one movie or we're not making either of them.¿ So the two companies came together. I was very young and I was watching the politics in how it all came together ¿ and, for me, that was really fascinating.

PLUME: Mr. Mom¿

SHULER DONNER: I read an article of John Hughes¿ about kids in the National Lampoon and I thought it was pretty funny, obviously. So I contacted him. I had an idea for a story ¿ and I think, probably, because we¿re both from the Midwest ¿ we kind of connected. He didn't want to do my story, but he was working on a movie with ABC Motion Pictures. At that time, ABC had a motion picture division. He asked me if I would get involved with that movie, which I did. He was living in Chicago, writing, and I was living in LA ¿ and we were talking every day. One day, he was telling me that his wife had gone down to Arizona and he was in charge of the two boys ¿ and he didn¿t know what he was doing. It was hilarious! I was on the floor laughing. He said, "Do you think this would make a good movie?¿ And I said, "Yeah¿ this is really funny.¿ So he said, "Well, I have about 80 pages in a drawer. Would you look at it?¿ So I looked at it and I said, "This is great! Let's do it!¿ We kind of developed it ourselves. There's a whole complicated story about how we set it up, but ultimately we did set it up. In the meantime, Laurie Perlman ¿ who was an agent who represented Michael Keaton and is a friend of mine ¿ said, "Look, I represent this guy who is really funny. Would you meet with him?¿ So I met with him. Usually I don't like to do this unless we¿re casting, but I met with him because she was my friend. And then she said, "You have to see this movie Night Shift that he's in.¿ So I went to see Night Shift, and midway through I couldn¿t wait to get out of that theater to give Mr. Mom to Michael Keaton. Fortunately, he liked it.

PLUME: Ladyhawke¿

SHULER DONNER: Ladyhawke was probably my favorite movie, because I met my husband on it.

PLUME: That¿s a good enough reason¿

SHULER DONNER: Yes. Definitely. It was a hard movie to get made. It took us a long time to get the script right, but we finally did. Casting Michelle Pfeiffer was interesting because she had only done Grease 2, and at the time they were just filming Scarface, but who knew? The woman had to be beautiful and intelligent enough for two men to be in love with her. Michelle did a very funny audition, and that nailed it. That convinced us to cast her. It was fabulous making that movie, obviously because I fell in love with my husband ¿ and we were filming in Italy. What could be better?

PLUME: You had location and everything¿

SHULER DONNER: Yes, love and location.

PLUME: St. Elmo¿s Fire¿

SHULER DONNER: It was great because Joel and I got to work together again. Joel wrote this script for Columbia and then brought me on as a producer ¿ he's just wonderful to work with. I love Joel. He's perceptive, he's funny, terrific with actors, he's got a great sense of style. It was very fun casting our cast and fitting each person to the role. Interestingly enough, we originally wanted Diane Lane for the Demi Moore role, and she didn¿t want to do it. We met with Demi and knew that she was the right person for it. One of my best experiences was making that movie ¿ it was very harmonious, the actors were great, they were great to each other, nobody was a prima donna, it was a pleasurable experience. Except for when we filmed the stuff in the snow and it was like 20 below and the cameras wouldn't work anymore. Also, the studio said, "We can't call it St. Elmo¿s Fire. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't have anything to do with the movie.¿ We said, "You come up with a better title, otherwise we're using St. Elmo¿s Fire.¿ And nobody could come up with a better title, so we stuck with it.

PLUME: Pretty in Pink¿

SHULER DONNER: Pretty in Pink was John Hughes again. I also worked with Andrew McCarthy again ¿ I had worked with him on St. Elmo¿s Fire, and I brought him into Pretty in Pink. We shot it all in LA. Molly [Ringwald] became an enormous star ¿ I mean, she was on the cover of Newsweek. She was 17 ¿ really admirable, because she had to go to school, take her exams, and then memorize all her lines and be responsible for acting. Nobody realizes that these really young actors have a double responsibility. It was a fun movie to film. We came out around Valentine's Day, and that helped us a lot.

PLUME: And it¿s gone on to become a rather iconic film¿

SHULER DONNER: Definitely.

PLUME: Three Fugitives¿

SHULER DONNER: Francis Veber is probably France's most pre-eminent screenwriter and comedy director. He had written and directed Les Fugitifs in France, and we remade it. I had the honor of working with Nick Nolte, who is probably the most professional actor I've ever worked with ¿ along with Tom Hanks.

PLUME: I love those little producer clarifications¿

SHULER DONNER: They're all great. Here's the funniest thing of all ¿ instead of calling Francis Veber ¿Francis Veber¿, Nick Nolte would call him ¿Frank Webber¿.

PLUME: Which I'm sure delighted him to no end¿

SHULER DONNER: It did¿ it cracked him up. And Marty [Short] is hilarious. Marty had the whole crew and everybody laughing every day. In fact, Francis and I are going to work together again. He wrote and directed a movie in France called The Dinner Game, and we're going to remake it in America.

PLUME: Radio Flyer¿

SHULER DONNER: Radio Flyer was the second movie I did with my husband. I loved the script so much ¿ and we knew that we were tackling a difficult subject ¿ but it really flopped. I believe it's because people just don't want to go to the movies to be depressed, and their feeling was, obviously, that they're going to be depressed. It wasn't about child abuse, it was about the resilience of childhood and how a child can resort to magic to sort of save his life. I thought Dick did a great job and that the performances were wonderful, and that it was directed in the right away. It's just that the subject matter was not appealing.

PLUME: Do you think it¿s been appreciated more after-market?

SHULER DONNER: Yes it has. Absolutely.

PLUME: Dave¿

SHULER DONNER: Gary Ross wrote Dave. We had the idea a long time and it took a long time to get it made, but once we did¿ It was also one of my best experiences making movies. Ivan Reitman had the perfect vision for it, Kevin Kline and Sigourney were a pleasure on the set, Gary stayed around ¿ it was one of those movies where all the elements really clicked. We had such a good, solid script. Ivan was really at the top of his game. It was one of my favorite experiences. Making comedy is always fun because you are laughing ¿ people come in when you're casting the film and you're laughing at the lines, when you¿re shooting it you get a kick out of it, and then when you show it to the audience and the audience is laughing ¿ you'll laugh all over again. Even if they¿re jokes that you¿ve heard a hundred times in the editing room.

PLUME: Just because of the group experience?

SHULER DONNER: Just because of the group experience ¿ the laughter all around you ¿ yeah. It's amazing. Dave is one of the movies I'm most proud of.

CLICK HERE to jump to the final installment of Ken¿s interview with Lauren Shuler Donner ¿ in which Lauren discusses working on the Free Willy films, the power of film, the irony of having to fight to cast Brad Pitt in The Favor, the differences between a producer and an executive producer, the challenges and pitfalls of X-Men, the projects she currently has in development, and the synergistic working relationship she shares with her husband.

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