Adapting 'Inherent Vice' Made Director Feel Like A Student Again
The new film Inherent Vice follows a stoner, hippie detective on a wild, wandering, pot-fueled adventure that ensues when his ex-lover Shasta brings him a new case to solve. Joaquin Phoenix plays that detective, Larry "Doc" Sportello, who, as he tries to tackle the mystery, is regularly at odds with an LAPD detective named "Bigfoot" Bjornsen, played by Josh Brolin.
The movie is based on a 2009 novel by the famously reclusive and media-averse novelist Thomas Pynchon, whose books are notoriously complex. In fact, it's the first movie ever based on a Pynchon book, and director Paul Thomas Anderson says the adaptation process was a challenging one.
Anderson, the director behind films like There Will Be Blood, The Master and Boogie Nights, always writes his own screenplays. He tells NPR's Arun Rath that as he became entrenched in Pynchon's work, he felt like a student again.
"When you have a book as your Bible that you're going back to, that's the work — constantly underlining it, constantly looking at different things that Pynchon has written here and there," he says. "And you hope to catch a line that will really kind of reverberate."
Interview Highlights
On his initial reaction to the book
When any of his new books come out — which is very rare actually — you just buy the amount of time it's gonna take from your spouse, from your family, you hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door and you tuck into the book. And I remember thinking "I don't know how to do this," you know, but really thinking, "I've got to figure out how to do it."
On adapting the book into a screenplay
I approached it in the most straightforward but laborious way I could come up with. I transcribed the dialogue. You know, write it out like a script — Doc says this, Shasta says this, Doc says this and on and on and on. And there were multiple times when I thought, "Why don't I just call the publisher and get a PDF and cut and paste this on the computer?" But there was something about typing it out again that made me — it made me get to know the book, you know, really deeply.
It was funny just how simple it all started to seem at a certain point — because people talk about [how] this movie's gonna be convoluted and complicated, and there's all that, but that's all kind of window dressing to keep it entertaining and fun because underneath it, the points do connect and they're actually not that complicated.
On whether he had contact with Thomas Pynchon while making the film
No, no. You know, I mean, maybe, but maybe I don't know! There's a famous story ... B. Traven was another writer who nobody knew who he was and he wrote the book that The Treasure of Sierra Madre was based on. And the rumor goes that like you know down in Mexico, John Huston [director of the film The Treasure of Sierra Madre] would get pages mysteriously slipped under his door. By who? Maybe by B. Traven? Or they'd be shooting on some street in Mexico
and they'd look over and see some mysterious man in a hat and sunglasses watching from a distance. Was that B. Traven? Who knows? ...
Obviously [Pynchon is] a flesh and blood person who exists, who wrote a book, but he spent a lot of his life, his entire professional career deciding, I don't want to be a part of whatever the spotlight is. And that's groovy with me.
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Transcript
ARUN RATH, HOST:
Fans of director Paul Thomas Anderson - and they're a devoted bunch - sometimes have to be patient waiting for his next feature. But when they arrive, Anderson delivers in a big way. Think of the splash he made with "Magnolia" in 1999 or "Boogie Nights" or "There Will Be Blood," epic films taking on big ideas in big and original ways. For his latest film - another project that looks impossible on paper - adapting a book by the notoriously reclusive novelist Thomas Pynchon.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "INHERENT VICE")
KATHERINE WATERSTON: (As Shasta Fay Hepworth) I need your help, Doc.
RATH: Doc Sportello is an L.A. private detective, the protagonist of the novel and now the film "Inherent Vice."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "INHERENT VICE")
JOAQUIN PHOENIX: (As Larry "Doc" Sportello)You know I have an office now? It's like a day job and everything.
RATH: Joaquin Phoenix plays the pothead hippie detective at the center of the '70s story. After Doc's ex-girlfriend shows up, he finds himself on the trail of what might be a massive conspiracy. Paul Thomas Anderson says he's a huge fan of Thomas Pynchon, and he got his hands on the book as soon as it came out.
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON: Like when any of his new books come out, which is very rare actually, you just buy the amount of time it's going to take, you know, from your spouse, from your family, you hang a do not disturb sign on the door, and you tuck into the book. And I remember thinking I don't know how to do this, you know? But really thinking I've got to figure out how to do it.
RATH: And so, what was it about the story - about the story the way that Pynchon told it - that grabbed you and made you think, I got to at least try to make this?
ANDERSON: Well, there's the easy stuff like a great central character, a great hero who has a good sense of humor, who has a great desire to do good who...
RATH: This is our protagonist, the stoner detective Doc Sportello.
ANDERSON: The stoner detective Doc Sportello, who is sentimental, who is still shocked and surprised at all the bad [bleep] that is happening around him to his people, the hippies, his country. And there's a great dynamic between this stoner, hippy detective and this civil rights violating LAPD detective, Bigfoot.
