r"--45"3Chris Cooper (Colonel Fitts):Good lord the difference
between a goodscript and something even mediocre just jumps
out at you and this was one of those instances. I desperately
knew that this was something that I would love to sink my teeth
into. I thought to be honest as the rewrites came that it got
darker and darker and darker and I was really having second
thoughts. To the point that the character kind of frightened me.
And my wife who is an actor herself and I really depend on her
take on the material she read it and said âAll the more reason
you should pursue it.â Thank goodness I did.
Spacey:The funny thing is recalling how my agent at the time
warned me that it wasnât a movie I should do. He felt the
material was too risky. Heâs no longer my agent.
Shooting began in December of 1998 on the Warner Bros.
lot in Burbank. But after only two days of principal
photography Mendes found himself at an early crisispoint.
Mendes:Day One was absolute crap. I got it all wrong. It felt
very stagey like a piece of theatre. The acting was slightly over-
the-top the costuming was a bit cartoony it was a bit overlit.
It was just a bad piece of filmmaking. You donât see the rushes
until a day after you shoot them so Iâd shot two days by that
time. I saw Day Oneâs footage with the producers in the room
and they were supportive and enthusiastic. âWow thatâs great!â
And I said âNo it isnât. Thatâs not what I want. Iâm a little worried.
Can I have a think about it? I think I can do this much better.â
Bening:It was eventually staged very differently. It was done in
a different location. I remember of course being concerned that
what I was doing was right and when I heard that he had gone
back to the DreamWorks folks and said âI donât think this is
rightâ that to me was just such a sign of his confidence. And
I of course was convinced that it was because I was no good.
Mendes:Bob Cooper who was head of production came down
to the set the next day and said âHow do you think itâs going?â
I said âDo you want an honest answer? I donât think itâs very
good and I want to do those two days again but I know what
I want now. I wonât fuck up.â Weirdly because I was honest
about acknowledging that it was not good they were much
more confident with me.
Spacey:I always thought that was remarkable for a first-time
director. But Sam said he felt empowered by that experience
âcause the worst thing that could possibly have happened
happened. He felt he got his wings after that.
Mendes edited the film in London where he decided to
make drastic revisions.
Mendes:There was a detective story in the middle of it. Even
though we know itâs the Colonel who has shot Lester Burnham
Wes Bentleyâs character gets sent to prison for it. You saw what
happened next to everybody. Carolyn goes off with the Real
Estate King. Menaâs character becomes a soap star which made
me laugh. But I took it all out without telling the producers or
Alan Ball and they came to see it. Alan was suicidal. He said âI
think youâve ruined it.â I said âCan I tell you something? I donât
think Iâve cut enough. Iâm going to cut more and Iâm going to
show it to you again tomorrow but stay with me on this one.â
Ball:I wasnât suicidal. I was just âWait a minute! I wish Iâd had
a little warning! Thatâs not what I wrote and all that stuff was in
there for a reason.â And he I think was a little angry with me
that I wasnât going âOh my God. I think the movieâs perfect!â
(laughs). But I very quickly came around to seeing that it was
a better movie because the framing device was very bleak. It
was me as a sitcom writer raging against what we call in the
writersâ room âThe Moment Of Shitâ where everybody learns
something and hugs. It was me going âYeah and the kids go to
Above:A suspicious
mind: Colonel Fitts
(Chris Cooper)
confronts his son
Ricky (Bentley).
Right:Spielberg
congratulates Mendes
on his Oscar win
(one of the five that
American Beauty
received).
Below:Life isnât all
roses: Lesterâs wife
(Bening) puts on
a brave face