Authorship Up in the Air: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Posted: January 18th, 2010 | Author: John | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »At the pre-premiere of “Up in the Air” in Telluride, I asked Jason Reitman about the creative process of adapting “Up in the Air” from book to screenplay. Little did I know it would win a Golden Globe for “Best Screenplay” and be the talk of the town for Oscar nominations. But even more surprising to me is that in his constant round of promotion and interviews, Reitman has not mentioned the man that won the award with him: Sheldon Turner. Indeed, the “pie chart” of which he’s tweeted doesn’t even have a sliver of a slice for Turner.
Sell the sizzle, not the steak. When Reitman answered my question back in September, he gave his now familiar story – that he discovered Walter Kirn’s novel, “Up in the Air,” while perusing an independent book store several years ago. He said this is his most personal screenplay to date. It turns out, perhaps this cute story of the auteur director finding inspiration in an interesting novel is… just that, a story. The LA Times mentioned the contention behind the scenes (arbitrated by The Writer’s Guild and shielded from the public eye by Paramount, no doubt). Also, there’s the fact that the novel was being adapted by studios long before Jason was brought on board.
Jason Reitman "Up in the Air" Premiere Westwood Los Angeles 2009 photo by John Rhodes
Is this controversy just part of the pre-Oscars mudslinging? MovieLine.com boldly proclaims, “The Jason Reitman Takedown Begins.” Everybody likes a good controversy, especially when an envied boy-wonder gets dirty.
When highly creative minds combine with great egos, the resulting actions can get messy. Perhaps we’ll never know who wrote which parts of “Up in the Air.” Jason Reitman needs to swallow his pride and give credit where it’s due.
However, without the tireless touring and cute (if not entirely true) stories about how the script came together, would “Up in the Air” have gathered the recognition thus far?
I think the movie would have received all the recognition it has garnered so far, without the screenplay story, because quite frankly, most of the movie-going public, myself included, had never heard of this controversy until just now, as 99% probably still don't. I only learned about it, because I was looking up info on Reitman himself, after appearing on Oprah, just today.
And I haven't even seen the movie yet! It's funny. Reading some of the articles now and the comments – it's quite obvious this small circle of people in Hollywood seem to know and it is getting more publicity because of the LA Times article. I'm glad to read about it and will investigate further, just for my own edification, but as to your original question and point – NO! I don't believe the *cute* story about the script has one iota to do with the success of the movie. Another funny point – - in all these articles — no mention is given to the directing and acting — also important to the success of the film!! Just my two-cents!!