Father Of Invention

Genre: Dramedy
Premise: An ex-inventor tries to reconnect with his daughter after a 12 year jail sentence.
About: Kevin Spacey, Camille Bell, Heather Graham, Virginia Madsen, and Johnny Knoxville to star. Pic will be produced by Krane Films and Trigger Street Productions, Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti plus Jonathan Krane, Anthony Cohen, and Ken Barbet. Father of Invention was filmed in News Orleans. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I was worried about the director, Trent Cooper. His only big credit is Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector. That’s not even the first Larry The Cable Guy. But hey, everybody gets their breakthrough shot, and after that you get to show what you’re really made of. If Cooper had anything to do with this script, I’m willing to give him a chance.
Writer: Johnathan D. Krane (current revisions by Trent Cooper)
Details: 109 pages (4-30-09)

Either you love him or you hate him. I'm squarely in the love camp.

Wow, what an unexpected treat. “Father Of Invention” is a script I’ve been avoiding forever because let’s face it: the title kinda blows. But now that I’ve finished it, I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I still don’t know exactly how to describe the screenplay. I know that while reading it I kept thinking it was like a weird bizarro companion piece to American Beauty. There are a lot of similarities between the main character, Robert Axle, and the nostalgia-obsessed Lester Burnham. Yet Father of Invention is its own unique experience. And as it stands, it’s one of the better scripts I’ve read this year.

Robert Axle has just been released from a dozen year stay in the slammer. Our hero used to be an inventor, or “fabricator”, as he likes to put it. He thinks up all of those crazy useless gadgets people actually spend money on at 3 in the morning watching QVC. Problem is that one of these gadgets ended up de-fingering 6000 customers (turns out if you used it for 19 hours straight it slid open and chopped your fingers off). So no biggie. All Axle had to do was forfeit his 1.7 billion dollar company and take a 12 year seat next to a building full of hardened criminals.

Probably playing Claire?

Now that Robert’s out, he can’t wait to seek out some new ideas. Even on his bus ride into town, he’s already trying to combine everyday gadgets into some new super-gadget that nobody's thought of yet. But life on the outside is a lot different in 2009. And in one of the funnier moments, Robert spots a kid and starts pitching him on a new revolutionary invention he's thought of: “Would you buy a phone that also reads…e-mail?” the kid takes out his phone. “You mean a Blackberry?” Yeah, it's safe to say Robert’s a little out of touch. And then there’s his daughter, Claire. At one point she was the apple of his eye. But as soon as he made his first billion, she could've been an apple orchard and he wouldn't have noticed . She's never forgotten how he changed. So when Robert shows up at her door begging for a place to stay, she ditches the hugs and kisses in favor of a good old fashioned: "Get the hell out of here!"

Eventually the selfless Claire comes around but not without a strict set of laws. He can stay for one month (ticking time bombs people!) if he agrees to get a *real* job (nothing that has to do with inventing) and doesn’t bother her two roommates. That shouldn’t be a problem with Phoebe, an angry hot lesbian who hates Robert’s guts the second he steps through the door. At least there’s the eternally optimistic Donna, who lives life like her favorite song is always playing. But even her parents have told her to stay in her room where she's safe from the "convict". Ouch.

I'm thinking Phoebe?

Of course, Robert can’t stay out of the inventing game for long. And after he’s fired from his job (which he doesn’t tell Claire) he gets an idea for a GPS type watch to keep track of your kids. Immediately he’s putting a plan together, targeting investors, building a prototype. The problem is Robert Axle’s name is poison. This is the guy that chopped off 12,000 fingers (the device took two fingers from every person it maimed). The label doesn't exactly inspire confidence these days. This forces Robert to get creative and recruit the asshole who fired him to be his pitch man (I’m assuming this part will be played by Johnny Knoxville – who’s a perfect fit). But when Robert can’t come up with the money to pay for a prototype, he makes a really bad decision that will come back to haunt him, and ultimately destroy all that good will he worked so hard to build up.

