Interview: Up In The Air Director Jason Reitman

recess film editor Charlie McSpadden recently spoke with Jason Reitman, the director of what many are calling the Oscar frontrunner Up in the Air, on a college conference call. Topics ranged from humanizing unlikeable white protagonists (a clergyman could be next!), J.K. Simmons being a muse and the strange truth that Reitman's characters never seem to have sex in beds.

Read the full transcript of all the participants’ questions and Reitman’s responses after the jump. Oh, and if you're wondering, Jason is an aisle kinda guy.

I was wondering if you have the director's playlist that you listen to for like each movie that you do?

Yes.

All right.  What's on that kind of play list?

When you had heard that I've been on 10 flights in 10 days, I mean, 10 days later, I've been on basically 20 flights in 20 days.  It's been kind of haul but at the same time, it's kind of exhilarating to live by your daily itinerary.

I've read that you began writing in "Up in the Air" in 2002; it's 2009 now…

Yes.

How did the writing of the movie change over that 7 years?

Two major things happened.  One, the economy took a turn and two, I grew up.  You know when I first started writing this, I was a guy living in an apartment in my 20s, I was single, and by the time I finished, I'd met my wife.  I've become a father, had a mortgage, so.  In one sense, the story changed and simply as I grew up, so did Ryan Bingham and what I found in life, he began to look for.  What started out as a movie about a guy who just fired people for a living became about a man who was trying to figure out who and what he wanted in life.

Also, I had to make some changes because of the economy.  Most notably, I cast real people as the people who lose their jobs in this movie.  So when you see someone get fired in this movie, except for a few actors that you're going to recognize like Zack Galifianakis and J.K.  Simmons, these are real people in St.  Louis and Detroit who actually just lost their jobs in real life.

Like "Thank You for Smoking," "Up in the Air," features a character whose essence inside, he essentially isolate himself from the real world, and I was wondering why these types of characters interest you and what do you think they say about society today?

Well, yes, yes, I mean, I made three movies.  The first one's about the head lobbyist for Big Tobacco; the second one is about a pregnant teenager girl and the third one was about the guy who fires people for a living.  So, I'm obviously attracted, whether I know it or not, to characters who live in kind of polarized world.  Usually, why I like these characters is that they have usually have a very open-minded point of view on something that is traditionally polarizing.  And they gave me – they give me an opportunity to take a fresh look at a subject that is usually kind of talked out in one way.

You spoke a little bit about how you shot in St. Louis and Detroit.  Can you talk about that experience with dealing with people in this economic recession especially in Detroit and St. Louis that has like bustling environments at one point, and now, it's kind of bleak especially in Detroit.

Yes, certainly.  You know Detroit – Detroit and St.  Louis, both really got hit hard and when I started location scouting, I found myself walking through many buildings that were available for shooting and they were empty because their entire departments have been laid off.  You know I saw empty floors where they you know the only thing in the room would be you know a phone sitting on the ground every 15 feet, or a corner that was just piled up with stacked abandoned chairs.

And, in kind of looking at it, it started to give me a new perspective on what I was making a movie about.  And not to say that I was making a movie about the economy, because I really didn't, I really was making a movie about a man who's kind of searched for his own purpose.  But, in approaching kind of the location of this film which is the economy, I wanted it to be as authentic as possible, and that's why I reached out into the community, in Detroit and St.  Louis looking for people who are willing to talk openly about what it's like to get fired in this kind of economic meltdown.  And I was very fortunate that these people with no on-camera experience were willing to come forward and not only be interviewed but then also fired on camera.

OK.  For my question, in the "Up in the Air," Clooney defines himself as the consumer.  He compares loyalty cards as opposed to family photos with his love interest in the movie.  So, in today's consumer society and then the economic trends, which are portrayed in the movie as well, I'm wondering how the film industry has been affected?  Do you feel pressure as a director to make movies marketable to consumers and that distributors think will do well in the box-office?

Question, it is a tough time in the movie business and certainly, independent film divisions have shut down, and there are less, (thoughtful) movies for adults being made because they're more risky, and there's more kind of popcorn movies getting made.  And look, I have a few friends that have lost their jobs, more than a few.  So, it's a tricky time but you know the film business has gone through tricky times before and it's usually when filmmakers feel pressure that they often come out with their most creative materials.  So, I said to myself, I hope that whatever pressures we're feeling will actually lead to more interesting films.

(Duke) The film has been to Telluride, Toronto and other film festivals, what has been the most memorable or fun experience you've had on the festival circuit?

