| 'GOING THE DISTANCE' - exclusive! |
| Written by SUPPLIED |
| Wednesday, 01 September 2010 09:32 |
 If not for the presence of a movie crew, the scene unfolding in Terminal 6 at JFK International Airport, could be a typical romantic farewell: two young lovers reluctant to part at the end of summer while chaotic throngs of travelers swirl around them in the light-filled cavernous space of the terminal. She will fly back to San Francisco. He will stay in New York. They will join the 6.7 million other Americans weathering the ups and downs of long distance relationships. Granted, this couple happens to be DREW BARRYMORE and JUSTIN LONG and though it mirrors what so many others have done and will do in this airport, they are in the midst of a scene in the romantic comedy 'GOING THE DISTANCE', a film that takes an edgy and hilarious look at long-distance relationships. The director, Nanette Burstein, calls “Cut!” and spontaneous applause ripples through the crowd of crew and onlookers. Even in the age of Skype, texting and e-mail--technology designed to bring people closer—long distance communication can be an emotional minefield. Barrymore was drawn to the project by the lack of artifice in the script by first-time screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe and its frank portrayal of the real life complexities of contemporary romance. “I can relate to that feeling when you’re just super excited and you want to call someone, and it’s too late, their time, and you can’t,” she describes. “Or you want to cry to someone, but you can’t because they’re out with their friends and you don’t want to spoil their time, so you have to put it in a box and save it for another time. I think that same sort of feeling can happen in people that live in the same city. These are just interesting aspects to explore in a relationship—timing and how you make it function, and their friends versus your friends.” Barrymore plays Erin, an aspiring journalist who falls in love with Garrett, played by Long. For the actress, who has played sweet, uncomplicated young women in films like 'The Wedding Singer' and 'Never Been Kissed', the dilemmas faced by her character in 'Going The Distance' were refreshingly relevant, “Erin is a very tough girl. I like her bravado. She’s strong. I’m glad to play a character that is emblematic of changes that I’m going through. In my twenties, I was in more of a fairy tale stage. I feel a lot more realistic about things now.” Both characters are in the throes of transition, both emotionally and professionally. “Garrett’s the typical guy in his mid- to late-twenties,” Long describes. “He’s kind of floating around in relationships, not knowing what he wants. It’s something that I’ve been through, and what a lot of my friends have been through. Garrett ends up having these couple-month-long relationships with all these different girls and not really finding anybody that excites him. Then he runs into Erin in a bar.” Still recovering from a recent break up, Garrett is quickly smitten with this funny, outspoken woman who can beat him in barroom trivia and shares his passion for obscure ‘80s video games. Before long their summer fling becomes something serious. But both Garrett and Erin are in their make-or-break late twenties, and they feel as passionately about their respective careers as they do about each other, so deciding who will relocate so the couple can be together becomes a major conflict. Despite her strong feelings for Garrett, Erin is reluctant to put aside her career ambitions for a relationship, having already delayed her dreams once for a romance that dissolved. Erin lands a summer newspaper internship at the fictional New York Sentinel, while Garrett is also trying to establish himself in a difficult field—the music industry. “Garrett is a low-level music executive,” says Justin Long. “He’s very passionate about music and discovering new bands but he’s struggling to get a foothold in a system that’s very corrupt and sold-out, so Garrett’s at this place professionally where he’s just stuck in a rut.” Ron Livingston ('Office Space') stars as Garrett’s boss, Will. “Will’s one of the record label guys” Livingston says. “And he’s probably the guy that Garrett will become if he decides to sell out.” Garrett’s personal life is just as unsatisfying. “He’s been in a series of dead end relationships. He’s kind of a self-sabotager. He can’t commit and he finds some way of getting out. In the beginning of the movie he’s in the process of breaking up with his girlfriend, Amy or she’s breaking up with him. It’s easier to break up with someone when you force the person’s hand. That’s the kind of pattern many of us learn and that’s what’s happening with Garrett.” “Erin’s situation is what a lot of men and women go through in relationships,” Barrymore explains. “How am I going to make this work? I’ve got a career that I want to have, I have friends that I want to be with, and I want to be