The characters are so well-drawn in Father Of Invention. I kept having to sit back and admire the intricacy in which these people were crafted. It’s hard enough writing one memorable character. Having 5-6 is the equivalent of hitting the cinematic jackpot. I loved how you would think you had everybody tabbed and then, BAM, the characters would do a 180 and completely surprise you. But where this script really shines is in the complex relationship between father and daughter. We want Claire to love Robert again so bad that we’re continuously heartbroken every time they can’t quite make it over the hump. Here is one of those scenes, where Robert's trying to erase a lifetime of poor parenting in 5 minutes.

INT. NEIGHBORHOOD BAKERY - MOMENTS LATER

Claire and Axle sit opposite each other. Claire's head buried
in the paper. Axle watches her.

AXLE
When did you learn to sew?

CLAIRE
About six years ago, when I started
the Center.

AXLE
It's nice, the sewing. Are you gay?

CLAIRE
What kind of a question is that?

AXLE
If you are, it's cool with me. I just
want you to be happy.

CLAIRE
Just because my life isn't bogged
down by some man child who wants to
have a say in everything I do, who I
do it with and when it gets done?
...No I'm not gay. I wish it were
that simple.

AXLE
Well none of you girls seem to date
and I find it a little bit odd.

CLAIRE
Donna has been engaged to three
different men and never gone through
with it. No man will ever measure up
to her father. Phoebe dates but
doesn't bring girls home to meet us
because she thinks we would judge her
and I am very much looking forward to
falling in love but not until I get
my shit together.

AXLE
See there, three things I've learned
about Claire Axle: started sewing six
years ago, doesn't have time for men
and loves the paper.

Claire puts the paper down to address her father directly.

CLAIRE
Two more things: My last name is not
Axle and I'm fond of boundaries.
Hence our thirty day agreement. Which
I refuse to budge on.

He takes a section of newspaper. Tries to give her space.

CLAIRE
And I do have time for men, just not
love. I've been having, rabid, erotic
sex with men since I was twelve.

Axle is stunned silent. She lets him suffer then --

CLAIRE
Kidding. I was seventeen.

He breathes a sigh of relief.

CLAIRE
The guy was thirty nine.

Axle sits up straight. This is killing him.

CLAIRE
Kidding about that too. He was
sixteen. ...We did it in your office.

His head drops to the table, THUNK, like he's dead.

CLAIRE
On the desk.

He bangs his head again. She grins, loving this.

CLAIRE
(softening)
My first memory as a human being was
the house on Inverness Court. You
used to sit on the floor with me,
trying to get me to understand how my
stuffed animals and Barbies were all
linked together by atoms and
molecules.

AXLE
Your mom thought I was crazy. I knew
you were smart enough to know what I
was talking about.

CLAIRE
I had no clue. I was just glad you
were on the floor with me.

She goes back to her paper. Axle reflects.


I realize I’m making this script sound pretty sappy but it’s actually hilarious. Phoebe is an actress' dream she's so funny. There’s a scene where her and Robert have to steal back Guitar Hero from her ex-boyfriend (yes, you read that right – she has an ex-boyfriend) that’s so ridiculous it actually works. Super-positive Donna’s optimism complements Phoebe perfectly, and when her world is shattered late in the story, instead of getting all mushy, they play it for laughs and it comes out pitch perfect. But Father Of Invention’s greatest feat is something I’m continually trying to tattoo onto your collective brains: Give us something unique and we will respond! Father of Invention simply isn’t like anything I've read before.

My only fear for the film is if they try to make it too kooky. It walks such a fine line between drama and comedy that this is one of those things you can screw up with even the slightest miscalculation in tone. My hope is that they'll err on the side of drama so the film stays grounded. Either way, this was a fun read.

[ ] What the hell did I just read?
[ ] barely kept my interest
[ ] worth the read
[x] impressive
[ ] genius

What I learned: A lot of movies start with the character at the lowest point in their life. Maybe they just got out of jail. Maybe they just had someone close to them die. Maybe they’ve been fired. This dramatic device works well because when we meet a character at his lowest point, we're curious to see whether he can climb back up the ladder and find success again, or fall back into his own self-destructive ways. It's a tried and true device and a great template for a story.

