Shawn Levy (director of the Night At
The Museum trilogy and Real Steel):
I was a film student when Jerry Maguire
came out in 1996. It knocked me out.
It had this almost magical blend of
humanity, humour and heart that was
uniquely alchemical and moving. It’s a
cliché to say a great movie will make you
laugh and cry, but Jerry Maguire actually
did it. And still does it, every time,
probably 50-plus viewings later. If you
look at it through the lens of 2019, there’s
no IP, no branded title, no pre-awareness,
no huge idea, really, beyond, “Sports
agent has a crisis of the soul and writes
a mission statement.” It’s so low-concept,
but it’s high art. And that’s the kind of
movie we don’t see anymore.
I’ve revisited it sometimes to get
inspiration. In fact, for Free Guy, the
movie I’m prepping now with Ryan
Reynolds, we’re looking at the way that
Janusz Kaminski lit close-ups in Jerry
Maguire. The eyes are luminous: you
see a humanity that comes through.
I suppose it’s an odd choice as one
of my favourite films, because unlike
Cameron Crowe, I’m not a writer-
director. I’m a producer-director. But it
remains one of my touchstones because
it is the kind of filmmaking I aspire to.
I’m happy with what I’ve achieved so far,
but I very much hope to keep injecting
my movies — whether they’re action or
genre or comedy — with the blend of
poignance and humour that I think
Cameron has a nose and an eye and
an ear for, as few do.
It has also served as a litmus test for
future friends. If you’re not a crazy fan of
Jerry Maguire, we probably can’t hang
out. If you love it like I do, we’re going to
be really good pals.Shawn Levy: I want to start with
a question that I wouldn’t have asked
when we first met 15 years ago, because
back then I didn’t even really know what
it is to be a producer and now I’ve been
spending a fair bit of time over the last
few years developing that muscle. Can
you tell me what your rapport was like
with producer Jim Brooks, and his role
in shaping the movie that would become
Jerry Maguire?
Cameron Crowe: James Brooks is the
most character-loving, appreciating,
deep-tissue storytelling comedy-drama
guy I had ever met. As a little kid I saw
his show, Room 222, and it communicated
to me. Then he kind of ran his way
through my life with The Mary Tyler
Moore Show, and then I was lucky
enough to start working with him. We did
Say Anything... together and he was the
greatest teacher. He told me, “We are here
because we have the privilege of
storytelling.” I told him, “I want to do
solid storytelling, like a black-and-white
movie that you see late at night and go,
‘Damn! Those characters are vibrant and
alive. That story’s rich and it ends on a
peak and boom!’” And he’s, like, “Well,
you’ve got to start studying Billy Wilder.”
So I did.
Levy: At the initial prompt of
Jim Brooks?
Crowe: Yes. Billy Wilder and James
Brooks run through the whole story of
Jerry Maguire. Twice a week I would
meet with Jim and we’d kick ideas around
and talk about our lives, talk about these
movies. He would say, “Did you see Ace
In The Hole? It’s about journalism, it’s
about Kirk Douglas’ character and his
wife, and what does that mean to our
characters?” So we would have this
beautiful discussion about storytelling
and characters and Billy Wilder, and it
turned into this story about a sports
agent trying to find his soul.
Levy: Did you start with the world of
the sports agent, or did you start with
the character and then knew you needed
a backdrop of profession?
Crowe: Actually, it started with the
backdrop. We had had lunch at a place
called Delmonico’s, which was kind of
a lunch-time spot, working people in the
neighbourhood. We sat down and Jim
said, “Hey, I saw this...” He takes out this
article from New York magazine and
says, “Take a look at this picture, buddy.”
It was The Boz [NFL player Brian
Bosworth] with his agent at the time.“JONATHAN LIPNICKI
WAS NOT ORIGINALLY
CAST IN THE PART...
THERE’S ONE WIDE-
SHOT WE COULDN’T
RE-SHOOT SO WE TURNED
THE FIRST ACTOR INTO
A POTTED PLANT. ”