film The Deal

What does it look like when a Hollywood movie producer suddenly has nothing to lose? Meet Charlie Berns, a guy whose suicidal tendencies give him the chutzpah to con a major studio into a $100 million deal on a script he hasn’t even read.

At the very moment when his idealistic screenwriter nephew knocks on the door, toting a solemn arthouse period script about Benjamin Disraeli, Charlie has literally had it with life. But the trade papers have announced that a recently converted black action star is actively seeking Jewish material, so the serendipity is too absurd to resist. Charlie masterminds a plan, making it impossible for the studio not to greenlight this project, which, while Jewish, couldn’t be further from an action flick. No matter. In Hollywood, perception is everything. Along the way, Charlie meets his match in Deidre Hearn, a sharp-witted development executive who sees right through his games but also recognizes that maybe his caution-tothe- wind philosophy has serious merit.

The mischievous charm in this smart screwball satire about renegade producers bamboozling a soulcrushing industry hinges on the wonderfully crackly Tracy-Hepburn chemistry between William Macy and Meg Ryan. Steven Schachter’s tongue-in-cheek romp revels in sending up Hollywood stereotypes—zealous star, histrionic director, slippery suits—but also Ryan’s legacy as romantic comedy’s “it” girl, and even the notion that it’s possible to make a meaningful movie.
- movie-list.com

Kenny Leon is acclaimed for his work as artistic director of Atlanta's Alliance Theatre Company, the largest regional theatre in the southeastern United States. Leon has directed and championed theatre that illuminates the diversity of the human experience, including productions of Blues for an Alabama Sky and Angels in America. He has also directed at theatres ranging from BAM to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, and the Arena Stage. He is a member of the National Endowment for the Arts, and his many awards include the 1994 Abby Award for outstanding artist and the 1996 Humanitarian Award from MIT.

Pr: Irene Litinsky, Michael Prupas, Keri Nakamoto
Ci: Paul Sarossy
Ed: Matt Friedman

Please introduce yourself...

[I am] Steven Schachter -- early 50's director/writer -- live in Los Angeles with my partner, Rick Murphy and daughter, Sydney. I grew up in New Jersey, went to Goddard College where I met Bill Macy and David Mamet and fell into the world of the theater. I have been working in the theater as a director and television ever since. [And] I am an avid horseman.

What were the circumstances that attracted you to filmmaking?

I worked in the theatre for many years and ultimately tired of the restriction of the four walls. I wanted to break out. I also was having trouble "supporting myself," so I wrote a 30 minute short with a friend and got it produced. And then I had directed "The Water Engine" on Broadway and my pal, Dave Mamet asked me to direct a film version TNT was doing (which was incredibly gracious of him, in that he was a film director at the time) and that was the beginning of my T.V. career doing many television movies in the T.V. movie hey day (which is sadly over)...

How did you learn the craft of filmmaking?

I've made a number of television movies, which are very similar to films, only more difficult in terms of time allowed. It served me well, in that it was boot camp training. How to do things efficiently and get the most bang for your buck on the screen. I went to New York University for a summer and took an intensive filmmakers workshop where we had to make a film each week....I was horrible at the technical elements (couldn't figure out the F stops, lost the film pieces in the edit room), but the instructor kindly said, if I ever got to direct a film, someone would be doing these things for me (mercifully I've found this to be true).

Steven Schachter, director of "The Deal." Image provided by the Sundance Film Festival

What prompted the idea for "The Deal" and how did it evolve?

Our manager Ken Gross represents Peter Lefcourt and he wrote "The Deal," so Ken introduced us to his work and we fell in love with his writing and sense of humor. We had written an adaptation of the book for Showtime, but then they too got out of the movie of the week business just in time to not do our script... So we said, 'why don't we just bite the bullet and make it as a feature?'

Elaborate a bit on your approach to making the film, including your influences or early inspiration with regard to the casting, technique and approach to the project.

The most unique aspect of this film is the film within the film parts, so it was very tricky trying to figure out how much equipment we could steal from ourselves and how much crew --- and then dividing the crew into the Prague crew and the South African crew --- it was pretty hairy, and sometimes we'd just grab someone and say, "OK, you're the Czech First A.D." -- only because he was the Czech dialect coach, and the only one who actually spoke Czech. Ultimately, it was great fun to watch our crew work in front of the camera and the authenticity they brought to their jobs was priceless and they had a great time as well.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in either developing the project or making the movie?

Bill [Macy] and I decided to work outside the studio system and that was a huge challenge for us. So, we went stumping out on the cocktail party circuit, starting with a gang we met through the Sarasota Film Festival and it snowballed...and then the snow melted ($ fell out) after we had been prepping in Romania for 6 weeks. We came home, tail between our legs, and then were resurrected through a deal with Peace Arch....and lost our leading lady. Then we had to figure out where to shoot this romantic comedy in the dead of winter, so we looked in the southern hempisphere and settled on South Africa, and then Meg Ryan read the script and we were pretty much off and running.

It was an interesting experience to prep a film twice!

What are your specific goals for the Sundance Film Festival?

To sell our film for domestic distribution so hopefully our investors who stuck with us through it all can finally see some return on their money....or at least get it back.

What are some of your recent favorite or all-time favorite films?

I love character pieces that have some social relevance. Some of my faves off the top have been, "Billy Elliot," "American Beauty," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," "The Feast of July." They are usually about "the outsider" in some way...

Do you have any other upcoming projects?

Bill and I have been working on a pilot for TNT called "Family Man" about the perfect dad with an "intriguing" profession.