JASON SCHWARTZMAN IS SONGWRITER RICHARD SHERMAN IN DISNEY’S “SAVING MR.BANKS” In the making of “Saving Mr. Banks,” actor Jason Schwartzman had the unique opportunity to play songwriter Richard Sherman, the last member of the core creative team behind ‘Mary Poppins” who is still alive today. Schwartzman has great respect for Sherman, saying, “One of the most awesome, greatest, most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious things about this project has been getting the access to Richard Sherman personally.” Schwartzman, who is a musician and plays the piano, was able to work with Sherman one-on-one to learn his piano-playing style and mannerisms. Schwartzman recalls being quite young when he first saw the classic ‘Mary Poppins” film and says of the experience, “It had a profound effect on me. I don’t think I could say anything new and special since my reaction to it is probably what most people’s reaction to it is, which is that it is incredible. I don’t know what everyone’s favorite scenes are in the film and, of course, things change over time but when I was little I loved to laugh and I loved watching the people laughing and floating. I wish you really could float if you laughed.” He thoughtfully adds, “Perhaps I’m biased because I’m playing Richard Sherman but not only was ‘Mary Poppins’ the perfect storm of great characters that were originated by P.L. Travers and sort of modified by this group but also the music was great. These types of songs are very rare and are like instant classic songs and also a big reason why the movie is so powerful and memorable. Everybody knows these songs. There are a lot of great musicals but there are only a handful of them where lyrics become words in the dictionary.” The actor found the wealth of material available through Disney’s archives to be very helpful in preparing for the role and understanding the relationship between the Sherman brothers and P.L. Travers. “I got a copy of the recordings of all of these meetings P.L. Travers had with the Sherman brothers,” recalls Schwartzman. “I was able not only to get all of the recordings but also a transcript of the treatment that they were reading through as well. Listening to the audio and holding the treatment in my hand and trying to read along as if I was in the room with them was fun but it takes hours and hours and hours just to get through 15 pages because she’s constantly stopping them.” Schwartzman admits that he did not know anything about the backstory of P.L. Travers and her visit to Los Angeles and what was at stake when he came on the project. “Basically these people had to win her over and try to demonstrate to her what they could make out of her book,” explains Schwartzman. “If you think about that, it’s insane; what’s insane is to imagine if there were no ‘Mary Poppins.’ Imagine the opposite outcome of her coming to L.A. and listening to the songs, spending time with the Sherman brothers, Don DaGradi and Walt Disney. Being in Los Angeles and saying, ‘No I’m not going to give you the rights.’ These songs wouldn’t have ever been heard.” Cast as Richard Sherman’s brother Robert was B.J. Novak, whom Schwartzman enjoyed working closely with on set and off. “I was a fan of B.J.’s before the film,” says the actor. “He’s very talented; he acts and he’s a writer. He’s really smart and it’s really great to hang out with him, just learning stuff from him. When John Lee Hancock said that they had cast B.J. Novak as my brother, it was a very exciting moment because I thought that on the physical level there could be some sort of resemblance.” Schwartzman feels that they share more than just a physical resemblance and says, “We also have similar personalities of the characters that we play. B.J.’s pretty reserved and serious but also super funny and a great writer. That’s very similar to Bob Sherman and I think that in public maybe I’ll be a little louder or maybe talk to more people, more like Richard.” Although the movie explores several dramatic themes, it is filled with comedic moments. Schwartzman explains, “When something is hyper-focused, whether it’s a story or someone is hyper-focused on something, they have their blinders on and from a distance that could be funny. Often you’re laughing because it’s kind of uncomfortable. But also it’s a funny movie because these people are taking it so seriously. P.L. Travers is really fighting everybody, so everyone has got everything on the line and when you have everything on the line there are great moments for funny things to happen.” Q&A follows: Q: What do you think of the movie “Mary Poppins”? A: I don’t know specifically what age I was when I first saw “Mary Poppins” but I was young and it had a profound effect on me. I don’t think I could say anything new and special since my reaction to it is probably what most people’s reaction to it is, which is that it is incredible. I don’t know what everyone’s favorite scenes are in the film and, of course, things change over time but when I was little I loved to laugh and I loved watching the people laughing and floating. I wish you really could float if you laughed. Of course, I loved the “Supercalifragilistic” and “Jolly Holiday” parts. Because of “Saving Mr. Banks” I’ve been watching “Mary Poppins” a lot and as a side effect of that my daughter has been watching it with me a lot and she’s almost two. It’s really great to see her watch it as I get to see it through her eyes. She’s really into it and she’s copying all the movements. Q: Is “Mary Poppins” still as entertaining today as it was before? A: Movies like “Mary Poppins” come around once in a while and they’re just really special. Perhaps I’m biased because I’m playing Richard Sherman but not only was “Mary Poppins” the perfect storm of great characters that were originated by P.L. Travers and sort of modified by this group but also the music was great. These types of songs are very rare and are like instant classic songs and also a big reason why the movie is so powerful and memorable. Everybody knows these songs. There are a lot of great musicals but there are only a handful of them where lyrics become words in the dictionary. Q: Can you talk about the process that they went through to make the original “Mary Poppins” movie? A: It’s a great back-story. I didn’t know about P.L. Travers and her visit to Los Angeles and what was at stake when I came on the project. Basically these people had to win her over and try to demonstrate to her what they could make out of her book. If you think about that, it’s insane; what’s insane is to imagine if there were no “Mary Poppins.” Imagine the opposite outcome of her coming to L.A. and listening to the songs, spending time with the Sherman brothers, Don DaGradi and