with this person. But how does that one person not become my entire life? If they do, I’m going to resent them for it and I’m going to have to give up my dreams. How am I going to balance it all, especially in a long distance sense? It’s a unique, relatable, intricate problem that a lot of people face. I’m glad to do a movie that talks about this giant elephant in the room.” The script’s unaffected style is a perfect fit for Burstein, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker for the 1999 documentary 'On The Ropes' making her feature filmmaking debut. “Coming from documentaries, where I am capturing real life, I wanted the movie to feel as real as possible,” she comments. “The script is very honest and extremely witty. A lot of romantic comedies are often more fantasy, a fairytale. I think there is more of a reality to this film.” New York City is less a backdrop to Erin and Garrett’s relationship, than as, Justin Long puts it, “another character in the film.” From Coney Island and Chinatown to Central Park Lake, New York adds drama and texture to the unfolding love affair. “I’ve always found New York to be synonymous with love and romance,” Long says. “It’s a perfect setting for a love story because it is so romantic itself, so alive. It’s a city teeming with love stories and so many people have their own personal connection to New York.” For Burstein, the city provides a vibrant visual palette and a perfect metaphor for falling in love, “When you shoot in New York, your backdrop is stunning not only because of the architecture but the people walking around, the cars, the taxis, and all the color. You always feel like there’s an opportunity for anything to happen. New York is this living, breathing organism and it’s a perfect place to fall in love because it just goes twenty-four hours a day. It’s a place where anything is possible.” On a humid August afternoon, a few days after the shoot at JFK, the crew has traveled to the northernmost reaches of the Bronx, in historic Riverdale. Immortalized in everything from Archie comics to Catcher in the Rye, Riverdale has also “starred” in movies from 'Bringing Up Baby' to 'Good Night', and 'Good Luck'. Georgian and Tudor-style mansions sheltered by maples and oaks speak to Riverdale’s past as a haven for wealthy nineteenth century Manhattan industry moguls. Today, Burstein and company set up in the backyard of a stately house that doubles as the suburban Bay Area home of Erin’s overprotective older sister, Corrine, played by Christina Applegate (TV’s 'Samantha Who?') and her husband, Phil, played with deadpan brilliance by Jim Gaffigan ('Away We Go').  Applegate has spent the last several days in Riverdale shooting her scenes. “It’s so beautiful. I love the trees and the old homes, and at night you see lightning bugs. These are things you don’t see in Los Angeles.” Erin’s passionate affair with Garrett alarms her sister, whose motivations are as self-serving as they are protective. “Corrine has basically raised Erin,” says Applegate, sipping an ice tea between takes. “She doesn’t like the decisions that Erin makes, but at the same time, she’s a married woman and loves to live vicariously through Erin’s freedom and where she’s going in her life.” The scene is familiar to anyone who has an older sibling—Corinne, who doesn’t want her sister to be hurt, and also doesn’t want to “lose” her to a relationship—lectures Erin on the dangers of long distance romance. Their relationship also highlights the dimensions of Erin’s character. “Erin has a great relationship with her sister,” Barrymore says. Applegate and Barrymore’s longtime friendship adds a level of honesty to their scenes. “She’s so funny,” Barrymore raves. “We’re very similar and there’s a real symmetry. I think we look like sisters. We act like sisters.” “Christina and Drew are amazing together,” observes producer Adam Shankman. “You really do think they’re family. Christina brings something great to her scenes—little parts that weren’t scripted.” Burstein knows when to anchor the scenes in scripted dialogue, at what point to rein in excess and the ideal moments to let the actors improvise. “We’re trying to go for comedy and reality, so we want it to feel as real and funny as possible,” says the director. “Having spent a lot of time in the editing room making documentaries, I know you can always tighten up later. You never know what wonderful moments you will find. So, I try to create an environment that allows for that, for a lot of comedy and discovery to come through.” When Corrine’s cautionary tale about two-timing men turns into an inspired rant, Burstein keeps the cameras rolling. “Christina Applegate is an unheralded comedic force,” Shankman says. “She can do anything. She can go Lucille Ball if she wants, but she also has this great intelligence mixed with a traditional American cheerleader beauty. There’s not a lot of women who look like Christina who are as funny and sharp. Some