I had fun in a quite of few places.  You know nothing is quite like showing my movie in Toronto, in the Ryerson Theatre for a thousand people, and you know really kind of debuting my movie and showing it to the people that it was intended for in a strange way.  I always feel like I’ve considered (the Ryerson Theatre) Toronto as almost a gallery that the artist intended.  But you know let's see – eating is always kind of fun on the road.  Everywhere I land you know on this tour, I go on Twitter and I ask people locally what I should be eating and where.

So, I was in Boston, I had my first Lobster Roll at a place called Neptune Oyster, while I was in Minneapolis, I've had my first Juicy Lucy to the hamburger in which they inject liquid cheese into the meat patty; those were both fun.  And in a strange way, when you're on the road doing this, people start to tell you what your film is and what kind of filmmaker you are.  Really having made three movies now, people are you know journalists start to, try to create lines of continuity between my work, and it could be kind of terrifying to find out who I am as a person by the way my movies are judged.

Back just a week ago, Diablo Cody noticed that in my movies, people never have sex in bed, that they only have sex like everywhere else, like in a closet or on the floor, and I can't even begin to think what that says about me.  But, yes, the road is fun.  You know I wish I got to, I wish I got to see more because really I just landed in a town, I show the movie, I fall asleep, I wake up and I do press all day and I go to another airport.  But every once in a while, I get a couple of days in the city like Austin, that took a lot of fun.

I got to see, go see an impromptu concert, and in Paris, I got to go and see an impromptu concert, and that was fun.

Over your career, like through "Thank You for Smoking" and "Juno" and now "Up in the Air."  It seems that you're attracted to stories with/or just purely family relationships, why so?  And how – I've also seen that this is, well, you've said that this is your most personal movie and how does that play into it?

You know it's funny because I never intended to be a guy who made movies about the importance of family.  And inherently, there are family themes in all three of my movies and this is the kind of thing that I was just talking about where you know as a director, you just kind of instinctually come to material that interests you and really follow your gut in the process, and it's only once you've made a few movies that you look back and go, "Huh."  For whatever reason, I continue to be drawn to similar themes, and obviously, I think there is something inherently valuable about having family connections and you know building up kind of interconnectivity between the people that you love most.

That there is, that somehow makes life more livable particularly when times are tough.  As far as why this film is most very personal to me, I think, that has to do with the last six years of my life and how I've really taken a lot of who I am I've put into Ryan Bingham.  You know and my films are always addressing personal questions that I have, and these are perhaps the most personal.  If I like to just complete as it is you know I'm married, I have a beautiful daughter; I get to do what I want for a living.  Why do I also often think about the concept of waking up in a city where I know nobody and have nothing and why does that interest me.

I have to imagine that other people feel this as well, and as a director, get the opportunity to kind of live it out and see what it would be like.

It's tough to call like either of your films really a comedy, they're both very mature films that are very funny, and I'm wondering if there's a trend to writing and directing that dictates this type of screenplay?  And, also you know what is it like writing again after picking up Diablo Cody screenplay for your last film?

Well you know I started actually writing this screenplay seven years ago so, I wrote it right through "Juno," strangely enough.  You know I got you know "Juno" was such a drop dead gorgeous script that there was no way I was not going to direct it.  And, certainly you know I guess it's a little bit intimidating to return to the keyboard after working with a writer who I admire so much.  But, thankfully, I've been writing this the whole time so, it wasn't as much of a, "All right, now I could figure out how to write again."  And, I'm sorry, what was the first part of your question?

I mean, is there a trend to writing and directing that you know dictates kind of how a film is – the film aren't exactly comedies but there are–?

Oh, yes, so, look, I mean, none of my movies is sitting actually on the shelf at the video store whether it be comedy or drama.  I guess – my best answer for that is that I think comedy and drama are techniques not genres.  And, I think they can be both used to move an audience in a very specific way.  So, I don't limit myself to one or the other.  I think that I'd like my movies to have comedy, and drama, and danger, and romance, and kind of every technique that allows you to just kind of push and pull the audience and give them as complete an experience as possible.

You spoke earlier about being drawn to certain themes like family connections in your movies.  I was wondering how you – or rather, if you thought of "Loss of Innocence" as being one of these themes and I'm thinking in particular of "Juno" but also of the other characters as well.

Yes, that is an important idea to me, and I'm happy that you picked up on that.  I mean, certainly, that is at the core of what "Juno" is about.  "Juno" is really not about teenage pregnancy, "Juno" is about what is the moment that we decide to grow up and our teenage girls are growing up too fast and a 30-year old man refusing to grow up.  And, certainly, in approaching "Thank you for Smoking," there is this kind of crux as to how informed you want the next generation to be and how do you still also want to have a childhood?