Walt Disney. Being in Los Angeles and saying, “No I’m not going to give you the rights.” These songs wouldn’t have ever been heard. This is a movie about the creative process but it’s a struggle and all the work that went into it shows you that not everything is easy. Q: Walt Disney didn’t tell the Shermans and DaGradi that he didn’t have the rights yet, correct? A: Yes. Walt hires the Sherman brothers and they begin to work on these songs for “Mary Poppins,” as Richard describes like a back-burner project. So he’s hired them and they are on staff now officially and getting assignments to write for other movies and the theme park but they are also writing these songs for the “Mary Poppins” project. Can you imagine finding out that the two years of your life spent writing the songs might come down to one person saying yes or no? Q: What kind of person was P.L. Travers? A: Richard Sherman and the others are the best to describe her because I wasn’t there but from what I’ve read and heard from Richard and with what we are doing here, I think that they were up against a real force of nature in this woman P.L. Travers. She had very specific ideas about her work, how it should be handled, and she was very protective of it. She came to L.A. and met the Sherman brothers and the first thing she said to them is that she didn’t think “Mary Poppins” should be a musical. That’s pretty brutal and she was tough on them. Q: How did you prepare for the part? A: One of the most awesome, greatest, most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious things about this project has been getting the access to Richard Sherman personally and getting to view certain documents and original things from the era. One thing that was great was that I got a copy of the recordings of all of these meetings P.L. Travers had with the Sherman brothers. They have it all on tape and there are hours and hours of it. I was able not only to get all of the recordings but also a transcript of the treatment that they were reading through as well. Listening to the audio and holding the treatment in my hand and trying to read along as if I was in the room with them was fun but it takes hours and hours and hours just to get through 15 pages because she’s constantly stopping them. In the beginning you are listening to it and what is she’s talking about is interesting but then by the fifth hour or something, when you are not even halfway through, you are just like, “Please, don’t stop us. Just let us get through it.” Q: How do you feel about Emma playing this role? A: Emma Thompson is obviously one of the great actors and it’s such an honor and thrill to be around her and Tom Hanks too. Being around the both of them is like watching someone do close-up magic. You’re looking at them and all of a sudden you’re like, “What just happened?” It’s incredible how they take on these characters. Emma really is the most likable human around but when they go “action,” she totally becomes another person and while the cameras are rolling I really do feel differently about her! After the first day of shooting, she came over and she said that when this is all over she hoped we would all get to hang out and you’ll see that I’m a nice person. But she’s so cool and great in the part. When Richard Sherman is on set, I feel like he should go home because he looks like he’s having bad memories. The thing I’m also gathering from just being around Richard is that you realize that the people who made this movie have the same feeling about it as the viewers and it was just as important in their lives too. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be Richard watching people playing him and seeing Walt Disney walk into a room. It’s pretty wild. Q: How was it working with B.J. Novak? A: I was a fan of B.J.’s before the film. He’s very talented; he acts and he’s a writer. He’s really smart and it’s really great to hang out with him, just learning stuff from him. He’s great. When John Lee Hancock said that they had cast B.J. Novak as my brother, it was a very exciting moment because I thought that on the physical level there could be some sort of resemblance. We also have the similar personalities of the characters that we play. B.J.’s pretty reserved and serious but also super funny and a great writer. That’s very similar to Bob Sherman and I think that in public maybe I’ll be a little louder or maybe talk to more people, more like Richard. Q: What was it like when you and B.J. Novak and Bradley Whitford were all on set together? A: All of our scenes are basically together, B.J. and me and Bradley Whitford. It was super-important that the three guys get along really well and have a feeling of camaraderie and I think that we really have that. One thing that’s cool is that on set when they say “cut” people just kind of walk away but I’ve noticed that we three guys stay on the set and kind of hang out in the rehearsal room. So there’s a feeling of wanting to be like a little nucleus and hanging out. Q: The real situation was not fun and yet the movie is? A: When something is hyper-focused, whether it’s a story or someone is hyper-focused on something, they have their blinders on and from a distance that could be funny. Often you’re laughing because it’s kind of uncomfortable. But also it’s a funny movie because these people are taking it so seriously. P.L. Travers is really fighting everybody, so everyone has got everything on the line and when you have everything on the line there are great moments for funny things to happen. Even though the movie has tension and obviously going into P.L Travers’ past there’s a lot of sad stuff and tragic stuff that happened to her in her life, I do think it’s counter-balanced by these scenes, especially with the guys in the room. It’s funny how excited the Sherman brothers and Don DaGradi are when they first meet her and she basically destroys them. It sounds terrible, but it’s funny. When you listen to the tapes, you just really hear them yearning to make her happy. It’s so sad! ABOUT THE MOVIE: Two-time Academy Award®–winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar®-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen. When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history. Disney presents “Saving Mr. Banks,” directed by John Lee Hancock, produced by Alison Owen, Ian Collie and Philip Steuer, and written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Executive producers are Paul Trijbits, Christine Langan, Andrew Mason and Troy Lum. The film released in U.S. theaters on December 13, 2013, limited, and opened wide on December 20, 2013.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 15:27:51 +0000
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