RATH: And I want to talk about these characters a bit more, because maybe it's easier than talking about the plot, which is kind of tricky.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
RATH: Well, our protagonist, Doc Sportello, the stoner detective - what were you looking for in the actor that could bring this guy to life? Because he's quite a character.
ANDERSON: He is quite a character, and Joaquin is deeply funny. I know people wouldn't expect - people, maybe, I think they think he's weird or whatever or he's a serious, brooding actor. But that's so far from the truth.
RATH: He can communicate this humor in this really understated kind of way just with a slight gesture.
ANDERSON: Yeah, he does. He's got a lot a good face ingredients going on.
RATH: (Laughter) Yeah. That's a good way to put it.
ANDERSON: You know, he's sort of - he has impulse control problems. You know, sometimes that any good detective should probably keep his cards very close to his vest and sort of take information in and not reveal that it's important or not. Doc Sportello has a hard time not reacting in gigantic, over-the-top ways to new pieces of information that come his way.
RATH: And then his foil, Bigfoot Bjornsen, the hippie-hating cop. Josh Brolin on his own makes this worth the price of admission. How did you work with him in creating Bigfoot?
ANDERSON: Well, when you have a book as your Bible that you're going back to, that's the work constantly underlining it, constantly looking at different things Pynchon has written here and there. And you hope to kind of catch a line that will really kind of reverberate. There was a line about Bigfoot's air of possessed melancholy, which, that says it all, you know? That, kind of, can instantly do away with any, you know, sort of unnecessary actor-director dialogue that you have between yourself. You just take a line like that and you go that's something to play.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "INHERENT VICE")
JOSH BROLIN: (As Lt. Det. Christian "Bigfoot" Bjornsen) OK. Well, so far we have murder and kidnapping. We can work in pirates if it would make you more comfortable. Either way, it's high-profile.
BENICIO DEL TORO: (As Sauncho Smilax, Esq.) Yeah, but, given your history of harassment with my client, this will never make it to trial.
BROLIN: (As Lt. Det. Christian "Bigfoot" Bjornsen) No, I think we could probably take this all the way to trial. But with our luck, you know, the jury pool will be 99 percent hippie.
RATH: When it comes to adapting the book, first of, I can't imagine that Thomas Pynchon would let just anybody adapt one of his books. Was it difficult getting the rights?
ANDERSON: It was very straightforward. It was represented by an agent. The request was accepted and it was all very straightforward. That's not to say that it wasn't lost on me that we were the first people to do this - to adapt a Pynchon novel. So I can - I took that as a vote of confidence in our direction.
RATH: And then I've got to imagine adapting a Thomas Pynchon novel is tough. How did you approach that?
ANDERSON: I approached it in the most straightforward but laborious way I could come up with. I transcribed the dialogue. You know, write it out like a script. Doc says this. Shasta says this. Doc says this and on and on and on. And there were multiple times when I thought, why don't I just call the publisher and get a PDF and cut and paste this on the computer? But there was something about typing it out again that made me - it made be get to know the book, you know, really deeply.
It was funny just how simple it all started to seem at a certain point, you know, because people talk about this movie is going to be convoluted and complicated, and there's all that. But that's all just sort of window dressing to keep it entertaining and fun. Because, underneath it, the points do connect, and they're actually not that complicated.
RATH: We have this cartoon version of Pynchon, you know, the recluse and - I say cartoon - he's actually been on "The Simpsons..."
ANDERSON: Yeah, right.
RATH: (Laughter) ...Funnily enough. Did you have any contact with him? Did you work with him at all - talk to him - as you were bringing this together?
ANDERSON: No, no. You know, I mean, maybe. But maybe I don't know. You know, it's like there's famous stories...
RATH: (Laughter) What does that mean?
ANDERSON: You know, well, there's a famous story of - B. Traven was another writer who nobody knew who he was and nobody had seen him. And he wrote the book that "The Treasure Of Sierra Madre" is based on. And the rumor goes that, like, you know, down in Mexico John Houston would get pages mysteriously slipped under his door by, you know - by who? Maybe from B. Traven. You know, or that they'd be shooting on some street in Mexico and they'd look over and see some mysterious man in a hat and sunglasses watching from a distance. Was that B. Traven? Who knows? So...
RATH: Wait. Are you Thomas Pynchon (laughter)?
ANDERSON: Exactly. Are you Thomas Pynchon? Exactly right. I mean, obviously he's a flesh and blood person who exists, who wrote a book, you know? But he spent a lot of his life or his entire professional career deciding I don't want to be a part of whatever the spotlight is. And that's groovy with me. I think that's a good way to go.
RATH: Director Paul Thomas Anderson's new film based on a Thomas Pynchon novel is "Inherent Vice." It's out right now in New York and Los Angeles and comes out nationwide next month. Paul Thomas Anderson, thank you so much - real fun speaking with you.
ANDERSON: Yeah, that was great. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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