And you know "Up in the Air," there is kind of "Loss of Innocence" through in Kendrick's character who looks at (Vera's) character wondering you know is this just going to be me 15 years from now.  Should I just kind of face the fact of how hard it is going to be a career woman.  You know you're the first person who ever asked me about it and I think you're absolutely right.  That is a really important idea to me, and not only as a storyteller but just as a person and you know probably enough, that's the very core scene in this book, Labor Day that I'm about to start. So, bravo.  You got me.

Of all the question you're keep getting asked that you put on your twitter, a lot of mine were that.  So, do you have a question like you haven't been asked about this movie or your work that you would like to address?

No, not really.  I mean, to be honest, it's hard to talk about your movie because – look, every director will say this but it's true.  I made the movie so that you know not so the movie would have its own answers because I don't make movies that answers but I mad the movie to make you feel a certain way and then that's it.  That's all the information I have for you and now, I'd rather you just talk to your friends about it or think about it yourself and try to figure out what the movie means to you.

And the more I try to explain it, I think the less the movie means and the less effective it gets.  The best question, I guess, I've been asked recently you know outside of (James)'s question about Loss of Innocence was, yeah, am I a window or an aisle.  And I thought it seems like it's such a simple question but it actually speaks so strongly to flyers.

I mean, whether you're a window or an aisle really tells – it says a lot about a human being.  And I am an aisle and my wife is a window and I don't think our marriage would work otherwise.

The screenplay was (covered) with Sheldon Turner, is that correct?

Not exactly. Sheldon Turner wrote a screenplay prior to me that I have not read.  And I began adapting this in 2002 and when the writer's guild reviewed all the screenplays that had ever been written of this movie, they saw enough in Sheldon's screenplay that they gave him co-writer's credit.

Oh, I see.  OK.

I met him and he's a nice guy and seemed to be drawn to the project for similar reasons and when you're adapting a book you know you can't but presume that there's going to be similarities and the adaptations.

OK.  Well, with the original author, I read that you showed them the film at the house.  How did he exactly take the film?

He seemed to be emotionally moved and shaken up a little and that's kind of cool.  I reached out to him very early on and formed a friendship with him.  I gave him a draft of the screenplay really before almost anyone have read it.  And I've always tried to keep a strong relationship with my authors.  I never want to wind up like Kubrick and Stephen King who you know went at each other's throat.

I've noticed that you re-cast J.K.  Simmons and Jeff Witzke in three or more movies each.

Yes.

And these are actors who are easily more recognizable by face than by name.  And I was wondering what make these characters or these actors so appealing to keep recasting them?

Jeff Witzke is my lucky charm and J.K.  Simmons is my muse.

I was just wondering what the differences between directing a film based on the script that you wrote and directing a script that was written by someone else in such an original way.

Well, I think when I'm – oddly when I'm directing my own words, I – I'm less (precious) about them and I'm much more apt to allow the actors to change stuff, when I'm directing someone else's screenplay like Diablo's, I'm much more apt to be rigid about the dialogue on the page.  Now, that said, it's – there's not much of a difference because by the time I get the set, I need to personalize the movie and make it mine.  And I felt just as much ownership over Juno when I started directing it as I did over my two films that I've written.

In the past years that you've been developing the screenplay for "Up In The Air," what initially drew you to the book in 2002?

You know I think it was a combination of things me.  I mean, one, it was a book about a guy who fired people for a living and I thought that was fascinating that this job existed and I wanted to humanize a tricky character like that.  It reminded me of (Nick) Naylor from "Thank You For Smoking."  But in addition to that, I'm also a frequent flyer mile collector myself.  And I suppose I enjoyed the fact that Walter had humanized the existence of travel.

You know I'm still used to stories about airports being planes, trains and automobiles.  So, it was nice to see someone who has written kind of a love letter to travel.

What is an unlikable characteristic that you’d like to humanize in a future film?

Huh.  That's a good question.  I thought about that often.  Like if "Thank You For Smoking" and "Up In The Air" were two parts of a trilogy, and I needed you know my third angry white guy to fill it in, tobacco lobbyists, corporate termination executive, what is the third slot?  I don't know.  I'm not sure.  Either maybe pharmaceuticals, lawyers or, I don't know.  Someone who works in the clergy.

[Image courtesy Access Hollywood]