The Details

Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A suburban husband finds his life spiraling out of control due to extramarital temptation, a crazy cat lady, a wannabe mobster, a potential life-changing surgery, and a band of raccoons hellbent on destroying the only thing that matters in his life: the perfect backyard lawn.
About: This one has been making its way around town and wowing just about everyone who reads it. Some are even calling it the next American Beauty.
Writer: Jacob Aaron Estes

The Details is such a fascinating script because it has moments of such inspired genius, you're kinda baffled to see it occasionally stumble. I was listening recently to an interview Sarah Polley gave about her Alzheimer's-themed film, "Away From Her". She said, in interviewing a lot of older couples and asking them how they stayed together for so long, the general response was that relationships are perfect at the beginning, perfect at the end, and everything in between was hell. Besides drawing a chuckle, I realized that, except for a few rare super-couples I've met, this statement is generally true.

JEFF and NEALY happen to be smack dab in that middle phase. He's in love with his wife, but at the same time he's unable to love her. This distance has weaved its way into every facet of their marriage, in particular Jeff's new obsession: the perfect goddamn backyard lawn. That's the *only* thing he wants. But the new sod won't root because the local raccoon community keeps tearing it up. Not only does this lawn stand as a metaphor for his life, but it's also proving to be the breaking point for his marriage. As Nealy watches Jeff descend into his obsession, it becomes more and more clear that he has no time for her.

Although The Details takes its suburban cues from American Beauty (considered by many to be the greatest screenplay of the last 20 years), it's definitely its own film. Next door lives LILA, 40s, a nosy cat lady with nothing to do except observe and passive-aggressively annoy the hell out of the neighborhood, in particular Jeff. There's LINCOLN, an ex-college basketball player with a past shrouded in mystery. There's REBECCA, an old flame of Jeff's who's now an unhappily married psychiatrist. And her husband, PETE, a Sopranos-obsessed wannabe gangster.

What The Details does right is it builds. It's about building character, building conflict, building tension, building a story. Every 10 pages our main character is worse off than he was the previous 10. Besides the raccoons, Jeff also wants to build an addition to his house. It's unlikely the housing committee will approve it so of course Jeff decides to do it on the sly. The dust from the construction then ends up in Lila's air vents, blanketing her house with dust, and if Jeff wants to keep the construction on the down low, he will now have to please Lila in every way she wants to be pleased. And Lila wants to be pleased in many ways. Much of them, "down low". Jeff also finds himself lusting after ex-flame Psychiatrist Rebecca, and the two end up consummating the relationship. The only problem is her husband finds out, and the next thing Jeff knows, he's being extorted for 200 grand. 200 grand that he doesn't have.

What I liked about The Details is that it puts its main character into situations where there's no clearly defined "correct" way out. And it's seeing what the character chooses to do in these situations that really elevates The Details above the rest of the pack. For instance, Jeff tries to kill the raccoons by lacing his lawn with poison. The raccoons evade the trap, but Lila's cat doesn't. When Lila informs Jeff that she knows he's the killer, and hints that something like that could land him in jail, Jeff is forced to either do what Lila says (and cheat on his wife) or face the consequences. I love when scripts force their characters to make interesting choices. And The Details thrives in that department.

The problems of the script pop up not unlike the very raccoons Jeff is trying to kill. Estes tends to dwell on things for too long at times. Lila's actions are not always believable. But the biggest problem is the character of Lincoln. I'm not sure what it is, but it feels like he's part of another story. It wins awards for being original, but originality only works if it fits within the universe you've created. And Lincoln seemed, most of the time, like an alien from another film. His character is dying of kidney disease and Jeff happens to be the perfect donor. So Jeff ends up donating his kidney to save Lincoln's life. All of this is treated with a melodramatic touch that rivals your favorite soap. And even though I understand why Estes was doing it - to set up a key moment later in the film - it simply never felt organic to the story.

But like I said, the writing is so masterful at times, it doesn't matter. The Details was a joy to read. It'll be fun to follow this into casting, production, theaters, and finally, maybe, award season. I think with a quick rewrite, it could easily get there. I liked this one a lot. And am placing it at number 24 on my list.

[ ] trash
[ ] barely readable
[ ] worth the read
[x] impressive
[ ] genius

What i learned from The Details: The Details is a good reminder about writing characters that actors would want to play. In Lila, the lonely overmedicated strange cat lady, you have a weird and morally twisted character that any actress would jump on. Once you get a respected actress in that roll, it gives your entire film a label of respectability, and draws interest from other big time acotrs and directors. It basically puts you on the map.