guys might be shocked by this movie when they discover the way women actually speak to each other.” “This is the way we talk as girlfriends,” Barrymore laughs. “We swear sometimes.” While Erin is counseled by her big sister, Garrett has the advice and support of his friends, Box and Dan, played by Jason Sudeikis (TV’s 'Saturday Night Live') and Charlie Day (TV’s 'It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia'), respectively. “Box is the smartass know-it-all,” Sudeikis notes. “This part is not touched on in the movie at all, but I’ve decided that the reason his name is Box is because his full name is Brad Boxleitner and he is a nephew of Bruce Boxleitner, who played Scarecrow on Scarecrow and Mrs. King. He was also in Tron.” “Dan is dimwitted,” Charlie Day explains, “but he has good intentions. He’s not the moral compass of the film, but he’s not a bad guy either. Box and I will go out to dinner or to bars, and we’ll have a lot of opinions on Garrett’s relationships or lack of relationships.” “Box tolerates Dan,” Sudeikis adds. “We both get into fun arguments and discussions with Garrett. Dan and I call Garrett on his commitment issues. But if Garrett was removed from the situation, I don't know if Dan and Box would hang out as much.” Garrett’s romance causes his friendships to shift and change. “When he meets Erin, he sort of drifts away from us,” Sudeikis explains. “It’s typical of those guys who disappear into relationships when they find a girl. Garrett’s been in kind of an emotional void until Erin shakes him out of it.” Dan, however, finds creative ways to remain very involved in Garrett’s new life. “I listen into whatever’s going on in Garrett’s room and comment through the walls, or I’ll play music that seems to fit to the situation,” says Day. “In some ways I'm not only his best friend, but I'm his life DJ.” In spite of all the changes, Garrett’s friends help him deal with his separation from Erin. “Long distance relationships can be very hard and they can cause insecurities to flare up,” Sudeikis says. “Everything happens through technology when you’re in a long distance relationship, so he’s constantly texting her or talking on the phone. We just sort of have to help him through it, even though we feel a little frustrated, losing our friend while he’s right in front of us because he’s not really present.” But as with the movie’s central romance, the friendship problems are counterbalanced with humor, from physical comedy to surreal non-sequitirs. “It’s very easy when you’re doing improv to forget the point of the scene,” Burstein explains, “but I always say that improv is best when it has to do with the intention of the scene, when it adds color, makes the character come more alive. Justin has a lot of experience with improv and Drew is incredible at it.”  The trials and triumphs of a long distance relationship are especially familiar to the cast and crew, all of whom work in a profession that requires constant traveling. “I’ve been in a long distance relationship my entire life because of my job,” Drew Barrymore reveals. “Anyone who travels for their job knows how it is, that feeling of having to make everything great in a weekend because that’s all you have for a little while. Some people really like to know what their day is or their next month is or their future is. Other people aren’t like that. I just want to take things a little more day-by-day or month-by-month. There really are no rules. It’s very individual. Each couple has to figure out what works for them.” Distance can add a certain unreality to a relationship. Getting to know someone through the ups and downs of daily interaction is replaced with an idealized projection, a perception based on e-mails and phone calls, or static memories. “There’s still a fantasy quality to a long distance relationship, but the closer you get the harder it is to maintain this fantasy,” says Burstein. “This film is extremely relatable to modern society because women are in the workforce almost as much as men now. People have to move all the time because of their jobs. It happens all the time. But you can’t help it when and where you fall in love.” The physical distance is compounded with a psychological distance, as Adam Shankman can attest. “More often than not, when you do this job, when you’re a director or a producer, your stories are told all over the place,” he says. “Unless you firmly commit to making things in your hometown, you are always going to be on the go and when you’re on a movie, everything else in your life falls away.” Ultimately, the most crucial and perhaps most challenging aspect of a long distance relationship is staying connected. “I prefer writing letters to sending e-mail,” Drew Barrymore offers. Christina Applegate sings the praises of i-Chat. “Technology definitely helps,” agrees producer Jennifer Gibgot, “but at the end of the day, nothing really replaces that person standing next to you in the flesh.” |
